Cannon 4

my adventures?"
[18:19] Lemuria Augustus says, "Well."
[18:19] Lemuria Augustus says, "I am not sure if you are the best person to talk to for what I have on my mind."
[18:19] Lemuria Augustus says, "Especially considering that you are a mother now."
[18:19] Blake Augustus asks, "And that is?"
[18:19] Lemuria Augustus says, "Well, you see..."
[18:24] Lemuria stood up and started pacing around the floor, showing some degree of nervousness in regards to what was on her mind.

"I spent a little while in Moonfall, as of now, and it has made me come to an uncomfortable conclusion."

Gazing at her hand, Lemuria caused an occult flame to spawn within it. And, slowly yet surely, it started to decrease in size, eventually snuffing out entirely. This seemed to serve no other purpose than a visual demonstration as to what she was about to say.

"...I think I am growing soft. I think I am losing my edge..."

"And I do not believe that is a good thing."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:27] To that end, Blake once more tilted her head. "Then let's move to Theria. My bounty is gone. We and our kids can stay with the Thunderbirds until we find a place, and we can do mercenary work. And if not that, we can certainly find something to keep us both on our toes." It was true. Osrona was a much softer place. But Moonfall wasn't exactly the best place to be, either. What with it's population dwiddling with some moving to Theria and such.

"Plus Theria doesn't have occultism banned. We could find a way for me to re-learn it there, potentially. And you could use it when necessary without feeling 'exposed'."
(Blake Augustus)
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[18:29] Blake Augustus says, "Plus if anything happend to me, and for some reason you couldn't take Elli in, Teodor agreed to be her godfather."
[18:34] "It is... not that simple."

Lemuria's occult aura enshrouded her body once more, and she continued pacing. She was antsy. Restless. There was something off about her.

"My occultism is of a different breed than most. Such is the nature of witchcraft. I am losing my viciousness, my desire to hurt and destroy. I gazed upon Dragmire with pity and sympathy upon seeing him die, not scorn. But this does not leave me calmer, happier, or more collected. No, the opposite."

She hated to admit it, as she saw herself better than one who performed ritualistic sacrifice and danced in the blood of her enemies, but now, she was starting to understand just why they did it.

This was a strain of occultism that reached down to one's very spirit, affecting them on every layer of their being, right down to the subconscious one. And right now?

"Not living the dangerous, violent life that my contemporaries are is leaving me... distressed."

Her conscious and subconscious minds were conflicting.

"I have always possessed the same desires they do, deep down. I have just suppressed them. Moving to Theria will not fix that, Blake. I cannot do what my contemporaries do."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:41] A pause, as Blake wanted to help out Lemuria. The elder sister was clearly not in a good state of being. She was loosing her edge, quite literally, by living a peaceful life. And it was likely she'd lose it even more with a child to take care of. Was there anything Blake could say or do to fix it all...

"Mercenary work. Bounty hunting, could very well provide you with an ample source of both income and sacrifices. To delight in the sadistic pleasures. It's why I suggested Theria. Or we could work more closely with the Syndicate and whatever it is they do. Simply living under the guise of your enemies is not going to help you. Of course..." A pause. It was an option, but Lemuria probably wouldn't care for it.

"If you don't want to kill, you don't want to murder. You could always get the magic cleansed. Though I know how deeply tied you are to it. So that's probably not a good option for you." et another pause. The young woman stood up to give a glance toward her sister, to stand close beside her and to once more, eye her down.

"Either move to Moonfall or Theria and grow more violent in the process, Either fully embracing the blessings and path of the Dark Lord, or give it up completely. You can't stay in the middle. It's not good for you." A raise of their hand to poke at the side of their temple, as if inferring it wasn't good for their mental state.
(Blake Augustus)
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[18:49] Blake actually told her that she should go through with it.

Huh.

...Blake really was the best person Lemuria could ask for, in this moment.

As an occultist, someone who thrived on violence and destruction, the worst possible fate was to grow complacent and calm. To one who sold their soul to the Dark Lord, it was a fate worse than death, because in death, a witch could find solace in their eternal servitude. But in life? Something that was temporary? Something that, in the end, was all that really mattered?

She had no such comfort.

And she was feeling that comfort.

"I need... a drive. I need a goal. I need something to be passionate about! I wish to draw out passion in others, but perhaps I should focus on drawing that passion out of myself..."

She gazed upon both of her hands, her expression beginning to look ever-so-slightly... crazed.

"I need to ignite that flame from within me, and I am unsure how. That is what I must do before I move anywhere."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:54] "This could be your pregnancy hormones talking but..." A pause, a hand moved to place on Blake's lips. Still, the taller of the two siblings began to place. Clearly, Blake was taking their sister's issue seriously. Trying to do their best to come up with a solution and to that... There was a pulse in the movements. And a look upward.

"You could always help me with my art. A form of art that... isn't really a good thing by Osronan standards. Due to the sadistic inclination." And wit that, Blake's hand moved forward. A stream of blood leading up to a bubble came from Blake's sleeve to hover over an open palm. a demonstration of the magic they took up.

"I can't be an occultist anymore. But Blood magic? It can serve the same.... carnal desires. For punishment and pain. When I see the blood come from others. It excites me. We could hunt down people... for me to cut into... And turn their bodies into wonderful works of art." The bubble stayed in place. As Blake themselves, stared at their own magic-controlled blood with a sort of fascination.

"It's something at least. If not a temporary solution."
(Blake Augustus)
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[18:55] Lemuria Augustus says, "Mmmm..."
[19:00] That was an idea, and it was one she considered, but...

"I can help you with that, and I will, but... I need something... grander."

She thought. And she thought. And she thought. And then...

I can't be an occultist anymore.

An idea sprang to mind. A crazy idea for sure, but... Lemuria wasn't exactly sane, was she? She just put on a very, very good mask.

"Perhaps I could attempt to do to holy magi what they did to you and Alita."

She left it at that for now, giving both her and Blake some time to digest the idea before elaborating further.
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[19:05] The bubble was drawn back in at Lemuria's words. The ability to cut off someone's ability to use holy magic? That could actually be... quite the skill to know. "As far as I know. Erika uses runes with her ritual. But... I don't see how it couldn't be possible. It could perhaps also be used to undo the damage done to my mana circuits and others, preventing occult castings." This could actually work to benefit them both.

"Then again that also means Erika might be able to undo your work to someone who is a wielder of the holy arts. But it is again, something that could slap your name in the pages of history books. Should you wish it to." A pause. As both hands of Blake now crossed against their chest. There was a nod given, and then a smirk.

"We can work on it together, if I can help in m state, somehow."
(Blake Augustus)
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[19:07] Blake Augustus says, "Rain might offer to be a test subject for Holy-removal. I think Dragmire mentioned his desire to get rid of it. We could talk to him, see if he's wlling to be your guinea pig."
[19:14] Lemuria held up her hand, forming the same glyph that she used to purge the holy blockages from Blake's body. She utilized the life draining abilities of the occult, although her target was unclear.

"I do not just wish to steal holy magic from people, Blake. I wish to do something more."

Slowly, yet surely, the target did in fact become clear: It was the entire area around them. Her utilization of her magic grew more and more abstract by the second, the woman taking full advantage of the fact that her mind was not quite grounded in reality. For a moment, the room grew ever-so-slightly darkened, snuffing out the unnaturally generated lights within the room, leaving nothing but the light of the outdoors.

"I wish to steal light from the world itself."

She held the glyph in place, which was now glowing even brighter than before. It wasn't too clear what she intended to do with it, but maybe she herself was trying to come up with something.
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[19:18] Light from the world itself? It seemed grandiose enough of a goal for a witch but... Blake themselves wasn't sure if it was something they could necessarily help with. And so a simple hum was given. As both armsd riped to the side.

"Not sure how that'd work but. I'm sure you'll find a way."

A yawn then came. Evidence that Blake wasn't exactly sure what more they could give as far as input. Without being able to use occult magic themselves any logner... they were stuck simply giving outsider advice.
(Blake Augustus)
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[19:28] Lemuria saw it.

She figured it out.

The glyph she held before her stabilized mana, both occult and otherwise. It contained power as it went in, held it, and stabilized it as it left. And so, she focused raw negative intent within her palm, compressing it into as small an area as she could. She flooded the small orb with a tremendous amount of mana, and with one final pulse of mana, launched it into the glyph.

The glyph did what it was supposed to: Stabilize the mana, and cause it to flow. And it flowed in the forth of a beam.

Its destructive power was something to behold; were anything in its way, it would certainly be vaporized. The beam absorbed the light around it, too, causing the area to ever-so-slightly darken. Luckily, it dissipated before it could hit the wall, but it was, at the very least, a proof of concept.

"I already have."

A close friend of hers that died once said that, should she focus her passion for art into combat instead, he shuddered to think what would happen.

Maybe it was time for her to shift her focus.

Maybe it was time for her to produce her own art once more, instead of inspiring others to.

"They stole darkness from my students, so I will steal that same light from them. That is what I resolve."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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