Dark Beginning

[17:52] The silvery hues of the noble trace the movements of the woman as she sat down, just a bit further down the bench. There had been a question or three on her mind lately, and perhaps it was time she gained the answers to them...

Among other things.

Faint wisps of shadow trailing her movements she slides closer, a conversation to at least partially be had here, quietly of course.
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[17:52] Alyssa cos D'Arnette whispers: Hello.
[17:52] Lemuria Augustus whispers: Greetings.
[17:53] Alkaid held up three fingers in front of her with a great big smile, as she closed her left eye.

"Three Years time, promise Alkaid- Promise to show Alkaid Mr. Elijah's full strength!?" Alkaid spoke in a playful, yet weirdly confrontational tone now-
(Alkaid Miro)
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[17:53] Alyssa cos D'Arnette whispers: Would you mind indulging me in a conversation, likely best had somewhere other than here..? It's about what I would assume to be your.... specialty.
[17:53] Lemuria Augustus whispers: Follow me, then!
[17:54] Lemuria Augustus whispers: I am always happy to offer my services to others.
[18:02] She followed the Moonfall woman to what she would assume to be her home, she would gracefully take her place across from her.

It could likely be assumed that she wouldn't have taken her here if she were unable to speak freely, given that was the point of the move, so she speaks.

"Hm.. This isn't quite the conversation I ever thought I would have, but.." Strange things happened, and one couldn't predict the future. "I heard your voice in the base, wherever it is, and judging by context you weren't blindfolded.

I remember when you came to Osrona, and you were cleared from Moonfall to stay here by Robin.." It wasn't an accusation of anything, just the noblewoman explaining her reasonings. "It wasn't long after Blake appeared.. and started showing her signs of Occultism. I wasn't made a Captain of the Watch for being imperceptive, she vehemently defended you, but you passed the test."

A smile crossing her features as she leans forward, onto her hands, her eyes telling the rest of the story before the words even escaped pink lips. "Though that doesn't mean you don't have Occultism... does it..?"

She had figured this would be the best place to start this, so she would wait for a response.
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[18:07] Lemuria's expression remained unchanging throughout this, giving no clues as to what was actually on her mind. She was a master actress after all, and she gave off no hints as to what was actually on her mind. But, the question she asked would, hopefully, say all Alyssa would need to hear:

"I cannot guarantee that I will give you an honest answer until you ask a question that shows you can be trusted."

Lemuria did see Alyssa in the base, so she knew there was something worth trusting within the other woman, but she just needed to be sure.

"Or if you say something as incriminating as my answer would be. The choice is yours."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:14] She wasn't honestly sure how she would be taken, her approach had been a rather bold one, but this certainly wasn't the worst outcome.

The fact that the woman gave nothing away by way of a reaction, was in and of itself a testament as to why even when being tested by a Holy Magi she was able to remain hidden.

Though her final statement was more than enough of an answer really.

A moment or two taken to ponder exactly what would the woman want in terms of an answer..? "If my brother had persisted in his goals of usurping my title instead of fleeing the country I would have assassinated him..." Implying of course, what she was also trained to be.

"Or if that doesn't suffice, that I am planning to maim or kill a Knight to earn my way into Cameo's trust." In this city that was certainly enough to get her executed by Eustace's standards.

It was part of the reasons she was trying to do what she was.

"Do either of those suffice..?"
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[18:19] That was indeed good enough. Lemuria rose her hand up, as an occult flame burst forth from her hand, surrounding her entire arm. It radiated a feeling that, while not exactly hot in the way normal flames were, could obviously be discerned to be no less destructive.

"One with a connection to the occult as deep as my own can avoid a check by anyone without a similarly deep connection to holy. That is why I had Marisol check me, not Erika."

Lemuria didn't know for a fact that Marisol had a weaker connection, but it was a gambit that paid off. The occult mana within her arm quickly dissipated, as to prevent anyone who may incidentally walk in from seeing her true nature.

"Now then, why did you desire such information?"
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:29] She hadn't seen Occult magic up close since she was fourteen, when she had seen Salvation fight Elijah in the Pelleaux manor in the attack.

The attack her own father had helped orchestrate, as well as the gala itself.. Gerald cos D'Arnette had always been a master of a plotter, and he had raised his heir well.

Silver hues staring at those flames, her hunch being proven entirely right before the extinguished.

"Hm.. Now it makes sense." She had took the chance rather than the absolute, and it had worked, otherwise they certainly wouldn't be having this conversation.

Though before she would respond to what the woman had to say she would hold her own hand forward, umbral energies flowing from it like black mist.

It only gave off the faintest sense of what an Occult Magi was capable of when wielding their dark art. "I taught myself shadow magic as a girl by watching an Occultist wield it, then replicating it with my illusion magic.. Though as you can see, it's lacking." The energies fade. "Though of course it was a bit like staring into the abyss, what I did."

Her arms roll up her sleeves, revealing runic bindings, writhing shadows seemingly locked in place by them. It was then the Occultist would be able to feel what rolled from those dark markings, hate, bloodlust, a desire to wreak havoc for the sake of it.

A monster on a chain.

"When Moonfall first.. made it's more public appearance.. it became known that some of those who bear magic like your own had abilities beyond even those you have displayed now.

Both the Occultism, and the latter are what I seek." All things to help her bring the Order to it's knees one day, as well as better fulfill a few promises to others.
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[18:35] "You do realize what you are asking, correct?"

Lemuria was in disbelief. For someone to be so straightforward about asking for such forbidden knowledge was unheard of for her. She figured this was something the other woman had been thinking about for quite some time, but even then... asking someone straight up?

She had some nerve to do that-...

Nerve that Lemuria very much appreciated.

And because she appreciated that nerve, Lemuria responded in turn. Holding her left hand up, a black pentagram faded into view on her hand, revealing that she was, in every way, shape, and form, exactly what Alyssa was looking for.

"My only question is what you would do with such powers. What do you want? What ambitions do you hold that would fuel such power? Because those... are crucial. They are crucial to all of this. One must go beyond staring into the abyss to become what I am. Far, far beyond."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:47] It had always been her best and worst trait, her father had described his daughter as a hammer forced into the shape of a dagger.

Though it seems it worked at least.. or allowed her to keep the woman's attention for the moment. The black markings a sure sign her own gambit had paid off, but she had some rather important questions to answer. "Yes, I am well aware of what I ask..." It wasn't something she had lightly considered either.

"This could perhaps be getting off-topic a tad, but I think it will help illustrate my point in the end." Her arms coming forward to rest on the wooden surface. "The D'Arnette's weren't made nobility for being 'White Knights', like most noble families would have you believe."

"My ancestor became known for doing what others were afraid to do, unwilling to do, no matter how bad it was.. all in the name of what he thought was best for his Kingdom." Those silver hues peering deeply into those of the confirmed Witch. "The Order murdered my father-in-law, murders children, and they have the nerve to call others monsters when they are worse than most." A bitter tone entering her voice.

"I want to be everything they hate, and everything they fear.. I will use them to bring Elijah, Eustace, and the rest of their 'we're innocents' group to the dirt.. and show them that the worst monsters are the ones they create themselves." Or unleash, more in her case.
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[19:04] Now this...

This is the shit that got her going.

Lemuria lowered her head down to hide the smile she had on her face. The wide, genuine smile that one only gives when one is excited over something- when everything went right. And then...

She started giggling.

"Keh... heheheh... that is perfect. Someone with such history with the Order, wanting to be what I am? Is that not wonderful? Heheheheh..."

The giggle grew in intensity, and quickly took on a far more sinister tone. She couldn't say more than a few words without giggling, going to show just how happy the witch was.

"My... hehe... oh my. How deep your hatred for them must burn! Hahahaha...! How far down must it reach into your mind! How much... hahaha... it must have stained your spirit!!!"

And then... the giggle broke out into a crazed, maniacal laugh.

"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!Hah... hahaha... KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

The laughing finally ceased, but Lemuria was no less excited about this development, which was very much reflected in her voice. It was filled with enthusiasm, nay, jubilance!

"I will be more than happy to help you become what they hate, Alyssa! Why, for someone like you, you are but a stone's throw away from being that already! That hatred, that resentment, that bitterness... occultism will be that which your soul uses to sing the song of those feelings to the world! The story you wrote from your heart! The picture you paint in the blood of those who dared do this to you, your family, and your city! No... the world!."

And, finally, she managed to calm down, her expression becoming something strangely... playful, and her voice oddly melodic.

"You have yourself a teacher...~"
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[19:08] Now this...

This is the shit that got her going.

Lemuria lowered her head down to hide the smile she had on her face. The wide, genuine smile that one only gives when one is excited over something- when everything went right. And then...

She started giggling.

"Keh... heheheh... that is perfect. Someone with such history with the Order, wanting to be what I am? Is that not wonderful? Heheheheh..."

The giggle grew in intensity, and quickly took on a far more sinister tone. She couldn't say more than a few words without giggling, going to show just how happy the witch was.

"My... hehe... oh my. How deep your hatred for them must burn! Hahahaha...! How far down must it reach into your mind! How much... hahaha... it must have stained your spirit!!!"

And then... the giggle broke out into a crazed, maniacal laugh.

"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!Hah... hahaha... KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

The laughing finally ceased, but Lemuria was no less excited about this development, which was very much reflected in her voice. It was filled with enthusiasm, nay, jubilance!

"I will be more than happy to help you become what they hate, Alyssa! Why, for someone like you, you are but a stone's throw away from being that already! That hatred, that resentment, that bitterness... occultism will be that which your soul uses to sing the song of those feelings to the world! The story you wrote from your heart! The picture you paint in the blood of those who dared do this to you, your family, and your city! No... the world!"

And, finally, she managed to calm down, her expression becoming something strangely... playful, and her voice oddly melodic.

"You have yourself a teacher...~"
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[19:18] It was all out there now, if she didn't have enough dirt to hang her before... she certainly did now. Though it was a mutually assured destruction at this point, silver orbs gauging her reaction before she begins to laugh.

Within some part of her mind it made sense, that the Witch would find it so amusing, given her ancestor had been in the Order, although he had been removed to do the dirty work of the Grimmore's before they became nobility.

Her own smile widened a bit, curling one side further than the other, but laughter was something that didn't come exactly easy these days. Though her words were all but true, she spent so long repressing all of her hate and rage that it had literally fractured her mind in two.

The chained one, and then Alyssa.

She had assumed she was on the border of Occultism already, just by the little she knew.. but she had gotten what she came for.. and that was what mattered.

The final words of the witch making her smile widen even more, it almost even seemed happy, though the thought of breaking their veil of safety was one of the few things that could inspire such an emotion now. "I am glad to hear you say those words, I had little hope of actual success here if I am being honest, or of it playing out as it has."

"What does this begin with..?" A pale brow raised. If she were close already.. surely it wouldn't take much of a shove with guidance.


(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[19:26] "Occultism is a magic heavily centered around one's mindset. In theory, you could shift any kind of magic you know into becoming occult if you change your perspective. Such is the nature of arcane magic; it is based on your perception of the world, and how you interface with it."

"A holy magi is one who gazes at the circle of life and sees the world. An occultist is one who gazes at the circle of life and sees a mirror. It is the magic of chaos, destruction, revenge, progress, and the self."

"You must focus on your world, your desires, and see everything as something you can take. The point of magic is to make people happy and to manifest your imagination into reality..."

A strangely bright and cheery perspective for someone as immersed into the occult as her.

"...and so your imagination must be based on a combination of the above things. Preferably all of them. You must leap into the abyss you spoke of, and seeit as part of you."

"That is the philosophy of the occult in a nutshell. It is a philosophy you must assume and live out in order to truly manifest occultism, especially higher levels of it."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[19:33] She had mastered one of the hardest marital arts techniques known, the training alone possibly lethal, surely she could handle this as well.. listening as Lemuria spoke.

"I see.." The notion of leaping into that abyss was what she had been expecting, but was unsure if she was prepared for it. She did in fact see it as part of herself, but not a part she accepted, in the sense that those runes existed to prevent that very thing from happening. "So by doing this, accepting this, focusing all of those feelings and desires.. it will just happen..? Not too far from illusion magic in practice really.. just in method." Which was probably another plus for her, and why her other magic allowed her to copy Salvation.

She looks towards her arms, at the markings there before she resumes. "I suppose it would be time to break these then."
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[19:37] Lemuria Augustus asks, "What purpose do those serve...?"
[19:38] Alyssa cos D'Arnette says, "I explained a bit earlier.. at least a little.. all of those desires you feel from me..? The hate, anger,.. all of it. Using shadow the way I have... among other things.. split me somewhere on the inside. To use my full strength I had to find a way to control, and bind the other part of myself where I could draw from it."
[19:40] Lemuria Augustus says, "I see..."
[19:41] Lemuria Augustus asks, "What do you think will happen when you break them?"
[19:42] Alyssa cos D'Arnette says, "Every other time that aspect of myself resurfaced..? Before the bindings..? I injured my wife once, and a friend the next.. Though I was eventually subdued either occasion."
[19:43] Alyssa cos D'Arnette says, "I suppose that's another reason why I'm here, you could help me... hm.. cope with that yes..? I believe I can pull myself together, but I don't know exactly who I will be afterwards."
[19:44] Lemuria Augustus exclaims, "I see...!"
[19:48] Lemuria... wasn't quite sure what to expect. A slight sense of danger welled up within her, but it was just that- slight. It was quickly overcome by excitement for what she was about to see, so she sat down, crossed her legs, and offered one final comment before waiting intently for what was about to happen.

"I suppose I will have to give the new you a hug if you feel ashamed of it or something."

It was not very clear how serious she was being.
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[20:00] She took her words, as amusing as they may be, as the sign she should go ahead.

It had been quite the task to get them on her in the first place, she had impaled Robin's mana circuitry with her shadow claw before she had finally been subdued and the bindings finished.

She had spent years mitigating the effects of her Shadow magic, learning to control it, failing, binding it, but still struggling to resist the urges that came along.

If she wanted to complete her goals she could do that no longer. A glance around, she had no way of breaking the runes magically, but she did have a way of physically doing it.

She wouldn't have to break them all, they stretched all the way across her chest where the two sides met.. the arms should be enough. This would get bloody.. without a word as to what she was doing she rises from the chair to grab a wide container from somewhere, placing it on the table as she stood over it.

"You better make it a tight hug.." A sly remark before her mana flowed into her hands, enhancing her fingernails as she often did her fists, raking them down either arm to shatter the runes by tearing her flesh.

She inhaled sharply, a soft cry escaping as blood flowed freely into the container.

For a moment there was nothing, and to Lemuria it may have appeared as if she had been lying about what the runes did.. and then it struck. Those shadows free, crawling up her flesh, to wrap her fingers and creep up her neck and jaw to frame her face in a delicate pattern.

The room around her was filled with an ocean of hate, a mountain of rage, and a purging wind of raw lethal intent. Perhaps this was why the Kageken came to her better than most..

The struggle was evident, an instinctive reaction to make her want to reassert control.. but if nothing else the Witch certainly wouldn't be doubting her words.
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[20:36] An ocean of hate, a mountain of rage, a purging wind of raw lethal intent...

This was the kind of environment in which Lemuria thrived. It was the kind of environment in which every witch thrived. And so, Lemuria's first word upon seeing this unfold was...

"Thrive."

Lemuria stood up, cloaking herself in an occult aura, and spread her arms out wide, allowing the negative feelings to completely engulf her own body. She seemed to be relaxed and at peace, which was rather strange given the circumstances, but...

She was just leading by example.

"Alyssa, the only way in which it can truly control you is if you try to separate it from yourself. Otherwise... it is just you. All of it is. Those feelings, those desires... Live in it. Thrive in it."

Lemuria's eyes glowed a spectral, eerie blue, as she gazed directly into Alyssa's eyes- a gaze that reached down directly into her spirit.

"Accept it."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[20:58] She had retreated back into her own mind, reality was as if she were watching from a window, the struggle with her other half much harder than any physical one would have been.

Though the words of the Witch reach her, albeit like a faint echo more than anything else. Though she was forced to realize, that Lemuria was right.. she had done all she could to avoid this part of herself.. and then enslave it.

It was why she could never feel whole, because she wasn't.

The pale blues of the Witch's eyes pours into her own, and it was as if she could feel her watching their struggle.. could she actually see it now..? The overwhelming darkness of herself, trying to drown her.. but it was then she realized as the woman spoke those final two words.

It hadn't been trying to drown her at all.. it had been telling her to breathe.. She inhaled, both physically and in the mindscape she had seemingly forged for herself.

The darkness took it's chance, it poured into her, an impossible flood of years of locked away negative emotions.. all of those things felt being embraced.

Like watching a wound rapidly knit itself back together, slowly, her mind and spirit both it would seem began to join together.

Though it wasn't the same as it would've been, a corrupt blackness spreading throughout her being, as shadow marked on the inside now as in as those potent desires crawled through every shred of her.

It was agony.

It was pain.

But it was beautiful.

To be unchained.

She had nearly fallen unconscious, but slowly she seemed to drift back.. back into the house of the Witch. Everything was different, despite seeing it moments before. She blinked.

She felt light on the inside, as if so many burdens had been lifted, as if she had truly been freed.

Though it was all there, a part of her wanting even now to do what she had been trained to do and attempt to kill Lemuria where she stood, but she refrained. A bit of her self-control clearly remaining as she stood in her stunned stupor, not speaking for a time, and even when her mouth opened it wasn't words that emerged first.

It was a laugh.

It wasn't a soft one, it was the laughter of one who had just realized that for years they had done naught but play cruel games with themselves when this had always been just around the corner.

Her arms were still pouring blood.. likely some of it onto the table and floor by now during her episode.. but it couldn't be helped.

The laughter slowly dying, pale silvers, now with another kind of light behind them regard the Witch.. she had already helped her more than any of her previous attempts alone or with help.

"Is this... what it could have been all along..? Or would it have had to all happen the same way to feel this now..?"
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[21:12] A wave was shot in Alita's direction, but that was it. For now, Lemuria had more pressing matters to attend to. For today... she witnessed something amazing.

She stood up, passing a towel and some bandages in Alyssa's direction.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, illusions to illusions, and darkness to darkness. That is not what you could have been all along. What you have been doing up until now... is denying yourself. You were born with this aspect of yourself. It grew along with you. And up until now, you have been doing naught but denying it."

"But this end was inevitable, in some way. It would have engulfed you, and you would have engulfed it. The only difference is... whether or not you were engulfed by an ally or an enemy."

"That is the only difference that can exist, in the end. To be engulfed by an enemy- a predator- is to be consumed. But to be engulfed in an ally is a warm embrace. Every ally can become an enemy if you close your heart to them, and any enemy can become an ally if you open your heart to them."

"But to accept that this does not hurt you- that this only wants to help you, to protect you, and to keep you safe... it grants you far greater power than training ever could. For mastering yourself is more powerful than mastering any magic."

"And all it takes to truly master yourself..."

Lemuria smirked. It was a smirk that said a thousand things at once, while simultaneously stating nothing at all.

Instead, every potential meaning of her smirk was conveyed in her last sentence, and from here on, it was up to Alyssa- and possibly Alita, too- to interpret it as she wished.

"...is to open your heart to darkness."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[21:22] Her body still somehow felt so light, her reach for the bandages overshot, barely snagging them she begins to try and stop the bleeding of her arms.

She heard the words Lemuria spoke, but they were as much nonsense as genius.

Those shadows across her skin hadn't faded in the slightest, still framing her body like an artists masterpiece on flesh.

By the time she finished, she was already rapidly wrapping the bandages around her arms, they would hold long enough for her to get home and treat them better.

She had been a Shadow magi for most of her life, but it wasn't the same as what she felt now. Her thoughts feel more free, a curled smirk on graceful features. Her next words spoken with the imagined tone of the cat that caught the canary. "I don't think there is even a door anymore.."

Though the smirk the Witch bore conveyed little if anything real at all, and she was unsure where she should go from here.. so for a moment she busies herself making sure the bandages are tied properly

She needed to experience the world as she could see it now, as she couldn't before..
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)
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[21:31] The occult aura surrounding her own body faded, the color of her eyes returning to normal. She inhaled deeply, calming both her nerves and the occult influences around her, so she could speak in a much more normal manner, rather than waxing on an off about how amazing darkness was to her.

She spoke, as if she read Alyssa's thoughts (she didn't, but it was a similar enough train of thought).

"Yes... and now you must experience the world with your newfound perspective."

"Occult magic is not something that can manifest in short bursts- it must become a way of life. And... who knows. Maybe your old magic will transform into it once you finally immerse yourself in it."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[21:40] Finishing the last, her eyes shift back to Lemuria as she spoke again.. nearly reading her mind it would seem.. could she actually do that..?.. She doubted it but.. that was basically spot on.

"Should I come back once that's been done then..? Once I've had time to... adjust..?" If that could even be considered the proper word. Though her final statement made sense. "I did learn it from copying Salvation those years ago.. it would only make sense that it changes to the real thing."

She doesn't sit again, instead she looks down at the container.. she had bled quite a bit.
(Alyssa cos D'Arnette)