A Tyrant's End (For jasmac)

[Archangel99]

"Mm... Alright..." He disappears into the library stack for a while before coming back with two books. He sets them both down in front of her. The first is a red book titled "A Comprehensive History of the Polearms", and the second is a blue book titled "The Pursuit of Power: A History of Mage Sceptres".

"Well... Umm... This is yours..." He murmurs, pushing the red book towards her.

 

[jasmac]

"Thanks a million." Sadie says, taking the book and settling down to read as she opens up to the first page.

 

[Archangel99]

As expected, the book is rather dry and boring, describing in detail the processes of forging a polearm, the different kinds, their upsides and downsides when used in combat, their origins, and much more.

 

[jasmac]

It is what it is, and Sadie yawns. At the very least, she's gotten the batboy to come out of his shell just enough to ask her to stay.

 

[Archangel99]

Matthias seems to be completely absorbed in his book, his black eyes wide with interest as they rove over the pages, seeking to extract the knowledge within them. His right hand is holding a fountain pen, with which he's busily scratching notes down on a spare sheet of paper.

 

[jasmac]

Sadie figures she should probably do the same. Trying not to distract Matthias from his engrossing read, she roots around for a pen and paper and skims the book a little bit faster.

 

[Archangel99]

Master Tevoran comes around after a while, and sits adjacent to them at the circular table. "Hello there kids. Need any help?" He asks.

 

[jasmac]

"Yeah. Staying awake." She yawns, before smiling at the master for his offer. "Nothing comes to mind, unless there are any really interesting stories about the origin of the halberd or polearms in general that this book forgets to mention."

 

[Archangel99]

He lets out a light chuckle. "Well, yes, there is, when it comes to the halberd. Rumours say that the first one was modelled after the claw of a dragon slayed by the adventurer Kiora. She had the idea of tying the claw to a long, hard stick, which granted her more range." He says, tilting his head slightly.

 

[jasmac]

"There we go, that's pretty neat. There isn't any great descendant of Kiora I should know about who's still kicking it in our very own classroom, right?" She raises a skeptical eyebrow.

 

[Archangel99]

"Ha! No... No there isn't. Her line lives in an entirely different area." Tevoran says, chuckling.

 

[jasmac]

Sadie's still grinning ear to ear with the friendly ministrations of the crow, and she turns to Matthias to check on him. "What about you? Any good scepter stories to tell or questions to ask?"

 

[Archangel99]

"Uhh... Most of this history is really bloody... And you don't really look like the kind of person who would want to hear it..." He murmurs, flicking a page.

 

[jasmac]

"Well, that's often the olden days for you. Go on, a little historical horror might just perk me back up." Sadie sets her chin in her hands, watching Matthias expectantly.

 

[Archangel99]

"Well... You asked for it." He clears his throat and begins to explain. "So... Apparently the very first mage sceptre was created by a demon, for a man who had successfully summoned him, and had asked for magical power in return. Buuuut... There was a drawback. The man started losing his mind, and physically mutating. This was in direct proportion to his increase in power. Meaning, the more mutated and psychotic he got, the stronger he got. Finally, it took an entire team of highly trained warriors to take down the monster... Oh. Picture. Shit. That's freaky..." He mutters, holding up the book. She sees a picture of a large, misshapen beast, with manic red eyes, long, matted hair, enlarged, heavily muscled limbs, and a massive trunk, with thick, trunk like legs that ended in dragon feet.

 

[jasmac]

"Blech. Demon summons. A fine linchpin for shit hitting the fan." Sadie sticks her tongue out in disgust at the mutated creature, but she's interested as well. "That's the thing, isn't it? Is there anytime anyone ever summoned a demon and it didn't ruin their lives? No nice or iconic demon and summoner duos through history? Just the whole 'madness and suffering' thing forever and always?" She looks to Tevoran.

 

[Archangel99]

"So far... Nope. There was one case where a man summoned a succubus and fell in love with her, but she... Uh... She ate him when he pissed her off." Tevoran says with a shrug. "Although I do believe that there may be good demons as well. Who knows." He shrugs.

 

[jasmac]

The idea of a summoning a demon both frightens, but deeply intrigues Sadie, and she chuckles nervously at the story. She keeps quiet about it for now, but promises to herself that she'll try to scrounge up a book on the topic next time she has the chance to get up. "I mean, maybe I'd be pretty pissed too if someone woke me up out of the gates of hell just to ask for a favor. Anyways, what exactly does the homework encompass? Writing a report? Presentation?"

 

[Archangel99]

"Just a report will be fine." He says, waving his hand. "And, Sadie, I can see that look in your eyes. You want to try it, don't you?" He asks, fixing her with a level gaze.

 

[jasmac]

"No!" Sadie sputters, caught helplessly redhanded. "But if I did, I wouldn't want it badly enough to even think of trying it. You saw the mutated beast in the book. That stuff's nuts!" She says in her defense, tapping the disturbed image again with her twitchy index finger.

 

[Archangel99]

"Your overreaction speaks volumes, my dear." Is all Tevoran says, shaking his head.

 

[jasmac]

"It's a pretty wild accusation is all I'm saying, and an even wilder thing to do!"

 

[Archangel99]

"Don't bother trying to cover it up, my dear. Curiosity is good... But not when it goes too far." He says, shaking his head.

 

[jasmac]

"Yeah, I know." Sadie sighs, ears flopping as she hangs her head. "I just like the thought of not all demons being bad, and being the first to befriend one. It's like you said, the most us bunnies ever did was invent hopscotch... some icon there, Fleetwood the Wise. It's a stupid idea, I'm out of it already." She assures them.

 

[Archangel99]

He reaches over and pats her shoulder. "Big things always start from little things." Tevoran says with a smile. "For all we know, you might be the next greatest warrior!"

 

[jasmac]

Sadie smiles, letting a laugh slip out at the thought of herself in a history book. "Yeah, I guess they really do. Thanks for the pep talk, but I don't really see a four foot something bunny girl changing the world today as we know it."

 

[Archangel99]

"Kiora was about the same size as you were." He says with a little smile.

 

[jasmac]

Sadie perks up with a smile, already donning a happier attitude with his comforting words. "Wait... really? Thank you, Master Tevoran, for telling me all of this. It means a lot." She bows her head again, this time in respect rather than dourness.

 

[Archangel99]

"And she was extremely quick, both in physically and mentally." He adds absentmindedly.

 

[jasmac]

She sighs again, hanging her head in fake disappointment. "Guess I've got some catching up to do, huh?" Sadie says with a dry chuckle, opening up her book again as she vows to invest herself into the research this time. "Not to cut you off, Master Tevoran, but that starts with me studying for real this time."