Pre-Story Notes:
I really need to put more time aside to work on this story, damn it...
Chapter 10 - Awakening
Stepping out of his room rather early compared to usual with a stretch, Jophiel hadn't been expecting to be roughly shoved back into said room by a familiar little blonde first thing in the morning.
Jophiel blinked as his ward shut the door behind her, a little harder than was strictly necessary. "W-whoa, Louise? What's-"
"I have to tell someone. I have to talk to someone about this," the scion of the le Blanc family began, almost muttering entirely to herself. "I can't just keep this bottled up, it's getting to me, I need to-"
Jophiel reached out and took a hold of the girl's shoulders, which seemed to break her out of whatever trance she'd been caught in. "Louise, calm down, I'm here, you can talk to me, right?"
She blinked up her him, her breath coming short and fast. "...R-right…" She took a breath and paused for a moment.
"Okay, so what is it, Louise? What's got you so worked up?" He asked, giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze before letting go.
After a beat, she made her way to the desk the academy had provided for every room, pulling the chair out and seating herself with another deep breath.
Clearly, this was bothering her significantly, whatever it was.
Jophiel moved to the wall next to the desk, and leaned against it, crossing his arms as he did so to wait for her to work up the will to spill the beans.
A good minute passed with a few false starts before she seemed to find said will.
"...I'm only coming to you with this because… you are not of Halkegenia, and you are unlikely to take these words as the… blasphemy any good Aesirvanirist would." She began shakily, her entire body going as tense as a suspension bridge cable as she did so.
Jophiel nodded seriously, choosing to keep his mouth shut in regards to as what specifically 'Aesirvanir' meant. Context made it pretty clear that was the name of their religion, at any rate.
"I…" She exhaled, clearly finding it very difficult to let the words out. "I've been having dreams- no, visions ever since I summoned you. Visions of… of the Founder Brimir, of the war against the Varyag. Of his great Familiars… of Void magic."
...He probably should have been taken aback or something, but… "Void magic?" He asked.
Louise looked up at him emotionlessly for a moment, then facepalmed with a small groan. "I still haven't told you… gods, how negligent a master can I be…" Jophiel was about to reassure her otherwise when she cut him off. "Void is the magic of the Founder Brimir. It exists outside of the elemental paradigm which contains Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire magic. Void relates to the manipulation of time and space, altering the very fabric of reality, the perfect commune with the Aesirvanir and symbol of a pure, holy heart."
She took a breath,
"The Aesirvanir are the Gods. Presided over by the Allfather, they grant us our-"
"Allfather?" Jophiel cut in, recognizing the term immediately. "You mean Odin?"
Louise looked annoyed initially, then her expression became unreadable at his question and she was silent. Regarding him wordlessly for a moment and speaking up just as he began to think he'd pissed her off.
"...Tell me of this 'Odin,'" she said.
Jophiel was mildly surprised, then figured 'Allfather' must have been a translation mix-up if she didn't recognize the proper name of the Norse king of the gods.
But still, she wanted to know, and so he leaned back and shut his eyes as he recalled what he could off the top of his head. "The Allfather Odin is the one-eyed god, creator of all things, wielder of the spear Gungnir. He rules from Asgard, the realm of the gods upon a branch of Yggdrasil, the world tree which bears all the worlds of creation, including the world of man, Midgard; the world of elves, Alfheim; and the world of the honoured dead, Valhalla."
Jophiel took a breath and finished.
"That's what I can recall off the top of my head, at any rate. Norse mythology is-" when he opened his eyes he was cut off by the open-mouthed stare Louise was giving him.
Eventually, her mouth slowly closed as she somehow went even stiffer than before, her eyes as wide as saucers as she regarded Jophiel with open shock.
"...You're a Markey…" She eventually breathed, voice dripping with awe.
He cocked an eyebrow at her, then shook his head when he recalled that they were going off-topic. "Okay, okay, back to the point. Something is bothering you, what is it?"
She remained still for a moment before finally nodding and continuing on, seeming to have to tear her eyes from his visage. "I- yes, well… to get to the point… I've been having visions of the Founder himself casting Void magic, and these dreams feel real. As real as this conversation we are having right now. I can feel the cold wind biting my rain-soaked flesh, mud soaking through my heavy boots, the screams of the debased dead piercing my ears…"
She took a shaky breath as if calming and disconnecting herself from a traumatic memory.
"I was the Founder himself in those visions. And when I woke from them, for a few fleeting moments… I was still him before I... returned to myself. I was casting Void magic. I understood the antediluvian words, the eldritch tones… I… I know how to cast Void magic. I'm certain of it, but…"
She looked up at him, her large violet eyes beginning to shimmer.
"Such claims are blasphemy of the highest order. I might as well be asserting that I am Brimir himself reborn. I… I am afraid, Jophiel…"
The Canadian regarded the girl quietly for a moment. He understood the cultural significance of religion in pre-modern people, how this would basically be like some random noble girl claiming to be Jesus Christ reborn in an age where doing so would, at best, earn said girl scorn from all, and at worst… perhaps even torture.
But Alfheim wasn't Earth. Magic was real there, a fact of daily life. Jophiel himself had arrived in this world by being summoned through dimensions, across space and time-
He stopped. Space and time. The things which Void magic presided over…
Taking a breath, Jophiel had one thought playing in his mind which he couldn't dispel. This was a fantasy world, that much was clear. And while attempting to look to fantasy tropes for guidance was a damned foolish thing to do at best, right then and there…
This situation had 'chosen one' written all over it.
"Have you cast any Void spells since learning them?" He asked simply.
"N-n-no!" She asserted as she stood from her seat with a start. "T-to even attempt to do so would be blasphemous in the extreme-"
Jophiel pushed himself off the wall, stepped to the girl and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders again, earning a shuddering gasp from her.
"Louise," he began seriously. "Sitting around, silently worrying and crying about maybes and what-ifs is useless. A waste of your time and everyone else's. Your magic has never worked, right? You have it, you know you do. My presence here is undeniable evidence of that. Maybe the reason it hasn't worked is that you've been trying to call upon the elements when you have an entirely different power compared to your peers."
He smiled gently at the girl.
"After all, the first time you successfully cast a spell, it was one which worked by pulling me here across time and space, no?"
She had looked conflicted until his closing question, at which point her skin lost much of its colour and she started trembling.
"...M-m-mages summon familiars from o-our own world… from regions, both explored and beyond the reach of man. B-but I… b-b-but you… I summoned a Markey, from another realm of creation…"
She took a deep, shuddering breath.
"I called upon you with Void magic…" she reached up and took a hold of his left hand with her dainty fingers, gently removing it from her shoulder and bringing it before her, holding it gently as she stared down upon the runes branded into his flesh. "You… you are one of the Four…" she all but whimpered her next words. "You are the forgotten Shield, the unsung Left Hand of God. The Gandalfr. You are a Void Familiar."
Her grip on his hand became vice-like.
"I am a Void Mage."
He had no idea what she was talking about, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that these were very important things she was referring to. And he felt his own heart begin to go a mile a minute once she attributed such titles to him.
But he'd been in stressful situations before. A lifetime of hardships had taught him how to temper his emotions and control himself unless he was pressed beyond his breaking point. He would remain calm, for himself, and for Louise.
"You may be a Void Mage," he corrected her. "We won't know for certain until you actually try to cast a Void spell-"
"W-w-what!? N-no! I-I can't- I won't-! Y-you don't know what you are suggesting!" She asserted as she attempted to step back away from Jophiel, releasing his hand as she did so.
He retained his grip on her shoulder and pulled her back in, though.
"Louise," he began, his tone firm. "Worrying and panicking about what may be nothing at all serves no purpose whatsoever. This can be confirmed or denied with but one action. You casting a Void spell. If it doesn't work, then we'll know your 'visions' were just dreams, and you need not concern yourself with them ever again. If it does work…"
He took a steadying breath before continuing in a much softer voice.
"Then we know that you're special after all. I'll be there, it'll just be the two of us, and if it doesn't work I'll repent with you or whatever else your religion will demand of you for thinking you were blessed by the gods in such a way. I promise, okay?"
She looked more conflicted than Jophiel thought possible, jittering in place, her eyes whipping to and fro as a dozen different emotions waged war across her face, sputtering random words as she was clearly struggling to process everything.
"Louise..." He had an idea and pulled her into a gentle hug which seemed to surprise her into stillness. "You asked me earlier how you could make it up to me, taking me from my home, right?"
She'd gone as stiff as a board, and Jophiel knew that he'd just stuck his thumb in a sore spot, but…
She wordlessly nodded into his chest.
"Try to cast a Void spell for me. That's it. Do that, and I swear upon everything I hold dear, all things my people have ever considered to be sacred, that you will owe me no debt and I will be content."
She was still and silent for a time, breathing into his chest with her arms pulled up to her chest.
"...Truly?" She eventually asked.
"I swear," he asserted as he gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I will judge you for nothing and support you through everything. You have my word."
Eventually, almost imperceptibly, she nodded before bringing her arms out and wrapping them around his waist, hugging him back quite tightly herself.
He continued to hold her for a time after that, figuring that the girl could do with some comforting before they got to business.
"It's a good thing we got up so early," Jophiel stated as the pair stepped out into the orange-tinted courtyard. "The magelights are still lit up, and there's nobody around to witness this…"
He had a lot of questions about a lot of things, but this took priority over figuring out what a 'Left Hand of God' or 'Markey' was or what that meant for him.
"...Y-yeah…" Louise warily replied as her eyes snapped to the exterior of the main building, looking for any signs of life as she nervously played with her wand.
He placed a hand on her shoulder again. "Okay, come now, there's nobody else out here. If you're gonna try this 'Dispel,' this is the best time for it. The magelight will shut off, the staff will think nothing of it, and we'll know for sure that you're a Void Mage… or that you've been worrying over nothing at all."
She nodded haltingly. "I-I know, I just…" she shook her head. "Okay, okay okay okay, just… just do this here and now, and this will all be over and done with…" she said to herself.
This was really getting to her.
"I'll be right here, don't worry about it, okay?" He declared as he stepped to just in front and to the left of her. "There, target that lamppost. Just get it over and done with, and we'll know for sure either way."
She stared at the magical lamppost, clutching at her wand worryingly for a moment before nodding her head. "Okay, right… okay… here goes nothing," she said as she stepped back into a well-practised spellcasting stance, wand held aloft and pointed towards the post.
Jophiel couldn't help but note how beautifully statuesque Louise looked when she was concentrated and determined such as right then. She'd make an amazing model for an actual statue- or anything for that matter, really. That fierce, piercing gaze was the kind that just demanded attention and would not settle for anything less than the utmost respect.
He couldn't help but wonder if she inherited it from her father or her mother.
"...Okay, I'm going to start now," she said. "This… is going to take a bit, so don't interrupt me, okay?"
He nodded, and she took a calming breath before raising her wand, and she began to…
There were no human words to adequately describe it. The words beautiful, eldritch, enchanting, horrifying and comforting all at once did the sight, the sounds, the sensation no justice. Jophiel felt what could only be described as an odd, indescribable familiarity, completeness as the immortal words flowed from Louise's mouth, and her eyes seemed to glaze over as what he could only describe as negative-reality began to coalesce around her wand, and for the first time since he'd met her, Louise looked, felt, as though she was truly…
Awakened.
Her eyes blazed with life, with glory, with a power to surpass all things.
There, it saw her.
Her wakened irises aglow with a light of purest darkness.
It reached out to her.
A shadow to illuminate all of creation pierced him.
The Void touched her.
It pierced the elements, pierced his soul, pierced all.
The Void empowered her.
She brought down her wand.
The Void chose her.
And in that moment, as the fabric of reality bent to her will, as her will was done.
"Great dispel!"
A hero was born.
Static, numbness, indistinct sensations all coursed through his body.
Jophiel was confused. He didn't know where he was, what was going on, what had happened. The last thing he could remember, he was standing in front of Louise as she cast-
Louise!
His mind began to rapidly spool back up as his eyes focused and the world around him grew clear. Louise was leaning over him, pressing on his shoulders and shaking him with a look of terror in her eyes.
"Jophiel! Jophiel, please, wake up!" She cried, large purple irises staring down at him and glistening with pure concern.
He shook his head and pushed himself up from the grass. Evidently, he'd fainted. "Louise…" he wheezed. "A-are you okay?"
She froze for a second before her brows furrowed and she slapped him on the chest. "I-I should be asking you that, dummy!" she declared. "You just… collapsed! What happened!? Are you okay!?"
Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, the Canuck wasn't sure how to process this development. "I don't… what the hell happened? The last thing I can recall was you casting your spell…"
Louise went still and lost all the colour in her face.
"...Louise?" He pressed as he shifted to a knee, facing the girl who seemed to be just comprehending something severe.
"...I did it," she began. "I cast Dispel, and it… it worked."
Jophiel blinked, then looked at the lamppost she'd been targeting-
Every magelight in the courtyard was off. In fact, many of the rooms in the main building that were previously lit were all completely dark themselves now…
"...Jesus Christ, I can see that… did it hit every light in the academy?" He baulked.
"...In my vision, the spell was used on an army…" She sheepishly replied, sounding utterly drained.
Jophiel gave her a flat look. "...Well, that'll explain it," he intoned as he raised himself to his feet. "So, you, uh…"
As he recalled the moments leading up to his inexplicable collapse, he remembered what the fuck Louise had looked like mid-chant.
She almost looked the complete opposite of the deific figure that he'd just borne witness to, kneeling on the ground with her skirt splayed out around her, short of breath and eyes wide with fear and confusion.
"It felt like…" She began, cutting off his train of thought. "Like, I could feel something in the air, something which I'd not realised had been there since I was born, was gone in an instant. Like… an energy which I'd not realised pervades all things just ceased to be…"
She raised her wand and stared at it in wonder.
"Like all magic stopped existing for but an instant…" She glanced up and looked towards the great fortress walls, her eyes unfocused. "Is that what it's like, I wonder? To be a commoner, untouched by magic…?"
Jophiel didn't know how to respond to that. It wasn't as if he felt-
Then, he stopped, and… focused.
...He could feel it too.
How long had that been there?
"Then you… why did you collapse!?" She suddenly shouted, scrambling to her feet and clutching at his shirt. "W-what the Hel happened!? Why would that happen!? I don't-"
Jophiel placed his hands on her wrists and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Louise, calm down, it's okay, I'm fine now, I…" he shook his head. So many questions. "Look, we should head inside now, people are going to start waking any minute now-"
At that moment, something off in the distance caught his ear. A distinct sound, something odd, out of place. Stone grinding on stone.
"...Do you hear that?" He asked the fledgeling mage.
She cocked an eyebrow and turned in the direction he was looking. "Hear what-"
The fortress wall a few hundred feet away from them exploded, a massive stony fist punching clean through, causing the entire structure to burst inwards towards the academy as the deafening scream of cascading stone overrode their thoughts.
Instinctively, Jophiel threw his arms around a screaming Louise and brought her to the ground, shielding her tiny, fragile form with his body as the sudden burst awakened something inside of him. A marble brick the size of a cement block careened their way and struck square against his shoulder, an impact which would shatter the bones of any man.
It barely registered as it bounced harmlessly off of him, leaving only a rapidly forming yet utterly unthreatening bruise.
The runes on his left hand were aglow with power, he felt it coursing through his veins, every nerve ending bursting with raw energy and making him more, something beyond the common man, beyond even the most dedicated and heroic of warriors.
As Louise cried out in confused terror, splayed out and scrambling away from the sudden danger on her back, Jophiel rose to his feet and turned to regard the great, stone giant that stepped through the now destroyed fortress wall.
With a single, resolute nod, he'd come to a decision.
So long as the Gandalfr stood, nothing would threaten Louise and live to regret it.