The Wild Campione
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Campione
Hey folks,
First of all thanks for all of your reviews. They were both critical and encouraging and will ensure better quality work from myself because of it.
To Nameless, I say that real Politics of the Pallas Treaty and treatment of the People will not be delved in too heavily at this point. I am currently fiddling with an idea for my story that will involve this issue and one of the three great/ultimate antagonists I have planned for the story, so please keep your britches on. Also please suspend your desires for realistic politics as this is a story and world that contains magic. So some things are meant not to make sense.
A heads up for my fans, this chapter will not contain much action but will set the scene for everything to go to hell.
As a sidenote, please tell me what you think of me making a Ranma/Campione crossover. Considering the ridiculous situations with mythical creatures he encounters, I believe Ranma has potential and am very surprised that it hasn't been done yet. Particularly with Saffron and the Orochi with a little tweaking of the storyline, maybe even Mao-Mao Lin if he was buffed up appropriately. I can just see the collision of Luo Hao and Ranma now, two massive egos sharing the same space. Alas! Poor Landscape, I knew thee well.
Also, to WarGamer08, please contact me!
Now that the announcements are done, on with the show!
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It has been close to two weeks since the interrupted ceremony and the subsequent war council had taken place and Harry and the rest of his associates had finally gotten use to his guests.
After he had dropped off his party, along with his 'older brother' and his butler, at his residence he had then, as promised, quickly departed to England with Alice via his Authority so she could clear up some matters and inform her association and family of the situation she had landed herself in and the manner in which she decided to solve it.
Her decisions were far from well received.
They endlessly crowded around her attempting to stop her from leaving, the younger ones probably due to what she was wearing and her shapely body - hormonal idiots that they were - whilst the elder were disinclined to have one of their larger trump cards away from their sphere of influence.
All in all, the typical type of politicians, both young and old, that infested every other hall of power, magical or mundane. It had honestly made him want to either vomit in disgust or bust some heads in rage that his friend was their target.
Thankfully for the idiot's continued good health and much to his admiration, Alice was able to skilfully placate the Witengamot and ensure that she was able to accompany him back to the Headquarters. Her arguments of her staying here and drawing the ire of a very old and powerful Heretic Goddess of Death to the Association as a whole had been a major weapon in her arsenal to achieve her goals.
Though he liked to think that his glowering and increasingly hardened face had given her some aid.
Either way, it was within the period of three hours that Alice was packed, ready and had her affairs in order for at least the next three months with emergency and daily contacts with her subordinates arranged so she can fulfil what duties she could from long distance.
She was truly a dedicated individual in his opinion.
The last thing we did before we returned to Magie Festung was speak with her aging father.
For a man that was easily in his early eighties, Duke Franklin Goddodin was still an imposing specimen in Harry's opinion. Easily six foot three and with a sleekly muscled body that belied his age. His sharp blue eyes had practically dissected the young Campione through the still full locks of snow white hair that hung over them due to his slightly stooped posture. The old man's facial features were thickly lined with marks of frowns and laughter on his slightly tanned skin. To Harry he had given off the presence of an old lion, a step slower and not quite as strong as the beast was in his prime but far more experienced, knowledgable and intelligent and still easily able to knock down any young cub that started to get uppity. This was a man that had seen and done much his long life and was all the more for doing it. He would make an excellent ally or the worst of enemies.
When the situation was explained to the old warrior, along with their responses to it, he had been somewhat skeptical of the ability of the young Campione but had admitted that what plans they had put into place were both feasible and quite correct. His blunts words that the majority of the Witengamot 'couldn't fight a wet paper bag' had made his opinions on the rest of his peers more than clear.
When they had, at last, begun to leave, the Duke had asked for a quick word alone with him. The old man had quickly pulled him into a small alcove to speak.
His words then had Harry off kilter for the next couple of days in regards to his friend.
"You're a good young man, Harry Potter," the old man had rumbled, his voice a heavy bass, "throughout your association with my daughter I have never seen her happier than when she has been with you nor sadder when she has not, save when her mother passed on. You brighten her day, respect her as an equal unlike many of the young rakes amongst us and care not a whit for her titles and power, only for herself as a person.
She is an intelligent young lady, much as you are an intelligent man, but you both seem to lack an understanding in one of the more vital aspects of humanity.
I ask, no beg, that you protect her so that you can both reach that understanding."
There was little Harry could say to a slightly teary eyed old man except 'yes, I will' despite his slight confusion in what he meant.
The pair had then left after a last wave goodbye.
When they had arrived once more at Magie Festung they were surprised to see it still in one piece, despite the reputation Salvatore had for destruction, and Harry was quick to get them settled in the guest wing with Salvatore and his butler having connecting rooms and his friend having one close to his to ensure that he was able to respond to her calls quickly.
The time since then was a learning experience for all involve. Salvatore had been told in no uncertain terms that what he broke would be replaced at his expense, making the Italian somewhat careful in his actions. That said he enjoyed being here and was quite happy with sparring with the Stals. Whilst none could come even remotely close to fighting him equally, they were still able to give him a workout individually and a very good challenge at a squad level, something he had yet to encounter and enjoyed learning from. Granted this was without using his Authorities.
His butler, on the other hand, fit in quite well and was quite happy to get a rest from his friends wild actions. He was generally seen with the rest of the Keepers in the library looking up what information they had acquired on various Heretic Deities, death goddesses in particular. Hopefully he, with aid from others, would be able to trace the various roles and guises that Ereshkigal had worn over the millennia.
Alice was fitting in the best of the three. Due to her [Projections] she was treated as an honorary for quite some time before the current crisis had come to light so having her physically in attendance was hardly worth noting. Most of her days were taken up with either helping Andrea, talking with and helping the little Hime-Miko Samantha or, more recently, acting as both a sounding board and an advisor to young Harry in regards to a recent development in his magical studies.
A large and detailed tome of instruction on [Serpent Magic].
Much to his shock, Lakshmi had presented the priceless tome, from the highly guarded vaults of the hoarding Naga no less, to him before he and his party had left Italy. When asked why she would give it to him then, freely, despite him searching pretty much everywhere in the human magical world for even a small bit of anything referencing the singular magic and offering a small fortune for them, her answer was both cryptic and unhelpful.
'Times change, young Campione. Any serpent can tell you that.'
Sometimes he found the People to be some of the most annoying beings in existence and was hard pressed not to develop a headache from dealing with some of the more isolated tribes existing. They really didn't think in a logical human manner.
In either case, the tome he now had allowed him to finally progress further his limited grasp on the magic.
When he first opened it, he was surprised to find that its script was not of any of those used in the Hindi nations like Gupta, Brahmi or Devanagari but rather a more flowing and circular script that none the less was still able to be read by him. A glance from Alice was all she needed to say that she had no idea either.
Further inspection showed that the tome was written in western form. Meaning it was read like any other western book; left to right and top to bottom. It was also written on some form of parchment, although the pages were not made from any leather or hide he had seen. In fact, it almost seemed that what light there was to read it by was almost mirrored off of it like it was made of shiny metal or polished glass. Something he pondered on when he had some free time.
Still it was very informative. It also detailed the reason [Serpent Magic] was used without divine aid. It all stemmed from the deity that had been helped and had given the gift of Parseltongue. In this case it was [Ouroborous]. The First Serpent, the One Who Is Both Beginning and End and Yet Neither. According to legend, [Ouroborous] was the first being to exist. It had no partner nor offspring. It continuously grew and as it did so it fed off of its own tail. A common creed that involved its image in Alchemy was 'One is All; All is One'. This was interpreted as a being that was self sufficient thus making those gifted with Parseltongue able to directly affect the world with their power, limited as it was by either the amount of it they had or attributes that were inherent to it, and thus [Serpent Magic] was born.
To Harry it somehow seemed that Parseltongue was a weakened form of Authority which would explain why it was able to trump Wizard Magic.
After explaining the origins of the ability, the book then got down to the real deal. The feats that could be performed by a practitioner of art and, more importantly, how they did it. Shapeshifting, Healing, Barrier Crafting/Warding, Cursing, Divination and multitude of other types of spells were available, including some theoretical ones that were so powerful that no practitioner had ever been able to perform them and had Harry a little leery of even attempting unless his balls were to the wall. And all of them were contained in this one precious book.
Needless to say, Harry was a very happy mage.
Further reading allowed Harry to truly 'walk the Coiled Path' as the tome referred to practicing [Serpent Magic]. The most important part of using the magic was the state of mind. The book told Harry and Alice that 'one must first dwell in a serpent's skin in order to become one'. Essentially this meant he had to think like a snake in order to truly use the magic.
Decisiveness. A snake does not strike without reason but when it does so it is swift and with conviction but without regret, hesitation, mercy or doubt.
Acceptance. A serpent understands that some things cannot be prevented or averted nor can they be undone. What is done, is done and now it is time to move forward.
Stillness. A serpent can wait for days or weeks on end for prey to come into it's reach before it strikes, once, perfectly. One must be patient in all things and attempt to analyse all possible paths without being guided, with bias, by the heart in order to find the best possible solution.
It was the mindset of a hunter, a predator. An assassin.
It made Harry somewhat leery of the magic. It scared him that he may just left his friends die in order to achieve an end if he used this mindset enough. That was something he would never want.
The tome also warned him of using such magic while filled with fear or other negative emotions. As he had learned before, through the legend of Orochimaru, snakes were symbols of dualism. Good and Evil. Rebirth and Destruction. Endings and Beginnings. If his mind slipped from the snake mindset, the balance of positive and negative, whilst his magic was in use, the barriers between his conscious thoughts and his emotional desires would begin to erode, making him, over time, increasingly ruled by his wants and desires and would destroy all in his path that prevented him from doing so.
That had Harry keeping himself up at nights with worry.
Right now though, he was attempting to use what was called the [Coiled Light], a form of illusion similar to [Image], on a caged rat whilst his friend watched on as a large iridescent and slightly transparent cobra glided towards the slightly confused and fearful rodent.
"Somehow," said Alice as she sat at a small coffee table, gently sipping a delightful herbal tea with an amused smile as her friend attempted to scare the little animal with something that its animal senses said was not real, "I don't think the spell is quite up to standard."
The illusionary snake abruptly vanished as the young Campione finally huffed in defeat and annoyance whilst glowering slightly at the now exceedingly confused rat.
"It isn't," he growled as he joined the Princess at the small table, slumping heavily into the comfortable seat, "The illusion has the potential to trick all of the physical senses into believing that the illusion was real. I just have to keep all the details in mind as I do it though so vast and complex illusions are not feasible. The tome mentioned that the users of this spell generally focused on a small number of forms and tried to make sure they had all the variables figured out. Obviously I haven't done so."
"I can understand what you mean," she commented with a cute frown of her brow, "though I truly wonder why you would use this spell then. It seems rather useless until you can get to master's level."
"One of the spells I desire to learn," he replied with a wry grimace, "requires a firm grounding in this spell before I can even attempt it."
"Babysteps?" she asked cryptically.
"Babysteps." he grunted in confirmation. And they truly were. WIthout the grounding in this spell, if he attempted the other, despite his Campione status, in the wrong situation, he may just turn his mental state into a frappe'.
And truly insane Campione's were not something anyone would want to deal with. Or could.
A knock on the door of the his study chambers interrupted his musings.
"Come," he called as he reached for a cup that Alice had poured for him.
Much to his chagrin a grinning Italian Campione walked in, a large flyer in hand before he paused taking in position of the two before him.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" the Italian spoke with a wicked grin.
"Nothing of any true importance," Harry grumbled, missing the slight reddening of Alice's cheeks at what the rude man implied, "what do you want?"
"Not much," the Campione said carelessly as he idly folded away the flyer, "can't I check on my little brother?"
"Small I may be, Doni" Harry growled in annoyance, "but I am neither your brother, nor am I stupid. I reiterate, what do you want?"
The Campione's face smoothed out and gained a serious mein that had the green eyed boy's hackles standing on end. If the Idiot was serious then something was going down.
Doni dragged a chair before him and straddled it whilst looking at them.
"Just came to let you know that the Keepers managed to get off the horn with a few off their contacts. Apparently our Lady of Death has been pretty busy since we beat off her goons at the church."
Harry carefully placed down his cup as Alice did the same. He had a feeling he wouldn't want anything breakable in his hands when he heard what was said.
"Dare I ask?" he asked, his voice cold and calm like the surface of a deep lake, concealing what lay beneath.
Doni dragged his hand through his hair, his face solemn, "It is only speculation but there are strong indications that something depopulated a few remote villages in various countries within Europe over the past week. The only reason they knew about it is because they tried to check in with the contacts in one of the villages only for it not to be answered. A quick investigation showed that every man, woman and child seems to have up and vanished without a trace except for a lingering presence of power similar to what was sensed in the church according to the teams sent and a few signs of futile struggle but no blood was shed."
Harry's hands clenched as he heard what had happened and his thoughts raged.
"Are they sure it was the goddess?" Alice questioned, her face tight and filled with sorrow. Her thoughts on this deity's actions clear upon her visage.
"Not directly," Doni answered, his face also tight, "the signature was almost identical to that of the church but on a larger scale. The common consensus was that she summoned more of those Gallu. A lot more."
CRACK!
The non-residents of Magie Festung turned toward the sound of rending wood as Harry smashed the arm of the chair, his face twisted in anger and hate. The villages had no defence against the woman and targeted them for whatever reason. None of which boded well.
And he could do nothing. He did nothing. And worst of all, they didn't know why the bitch did this.
"Is there any pieces of good news?" he inquired, his harsh voice mirroring his inner turmoil.
"Only one," Doni admitted as his face now took on a feral cast, "due to the positioning of the villages, mainly small villages along the coast of the British Isles and the adjacent mainland, they have narrowed down where she could be hiding."
"Good," Harry snarled, "as soon as we get an accurate location we can set off and hunt her down." Harry looked into his fellow Campione's eyes, "I trust you are willing to come along on this bloody hunt?"
"More than." Doni answered firmly. Irresponsible he may be but wouldn't, presumably, take people's lives on that scale without a damn good reason.
Harry grunted in acceptance before a quiet cough from Alice turned both Godslayer's attention to her.
"As much as I would like to see the Goddess dead so I can resume my normal life," she said dryly, "perhaps it would be beneficial to determine the reasons for her to...obtain so many lives."
Rational thought instead of desires for justice slowly began to make itself known to the two Campione. A Heretic Goddess had, possibly, taken a great many human lives for an unknown reason. That was something to wary of and jumping to conclusions may just prove fatal.
Harry stood up from his broken seat, his face set and shoulders firm, "I'll tell them to make it a priority to find those that were taken," he said to the intent Italian and the concerned Britannian woman, "If we are lucky, the bitch may have not hidden the life forces of the abducted and, hopefully, this whole nightmare can be put to an end. I'll also order everyone to be on the alert. If she has made a move such as this now, then she may just make another attempt to obtain you, Princess."
A concerned and protective gaze dragged over the young lady's form as if inspecting her for any injuries. Alice strangely felt and odd shiver over her body at his gaze. Odd, but not unpleasant.
"One can hope," drawled Doni, gaining a stern look from his juniour, "don't give me that look," Doni snapped irritably, "the sooner the bitch makes a move, the sooner this can end. As it is we both need more information to strike at her whilst she probably already knows where we are, what we are doing and can easily craft a half decent plan to attack this place. It may be strong against normal and magical attacks but against a Divine attack? This place is an upright nail ready to be hammered. Despite it seemingly being prepared and ready."
His words hung heavy in the room as if the air itself became lead. All of them knew that this place would be attacked in order to claim possession of Alice for what ever purpose the Heretic desired and the forces of this castle would defend it if it was.
And many would die.
It was something that neither Harry or Alice wanted on their conscience.
"I'll still inform them," Harry said, shaking off the subtle misery he felt, as he strode out of the room, "hopefully they can make it in time before everything goes to shit."
The door closed loudly at these ominous last words.
Leaving only a pensive Campione and Hime-Miko to dwell on their thoughts.
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Water from the sea trickled through the great cavern, its sound mingling with the quiet moans and groans of a great mass of unconscious people. Man, woman or child. Worker and beggar. Rich and poor. All of these and more were among the number.
And above them, watching them closely where they were laid, sat a Goddess on her dark throne.
Ereshkigal closely examined each of the living souls before her from where she was seated, the distance not hindering her at all. Eyeing them carefully and measuring them for there power. Comparing them against the qualities she needed. So far a mere dozen of them had met the unknown standards she set and she still had many more see.
Those she had found lacking had already been...disposed of.
A quiet snuffling drew her attention from the dregs below her, to the massive bovine face beside her. The face was easily as big as her throne, even without the wickedly sharp horns, dwarfing her five and a half foot stature with ease.
"I know, my Consort," she crooned rubbing her darkened hands over the beast's massive jowls, "be patient. You will soon have your battlelust fulfilled with the blood of the abominations that that harlot so likes begetting." by then her voice was harsh and her face sneering.
A rumbling roar echoed from the great beast's throat and the cavern shook with its power, causing a Gallu amongst the human trash to almost slip as he carried the human.
"Careful!" the Queen of Irkalla snapped at her servant, "I have need of the trash alive and well. It would not serve my purpose if its small mind was dashed against the stones."
A feeling of [Dread] filled the air as light seemed to flee the cavern and the encroaching darkness gathered around the Queen in an eerie caress. The Gallu seemed to cower before the Queen's ire. Even the great bull shifted back nervously on its hooves.
"F-f-f-orgive m-m-m-me, m-mistress," the demon stuttered out in fear, "I w-will be more c-c-careful."
"See that you do," she hissed out, a little mollified at the demonstration of her servants fearful respect towards her. Such devotion was rarely seen amongst the offal of the modern world.
"That is the last we need," she growled to her other servants, in sinful pleasure at what would come next, "dispose of the rest as you will."
Seeing that his Queen had returned her attention to the mound of still humans, and his slathering brethren among them as they stalked around for their prize, the Gallu scuttled as quickly as he dared towards the more hidden cavern behind the main one that opened onto the cold sea whilst still carefully cradling the precious cargo.
The Great Queen spared a malicious glance towards the hidden cavern that contained an important part of her plan as piercing human screams and guttural growls filled the dank cave. Her vicious gleaming eyes piercing the darkness, ignoring the bloody debaunchery happening below her, to watch as her servant bound the slightly more useful piece of human offal, along with the previous dozen, upright to a wooden chair...
Seated before a wooden round table...that glowed an eerie emerald green.
And within the Domain of Immortality, the Adversary laughed.
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hey folks,
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. A heads up for all my fans out there... my posting schedule will be getting a bit hectic for the next few months so I will only be posting every 7-14 days. I am sorry if inconveniences any of you but I have to make a living.
As always please review.
P.S. I will be creating an Story Ideas folio so please watch out for it and tell me what you think of them and if I should go forward with creating the story. I will post snippet scenes of the story and go from there.