Title: Job Efforts
Characters: Skilled Black Magician (Ciardha), Haou (referred to)
Chapters: 1-1||Words: 573
Genre: General||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing: YGO GX: B64, less than half dialogue; Word Count Set Boot Camp, YGO GX, #49, 573 words; Collect the Death Duelists, Skilled Black Magician; GX Month 2021, day #26, More Than Mere Cards
Notes: This takes place during Haou's rule of Dark World. Ciardha means black, Ailbhe means white.
Summary: It's one of the magician twins' tasks to find the Gem Beast deck. But that's not an easy task at all.
Ciardha didn't look up from his experiment. "Don't rain on this," he advised the tiny storm cloud that hovered in one corner of the room. Violent Rain grumbled, but it wasn't in dissent. His familiar knew better than to disobey when it came to certain orders. Instead, the cloud hovered in the approved area, letting out a small stream of rain that poured down the grate. While with other pets that might have meant the need for a walk, Ciardha, the Skilled Black Magician, knew this meant only that the familiar was curious as to what he did.
"Looking for the cards that Haou-sama wants," he explained. Haou-sama told them shortly after their gathering that he desired a deck known as the Gem Beast deck, which would surely exist somewhere in this world. Exactly who had it, as the true owner had been defeated and slain, was unknown. One of their duties as his adjuncts was to find that deck.
So now Ciardha worked his magic to try to locate the deck. Haou-sama had described it carefully, each and every card that he was aware of, and he could use that to find where it was, if it were here at all. He didn't want to be the one to inform Haou-sama that it wasn't impossible that whoever had done the deed could have burned the deck or taken it to another dimension - dimensional travel wasn't common, but it could happen. Simply tossing the true owner's deck or duel disk into a lava pool could have done it.
He did know that Brron hadn't had anything to do with it. That was easy enough to figure out, merely by speaking with those who survived from the Mad King's army. All of them knew very well that Haou-sama would destroy any of them who had any connection to whoever it was that used that deck.
Frankly, the thought of Haou-sama having any sort of emotional investment in another person confused Ciardha more than he could say. As far as he was concerned, Haou-sama's one driving force was rage and the desire to dominate and rule this world. His reasons behind that desire weren't anyone else's business. His task was only to accomplish what he'd been set to do.
In between his other duties, of course. When he wasn't guiding his own branch of the army to strike at targets, he cast spells such as this. His brother Ailbhe, Skilled White Magician, worked his own magic as well, but so far, neither of them had come up with any answers.
Now he regarded the results of the spell, and shook his head ever so slightly. About what he expected. There were moments when he thought he could find traces that could possibly connect to such powerful spirits, but whenever he traced them down, he found nothing. This worried him more than he could truly put into words.
But he'd say nothing to Haou. Best not to get his hopes up only to disappoint him. People who disappointed Haou didn't often survive to have their next meal. Perhaps more so if they had been as trusted as he was by Haou. No one had forgotten why they were the Death Duelists who had survived so far.
With the spell dismantled, he allowed Violent Rain to settle on his lap. He required rest after this, and a good meal.
Tomorrow he would do it all again.
The End
Notes: The spirits of cards have their own lives. And I love that. Also, this fic completes my "Collect the Death Duelists" challenge!