Reviews
Lennex MacDuff
I've always found it odd that the Arthurian stuff wasn't utilised by JK Rowling more than it was. The sword Harry pulls out of the hat is clearly based on the sword in stone and the Philosopher's Stone is of course a lot like the Holy Grail. Yet aside from that and Merlin being an important figure in history all that Arthurian lore went to waste.
As for Salazar well the Founders must been a lot more sensible than modern Wizards because four people can't found school without a lot of team work and trust. I think that Salazar was made a villain because it makes the story of the Founders seem more interesting and people do tend to exaggerate such events over time. Blame the Bards.
Z2010Deadmeat
True Voldemort was never going to be a great threat given what Damien knows and the tools he has.
As for Umbridge I did kill her in Hero Gothic but Damien isn't an anti-hero he's an actual villain so he should be more creative and cruel. Still while he can be a ruthless killer he's not a total psychopath so he needs a reason to murder Umbridge which as of yet she hasn't provided. Then again she might of already committed enough crimes to make her death justifiable Damien would just to run into her and discover said crime. I'll give it some thought and then work it into the story.
Overlord Gothic was very fun to write but I think my story telling has greatly improved since then. It helped that I intended for this story to be a long one as it meant that I didn't need to rush into anything and that my characters had plenty of room for personal growth. Overlord Gothic wasn't really as well planned out but still I think it did okay considering how amateur I was back when I started.
Exile is a very effective means of dealing with an enemy when you have the options magic gives you. Plus its safer than simply imprisoning someone and exile gives you a chance to gloat before you go home.
So many self inserts play the hero or have their characters spend most of their time trying to get home. To me that's just a waste of good opportunity.
Winter Feline
It was a bold move with some very interesting consequences as you will see in this chapter.
Dumbledore come to help a student with danger he didn't put them in, that seems unlikely. No it will be his friends as they know where he was going and they have the Map.
douchiesnacks
Thank you, I'm glad your enjoying it so much.
Selias
Well yes that would be the excuse.
I don't think Queen Elizabeth II would be amused about it. But as I said in the last chapter not many people would acknowledge the claim or at least the humans won't.
The sword is a divine instrument but what god made it? Well that's the question. In the sword in the stone film there was a kind of heavenly light shining on the sword so that made me think that's its divine in some way but that doesn't mean that it has anything to do with God. It could be the tool of a Pagan deity.
However Fate like DEATH is an active force in the Wizarding World so destiny could made the sword as the point of the sword is to say whoever holds this sword is the rightful King of Britain.
As for what Damien will do with the sword well not much right now but later its going to be very important.
As I stated Excalibur is guarded by the lady of the lake so she is the only one who can given someone Excalibur. Again that is important later but you'll have to wait as it involves a lot of travel and Damien isn't free to go off around the world yet.
The First Gothic. Book One. A Wizard In Training. Part 29.
Limbo.
"My afterlife is bar".
And an empty bar at that. The lack of people made it rather spooky so I kept talking to myself.
"Somehow I should of guessed that, but hey free drinks".
Despite saying that I didn't go right for the bar. Instead I walked around and examined the place quickly discovering that this was the same pub that the Traveller had taken me to in order to offer me the reward. In many ways it seemed rather fitting that the whole thing should end here where it started.
"Hello Damien" said a voice.
I was not remotely surprised to see the Traveller now sitting at the very table we'd sat at during our first conversation, he had even worn the same outfit for occasion.
Sitting down across from him I didn't bother with any small talk.
"So am I dead?".
The being who liked to wear my face sort of gave me an answer.
"Yes and no".
When it became clear that I needed more information it was provided.
"Your halfway between the two. This is limbo".
I found it odd that wasn't all white and clean like it was when Potter had visited, or would possibly visit, and I commented upon it.
"It's actually the same place" The Traveller explained "For Harry Potter King's Cross Station is a point where he goes from one world to the other, from Muggle to Magical so for him it's a place of transition. For you this bar is the same thing, this is where you were when you went from one life to the next. Your mind is giving limbo, which is also a transition point, a frame of reference you can comprehended".
Amazingly that made sense.
"How did I die?" I inquired "I'm a Wizard being slammed to the wall shouldn't of killed me".
"Well your not actually dead" reminded the Traveller "what brought you here was destroying the Stone. The Hallow can both summon and banish spirits, you can even exorcise ghosts with it but doesn't do anything to the living. Well at least not directly. However you decided to destroy something that Death himself had created with a very powerful magical sword. Caledfwlch happens to be a divine instrument so it could destroy the Stone but the act of destruction released the Hallow's power which pushed your soul out of your body. However your body is still alive".
"So I can go back" I realised.
The Traveller nodded and said.
"Or you can go on"
"Tempting but no thanks everyone I care about is alive".
Then I remembered Luna's scream.
"Is she okay?".
The Traveller said nothing.
"Luna I mean" I said offering clarification which was a bit odd as the Traveller normally just read my mind perhaps the rules were different now. "She got hit with the energy so she might be here"
"She is and she might move on or go back" answered the being "its up to her".
Something was wrong here, the Traveller didn't seem to be his normal godlike self. I decided to probe him for information about what was going in order to find out if he was somehow diminished while in this place.
"So why did Potter met Dumbledore in this place. I thought loved ones were suppose to met you at the Pearly Gates".
I'd always assumed that Dumbledore must have been waiting for Potter in limbo which was why he didn't appear in the Forbidden Forest to support Potter as he marched off to die.
"That was likely a Reaper" answered the Traveller
"A what".
"Magic using humans always get taken to the other side by either Death himself or a Reaper which was what his proxies are often called".
"I'd of thought the Discworld Death would of turned up" I said with some amusement "or maybe some version of the Grim Reaper who would let you return to life if you beat him in a game".
"He always wins a chess and twister" commented the Traveller who sounded as if had first hand experience "what game would you challenge him to?"
"Snakes and ladders" I replied.
The Traveller seemed perplexed by my choice and asked me why I'd of picked that game.
"Winning at snakes and ladders requires no skill whatsoever. The dice decide everything so unless Death cheats you have a good chance of winning".
The Traveller seemed to be rather impressed by my idea which again struck me as odd given that for my power and knowledge I was a bug compared to him.
Was this the Traveller?
"What are these proxies like, do they look like Death?" I asked.
"Sometimes it depends on who their Reaping. Most of the time its loved ones or an authority figure your used to obeying".
Okay now I was almost certain of what was going on here.
"Or perhaps a mentor or a guide, someone's who advice you'd follow" I said.
"Yes" agreed the 'Traveller' "or the Grim Reaper himself if fear seems to be the best way to help some accept death. Then when they accept that are dead they can move on. Then depending on where you go you'll then see your loved one's gain".
I needed a little more before I exposed this guy.
"What's my real name?"
"Damien Mason" answered the being sitting across from me.
"Your a Reaper" I told the 'Traveller' "drop the act its not working".
The Reaper dropped the act his attitude and body language changed in an instant.
"What gave me away?" asked the Reaper
"A few things. For starters my real name isn't Damien the Traveller knows that".
The fact that this Reaper didn't know my real spoke volumes about how much I'd become Damien Mason over the years, but the Traveller knew who I really was.
"He also reads my mind which you clearly can't".
"Actually I am" corrected the Reaper "this is all inside your mind".
Oh yeah good point, aside from the fact that the mind he was had a fake shield mind around it. Maybe that was why this Reaper thought I was Damien Mason the two layers could confuse things.
Thankfully I had more than that to go on.
"Also you said yourself a Reaper takes the form best suited to guiding a person to accepting Death. The Traveller could easily do that given what else he has made me accept over the years".
"The jig is up then" said the Reaper with a grin "okay I'll give you the facts and then just let you chose your final destination. You and Luna Lovegood have just both absorbed a very, very small amount of Death's power, a tiny almost unnoticeable fraction of the whole but its enough to give you some major powers and it will have side effects".
"Major powers" I promoted.
"Since your now a bit like a Reaper, as we have some of Death's power in us as well, you will be able to use your magic to do stuff like read minds, walk through solid objects, and move about unseen. There's some other stuff but you can already do most of it, but you'll find teleporting easier and your immortal now as well.
"What about the side effects?" I asked.
"Well you might, and I say might, start to care a lot less about people dying. You could also become emotionally disconnected from other people, you'd stop caring so much about how they feel because you know that in the long run mortal suffering doesn't matter".
That didn't really sound much different that how I was now but only time would really tell.
"So to sum up my life if I got back not only I am a Dark Wizard with access to a large variety of spells and magical items which includes a sword that makes me the rightful King of Britain but I'm now also partly a Reaper".
"Yep" replied my guide to the after life "your fate's tool no doubt about it a chosen one I'm guessing. which means when your ready to leave".
Which I was given that I wanted to get back to Luna or at least get back so I could find it if she had chosen to move on.
"Then one of the bosses"
"GOOD EVENING"
"should be here to send you on your way".
I stood up to find the Death of the Discworld and the Death of Rats were waiting for me.
"Hello" I said unsure of the protocol here "should we get going then. I want to go back to life not the other way just to make it clear".
"SQUEAK?" asked the Death Of Rats
"Pretty much" I replied.
"SQUEAK?" the vermin Grim Reaper asked the Death of everything else.
"I WOULD NEVER BE AS FOOLISH AS TO CREATE SUCH A THING MY COUNTERPART HERE ON EARTH HOWEVER WOULD BE".
"Where is he?" I inquired "doesn't he do personal appearances".
"HE IS AT AN ACE OF BASE CONCERT. AND NO HE DOES NOT DO MANY AS YOU SAY: PERSONAL APPEARANCES.
I remembered those guys. That didn't seem to be the kind of music a personification of Death should listen to but it could have been worse, he might be a Janet Jackson fan.
"I thought Death turned up when Wizard's died or at least when they should die. I'm surprised I didn't know you were coming either".
"ON THE DISCWORLD YES BUT ONLY YOU AND LUNA LOVEGOOD HAVE BEEN TO DISCWORLD AND SEERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FORESEE THEIR OWN DEATHS".
"So why don't I know when I'm going to die?" I asked.
"THAT ONLY WORKS IF YOU ARE DUE TO DIE ON THE DISCWORLD".
Knowing this Death as well as I did that all made perfect sense but that might because I was part Reaper now.
"Wait I'm immortal now so maybe I will never die" I realised feeling a little panic.
Death didn't seem so scary when you've met him and you know that you will continue to exist after the meeting.
"EVERYBODY DIES EVEN I WILL SOME DAY. BEING IMMORTAL JUST MEANS THAT NEITHER AGE OR SICKNESS CAN TOUCH YOU. YOU CAN HOWEVER STILL BE KILLED VIA INJURY, BE MURDERED OR EVEN TAKE YOUR OWN LIFE SHOULD IT NO LONGER BE WORTH LIVING".
That was oddly comforting and the bit about death dying triggered a memory of something I'd read once.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die".
"AH YES MR H. P. LOVECRAFT. I WOULD LIKE TO MEET HIM PERHAPS MY COUNTERPART WOULD ALLOW ME TO REAP MR H. P. LOVECRAFT AT THE RIGHT TIME".
"I thought he was already dead?"
"COME ALONG NOW MR. THOMAS. YOU HAVEN'T GOT ALL DAY".
"Don't I? What's the rush? I asked "I'm in limbo does time even matter here?".
"SQUEAK!" ordered the Death of Rats
"Okay fine I'm coming" I replied.
As a group we exited the pub and my last words were.
"We should of stopped for a drink".
Hogwarts School. The Astronomy Tower. The World Of The Living.
"Well that was weird" were my first words as I arrived back from limbo.
"Damien!" screamed Hermione like a banshee as she rushed over to my side "how did you apperate inside Hogwarts, and why are you on the floor, where did you get that sword and what happened to Luna?"
Somehow I was able to follow that and answer every question.
"I didn't apperate. I got knocked out by a mystical explosion. The Room of Requirement. And the same thing that happened to me".
It would take a moment or two for her to process that which gave me a chance to rush over to Luna and to examine her. She was already waking up and I breathed out a sigh of relief when her eyes opened.
"Don't scare me like that" I ordered in my I'm the boss of you tone of voice "I can't do this without you. I needed you here with me".
Luna seemed oddly happy considering what had just happened. She leapt up and kissed me before saying.
"I spoke with my Mum and she told me I had to accept death. She said I would be with her again one day but that there was no need to go with her now unless I wanted to".
Given that Luna was here it was clear that she hadn't chosen to move on. I didn't have the heart to tell her that her 'Mum' had most likely been a Reaper.
"But I have things to do here before I leave, so I said goodbye to my Mum and didn't take the bus home from school".
Bus to school?
Oh right now I remembered Luna had for a few weeks gone to a Muggle primary school but it hadn't worked out due to some accidental magic.
"I'm glad you didn't go with your Mum I don't think I would last very long without you. I'm sorry for not being there more for you. I love you very much".
The rest of the Outcasts were by now quite used to Luna saying odd stuff in fact they'd only worry if she started making sense because that would mean either she was broken or that they were the ones going crazy. However they were use to making more sense so Neville who had caught up to Hermione asked me to explain.
"Err Damien what's going on?".
"Horcruxs can be hard to destroy" I lied "it was bit crazy there for a bit but its over now".
The Outcasts as was normal accepted what I told them as the truth. I'd explained to them about the Horcruxs but I'd not let on as to how many there were and what they were as of yet.
Knowing that I needed to spend some time with Luna I told the others that the meeting would have to wait until next week and not to worry about the Tournament as I had it all figured out. But really I just wanted to get rid of them so I do all the touchy feely stuff I was about to do in private.
After the rest of the Outcasts had gone knowing that we would met again in a few days. I decided that it was time I went to bed.
"Come on Luna let's go bed" I said intending to spend the night in the Room of Requirement".
"Can I sleep naked?" she asked as I half carried her down the stairs.
"Sure why not" I answered
"Oh goody" she replied.
Considering that we'd both just had a near death experience neither of us seemed to acting that differently than normal, but I got the feeling that things had changed and that very soon I was going to find out just how different I really was.