An extra little side chapter to explain some things that happen in the last chapter, sorry if it breaks your Immersion, but I felt it was needed.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this has been one of the best fights I've ever put to paper. But I do see a lot of you having questions on exactly what the fuck went down in this chapter, so, let's start at the top, shall we?
First off, Albus Dumbledore. Possibly my favorite character in all of Harry Potter for several reasons, but one thing that had always confused me is why did Dumbledore never fight Voldemort if everyone thought he was greater than the dark lord?
My conclusion is because he isn't. He admits himself in the first book while talking to McG outside the Dursleys I believe. "Voldemort had far more powers then I have" or something along those lines. Dumbledore was pretty sure he couldn't beat Tom, and if he ever did duel him and lose, Tom would then get his hands on the Elder Wand via ownership and that would be very bad for everyone.
But what if Dumbledore had a contemporary at his level of power he could rely on?
Well, I think that would dramatically shift the story somewhat. I see so many "greater good" or manipulative Dumbledore fics that have him so locked in on one plan and one line of thought, which is the stupidest thing ever. For someone as smart as Dumbledore, for someone who had planned years in advance, to be locked into one train of thought and one plan is foolish. He would adapt to what was happening, ffs this is a man who fought in wars, he'd understand that no plan survives first contact with the enemy.
But I digress.
No, if Dumbledore had an ally that was just as powerful as him, he would no doubt call upon them to help. Which would change his plans and move them to a more hopeful line of thought, to pull upon his inner academic and try to solve the problem with the Horcrux in Harry after rendering Tom back to a wraith. But sadly, it was in vain in the end.
Tomoe-motherfucking-Makoshi.
To be completely honest, this was the character I was looking forward to fighting the most. Not because she was strong or anything like that, no, it was because she came from a different part of the world and used a different form of magic than any we've seen to date. Which brings us to…
Onmyōdō: the magic of Japan. From my research into the subject, I couldn't really find any spells or rituals written down or explained in any way. The tradition seems to be very insular, as the spells and tradition are passed down from master to student via oral teachings, and once they're learning it, they don't really talk about it. But we do know some things, for one a big part of it is divination, another thing is the use of protection rituals and the use of Shikigami. The whole thing was inspired by Chinese philosophies of yin and yang and the waxing(five elements), so while it doesn't give us a lot, it does give me a lot of room to play around with.
So please do not take anything I did in this chapter as fact.
Makoshi's Shikigami techniques are based on the four Auspicious Beasts in eastern religions/philosophy. The Black Tortoise, The Vermillion Bird, The Azure Dragon, The White Tiger, and The Emperor in Gold. They are, in this story, the five most powerful of the Shikigami one can use out of the several hundred thousand that exist in Japan, and as you could possibly tell, the divine and magical world live in a sort of Harmony in Japan.
Shikigami techniques come in two forms.
Lapse: which is the neutral normal unaltered form of the Shikigami that are helpers to anyone who practices Onmyōdō, they come in all shapes and sizes and are created by the magic and will of the caster. Which is why the Four Auspicious Beasts came to Makoshi in her time of need, for they are the protectors of Kyoto and that is what Makoshi was trying to do at the time.
Reverse: for every push, there is a pull, for every forward rotation; there is a Reverse of that same rotation. The Reverse Shikigami Technique is the application of such a philosophy, using the Reverse technique you apply the power of the Shikigami to either yourself or something else within the area of effect. Think of the effects halfway between a charm and transfiguration for what they can do. We can see this in the reverse techniques that Makoshi uses by saying the names of the four auspicious beasts that are known in her homeland.
Let's talk a bit about the "barrier techniques" as Voldemort reasoned out, they're the eastern equivalent to the wards of the western world and have such overlap that magic can't distinguish between them. But instead of wands, they use Ofuda, Mantras, and Mardu to cast instead, though like wards they spread the desired effect over a long range. Which is why Makoshi could use them but not her Shikigami Techniques, but it begs the question of how Makoshi accomplish something that should be impossible. To answer this, we need to go back to the "Ghost Riders in the Sky" chapter.
Do y'all remember when Nuadha called Magic a divine domain? Well, he wasn't wrong. Every witch and wizard the world over has a small access to the Divine Domain of Magic and are able to use it. But much like the gods, the domain is affected by belief, and that's why magic is different depending on where you live. Much of the western world uses wands, while in the east they use talismans and artifacts to accomplish the same thing. But the further south that you go the more magic becomes a primal community driven thing, in Africa and South America it relies more on hand motions and chants, rituals that the whole community gets involved in. Which can have some big effects when you have thirty something magical people all dancing and focusing will, intent, and magic into a single want.
The only place above the equator that is weird with these rules is North America, where it's more a mixture of wandless magic and wanded magic thanks to both the magicals coming over from the old countries and the native indigenous people. Both beliefs became a melting pot of magic in the form of Ilvermorny where they teach (in this story) both kinds to this day.
With that explained let's move on to the "how", and that would be Barrier Technique: Bloodline Shrine - Empty Room. This barrier is Makoshi's trump card in the western world where her Shikigami Techniques can't be used and one of her greatest accomplishments. What the technique does is force the magic in a preset area to become "neutral" allowing her to use her Shikigami by purging the belief from inside of the barrier. For this to be enacted, Makoshi has to spell her own blood in sacrifice in the four Cardinal directions in the area she wishes to fight in. While the range of the barrier can be, theoretically, infinite, the "time limit" she's on depends on how big of an area she wants. For an island the size of Mag Turied, her time limit was fifteen minutes, give or take, but for Makoshi that is more than enough time to do what needs to be done.
But I do hope you all enjoyed Makoshi, for while she'll still pop up in the story from time to time, we won't interact with her much. Tomoe Makoshi was originally just an excuse to have a Katana in this story because I'm a fucking weeb, but I think she has more then earned her place in the annels of this tale. Her personality, her magic, and a good reason to world build off of her, I've very much enjoyed her. For those who don't know, a haori is a type of Japanese coat that comes down to mid thigh. And why yes, the haori the Japanese auror's use is based on the Shinsengumi haori that they wore during the Bakumatsu period (1853-1867) in Japan.
But let's move on to my final twist for Bad Moon Rising, Voldemort mantling Indech.
This part is what I'm most proud of, for like Harry getting the Gaé Bolg, the signs were everywhere. Let's go back, allllllll the way back to The Heir and The Champions, Chapter 37 - The Magician to be specific.
Badb the old crone said something very peculiar to Voldemort in that chapter, Quote "and if it wasn't for it, your own blood would have burnt you to ash," end quote. She was, of course, talking about Voldemort using the Pair Dadeni (otherwise known as the cauldron of Dagda) to regain his body via stealing someone's blood.
Now whose blood did he steal? Harry Potter's of course, the Son of Artemis, A demigod.
If we jump ahead to the second scene of Chapter 26 - Human in this book, we have Scáthach explain about mantling in-depth and most importantly, what makes a Magician a Magician. To summarize what makes a Magician a Magician is that they have two cores, one magic and one divine. The Magic Core is rooted in the soul, where all memories, feelings, and experience sit and is stored, the Divine Core however, is the heart. But why the heart? Well, it is the thing that pumps what makes a Demigod a Demigod, Godly blood.
Don't you find it weird that Voldemort could block a hit from someone of Atalanta's caliber?
Don't you find it odd he was able to manhandle Harry with a single hand?
Don't you find it weird that he was able to fight Demigods in close range combat and dodge their blows?
Didn't you find it odd that someone as methodical and scheming as Voldemort had jumbled thoughts unless he was focused on a fight?
Didn't you find it odd that a normal mortal like Voldemort could tank blows from Demigods and people like Makoshi and still remain standing?
Because he sure did, in fact, I made mention of how he was surprised by himself a few times through the Voldemort chapters.
After rising from the cauldron, Voldemort was, in essence, a blank demigod. He had no connection to any domain so no extra grab bag of powers, he wasn't born a demigod, so his brain wasn't hardwired to ancient and dead language, so no dyslexia. Which meant, by the very technical definition, Voldemort was a Magician with both a divine core and a magic core and thus was able to mantle the King of the Formorians.
Pretty neat, huh?
But I am very excited, for with the last chapter, we only have two chapter left in this book and the next chapter...Is all from Artemis' point of view that covers the last three chapters.
Till next week kiddies!