23 Aug 2026, 00:28
The Ley of Macan Tutul |
4 January 2026
Terrible Presence in Effect
| Aura of Unease Present |
──────────────────────────────────────────────
There is something that is just... not right about him. A chill in the air, a sense felt deep in the bones. The shadows might seem more lively, the night might play more tricks on his opponents' eyes. Yet there is one, undeniable truth -- the source is him.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
For ease of writing, all dialogue is in Italian unless otherwise notated
For ease of writing, all dialogue is in Italian unless otherwise notated
The humidity seemed to buzz with its own insectile sort of intensity, which was not helped by the fact that the screams of birds and the scratching harmonizing of real insects accompanied it as the tall and dark-clad Seer picked his way across the suspended bridges of Tenūsa's tropical district with a much shorter shadow in tow that was, if it was possible, even sulkier than he was. It was a child, a pre-teen, who despite being out in the ugly heat and sticky air was dressed in a way to conceal or cover as much of his skin as possible besides his face and neck, complete with a pair of silk gloves. The elder seer was trying to ignore his younger ward's complaints. He had begun expounding upon the strifes the moment that he had arrived to the boy's cabin and had not yet ceased. Leonardo, as his chaperone, was beginning to lose patience and had begun in desperation to distract himself by focusing on audiating and mentally rehearsing the third movement of Vivaldi's "La Tempesta di Mare", Presto III.
This child was starting to get on his nerves.
"... unbelievable showing of incompetence by everyone involved. Was there even any sort of risk management or procedure put into place leading up to the event? In a jungle, no less, as if mundane creatures and poisons were not enough of a danger they seem to ignore the potential for magical mayhem as well? They deserve, and should be, fined for the incompetence, for the risk to life, limb, and eyesight! I nearly had my good eye gouged out by that filthy weed, you saw it yourself. When I get home, I shall put forth the proposition to our house that..."
Sparkling eighth notes played at a breakneck cadence continued to flutter madly through the man's mind as he contrived the muscle memory upon the neck's strings with his right hand's fingers--the draw and crispness of the speed of saw with the bow in his left. He saw in his mind's eye the splatters of the old ink upon yellowed pages, the proper tone and pitch of the notes that a correct movement should sound like...
"... and you did not seem to be concerned in the slightest!"
His fingers slipped and a violently sour note caused the internal music to suddenly collapse into discordant cacophony as the dark Seer suddenly rounded on the young boy.
"What happened last night is proof that you might be better served attempting to learn about the dangers of this magical world as opposed to attempting to insulating yourself against it. Perhaps then you would have a better chance at combating the weed as opposed to being helplessly snared by it." The Seer's silvery eyes flashed with intensity that reduced the younger ward to silence.
Or so he thought, as he turned and made to continue onward. The child, however, did not seem entirely cowed as instead he flushed brightly for a moment before continuing his tirade. A bloody pity that was...
"Yes, and you would have been pleased to have found me strangled, wouldn't you have! Would that have done you favors, for word to get out that the only other heir to the name had been eliminated in a freak accident whilst his elder had been serving as his guardian in the interim? Hmmm... I wonder how the press would have taken that... oh! Yes, you'd be locked up just like that Lycanthrope just last month! A former Head of House, wasn't it?"
His blood was beginning to boil, ignoring the feel of increasing perspiration on his brow as his pace increased. He wanted to get out of this confounded jungle expeditiously. "I fail to see how that has anything to do with a situation such as our own, especially considering the fact that it appears to me that you continue to draw breath and that I am not particularly inclined to change that fact. For the time being..."
The Iwasaki case was not one that he wished to dwell on as a matter of principle. Like many who had first caught scent of the incident that had resulted in the former Head of House's incarceration, he had almost immediately detected something sea-borne in the air. The case had been handled too hastily, too cleanly, and too flagrantly based on emotions that preyed on the already preexisting fear of matters that had for too long gone ignored--SCAR (or SCARAB, as the case was) and its roles in inflicting terrorism against schoolchildren, increasing hostilities towards Lycanthropes and persons who were not entirely human or pure-blooded, and rampant biases in the press were but a few of the kindling matters that had encouraged the conflagration that now immolated the known wizarding world in its blatant madness.
It was no wonder the Chiadovinis wished to force their foot back in the revolving political door with all these deliciously utilizable matters abounding. Uncertainty and strife produced fantastic moments to divert and deceive, to desecrate and disorder. Nature abhors a vacuum. Power, that taste of sweet cyanide to the tongue of man, happened to be one of the most powerful kinds there was.
All the more reason that he could not allow it to come to pass or permit the diadem to sit upon the head of this petulant brat.
While Vergilius continued to vent his frustrations and anger, Leonardo navigated the hanging bridges that would eventually lead them to Noé's housing. His employer's abode had been well out of the way of the jungle's grasp, which had left it entirely protected from the worst of the chaos and dangers that had enraptured the victims within. When they were drawing close, Leonardo once again wheeled towards Vergilius, this time uninterested in commenting on the boy's strifes and instead laying down the ground rules for following him into his place of work.
"Noé is a very respected extension of our family. Remember that." Stern, but fair. "Questions are welcome, but attitude is not." He saw a brief twitch of Vergilius' lip, an obvious marker of disgust. Not surprising. "You may take your leave anytime you like."
Without waiting for a response, Leonardo knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Came the bright Sicilian accent from inside.
Carefully, the Seer plied the door, still twice shy about his employer's genial disposition. Noé was crouched by the fireplace, talking to it in a quiet but reassuring manner. "Yes dearest, I'll be home soon. The last ceremonies are happening today and they'll be seeing us off tomorrow. I'm alright, I promise you."
"I'm glad to hear it. I know you're more than capable, but I worry."
Leonardo distracted himself with the grain of the wood of the wall for a moment, and Vergilius' brow creased. If the boy was wise, he'd keep his tongue in his own head.
"I have to go for work. I'll take care, my heart. See you soon."
The face in the ashes disintegrated into inert dust once more. After a moment's pause, Noé brushed off the hearth's charcoal from his hands and then rose to his feet, beaming brightly as he beheld the elder seer. "Leonardo and Vergilius! How good to see both of you! Punctual as always, Mister Chiadovini." He and Leonardo embraced for a moment and exchanged il Bacetto before the Sicilian turned his attention towards the younger of the half-brothers. "A pleasure to meet you as well, young master."
Leonardo internally sighed as he sensed Vergilius perk up at the honor of being called by an honorific. As if the child's ego required any further inflating whatsoever. At least he was graceful about it, nodding slightly to his elder and responding curtly and politely in turn.
"I understand that our place of interest is a little bit outside of town. Are we certain we wish to return to the jungle after the last night's activities?" He asked coolly but pointedly.
Noé's gaze lowered for a moment before returning to Leonardo's. The smile turned into a look of thoughtfulness before he shook his head. "Last night's activities... they seem to me to be an even greater reason to go and discern the leylines and auras there." His words were soft and careful. "I would hate to know that there was something anomalous out there and that I was irresponsible in catching it early. With everything that has happened in Europe, to know that Oceania might..."
Leonardo slowly nodded in commiseration, not requiring Noé to fully voice his concerns. Yes... perhaps he could sympathize with that. Vergilius, who had found himself drawn to some of the books that Noé had brought, only peered at the two seers narrowly over the cover of one of them, the gleam of the sunlight off the child's runic monocle obscuring the complete expression that laid in his eyes. "With all due respect, Mister Vero, I should like to keep perusing your literature here, if that's alright?" He queried in a light, almost innocent-sounding tambre. Had Leonardo not known better, he would have thought the child's polite inquiry almost admirable. Unfortunately, he did happen to know otherwise.
Noé, however, did not. Or, if he did, he was far more curteous than Leonardo himself. "Absolutely. Just do mind some of the older editions; their paper is rather thin and prone to ripping if mishandled. But you are no doubt a clever boy, so I fear for that very little." He smiled brightly once more before both he and Leonardo made their exits together, for the potential secrets that Tenūsa's Macan Tutul might hold.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Leonardo had never been one for nature hikes, especially not in sweltering weather and blazing sun in the midst of a southern hemisphere's summer. That being said, he could not deny that Macan Tutul carried an air of otherworldly magic that was tangible even by the standards of the world of wizardry. Noé had taken the given temporary permission to enter Tenūsa's borders rather seriously, and had been given similar permission to explore the jungle so long as he and his guest were mindful of their surroundings and the wildlife.
As for himself, Leonardo had no intentions of attempting to disrupt any part of the land. The older the magic, the more volatile it tended to be. Tenūsa simply oozed with it, and Macan Tutul was indeed an ancient jungle. Instead, he was trying to put to good use the techniques that Noé had shared with him, attempting to utilize his otherworldly senses to detect that which should not be present--or, perhaps, that which would not at first be self-evident to the common passer-by. A few paces ahead of him, Noé was humming tunelessly to himself as hazel eyes glanced to and fro with an expression of wonder: his fingers twitched at his side as if feeling for a thread to grasp hold of, and his steps were light and barely bent a stalk of anything green.
Before long, they had emerged into a slight clearing that was exposed to sunlight above. Before them was a clear pool and on all sides were great trees whose branches and leaves sought to form a canopy to block out the sun. Tall grasses and plants with flowers sprung around them on all sides. It was chokingly humid. The brim of Leonardo's black wide-brimmed fedora was damp with sweat. That being said, he couldn't quite tell if it was the heat mirage that came up off of the pool or if it was because he was feeling a little faint, but there was--at least he could swear it--the faintest pearlescent mist that seemed to pervade the area. Almost like strings were they, but not quite, intangible and substanceless threads of what seemed to be pure essence.
He glanced to Noé, only to see the Vero looking at him with a bright gleam in his eyes. "Ah! You see it too, then." The man nearly clapped with excitement. "I knew that such a place had to exist somewhere in Tenūsa. There may even be several. This is amazing." The seer turned back to behold the area, with the magical nexus simply present in this place. "Simply fantastic. I wondered if leylines could be affected by certain Unplottable regions and habitats. It might be likely that certain magical creatures in this area may also be responsible for this appearance..." The salt-and-peppered Seer stooped, picking up a small pinch of dirt and rubbing it between his fingers. He chuckled. "This is indeed a great find. I should like to experiment with magic in this place a little... but... When I have a little more help, support, and permissions, I think."
Leonardo raised his eyebrow and his compatriot gave him a look. "Ah, now I know what you're thinking. I would, in other circumstances, be willing to as well, but considering what happened last night... pushing the envelope on a matter like this... may not be particularly helpful nor healthy."
"So what now instead? You'll bring your findings to Tenūsa and... let them decide what to do with this knowledge that you rightfully discerned?" His silvery eyes narrowed.
Noé smiled bitterly. "You are a very ambitious man with a strongly independent sense of right and wrong. But, I have seen such ambition turn into obsession one too many times. Because of that, I will try to walk on the side of caution. Perhaps that makes me too gentle for my own good." He strode past Leonardo, but not before clasping him on the shoulder. "But I know you will not make the same mistakes as the ones I have seen make."
The prismatic dance of strings of magic faded from sight as they returned to the arms of the Macan Tutul.
It was not fair, Leonardo reflected, that a man of Noé's nature might be so easily taken advantage of. Yet, it could not be argued that it was often that nature that enabled him to take advantage of situations that drifted his way, that ease of being that resulted in the ability to adapt to change with little hesitation or distress. Leonardo had always stood stalwart and resistant, a black oak amongst the willows. Many branches had broken along the way, their splintered remains lingering as permanent reminders where nothing else could grow.
Change... was frightening. Yet, it was also necessary.
Perhaps that was why he clung ever tighter to the few things he felt still anchored him to reality.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
2,416 words
Reducio
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────Statistics & Abilities
Stamina 7 ⬥ Strength 1 ⬥ Evasion 10 ⬥ Wisdom 15 ⬥ Accuracy 14 ⬥ Arcane Power 18
Seer ⬥ Fearless ⬥ Advanced Casting ⬥ Terrible Presence ⬥ Spell Spread ⬥ Crucio─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Seer⬥ Uncanny Insight ~ 10% Auto-Dodge & Auto-Hit Rate
⬥ Prophesy ~ Vision Occurrence Chance 1ce/Thread (1/1)
⬥ Indiscriminate Knowledge ~ No Critical Failure Chance & +1 Critical Success Range
⬥ Fatespinning ~ Reroll an Ability Check 3ce/Thread (3/3)
⬥ Prophesy ~ Vision Occurrence Chance 1ce/Thread (1/1)
⬥ Indiscriminate Knowledge ~ No Critical Failure Chance & +1 Critical Success Range
⬥ Fatespinning ~ Reroll an Ability Check 3ce/Thread (3/3)
Fearless ~ Immunity to Fear Effects, Spells, and PotionsAdvanced Casting ~ +1 Critical Success Range while Casting SpellsTerrible Presence ~ Aura of +1 Critical Failure and 10% Automiss & Damage ReductionSpell Spread ~ +2 Wisdom DC, +1 Critical Failure Range, -2 Accuracy, +1 TargetCrucio ~ Capability of Casting the Unforgivable Torturing Curse─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
⟣𝙱𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚜, / 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜⟢