Chapter 33 : The Blood Mage's past
[Author note : As some of you might have noticed in the past few weeks, the posts for this story have been rather... untimely ? Not sure that's the word... Well, life and, frankly, my dwindling passion and ideas for this story have reached an all-time low. For now. Maybe... I still have a few chapters that I'll post but expect it to stop abruptly and for a while. I'm putting this story on hiatus in a few weeks. Don't know for how long.
However, for the few who read both my stories, rejoice ! I shall start posting more chapters for the Iron Lad Squib ! I'm writing more in order to try and deliver 3 chapters... But, with work, I can only make sure that 2 chapters are posted. If the mood strike, or work isn't so hectic, maybe more post will come forth... No promises, though ! Well, except for the 2 chapters.
It'll start not on the next week, but on the one after. And as always, if you're interested in more stories and chapters, check out my Patréon page (e instead of é). Simply search for Cathbel on their website. Enjoy !]
« Why exactly are you asking me to make you a… costume ? » Crys asked his friend from his stationary position next to his worktable.
Simon shrugged and blushed a little bashfully. He had made up his mind about being a vigilante. Kind of… He was sure he couldn't become like paragons of justice like Superman, nor a dark, brooding super detective. However, if there was some way for him to help, he would do so. Perhaps not always, but like at the bank and in the country of Celia, at some point he would act. And so, he figured it was a good idea to have some kind of superhero suit.
As he explained this to his friend, he felt Crys' happiness at his decision. Simply because, it was something he committed to, and his hand wasn't forced, unlike the two times Simon was thinking about. In Celia, it was the tyrant's soldiers who forced him to fight and in the bank, the suddenly appearing hit-woman with lightning powers. During both those events, he hadn't really had a chance to decide for himself and only had reacted. However, now it was different ! Simon wanted to become a hero… Or at least, a better person, able to help those in need.
Although the crystal didn't make any outward comment, since the two were linked Simon could obviously feel what his bond-mate was thinking. In turn it made him even more embarrassed, but he figured that, if Crys wasn't going to say anything about it, he wouldn't either.
« Any ideas on the design, the colors… Anything ? »
« Hm… » Simon cupped his chin his thought, one elbow resting in his other hand. « The Terran military ceremonial colors are black, red and gold, so… something completely opposite of that ! Also, I don't want a crappy little domino mask or things like that to hide my face. If you make me a mask, it has to cover all my face ! »
« Like Spider-Man ? » Crys recalled some of his mate's memories about heroes.
« Sure… Oh ! But, I don't want a full skin-tight spandex kind of suit. I'd rather people didn't see my privates if the suit was ever torn… And of course, if possible, it has to be able to handle my burst of kinetic speed and other usage of my powers… »
Something he's never really dwelled on, was that his abilities were often a bitch on his clothes. His electricity singed or burned it, the chemicals he had to either release from his pores or through his mouth were, in a combat setting, often corrosive or inflammable. Not to mention the fact that they weren't designed with someone going at the speed of sound in mind. Plus, if he ever needed to recharge and thus 'take damage', that would ruin them too…
Thinking of all this, Simon was seriously reconsidering this whole idea of a superhero suit. The way he saw it, if Crys couldn't recreate the Fantastic Four's unstable molecule technology, he might as well go full on commando when fighting !
« As amusing as that idea is, let me worry about the suit, Simon. I don't think 'heroes' and 'exhibitionism' are supposed to go together… »
« Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! » Simon laughed in a monotone. Then he sighed : « If you need me, you know where to find me, right ? »
* * * * *
Gustave Bloodchild, 812 years old (or thereabout…), arch-mage of blood magic, was rather knowledgeable. He was a pioneer when it came to magic experimentation with the body… He had been an expert, and considered among the person to talk to if you ever had a question to ask about it. Whether the old man, who looked barely over 30, answered… That was a different problem altogether. Mages didn't share information and knowledge easily. If the legends of dragons protecting their treasures like a mother's precious child was true, their behavior resembled it when it came to their personal library. In fact, they were often warded more securely than any bank vault in the world…
However, barely a couple of hundred years ago, Gustave, or Gus, as his associates called him, met a young Terran, much like him, with an outlook on life and what was possible to make it do that was… singular ! He instantly took a liking to his mind and views and they became fast friends, speaking of blood magic and, on the young man's part as it seemed to be his area of expertise, the manipulation and transmutation of flesh.
Before this, Gustave had always believed that, any change or improvement brought forth by blood magic could only be permanent as long as magical energy supplied it, much like a curse, enchantment or blessing. Any permanent improvement or change to one's body either had to be the result of something physical, like a diet, training or an illness, or of ritualistic magic. However, the young man argued that, if like in alchemy, the mage was to transfigure the building blocks of a person completely, then the change could become permanent and without the need for an additional energy source or draining your own mana by charging the spell.
For almost an entire year, the two would meet, over coffee, something to eat, after or even during experiments to discuss those subjects. Sometimes they verbally fought. Perhaps, often times, Gustave was not sure anymore… Sometimes, they cursed each other and either one stormed off. Sometimes, their ideas excited them so much that they'd spend hours, if not days, working on them before realizing how much time had passed.
Gustave was sure that he had met a kindred spirit in the young man… Until that awful night. At the time, he was working as a professor for a magical university. The name doesn't really matter since it has closed its doors since then… He was grading papers, late into the night when he started feeling drowsy. So, after deciding to call it a night, he went home. As he did every day for the past four centuries, he opened his front door while calling out for his wife, letting her know that it was him at the door. However, no one answered. He didn't mind : often his wife either didn't hear him or she was too busy with something else. After all, he couldn't expect her to just wait for him to come home at all hours of the day and night…
So, he took off his hat and coat, hanging them by the door. At this time, there was no noise and although given how late it was, he didn't think that he'd smell anything. But, he did… It took just a moment to register what this odor was and when he did, he started heading to its location in a panic, almost stumbling a few times as he climbed the stairs.
He found his wife… Like a sick imitation of a dissection, she was hanging off the wall, her abdomen opened up in a Y. Her entrails were pinned to the walls with what looked like nails, and her limbs were cut off at the elbows and knees. What stayed with the Blood Mage however, was the sight of her face : pain and horror, mixed to disfigure the beautiful face of the woman he fell in love with. The woman he treasured so much that he turned back her biological clock, like he did for himself every few years, for 400 years, now…
On the side of her body, a bloody message was left. Her body couldn't handle the change… I had to find out why !
That's how the Genocidal had taken the most important person for him. And now, he was about to achieve something his nemesis had theorized all that time ago. Hopefully, it would get him closer to obtain his vengeance !