The Next Day, A Sibling's Betrayal

[Symphia]

((EDIT: NEVER hit Space and Alt))

Symphia screamed as the balcony gave way under her feet. Rubble surrounded and buried her, leaving her trapped under what was left of the balcony. She tried to move, but found that she was pinned in several locations. She twisted and flexed, finally working her way free. Night had fallen by that time though, she was tied from her exertion and had numerous cuts she was bleeding from. She smiled and thanked her metallic skeleton that she'd lived.

-----

Symphia awoke with a start, staring up at the ceiling of the hotel she was staying in. Night had fallen. The gun mage sat up and lit a lantern, sighing as she did so. It was the same nightmare. It always was... it had shaken her that her own sister had attempted to murder her. Symphia stood and dressed, pulling on her chain-jerkin over her corset, but under her shirt. She smiled at her reflection. While she wasn't interested in being beautiful, she naturally was. While she wasn't interested in being thin, she was. Symphia's mother, before her death, had always told her that she was the most beautiful young woman in all Methoa.

She pulled on her skirt next, then her crossbow harness and quiver. The crossbow had been custom made for her so she could fire clips with it, allowing her to do extra damage from far away. Her cape was next. Laced with chain-mail, it was heavy, but proof against swords and knives. Not that it mattered, Symphia was literally as strong as an ox. Her metal skeleton caused her to be abnormally strong, allowing her to fight with even the most burly of men, despite her small stature. She pulled her witch's hat on next. Her mother had given it to her when she was little. Back then it had fallen past her eyes, but she'd grown so much since then. Her boots and leggings were last, causing her to smile. She pulled the tension belts tightly around her thighs and laced up her boots.

The gun mage stepped outside her room and locked the door. She'd be back around the break of dawn. Several people, including the innkeeper, thought it was odd that she operated at night instead of during the day when normal people were awake. She walked past him and tossed another couple of silver on the counter as she walked past. "See you in the morning," she said with a smile. The innkeeper shook his head at her back.

She stepped outside into the cold night air and pulled her cape around her. To the casual observer, she'd appear as a traveler attempting to ward off the cold, but to someone that actually knew her, she was simply heading off for a drink... or two... or five. Symphia was a "wine connoisseur," at least that's how she referred to herself. In actuality, she was a bit of a drunk, but only when it came to wine. She rather enjoyed herself when she was at restaurants and bars. She paused outside her favorite restaurant and smiled before pushing the door open.

"This round's on me!" she shouted, much to the liking of the collection of drunks at the bar. Several waitresses ran up, one carrying a menu, one carrying a bottle of the gun mage's preferred wine, and one to lead her to her seat. Symphia tipped all three heavily before seating herself and uncorking her bottle of wine. She took a swig and stretched. "I'll have the fish tonight," she declared.
"Very good! It will be ready soon," the waitress said happily. The gun mage was left to drink by herself as everyone else's chatter turned to her, rumors about her, and rumors of her sister.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

Dark, very dark. There was no one here worthy of the power that he…it…could provide. How had it ended up in a bar full of people who are content being trapped and controlled? It didn’t know, but for a book, the Grimoire Of Pestilential Thought was becoming restless. Without anyone that needed his…it’s…power, it lived in the dark. Very, very, dark.

A flash. Vengeance, anger, hate, and trapped. Her name is Symphia, and true to her name, she was a symphony of betrayal and a need to escape for the past. It was a long, long, leash and she needed it to be cut. She can’t see it because of her love of her the drink. She needed to help and he…it…was willing.

Symphia, it called out into her mind. Symphia, find me. Use me. Would she be willing to give it her all and find him…it? Near, but hidden. Just finding it would prove a lot and place her right on the path of her freedom. Find me. I'm right here for you to use.

[Symphia]

Symphia jumped and inadvertently cast her wine bottle across the room, causing it smash next to the fireplace. Her chair tumbled over backwards and she landed with a crash, annihilating the poor chair. Several waitresses rushed to her side to help her up and she smiled, allowing them to aid her. She looked around, searching for her wine bottle, a frown crossed her face as she saw one of the waitresses cleaning up shards of glass from the hearth.

"Pity..." she said, standing and gently brushing away the waitresses tending to her. "I'm sorry, but I must leave early tonight. Drinks are on me until dawn, put it on my tab," she said, heading toward the door, pulling her cape shut in defense against the cold. I wonder who that was... she thought, sighing because her dinner had been spoiled. The gun mage had fancied another bottle of wine, but decided that she wanted to be sober to find the source of the voice in her mind.

Her deep emerald eyes glowed a bright icy blue and she looked around, searching for sources of magical and telepathic energy. Under a pile junk in the alleyway next to her, something was framed in bright blue in her vision. She drew out her clipped crossbow and padded silently toward it, her eyes still glowing. She nudged the crate aside and a book with a title scrawled in an ancient language appeared. The gun mage stowed her clipped crossbow and knelt, picking up the surprisingly heavy book.

So... you called me here, huh? she thought, tracing her fingers across the front cover, feeling the depressed lettering. Symphia opened it, her eyes glowing emerald this time, allowing her all the light she needed to read by. "E tyu y neh wa." she read silently.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

“No, my Master,” the Grimoire said, slamming itself shut. “These are not words mortals can understand. In time, perhaps, Master, but not now.” For the brief moment it was open, the world dimmed, yet it could feel it wasn’t dying. Fact of the matter was, it felt like it’s power was expanding and there was a feeling of what one could call freedom. However, it was too frightening, something horrible behind those feelings. It didn’t matter what it thought, though.

“Master, I am the Grimoire Of Pestilential Thought. My purpose is to help you with the knowledge I have been given and bestow upon you powers. I teach people how to become stronger as an individual and I also give advice and opinion on situations. I am here to help you through life, until you feel the need to no longer use me. Master, I will enjoy every minute of your ownership. Know, too, that there is some honor in owning me, as I can only be used by those with a strong enough will power. You are strong, Master, there is no denying that. Both of us will benefit, Master. Keep me, keep me close. In doing so, she will be ash and dust.”

[Symphia]

"Master, huh?" she asked it, feeling silly to talking to a book of all things. "Wait... when you say "her" you mean my sister, don't you? It's unusual to have someone on my side concerning her..." she asked, feeling a little exposed as she held the book. She placed it inside her cape and flexed a little. "Annihilate her huh...? I wouldn't mind my sister dead... if I have to be awake by day, I have to kill my share of assassins, I've had to become nocturnal as a result," she stretched lightly.

The gun mage walked down the alleyway, back to the street. Her hat was almost to a powerful gust of wind and reached up, holding it tightly to her head. She traveled down the street, feeling someone's eyes on her back. "We're being followed..." she said darkly, loading a clip of bodkin point bolts. They didn't have any magical properties to them, but they could be devastating en mass.

She dove into an alleyway as a fireball sailed past the opening. Of all the times for an assassin! she thought angrily, changing from bodkin point bolts to acid tipped ones. She leaned out fired down the street. She watched as the acid tipped bolt slammed into a psychic wall. SHIT! A bolt of lightning slammed into the corner of the wall and the masonry shattered.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

“Don’t worry about it, Master,” the Grimoire said, even though he wasn‘t sure if she was asking for it’s opinion or not. “Assassins are cowards, as are their hires, but, too, are they fickle. Assassins need the perfect conditions to strike. Make the condition unfavorable in anyway and assassins will run. All you must do is figure out how.”

It felt the psychic powers of the assassin as her cross bolt slammed into the psychic wall. Some weak magic shot off a lightening bolt and if it were possible, the Grimoire would laugh. The assassin had made a great mistake. “Master, I can give you a charm that will strike your foe, no matter where they hide. All you have to do is give me a few drops of your blood onto my cover.”

[Symphia]

The gun mage thought for a moment. She leaned back around the corner an let another acid tipped bolt fly. It slammed into the psychic wall once more and she smiled, her eyes down the street. "I thought I'd let you know I was still alive!" she shouted, ducking back into the alleyway.

"I'd rather not do that, I want a something that can penetrate that psychic wall," she said, pulling her cape around herself as a fireball exploded at the end of the alleyway. God fucking dammit! she thought, changing clips and locking a clip of explosive tipped bolts in. She fired one and a dull explosion and small fireball appeared down the street.

"I can hit him, but I can't kill him..." she thought, waiting patiently as another fireball exploded at the end of the alleyway. Wait... she thought, ducking behind a dumpster and waiting patiently. "There ARE alternatives to finess," she told the book, crouching down and waiting.

Footsteps grew close as she waited.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

One condition on which an assassin attacks is the target is still alive, the Grimoire said into her head, not wanting to tip off the attacker. I do not know your plan, Master, but sometimes the only way out is to die. It might be of some amusement, too, when the assassin reports you dead and finds out you're still alive. Their life might end extremely fast. It gave some thought to what she had said, about something that could penetrate a psychic wall. An Adder’s Kiss charm, the very item he…it…was offering and she didn’t want it. It would not press the issue, it would wait for the next time it would make sense to offer. Instead, it would wait to see what see had in store and it would hope she would take her advice should it fail.

[Symphia]

The gun mage waited silently as the assassin grew closer. She gently set her crossbow down and drew a knife with a ruby in the pommel. Sym jumped out of hiding and saw the flash of a sword, which she stopped with her left forearm. A shock of pain issued from the injury, but she paid it no mind and stabbed with her own knife. The assassin grunted and fell backwards.

"See? Brute force works better," she told the book with a smile. The assassin swung again with his sword without her noticing and it bit into her shin. She jumped and looked down. "Huh... you seem to be alive still. Maybe I can get some answers," she said, kneeling on his chest and breaking his sword arm with a flick of her wrist.

"Who are you and who hired you?" she asked, her deep emerald eyes locked on his. He tried to look away but her eyes narrowed. "Answer me because I'm sure whoever finds you won't give you a painless death like I will," she snickered. His eyes grew wide and he spoke softly.

"Your sister..." he said. Symphia didn't bother asking further questions, she simply killed him and stood.
"I'll GIVE her the family fortune, I simply don't care..." she sighed as she stepped out of the alleyway. "You better not be able to read minds..." she said, looking at the new lump under her cape.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

“I only observe, Master. I do know about your sister’s betray of you. An act like that marks the very being, Master, that’s why I know. The very fabric of your being as become that act, your life the result of it. However, Master, you have also become stronger because of that act, strong but still chained to the past, and no amount of power or magic can break that. This is why I exist, or I suspect that’s why I exist. I break the binds that powerful individuals cannot break on their own. I help the strong grow stronger.” It had existed for centuries and it had not found one instance of it’s purpose.

It thought deeper. Perhaps it was meant to kill individuals like her. Everyone owner of the Grimoire has died while in listening to the book. It was not sure why this was so. Maybe it was because it was in the ownership of those who had dangerous lives and pasts, or, rather, those who’s lives were leading them down the path of a early death. In this book, there was never a happily ever after.

[Symphia]

"I wouldn't call it a betrayal, it's more of a psychotic urge," she explained, stepping into a warm shop that had just opened. Her time piece claimed it was now around 6am, nearly time for her to head back and sleep. "I'm sure you already know this, but I'm nocturnal," she said, stepping back outside and heading back toward the inn she called home.

-----

"He FAILED!?" she screamed, throwing a porcelain statue at her underling. He tilted his head to the side and it sailed past him, shattering against the wall.
"Ms. Askella, it seems that your sister is more crafty than we first suspected," he replied, stepping to the side as a terracotta flower pot, complete with plant, sailed past him and smashed against the wall.
"GET OUT!!!" she screamed, throwing a small bronze stature at him. He caught it and placed it on a table.
"As you wish, Ms. Askella," he said, turning and leaving.
"Derrik?"
"Yes, Ms. Askella?"
"See to it that my dear sister is dealt with..."
"Yes ma'am," he said finally leaving.

"Derrik, I hear the news isn't good."
"It's not, Alphonse. Natalie's sister killed the assassin," he replied. The other man looked shocked.
"I was aware Symphia was strong, but someone of Gnautz's magical power should have been impossible to kill..." Derrik said, pausing. "I knew Symphia wasn't a normal girl..." he added, walking down the hall, away from Natalie's study.

Natalie stared out the large window in her study. Sister... you are going to die and I'm going to get the family fortune, she thought, drawing the curtains against the morning sun and walking from her study to her bedroom. The young girl had learned of her sister's nocturnal habits and adjusted her sleeping schedule accordingly so that she would be able to get status reports instantly instead of being awoken while she slumbered.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

The Grimoire ignored everything Master said. How she lived now wasn’t it’s concern; it was how it was change it for the better. It lived to teach and if she wasn’t willing to learn what he…it…could teach, then why exist? It how to keep existing, it had to, didn’t it? Did it have to live? Concerning itself with it’s teachings, it began talking again.

“Master, I wish to bestow knowledge upon you. Your sister may have numbers, but you have me. I must teach you, Master, because I do not want to see you die. I can feel there is more to you, Master, then any other that have used me, but I can still see only death in your future if you do not at least hear my words. I grant power so that we may both live, Master.”

[Symphia]

((*squeaks* OMG! I'm SOOO sorry!))

Sym slammed the door to her room in the inn. "God I hate magic..." she sighed, taking the book from her cape and slamming it onto her nightstand. "I bet you feel lucky that you're a book and not a person," she hissed, pulling her hat off and tossing it onto a table. Next came her cape, which she let fall onto the floor with a loud bang. She pulled her boots off, then the rest of her clothes until she was down to her bra and underwear.

The gun mage laid down on the bed and pulled the blankets up. "We'll talk in the evening, book," she said, rolling over and falling asleep almost immediately. Three hours of peaceful slumber was interrupted by the same nightmare she'd been having since her sister had attempted to murder her.

"Natalie?" she asked, a young girl with blond hair and ruby colored eyes looked over her shoulder.
"Sister?" she replied, turning to look at her older sister.
"Don't play innocent. Why did you kill our brothers and sister?" the gun mage asked bluntly.
"Mother and father left me to be the last person in the will to receive their fortune! If I waited until everyone else was dead, there'd be nothing left!" she snapped.
"I don't want the family fortune... I don't even want to be a noble anymore..." she said, standing near the railing.

"How could you not want our parent's money though!? The amount is so staggering... billions in gold..." Natalie said, almost drooling.
"I don't care... I'm not interested in squabbling with you over it. You can have it," Symphia said, turning her back on her sister, causing her to glare at her sister's back. She stepped inside and closed the doors, snapping her fingers. Sym rested her elbows on the railing and looked out over the family garden and the graveyard beyond.

There was a creak, then suddenly the floor gave way and Symphia fell with it. She landed in the rubble, her legs pinned. There a much louder creak and she made herself as small as possible before the third floor balcony fell on top of her, pinning her under the rubble...

She awoke with a start, sitting up and drawing the knife she had strapped to her thigh, staring around in the dim daylight that filtered into her room. Just that dream again... she thought, laying back down. It looked to be about noon, she had 6 hours about to get more sleep, and so she rolled over and relaxed.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

[Sorry for what?]

“My purpose can only be severed as a book, Master,” the Grimoire said. What was luck to a book? Someone reading the words within? No mortal, no being, has ever been able to read the words within. They never existed. It shifted the ink within itself to form new words, then shifted the ink again. It could feel it’s pages turn pure black. The dampness of the ink was heavy, but was a familiar feeling. The Grimoire moved the ink within constantly. It once thought it was a nervous habit, but, it was only a book. Books don’t have nervous habits. Still, there was no reason to move the ink, so it kept doing it until it could figure the reason why.

Master wouldn’t wake for awhile and that was plenty of time to think.

[Symphia]

((For not posting in a long time. Didn't have net for a week))

She awoke in the evening and sat up, the blankets falling away from her neck. She pulled on her clothes, followed by her boots, her cape, and her hat. She picked up the Grimoire and tucked it into her cape. "Good evening, book," Symphia said, going through her stretches.

The gun mage stood and stepped out of her room, pulling the door shut behind her. "So do I have to keep you with me all the time?" she asked the book, lightly touching the square lump in her cape's pocket. She hated carrying the book with her worried that it might fall prey to a pick-pocket.

She stepped outside of the inn, pulling her cape around herself as the cold, biting wind began to pick up, driving freezing rain with it. Her cape and hat were soon coated in ice and she smiled as she stepped into her favorite restaurant. Upon the door closing, she flexed and threw her cape open, sending pieces of ice in all directions, causing a bit of a ruckus.

"Good evening!" she cried happily.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

“For your benefit, Master, you should carry me at all times,” the Grimoire said, “I am unaffected by magic and I can heal myself. I cannot be destroyed. Some of this power is transferred to my owner. You will not have the same powers I do, but you will find that magic will affect you less as well. However, it seems my pervious owners were more prone to destruction. Not one of them lives, Master. But, you are different.”

She had an outburst of joy, it’s Master. Was she really happy? No, not with her sister hounding her with assassins with no reason. It was not an urge her sister had, though she was, indeed, psychotic. It could feel her sister’s hate for it’s Master. Why? Where did the hate come from? It didn’t matter. She was a threat to Master.

“Master, what plans do you have for your sister?”

[Symphia]

"For my bitch of a sister?" she asked telepathically, "I'm gonna ignore her until our paths cross, then I'm gonna kill her. I don't mind living my life on the edge of death. I've died once before and I've never wanted to be a noble," Symphia explained. A waitress that led her to a table was tipped heavily and left before returning with Sym's favorite brand of red wine.

She pulled the cork out and sniffed it before grunting. "Hey! This bottle's gone bad!" she snapped. The waitress looked frightened and took the bottle of wine back to the kitchen, dumping it and throwing it in the trash. She grabbed a fresh bottle and headed back out, receiving another heavy tip for a job well done.

Symphia leaned back in her chair and took a swig of wine. "I don't do this every day, book. I was interrupted by you and that assassin yesterday and I'm catching up. If you have anything to say, feel free," she said, smiling slightly as an extra thick steak was set on the table before her. She tested it for poison before digging in. "Excellent as always," she smiled.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

She is sending out assassins as so to make sure your paths never cross, Master. Eventually, if you wish to stop her, you must stop putting your own hedonist pleasure ahead of your well being. You must seek her out. There was, too, taking what it had to offer her. However, it didn’t mean anything right now. There was nothing wrong with relaxing. She just needed to start taking control.

When you are willing to plan, I will help you, Master.

[Symphia]

"She's only sending out assassins because she's afraid to get her hands dirty," the gun mage said, finish her steak and ordering a decadent dessert, mostly chocolate and whipped cream. "Perfect," she purred, digging in. Symphia could be called lazy, but she loved getting drunk and having fun on a daily basis. To any normal traveler, they would see her as weird, but it was simply her way of enjoying her life.

She stretched as she finished her dessert and leaned back in her chair, picking her teeth with a toothpick. "Another fine meal," she smiled, pulling her hat down over her eyes, focusing her mind past the alcohol. "Okay, book, what advice do you have to offer?" she asked, taking another swig of her wine.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

[Note: I will admit it, I’m stealing the advice. I’m not that great of a writer, so…on the bright side, I wrote everything else.]

It spoke, not caring if some others heard what was going on. “I bestow this advice. Be wary of those you keep close to you. Never take them fully into your confidence, and never dilute your strength by sharing it. Many emperors I have know have done such, and I do not wish you to suffer the same fate.” They were words he has said many times before, words that many people have said they already knew was true. Still, they never did last.

“I have more advice that is my purpose to speak, but is also my purpose to give power. You should consider it, even if you believe you do not need it. I shall also give you my opinion on the situation.

Her hands have been more then stained, Master. She began to rot her soul by the thought of murdering her family. Now, she is only a shell of a human, filled with only greed. Her murderous acts have rotted her soul; it shall be by your murderous acts that will rot her flesh.”

[Symphia]

Symphia jumped as the book's voice reached her ears instead of her mind. "Are you crazy!? Don't speak aloud unless we're in my hotel room!" she hissed, happy that her hat was hiding her very startled look. The silence in the room was broken by a drunk belching and activity instantly began once more.

"I know my sister no longer has life outside of thoughts of killing me. It's been like that for three years now. As soon as she learned that she had the ability to receive the family fortune, she instantly began going after our brothers. They died at the hands of an assassin who was simply lucky they were incompetent swordsmen. When he tried to kill me, I broke his arm and tortured him until he told me my sister had sent him," she explained, taking another swig of her wine before continuing.

"I arrived home several days after my brother's murders and confronted her about it. I told her I'd give her the family fortune and she attempted to kill me. I cheated death and when I arose from the grave, I returned to the house..." The gun mage let the book into her mind so she didn't have to forget details...

She stepped inside, gripping the wall for support. "Ms. Symphia!" cried one of the maids. "Ms. Symphia, please let me help you!" she said, running up. Symphia swatted her aside, her deep green eyes falling onto her shoulders.

"Why did you let the bury me...?" she asked, her voice soft, but filled with acid.
"I... I didn't know..." the maid replied, cowering before the powerful girl.
"Where's Natalie?" the gun mage asked, gripping a bronze statuette.
"I... in the study..." the maid obediently answered, fearing being stricken with the statuette.

Symphia began making her way along the wall toward the stairs. The jade funeral clothes she wore making her seem like a drown girl. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Natalie stepped onto the central landing.

"S... Symphia!?" she shouted, taking a step backwards. The gun mage drew her right arm back, the statuette held tightly in her grip. She threw it as hard as she could, the piece of solid bronze sailing through the air and colliding with the middle of Natalie's chest, crushing her sternum. She dropped to her knees, clutching the middle of her chest.

Symphia climbed the stairs, her body weak from fighting through six feet of earth. She finally reached the central landing and grabbed the lapels of her sister's jacket, glaring into her eyes. "I told you you could have mother and father's money!" she yelled, drawing her right hand back into a fist.

A strong hand closed around her wrist. "Symphia, that's enough," a gentle voice said.
"Derrik..." the gun mage said, dropping her sister and turning to face the guard. He was one few people that could reason with Symphia when she was angry or upset. The guard released her hand and snapped his fingers, causing a pair of maids to lift the now unconscious Natalie from the floor.

"Tend to her," he commanded. "Ms. Symphia, you must be exhausted from your ordeal. Come with me, your bedroom awaits." He gently took her hand and aided her to stand, helping her to her room. She collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep instantly.

"I have reason to believe that my injuring her didn't help the situation any," she said, sighing lightly.

[Brother Afgero Bzal]

The book said nothing. It was more then treachery her sister did. The legal system could easily change the will, or Master could simply get the money and then give it all to her sister. No, there was something more to Master’s sister. However, it was hard to tell what plans she really had in mind.

Was she trying to finish the bloodline? If Master’s sister was that in love in money, she would try to take it to the grave. Maybe it was about that. It was her money alone to use. Or had she gotten so much bloodlust in killing her other siblings? What were the other’s like?

Derrik is your target. Not to kill, but to put into your pocket. Turn him against your sister and your target will be wide open.