Of demons and runes (chephros)

[Aiyon]

Tas was settled peacefully at one of the library reading tables, delving deaply into a book titled "The Viking Oracle, Nordic Runes". While it was an interesting read, she'd only picked it because it had the word Runes in the title. Nothing useful to her so far even though she was nearing the end. She was prepared for this though, as there was a stack of another three books beside her, all from different sources and of different styles.

On top of her small stack was a leatherbound tome she had found in the wrong section. She'd almost handed it in but she'd found the title interesting.

World's Worst Demons;
Chronicles of Elimination

There would probably be something in there she could use to help with her current goal, but she wouldn't know until she read it.

[Chephros]

Chephros was simply wandering around campus. He had gone pretty much everywhere except the library, as he found no point in it. A bunch of books he could read, but why? He had no real use for the history of the world. He was fairly certain it would contain just that. He had no use for whatever the places he went were called, what language they spoke, what the customs were. All he wanted to know about was his race and where the hell they were.

And that was the exact reason he was no heading towards the library.

In his thoughts the words 'world history' should have gotten the idea that there would likely be a record of demons in the world somewhere in the place. It was a magical campus after all. He had even learned of the 'Tracers' they used to destroy the demons that came through the Ruptures. Chephros had nearly been attacked except that Millarca found him, gave him a fun night, and introduced him to the Blood Society.

And so now he was here. A quick sequence of events, but none the less an interesting one.

And so he walked into the library and simply glanced around. He had no idea how this place was organized, having never been into one before, and simply ignored everyone and everything except the books themselves. Staring at covers he found one that had demon in the title, but it turned out to be a magical fiction book. This seemed to be a waste of time until after a while he started paying attention to people and found a female human sitting at a table with a stack of books. One binding instantly got his attention, and subsequently ticked him off.

World's Worst Demons;
Chronicles of Elimination

'Chronicles of Elimination?!' That was the one thing that could have ticked him off right now. These people actually Documented and Recorded when and where they Obliterated his kind, and then they left the books in the open where he could find and read them. Instantly he moved towards the table and stood in front, letting his right arm settle above the table as the two outer blades of his right wrist blade, being armed on one arm currently, settled on the table and dug in only slightly.

"History of Elimination? You're actually interested in the Annihilation of my race are you?"

[Aiyon]

Tas looked up, startled by the angry voice that had come out of nowhere. She blinks at him a few times before his words make sense then she looks down at the offending tome. The easiest way out would be to claim it wasnt hers, but that would be too obvious a lie, so she just shrugs uneasily.

"Not really... Annihilation isn't my thing. The thing was mis-shelved." she said quietly, closing The Viking Oracle as she did. Not noting the page she'd got to was a concious decision, as she hadn't found anything of use in it. Instead she looked up at the guy curiously. "Are you really a... you know?" she asked, tapping a finger on the Chronicles to imply demon.

[Chephros]

"A demon? A Tanari? An errdegahr?"

As a simply answer his wings opened three feet on each side of their seven foot span, and his tail came out from behind him. His hands upturned and the claws were revealed. He even smirked and let his fanged teeth show.

"Why of course."

Then everything moved back and hid itself again.

"And being one of which I'm rather interested in why you took the mis-shelved book up instead of finding it's own place. Interested in my kind and their magic are you?"

[Aiyon]

Tas rocked back in her seat, eyeing him warily as she did so. A ticked off demon was not good for your health, by most accounts she'd come across on such things, so she'd have to tread carefully and, probably, honestly.

"No offence intended, but... no, not really." was her muted response, and then she sighs, realising that a little elaboration might be needed.
"The book is about the worst... therefore, the most powerful. The struggle to bring them down, well, would have been huge. Assuming the writer was honest, of course." One hand flips neglegantly at the tome. "They'd make interesting tales in themselves, and also give a little insight to the magic used, hopefully on both sides. I am not trying to learn such magics, but... well, to get pointers for my own style." She shrugs uncomfortably.

[Chephros]

"Oh? The most powerful you say? Are you referring to ones besides me?"

Demons were tricky people to mess with. He smirked.

"The magic used would likely be devastating, so you are quite right. It would have been a huge battle, for the humans that is. The demon probably found it a simple meal and power source."

He wouldn't explain the rate of power gain via fighting for demon's. However, looking at the other books he noted the common ground. Runes.

"A rune mage perhaps? Well, if you are trying to find records of demon's fighting a mage using runes in any kind, I doubt it will be in recorded tomes. I have heard rune magic takes a while to cast, needing the runes to be in place first. Demonic magic takes little to none."

As an example his foot would shift and send a minor shockwave toward the sitting girl's stomach. It would probably shift her back an inch or two, but she would at least feel it.

"And it can be quite powerful, much more so than that which I use for demonstration."

[Aiyon]

Tas pointedly ignores his boasts about his own power, as she'd rather avoid encouraging him. Besides, pushing her back a little in her seat didn't impress her. She had a spell that would do a much better job.

"Rune magess, you mean? No... i'm not. Rune magic, as i understand it, uses runes on objects, or drawn in pattern on the ground. Interruption or theft would remove the ability to cast. And it's not like rune patterns are in any old book, is it?" She shrugs and picks up the second book from her stack, the one underneath the demon tome, and casually thumbs open the first page.
"I might find the odd rune, or description of one, that i can use... but i want to know the effects of spells. Then i can experiment." Tas flicks to the second page, frowning thoughtfully.

[Chephros]

"So you study magic simply for the pleasure of it? Interesting. Would you by any chance be an Arcane Leech?"

Arcane leech's basically absorbed power, but he had only heard of the myths of them existing, never actually seen one before. If she was one though, he almost expected her to be in a non-magical confine under watch so as to keep her from draining power from all mages in the area. However, once again, it was myth. Then again, magic and demons were myth to humans and yet they existed in secret.

"Ahh, I doubt it anyway. However, if you are not a Rune magess," He said the last syllable of magess with some sarcasm, "Then what magic is it you possess?"

Someone studying rune for some odd reason. What other magic, besides Rune magic, used Runes for their magic? The odd thought almost made him laugh, so instead he smirked.

[Aiyon]

A flicker of distaste crosses her face and she closes the book she'd started. This guy was coming across as arrogant, and Tas wasn't too happy about that.

"If you must know, i practice Circlet magic." she said with calm dignity. "And no, i'm not a leech. I don't drain the power of others. I work on my spells, as that is what Circlet magic demands of its users." She puts down "Runic Lore 101, Victorian Use" and snaps her fingers. A small ring pattern of pale green light appears, floating silently just above the table. "This is one of my patterns. I can use it, but another Circlet caster could not. Maybe one similar, but not the same. Circlet magic is individualistic like that."

[Chephros]

"Yes, yes, I doubt you would use only one magic if you were a Leech."

He looked at she put a ring on top of a book. The glowing light was interesting and he realized that's what the magic was. It was basically rune magic, only much faster. Perhaps it wasn't as strong though. It also seemed quite a bit more complicated.

"Interesting....Perhaps a Demonic rune could help you?"

This would hurt a bit, but he didn't want to damage the table any more than the slightly imprints of his blades, and he especially didn't want to damage the table. Plus it would be a very interesting scar for other demons to see, that is if it scarred. With his left hand he used an open space on his right arm, not covered with the twining bands of metal, and carved a small symbol into his arm. The basis being the pentagram obviously. Around that was a Pentagon and then lines went from the pentagon corners into the center. Carefully he also cut a circle on the inside of the pentagram, creating a rather odd combination of lines and a circle. (I wish I had CAD so I could draw that ><)

"I don't remember exactly what it's for, but I do know that it's an old rune from Demons. Perhaps you could use it."

During the speaking he would replace his shirt over it, clamp his hand down, and both absorb the blood, and shut off the blood flow for a few moments. As soon as it was done he would show the mark.

"If your wondering why I used my arm, it's because using the table would be stupid."

He wasn't going to bother mentioning using HER arm instead.

[Aiyon]

An eyebrow shot upwards as he mentioned a demon rune. Such a thing would be a good addition, even if she didn't know its significance. Good old trial and error would let her work it out, but his offer on top of the hostility was suprising. She really wondered if there were any strings attatched.

"Well, it could but... uhm..." she breaks off as he starts with the blade, watching with a perplexed expression. Self-harm was almost unknown to her, and here she was watching someone do it in front of her. And Tas didn't know how she felt about it. Once he finishes and states that using the table would have been stupid she blinks and shakes her head. "But... if you don't know what it does, is it really safe to carve it into yourself?"

The pattern she'd created in the air shifts, its pattern and trio of runes vanishing to leave a ghostly circle of yellow light. When he revealed the demonic rune she'd trace it into the circle, and also take a sketch of it with the pen and small notebook in her pocket. She'd have mentioned it before if she'd guessed his intent.

[Chephros]

"Ahh, but I don't use rune magic so I cannot use it. As such it's completely worthless to me except for a scar to bluff against other demons. That is, if it does something."

Hopefully she would be able to tell him if it did. As he did he watched her make it into the circle and draw it on her notebook.

"Now, is putting it in that circle really safe if you have no idea what it does?" He smirked as he said this, "I mean, you at least COULD use it if it could do something. What it if exploded as is?"

That would be interesting. The fire would barely phase him, the force possibly throwing him back, but unless she had resistance to fire she would be burned to a cinder-crisp. That also led him to think about the strength of her magic. Could it even create an explosion with that?

"Or would it simply create a minor flare?"

[Aiyon]

"If it did go off like that right now, i'd be very impressed... and a little scared too." Tas pauses to look at the ghostly version of the glyph, but it isn't doing anything more than floating there. Except that the light is now a pale pinkish colour.
"This is just a testing spell. It can organise glyphs, sort patterns, stuff like that... but a bad combination, or one that works, doesn't do much. A bad one breaks the pattern, a good one glows brightly." She hesitates, studying the image before looking back at the guy.
"In themselves runes only have minimal effects on the host object, if any. And you're right, it does take practice to put them to use... but this thing..." An awkward shrug indicates that it isn't a standard rune. One finger starts stroking around the rune, adding new strands of light.

"It has a pentagram in it." Is her eventual comment as she slowly builds a circlet in her spell. "A magical focus. Anyone with a hint of power can use one. Maybe not well, or as intended, but they can. The rest of it... i'm not sure. You say it is a demon rune, so it might just work with demonic energy. Or, it might also focus that energy for a specific result." She smiles reluctantly. "I'm not going to feed energy to it in the middle of the library though."

[Chephros]

"How about I do it then?"

Of course he wouldn't, but he did raise his left hand and it started glowing in a shadowish purple fog that mimicked the one covering the soul crystal on his tail. It was the energy used for helix strike and was purely demonic, as well as it drew from his secondary bloodline and thus it could be fed into magic. However he controlled where it went and thus kept it from going into the rune.

"Of course, then we would both be the ones cleaning it up, you for the rune, me for the power. Perhaps another test somewhere?"

Perhaps more than a test of the simple rule as well.

"Perhaps...in the training grounds?"

Another statement that could be taken two ways. One, a direct challenge, two, precaution. The training ground would be the one place they likely wouldn't be ranted upon and forced to do work if the rune did actually explode or something of the like.

[Aiyon]

Tas waves a hand at him as he builds up some of his own demonic magic. "No, not what i meant." she said hastily. "A pentagon can be fuelled by any magic... but this one might generate demonic energy of some form, since it is a demon rune."
A releived expression crosses her face when he doesn't try feeding energy to set whatever it was off, and she sketches a little more into the pattern. "If we're going to test... yeah. Training grounds are better than libraries. And i'd hate to clean this place up." She hesitates, looking closely at the expanded light pattern she'd been adding to.
"I don't think i can employ it in my spells for a while... not with any real control, at least. But we can power this rune to try and find out what it does, huh?" She pauses, looking at the blade points still buried in the table. "Unless you are looking to challenge me instead, that is..."