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[mugenginga]

(OOC: Continued from Scene Change, still just me and monster. PM me if you wanna be included)

The Bulkavin had been quiet on the way back. He was still overwhelmed by the change of scenery, it seemed. He had lectured Belphegor on how much the "man" seemed to look down on his society. Well, not as much lectured as sternly pointed out. It had struck the human formed demon as humorous, and he didn't change his opinion. It would be amusing to take the Bulkavin to Industrial Park or show him a television. He wondered if he would consider the moving pictures magic.

He hadn't meant to be rude with his reference to a castle. It was clear there were some words that even the island could not translate it. The creature didn't know what a country was, so he was trying to be careful. He'd left the Michale to his own thoughts as they walked, and it was twilight when they arrived at the castle. They'd walked for a few hours, and Belphegor was grateful the creature seemed used to travel.

It was possible the Bulkavin had sensed the castle before they arrived. The ability for those sensitive to spirits and the paranormal to sense the castle's current aura five miles out was not an overestimation. As they stepped through the trees into the "small" clearing around the medieval styled building, Belphegor turned towards the creature to assess his reaction. It was possible he'd passed it off as a fort or something of the sort. The current castle was like one might find ruins of in Scotland, and of the large variety. Large even for castles. The drawbridge was up and the spirits were reacting to Belphegor's return with an increase in activity...

[monster]

Smiling with delight at the new area, the Bulkavin was almost speechless at the sight of strange architecture of the place. "Different from the castle back home, that's for sure. It's simply beautiful."

The spirits weren't really bothering him as much as he thought they would. They were just like the creatures back home, he sensed. Just a little bit different, but surely the same. The thought made him smile wider. He was feeling comfortable here and welcome to this strange new castle.

"What a nice place." The comment slipped once more. The lavender glow of his eyes bright. "That big wooden thing, I'm guessing that's just like our magic barrier you have to get past to enter our castle." Information wanted to come spewing from his lips, but he pressed his lips shut, hoping that he would not reveal more than he was willing to. He was eager to learn, but he was sure that others outside of his world wouldn't be as eager. Reluctant to speak again, he looked at Mushi. "This wooden thing seems more private than our barrier though" He chuckled at the thought, and sadly it was true. Though the barrier was up to keep none Bulkavins out of the main courtyard, it was ridiculously translucent.

[mugenginga]

Belphegor gestured, "It is actually quite run down. It has seen far better days, not that I have seen them with my own eyes. It works well enough for its purpose, however. As for the barrier, it is called a drawbridge. On its own it is quite useless against a good magical attack. I have my own wards, however."

He was pleased Michale was settling down a bit more. He could tell the humanoid was working at keeping his thoughts to himself. At least he had the sense to not tongue wag. Belphegor stopped a bit past an area devoid of grass at the edge of the bank. The "moat" had areas of mud and small pools at the bottom, but it seemed to be from recent rainfall. The moat itself had not been filled for many years.

Belphegor gestured to the side, and it was nearly impossible to miss the surge of energy that came from the human formed demon as he did so. If Michale could sense such things, he'd realize it was laced with darkness. Not evil, per se, but dark nonetheless. The draw bridge suddenly fell down and created a rather large banging noise, the large chain system for it appearing to be useless. The noise was loud enough to send birds in the area shooting into the air in surprise. What little of the courtyard area that could be seen was terribly decrepit. As Belphegor advanced, showing no signs of being "gracious" and letting Michale go first, one could feel the way the spirits flew from him. Almost as if they feared the man...

[monster]

Startled by the bang, he took a step back and jumped, feeling the powerful fall of the drawbridge, and the feeling that Mushi gave him. He shuddered, his eyes flickered a strange green for a moment then went back to it's natural color. He turned away from him a moment, gathering his bearings. He coughed once, a strange feeling creeping throughout him. He turned forward and began to follow the man.

"So.. Mr. Mushi.. You live him alone besides your ghosts?" The question came almost against his will. He cursed himself inside. He wasn't trying to seem rude with asking so many questions. The man was being hospitable to say the least, letting him inside. Then tradition struck him. It was custom to give a gift to the person who supplies you food, shelter, water, or even an emotion of comfort. He pat himself down, realizing he had nothing on him. Thinking a moment, he did what any Bulkavin would do. Holding his hand out in front of him, water from the moat began to flow into the courtyard, streaming into his palm, dirt followed as well, mixing together and forming a mud, but hardened like a clay. He glanced at Mushi, the mud forming a nice and lovely bowl. He thought it would be useful to his acquaintance. It was custom after all. Make them something from the heart, something useful as a symbol of gratitude. It hardened what seemed almost automatically and he held out the bowl to Mushi. "For you."

[mugenginga]

Belphegor turned to give an answer, but stopped as he felt the surge of magical energy swirl around Michale. He looked on with interest as the elements combined to make a bowl. The act of giving gifts in thanks for perceived kindness was not foreign to him in any manner. In fact, it had been more common when he had been lost from his home world than he perceived it to be now. He gave a fairly warm smile and carefully took the dish from the Bulkavin, "Thank you very much."

He could have turned down the offer, but the cultures that observed this type of custom tended to take offense at a refused gift. He held it carefully as he began towards the castle again. However, he also had a chance to respond as well, "The ghosts, I suppose, is part of it. Before my arrival, they were known for causing much in the way of trouble for others. I am quite confident now you can sense at least some of my powers, it is for that reason I can safely live here. It is also one of those places with rumors attached to it. Am I correct in assuming your world has places deemed as cursed? Places people seem to vanish in or go mad from? This castle is one of those places," he paused, and waved a free hand dismissively, "You have no need to worry, however. As I previously mentioned, the ghosts will not harm a guest of mine."

He was well aware he was implying his power levels with these statements. It seemed a fair enough thing to mention. If the Bulkavin entered the throne room, he'd sense the dark demonic energies practically smack him. It would be better Michale had an inclination of his powers before being assaulted by that. He wasn't sure if the humanoid knew he had the equivalent of demons in his world...

As for the flickering eyes and equivalent of raised hackles and goosebumps, Belphegor let it slide. He had expected that approximate reaction.

[monster]

"We have places like that, yes. But they're not buildings, they're bogs and quicksand pits." He nodded as a reassurance to himself. He looked at Mushi. "I haven't feared the ghosts here, they seem rather timid to me." He smiled and looked around a bit. "I know that's not your usual form... It's alright if you reveal yourself to me. I won't judge."

Nothing could surely be any more surprising than this world. He was prepared for a new creature to stand before him. "I'm pretty sure that's not your real name either. But simply a name to go with that disguise of yours. Mushi... strange, but I guess it works with the creature you're portraying yourself as."

Glamor magic was a loose term in his society. Scholars dismissed it as simple slang. The better term was Hidden magic. Used to conceal one's identity, or to shield one form being found. Simple, yet powerful magic. Not just anyone could use the magic there without perfecting it. This man was clearly from a totally different place.

[mugenginga]

Belphegor chuckled darkly. His suspicions had been right, after all. It seemed Michale was from a world that favored the powers of mysticism over things commonly referred to as technology. Natural energies over artifical ones, so to speak. He had stopped, and he turned his head towards Michale. It wasn't a full turn, just a shift to better allow the foreigner to hear him.

"I could, but I must ask you a question first. Are you sensitive in any manner to dark magic? Unholy, demonic, or any of the sort? By sensitive I mean not the ability to sense it. I mean would you be harmed by it?"

If Michale wished to see his true form, he would oblige. He had no doubt that while the creature had powers, he was not one to be threatened by. He didn't wish to kill the humanoid with the rush of power, however. Perhaps it would allow the creature to better understand the violent spirits in the castle. They were not timid in the least, merely knowledgable that he could wipe them from existances if the whim struck him.

[monster]

The question seemed strange. In Bulkavia magic was magic, and evil was in balance with good. Neutrality was a way of life.

"Magic is magic, whatever you choose to use it for is for one's motive only. Magic is a neutral thing where I'm from. It can be manipulated to whatever the beholder desires. There is no such thing as good and evil, just the paths in life one pursues. If you go down a dark path, trust me, I wouldn't falter at the least. Harm can only be caused by the person, not the magic."

He bowed his head, remembering an old testament from his old school books. His memory was trickling back to him slowly. Only tid bits of his past were not in his grasp. He knew of the books, and that he studied in the castle, but from then on his mind went black. His head rose as he shook the thoughts away. Not now, he thought to himself.

[mugenginga]

Belphegor laughed. It was fairly creepy and disturbing. If he were not still treading carefully around the humanoid, he would have brought up the war of those who sought the Throne of Bel and God that was taking place on his world. His opinion of it seemed like it would be most amusing. He turned towards Michale and handed him the dish he'd been given earlier, "Hold onto that for a moment, if you would."

The user is what made magic dark or light? It seemed his world did not have those that were formed from darkness. He would allow the Bulkavin to reassess his views after the transformation. Although the acts Belphegor had committed, the roads of ruin he'd lead so many of the race of Man down... once could argue it was his actions that would make his energy be dark.

He deeply bowed with a flourish and energy swirled up from his feet as he did so. The following took the time it took to bow and stand up again, but much happened in that few seconds of time. First off, the energy itself felt evil. To those such as Michale who deemed magic as merely neutral, it would say terrible things about Belphegor's true nature. Even his abilities to sense magic might interpert the energy to be blacker than the darkest night, a mist of evil swirling around the man. It was too much for his basic form to contain, and flowed out from around him in the fashion water might rush away from the point it was dumped. The levels were off the charts, and would likely cause any spirit sensing equipment to explode from overload.

The changes seemed to flow out from his human form in an oozing flood. His asian skin darkened from its normal shade to the silver color of the precious metal known as platinum. But purer and shiner, perhaps more comparible to mercury. Completely without blemishes. The ears shifted from their normal human fashion downwards, appearing much like elf ears but sticking straight backwards, the points going past the back of his head. Those with good size perceptions would estimate them to be roughly two and a half inches long. at the end of the point.

His hair didn't do much changing, although the bit that had fallen loose before was back into place. It was pulled back in a manner that allowed no bangs, indicating any he might otherwise have were rather long. The hair was a much darker shade of black, resembling a polished onyx crystal as opposed to a natural shade. The ponytail became fuller than in human form, the fairly pointed tip falling to roughly the base of his back. The large silver holder from before turned to gold and became larger and thicker. It now stood about an inch tall. The ruby in the center shifted to blood red, and a gem formed to either side of about half the size. The one on the left was a sapphire, the other an emerald.

One of the larger changes in that area of his body was the horns that could literally be seen growing from his two temples. They appeared to be made of solid gold. They both grew in both directions. The ones parts that grew backwards intertwined with each other, forming a large version of the type of braid one might see on some stereotypically Celtic hairstyles. The pieces in the front were larger, but intertwined in a similar fashion. They came to a point on either side and an extremely large gem grew in the center. A blue diamond larger than even the famed Hope diamond formed their, cut in the most common shape seen for diamonds, the flat top facing forward.

His finger nails grew to resemble claws with the way they were pointed. Their color shifted to bone white, but still managed to seem a bit more like nails in how delicate they seemed.

The clothes shifted even more than the body, a ripple effect changing them into something far more regal. It was the type of thing one might see the highest ranking noble and/or mage wear. The "base" was a wide sleeved robe of the color of freshly lost blood. The sleeves were partially rolled up, revealing an inner lining of the highest quality silk. A thick strip of silk cloth tied around his waist served as a belt piece. A knot in the back is what kept it in place, but the the tips defied all laws of gravity as they spread outwards and seemed almost to hover, rippling in response to some phantom wind. The wrap was lined in beautiful gold, and across the entire thing was gorgeous but altogether pointless embrodiery that seemed to be made of gold spun into thread.

Around his shoulders was a deep purple robe, held on with cloth of the same gold spun cloth. The inner lining was also gold, but the truly impressive part was the way that the insanely long base split at his ankles. The two formed pieces angled forward and up to his upper arms. They fluttered with the same phantom wind as his waist cloth, spread wide and spiralling down to his wrists. From the bottom it became narrower, meaning the part spiraled around his wrists were very thin.

The energy only partially dissipated as he opened his eyes upon standing in his new form. It was clear the power that all but cascaded around him was responsible for the phantom wind and phsyics defying ability of his outfit. As his eyes opened, they would be revealed to be solid gold. No pupils or anything of the sort, but one could tell he was looking straight at Michale, awaiting a reaction.

None of this changed that despite the way magic and powers worked in Michale's world, Belphegor reeked of the darkest black magics...

[monster]

The power of the magic is what truly overwhelmed him. The indifferent nature of his kind was always the same, no matter how evil or good you seemed to be slanting, you were still a living creature. That alone was always reason to celebrate. Another tradition had come to light, the more powerful the magic user, the higher up in the mastery they were which demanded a form of respect. He hadn't even noticed that his body took on the reaction of his traditions. Bowed on one knee, face parallel to the floor, hands met at his chest in a clasp. His chin rose to look at the now true form and he smiled delightfully.

"Such power from such a creature. I have not seem your kind before, and I can tell your path is less than others would most desire. But fear not, good Mushi, Your power does not harm me. My tradition compels me to bow before those more powerful than I in the ways of magic. It's not every day you come across someone with so many negative choices in their life. Amazing!" He stood and walked a few steps closer to the man. "Truly! Your true form is truly astounding."

His eyes were full of curiosity and amazement than fear and dejection. This creature before him was quite a story to tell and to behold. He grinned, blessed with such a powerful person. "My people would welcome you with open arms at your power."

[mugenginga]

Belphegor raised an eyebrow at the kneeling his visitor did. Seconds before a dark and cruel grin spread across his face. He could learn to like this creature. He nodded, any attempt at seeming amicable gone. He was now very much the lord and acting as one might expect a cruel king to act towards a slave. Not in the kicking around sense, but in the manner of seeing a dog's fleas of more importance.

"If you respect me as much as you claim, you will not stand so close," he sneered. He needed to see how much he could push the awed humanoid around. If he pissed him off enough to make him leave, it was of no import. The creature seemed to know he could crush him, and seemed all but ready to make some pledge of loyalty. His dark grin became darker. He could have fun with this one...

[monster]

"Only the Council has ever complained about someone being too close. Come now, I'm sure you don't mind if I take a closer look. Those horns of yours are quite fascinating."

Now he was just pushing buttons, he could tell through body language how this man was beginning to think. Superiority complexes were always apparent, even though the beholder tried their damned hardest to hide it. Mushi was showing no interest in being subtle. The bowl was being held close to his body as he leaned a little bit forward. "You didn't tell me your true name, but I guess we'll save that for later." He leaned back "Would you mind if I find a kitchen? I'm quite parched and hungry. I just wish I had my favorite juice that my home has. Great juice, I think you'd like it, yes." He handed him the bowl once more and turned around to look at the place. He inhaled deeply for about six seconds and then exhaled. "Yes, I'm sure there's a kitchen somewhere in this large place. Do I have to get a drink myself or do your ghosts do that?"

He began to poke and prod at everything with his mind. This was all a giant puzzle, and he had to solve it. Everything was coming together now. He was sure of it. He blinked a few times and glanced from here to there, taking it all in. He knew he has possibly pissed off this Mushi, but consequences were far from his mind.

[mugenginga]

Belphegor opened his mouth, but paused. His grin was gone, replaced by a bemused smirk. Perhaps he had moved too fast there. He shook his head, "Unless you feed on rats and mold, the kitchen will do you no good. I must admit I forgot about that detail. I am not used to interacting with beings who require 'normal' food for sustenance."

Michale wasn't the only one feeling the situation out. Belphegor knew the type that tried to figure puzzles out. Perhaps he could work with that. Might as well give the humanoid something to gnaw on, "Believe it or not, however, I do have my enemies. What does your world have in the way of creation tales?"

He looked forward to seeing how Michale chose to interpert that. He also allowed a bit of his magic to swirl around his hand. If the humanoid stepped close to him again, he would teach him to be so forward. In other words, he planned on setting the creature on a short but intense fire if he tried to close the distance again.

(OOC: In terms of fairness and not godmoding, Michale can mostly dodge it. But he should get at least licked with the flame - Unless he's smart enough to sense the energy and realize he shouldn't get up close again. XD The fire would give him quite a few first degree burns over the areas it hit. He'd actually be using a low level "warning" version of the spell.)

[monster]

"Well... I wasn't that hungry anyway" He chuckled and whirled around to Mushi. He shook his head. "I'll have to make do, then." Sooner or later he'd have to get something to eat, but surely he would be good for now.

"Creatoin tales. Well... as all scholars learned as a basic course, Bulkavins are creatures of the heavens. The first of our kind fell from the sky, riding along a sky boulder, they say. From their original home, they traveled to expand their empire. Falling off course and landing where Bulkavia is now. Of course the Catalystic Nymtrias, or Nyms for short, are banished from the Bulkavin lands. They were taller than we, due to the meshing with nature. Their arms and legs turned into part branches and roots, their hair turned into the hanging moss. As far as I know, the creatures of the land were there before our ancestors came. We just gave them names and disturbed them the least we could. I've been around for quite some time in other standards of time, but for us, I'm still a young adult. But, look at me, I'm getting off track here..."

He scratched his head and traced along from his brow to mid-horn again. This seemed to be a habit of his. He enjoyed telling all he knew, but at least he left out some main points and some important details that could most definately be crucial to destroying his people. The basic creation story was as basic as it could get. Bulkavins were extraterrestrial beings, and Nyms were banished to become nature beings. He knew where is ancestors truly came from. They had been taught it from the ancient writings and the books of the Ancient ones. A world they could never go back to. His people were nomadic, moving every thousand years or so. He was out to find a new settlement when he found this world... Surely this was supposed to be the new land of his people? Of course, he'd have to find a way back home. What nonsense, he thought. His mind was getting off track again, the memories of his learning swarming back to him. He spaced a moment then shook his head back to normal.

"What about you? What is your creation story?"


(OOC: Bulkavins are elemental controllers, so even if the flames came out him, he could easily divert them with just a thought. It would be more effective to beat him with a stick than to beat him with magic)

[mugenginga]

(OOC: Well, Belphegor's got physical powers too, but I'll keep that in mind for him to figure out if it comes to that)

Belphegor nodded, but he heard nothing that came even close to the Creation of his world. At least, the one that God favored. He shook his head, "It is not of much import, I was merely asking to see if I could draw comparisons with my own. Although my own is different than what the dominant species of my world regards as the main one. You see, my enemy is the second child of Man ever born. Or his reincarnation, in any case. First killed by his older brother, it seems that act intertwined their fates. Abel is not one that would incite much awe by his general appearance, but he has hidden power. As it is, I could probably destroy him... but I know to tread lightly. He is working with his brother now, it seems, and that man is far more ruthless than he."

(OOC: K1 and Naoya are the reincarnations of Abel and Cain as they appear in the video game known as Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. Keiichi Kimura is a fan name, he has no real name in the game. K1 is played by FF, Naoya by me.)