84 Venerable Blood
London, England,
Clock Tower,
The Clock Tower was a place of learning, of research and a place for those that aspired to reach greater heights aided by those already at those heights. It was a place of prestige and politics between old noble families that stood so far above the common masses it wasn't even funny, a place of wars waged in the shadows involving little to no physical altercations between concerned parties.
This was precisely why Karmagliph Melusatea Deluc, Lord of the Departments of Mineralogy and Archaeology found himself stupefied at the sight before him... The cold wind from the open windows brushing past his skin and ruining his hair did naught to bring the Head of the Neutral Faction out of his daze...
"What.... is going on here?"
All around him, magi walked by ready for combat...not traditional magi nay, these were Enforcers.. Magi specialised for combat situations who each carried a license not given to those even slightly underqualified.
While most of them dressed inconspicuously, as was the norm, such that they would blend in perfectly with the normal people up until it was too late, there were also those odd few that stood out like sore thumbs thanks to their form fitting suits hidden by dark trench coats concealing multitudes of weaponry.
As his grip on his suitcase tightened, the Melaustea noticed multiple squads concerned with large scale spell deployments and rituals...
One may think that the Mage's Association had a little too many individuals under it for a society hidden to the public and they would be right if not for the fact that relative to a total population of 7 billion, every other population was in the end, meagre.
Of course these weren't just the idle stationary forces, no, Enforcers had been called back from all over the planet and offered ample rewards along with strict orders.
It was once more time for war and in war, being stingy could backfire in a single instant, something the learned nobles understood very well... The fact of the matter being that every individual apart from the youngest generation had seen war in some form.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Karmagliph grabbed a man by the shoulder and spoke with a downcast gaze, "What is this?"
"My Lord?" Fortunately, his luck would have that the unknown individual was one that recognised him, "Has no one notified you of the situation?" In retrospect, it made sense. While their response was instant, the whole matter had just started in the morning.
"....." Karmagliph didn't know what to make of that, his contemplation however was taken for understanding and the man he'd stopped just went on his way.. Gripping his briefcase tightly, the Meluastea made his way towards his office.
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".....Again?"
They couldn't be fucking serious,.... could they? What the fuck was wrong with these people? Why the hell were they at war again? Didn't they understand that conflict came with costs they were nowhere near capable of meeting?
The Head of the Neutral Faction sighed, resting his face in his palms.... Of course the one thing he didn't utter was that the only reason he didn't want this was because it would threaten his position, in no way was Karmagliph someone capable of fighting like the Lords of the other two Factions..
He couldn't match the shrewdness and raw power of the new Lord Trambelio, Roman Trambelio Hauth and neither the talent, prestige or intellect of the Lord Barthomeloi, Lorelei Barthomeloi..
Still, it didn't seem he'd get much chance to contemplate on how to make up for his shortcomings.
The door to his office opened and a pale haired maid walked in with closed eyes.... Opening them to reveal deep scarlet pupils, she stared at Karmagliph for a moment before lowering her head and speaking 'respectfully', " 'Lord' Meluastea, Lord Trambelio and Lord Barthomeloi have called for a meeting, they await your arrival."
"....Are you making fun of me?"
"How could a mere maid do such a thing?"
"Then we're going to ignore the sarcasm in your voice?"
"I have no idea what you mean my 'Lord'."
".....You did it again."
"...?"
Understanding that she'd just refuse it, Karmagliph dismissed her and crossed his arms... Were the Trambelio and the Barthomeloi allied in this? It made sense considering both were attacked and neither had personalities capable of forgiving something like that.... That meant he was at a disadvantage in this meeting.
Releasing a defeated sigh, Karmagliph grabbed his case and left his office.
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"I wonder why the Director won't interfere."
"I doubt one as aged as him would bother with something as mundane as a war."
"So he's senile."
"...Disinterested."
"Senile."
"....."
"Senile."
"...Enough already."
"Come back when you have a cock."
"....."
Sitting in a room rearranged to host a meeting between the heads of the three factions commanding the Clock Tower, Roman and Lorelei engaged in a conversation that would send many into a fit of unmatched rage but to them, it was merely idle banter to pass the time.
Lorelei sat upright, her back straight and her posture erect. In sharp contrast, Roman sat in a greatly relaxed manner, arms sprawled and head resting on the table... The Trambelio seemed to be staring at his companion with a grin on his face, a strange sight considering his eyepatch.
"On the topic of Lords, are we simply going to mull over the fact that you've stolen one of our most prominent families?" Lorelei pressed her hands together, tilting her head with a stern, intimidating aura about her. The Animusphere line had been one of their greatest assets, it was a blow the Aristocratic Faction couldn't take, not as things were.
"Oh Animusphere? Whatcha gonna do about it?" The one eyed Magician only grinned wider, his head rising to the challenge...only to just rest in his hands lazily.... It wasn't as if being in a faction truly bound you to obey till the end of the time, the Animusphere had been loyal to the Aristocrats for long enough, "Does it really matter though?"
Lorelei clenched her fists, staring at the indignant lord with a strange gaze.
"Why not just combine our factions? It's not like our families are new ones.." Roman made a stunning proposal calmly, he'd notice a great many things about the Democratic Faction pushing for talent above blood.
Each leading family of Democratic Faction was centuries old and the fact of the matter was, talent was almost always only there where there was blood... It was a plain truth. One couldn't just have high grade magic circuits naturally, they were almost always present in those of ancient magi lineages.. That was just the way inheritance and blood purity worked, nothing would change nature.
"Talent is always in those from old families and in those that it isn't, they end up recognised anyway don't they? I don't see what our conflict's about." Roman shrugged his hands, it was by all means a stupid and idiotic conflict that should never have been there in the first place.... It was probably a bid for greater influence and not actual Democracy.
In the world of magi, the talent of those from old noble lines was rarely ever outdone and that was a fact.
"I suppose.... that is true." Lorelei slowly nodded her head, the Aristocrats pushed for blood supremacy and the Democrats pushed for talent supremacy not realising that the two were directly proportional in that exact order, "How come...." How come no one pointed it out?
"Indoctrination." Roman pointed out with a raised finger, pointing at the Barthomeloi's forehead. The Magician grinned, "You didn't think that way either." For all their intellect, their old ways could really make Magi stupid sometimes.
Magi groomed their own children and raised them as machines working on the ideology of their lines, the effects of such a thing were more severe than one would realise or expect.
"Don't the Barthomeloi raise their kids in isolation up till adulthood?" Roman had more than investigated the people that could be threats, believing that one's environment greatly influenced their thoughts and personality.
"..." Lorelei didn't speak, sorting her thoughts at insane speeds, "If we were to join, what of those against it?" It was an... understandable proposal. Unity would do the magical world more good than a conflict that in a certain light, was utterly stupid.. Something her pragmatic mind grasped rather easily after it was pointed out.
Roman stared at her lost for a moment before sneering, "What about them?" He raised a hand, magic circuits flaring, "Do you think those under get a right to speak?" He released enough magical energy to make the Barthomeloi, armed with hundreds of magic circuits thanks to her crest, freeze only if for a moment.
"Ah." Right, their discussion was so sudden she forgot that part, what right did those undeserving and those unworthy have to even mention their thoughts to those above them? "Very well then." She held out her hand, one might think she made her decision without much thought put into it but they'd be wrong.
In the first place, Lorelei didn't think at the same pace as the common man. She understood that their conflict was redundant, as well as something they couldn't afford amidst a war.. If it didn't work out, it could be called off later on and on top of that, his magical energy was far more dense, greater in quantity and pure as compared to her own.
Something the Barthomeloi wouldn't have admitted if the difference was small except it wasn't, his magical energy outclassed her own by such a margin that it couldn't even be put into words.. And the reason for it was his blood.
It also wasn't as if they stood to lose something from this, it was a win-win situation... There was also the fact that with his prowess he could potentially try to strong arm them into subservience if they waited too long and the simple truth was, they wouldn't be able to shit about it.
An alliance on equal terms was a good deal compared to that any day of the week.
Roman grinned, reaching out for her hand with his own, he'd said he more than researched his opponents right? A fundamental and deeply rooted part of the Barthomeloi ideology was that all, nobles and commoners alike, should be submissive to those with more venerable and excellent blood than their own.
And what was the blood of a God if not venerable and excellent?
"I uhh.... what's this?"
Karmagliph wondered what the fuck he'd interrupted and slightly shrieked when two glares were sent his way.
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The Barthomeloi ideology isn't something I made up, that is their canon way of thinking and Lorelei is the ultimate embodiment of said ideology. Always seeking greater heights and progress.. It's to the point where she believes her name 'Lorelei' is just a useless decoration added to the Bartholomei name.
And as already established, any excellence that a human's 'blood'.i.e: their magical circuits and energy, could have would always pale in comparison to a Divine Core's.
Magical Energy isn't only about quantity but also about the purity or 'excellence' if you will. For personal magical energy made in the body, we use the term Od. Now Od varies greatly in quality, if you think about it as say, fuel then here's an apt description of how it varies.
If a litre of petroleum takes a car through, say, 2 miles then another variant of this petroleum takes it through say 50 or 100 miles. The difference in the quality is what results in this and you can just interchange petroleum with Od to get a better understanding.
In simple words, with high quality Od big fireball uses up a small quantity. Low quality Od, small fireball uses up great quantities.
Magic Circuits possessed by individuals directly reflect the purity and quality of their blood because a commoner having good/large number of magic circuits is nigh impossible. With high quality and capacity ones almost always belonging to older lineages. The older a lineage is, the better the quality of the magic circuits of their successors.
Of course there's always odd cases, like Shinji Matou not being able to use magical energy at all despite being from an old ass family. In that case it's sometimes an incident or some unnatural occurrence that causes a family to lose blood quality with each passing generation.
Shinji is also a good way to describe the differing ideologies of the Democrats and Aristocrats. The Democrats would discard him without a second thought because he brings nothing to the table. The Aristocrats would give him ample backing and try to see if he brings something to the table, if he doesn't, they'll also discard him sooner or later.
If you find any flaw whatsoever in this chapter, feel free to point it out so I can rectify it.
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