Chapter Text
An explosion rocked the Tristain Academy of Magic, shaking its very foundations. Smoke billowed into the air, building a dark pillar beside the shining marble. At its base, a crowd of onlooking, second-year students coughed and wafted away the aftermath of their classmate's failure of a spell.
It hadn't been Louise's first, but could possibly be her last.
"Did she summon anything?" A fiery red-haired, dark-skinned girl asked, arms folded under her chest.
Beside her, a petite, doll-like girl narrowed her eyes through her glasses and peered through the murky veil. She saw no signs of a figure or form amidst the smoke. There was nothing but charred grass and falling soot.
"Uncertain." She fixed her glasses and leaned back against her rhyme dragon.
Kirche von Zerbst huffed and shifted her weight from one hip to the other. She scanned the field like all the others, searching for any sign of a familiar. Surely even the Zero could summon a rabbit or somethin-
A fleck of something sharp hit her face and she recoiled with a yelp. Tabitha caught her before she fell over herself, one hand with a surprisingly strong grip holding her arm. She only let go of her after she'd regained her bearings.
"What was that?"
She glanced about, but saw nothing in the grass. Tabitha, on the other hand, waved the crook of her staff and muttered a spell. The winds flowed around them, then coalesced on the ground. From between the blades of grass, she picked up a shard of wood.
Kirche tilted her head. Tabitha squinted. Behind them, Guiche de Gramont leaned forward with Montmorency de Montmorency. They exchanged quizzical looks, but both shrugged.
"Is it a splinter?" The latter of the two blondes asked, squeezing her boyfriend's hand.
"Wand splinter."
Everyone looked at Tabitha. They all furrowed their brows until realization dawned on Kirche. She erupted with laughter, holding her belly as she doubled over.
"The Zero blew up her wand!" The Germanian fell backwards, but simply rolled in the grass as she shook in a fit of giggles.
Others joined her soon, Guiche guffawing as Montmorency gave halfhearted laughter. Some of their classmates slung jokes around and threw out some jeers. The only one not caught up in the social pressure to make light of the situation was Tabitha, who's eyes focused on the pinkette lying on the ground.
"Oh, that was a good laugh." Kirche wiped a tear from her eye. "You have to admit it, Vallière! Even you didn't expect your performance to bomb so explosively!"
She descended into another fit of cackles, but then frowned. The pinkette didn't respond as she usually did, slinging back insults or throwing a fit. She just lay there… on the ground….
Tabitha moved forward. Professor Colbert moved faster. The laughter ceased as the balding man called out and received no response.
Soon, the children were inching forward and surrounding the still form of Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Valliere. Her academy uniform was marred with black soot and red blood. Her right hand, which she had wielded her wand with, was a bloody mess and embedded with splinters.
Some teens fainted. Others screamed. A few acted.
"I need water!" Montmorency dropped to her knees and immediately incanted a string of spells. "Guiche, go get the healer!"
"But-"
She shot him a furious look. "Now, Guiche!"
He obeyed, rushing off with the round boy Malicorne on his heels. Those that watched them run for aid prayed that they find someone, anyone. They prayed to Brimir that he would save Louise, that he would have mercy on her soul.
Kirche prayed that this was not the end. That maybe she could be given a second chance at making amends.
Tabitha prayed that she would not have to witness another death right before her eyes.
Montmorency prayed that this would not be the first death on her hands.
Professor Colbert prayed that his own would not be further drowned in the blood of innocents.
They all prayed to their god, their Founder, not knowing that Louise's life was in the hands of a being so much older and more divine in his own twisted ways.
"I-Is it working?" Kirche knelt close, watching Montmorency wield a blob of water as a healing patch.
She ran it over the petite girl's torso, mending the wounds as best she could. But there was only so much that a second-year student could do.
The pressure began to weigh heavier. Tears pooled in Montmorency's eyes as she worked harder. Her movements turned erratic and she grunted with every incantation.
"Ms. Montmorency!" Prof. Colbert attempted to restrain her with Kirche.
Montmorency broke down, with Kirche following. Other students joined in their grief. Tabitha stepped back, eyes wide and face full of a myriad of emotions as she collided with the full reality of the situation.
They had just watched their classmate die.
"Wakey, wakey."
Louise awoke with a gasp, the life returning to her in an instant. Her heart thundered in her chest and her body trembled with fright. Her legs felt weak and she fell forward, but caught herself. There was a brief moment where she regained her bearings, and then she slowly rose up to take in her surroundings.
Torches blazed on stone walls, illuminating a stone crypt. She stood atop a platform overlooking an abyss from which seething tendrils of ghostly blue energy reached out. There were whispers in the back of her head, cold fingertips pressing on the surface of her mind.
"Wh-Where am I?" She put a hand to her chest, but then pulled it away at the sticky sensation.
Her eyes traveled down and her breath caught in her throat. Blood covered the front of her uniform, or what was left of it. Charred tatters were all that remained of the shirt, much the same as her right hand, whose flesh had been seared and stripped.
A strangled cry escaped her as panic set back in.
"Oh- Oh Founder!" She rubbed her shredded thumb over her rent palm, all the while slapping her other hand over her mouth. "Founder help me! ...Am I dead?"
"Oh, you ain't be dead yet, little girl!"
She jumped, then twisted around. The voice echoed off the crypt walls, laughter joining in a moment after. Suddenly, a brazier beside her erupted with blue flames, the silhouette of a figure appearing in them. "But you gonn' be dere soon enough."
She stepped back and shielded her eyes. Her breath hitched and her heart stopped as she gazed upon the demon sitting on the edge of the brazier.
It was tall and gaunt, skin colored ashen grey with pale, glowing markings covering its bare torso. A lower robe composed of blood red feathers encircled its waist and shrouded its upper legs. Bones adorned its figure, from bone armor to bone pendants to bone protrusions on its back. Even a bone mask covered its face… or maybe that was… just its face… which had two massive tusks protruding from it….
"How you doin', mon?" It grinned at her, eye sockets blazing with ethereal fire.
She took trembling steps back, voice caught in her throat. She could only stare, wide-eyed and afraid.
"Someting wrong?" It chuckled and disappeared in a flash of blue flames, reappearing beside her in another blaze. "You're looking a little lost dere."
She stumbled away from with a scream, falling backwards onto her rear. She tried to scurry away, to scramble onto her feet and run. However, when she turned to flee, she found herself face-to-tusked-face with it once more.
Another scream escaped her and she fell in the opposite direction, crawling backwards in a vain attempt at escape.
"Now, now. Dere be no need for dat." The monster clutched a bone staff topped by a ribcage. "Dere ain't nowhere you be hidin' from me down here."
A cackle left it and she could only tear up as her fear reached a peak. The inevitability of death seemed imminent, so she prayed and sobbed. She begged the Founder for forgiveness, and pleaded that he would deliver her from this end. Yet, no one answered her, save for the monster flowering over her.
"Who dis 'Founder' you be prayin' ta?" It cocked its head and huffed. "Whoever dey be, dey ain't answerin' ya anytime soon."
Through her welling tears, she glared at the monster, the demon. It merely laughed and shook its head.
"The Founder will save me!" She propped herself up with her good hand. "He'll smite you-... demon!"
It seemed to take offense to that, putting a two-fingered, skeletal hand on its chest.
"Demon?" Its mouth shriveled into a scowl. "Eugh! I ain't no filthy demon, wit their disgustin' fel!"
That… was not the reaction she had been expecting. Blinking, she looked back up at the, um-... she looked up at it. It was no less intimidating than before, but it seemed more… human.
"Who… What are you?"
It scoffed. "Who am I? Who. Am. I?" It struck the ground with its staff, blue fire erupting around them. "Da name's Bwonsamdi, and I be da Loa of Death!"
The term was unfamiliar to her, but the mention of 'death' shook her to her core.
"Wh-What do you want with me?"
He, presuming it was a 'he', cocked his head and scoffed again. "I not be wantin' anyting to do wit' you. In fact, I should be asking you what ya bein' want wit me."
"...Wh-What?"
"Was dat not you callin' ta me?" He bent down to her, the ethereal flames he used for eyes burning brighter.
She blinked and stared at him. Then, it clicked.
"Y-You're my familiar." She backed up against a wall and climbed it up until she was on her feet. "You're my familiar?"
"Familiar? What dat be?" He spat, eye-flames dimming as if narrowing in suspicion.
"Th-The Summoning Ritual." She ran a hand through her hair. "I was supposed to summon a familiar, a- a servant-"
"Servant? Ha!" He slapped his knee and erupted with laughter. "I'd like ta see ya try, little girl!"
Her fear turned into offense, and she quickly grew a scowl. He didn't seem to notice though, too caught up in his humor as he clutched his staff to stand. Though, when he finally calmed, his eyes blazed conspicuously and he stood taller over her.
"But, of course, ya could always try makin' a deal…."
Her short lived confidence shriveled and she swallowed. "A-A deal?"
"Oh, yeah…" He slipped behind her, coming to stand on her other side. "If ya be wantin' ta make a deal, den I'd be happy ta send you back to da land of da living… 'course, you're gonna need ta make it worth me while."
Louise swallowed, feeling cold dread ebb into her heart. She put a hand back on her chest and shivered and the stickiness of her blood. Her spine crawled and her stomach flipped, but she forced herself to focus on the situation at hand.
She was dead, or at least she was going to be. And the only way out was to make a deal with this devil. This 'Loa of Death'.
"What do you want?"
He chuckled, standing up straighter before twisting around to saunter over by the edge of the abyss. "Yer world be full of souls, wit' no one ta harvest dem. I'lll gladly take da job, but I be needin' an anchor to let me come and go. Dat be where you come in."
So nodded slowly, processing his claim. He needed her to act as some kind of anchor? His way into her world? Wait, did that mean he came from another world? Was that possible- No. No this didn't matter right now.
"Why me?" She consolidated her posture, steadying her quivering knees.
He scoffed. "Why not you? You be da one who summoned me. Remember?"
She nodded, trying her hardest to keep a passive expression. Her mother's 'Rule of Steel' reigned supreme in her head, but the dread festering in her heart was quickly overtaking it.
"Wh-Why not find someone stronger?" She arched an eyebrow and he hummed.
"Now why would I be goin' ta someone dat be perfectly fine and not be needin' 'ole Bwonsamdi's aid, hm?" He stroked one of his tusks, then huffed. "And who else gonn' be stronga den you? I can sense da voodoo in you, and it be strong."
She furrowed her brow. "The what?"
"Da Voodoo, mon." He leaned down to her, forcing her back a step. "Call it what ya will, dark magic, shadow magic, void magic. Bah! Da trolls always be knowin' it as da Voodoo."
Her mind blanked. She gaped at him, the mere mention of Void magic catching her off-guard. It wasn't possible. It had to be a trick. Bwonsamdi certainly acted the part of a deceiver, but… what if it was true?
Her, a void mage?
"Void magic?" She swallowed the lump in her throat. "How is that possible?"
"Ah, ah, ah!" He wagged a bony finger in her face, then pointed it at her chest. "Time be tickin', little girl. If ya want to be makin' a deal, it be now or neva."
She followed his finger and stared down at the front of her ruined uniform. It'd only gotten darker, more blood pumping out of her barely beating heart. She paled, more so than she already had, and looked up at her would-be familiar.
She could feel herself losing feeling. Her fingers and toes her numb, her palms and feet following. The world was getting darker, the braziers dimming.
The rule of steel corroded under the onslaught of fear, and so she threw out a desperate hand.
"I-I'll do it!"
"Oh?" He grinned. "You be doin' what exactly?"
She scowled. "I'll be your anchor if you be my familiar-"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Now dat not be part of da deal!"
"Well I need a familiar!"
"Well I ain't gonn' be da servant ta some snot-nosed human brat!"
She clenched her jaw and weighed her options. She was already swaying, her legs weak and wobbly. She was struggling just to hold out her arm. This could be it. But it couldn't be, not whole she still had so much left to lose!
Breathing in, she calmed her nerves. "Then, I'll... I'll serve you, as you serve me."
Bwonsamdi paused, then craned his head to study her with blazing sockets. "Service to me, would be for da rest of yer life, and da entirety of your death."
She swallowed her fear and offered out her hand. "No price is too great."
The spectral flames in his sockets flared even brighter and a chuckle rumbled out of his throat. "I knew I liked ya. We got a deal."
He raised his own hand, and she reached out to take it.
"Pentagon that rules the five powers…" She breathed in, then out, "bless this creature and make it my familiar.
She leaned over and pressed a kiss to the decaying sinew holding his skeletal hand together. She heard him chuckle, then felt him squeeze her hand tighter. A sudden, searing pain erupted on the back of her hand and she cried out.
Falling to her knees, she looked up and watched as the likeness of a tusked skull was branded onto her flesh. Above her, Bwonsamdi cackled as her familiar runes were branded onto his own hand. His laughter haunted her as she fell into darkness.
"Th-This can't be… This can't be real."
"Vallière's… she's actually… gone-"
"Wait! I-I think I can feel a pulse!"
"What?"
"Right here, professor!"
"Founder preserve us. Quickly! Ms. Montmorency, I need you to focus your incantations on her chest! The rest of you, get ready to hold her down in case she-"
She jerked upright, heaving in a breath of life. Her eyes snapped open wide and teared up as the sunlight burned into them. Imposing silhouettes surrounded her immediately, hands grasping at her body as she spasmed. Shouts and cries rang out, but the words were lost to the chaotic storm of thoughts flooding her mind.
Where was she? Who was she? When was she? Why couldn't she feel anything-
The pain washed over her, then impaled her with a thousand tiny needles. A scream escaped her mouth, but then a hand grabbed her jaw.
"Eugh! Gross!"
"Take this! Don't let her bite her tongue off!"
Something dry and hard was shoved into her mouth. Wooden. She gnawed on it. Her eyes blinked and darted between her captors. She recognized nothing about their dark shapes, and so continued to respond in kind, if not with more panic. Her spasms ceased, but her struggle continued as she fought against their hold.
Someone lost their grip on her right hand, letting her slap it against her chest before she clawed at it. She felt pieces of flimsy material, partly crusted and partly sticky. She ripped and tore until her wrist was taken and forced back down to the grass.
She let out a strangled cry as she saw the sunlight shine off a balding head. Scarlet hair danced above her like living flames. The crook of a staff drew glowing circles in the sky as light winds kept her pinned. She continued to resist as the names and faces came back to her.
"Dammit, Vallière!" Kirche held her left arm down, all the while rubbing her fingers against her drawn up sleeve. "Stay down or you're going to tear your own throat out!"
"Please focus on restraining her, Ms. Zerbst!" Prof. Colbert shouted, hands holding down her shoulders.
"Be quiet." Tabitha simplified as she drew more circles, casting more spells.
Blonde locks and blonde curls drew her eyes downwards. Guiche held her right arm and leg down while Montmorency worked with an academy healer to mend her body.
"Is it working?" The son of Gramont grew a grin. "I think it's working! You're doing it, Mon Mon!"
"Shut up and let me focus!" his girlfriend snarled, determination blazing in her bloodshot eyes.
"Oh, I like her." A shadowless specter stepped out from nothingness, clutching his bone staff. "She got a fire burnin' in her."
Louise stared at Bwonsamdi, then at the others gathered around her. No one had heard him, no one had yet to see him.
"Dey not be knowin' about us just yet." He chuckled and stepped over to her head, leaning down so his burning sockets filled her vision. "I'll let ya decide if ya want ta tell dem about our deal, little girl."