[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT8PgFQJYCU]Leviathan Nero[/url][/center]

A creeping monstrosity slithered its way into Levi's laboratory. The Magus did nothing to hide the look of disgust that crossed his face as the Master of Words came into view. An aberrant monstrosity, in the guise of an impotent, self-aggrandizing bureaucrat. A terrible creature that passed itself off as something even more terrible. It made Levi's skin crawl to think that the blood of anything remotely similar flowed through his own veins. He nearly spat at the Master's feet, but this time managed to restrain himself.

He made no effort to welcome the intruder, instead kneeling at the central core of his spell engine to assess the damage done. As Urthar ranted at him, Levi pried one of the sleek machine's panels off to get at its inner workings. The panel was somewhat melted on, and so Levi grunted and strained to remove it; his well-trained musculature making itself clear as he flexed and pulled on the metal sheet. Finally, it came off, and Levi crawled partly inside of the coffin-sized computer core. This was a particular type of spell engine of his own design, but nothing terribly extraordinary. Essentially an adaptable spell-code transmitter and computer; GRIMOIRE was based on similar technology.

Just as he thought, the processors had utterly burned out. The smell of electrical fire and melted silicon was thick inside of the case. The damage had even spread to other components, which would also need to be replaced. He sighed; these parts would take days to synthesize and replace. Levi's excitement from his earlier discovery was utterly gone at this point, between the considerable damage to his computer mainframe and his utterly uninvited guest.

Grunting and crawling out of the large computer case, Levi responded gruffly to the admonishment of the Master. "Spare me your sanctimonious demagoguery." He rose to his full height, taller than Urthar's hunched form, righted his chair and hung his cloak over the back of it. "If you and the rest of the feeble souls in this Tower wish to continue to live as fearful rodents under the looming heel of the gods, so be it." He wiped the sweat, dust and loose azoth from his hands with a towel on a nearby workbench, still not looking at Urthar. "Just leave me out of it. My work is sanctioned by the Grand Master, and that is all the explanation I owe to the likes of you." He lit up a cigarette from a packet also on his bench, and finally turned to look at the Master of Words, contemptuously puffing on his smoke. "Regarding the predecessor of this project, I suggest you consult your vaunted Archives rather than wasting my time." Levi summoned GRIMOIRE, and turned his attention to the holographic interface of the spellbook floating over his free hand. "You know where the door is."