[hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=6644ff]Jack Hawthorne[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1071511694637006920/1107753925676900392/20230515_153755_0000.png?width=1111&height=625[/img][hr][b][color=6644ff]Location:[/color][/b] The Sanctum Sanctorum
[b][color=6644ff]Skills:[/color][/b] Magic Expertise
[b][color=6644ff]Spells:[/color][/b] Renewal
[url=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/710908524602851461/1119732958107021322/f7059321aefbfb8ce4923b133f1f9d6d.png?width=343&height=625]Outfit[/url]
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It was working. There was no clear way to know for sure, no feeling in his bones that told Jack that the Veil was regenerating. But he had a feeling their efforts were making some semblance of progress. [i]Any[/i] progress put them further away from certain doom. The glitter staining his clothes was getting everything by now. It would take [i]weeks[/i] To get rid of it all, but the thought. That faded as Jack felt his kind melding together again with Max’s. Their thoughts and the [i]power[/i] each of them held turned outwards upon itself. Like a geometric shape unfolding into infinity, the wells connected and formed the ocean.

He wasn’t particularly surprised that Klara seemed to fumble the chant. She was a child, and he knew how to remedy that. But as they recited the Renewal spell, he noticed Madalyne spitting fire like a dragon. It looked like the spell was actively harming her- literally burning her alive just saying the words- and he felt distressed at the sight of her pain. Why didn’t he think of this sooner? In Limbo, he noticed she seemed to exhibit some demonic capabilities, but avoided commenting on it because he didn’t want to be rude. But [i]now,[/i] her hybrid origin was working against her. 

And worst of all, Runa flat out refused to take part in it.

What had she done to herself? She seemed different now. Jack turned and shot her an exasperated look, [color=6644ff]”Have you lost your [i]mind?![/i] This is what we need to stop the invasion! Why would you come this far with us, only to-“[/color] He cut himself off, quickly reminding himself that they had to see this through. Squabbling wasn’t going to help them, it would only slow them down. Prudence didn’t want to do this either, but at least she was seeing it through. Jack kept silent for a moment as he thought about what to do.

One refused, another could get herself killed. But he had his book…

[color=6644ff]”Fine. Refuse, and leave it to us. But if we need your power, and the fragment of Strange's soul you were given, I will take them by force if I must. We did not come this far to fail."[/color] Ever determined to see this through, Jack released his hands from Max’s, and reached into his coat. He was going to get glitter in the pages… Oh well. It was for a good cause.

[color=6644ff]"Madalyne, save your strength for a moment. We may be able to do this without you. The chance is small, but it's better than killing you to do this."[/color]

Thanks to the melding of their minds, Max and anyone else participating would know exactly what the was getting at before he did it. He hoped it didn't come to fighting one another, but would they succeed otherwise?

He pulled the small book from his pocket and instantly began flying through pages. He had it with him when he was first dragged into Limbo, and it could not have been more useful than right now. [color=6644ff]”That will leave six of us. It’s a universal truth that magic works best in threes. Mathematically speaking, two sets of three will make the spell flow more intuitively, like a river without rocks in its path. It may be slower, but slow and steady is superior to fast and loose. [i]Where is it- Where is- Here!”[/i][/color]

He found the page he was looking for. It was the Renewal chant written down, word-for-word, as a passage in a section of the book about the Veil. [color=6644ff]”Klara, if you can’t memorize the spell, use this. I wrote it down years ago, and it is exactly the same. Read it from the page, it’ll be easier for you.”[/color] He handed the book to her, trusting her with it even after the glitter had stuck to the pages.

[color=6644ff]”The spell requires the soul of a Sorcerer Supreme to cast, but we're working with a broken version. But more we cast the spell, the more we repair the Veil. Again!”[/color] he rejoined hands with Max and began to recite the chant.

Over, and over, and over again.

However, in the back of his mind, some small part of him was dreading this. Something was telling him that this workaround wasn't going to pay off, but they [i]had[/i] to try first. They lost a piece of the soul in Limbo, and now one of them simply wouldn't take part. The Veil was certainly regenerating thanks to the effort. but could the mend it faster than it was breaking? Or were they simply breaking even against the endless tide by working with fractions of power?

If they couldn't use clever tactics to win, would they have to kill Runa?

Would they even be capable of killing someone like her?


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Jack does not wish to kill Runa. He desperately wants the best possible ending for as many people as possible. And to that end, he's rolling to wrack every last scrap of knowledge in his brain for something, [i]anything[/i] to make this work without their full power. Skills: Magic expertise and supernatural lore. [s]And a prayer.[/s]
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