Part 1 The Joker Chapter 51 Grounded Ritual Magic
Solving bills with magic?
Do you want to just curse the debtor to death, or do you want to counterfeit the bill?
I can’t fix the problem, but I can fix you?
……
All sorts of thoughts jumped around in Klein’s head, and the way he looked at old Neil became a little off.
He seriously considered the possibility of calling the police, no, informing the Night Watchman squad.
Old Neil glanced at him and said without a trace of humor:
”In your eyes I see ignorance, I see stupidity, I see weak and shameful trust, did Dunn not tell you the motto of the Peeps? Do what you will, but do no harm!”
”Though this motto first came from within a secretive, evil organization called the ‘Moss Ascetics’, extraordinary people who have chosen the path of the ‘Peeps of the Secret’ have proved its correctness by their own experience, as long as it is strictly adhered to and filled with reverence, the risk of losing control is minimized, and the opposite corollary holds equally true.”
”Your skepticism is an insult to me, to the Secret Spy!”
”I’m sorry.” Klein didn’t hesitate to apologize.
He had indeed forgotten the maxim that Dunn Smith had once mentioned.
Old Neil didn’t really get angry, and turned his eyes to say smilingly:
”Unfortunately, there are too few extraordinary people who pick ‘Diviner’ to have a corresponding maxim to help you.”
But I have the diary of Emperor Russell …… Well, strict adherence to the motto itself has the flavor of “playing” ah …… Klein suddenly associated, as if in thought nodded his head.
The old Neil did not say anything more, took away the vase and other things on the heavy round table and put them in the corner.
Immediately afterward, he casually explained as he took out a ruddy red and a deep black candle from a small silver case:
”If ordinary people want to try ritual magic, they must pick a suitable date, a suitable time based on the astrological results or go through the corresponding manuals, such as the Sunday that symbolizes the goddess, such as the moon time ruled by k. But for us extraordinarys, especially those who are good at this, these are not needed, our vigorous spirituality, our powerful astral spirit body, is the most crucial element.”
”Of course, if you’re not sure about the ritual magic you want to try, then picking the right date, the right time, can effectively increase the success rate.”
”Ah yes, there is a prerequisite that you must keep in mind and strictly follow!”
Old Neil put away the two candles, turned his body sideways, looked at Klein, and said very seriously:
”The Low Sequencers themselves are not powerful enough to perform almost all the ceremonial magic that can be performed are praying to the outside for power and asking for help, so only consider the goddesses, the Storm Lords and other orthodox deities, and never, never try to communicate with unknown and unpredictable existences, even if someone believes in the Ks, even if the recorded promises are full of temptation!”
”Believe me, don’t take a chance, as long as you try it once, you will inevitably slide into the abyss, and all efforts, all resistance, will only slow down the speed, unable to reverse the trend.”
”I will keep that in mind!” Klein replied in a deep voice, but his heart was in a frenzy.
His own “Transit Ceremony” seemed to be praying to some unknown, unpredictable being for power ……
And really gained the power to make the “inverted hangman”, a senior extraordinary person is incredibly powerful, the power to pull them into the gray fog above, well, he should be a senior extraordinary person ……
Thankfully, I’m not crazy yet, and there’s no sign of me losing control ……
Worried about the matter, he took it upon himself to change the subject:
”So it would be best for the Night Watchers to ask the Goddess for help?”
”If you want to pray to the Lord of Storms, there won’t be anyone stopping you, it’s just that k may not respond, or will respond with malice, and that could twist the results of our ritual magic in unpredictable directions.” Old Neil managed to dispel Klein’s fluke with a joke.
There was no such thing as “best”, only “must”!
Having finished his instructions, Old Neil picked up the crimson candle and said:
”Candles made from moon flowers and crimson sandalwood symbolize the goddess’s Crimson Lord status in ritual magic.”
He pointed to the deep black candle again and said:
”Candles made from nightshade, deep sleep flowers, etc., symbolize the darkness of night.”
As he spoke, he placed the black one on the top left of the round table and the red one on the top right.
”Why are there only two candles symbolizing the Goddess, k or the Hidden Mother, the Queen of Doom and Fear, the Lord of Sleep and Silence, ah.”
Old Neil gave a laugh:
”Good, that’s the question I was hoping you’d ask.”
”Before the Fall, the Moss Ascetics were on good terms with the Church, and some of their ideas and achievements in ritual magic deeply influenced us.”
”They believed that everything was numbered, that every number had a spirit, and in ritual magic, 0 represented the unknown, the chaos, symbolizing the state of the world before it was born, 1 signified the beginning, representing the original Creator, 2 symbolized the birth of the world and the gods from within k, and 3 signified that the gods were in contact with matter, and that everything took shape, in this case with two candles symbolizing the goddesses, and leaving the third reserved for ourselves.”
”Exactly which two candles and which two symbols are used will be determined by the effect the ritual magic itself is trying to achieve.”
Three of everything? All things are three? Klein couldn’t help but think of something he came across in his last life.
Seeing him listening attentively, Old Neil held the third candle and said:
”This is the candle that symbolizes ‘I’, a very common candle with just a bit of mint added, remember, plants such as roses, lemons, peppermint, moonflowers, night herbs, and deep sleepers are loved and favored by the Goddess.”
”The three candles, on the other hand, symbolize the physical, spiritual and divine nature of each person.”
Finishing his description, Sr. Neil placed the third one in the center of the round table.
He then took out a concoction of Full Moon Oil, a cauldron engraved with the Dark Emblem, a silver knife with an ornate pattern, a cup of water, and a dish of coarse salt.
”For extraordinary people who are not good at ritual magic, this time of the year, they also need the assistance of bells, crystal balls, silver cups, incense, and other items, but secret peepers and diviners do not need them, these artifacts are enough.”
Old Neil placed the faux parchment with the bill drawn on it next to the cauldron located directly below and pressed a corner with a special quill.
He turned sideways to Klein:
”Ritual magic requires a clean, undisturbed spiritual environment, and this must be created by ourselves, by first entering into meditation, building up our spirit, and then relying on auxiliary items to channel our power and build it around us, such as the ‘Holy Night Powder’ that I used in the house of Rill Beebe. For example, the ceremonial silver dagger I’m about to use.”
”Throughout the process, we must determine the symbols and corresponding incantations based on the desired outcome, the incantations are best done in Hermetic, as the ancient Hermetic language is derived from nature, similar to the ancient Dragon language and the ancient Elvish language, the effects are very direct, lacking the necessary concealment and protection, and can easily put the user in danger, which is why it has been improved upon, but it does seem to be much more effective, however, it does work better, as well. ”
”Alright, I’m going to concentrate on the ritual magic and won’t be explaining it to you again, so pay attention to what you’re watching and listening to, and take note of the questions, and ask me for advice when it’s all over.”
”Okay.” Klein took two steps back and looked intently at Old Neil.
Old Neil’s eyes turned dark quickly, and invisible winds began to swirl around them.
After a moment of silence, he lit the three candles in order from left to right, top to bottom, using spiritual and material friction.
Then he took the little silver knife, plunged it into the coarse salt, and mouthed the incantation written in Hermetic:
”I sanctify thee, blade of pure silver!”
”I cleanse and purify thee, that thou mayest serve me in ceremony!”
……
”In the name of the Goddess of Darkness, Lord of Crimson,”
”You are sanctified!”
One short, powerful, ancient word later, Old Neil drew his silver knife, plunged it into the cup of fresh water, and lifted it, pointing it into the space beyond the round table.
He pointed the tip of the knife at the outer circle, then took a step and walked around the round table, and with each step, Klein could feel invisible forces erupting from above the silver knife, which were full of spirituality and hooked up with the air to form a wall of sealing.
After one round, where the altar was was isolated from its surroundings.
Old Neil stood in front of the round table, put down the silver knife, picked up the bottle of “full moon oil”, respectively, into the black, crimson and ordinary candle three drops.
Zi!
A thin mist filled the air, and everything seemed to become mysterious.
Old Neil put down the glass bottle, looked at the imitation parchment, silence for two minutes, and then took a quill pen, in the “bill” traced the symbol of control – a box boxed all the contents of the square, indicating that it controls the debt.
Then he drew a “cross” to indicate elimination.
When he reached this point, he took the faux parchment in one hand, tapped his brow with the other, and opened his psychic vision.
Again an invisible and vigorous power glowed, and old Neil whispered:
”I pray for the power of the night;”
”I pray for the power of scarlet;”
”I pray for the favor of the Goddess;”
”Pray bring me the sum to pay this bill.”
”O Night Herb, herb belonging to the Red Moon, impart power to my spell!”
”O Moonflower, herb belonging to the Red Moon, pass the power to my spell!”
……
Klein was practically dumbfounded as he listened from the side, all sorts of thoughts stirring each other in his heart:
A spell like this would work?
Even though it was written and recited in Hermetic ……
This is too direct, too plain, too grounded, isn’t it?
Would the goddess get annoyed and double the bill?
At that moment, the candle glow brightened with a flourish!
Old Neil finished chanting, closed his eyes for two minutes, picked up the “full moon oil”, and put a drop on each of the three candles.
Then he grabbed the piece of imitation parchment, brought it close to the candle that symbolized “I”, waited until it was lit, and immediately threw it into the cauldron.
Once again, Neil closed his eyes and seemed to feel the burning of the bill.
After a while, his eyes opened and he looked into the cauldron with its black emblem, only to see that the imitation parchment had burned completely, leaving only ashes.
”Praise the Goddess!” Old Neil tapped his chest four times to draw the Crimson Moon, then extinguished the candles in the reverse order of the beginning.
With that done, he took his silver knife and poked the invisible wall around him.
After a sudden gust of wind, Old Neil said with obvious relief:
”There.”
”That’s better?” Klein snapped in consternation, “The bill is settled? How was it settled?”
”I don’t know, anyway, it’ll be settled, in a reasonable way.” Old Neil spread his hands and laughed.
This …… Klein didn’t know what expression or words to use to respond.
Would this be a bit unreliable?
Note 1: The magic in this chapter is adapted from the Wickham Grimoire.