Nine Lives and Bad Luck

Arthur

Godric Arthur had grown to be awkward about his last name. His parents had waited to decide on his name, but the moment they laid eyes on him they knew what they would choose. He had been named for his red locks and stubborn, fiery temper that had been made very apparent from the very moment of his birth. Godric Grindelwald.

    Oh, yes, it had been Grindelwald back then, and yes, if you had to know, it had definitely been more than a little awkward when his distantly related younger something-or-other cousin had tried to take over the world. It had made things a bit uncomfortable amongst his coworkers for sure.

He had been studying in a temple like library along with many other great minds of the time-a fairly large percentage of which were muggleborn, half blooded, or had creature heritages as only the third sons of true pure blood families were allowed to pursue this thankless line of pass time if any were allowed at all- when the news had been broken about the actions of the newest dark lord, Lord Grindelwald. Needless to say, it had caused quite a stir and many began to not fully trust him once the atrocities began to reach their ears in bits and pieces whenever someone new would discover the sanctum or a messenger or someone old return. Even some who had known him, lived and worked at his side, for two decades began to have doubts about his character.

Yes, it had definitely been an awkward time. No one mentioned it when he had changed his name despite that a scholar of his caliber doing that would have thrown the whole community into chaos and a near outrage under any other circumstances. Arthur was better. Plain, yes. But his and his alone to build a reputation off of. He was just glad he had the foresight that all of his academic papers were charmed to change his name to whichever his legal one currently was- he had done it for his middle names at the time as he had always been on the fence about it. Who would name their child Godric Percival Temperance Darthula Grindelwald anyway he didn't know, he was raised by his grandfather.

All the same, he was in luck and Godric Arthur continued his studies and practice in peace. Of course all good things had to end eventually and at the crisp age of 172, still looking merely in his early 20s he realized life there had grown stale.

    So he left.

   It was that simple, either way it's not like anyone who he had known well still was there, they had passed on or, alternatively, moved on to bigger and better things- bigger secrets, higher stakes, new alcoves of hidden knowledge. Most though, had died. 

     Upon leaving, he traveled, visiting the hidden spaces of the world that the true academic world hoarded almost as much as the rare and priceless books that they usually contained. It was for good reason too, he had been given the chance to study the enchantments on them only three times and it was awe inspiring. The Sanctum, the Temple of Life, and a nameless one most usually referred to simply with a respectful silence (that, yes, did confuse the hell out of everyone not in the know when mid-sentence the scholar would suddenly fall silent, bow their head, clasp their hands before them, and close their eyes for a solid two seconds before continuing as if nothing happened. No explanation would ever be given. Secrets like that were not given out so freely, if you were crafty, determined, or knowledgeable enough to contribute, than you could find your way there through the breadcrumbs scattered about. And if you weren't why would the scholars who were want an annoying distraction there?).

It had been some time before he happened across his next adventure though. He had heard of an illegal hidden space and his innate curiosity drove him to search it out. It was rare a hidden space went rogue and the intellectuals stopped abiding by the more reasonable of the rules the various governments laid out (the unreasonable were, of course, not followed  only in hushed whispers and behind closed doors when government officials came to call), but when the hidden spaces did it blatantly it was always for something worthwhile. He was drawn to the rumors like a moth to a flame, except, unlike the moth, not much could stand in his way of his chosen destination. After all very few people had ever gotten his level of experience with hidden spaces. Three times may not sound like much, but in this case very few even got the honor of studying one.

It came as a surprise to him when he made his way- stealthily mind you- into the area to find a ring of spectators surrounding a barrier with two mages in it fighting; one with elegant and unpredictable steps dancing about inside the barrier and the other sturdy as an oak. His own crystal blue eyes met dark ones with a web of gold tangling within, his curiosity met with wild, vicious, maniacal delight and a deep yet controlled thirst for violence, bloodshed, power. He nearly shivered.  Spells flew every which way dancing madly between the two competitors, bouncing off the barriers- a few even breaching sending the spectators scattering or dodging. Cheers rose into the false night sky that hung above it all.

       Godric made his way towards the gathering and soon heard the announcer keeping up commentary on 'Noire' and 'Morrigan'. The latter apparently a descendant of Sayre, founder of Ilvormony.  The former, apparently a wild card and crowd favorite. What was interesting was none of the spells used had the general flair most professional duelists used to get their names out. They were all quick and simple. The duel had clearly been going on for some time so that could be the reason, but...

       "New to the Smudgling Circuit then?"

        He started and turned to see a wizard holding their hand out to shake, "Aadish Toothhill, yes that Toothhill, she was my grandmother- like to think she passed on a few things- oh, I'm a vampire, if you hadn't noticed so no, I'm not a little too young and that doesn't make me less of a...."  they trailed off as Godric's lips twitched upwards in a clear show of amusement to anyone looking for it.

       "No need to be defensive, I've worked with many different mages before in my time. It's nice to meet you Toothhill- you called this the Smudgling circuit, I suppose the rules are to limit flashiness for practicality then in the name of her disarming spell victory."

       They blinked before their grin widened, "Got it in one- just Aadish though- not many casual visitors can name the significance of the name though, who brought you?"

      "I found the place myself, and you are hardly the only one who has age beyond their appearance... oh don't be like that, I assure you I have no intention of revealing your club."

      "Good, that's... good..."

      He gave a long suffering sigh, "I suppose you would like an oath? Very well, I, Godric... Temperance Arthur, hereby swear on my life and magic I have no intentions of revealing the Smudgling circuit to any who wish it harm. So mote it be." With a flick of his hand he conjured a cane for himself another flick and it was gone. "All good then?"

     Aadish stared wide eyed at where the cane had been, "Yeah, yeah, all good. Here, I'll show you around a bit."

      As he followed the other around his initial thought was only finalized. Travel had begun to lose its charm and he was preparing for his next adventure- whatever that became- and he thought, no he decided that this, dueling, would be it. He'd always been fairly handy with his wand and he had creativity and problem solving in bounds, not to mention a good control and amount of magic, plus quick reflexes that came with dealing with a great many volatile things; it would be interesting to put it all to the test. When it came to sign his dueling name on the papers he only hesitated slightly before he wrote down in his calligraphic script his 'new' name. He had always known from the moment he heard it that he would change his name, but he had never expected the part to go would be his last. And; if people got the wrong idea? That would only benefit him.