How To Kill an Ijiraq

[Aria]

Night had come and gone and Aria had gotten very little sleep. Between monsters and the strange man she'd met in the cemetery Aria's dreams were hardly peaceful. The world around her seeped into her every waking moment, and when she slept it was even worse.

But morning dawns a new light, a new day and the start of a new quest. How does one kill an Ijiarq when they just get up and turn to mist when you try to kill them. There had to be another way.

With trench coat, swords and guns all sitting at the ready, Aria started for the headquarters library from her tiny apartment above the shop. She looked around and sighed. It was a far cry from her room underneath the Vatican Historical Society. Aria wondered if this is how other hunters lived. But it didn't matter she had a job to do no matter what she felt about her course and the Atharim itself at the moment. But it she wasn't about to let a monster hurt another human if she could help it.

The walk was short and Aria was thankful for the brevity of it. The back entrance was guarded as per usual. The walk into the dank basement left a chill in Aria's bones. But the library, it was warm, the fireplaces were lit and the soft flickering glow of the fire was comforting.

Aria started straight for the books on monsters. Hopefully someone from some day and age knew how to kill an Ijiraq or knew something of it. But for now she had to find a book on them or something. That was going to be the challenge unto itself. She wished for the comfort of her old library, but this one would do in a pinch.


Edited by Aria, Feb 12 2014, 12:48 PM.

[Aria]

Aria browsed the self and found several books that could be useful, however she did find one that looked like it could belong in the children's section of the library - Monsters from Á Bao A Qu to Zunbera-bō. Aria couldn't help it, she pulled the rather thick book out. Surely it couldn't contain many, the entire library was full of monsters, and journals of monster hunters and so much more that Aria hadn't even tried to think about.

With three books in hand Aria went to find a comfortable place to sit and browse through the books. Unfortunately none of the comfortable chairs had a table to put the books on. So she sat at the table nearest a warm crackling fire. It was better than nothing, she supposed.

Because of the curious nature of the title Aria pulled open From Á Bao A Qu to Zunbera-bō. Aria half expected to find a picture book with rhyming words at the end of each sentence, but what she found was far more complicated. This rather large tome was an index of sorts. It was a hand written account of books. In some cases there were short descriptions and various tips and tidbits written in the margins. Aria smiled, it looked like something she would do. It made Aria curious to who the author was.

She flipped the cover over and found no names, she looked in the most common of places and found nothing. No belongs to or anything of that nature labeled the tome. It was strange, most people wanted their stuff back. But this book was a perfect starting point for creating her database of monsters. If it truely held all known monsters in it then it was a very treasured resource.

Aria hoped that monsters were listed alphabetically. It looked like it for the most part, but sometimes a few things slipped between the craps. This book had to be bound after the fact, much like the one Father Dimitri had sent her. Her own beginnings of a tell-all about the monsters she had hunted.

This person was very curious and she wondered about the author even more. Aria flipped to approximately where the Ijiraq might be found. Sadly it was not in it's place. With a heavy sigh Aria filled through the preceding few pages and the later few pages until she found the Ijiraq entry. It listed three books - From Mist to Man, Controlled by the Gods and Journal of Elenora Martello.

At least now she had a place to start. But Aria doubted that she would find what she was looking for here. While massive it was far from the libray in the depths of the Historical Society. But it couldn't help to search. But where to start. Aria got up from her table and started looking, searching, surely there was some sort of system. Now she only needed to find it

[Aria]

It didn't take long for Aria to figure out the system the books were in. It was an archaic system called the Dewey decimal system. It didn't surprise Aria, but it made sense that it would follow old traditions. The Atharim were after all an old institution.

With system in hand Aria found two of the three books she was looking for. The other didn't look as if it were to be found here in Moscow. If nothing proved worthy in these books she might have to make a trip to Vatican City.

The thought of returning brought up the feelings of nostalgia and home. Comfort and peace were far from what she thought of when she thought of her situation then, but now, the bunker beneath the Historical Society was something she longed for.

Aria didn't look forward to seeing Father Dimitri again. He had never corrected her on her assumptions and Aria thought it was highly rude. But that was the Atharim for you she supposed.

Aria sat down at the table but the chair was far from comfortable and the while it was warm here, she didn't like it. The peace and quiet was nice, she found it oddly too quiet. Maybe her apartment wasn't so bad after all.

Aria picked up her things and the three books she had found note worthy, including Monsters for A to Z. It wasn't the actual title, but it was cute to think of it that way. Aria spoke softly to the woman at the desk. "I'm taking these three books. I'll bring them back later.
Aria spread the three books so the covers were visible, but it hardly mattered as the woman barely even glanced at her much less the books. Aria probably could have walked out the door with her not even noticing. Such security in this place. Perhaps the stories of a potential robbery were not so false.

The walk back to her apartment was short, and Aria was thankful the weather had not warmed at all since she'd been in the basement of the mansion. Her apartment was not nearly as warm but it was home.

Aria sat down with the books she had and started thumbing through them. Perhaps she'd find something useful.

Edited by Aria, Feb 19 2014, 12:54 PM.

[Aria]

Aria flipped through the books looking for any sort of information regarding killing the Ijiraq. The three books were mostly about the history of Ijiraq and what they were used for by the Gods of old times. Sometimes the words were hard to read, with centuries of smudges and fading.

The shadows had grown long and the couple upstairs started their fighting again, or rather their making up. Aria sighed. As she was getting up From Mist to Man fell to the floor, landing pages open. In the margins, neatly scrawled were the words "The elements can destroy Ijiraq."

That wasn't helpful but the writer must have found something on these pages that would help. Aria sat down and pulled the fallen book into her lap. It was a story of a god who was being attacked by an Ijiraq. It went on and an in an epic tale of glory. Only to have the Ijiraq burst into a billion ice fragments after the god had froze the creature and then shattered it's frozen carcass.

And then it continued on with another god killing the unstoppable beast with fire. "Even in gaseous form, the fire took hold and the beast became a blob of ash as the fire from his hands erupted forth."

It made sense now the comment in the margins. Two extremes of the elements could harm the Ijiraq. But that didn't really help a normal person kill one. Aria sighed. The information was useful, but it was hardly any good to her. Maybe for Dane or her savior, but for her it was nothing, nothing more than knowledge to file away for later. Maybe something more useful could come from the journal of the hunter on the list of books.

The couple upstairs had been forgotten until Aria had relaxed into the comfort of her couch with new found information in her head. Their emotions radiated into her body. Aria wished it would go away. She grabbed her coat and left the safety of her home. Hopefully the outside world was much better. She doubted it greatly.