Mattius had crept around the archway and had entered a large hall, one decorated with detailed images of a man, woman, and child, lit only by the candles surrounding it. He was in the Coriptus Homestead, hunting for the last member of the dynasty and hopefully cutting off an influence to the Dark Shadow. He had his motive, one fuelled by anger and heroism, but that would've only hampered the young man as his mission was clearly not thought out. He brought only himself, unless there was a backup plan thought out, but that was extremely unlikely.
"Snooping around, young man?", calmly said a male voice, sitting in the darkened corner of the hallway. Mattius took no time to find where it was coming from, but kept calm as the gentleman sitting down became clear to him. "Don't you think it's a little foolish to be breaking into my home?"
Mattius reframed his posture. "Val Coriptus, I assume?"
The gentleman's hands gestured. "Who else would be here?"
Mattius reached for the knife on his side.
"Please, have a seat." A small movement of Coriptus' hands changed Mattius' position. He was knocked off his feet and speeding towards the older man, having been forcefully seated by a moving chair. It stopped in front of Coriptus, only at arms length distance. "Tell me, what do you hope to accomplish by breaking into my home?"
No answer.
"I mean it, not rhetorical," calmly added Coriptus, leaning back in his chair with an uneasy smile on his face.
Mattius struggled to get his words out, obviously uncomfortable and confused about the situation. "To get to you?"
"An honest man, good quality."
"I can't exactly say I came to look at your paintings."
"Nothing wrong with that. Precisely the reason why I come here, to this room." He glanced at each of the images, each one depicting a different time, place, moment. "Not a fan of older people reminiscing on the good old days but..." His smile faded. "...mine were too short, stolen from me." He looked back at the man who had broken into his home. "You have family?"
"I'd rather not say."
"That's fine. No pressure, perfectly reasonable explanation." His smile returned. "I presume you're from the Guild?"
"What make you say that?"
"Because I can see that the mark on your neck isn't a tattoo and that you somehow are familiar with my home's general layout." There wasn't another word from Mattius, only silence. "Don't worry, I don't plan on doing anything yet, but your arrival is well timed." Mattius' chair moved back to where he once stood. "I'd like you to tell Miss Miller that Our ascension is coming, and that it would be wise of you all to not interfere with our plans, for your greater good. Got that?"
Mattius was slow getting up, confused as to why the high ranking Dark Shadow member was so easily letting this young prospect go. He was comfortable talking to his enemy, yet didn't lift a finger to inflict serious harm.
"No harm, no foul? Deal?" Coriptus asked, his smile maintaining and uneasy tone through out.
Mattius was hesitant, but then slowly started making his way to the archway he had come through originally, now his way out. He took his first few steps, before--
"No deal." A flick of his hands produced two sharp knives that flung towards the seated gent, who only flicked his wrists to change their direction to towards the floor, and before Mattius could strike, Corpitus stood up and rose his arm.
"Stupid boy," he exhaled in a much lower tone, clutching his fist quickly after.
Mattius had tried to get hold of his other knives strapped around his waistline, but the command of Coriptus had stopped his progress in his tracks. His arms were stiff and motionless, and his struggle to make his next move rendered him uncomfortable. He was completely frozen from the head down, and the only thing in his line of sight was the target who gave him an open door.
"You young prospects are always so eager to prove themselves to your glorious leader." Corpitus started his walk around the hallway, glancing at his prisoner and looking at his decorations. "Wanting to make the world a better place, wanting to ensure magic and non-magic folk alike live in harmony." He kept looking at his parents. "You helpless fools are unable to see what's behind that awful facade." He glances at Mattius, still struggling to get free from the invisible barrier forced on him, letting out only grunts of struggle.
"My family contributed to the Guild, some time ago actually, believing they were the best people to turn to when inquiring about anything magic related, and what did the Guild do to them? Nothing." He walks towards the painting of his parents, mesmerised by the detail as his tone got increasingly harsher. "They sent me an apology basket, did nothing, and let those PIGS continue their rampage." He turns to Mattius, now struggling harder as the pathway he set himself upon got increasingly dire. "We have this power to show those insects what happens when they target the wrong people, and your leader would rather it whittle away, for nothing. NOTHING!" He screamed, his pent up frustration now starting to overwhelming him. "Your little treehouse club that claims superiority is led by feckless idiots, wanting to keep that seat within family regardless of ability." His anger calmed a little, and his uncomfortable smile returned. "No matter, that'll change soon."
Mattius was now moving, though not by his own intuition. The barriers that held him still were now bringing him towards the manor's owner. His feet left the floor, and the struggling boy tried harder to escape the bonds that bound him to his path. "No! Stop! Don't do this!" he begged, but the pathway didn't stop, and Coriptus paid no attention to his pleas.
"You see, I gave you the option to send the message I wanted to your little leader. Either leave, or stay, you'd bring that message to Miss Miller." Mattius was close to the man now, and Coriptus reached out for his head. "Now, let's see who you really are."
Mattius screamed as Coriptus made contact--
Training, mother, recently born son, job as a waiter, looked at Guild intel, gathered items, set off.
--Mattius collapsed to the floor, clutching his head and continued screaming as the sensation of being invaded never left him. He was shaking, screaming no, before crying and crawling on the floor before the sight of it's owner.
Coriptus chuckled lowly, observing the insanity that sometime came with the memory invasions he would conduct. The job was done, and Coriptus commanded the window to be opened. He took control of Mattius again, who struggled loudly and babbled incoherently continuously.
"Now, send that message to Miss Miller," before throwing the boy out the window, and back onto the streets on the outskirts of New York City. A gathering was going to take place, and thankfully it wouldn't require much travelling.