Borrowed warmth spreads through my veins, bubbling and boiling inside, and quite without intent I find myself hopping and skipping as I make way to the library. The pleasant energy warms my breast, but I would never allow such pleasures to distract me from more important matters.
Hundreds of books surround me, filled with knowledge that I’ve only begun to pry into, but the little that I’ve tasted has already been proven wrong in some measure.
The slaves are not savage animals.
That alone is evidence of the lies enshrined here, to suggest as such would have offended father greatly, and the girl I was would never dare voice such a suggestion. The monster I am today has no fear.
Still, I am not here to rewrite the errors printed in this sanctum of knowledge.
I run my finger along the leather cover of the skillbook, one of the most valuable texts in this library. This, at least, I believe I can trust. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the servants that busy about in here, leaving the floors more filthy for their presence.
Retreating to my reading room on the upper floors, I lock the door behind me. Finally, with the sun having set some time ago, I can pull the curtains and look out over my property. The moonlight is more than sufficient for my changed eyes to see the yard as clearly as in daylight, I may be cursed by the sun, but it seems that I’ve been blessed by the night.
The vibrant colours are drained by the low light, but there is a peculiar beauty to flowers painted in shades of grey. It’s as if they have had their very purpose stolen away.
I touch the æther mark on the skillbook and let it draw a flow from me. It pulls from both my natural æther veins, and the veins that ought to carry blood but now flow with dark magics instead.
As with all things associated with human pride, we must measure ourselves in competition, grading those who are lesser and letting them know just how far above them we stand. This grandstanding is only permitted because of proper method and design, such that our rankings are not informed by lies. This book is the culmination of many centuries of human ego, to separate the best from the second place behind them.
It takes mere moments for the book to be done with its reading, and I open it to learn of my new place in this world.
Of all the many things written, I focus first on the changes that I’ve gone through since the last time I checked on my development. My æther veins have grown more resilient, and I’ve gained another general-use vein to the ten that I had prior. Small as they are, they’re not nearly significant enough as to show through my skin. It’s not until a good hundred are gathered that they might be visible on close inspection, and not until a person has developed over a thousand that they can be seen clearly at a passing glance.
People tend to like showing it off when they’ve gathered that much power, but I guess there are others who aren’t as favourable to the glamour of it all.
I’m not much of a mage, myself, but I can do what’s expected of me. I can summon flames and identify illusions, and a handful of other things in basic competency.
Flipping the pages towards the back, past the many pages filled with craft skills and combat arts, I find a few new passages that have been added, just as I was hoping for. There is a reason that this book is considered a miracle, even after centuries of work.
I don’t know the exact tricks behind this text, few do, but I trust that it provides accurate reports.
Vampiric æther veins quality: E Rank
~Improve quality by drinking blood from powerful intelligent beings
Magic:
Vampire’s Recovery: E Rank
-Heal your own wounds or the wounds which you drink from.
Vampire’s Gaze: E Rank
-Intimidate and limitedly mind control a target.
Vampire’s Strength: F Rank
-Express significantly greater physical strength
Manifest Shadows: F Rank
-Give shape to the shadows, and physically manifest them.
Illusion Magic: F Rank
-Make lies appear as if true.
Unseen Transposition: F Rank
-When unobserved, trade places with another unseen space.
Magics grow more powerful in an atmosphere of death and terror, but grow weaker in the light, or in an atmosphere of calm, or confidence.
Power increases when in a state of bloodthirst, increasing more for the longer you’ve been without feeding. This benefit disappears upon feeding.
It appears this new power works differently to the other æther veins I have, and I must focus on improving quality rather than developing more veins. This certainly makes sense, as I imagine the blood vessels running through me are much wider, allowing for much more æther to pass through compared to dedicated æther veins, yet at the same time, I cannot grow more of them.
It’s interesting that so many of these new magics are rated ‘F’. This essentially means that I can’t use the magic at all, it’s something deemed beyond my skill and ability. That said, the conditions following explain why I have in fact used ‘Manifest Shadows’ already, while also explaining how they faded around that violet-eyed girl.
By creating an atmosphere of pure terror, I can strengthen my magic, and as I currently am, I can access certain magics that should otherwise prove unusable. It’s also strongly indicative of my new nature as a monster, and thankfully it’s not too much unlike that of a proper lady.
I should control not only the battlefield, or tea table, but also the enemies themselves. Victory is determined not by swords and armour, my goal is not to strike the enemy down, but to break them, mind and spirit. I ruin them and I take from them what I want.
Unfortunately, my newfound strength comes with weakness, but I’m somewhat surprised to see it recorded here, too. Apparently, the nature of the æther running through me makes it worthy of extra consideration.
Your vampiric æther supports your life and burning out your vampiric veins will be extremely dangerous, if not lethal.
Vampiric æther combusts in powerful light. These effects can be limited by the consumption of blood, and high-quality æther veins can allow for better resistance against the light. Vampiric æther magic can never be cast in powerful light, however, as the magic, lacking the protection of your body, will combust before any magic is realized.
So, it seems that my aversion to the light isn’t a temporary injury, but a semi-permanent crippling of my existence as a lady. Truly, what sort of Countess has her tea in the dark?
I must work hard to recover, and regain my access to the light, even if it’ll be uncomfortable.
With this, I think I have a more complete understanding of my capacity… however…
I flick the pages back towards my more mortal learnings. Magics that I learned through my years of proper education; noble flames, illusion identification and dispersal, and beyond magic, maintenance of my emotional state.
It’s almost as if the noble class is trained exactly to counter me, or the monster that I’ve become at the very least.
Not that it saved us from the red-eyed monster.
Still, if these weapons are to be used against me, then understanding them might be the most intelligent approach for me to take. What’s more, there is no reason not to use mundane magics and tools to develop the terror that strengthens my new dark æther. I will need every strength I can put to my name.
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