My Servant System

Chapter 420 419: A Creature Of Night And Blood

?

Leone PoV

Mother led me through the quiet halls of the Palace, her grey feathered dress blending in with the dim lighting that Mom preferred for her home.

Her silent steps and calm, serious demeanor fit perfectly for the atmosphere, and I couldn't help but fidget slightly as I noted that we were heading towards the lesser utilized portion of the Palace, where each of my Aunts were given their own courtyards to use if they pleased.

None of which were ever used, as they all wanted to live as close to Mom as they possibly could, for various reasons...

However, they were perfect for storage and places away from the world, since no one - not even the servants - were allowed inside; only the woman they were assigned to and her immediate blood.

And Mom, of course, since she set up the seals.

"Leone."

I looked towards Mother as we approached her courtyard, the double doors leading into her personal room engraved with a large full moon dripping with blood.

It... had always been a peculiar choice, and it was one Mother never truly went into detail with.

"Tonight, I'll be explaining more about... your blood. Not my blood, but how yours has changed because of your Mom. Things that you shouldn't have been capable of till you became an adult - like you summoning Janus - were made possible because of your Mom's blood. It's been... purified, strengthened... improved. The flaws and restrictions I lived with, and my parents lived with were lifted and made better.

There are things that you will be capable of that I was never able to do at your age... and things that you - and only you - will be able to do. Your Mom's blood is... unique, and when such a powerful bloodline like mine mixes with it, well..."

She pressed her palm against the bloody moon, dark red runes flickering around before unlocking the heavy doors, opening it.

"Technically speaking, Leone, you are a Hybrid just like Miss Fenryas. Your blood is just as unique as your Mom's, just in a different way. Hopefully we can discover just what your blood has granted you access to... and how we can better hone it. Your True Vampire form. Something I would have waited until you reached the Arch Mage level so as to avoid you accidentally killing yourself..."

Beckoning for me to enter the courtyard, Mother closed the doors behind us and walked onto the large gravel square that was bathed under the light of the rising moon.

"Sit. It's warm enough outside."

A few large boulders decorated the gravel square, and Mother simply rested on one, her crimson eyes staring up into the violet sky.

I did as she said, sitting atop on of the boulders as I stared at her, waiting for her to begin.

"Have you managed to master assuming your True Vampire form, Leone?"

She looked towards me, and upon seeing my nod she smiled, relief evident on her face.

"Good. I'd have been slightly disappointed if you hadn't. Have you been using it, or just figuring out how to take on that form?"

"No, I haven't been using it. I can manage to enter my True Vampire form, but I cannot do it quickly. So... it hasn't been used at all. Only time I've ever managed to enter it swiftly was when... Kat was taken."

Her smile turned slightly sad for a second as she nodded, and she said "Yes, strong emotions tend to draw it out. But, from what was said earlier, Jahi got incredibly injured during a fight and you didn't assume the form? Why?"

"I... was too shocked. I wasn't thinking with anger, just that I needed to heal her."

"Well, you need to hasten your transitioning up, but the more pressing matter is learning what abilities you've inherited and what abilities you are able to learn..."

As she spoke, Mother smirked at me as her skin began to shimmer with dark red mana, while her eyes colored over completely in crimson.

"For me, I was lucky. My Mother was given the ability to wield Blood Magic while my Father had the rarer, yet weaker Moon Magic. They are older, more archaic variations of the Elemental Runic Magics the masses wield today, and they offer their own benefits and drawbacks. Few practice those older magics - mainly because the knowledge on how to wield them is lost or tightly guarded. So... let me see if you've inherited either of their magics, like I did."

Two separate runes - one the same dark red as her glow, and the other a pale white - appeared in front of her, and they floated over towards me.

Instinctively I reached out and touched the two runes, and I hissed as they both fizzled into my flesh.

"Oh, you did get lucky... interesting. On top of that, you summoned Janus... hmm... We'll return to this later; for now, let's speak on the powers you can expect, especially with access to magics like that.

A Vampire is something unique. A spattering of different races that were blessed - or cursed, depending on your view - to have a unique suite of gifts. Longer - far longer - natural lifespans, stronger control over our Cores, no need for food or drink, only blood... our bodies are stronger, our stamina vaster, our flesh harder. Vampire's were given such bountiful gifts, and as such, we needed bountiful weaknesses.

The most obvious is blood. Drinking the lifeblood of a living creature is rather... abominable, and so we were despised for that. Harsh light - especially sunlight - makes us weaker, sometimes downright damaging us. A low reproduction rate, far lower than Elves... 

All of those together made us targets for the weaker, larger races, and we were slowly hunted into near extinction. As such, we were pushed to our limits, and evolved. The strongest amongst us became True Vampires. We attained the might of our Goddesses - Serenata, Goddess of the Moon, and Sanguina, Goddess of Blood - and grew far stronger. We unlocked magics new to those domains and improved more. Those of the True Vampires managed to drag themselves back into society and curb the racism against us, for a time.

With power like that, our control waned, and we grew reclusive, exploring those new powers and hoping to avoid another subjugation like before, but alas, it happened... Ah, I said I'd tell you of your powers, not our history didn't I?"

She grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes as she coughed, preparing to return to what she was meant to say...

To teach me about the power that coursed through my veins, and what... mutations I might see.