Fantasy Bloodlines

[St. Boethius]

Benton was sitting in a large leather chair reading a book on the Salem witch trials when Khora walked in. A place had been clear and the treadmill was being set up by the grounds keepers as well as a heart monitor by a nurse ghoul. “ Ah there you are. We’re just about set up here. Take a seat by me and we’ll get the blood sample out of the way.” Benton said closing his book and taking the necessary equipment from the nurse ghoul. “ It should only take a moment.” He reassured as he gestured for her to sit down in the similar chair next to his own.
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Khora sighs, sitting down, and offers her right arm, knowing the vein is easier to get to on that side. It’s one thing offering her blood to a vampire. Chances are that they’ll just drink it. But Benton has already showed what he can do with his own blood, and she wants to know what he’ll do with hers. Hopefully just study it for magical properties.

So long story short, she’s never had a checkup in her life.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton retrieved his folder on Khora’s medical information and started a new page of notes for the test. After that he quickly injected the needle and drew too vials worth of blood. One he gave to the nurse to use for blood typing and study later the other he kept for himself. Benton treated the injection would automatically as if Khora were human and didn’t think too much of it. Then he took the tool and took a vials worth of his own blood and handed both his vial and the other vial to the nurse. Treating his own wound Benton said. “ They’ll be done shortly, but we’ll need to wait until you’ve rested. I don’t need you passing out from anemia.” Benton said. “ Do you have an questions or something you wish to talk about while we wait?”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Khora watches him carefully as he takes her blood, surprised by how gentle he is about it. Then again, keeping her calm sounds like it’s in his best interest at the moment. She watches the ghoul take her blood out of the room, and her ears tilt back nervously as she watches him pocket some of it for himself.

So of course, as soon as he asks if she has questions, that’s what she goes for. “What are you going to use my blood for?” She asks, wanting to at least know if she’s potentially in danger.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton leans back into his chair to get more comfortable. It seemed like this discussion was going to be a long one. “ One will be used to determine blood typing if you need a transfusion and to ascertain what is actually meant by ‘magical properties’. The other I will add a drop of my blood to just see what happens. To humans my blood is a virulent disease that destroys them and reanimated them as ghouls. And apparently the same is true of vampires however they seem to retain thier personalities, but thier will is gone. As if thier souls have been drained. That is a step up from a usual ghoul, but ultimately not what I am seeking. I want to know how your blood reacts. Will it be any different or will it be more of the same? A question for you... where is your family?”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Korvashta listens to him, still nervous, but understanding. She supposes she’s glad he’s testing it with her blood first, rather than going straight for poisoning her like he did Myrtis. She just really doesn’t want to risk losing herself. Then he hits her with a question she really didn’t expect.

“My family… I don’t know where they are. I was forbidden to try and contact my mother, and I couldn’t care less about my father. Last time I saw her, my mother lived in North Dakota. Those two are the only family I ever knew. I suppose I might have siblings or half siblings by now.” Damn it, now she has to remember everything. She doesn’t like remembering.

St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton tilted his head as she talked about her family. He wasn’t that surprised to hear a hatred for her father. After all it was his lineage that put her in her current position and was responsible for her life of misery. “ Rest assured that if you wish to contact your mother you are free to do so. She is even welcome to stay in my home so long as she follows to same rules. “ Benton stated before checking the clock. The ghouls had finished and left by now. All that was left was for Khora to regain the blood taken. An hour or two should be enough. “ Any other burning questions for me?
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

That surprises Korvashta, and she looks up at him, confused. “Why are you so kind to me?” She asks softly. “No one else has ever been, excluding my mother.” She just doesn’t understand. Vampires hate her, humans hate her for serving vampires, and even other Dhampir hate her a lot of the time.

She could see her mother again… assuming her mother is still alive, that is. She’d be… what, early nineties? Korvashta herself is already seventy years old. If her mother is still alive, she probably doesn’t have much time.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton couldn’t help but laugh a little at her question. To him it didn’t even qualify as something to be asked. “ I have been alive for a very long time. Since the America’s Civil War... back then. Before vampires were wide spread and known. I was the monster people feared. Back then I was beaten, stabbed, burned, shot just because of my appearance. However there were some... who were kind to me. Who sheltered me despite the risk. Now granted there weren’t many a total of 9 people over the span of centuries extended thier homes and helped me. Because of their kindness I have made it a point to return kindness with kindness, and help those in worse off positions. Now a question for you... Do you want your mother and her family brought here with you?”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Korvashta pauses. “Yes.” She says softly. “She’ll be very old. I don’t even know if she’s still alive, but… I want to see her again. They took me away when I was twelve, so I haven’t seen her in fifty eight years.” She didn’t actually know how old Benton is. She thought he revealed himself after perfecting the formula, but he must have been hiding for a very long time before then.

She must seem like a child.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton smiled, “ There’s no shame in that. I’ll activate a few ghouls and they start searching for her in North Dakota. Even if she’s dead I’ll arrange for you to travel out to see her. “ Benton reassured her. As he said that mana pulsed out from him and through the house until it reached two ghouls who awoke from thier deathly slumber and began making preparations to leave. “ Alright I think we have time for one more question before we conduct the test. Anything else you need of me?”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

She nods, sighing. “Thank you. It means so much to me.” She says, smiling at him. “One last question… would the test with my blood mean that if it goes the way you want it to, you would test your blood on a Dhampir directly?” It seems like the way that path of logic would end. And considering that she’s pretty sure she’s the only one at his disposal, she wants to know.

St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton smiled, “ Think nothing of it.” Benton’s smile persisted as Khora asked her question. “ Yes if the preliminary test doesn’t show the same damage I will test my blood on you. The best way to think of it is as my house seal. Rather a brand you will consume my blood and enter my house officially along side the ghouls. It may not seem like it, but each of the ghouls I have here are treasured people to me. Before I took to modifying thier bodies I painted a portrait of them and together we hung it on my walls. One day your portrait will be added and you will officially join my home. Of course it is my home that you retain your personality. However it won’t change how I treat you. Now let’s get this test started.” Benton said before he got up and retrieved the electrodes from the heart monitor and began attaching them to the appropriate areas on her chest. When the heart monitor sparked to life displaying her resting heart rate Benton smiled. “ Now if you please.”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Kora nods, listening to him. That’s interesting. She prays she won’t lose her will to him. That said, he’s by far the kindest master she’s ever had. She will trust him when the time comes. She takes a deep breath, and gets onto the treadmill, starting it off slow at three miles an hour. Her heart rate is a bit above normal, but that’s also because of how scared the thought of taking his blood makes her.

She takes it up to five miles per hour, leaving her at a bit of a jog. She can hear the beeping from the monitor speed up slowly, until she brings it to seven, and it’s almost acceptable for a human heartbeat. That’s also about as fast as she’s comfortable going, since of all the things she was trained for, running was not one of them.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton watched Khora and the heart monitor closely and took notes on the heart rate and her physical description when pushed. “ thank you Khora that should be enough “ Benton said as he finished off his notes. “ Once you clean up your free to go for a while. I’ll probably do some reading until dinner.”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Kora nods, and turns off the treadmill, proceeding to almost trip getting off. Bringing it from seven to zero that quickly wasn’t a good idea. “Alright. What time is dinner? Anything you’d like me to make?” She asks, wanting to be ready on time. She still has a lot to think about on what he’s planning to do with her, and how much she really trusts him. And she’ll be seeing her mother again soon, so that’s just a whole new thing to think about.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton thought for a moment, “ Dinner will be at 8 in the evening. As for a request I don’t really have a preference. I’m sure whatever you make will work out well enough. If you need anything else don’t hesitate.” Benton said before opening his book on the witch trials once again.
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Kora dips her head, and turns to go to the bathroom to clean herself up. She’s still very pleased to have a hot bath again. She can’t stop thinking about her mother. It’s been fifty years since they saw each other. Maybe she’s just… moved on without her.

Many miles away from her daughter, a tall, white haired woman is working on her garden, a small orderly place in the forest she calls home it’s well away from the main roads, a small, but well cared for cabin. Mena has refused to let her old age prevent her from keeping her home the way it should be.

The old woman frowns, seeing that one of her lilies has gotten infected with some kind of rot. She sighs, and sits down, putting a hand to the base of the stem, and concentrating. The leaves grow a bit greener, and the black rot recedes, before disappearing. A large, black wolf growls at her from a few feet away as she lies down in the grass. “Oh, I’m fine, Lucas. Just… just tired.”

The Wolf goes to lay beside her, resting his large head on her chest. He can sense that she doesn’t have long left. He whimpers softly. Mena smiles sadly, rubbing his head. “Oh, you’ll be fine, you big baby. You don’t need me anymore.” She looks up at the sky, deep in thought. It’s about time anyway. Her magic can only keep her up for so long.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Benton would continue reading for many hours. Dinner would come and go and it would be well into the evening before his ghouls reached North Dakota let alone tracked down any rumors regarding Khora’s mother. They had been forced off road and into a thick forest in pursuit of thier target. Once inside the forest a power magic radiated throughout it. Benton frowned. It was the direct opposite to his own magic. With a bit of effort Benton assumed direct control over one of the ghouls through thier blood. “ Searching the entire forest would take too long. We need to get her attention.” Benton told the other ghoul. “ Fredrick my friend it’s time for something a bit drastic.” Benton said and the ghoul nodded before rolling up its sleeve and cutting deep into its own arm with a blade. Benton did the same with the ghoul he had taken control over. As the two pools of black blood seeped into the ground a curse was enacted on the land that would bring rot and decay to the forest. The first signs appeared quickly as grass and trees began to wither and die around the ghouls. The sickness would slowly radiate outward from them stickening all life as it went. The curse wasn’t powerful to kill humans regardless out frail, but the same couldn’t be said for animals who would be reanimated and join the ghouls in thier search.
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Mena’s Eyes snap open, and she’s filled with anger the moment she recognizes what is happening. It hasn’t gotten too close yet, but Lucas is trying frantically to pull her away, feeling the corrupted magic approaching. She gets up, baring her teeth in anger, and looks to the panicking wolf. “Run.” She commands, and with a whimper, the creature obeys. “That goes for all of you! Get the hell out of here!” She calls, a pulse of green magic coming from her as every insect, bird, reptile and mammal hears her call. They won’t be the puppets of whatever necromancer has intruded on her territory.

She walks toward the blackened trees, and puts her hand to one, trying to figure out if she can save it. If she can figure out what this curse is, maybe she can save her forest. But she’s so old, and so low on energy… there’s a good chance that the spell required to do that would kill her. If that’s what it takes…
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

Once Mena touched the corrupted tree the spread of the halted and even began to recede as their target had been found. What’s dead was dead, but the corruption would leave them and return to the ghouls. Now that they knew where Mena was it was a quick run to get to her. Once she was in sight the eyes of one of the ghouls glowed a deep purple as Benton assumed control. “ So you are the witch of the forest. I’ve been looking for you.” It said as the two approached her. “ There is someone who is very interested in meeting with you. A Dhampir I call Khora.”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Mena sighs with relief as the corruption returns to the ghouls, and lifts her chin, her bright green eyes showing anger at what they did to her home. However, as one speaks to her, her eyes widen, and she stares into its eyes for a long moment. “How do you know Korvashta?” She asks softly. Last she had any clue, her daughter was sold to the Lantons by her father.

Mena is still on edge, seeing the number of ghouls present. Maybe they’re meant to take her by force if she resists… she’ll just have to see what happens.
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

The ghouls watched her with cold dead eyes as Benton continued to speak through one of them. “ Korvashta was given to me as a gift by the Lantons. A pitiful attempt to curry my favor and use my power to his own benefit. She has yet to officially enter into my household and she has asked a favor of me. She desperately wished to see her mother once more before she commits herself fully. “ Benton explained through his ghoul. “ Whether you come or not is not my concern.”
Eliasdagood

 

[Eliasdagood]

Mena takes a deep breath, understanding. “I see.” She resists the urge to ask any of the questions as to Khorvashta’s well being that have been plaguing her mind for the years spent away from her. “If you would allow me to gather my things.” She says, and turns, walking toward her home.

She starts putting things in a bag. She’s not sure how long this will be, so she puts in several sets of clothing, her basic toiletries, and as an afterthought, some of her materials for magic. She didn’t want to teach her before, but now that she’s older, she feels better about it. Besides, a green mage could be useful to this new master of hers. She picks up the bag, and goes back to the ghouls with it. “Ready when you are.”
St. Boethius

 

[St. Boethius]

The ghouls nodded when Mena said she was prepared and lead her to thier car which had been parked. At the closest road to the forest they could find. Unless Mena asked a question the ghouls would simply sit in silence and kept driving until the car needed fuel.
Eliasdagood