Night #3, of Elena’s stay with Claire at Fort Maria…

Claire’s… asleep. Today, she hasn’t awakened since dawn.

There’s not much left for me to do, but wait. The Blood Curse is incurable by mortal means, at least if you don’t count a mercy killing as a reliable method of cure. And even then, the corpse of any dead Vampire and their ashes, are said to bear the Blood Curse in the same way rotten meat carries traces of disease.

But perhaps, there’s some kind of cure that’s magical in nature. Maybe, just maybe. Magic is, after all, the act of willing forth a miracle upon the world, an irrational defiance of the natural laws set forth by the gods of Melodia. Not even Elicia and her divine Law are exempt from it, I’ll say.

Magic’s strange like that, y’know? Powerful, too. I mean, strength and steel are well and good, but magic’s the supreme power upon this world. It’s the reason why my family has dedicated entire generations to its mastery, because blades and brute strength can only do so much. Magic, on the other hand, has limitless potential.

There’s a library here in Fort Maria, that precedes the reign of Eris de Maria. It’s an entire collection’s worth of books and tomes that cover various topics on the arcane, the eldritch, and the occult. Knowledge, held by the Central Church on Amon and Sophia. Elicia and the Hellbourne, too. And it’s a good place to start my search for anything that might suggest the possibility of a cure, even if the catalogue is lacking when compared to the Akashic Records in the Ancient Cathedral. Or, for that matter, the library in the Arcane University, or even the troves of lore that the dragons hold in the Vault of Chi Xi Hung.

Oh, well. Beggars can’t be choosers, y’know? Especially so, given my current… circumstances.

I’d remain in the library and search for answers, from dawn till dusk. But I can’t, because I have to stay close to Claire. Y’know, just in case something happens. And thus, I can’t leave this room for any extended period of time. For that, I’m glad Eris understands my plight, because she instructs her librarians to assist me in any way they can. On her orders, they bring to me whatever I ask from the catalogue. And with them, I’ve been working down the list as fast as I can for the past few days, poring through whatever Fort Maria has on the subject of the Blood Curse, and the creatures in Amon’s hierarchy of the undead.

Now, I’m nearing the end of Fort Maria’s catalogue. I’ve gone through more than a hundred entries’ worth of books and tomes in the span of three days, and I’ve yet to find anything substantial. Most of what I’ve read so far on anything unrelated to slaying the undead, are mostly observations and conclusions made over the centuries, that contradict and dispute each other as much as they tout their own arguments and evidence as undisputable fact. But even then, they all share one common point – that there’s no definite answer for one seeking any sort of end to the Blood Curse.

And it’s a shame, really. But at least, it makes for good reading to pass the time while Claire slumbers through most of every day and night that we’ve been here. And I really do wish, now that it comes to mind, that she would be awake and well to read with me. We’d sit by each other’s side, and we’d share a kiss every few pages. It’d be the best thing ever. Seriously!

Aw, shucks. Still… I suppose I can dream and digress.

Now, there’s a knock upon my door. I open it, and Eris is standing outside, dressed immaculately in robes of white trimmed resplendently in purple and gold. Kuarloc, her Dullahan bodyguard, is standing behind her. Its massive frame blocks off the rest of the hallway in a hulking wall of white and gold.

“May I come in?”

Here, I’ll admit that I feel a tad inadequate. It’s possibly because I’m barefoot and wearing little more than an oversized shirt and trousers, and also because I’m expecting a librarian and not a Vizier of the Ecclesiarch. The books I’ve asked for are cradled in her arms, but…

“May I, de L’Enfer?”

“Please,” I answer, grimacing as I do. “Hope you don’t mind the lack of lighting, though.”

“It’s not to my liking. But, alas.”

“Heh.”

When Eris steps into the room, I wait for a moment for Kuarloc to follow suit. The door, much like most of Fort Maria, is built to be large and spacious so anyone of any size can move freely. And yet, that Dullahan remains outside. Wordlessly, it turns its back to us both, as if to stand guard on our behalf.

“Ser Kuarloc is not fond of the darkness,” Eris explains to me, while I close the door. “It is what it is, nothing more.”

In response to that, I simply nod in agreement. The hood of her robe has been pulled back, and I notice, once again, the mutilated state of her elvish ears. They stand out from the rest of her, a grotesque display of dried blood and scarred flesh. Even so, despite that, she’s pretty and petite like a little sister elf. And it’s a far more apparent observation, I’ll say, without that massive Dullahan constantly looming behind her.

“Your stay in Fort Maria has treated you and yours well, I trust?” Eris asks, breaking the silence between us as she nudges the tomes cradled in her arms towards me. “My librarians tell me that you are making good use of my library.”

“Yeah,” I answer, as I relieve her of the delivered books. “Thanks for that, by the way. I’ve been searching for a cure, and…”

“There is no cure to the Blood Curse.”

“Not yet, more like.”

“Your optimism is… misplaced,” Eris remarks, rather curtly. “As a Lich, you reign supreme over Amon’s hierarchy of the undead. You, of all people, should know my words to be true.”

Turning away from me, her yellow-eyed gaze veers towards Claire’s slumber.

“I can feel it, even from here. She’s dead.”

Eris is right, y’know? Since dawn, Claire has stopped breathing. And for some reason, I don’t want to acknowledge it, even though I’m well aware that this death of hers is only… temporary.

“Your silence suggests that you misunderstand my intentions, de L’Enfer,” Eris adds, looking me in the eye. “No. I come here not to mock your efforts, but to ask what you will do when the Blood Curse revives her into a newborn Vampire.”

“Blood…” I state in reply, uttering out loud the first thing that comes to mind. “She’ll need it, or she’ll wither and die a true death. And I’ll never let that happen, no matter what.”

“The first feeding is usually a violent one.”

“Yes. But it doesn’t have to be this way, because we can prepare for it.”

Prepare, indeed. It’s a common thread of knowledge on the topic of the Blood Curse and the Vampire, that the first feeding is a drawn-out orgy of bloody violence inflicted upon an unlucky victim, who gets drained into a pale and bloodless husk. Truth be told, it’s a wasteful display of lavish brutality, because vampires don’t actually need that much blood, and it’s just wild hunger and unholy rage driving them to such extremes in that first feeding. And of those who complete this unholy rite of blood and consumption, a scant few learn to rein in these primal urges for the sake of moderation and survival. Many others, however, succumb to it forever and become little more than rabid beasts to be slain.

And with all that in mind, I might have a plan for Claire. Maybe. It’s worth a shot, anyhow.

“What do you have in mind, de L’Enfer?” Eris asks me, speaking both slowly and carefully. “That glint in your eye, tells me that you have an idea.”

“Yup. Do you have blood? Non-Lightsworn, obviously.”

There’s a momentary pause, as Eris considers my question.

“Well?”

“My devatas can help you,” Eris states, her expression both solemn and cold. “They’re still mortal, and they know that you have our Lady’s favour. For that, for a Vizier of the Eye, they should be willing to bleed a little for you…”

“Good, I’m glad...”

“I can provide you a single elixir of blood. Nothing more.”

“That’s far better than nothing,” I say, as I smile at Eris. “And it oughta be enough, because I’ll have it mixed with wine. It might trick her in her frenzied, bloodthirsty state. Elicia willing, the alcohol will dull her senses…”

“Wine, you shall have from the cellar,” Eris states, as she returns my smile. “You will have as many bottles as you need.”

“Thank you, Eris.”

“I’ll make the necessary arrangements. I shan’t be long, de L’Enfer.”

When I watch Eris leave the room and the hallway with Kuarloc in tow, I can’t help but feel a weight lift itself from my shoulders. That maybe, just maybe, everything might turn out fine.