Late into the night, long after the carriages had cleared from the front lawn and silence reigned in the academy once more, Arielle’s lamp was still on.
She had been reading about blood magic for most of the evening.
The second origin story came from the elves, or possibly another fae species, because at the time they were all assumed to be the same thing.
The story portrayed a kind shepherd who happened upon an unconscious elven lord in the forest. Unbeknownst to the shepherd, the lord had been weakened from battle and had escaped to the human realm to rest somewhere far from his enemies.
He somehow carried the elf to his home so he wouldn’t get eaten by a wolf, and nursed him back to health. Though it was an era of severe famine and strife, the shepherd shared his meat, soup, and medicine with the stranger whose fate was yet uncertain.
Some of the shepherd's neighbors found out about the elf’s existence and formed a mob to rob, ransom, or eat him, depending on which recollection you went with.
The shepherd, however, held them off and risked his life to protect the male he barely knew from the hungry mob, losing an arm in the process of fending them off.
When the elf lord finally awoke and learned of what had happened, he wanted to reward the man with riches, but the shepherd refused them. He said he would only accept enough to replace the food and medicine that had been consumed, one measly silver coin and not a penny more. He insisted he had done what he did because he had acted 'as humans ought', not because he expected a reward.
After that, the elf lord left, but he was so impressed by the shepherd that he kept tabs on the family for years, ensuring that they never went hungry during another famine. Then, right before the man died of old age, he asked the elf prince to heal his daughter from a fatal illness that she had.
The elf lord had given her some of his blood to help cure her ailment, and from then on, the girl had gotten the ability to use magic, but only through blood rituals.
She had gone on to become a powerful blood mage, and she had disseminated blood magic to those whom she found worthy.
This was the most popular origin story, because there was historical evidence that Elsa the Blood Mage existed and was one of the first, if not the first, Blood Mages ever. Most of the world found out about the existence of blood magic through her and her disciples.
However, all of them were long dead or missing, so the specific techniques were lost to time.
There were a lot of theories and research concerning how Elsa gave her disciples blood magic.
One of them even aligned with the third origin story for blood magic, which spoke about an alchemical experiment gone wrong. A mage-researcher was attempting to imbue healing powers in his blood. He died, but his blood then carried magical properties, and anyone who drank it got the ability to use blood magic.
However, like the other stories, it did not discuss how it happened precisely. How did the drinking of the blood enable cores to develop a special type of magic? In fact, the cores were never discussed at all. The tales spoke of magic as though it were more esoteric than scientific, and that was the part that stumped Arielle.
There were numerous other origin stories, from the grandiose and majestic to the tame and realistic.
There was only one commonality across all of them: the inclusion of a sacrifice.
The first story discussed the sacrifice of a saint.
The second discussed the shepherd who sacrificed his arm and some of his stored food for a stranger.
The third was the scientist who sacrificed his life as a result of his experimentation.
A life for a life.
Was that the key ingredient of gaining blood magic?
In that case, what was it about sacrifice that translated to magic?
Was the magic stronger depending on the strength of the sacrifice?
How did one grade sacrifices? For example, an arm probably ranked lower than a life, so did that make the magic weaker?
Certain theoreticians seemed to think so. They discussed the creation of the demon blood antidote as a type of blood magic. It was officially called panacea, a cure for all ills, and its power came from the voluntary death of a pure-hearted saint, which was the highest sacrifice there was.
Most of the book went on to discuss the validity of these origin stories and how parts of them had been disproved or rendered unlikely with time.
But it never really went into how blood magic worked and what exactly linked the sacrifice to the magic. Did it strengthen or develop a new kind of core? Did it imbue the body with invisible essences?
What was the deal?
Also, with one of the rituals being linked to pure-hearted saints...did it have something to do with the soul? Arielle's mother had once told her that being pure of heart had nothing to do with the physical organ inside the body, but more to do with one's inner manifestation, or in other words, their soul.
Did that mean that blood and souls were somehow related?
It would make sense. After all, the demons had used soul magic to bypass the blood magic that sealed off Draco's treasure room. There probably was some crossover, but not enough similarity for Vittoria to be able to heal Elric even though she was skilled enough at soul magic to create a pill that Arielle could use to alter her soul temporarily.
Ari thought about that pill again, and the magic behind it. Too bad she couldn’t have looked into her own soul to see how it worked. She also recalled the structure of the antidote working inside Elric. It individualized every part of the illness and addressed it in increments. It didn't heal two places in the same way, changing its approach depending on the disease’s response. The spell itself was alive, an unstoppable healing force that worked its way through the body.
Elric had looked perfectly fine the last time they talked. One would never imagine that mere weeks ago, he’d been at death’s door.
Perhaps Vittoria might be the best person to talk about this, as she was an expert on soul magic. Together they could figure out how to bypass the lock on the book. If the only way to attain blood magic was to sacrifice a life or an arm, then Arielle probably wasn’t willing to do that, even if she did know how it worked. So she would have to focus on the soul aspect of it instead.
Hours later, long after Lyra retired to bed, Ari closed the book and stared into space.
According to most of the stories she had read today, blood magic was passed on from one person to another, typically through familial ties.
So did all the Dracos have the ability to use blood magic? Did it lie dormant in their blood, or did Yseult remove it or alter it somehow?
Could it be removed? None of the stories spoke about removing blood magic.
More importantly, if blood magic was indeed that transcendent, then what did the High Ascendant do to suppress it?
Past midnight, Arielle switched over to reading Cornelius' journal again. She’d found a pattern in the entries too.
Cornelius never gave specifics about the 'missions' he went on, but he always complained about the toll they took on him. Even his writing became more scattered and paranoid, constantly talking about being watched and hunted, about paying for his sins, and about his time running out.
One page was just full of mad scribbling, apologies, and jagged doodles that made no sense.
He was constantly asking questions about the world and worrying about his family.
And he knew when he was going, because his last message was, I think this will be the last you hear from me. But if you find this brother, I hope my sacrifice was worth it. I hope you will be protected forever.
There was the word again. Sacrifice.
Was Cornelius the sacrifice? Was he the reason why they had blood magic?
She had to ask Eric. She took out her messaging scroll.
Arielle: Elric, did the Legendary Mage Draco have blood magic?
She didn’t expect an answer right away, assuming it was probably late where he was, but he answered instantly,
Elric: Yes. Since he was young. It’s a bloodline trait.
Ah. So it couldn't be Cornelius doing it then. So maybe his sacrifice was different, offering a separate protection to Yseult that wasn't blood magic.
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In any case, she had narrowed down one of the key ingredients, it seemed. Now she simply had to figure out the magical equation for sacrifice.
She fell asleep with those thoughts in her mind and woke up with them as well.
As she got her food for breakfast, she constantly checked for Telip’s arrival in the crowded dining hall.
However, she noticed that every time she looked up, there were eyes turned in her direction. It was an unusual increase in staring, so much that it felt oppressive and she instantly felt uncomfortable.
She didn’t look at anyone long enough to read their expression, but the combined regard made her feel itchy, and that made eye contact even harder.
“Why is everyone staring at me?” she asked Lyra as they sat at the table. “Do I appear odd?”
“I’m surprised you noticed,” Lyra said. “Usually you just ignore people staring.”
Yes, but it had never been this bad before. She had gotten used to the previous staring, which made it easier to ignore. She couldn’t ignore this one.
Normally, at mealtime, she was more focused on her food than anything else. Today she wanted to focus on Telip, but it was hard to do that with all the other eyes in the way.
She cleared her throat, adjusting her collar. She wondered if she should take her food somewhere else.
"It’s probably because of what happened yesterday," Lyra said. “Everyone heard that you turned down the dresses and a special invite to the Iverson ball. Something like that is completely unheard of. They’re talking about it amongst themselves."
What was there to talk about? Arielle wondered. She had been invited, and she'd said no. That was it. What was so fascinating about that?
Lyra's theory was confirmed by the twins when they joined the table with Maus in tow.
“You turned down an invite to the Iverson ball?” Louis said. “Are you crazy, Arielle?”
“Mother has been trying to get one through her friend's neighbor’s cousin, a prominent real estate tycoon,"’ Landon said in a much more sober voice. “No such luck.”
“I think the guest list might be smaller this year. Everyone is trying to wrangle an invite through whatever means they have. Some people have been sucking up to the regulars all year, and you just turned it down."
"How come you don't want to go?" Maus added, in a quieter tone as he scooped some of his porridge onto his spoon and blew on it.
"I don't have any reason to be there," she said. "I don't want to wear colorful dresses and be gawked at by strangers. It doesn't sound like a good time to me."
Maus nodded. "That makes sense."
"I guess," Louis said. "But if you did go, that means we may be able to get an invitation next year through you."
He was giving her a hopeful look, but Maus frowned at him, and Lyra said, "Okay, enough. Arielle's not your ticket to anything."
"Easy for you to say," Louis grumbled. "You already got yours."
"I didn't get one, and I agree with Lyra," Maus said. "Ari shouldn't have to go just because you want to. That would mean you were using friendship with her to get special perks."
"Of course not," Louis said, although his face was hot, his expression chagrined. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Arielle. I didn't mean to suggest that we use you to get into the party."
"It's okay," Arielle said. She didn't mind being used necessarily, but her distaste for the event overpowered whatever helpfulness she might have offered.
She went back to eating her food as the other three talked.
That was until she looked up, trying to search for Telip again, and noticed that Wulfric was walking into the hall with his friends in tow.
He met her gaze briefly, but his jaw clenched before he yanked his eyes away. It took only a quick analysis to read that he was still angry and hurt from the previous day.
Arielle suffered another pang of guilt.
Was I too harsh? she wondered. Lyra had certainly thought so.
Was there anything else she could have done, any other way she could have phrased her rejection to spare his feelings? She hadn't necessarily cared about doing it last night, as she was too upset. But now, she somewhat regretted hurting him, and thought maybe her self-centeredness had prevented her from seeing things from Wulfric's perspective.
Speaking of self-centeredness....
"Maus.” Arielle's quiet call got the table’s attention.
"Yes?" Maus responded.
“How have you been faring in the past few weeks?” she said. "With your magic and your general health and wellbeing."
"Um..." Maus shared a look with Lyra. "Fine, I guess. Why do you ask?"
“I’ve just had the realization that I have been self-centered in our friendship and have not taken the time to ask you questions that I should have."
"Oh. That's..." His face reddened. "You don’t need to. I don't think you're self-centered. If anything, we ask too much of you."
Arielle disagreed, but since he had answered her question, and Telip was walking in, she went back to her perusal of him. The others returned to their conversation, though Lyra coughed a few times suspiciously.
"They put up a schedule for the final surprise trial," Louis said. "Did you see?"
"Yes. It's with the dean."
"What do you think it is?" Lyra asked.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, I can't wait to get it over with. Just thinking about it makes me sick."
“It’s optional,” Arielle announced.
They turned to her. "What?"
"I spoke with the dean. He told me the test was optional and you don't have to do it if you don't want to."
They stayed gaping at her for a few minutes, then Lyra spoke up.
"Wait, he told you that when you had your meeting a week ago?"
"Yes."
She huffed. "And you never thought to mention that earlier?"
Ari nodded, then paused. "Was that self-centered of me?”
Lyra sighed. "A little. But it’s good you’re learning.”
“It is good,” Arielle said and turned back to her food.
The rest of the week passed in relative ease. The staring was annoying, but it reduced day by day as people lost interest in her. Professor Valeria told her that they would hear back from the lab soon, so they could try more abyssal spells.
Arielle still did not figure out the equation for sacrifice.
She asked Elric if she could see the commander, but apparently Vittoria had been assigned a bunch of tasks to catch up with the council, and she would be too busy to see Arielle until she was done.
And then on Tuesday, when Arielle was back in the dean's office, she told him of her observations about Telip.
"He's very punctual," she said. "He attends breakfast and lunch at the same time every day. Usually skips dinner. He's left-handed, and tends to hold his fork at a forty-five degree angle with his plate. His most eaten meal is beef gravy and potatoes, and he does not add any extra salt or sugar, meaning he must not be fussy about food. He starts from one corner of the plate to the other, and always finishes everything, including his vegetables, no matter how much food there is. He never goes for seconds. He tends to get distracted in the middle of his meal, but he always completes it in fifteen minutes or less. He reads fast too, and does not like talking but doesn’t mind questions even when they're stupid ones."
"Interesting," the dean responded. "That's very thorough."
“Telip doesn’t like people,” she announced. "At least he doesn't like interacting with them."
The dean looked amused. “You think so?”
She nodded. “I've watched him for an entire week, and that is my verdict. He enjoys his own company more than others. In fact, he radiates annoyance whenever anyone interrupts his solitude."
"I see. Is that all?"
She thought about it and nodded.
“And what about the second person?"
"Professor Valeria." Arielle also dutifully recited everything she had learned about Valeria, from the fact that she gestured a lot when she was excited, and took pauses in between her sentences when formulating an incomplete thought. She was right-handed, with a neat cursive handwriting, was kind and helpful, and had a lot of knowledge stored in her head.
“She likes people more than Telip," she concluded. “She never displays annoyance when I ask her questions, even when I'm interrupting something she was previously doing. She's also fastidious and does not ever let things get messy, always putting them back where she found them."
After a brief pause, the dean asked, “That’s all you have for her too."
“Yes.”
“That's a very good start,” he said. “But you have to look deeper.”
"What do you mean?"
"Everything you noticed is on the surface, but there is more meaningful information you can get if you squeeze just past the surface details. For example, why do you suppose Telip doesn't like people?"
She shrugged. "Maybe he is naturally disposed that way."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps there's something else driving him away from others, just as there is something that drives Valeria to seek to impart knowledge."
"What is it?"
"That's for you to investigate."
"How do I do that?"
"Keep watching."
Arielle didn't understand.
She had already watched as much as she could watch. What more could she see?
"How about you, Arielle?" the dean asked. "What else have you been working on? Is it anything I can help you with?"
Arielle opened her mouth to tell him about her questions with blood magic and sacrifice, but then she hesitated.
She didn't trust him. Not yet.
If she told him about it, he would know she was looking into blood oaths. He might put two and two together and figure out what she and Vittoria had done.
It was a significant leap to make, but the dean was very clever that way and had made accurate guesses with less information than that. If she lied, he would know she was hiding something, but better that than for him to know what she was hiding.
"No," she said. "Nothing you can help me with."
The dean didn't look upset at the lie. He smiled.
"Good."
Ari's next stop that day was to the cave, to meditate.
The blue orb greeted her excitedly, and Ari held out her hand to draw it closer. She could feel her newest core even more strongly now, though the orb still moved mostly because it wanted to, not because she was controlling it.
She sat cross-legged and watched the rest of the orbs dance around. Some of the Calor clung to her, and she played with them, thinking once more about the sacrifices and how it was related to blood magic.
That was when she realized...
Each time she performed a spell, it weakened a mini-orb. Sometimes it weakened them so much that they had to be ingested by the orb core. It was a series of slow deaths for the orbs until they had no more mini-orbs left.
So therefore, wasn't all magic made up of tiny sacrifices?
The spirit orbs were just the ones who usually paid the price.
What if blood magic was activated by sacrifice in a similar way? But instead of spirit orbs, perhaps there were special properties in the blood that carried magic that Arielle could not visualize as easily.
"Huh." She thought and endeavored to check it out when she went back.
But as she continued meditating, she felt something prick at her, a shift in the atmosphere.
She glanced around, but nothing was there. She looked closer, tried to identify what caught her attention. She just knew that something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
***
Awareness appears in increments, though I know not where I am.
I know not what I am either.
I am nothing
Except hungry.
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