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Verak Island | Southern Seas | World of Aleria

Located far in the southern seas of Aleria, the emerald island of Verak stood out sharply from the cobalt blue waters it rested on. Normally a picturesque and tranquil destination, the island at this moment however was facing a storm.

Dark and salty waters assaulted its coasts as a hurricane steadily approached. The myriad of trees  that covered the land were being whipped to and fro by the tempestuous winds. Flashes of lightning brightened the sky and struck the black sandy beaches, leaving dark shards of glass from the super-heated sand.

The residents of this small island ran and hid for shelter. Living on this island for the last 500 years had steeled them against the wrath of the seas. But something was different about this storm. Everyone felt an ominous presence creeping ever closer. Like the jaws of death were breathing right on the napes of their necks.

Legends of the island being cursed went back centuries and  kept most outsiders from visiting . Those who did, usually heeded the warnings of the natives and did not dare enter the depths of the island’s untamed jungles. Even though rare magical beasts and precious herbs made the jungles a gold mine just waiting to be tapped.

But no matter what, whoever entered the jungles depths did not return. Even powerhouses of the Half-Magi level had gone missing inside.  As such Verak became a no travel area and only the natives who lived in wooden houses along its shores and thinner jungles called the place home.

 

Deep in the earth of this old island an ancient fortress laid immobilized in time. Unbeknownst to all buried more than a hundred meters underground was a veritable castle. Complete with spires, battlements, and a courtyard it appeared the earth one day just swallowed up some monarch’s domain.

Every inch of the estate was flooded with soil and rocks, completely sealed away in a prison of sediment. And at the heart of this forgotten fortress laid the dilapidated tomb of a Queen.

A once grand hall with magnificent blood red velvet drapery and upholstery was the only part of the castle free of dirt and rocks. All around the hall magnificent black marble pillars still stood thousands of years later as if in defiance of time.

To the left and right tens of meters long solid gold tables, complete with chairs stood with mountains of dust upon their surfaces.

Most eye catching however was the blackish gold colored coffin at the very rear of the room. The cover was nowhere in sight, allowing the dried husk of Amara Nyx to be exposed to the world.

The once all mighty and powerful Queen of the Vampires laid long dead with a mighty and rusted holy spear embedded in her chest.

Her once long and inky black hair had now deteriorated to a dusky grey. Though adorned in many jewels, gold, and an extravagant blood red gown, the beauty of the Queen had long deteriorated.

Her once youthful and supple cheekbones were now grotesquely stretching her leather skin. And her previously full and perky bosom now laid flat and awkward in the beautiful gown. In truth she should have been dust upon death, however the vitality of a pureblood was marrow deep thus making their bones and skin as strong as Rank V weapons.

As the storm raged on above, the atmosphere of the abandoned great hall began to thicken. Soon visible sparks could be seen in the dusty air. At the same time the pigment in Amara's hair starting from the root,  began to diminish even more as it turned a stark shade of white.

At this moment a strange power was permeating the hall.

Suddenly with an audible crunch, Lucy’s empty eye sockets opened to the world. A dry and eerie death rattle escaped her long evaporated throat as she gasped for air.

‘I-I’m Alive?!’ realized Lucy as her eyeless sockets glanced around uselessly.

“W-W-Where am I? Last thing I remember is the coup” hissed Lucy as her dry mouth tried to form words.

Lucy tried to sit up only to find herself weighed down by an invisible weight on her chest.

“What the? What’s the meaning of this?” her bony mouth rattled.

Lifting her long withered and bony arms, Lucy felt around her chest for the invisible weight.

“I-Is this a sword?” she wondered aloud.

As she wrapped her creepy skeleton fingers around the long-rusted spear she pulled and pulled. Suddenly with a lurch it came out of her caved in chest cavity.

Once the spear was removed from her chest it suddenly evaporated into rusted motes of dust.

The dead and dry skin around Lucy’s eye sockets tightened as a torrent of information came flowing into her mind. Various scenes of monsters and magic, battles and wars played out in front of her as if she were actually there.

Lucy saw as her hands ripped out thousands of hearts as she drank the contents until she was filled. Which was never, so on to more prey she would go.

 She’d  ripped fully grown women and men limb from limb by hand. Lucy was in such shock at the scenes of carnage that she didn’t notice her heart wasn’t even beating.

She felt a deep headache whenever she tried to focus on particular details in the scenes, so instead she relented completely to the foreign flow of information into her head.

 After what felt like a lifetime to Lucy the torrent finally slowed enough for her mind to digest its new contents. As her mind worked to process the torrent of information, she had a sudden epiphany.

‘A-Are these memories? But that’s impossible I am the Queen of Morgana- well I almost was but I was never a serial killer! I’ve never done these horrible acts!’

Amidst the ever-forming new memories, Lucy thought back to her time as the rightful heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Morgana.

‘I was loved and adored by all! Or at least I thought I was till that bastard Sebastian orchestrated a coup with my own sister. I thought he loved me.’ she thought regrettably.

Suddenly amidst the new memories a magnetic and seductive female voice echoed in Lucy’s head.

Foolish girl

‘W-who said that’

Hahaha I am you- well you are me now

‘What the fuck are you talking about? And why can’t I see? I demand to know at once.’

Hahaha foolish girl. Spoken like a true regent

‘I am! I mean I was one. I would’ve been one right now, but I was betrayed’ thought Lucy as the scene of her head flying off  took place in the darkness of her mind.

Foolish girl I too was betrayed. That is why you are alive again. Your soul’s wavelength matched mine so you shall live in my stead’ the voice echoed out in the darkness.

‘Soul wavelength? Wait? Live again? I knew I couldn’t have died so unjustly did Sir Robert resuscitate me. He deserves-‘

Foolish girl heed my words for I have not much time! You are alive again but reborn into the world of Aleria through my magic and my subordinates combined magic. You are alive again to rule and get revenge on behalf of I the Queen of Vampires.

‘That’s impossible! Magic? Rebirth? W-who are you? Are you God?’

There is no God! I am the first pureblood vampire, Amara Nyx! My magic has run out and my soul will soon disperse. Do not die girl, let the world know the might of vampires once again. Revive the Purebloods. Trust no one, least of all the sons of man. My memories are all that you need.

‘Wait! What about my eyesight?!’

HISS Your heart is the real issue girl. It appears you still hold some attachment to morality and chivalry. That can’t do for the Queen of our race, especially in Aleria.

Suddenly Lucy felt a strange snapping sensation that emanated from deep within her head, almost at the center of her brain. It felt like something had snapped or a flip had been switched.  She didn’t know why but she felt different from a few moments ago.

‘Something’s wrong. W-what did you just do to me? Get out of my head!’

FEED! And do not disappoint me girl.

As Amara’s voice hissed in Lucy’s mind for the last time a sudden thirst befell her. Lucy grasped at her throat as a stinging sensation escalated  to a stabbing burn. As she tossed and turned in the coffin, her mind could focus on nothing but the burn in her throat.

“AGHHH my throat!” she bellowed in the ancient hall.

 Lucy felt as if she had been drinking sand her whole life. The thirst was all consuming in its severity.

‘What the fuck is this?! I-I need water!’ she panicked and clawed around her.

The sound of her bony figure rattling against the coffin reverberated throughout the hall. Lucy suddenly slowed  in her movements as she realized she could now see somewhat.

 Tapping the side of the coffin again a white wave image suddenly traveled across her surroundings. This wave outlined her surrounding before appearing in her mind as a black and white image.

‘I mean it isn’t color but it’s something’ thought Lucy through the all-consuming thirst.

As Lucy looked at the last image relayed to her a sudden delicious smell hit her nose.

‘By God that smells delectable! Mmm it smells just like the refreshing lemon water my maid used to prepare for me. I must have it at once‘

With a strength and agility surprising for her current state Lucy launched herself out of the  opulent coffin towards the tantalizing smell.

Her lithe and dilapidated body crawled across the marble floors with reckless abandon. Lucy’s mind was a blank slate focused solely on the quenching of the burning thirst she was experiencing.

“Where is it? Where is it? I must have it!” roared Lucy from her dry and cracked throat.

Suddenly her decomposed head cocked up before twisting a full 360 degrees. As her head neared the end of its strange rotation it suddenly stopped as her eyeless sockets focused on an unsuspecting corner of the room.

“There!” Lucy roared as her skeletal body launched into action.

Seemingly in a flash Lucy cleared the distance from the center to the corner of the hall. With a dusty collision Lucy crashed into a horde of rats that had somehow survived this long.

 Quick as a mantis Lucy’s clawed hands grabbed the rodents one after another. Each making their way into her thirsty maw.

“Yes! SLURP More! SLURP Water! SLURP No, honey SLURP Mmm fresh watermelon juice! SLURP”

As Lucy swallowed gulp after gulp of the rodent’s lifeblood. She could slightly feel strange itching sensations all over her body, especially where her eyes were supposed to be. It wasn’t exactly painful  but felt slightly uncomfortable like a healing cut. Throwing herself fully into feeding Lucy’s mind became blank.

Some Time Later…

“Hm?” Lucy blinked puzzled, “ My eyes! I can s- huh? W-What the?! Noooo!”

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