Name: Lavinia

Race: Demon

Class: Vampiric

Age: Immortal – 147 days.

Crystal Essence: [Crimson]- Lvl.5— 50.39ESQ

[Available Essence Points— 3]

Faith:41

Agility: 31

Intelligence:27

Perk: {Reais Smite}, {Blood Rush}, {Wave Shot}, {Crimson Blink}, {Inspect}, {Blood Art; Kinesis}, {Blood Art; MistForm}

Soul Bond: Curse Marked; Master Henry Vanavil Bestowed Commandments: 2/10

Pacing down the high hills above the [Ruishia Sea], Lavinia glares daggers at her RIS. Her Crystal Essence has reduced even more somehow, lessening her overall strength and capabilities. What’s worse is the EP she expected to spend only amounted to a paltry 3EP despite the last Crystal she absorbed belonging to the massive [Jaui] she fell.

Furious, she spends all three points on [INT] because of her newest Perk, [Blood Art; MistForm]. It’s another Vampiric Class Perk and the first to use two attributes to power its function; [AGI] and [INT]. Lavinia vaguely recalls her Curse Invoked body putting it to excellent use against Hera’s skewering attacks.

To be fair, her MistForm moved a little sluggish, even from her unfortunate trapped perspective of the Dungeon. Although, that might be why the [AGI] attribute is relevant to the Perk at allimportant. Swift movement while taking advantage of a level of intangibility— she recalls feeling as though her arms, legs and head were in orbit around her Soul Crystal. Which should mean there is some opportunity to control the extent or severity of intangibility while in MistForm. When she first attained the Perk, Lavinia thought of it as a defensive Perk, a direly needed one at that but it seems that with the right EP investments she can make it a vicious offence.

Thinking of the potential lightens her mood for a moment before she turns her attention to the reduced Crystal Essence and wonders. Why?

Thanks to her investments in the [INT] attribute, Lavinia’s comprehension and reasoning has improved greatly. Most noticeably to her are the many more words she bothers to speak now and she's curious about more than blood or Essence. Still, it frustrates to no end to have only speculations on her own existence— on her soul.

Glaring at the quantification of her Soul’s strength her mind wanders to the black tendrils strewn over the bottom of her Soul Crystal. Henry Vanavil’s stain on her. Lips curling into a deep sneer, Lavinia growls at the RIS and sends it away. While she suspects the stain to be the reason for the reduction, another theory forms in the back of her thoughts, one she dearly hopes isn’t so.

I’ll have to test it. I need prey.

Decided, Lavinia brings her full attention to her surroundings. Her wandering feet have taken her halfway the hills length and a wide wall of tall grass and lanky scorched looking trees begins to line up in her view. She’s been walking in the direction of her last prey, the Kaze-Kuime, a monster capable of manipulating Mana into spell. The tall grasses are a well enough place for the green creature to nest.

Circulating a pulse of Essence under her skin and through her muscles, Lavinia takes tender steps into the blinding heights of wavy green blades of grass. A tree pokes out to her left, she marks it as her waypoint back to the path. It’s unknown how thick the grass is or how far it covers with it in mind she won’t get lost again.

A couple other trees group into themselves further inward, droopy branches creak and surrender loose leaves as a breeze blows downhill. Lavinia takes a sniff, breathing in the bush and hill, finding them stained with blood, hers lingering on the air but also the fresh spilt blood from her encounter with the Kaze-Kuime. The stench of the creatures is harder to discern, if this is their nest then it carries their scents so wholly Lavinia may as well be surrounded by Kaze-Kuime.

Although...

Whipping around on her bare feet, Lavinia lashes out at the grass, sundering them into rectangles and fluttering piles before coming to a stop as a tribe of Kaze-Kuime fail to jump out at her. Relieved at not being ambushed but disappointed at the lack of prey, Lavinia returns to her prowl.

The blades of grass begin to dwarf her and the trees become common as Lavinia narrows in suspicion. She’s delved far in enough that some welcome is overdue and yet she’s spotted nothing more than ants, rats and buzzing flies. The milky radiance of the sky object begins to wane, Lavinia’s ears become sensitive to the creeping silence, an unnerving absence of sound.

A gaze is set upon her. She isn’t sure where its coming from but her skin recoils under the leer, the creature looks upon her as prey but lies in wait all the same. Lazy, as though waiting for its trusted trap to spring. Lavinia decides to do the same. Claws extending at her side, Lavinia spreads her feet and snarls, baring needle point fangs for her stalker to behold.

Another breezes takes over the hill, this time Lavinia ignores all scents of blood and sniffs for the presence stewing in the shadows and veil of the grass. She picks something, not an animal scent that’s for sure but more importantly it’s coming from above.

Adrenaline floods through her veins, tensing her muscles and almost bringing her to leap out at whatever haunts the air above. But Lavinia restrains herself, it hasn’t taken any opportunity to attack yet and so it must be very wary of her even with its aerial advantage. Wary is a good thing to be against a demon of her class but only if she lives up to it. Her true advantage is knowing where it is and with one chance to get it right, she can't give it up carelessly.

If I just wait a moment longer it will attack and make this easier. With less Essence to spend, completing the test for her Crystal Essence reduction is more of a priority than enjoying the savage thrill of the hunt she so often prefers.

And so she waits. Her ears listening intently pick up on a faint flapping sound, almost buzzing but far too muted to lie within the myriad of croaks and squeals within the tall grass. Except the lesser creatures have fallen silent as well, terrified of the predator haunting above. Lavinia takes a step forward, pretending to search for her stalker and soon-to-be prey while it hovers in deathly silence above her.

After a long moment of nothing, Lavinia relaxes her shoulders and stands to full height, lessening her guard a fraction. A more intense buzz makes it to her ears and she knows her stalker’s taken the bait. The hairs on her neck stand as its presence looms in dive and she turns, the wind beaten by its wings peel the grass away, inviting the milky radiance to pierce through and reveal the largest insect Lavinia has ever come across.

It dives at Lavinia’s open back with its stinger poised and dripping lethality. She sidesteps, leaning back and punching her claw through the creatures swollen abdomen. She bites back a yowl as its acidic contents burn away the skin on her hand. The massive fly monster thing crashes away from her view, dousing the grasslands in its acidic innards in its death throes.

Lavinia wipes her hand in the dirt, ridding herself of hanging skin and leftover acid from the monster. She sighs. I overestimated it. Not even having the chance to perform her—

Grass whips latch onto Lavinia’s arms and legs, the unnaturally tensile vegetation raises her in the air like a puppet and smashes her face first into the dirt. Feeling her nose crumble and skull rattle, Lavinia gasps as she’s yanked and used to pound the earth again. This time Essence roars to life in her pathways, reinforcing her bones and skin as the long grasses continue to wrap and immobilize her.

Hovering in the air for a third earth kiss, Lavinia tosses her neck to where the monster with the stinger sprawled to die. Her body slaps the unforgiving ground again but she sees it, still leaking its life juices but commanding the vegetation through magic as if to spite her before dying itself.

The grasses raise her again, their lengths wrap around her torso and slink along her neck to strangle all while using her to pound the earth. Gritting her teeth against the rattling pain, Lavinia thinks to her arsenal and while her bonds present the best testing bed for a Perk like [Blood Art; MistForm], it’s far too expensive just to ensure the early death of some overgrown insect.

Instead, the grass slams her into the earth for a fourth and Essence surges through her pathways, making her muscles ripple and grow in violent spurts as the force travels to her claws, “Reais Smite!”

Her claws sink into the earth and hook against the pull of the grass tugging at her feet. Essence surged through her arms banish the weaker threads on her arms, leaving her partially dangling. A root spike juts out of the ground, reaching to skewer her throat but shatters against the hostile waves of Essence shrouding her claw.

Its magic is weaker. Another three root spikes fail and hang by her feet, Lavinia watches the root of the tall grasses tugging at her ankles and thighs fray and darken as the creature continues to slip into death. Lavinia would smile at the all but assured victory if it weren’t that the grass begins to spin and swing her weight around. What is this? One final slam?

She readies her body for to absorb more abuse but rather than put her through the small crater her body formed with previous slams, the monster has its grasses whip her across and over like a rotten fruit. Lavinia flails above a shrinking field of earth, her feet and arms tumbling after each other as the sky and earth meld into one.

Failing to right herself in time, Lavinia punishes the earth with violent velocity. Tumbling through roots and ploughing dirt with her snapping body, Lavinia locks her jaws against the agony and shock until she loses momentum. She rests a moment in her flailed position, intermingled with the dirt and rock she’s unearth before accessing the damage done by the monster’s true death throw.

Both her arms are broken, an ankle and her locked jaw refuses to open. It hurts attempting to breath and a portion of her vision is redder than Reais’ sky. Blood pours from myriads of wounds, flowing both back and forth as her Vampiric Perk works on her body.

A last ditch effort to keep alive huh. Without me there to devour it, it has a better chance of living, even in that state. If Mana is anything like Essence, then it’s very possible monsters with access that capable of manipulating it will pose greater threats than the dire wolves and goblins. They’re smarter too. A normal monster wouldn’t consider relocating its predator.

As her body naturally heals, Lavinia pulls her RIS to confirm the results of her experiment.

Crystal Essence: [Crimson]- Lvl.5— 46.39ESQ

As she thought, another reduction. This means until I’m absolutely back to full strength Perks and regeneration will cost me degrees in Crystal Essence. Lavinia isn’t certain what will happen if she runs out of ESQ but she has her suspicions, none boding well.

Forcing herself up with the one hand she has left, ankles wobbling at the strain, Lavinia studies her surroundings and finds shoots of the monster’s grassy abode sitting uphill. She’s been flung some ways down the hill, a fact that’s to her advantage as more of her home’s landscape comes into view. From here she spots the expansive forest and even the swamp in the centre under the red glaze of Reais’ sky. From here she sees that Corym is burning.