Evolution of a Runelord (TW within)

"You are the only thing that makes any sense to me! When the days are dark, and my heart's so numb, you're the lighthouse at the edge of the sea. You are the only thing that makes any sense to me" - Only Thing by Saint Nomad

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Sylista Ravenwood
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Evolution of a Runelord (TW within)

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(In reference to this discord post.)

Face down on the ground, bleeding profusely from the wound to her abdomen from the demonic blade that Alphonse cut her with, Sylista drifted from consciousness. Everything was so hot, like she was on fire on the inside and out, the fire threatening to consume her.

This was nothing more than a message for Luna, Sylista understood that now, yet it did not change the pain she was in.

There was a bright light lingering behind her eyelids bringing her to open them, the sight she saw was not at all what she was expecting.

There was her childhood home before her, the entire thing engulfed in red and orange flames, the crackling heat in the air around her. There was no temperature change against her skin, however. She could just feel the oppressive weight of it.

With a blink, she was in the forest in front of Inisfallen, sneaking through the woods, afraid to step foot into the city until she saw Caelum who welcomed her to the city with a lopsided grin.

Another blink, Caelum is dead in front if her and she was releasing him to stand.

A familiar incorporeal voice drifted across her mind as she drifted from memory to memory. "...If it means her or the unborn, I would see her survive. Try."

Suddenly, there is a dead Reaver in front of her, Caelum's sword that she carried into battle for luck, shattered inside the sweetspot.

Then, playing with Paxton and Felix which was disrupted by a blinding flash of green causing an intense discomfort in her lower abdomen and the world to go black.

Another voice, this time softer and more feminine drifted across her mind as she faded from even her own memories. "Let... let me know if I can help..."

She was, in that moment, both alive and dead…and filled with so much love that it kept her from the fear.

She trusted her lover.

She knew what was coming.
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Re: Evolution of a Runelord (TW within)

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Sylista, at least, had chosen a place to meet with Luna that was not far from the Estate. Something Mathian was pleased about. It did not take the aristocratic vampire long to return to the property with the limp woman in his arms, the frantic madness felt days before flaring up once more. The scent of her blood tainted with the infernal poison that kept her wounds from closing caused him to periodically growl and his eyes to flash red. The creature would die. There was no question.

First, however, he had to save his love. The one who now literally wore part of his soul.

It took some maneuvering of the woman in his arms to get an arm free enough to use the fingerprint scanner, extra care taken to not jostle her too much. Her heartbeat and the remaining child's were faint. Dangerously so. It tore him apart inside and he willed them both to hold on. The serum was ready, not perfect, but ready. Using his samples and the experimentation on the weaker vampires in the city had made it so the research took far less time than he expected. He was simply tweaking it now, hoping to find a sample that would make the Runelord impervious to the one thing he counted as a weakness. There was no time - she was going to be just like him.

The heartbeats had started to slow further, resulting in the second expletive escaping his mouth in a short period and he snarled. The phone was fished out after he placed her gently on a medical table. He typed out a frantic text message and sent it off to the paladin for her to make her way to the property as soon as possible. She would need to strengthen both Sylista and Mari before he could complete the procedure.

Not wishing to waste any time, he cut her blood-stained clothing from her body and quickly attached devices needed to monitor her vitals during the process. While the wounds were nothing more than pink, puffy lines across her skin now, it was clear irreparable damage would start internally soon. He could hear and feel everything her body was doing, of course, it was simply the frantic madness he felt that kept him from trusting his judgment. "I cannot lose you, moja lìška. I refuse to!"

Content that the expensive equipment was set up properly, he slipped upstairs while firing off a few more texts and waited for the paladin to land, an event that happened rather quickly. "Good, follow me. What I am about to do is the only thing that will save them both with the amount of blood she has lost. Doing so will put the remaining child at risk, however. I require your assistance in ensuring they are both strong."

Luna would be the first stranger allowed in their physical home and likely the only one other than Mathian or Sylista to ever step foot in the laboratory. Even then, the room Mathian led the woman into was attached to the specimen cooler (where the materials of the ghoul known as Aesar was stored, ironically enough) and was not part of the laboratory proper. Sylista, laying on the table covered with a warming blanket to prevent shock caused by her injuries from taking over too soon, was deathly pale and still. The beeping of the machine monitoring her and the child's heartbeat was slow and the blood pressure was weak.
Luna looks to Mathian, uncertainty in her eyes, “I can do healing, but… how would you like me to proceed? This is extensive, even with the power of the divine… I don’t know how much I can do…” She and Syl may not have been speaking, but she was still one of the people Luna cared about most, and damn it all she would do everything in her power to save her.

"Sylista mentioned you can do localized healing?" Mathian's voice sounded as strained as his expression - a side of him no one was privy to other than Sylista showing. "Focus it on the child within first, strengthen our Marishka, then let that move through the rest of the body. Not too much, she will be going through some changes."

Luna was done doing things without questioning them, it’s part of why she and Sylista weren’t talking in the first place, the lives at stake, however, were the priority here, so as she begins her magic, hands glowing a gentle green glow, the colour of the forest canopy, she looks at Mathian, “What kinda changes are we talking about here?"

He pursed his lips, mildly annoyed that she chose NOW to start questioning things. The vampire made a sound of annoyance but instead of arguing as he would have normally, time was of the essence so she would get her answers, “Convulsions and a significant decrease in heart rate.” Mathian moved over to his supplies and retrieved a syringe and a vial of some manner of liquid. It was light red, almost clear, but when he shook it, it thickened and became darker and nearly black in colour. Seeming satisfied with the liquid, Mathian rejoined Luna at Sylista’s side As he moved, he stabbed the needle into the top of the vial to slowly draw the plunger back and fill it with the serum that would change his lover forever.

“That seems… counterproductive? “What will that liquid do, Mathian?” The paladin’s magic slowly spread from the child to the rest of the Runelord, eyes glancing over to the vial, if it could save Sylista, she wouldn’t question it further, “Let me know when to stop.”

“She has lost too much blood for a transfusion and by all rights should be dead right now. Your magic is the only thing keeping her and Mari alive at current, buying me time to inject this.” He lifted the filled needle, “...concentrate mostly on Marishka...her vital signs should not be altered by this process…” He wasn’t entirely sure what would happen regarding Marishka’s biological structure given he was about to change Sylista’s with his idea of evolution. Years of research and months of fine-tune testing resulted in this serum. To create a genetically engineered vampire. It worked once, he was ‘living’ proof of that scientific breakthrough. He would see it work again.

Luna nods, focusing her magic on the child. She had no idea what was coming, but she knew they had one chance, and this was it. Luna looks to her friend, a heavy look of guilt in her eyes, one child had already passed thanks to someone she hadn’t been strong enough to kill, “She won’t die.” She says, determined, “The loss of both would kill Syl.”

“...It will be a lot more difficult to kill her from now on…” He murmured more to himself than anything before he tied off some rubber tubing that acted as a tourniquet around Sylista’s upper arm to make it easier to find a vein. Once found, he punctured her skin with the needle and began the injection. Slowly, the liquid was forced from the clear glass tube and into the Runelord. The reaction would be swift as soon as the serum reached her heart and would spread out from there.

The body started seizing on the table, the straps holding her to the surface under the blanket straining against the movement. Luna looked to Mathian with wide eyes, the green glow from her hands fading before eyes darted back down to her friend. There was a race of dark colour that flowed through her veins as her body jerked in rapid muscle contractions, the skin paling only slightly as the colour faded from her center to the ends of her digits and forehead. As the body stilled, the heart monitor connected to Sylista began to flat-line while the monitor for the child in the womb continued to beep with strength.

Mathian looked at Luna, a smirk on his face, and back down to the woman he loved and helped evolve. “Sylista is a vampire now, and a hungry one at that. I do suggest you be on your way before you end up on the lunch menu.” The smirk slipped from his face, replaced by gratitude. “Thank you for protecting Marishka so the serum could take hold. Her innocence protected her from death as a result of the serum, though I do not know how the change will impact her as she grows up. Either way, right now they are both fine.” He watched as the woman he loved adjusted to a new way of being.

“Come, I will walk you out.” He had a dinner delivery being made very soon.
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Sylista Ravenwood
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Re: Evolution of a Runelord (TW within)

Post by Sylista Ravenwood »

Once again, the world around her was shimmery and difficult to see through. She recognized this place, yet...it felt different. Where last time Sylista wanted to be there, to see where she was heading, this time was filled with dread.

She had so much to live for and now she was potentially dead. Again.

A figure was in the distance, this time the sound of a young boy cooing could be heard. With a gasp, the Runelord took off in a run, her feet were bare as she made her way across the ground, the skirt of her white dress flowing behind her.

“Felix?” The question was whispered yet echoed around her, the sound reverberating against whatever made up this weird world.

“Hello Mother,” the young voice replied, his face neutral as he watched her slowing approach. Green eyes, the same Caelum and Paxton had, held no disappointment, anger, or sadness. “It is unfortunate we are meeting like this.”

Sylista halted her approach, the last two steps tentative and scared. She was so excited about seeing Paxton when she returned, yet the young woman tried killing her twice.

There was also what the boy was holding that caught her attention. Two swaddled babies were resting in each arm, heads crooked into his elbows. Two heads covered in soft, black hair, swaddled in two very different fabrics, and deathly silent.

“Avitoria and Marishka?” The names were whispered, the sound full of heartache. Angelite eyes appeared panicked, the only part of her face that was not lined with grief.

The shoulder-length waves around the boy’s face danced when he shook his head no. He looked down at the one in the white angora and cashmere first, giving the little one an upnod followed by the same gesture toward the infant wrapped in the older, scratchier looking fabric. “Avitoria, yes. She did not survive the divine healing needed to save your life given her nature. This other one is Indigo Gale Lee.”

The name. The name that had been hidden from her for her entire life slammed into her, causing her breath to expel in a harsh release. Left winded with mouth gasping for air, tears started to flow down her cheeks. The boy watched, his emotionless expression so similar to the one Sylista carried when there was something darker happening inside her mind than she was willing to share with the world.

It was no surprise to her, Felix had been lied to for nearly eleven years of his short life.

"I knew," the boy whose voice would never crack had such power in this place between life and death. He placed Indigo in a bassinet which triggered cooing noises from the babe. "I saw the locket, the names inside." A pointed look at the exposed skin between the neck and the fabric below where the necklace should fall caused a moment of discomfort for the Runelord. "I was more observant than my sister and knew you did the right thing. You are a monster, but you are genuine. Self-serving, yet loving. It was the right thing."

He walked over, placing Avitoria in her arms, the child suddenly stirring under the luxurious fabric. He patted her on her arm as he took a step back, watching her face carefully. "Paxton took on the best of both of us when I was shifted from that world, the traits just do not always coexist happily." Not seeing whatever it was in her face he was looking for while he watched her, he claimed the child back and placed her next to the other infant - Sylista's twin. "You were not seeking to replace us? Haru and the girls…?"

The Runelord of Rhy'din looked incredulously at her son, shaking her head slowly. "Never! I could never replace you or Paxton. You both hold a unique position in my heart." There was a deep sadness that crossed her face, the expression lingering for her. "I did want a second chance, I am happier than I have ever been. Now is the time...or, well, it was."

"Mari lives, but it will take much work and trusting others to keep her in that state. She...will never be like me. A human."

Brows knitted together as Sylista frowned, curious to what he meant. "If she was not infernal…?"

"You evolved...like you wanted to." Felix shrugged. He did not seem keen on the idea, though his stoicism made her believe he was not keen on seeing her, either. "The process changed Mari, too. It was the choice of that or losing all three of you and he made the right one." Bright green eyes watched his biological mother carefully before he spoke again. "Mari is now more Mathian's than his." The last word was hissed at her, the disappointment clear on his face. The donor who participated in the creation of his half-siblings raised his ire and Sylista could not blame him. "The way he discarded you and left you in your time of need was abhorrent. He acted as a child younger than I am who did not get their way upon learning of your ring. I am glad Mari is not tied to him now."

Sylista simply stared at the boy, eyes wide. She evolved, he knew about the extravagant businessman donor, and Mari was now Mathian's. She thought of so many questions but, like last time, the air around them was starting to change. She would need to be content with a brief goodbye.

"May I hug you once… as a mother?"

The obsidian-haired youth nodded, stepping forward into her arms, and let her squeeze him. He was speaking to her, she could feel the rumble of his voice, but there was no sound. Frantically, she pulled back to try and read his lips to have an idea of what he was saying...only to notice it was her fading from the world this time.

It was her that was losing her life forever and would be taking her last breath as a living, breathing human at that moment.

Then...there was blinding pain, and she screamed.
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Re: Evolution of a Runelord (TW within)

Post by Sylista Ravenwood »

The scream within the confines of the misting world was nothing more than a loud gasp that echoed against the walls of the room that would be her cage for the next forty-eight hours. Her vision was a hazy red, no true shapes able to be made out, despite her rapid blinking trying to gain some kind of clarity.

Frantically, the woman attempted to cry out for help. Instead of that accented voice, all that could be heard was snarls and growls. The more frustrated she became, the more aggressive those animalistic noises would become. That is to say until the sickenly sweet metallic scent reached her nose which quieted her down as she turned her head to face the delectable smell, an action that would bring the life-giving nectar to her lips.

She felt her teeth sink into the flesh where the blood was coming from as lips closed over the wound as her mouth and tongue began to suck and lap at the fluid produced by whatever opened the skin up before it was given to her. Eyes, which had carmine coloured irises, fluttered closed as she felt the overwhelming edge of hunger slip from her mind and body.

While she pulled the liquid from the flesh against her lips, a masculine voice permeated her mind. The words were impossible to make out in her frenzy, yet the sound was comforting and felt like praise. Something was petting her obsidian locks against the back of her head.

She relaxed.

It was then that the skin was pulled gently from her, a whine escaping her mouth as she felt her teeth lose purchase on the flesh. She was not done yet. The words shared in response to her desperate noise were ones of comfort, explaining that she would have more soon, he was just trying to teach her. The sounds were not heard as words, but the meaning was understood.

Two strong arms wrapped around her, holding her as she sat upright, and a chin was placed on top of her head. She leaned into that comfort and she drifted in and out of the madness.

-----

She had not been sleeping (she never would again), but she did slip into a deep state of rest the next between the first feeding and the scent of blood reaching her nose once more. A snarl escaped her once, teeth instinctively descending into sharp points. Bloody flesh was presented to her and she latched on to the new form of sustenance, the desperation in her feeding less this time. Again, that voice cooed at her as she filled her mouth with the iron-rich liquid, calming her instantly.

Mathian. She knew that voice.

His comforting expressions were in stark contrast to the thoughts in her mind. The words "kill" and "hunger" tried to overcome her lover's calming presence. She could feel a battle within her - a war of sorts - who she was as a human tried to reconcile with the vampire she is now, both parts very much monstrous.

It was her, this time, who released the arm from her lips and teeth, a hand moving to dab at the corners of her rosy lips, and the woman seemed content with the lack of mess.

He granted her more praise, helping her lay down again before climbing onto the plush bed beside her. Those strong arms encircled her once more and the rumble of his voice combined with the lethargy of a good meal caused her to slip back into a place of rest.

"Eternity..." she whispered.

-----

Over twenty-four hours, Sylista pulled herself away from the animalistic haze her mind was in, perhaps, in part, because of her endowments of wit and the fight it put up against her new nature, this process of evolution would be one unique to her and her alone. Her body and mind were fighting for her life and the life of Marishka, yet the serum changing her.

She was no longer a human.

She would never age, grow sick with common illnesses, or die of natural causes...

Immortality was hers.

Mathian explained what had happened, once she could make out what he was saying and could respond with questions of her own, and there were a lot of questions. What was different? What was the same? What would their bond be like? All questions that have very limited definitive answers. Time would have to tell them both.

A wave of gratitude flowed through her body hearing of Luna's assistance, no real consideration for the guilt the other woman would be feeling right now. That would come later. Similarly, when Mathian mentioned Avitoria, the Runelord nodded and explained she knew without much emotion.

"Felix told me in the same way I heard Caelum forgave me. I said goodbye to her, to him, and to my twin sister I never had the chance to meet."

The older vampire held his future wife as they spoke of the girl’s father. The man had become so jealous and aggressive when Sylista told him of the engagement and future marriage to Mathian, being so bold as to exclaim that she would be his before he completely disappeared from her life. If the demon who had nearly cut her down was not so focused on Luna, they both would have had a flicker of fear that the one who nearly ended her life was sent to fetch her for the man...or remove the child.

It might still come, but that demon would find little reason to now. She would never produce him another heir and the daughter he helped conceive would hold so much of Mathian’s genetics from the serum. Sylista was of no use to him anymore. Not that her lack of use would resolve the anger he would feel.

She was stronger, faster, and better.

She was evolved.
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