Description- the book is eleven inches tall and eight inches wide. It’s about two inches thick and contains nearly seven hundred vellum pages covered in an elegant script that is easy to read and beautiful to look upon.
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Synopsis- the book is from the perspective of Rakarian D’Rynth, the eldest grandson of Olivanticus himself. Rakarian was known as the Ebon Fox, and was one of the most feared dreadlords. He won countless battles against Hasra, and every battlemage in Valys knows his name.
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Excerpt 1- Understanding the Thirst
Very few who read this have any idea what it means to be vampyr, for unless the True Blood flows through your veins there is no way to understand it’s seductive power. Scholars understand that it makes you faster, stronger and able to heal with phenomenal speed. What they do not understand is that this power comes with a hidden price, something we call the thirst.
Our amazing powers are fueled by blood, and this blood must be taken from a sentient being. This is why my people keep humans as cattle. We require them to maintain our power, though it is neither necessary nor prudent to kill the people we depend on for our survival.
Many argue that such slavery is horrifying, not because of forced labor but because we feed on our serfs. I can understand why those outside of our society would consider this barbaric, even evil. Were I not born with the True Blood I would probably agree. Many of my brethren kill their slaves on a whim or by drinking them dry, and such actions are as despicable as our detractors claim.
Yet the circumstances of my birth left me no choice. I was barely a teenager when the thirst first took me, and I have battled it for nearly two centuries. It hasn’t grown easier, though extreme discipline has made it possible for me to feed without killing.
Not that my humane treatment makes my crimes against my vassals any less horrific. I understand that my actions are brutal, despite any noble trappings I might assign them. Yet they are also necessary. Not only to my own survival, but to the stewardship that my grandfather has appointed us.
None outside Olivantia understand the tremendous evil that the council keeps in check. Should we falter for even a moment the world is doomed. For the Tree represents an evil that cannot be underestimated. It’s endless hunger will devour every sentient creature if it is ever loosed upon the world.
But I digress. This tome is about our society, not our most noble of quests. I will discuss the Tree and it’s aims elsewhere, but it has little place in this book. We were discussing the vampyr’s treatment of our slaves.
I have often argued that such treatment is a mistake for many reasons. Downtrodden serfs make recalcitrent servants at best. At worst they become malcontents and may even forment rebellion. I allow my own serfs as much freedom as possible.
They may do as they wish with their time, living their lives without worrying that I will descend on them like a wretched voidspawn. All I ask is that they conduct themselves with civility, and that they send volunteers to my manor when I must feed.
I gift these volunteers with clothing, jewelry and wealth in exchange for the service they provide me. As a result my servants are eager to earn my favor, and very few grumble about their lot in life. If only my brethren could be persuaded to adopt my methods I believe they’d experience similar prosperity to the province of Mountain Shadow.
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Excerpt 2- The Blood Seed
I can only imagine the incredible terror of being held prisoner in my own mind. To see the actions taken by my body as I consumed all those I loved, powerless to stop the carnage no matter how I soundlessly screamed.
Such a fate befalls many who seek to become vampyr. Those who are not born with the blood have few choices if they wish to gain the powers attributed to my kind. They must take a blood seed from the heart of a consumed, which is no easy feat no matter how skilled a warrior might be.
After obtaining the blood seed the would be vampyr must slice open their own chest and insert the seed into the wound. Those stalwart enough to do so then face the true test. The seed latches onto their heart, and extends tendrils throughout their body. Once this agonizing process is complete the seed attempts to overwhelm the consciousness of it’s host.
Should it succeed the would be vampyr becomes one of the consumed, so named because the seed literally consumes their mind. Those unfortunates gain all the powers of a vampyr. They are stronger, faster and far more resilient than normal mortals. Yet they have no control over their bodies. They become monsters that exist only to feed, serving the twisted Tree of Blood until they are put out of their misery.
These consumed also gain the longer lifespans of the vampyr, and can terrorize the world for centuries before they are finally put down. I can only imagine the horror those trapped in such vessels must experience. I have no doubt that those unfortunates are driven mad by their circumstances.
The lucky few who survive the blood seed, such as my grandfather Olivanticus, gain the powers of the vampyr while retaining their minds. Yet the seed remains, always battling for control. Some win the initial battle for their minds only to succumb to the seductive lure of the blood seed years later.
Others demonstrate the iron will necessary to keep the seed at bay. As decades pass more and more True Blood flows through their veins, a gift of the seed they bear. Eventually they are able to safely remove the seed while retaining their vampyr powers, though few choose to do so.
The longer they bear the seed the stronger they grow. When the seed is removed their strength no longer increases, and those tempted by power rarely accept this. They continue to use the seed, even knowing that one day it may consume them.
