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[Swordstar]

Vara hesitated and then said,

"Nothing that would be useful. Sorry."

[Powder Miner]

Kristii grinned at Charles.
:"It was a tragedy beyond imagination! Hehe, I guess that all those delicate noble clothes just aren't up for the (kindasorta) wilderness life!"

[Glowcat]

"..." After listening to what might have been one of the most innocuous talks ever - the one about battlefield romance, that is - Dalaach left towards the castle to continue his examination of the building... And also to peruse the merchants' wares.

Fortunately for Dalaach the traveling merchants had stayed in the courtyard and were awake due to the commotion. The brother was pounding away at the new forge constructed near the rear of the keep's yard while the tome trader was reading one of her (less magical) wares while sitting on the counter of her merchant's wagon. She looked up as Dalaach approached.

"..."

[Furtuka]

"Oh, well I suppose it's..."

Suddenly Acacia snapped her fingers. Well she tried to anyways. It was more of an awkward sliding noise as she was wearing gauntlets.

"I got it! Maybe we can get some new clothes from the merchants for the both of you. They're still here right?"

[UXLZ]

"That's a good idea, actually. Though it depends on the merchants still being here. Should we go check?"

[Sirus]

Hearing Enjald talking about wanting to kill them, Lilie ratatat-tats Morde with questions. She doesn't really seem to want them answered right away, but they're things that have been troubling her.

"Are Vampires inherently evil? Usually evil? That fear comes from somewhere so where? The only ones I've met are you and myself, are there others? How many? Where are they? What are they like? How did they get there? Where do we come from, is vampirism a curse, blessing, mutation or something else? What is our culture? What are our traditions? What are our beliefs? Do we have a god? Do we have a religion?

I've become something different to what I used to be and I don't know anything about who I am. I've only heard bedtime stories and a few things from my father."

: "Please take a deep breath."

: "Now then, in order: Vampires have an inherent connection to dark magic as a result of the ritual, so whether we are inherently evil depends on your view of dark magic. I believe that most of the fear comes from the aforementioned connection as well as misconceptions stemming from how different we are (lack of aging, red eyes, sun sickness, so on), misconceptions which are most common among the least educated, who then make up the majority of the population. There are indeed many other vampires, whole clans of them called 'Venarii'. They live a nomadic lifestyle and are marginalized by most of human society. Some vampires such as myself leave the clans, but they are a minority. Vampires have been around for as long as humans have had a written language; only the eldest claim to know anything about our exact origins and even they might not have the correct story. I would consider vampirism simply a new state of being, and neither blessing nor curse. The Venarii clans are extremely insular and tight-knit - as I said they are shunned by most of humanity and many turn to crime to make ends meet. Leaving the clan is..."

: "...discouraged."

: "Anyway. Vampires tend to follow the local religions, mainly the Celestial Order. Some clans might privately worship demonic entities, but they tend to face enough problems without risking the wrath of the Inquisition and so keep it low-key." Mordecai paused. "I hope this has answered some of your questions.

[UXLZ]

Lilie breathes deeply even though it isn't really necessary, and resumes her questioning of Morde. His brain looked like it needed a workout, anyway. She didn't really know too much about the topics, but she was fairly intelligent and her father had taught her a lot as she grew up. Mostly words. He had said that a large vocabulary let people think better, though she wasn't sure how true that really was.

"Likewise in order: Does dark magic inherently cause people to display characteristics commonly attributed to evil, such as greed? I wouldn't call your requirement of drinking blood as a 'misconception', although it's something I am thankfully personally free of. For now, at least, as I hope I don't develop... Cravings. I think I asked you this before, but is drinking human blood necessary, or can it come from animals? Is there a notable difference in its appeal? The Venarii? I think I remember my father mentioning them, though he didn't say anything about them being vampires, unless my memory is still faulty. I guess I can see the sense in a nomadic lifestyle. Do vampires grow more powerful as they age? If our origin is unknown, has anyone tried to look into it? You, perhaps? If it's a new state of being, why is it dependent on others to continue to exist? Vampirism seems parasitic in nature being so dependent on others, have you thought about the implications of that? I think there's plenty of humans who also worship demonic entities so that isn't too much of a black mark against us."

As she moved towards the end of her questions, her expression shifted slightly.

"Discourged...?" She wasn't sure she was going to like the answer to this. "How? And as someone born outside of the clans... What does that mean for me?

[Sirus]

: "Well, you're feeling inquisitive today." The vampire hunted through his memory until he had at least some of the answers Lilie sought.

: "I would say no. In my experience it is the other way around: someone seeking power or wealth would be more likely to turn to dark magic as a way of pursuing what they want. It is true that vampires need to drink blood, but the exact nature of our thirst is poorly understood among non-vampires. Claims that we only drink the blood of virgin women, for example. Or young children. In truth, blood is blood: any blood, even that of animals, is usually enough to satisfy our cravings. As vampires age they, of course, have more time to learn and perfect their skills, but they typically begin to have a hard time relating to other people and many eventually go mad. And yes, I have tried to look into the origins of vampires. The problem is that there are so many myths and legends offering sometimes-contradictory accounts that it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. And vampires are no more parasitic than the humans who kill and eat other animals, and who even raise herds of them for the express purpose of slaughter."

: "...A vampire that chooses to leave the clans is called a 'gulat'. It means 'one who has committed suicide', and very few Venarii will associate with one such as myself. Unless, that is, I begin creating more vampires. Such an act is forbidden for gulat, and they and their sires become targets for destruction. Which leaves you in a rather awkward position until and unless we can discover the identity of the one who made you a vampire."

[GiglameshDespair]

"I hope you didn't just call me fat, Miss Rose."

Tirena was tall - 6'3 - which was always helpful for archers, especially longbow(wo)men. So while she knew what flowergirl meant...

"Anyway, boss, Caroline here helped out in the defence but now she's in need of somewhere to live. I was thinking she could stay with us. Another healer is always useful."

[F.O.E.]

Kristii grinned at Charles.
:"It was a tragedy beyond imagination! Hehe, I guess that all those delicate noble clothes just aren't up for the (kindasorta) wilderness life!"

I'm sure she would've lent you more, or do you just despise dress that much?" Not that I blame you for it, our clothes are pretty stuffy...

"Anyway, boss, Caroline here helped out in the defence but now she's in need of somewhere to live. I was thinking she could stay with us. Another healer is always useful."

"She'll be expected to accompany us to war. Is that alright with her?"

[Glowcat]

"Oh. Umm. 'ello Sir Baron Sir. I do not know if I can 'elp kill people, but I know 'ow to 'eal if you need anoder staff."

[Powder Miner]

:"I dunno, I wouldn't lend me any dresses if I was her! But yeah, can't move my legs that much in dresses and it's annoying, heh."

[Caellath]

"..."

Dalaach mirrored the tome trader's silence, staring - for a given value of staring when you have a mask like his on - at her for a while.

"..."

"I assume you are the trader of magical tomes. May you show me your wares?"

[UXLZ]

"Sorry, I just had a lot of questions I wanted to hear the answers to. What I mean by parasitic is that th-We, require humans to reproduce. I think I remember you mentioning that vampires couldn't do o through the normal means. Am I misremembering?"

Lilie thinks for a second as her expression shifts to a frown once more.

"Is there... A way to tell who someone's sire is with magic? If there isn't, and the only way is investigation... What's going to prevent them from thinking that you sired me."

[F.O.E.]

"Oh. Umm. 'ello Sir Baron Sir. I do not know if I can 'elp kill people, but I know 'ow to 'eal if you need anoder staff."

"Oh, you're the friend Tirena was talking about. Thank you for your assistance earlier."

"Keeping us alive is just as important as striking down the enemy if you ask me. You're welcome to join us."

:"I dunno, I wouldn't lend me any dresses if I was her! But yeah, can't move my legs that much in dresses and it's annoying, heh."

"Yeah, dresses are far from mobile. Almost a safety hazard now that I think about it..."