Chapter XXI: Vampires
Sybille gives me a long blank stare "And why, prey tell would I tell you anything about that?"
"Because I asked nicely?" I smile cheekily.
She scoffs amusedly "If you want to study vampirism I am sure there are many tomes back in Winterhold that would more than satisfy your childish curiosity."
I wave her off "Ah, but that wouldn't be coming straight from the source now, would it? It would be mostly interpretations and conclusions, nothing concrete."
She doesn't seem moved by my thirst for knowledge "I reiterate my earlier question, what do I get from telling you anything?"
I hum for a bit "Well, I am at least an adept in most schools of magic I am sure I could help you out in some way as thanks."
She blinks "How old were you again?"
"Close to 18" I smile.
"Then you must be lying." She immediately says.
Now it is my turn to stare blankly at her "Why would I lie about something that is easily tested?"
Her annoyance with my apparent lie slowly turns into disbelief as the truth of my words rears its ugly head, one must merely feel my magical presence (if I let them) to know I am unnaturally powerful for my age "You are attempting to become an archmage then?" she asks after some silence.
"Oh, I assure you it is far more than a mere attempt." I say dryly. In fact, that was merely the beginning, but she doesn't need to know that.
Her gaze turns calculating at that statement, she doesn't shut my claims down immediately which implies she at least somewhat believes that I could achieve such a feat, meaning that having my favor in the future could be very useful to her.
Clever girl.
After some thought, she nods to herself "Very well, I don't mind providing you with the basics." Before I can give my thanks she interrupts "In return, you will help me with an alteration spell, I have been having trouble strengthening my already empowered flesh with magic ever since I stopped aging."
That seems fair. I nod "Of course, you scratch my back and I scratch yours and all that."
"A quaint turn of phrase if not an incorrect one." She hums and then moves toward her own chambers "If we are to discuss I would prefer it not in the hallway with you on the floor."
"But of course, madam." I drawl and get up.
"What a polite young man." She coos foppishly and we share a chuckle.
Her chambers are surprisingly bright for a creature of the night, containing a rather vast amount of artwork and other luxuries.
Seeing my curious gaze she explains "If one is to live forever they must find a way to enjoy the little things in life, you will find it harder and harder to rouse any form of excitement after a time."
"Sensible." I say as I sit across her at a very well-carved table "Though I do have a bit of a leg up on that, seeing as we elves are wired to live a lot longer than humans."
"Wired?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.
I smirk "Explaining the deeper meaning of that would need a lot more than merely a lesson on vampirism."
She seems curious but quickly lets it go "Now, tell me what do you know about vampires?"
I scratch my chin in thought, what did I know? "A vampire is someone 'blessed' by Bal, they are weak to sunlight and fire and do not age, in turn, they are immune to poison, and disease and are highly resistant to frost." I think for a bit more "They gain a high affinity to blood magic and regeneration in most cases and there are multiple clans with differing powers..." I humm and then shrug "Yeah, that is about it."
She nods along with my explanation "You are quite informed about the intricacies of vampirism, almost makes one wonder why you would even seek the information at all?"
I roll my eyes "I wasn't asking about your powers, those are well documented. I was more curious about how a vampire functions... you know, how much must you drink, how vulnerable are you to the sun, how does vampiric aging work, and the like."
"Oh? Preparing for the future then?" She asks intrigued.
I shake my head "No. While I won't question your life... or unlife choices for that matter. I personally consider vampirism to be one of the cheapest paths to immortality with far too many drawbacks."
Her eye twitches, but she doesn't refute me.
We spend the next hour or so discussing the topic, while also going over the known clans of vampires. Surprisingly, the Volkihar were the sole clan of Skyrim, with almost every vampire in the province being of their blood, this also included Sybille. Either Harkon keeps his 'domain' under a tight leash or there is some other reason why the other clans tend to avoid this place.
After the talk about the clans, we arrived at the one I was most interested in.
"So, how does vampiric charm work exactly?" I ask curiously.
She mulls it over for a moment and says "Think of it as a mixture of illusion and Daedric blessing. You focus both onto your target and attempt to impose your will upon them, this too grows in power as a vampire ages."
I raise an excited finger "Ah! So you take the concept of domination from Bal and focus it on the target with instinctual illusion magic, and if the target is too weak of mind they fall under your control."
She gives me a dry look "You got all that from a mere introduction."
I pretend to stroke the beard I don't yet have and say "While I don't like to toot my own horn." Her look turns dryer than the desert "I am pretty talented." I say with a sunny smile.
"Want to try it then oh talent of talents?" She smiles challengingly.
I immediately shake my head "There is a border between curiosity and idiocy, so no thanks."
She smirks "Too late."
I am about to fight back, but I suddenly notice just how beautiful her face is... those blood-red eyes! I could lose myself in them... truly this is something worth dy- 'CEASE THINE SIMPERY'
I blink and feel reality smashing back into my mind, only to see Sybille slowly approaching me.
I sense that she only wished to 'teach me a lesson about arrogance' so her punishment won't be annihilation... for now.
Before she can react even with her vampiric reflexes I am standing in front of her and pointing a glowing golden hand at her face, quickly I move it to the side launching a sunbeam instantly disintegrating her left ear.
She snarls in pain but seeing me with two additional spells prepared decides to stay put and merely glare at me. Slowly she calms down and I notice sharp claws retract into her fingers.
While angrily while clutching the stump she snarls "I wasn't even trying to do anything for Julianos' sake."
I smirk and drawl out while doing my best impression of a certain Chancellor "Have you heard the tragedy of Master Dyrren of House Telvanni? He too wished to play with my mind, and was met by a grizzly end."
Her eyes widen for a split second and she seemingly prepares for a fight.
Before this can escalate further I deactivate my spells and shake my head "If you were really trying to do something I would have turned you into fine ash already." Before she can sigh in relief I send her another glare "Do. not. attempt. this. again."
She swiftly nods and pulls out a bottle of what I guess is blood, she takes a quick swig and her ear starts reforming slowly, while she hisses in pain "Why did you have to use sunlight?"
"To make sure the lesson sticks" I Shrug and she sends me a half-hearted glare.
We sit in silence for a good while and I ask slowly "I do hope this little altercation didn't ruin our possible cooperation."
She shakes her head "No, I should have known better but my curiosity got the better of me."
I get up from my seat "Well then, my thanks for your hospitality but I think it best if we shelved our conversation for later."
She nods stiffly and I leave for my own room.
After checking up on Davos and seeing the mer happily dozing off on his new bed I made myself at home in my own room.
The moment my back touched the luxurious mattress of my bed I felt the entire month long walk hit me all at once and passed out near instantly.
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Almost as if woken up by an alarm, my eyes snap open exactly as the sun rises, my travels having made my internal clock rather robust at this point.
I get up, much to the protest of my sore body, and go to wash my face. As I exit the bathroom still drowsy from waking up I notice a letter sticking out at the side of my door.
I scan it, because paranoia for the win, and open it... They couldn't wait even a day huh?
'High Enchanter Reyvin Flame-tongue you are hearby cordially invited to join his royal Majesty High King Torygg on a small banquet hosted in your honor this evening. His Majesty hopes that you will use this time to foster good relations with the rest of the court and find a way to work together.
Signed: Ingvar Firebeard, steward of the Blue Palace.'
Feels like I just got invited to team-building... Well I can't really find any excuse not to go so I guess I will have to deal with a bunch of self-assured fops tonight. Joy.
Before I start with my day I decide to finally check my progress since I left Winterhold. Unfortunately, I didn't really have the time to learn any new spells but I have been doing quite a bit of casting so hopefully that would have made me grow at least a bit.
[Dex: 16 => 16.5]
[Vit: 19 => 21]
[Mag: 280 => 300]
*Whistle* Surprisingly good progress.
The dexterity is evident as I have been getting faster at reacting to attacks due to all the fighting, and the Magicka also made sense since I have been overcasting like mad.
But what the hell is up with that vitality? Did Kyne bless me again while I wasn't looking?
I did fix up that shrine of hers after all... *Shrug* Well not like I really mind being more resistant to death, that is always handy.
All hail the wind mommy!
I think I might be lynched by a mob of angry Nords if I ever say that out loud. I cackle at the thought as I leave my room and head to Davos' quarters.
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More power I desire, thus thine stones I require.
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