Marcella

“At the beginning?” Mari suggested.

Elaine gave her a smile. “Yours or mine?”

To her look of puzzlement, she clarified, “For you, this all probably began when the people of your village found you with blood all over your hands, is that correct?”

Mari thought back to that day. “Well…”

She found herself staring off into space as the vampire’s words dawned on her.

It was such a small detail, perhaps she was overthinking it, but…

“Yeah, a vampire who had been disguised as a soldier attacked me and my friend.”

“I’m sorry to bring up that day, it must hold some disturbing memories.” She gestured towards the end of the hall. “Come, I’ll show you to your room. I promise it’s much more comfortable than a dungeon.”

As she began to follow her past many other empty cells, Mari wondered if Elaine didn’t question her story on purpose or because she was truly unaware that it was false.

Because it had been Tristan who was covered in their golden blood. But if the vampires really had taken her because of it, why hadn’t they taken Tristan, too?

“Where are we?”

“In the nation of Valoria- South Valoria politically speaking, and not too far from the capital in the east geographically speaking.” She glanced at Mari over her shoulder. “But you humans just know all that as the shadowlands.”

So the legends on that were real, Mari thought. What others were?

“My blood- is that why I’m here?”

She saw Elaine nod from behind and added, “Do you know why it’s…like that?”

“Nothing but a genetic mutation, really.” She considered Mari for a moment. “Ah, forgive me. I’m unsure if you know what that is.”

Mari thought back to her books on biology. “I understand the gist.”

“Good. As I’m sure you know, we need to drink blood to survive. The blood of other vampires will do, which is why we haven’t all died off here in Valoria where there are very few humans. However, it isn’t ideal, and yours in particular provides us with more strength while helping us regenerate our own blood at a faster rate. It’s also said to taste better. That’s really all there is to it, but golden blood is exceedingly rare and only occurs in humans.”

Mari contemplated her explanation as they reached a dark, circular stairwell. A part of her rushed with excitement at learning something very few people back home probably knew, if any at all. “So the attack on my village was specifically to get me?”

“I can’t provide you with the details, of course, but that was one of the main objectives, yes.”

“How did you know, then?

“We have several spies throughout your kingdom, including the one you fought. One of them heard of an adolescent found with golden blood and informed us. The rest is history.”

“You said this is South Valoria, politically speaking. What does that mean?” Mari asked as they climbed the stairs, studying the curved wall around them. It seemed to be made of regular stone, and she wondered when the structure had been built.

“I’m flattered in your interest. It’s pretty complicated to summarize in a few sentences, but I’ll try. North and South Valoria were once united as one kingdom under one royal family since its founding. When King Vesemyr died two hundred years ago, the throne was to be inherited by the most worthy of his legitimate children as is tradition, this being Bram. His only other child, Alistar, however, claimed the throne despite being a bastard. He was very charismatic and popular with commonors, especially in the north, so he gained many supporters. A war was declared between the two brothers who fought each other for several years until a treaty was passed for the fighting to pause temporarily. By then, Alistar had seized control of a good chunk of Valoria’s northern territory, roughly about a third. He claimed it to be the true Valoria with him as the true king, vowing to someday reclaim the rest of the kingdom- as did our king, Bram. So here we are.”

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They were still ascending the stairs as Mari pondered how much of Elaine’s recollection was biased, not to mention whether or not she was being deceived purposefully. Better to take everything with a grain of salt, she decided, even though it was hard not to get excited at the prospect of so much knowledge.

“How is worth measured in terms of being the one to inherit the throne?”

“Typically it means physical strength, but not necessarily so. Unlike in your kingdom where the crown is automatically passed onto the eldest son, the role of king or queen here signifies power and is therefore open to any member of the royal family who proves theirs. Most often that is done through serving in our military as a warrior and becoming a powerful bloodweaver, but one may also prove their worth through political or strategic cunning instead.”

Mari wondered if Elaine was aware of the fact that the throne only being available to legitimate children of royals threw a wrench in the idea of a meritocracy, but knew better than to offend someone's pride. “A bloodweaver…is that what that guard did with the key?”

Elaine threw her a fascinated look. “You seem to catch on quick for a human. Yes, he is a bloodweaver, as are all warriors and most nobles. Bloodweavers can manipulate their blood and use a range of techniques to fight with it, most common being to solidify the blood into armor or weapons. It’s a skill any vampire can theoretically learn but it is very difficult to do so, even for the lucky few that have an aptitude for it, especially when it comes to mastering your technique at the level it takes to sustain during battle.”

Mari thought of another question and hesitated, wondering if it would be considered rude to ask, but did so anyway. “Are you a bloodweaver?”

“Despite being a noble,” Elaine began, confirming one of her suspicions. “I’m not. Not being one would be frowned upon in most noble families, but mine is known more so for our…esoteric work for the royal family. We’ve had a few enlist in the military but we mostly focus on honing our umbra.”

Mari’s head was beginning to spin with all this information, but she couldn't help her thirst for even more of it. She almost asked what exactly ‘esoteric work’ meant but decided it wouldn’t be wise to pry further. Instead, she inquired, “What is an umbra, if I may ask?”

“Please, ask anything you’d like. It’s not every day that I get an opportunity to explain the inner workings of vampire culture to a human. An umbra is another skill that can be learned, but they are so rare and so powerful that they’re typically only passed down through families- and these we title as nobility. An umbra is the very thing that gives a family or vampire power other than bloodweaving. Because of this, they are kept secret and we know very little about what they even are. Generally, though, they can be summarized as magical abilities that range from reading minds to creating illusions. We don’t even know how many there are so exact limits are anybody’s guess. They are just as difficult, a lot more, in fact, to learn compared to bloodweaving.”

To Mari’s thoughtful silence, she continued, “Like many others, my family’s umbra is secret to everyone but the royal family, House Kirelle. Due to its nature, however, we can focus on other pursuits whereas becoming a bloodweaver is typically the only path to prestige for existing nobles and commoners alike.”

“Typically?”

Now Elaine gave her such a big smile that it almost unsettled Mari. “As you’ve likely been able to ascertain, prestige is everything here, and it’s not simply wealth or fame or physical strength that gives someone status. Those things are important, but power is the true prize. Many vampires mistake power for one’s skill in bloodweaving or their umbra, but power is so much more than that. My family has a saying- it does not matter how strong a weapon you possess if you can not recognize the enemy, the strongest weapon is the tongue that tells you who it is you should strike.”

They had finally reached the top of the stairs as she concluded, “Alistar was not able to wage a war against the most powerful family in the entire world because he was a good bloodweaver, he did so because he knew the right things to say and do. One powerful warrior can be outnumbered by hundreds of average warriors, but one powerful mind can not be outsmarted by thousands of clever minds. If you ask me, it is not sheer strength that makes a vampire, it’s your intellect.”

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to start preaching to someone who could probably care less,” Elaine said suddenly, as though she’d snapped out of a trance, and opened the door before her. “Welcome to Mondever Manor.”