Our Father walked the one true path. But us children, mere shadows of His form were undeserving, incapable of following in His great footsteps.
Thus, the first children created the twelve paths. Though they were mere fractions of His, it allowed us, the undeserving, to finally be worthy of His name.
Henceforth, the paths became Disciplines, and the first children were titled Progenitors.
-- Vorak Kovur, Priest of Eternal Chaos, in a sermon attended by Nathanael the Slave, 90 AD.
***
Miles returned to the stone seat beneath the Cypress tree, after a quick but thorough search around where the little girl was last seen.
He had found nothing.
Though he was confused, he could not waste much time on this.
Out of the many things Miles had witnessed in this Doorway, a fae child with shifting hair was the least of his worries. Even if she had been spying on him for Sidhe knew how long.
What was more important was what had allowed him to sense her presence in the first place…
That strange trance-like vision of a shifting world was reminiscent of what he had seen in the Faesycian clinic when the title Last Son of House Lykaon title had granted a temporary +500 bonus to Influence.
Considering the effect of +100 granted by the seat of the Wurkan, it was entirely possible this was an intrinsic result of heightened Influence.
It did leave the question of why he had not seen… the colorful lights and the strange manifestations, back in the clinic.
‘Perhaps because I am within a Doorway right now? That, or any number of other factors that differed, including the current (un)balanced state I am in.’
It was worthy of further testing all the same, and Miles settled into the carved, stone seat for a second time. He could not feel any tangible effect exert itself, increasing his Influence but he supposed it was never meant to be felt. Miles allowed the world to fade around him, forming into the sundered mind world.
The first thing he noticed was that the Lupine Soul was no longer there.
It had not disappeared though.
Miles felt a tug, not on anything on his person or anything physical, but upon the connection he and the Lupine Soul shared.
He could feel it so much more clearly than ever before.
This connection seemed to expand, beyond him, beyond them and even beyond the mind world, finally… bleeding into the real.
Miles blinked.
Once again, he had returned to reality, hypnotized by the sight that awaited him.
A flowing, rippling world, illuminated by forms of light of endless color.
Focusing his full attention upon them, Miles realized he could understand them better now.
These manifestations were supposed to be his equals. Potential partners, if he only dared to offer his side of a deal.
However, while seeing them was one thing, that second step did not come so easily.
Miles could tell he was supposed to do something, something that should have been as natural as breathing, but…
He had no idea what it was.
Well, a basic assumption would be that it had to be something similar to what he had done with the Lupine Soul, but none here seemed to be interested in his flesh or blood.
Though any further progress was not possible, Miles couldn't complain.
The mere act of seeing the sight of these vibrant forms soothed his very soul. So, he decided to let that particular mystery rest and focus on what he could actually solve.
Miles began to stand, slowly, stepping off of the stone dais.
The stone seat had definitely had a tangible effect upon his meditation. It was as if the foundation of a solid fortress was pulled out from underneath. The moment he stood completely, the expanded connection wavered. The floating orbs around him flickered, as if unstable or unsupported.
Miles tried to retain the feeling, to maintain the expanded connection without the foundation, but unsure of how exactly he was supposed to do so…
He blinked.
By the time he reopened his eyes, all that he had seen had vanished.
What remained was a simple, ordinary grove of trees.
Miles tested this a few more times just in case.
On occasion, he would manage to hold for a few seconds, even take a few steps, but more common was for the connection to contract to normal the moment he properly stood.
Miles rested upon the cool stone, staring at the stone dais, and its intricate engravings, partially covered by moss and the shadows of the Cypress trees.
It was obvious now that what allowed him this new strange type of vision was this seat. Either from the Influence attribute boost, or something else unique to it.
'If it happens to be the former, the title Last Son of House Lykaon will play quite a role.'
Regardless, the stone seat was still useful. If possible, Miles would attempt to take it back home. Judging by its scale and how deeply rooted the Cypress tree, this would be no easy task, but he still had Cadmus make a note of the location.
With that, Miles was about done here.
However, before he proceeded with his next steps, he decided to check the system status.
He had only paid cursory glances ever since he had learned his levelling was being held back due to (un)balance, and it felt like time for a better overview.
The strange visions associated with meditation and the stone seat had not elicited any notifications from the system, so Miles was fully confident that he would find that nothing had changed.
He was half right.
[User: Miles Lykaon (!Pending Discipline Expansion!)]
[Current Form: Vawul|W̶u̸r̶k̵a̴n̵]
[Vawulan Class: F̴l̵e̶d̵g̵l̷i̴n̶g̶-P̶r̸i̶n̶c̷e̴l̶i̴n̶g̴(?̷) Lvl(?)] ?#!Error: Evolution Halted!#?
[Wurkan(?) ̶Class:̷ ̸Newborn(?̶) ̵L̵v̴l̴ ̵(?)] Unabl̴e to Level up. Form Unlock Quest ̵In̶c̴om̷p̵l̷ete̸?
[Disciplines: |Haemomancy Lvl. 1| - Untrained] {+} ] Discipline Expansion Available. ?!New D̴i̵s̷c̵iplin̵e̵͗ ̴̤̕Se̴lec̵tion̸ ̶Halted!?
[Vawul Generation: Too sparse to detect. Please evolve further.]
[HP(Health Points): 10/10] | [Conditional Undeath] | [BP (Blood Points): 15/110]
[SP(Spirit Points)̵:̴ 10/10] | [̷L̷u̴n̶a̷ ̴R̴e̷g̷e̶n̶e̴r̷a̸t̸i̴o̵n̵] | [̴M̴E̴ ̴(̵Mo̶on̴l̷i̶g̶h̸t̶ ̸E̵s̴se̵nc̴e̸)̷:̵ ̴0/̶1̵0̸]̶
{Blood Points (BP) in detail: (Personal) 10/10 + (Ripae Sanguine) BP: 5/100}
[Current Quest: Lykaon Inheritance Trial #1 - Welcome to Hamelin]
[Strength: 27]
[Endurance: 29]
[Agility: 33] (+5)↑
[Intelligence: 64]
[Wisdom: 40]
[Influence: 5 (+500)]
[Free Points: 5 (5 General)] (-5)↓
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
[Skills: General - {Torporem Medendi (Healing Torpor) - Common}, {Magicae Aspectus (Appearance of Magic) - Uncommon}, {Mind World - Rare}, {Nameless Movement Art - Unique}]
Haemomancy - {Ripae Sanguine (Blood Bank) - Inferior}, {Sanguis Ardeat (Blood Burn) - Inferior}, {Sanguine Aspectus (Blood Vision) - Common}, {Hereditas Sanguinis (Blood Inheritance) - Unique}]
[Titles: Discredited Heir of Lykaon Industries (+1000 to Influence) (50% Penalty in Accordance with FL-VV-5019)
Newborn Vawul (+5 to all stats but Wisdom, Vawulan Senses.)
?̵Newborn?̶ ̶(̷M̸i̷n̸o̶r̴ W̷u̸r̴k̶a̷n̴ S̸e̶n̴s̵e̴s)
Cursed {First: Minor Thirst}, {Second: The Beast Within}, {Third: Sol’s Hatred}
C̵u̵r̴s̸e̶d̴?̶ {̶F̸i̶r̷s̷t̵:̴ ̴M̴i̴n̴o̵r̴ ̷H̸u̴n̴g̶e̶r̴}̵
Conditionally Undead (Granted by the Ankh, the Key of Life. As long as the user is not burnt to ashes or decapitated, any injury will heal given time. It is still possible to become comatose due to total blood loss.)
(Un)Balanced??
Vessel of The Beast Within (Sealed) | V̶e̸s̷s̴e̴l̵ ̶o̵f̶ ̶T̶h̶e ̴L̷u̷p̴i̴n̴e̴ ̷S̶o̶u̷l̵ (̴S̵e̴a̶l̵e̸d̵)
Last True Son of Lykaon (Inactive)]
Message {+}
His status had not changed beyond what was expected. But,there was a new notification.
Another message field at the very end.
Curious, Miles set his intent upon it, instantly causing the status to be replaced by a transparent screen of white text.
Ding!
[You have received a message, titled: Evening the Odds 2]
Do you wish to read? (Yes/No)]
Miles paused.
He no longer had the best of impression of Pack, not after what he had had to experience within the maze, but–he also had to admit, the Detect skill had saved his life quite a few times.
Miles pulled a hand through his hair.
At least the two wolves deserved the benefit of the doubt. So, Miles chose the affirmative, causing the notification to expand into the message proper.
[For the eyes of the Last True Son of Lykaon only,
Congratulations are in order.
You have touched upon the World beyond the Veil, seeing what few on your side has ever seen, and your wolf has grown enough to handle a single expansion to a single Discipline.
We strongly suggest you do.
Beware, for the corruption of the Third Source Fulcrum was never supposed to be let loose.
Yours in Spirit,
Pack.]
Well, that was something.
As was tradition, the message vanished as soon as he read it, never to be seen again.
Miles glanced around the forest, pondering.
It seemed his stay here was just extended.
***
Though sparse, the contents of the message were useful, confirming a few ideas he had suspected.
The strange visions he could see, the colors and shifting forms had something to do with the World beyond the Veil.
There were still quite a few missing pieces, but this was confirmation enough he was on the right path to understanding.
The instructions were quite direct as well, stating that he had balanced the Wurkan enough that he could ‘expand a Discipline’. Presumably a Vawulan Discipline since that was all he had access to at the moment.
Miles was well aware that regaining Balance was the priority. Every little bit counted. But it seemed there were more pressing matters forcing him to forego that.
Then there was also the mention of ‘the corruption of the Third Source Fulcrum’, the first instance he had seen a concrete mention of the Doorway Trial Objective.
Miles had wondered what a ‘Fulcrum’ was, ever since he learned the seat of the Wurkan was one. But apparently…
'I encountered one of these 'source fulcrums' beforehand?
Unfortunately, Miles had no clue who or what the third fulcrum even was.
'The message states that it had a corruption, and it was let loose? When it should not have?'
Miles frowned, considering what exactly had escaped, when it had been trapped.
He grimaced, instantly realizing the only possibility.
‘There is no way this refers to the Hordred Rats right?’
They were an infestation, thus a corruption of a sort, but… he had not seen any evidence to the fact that they had escaped the maze and been 'let loose'. Sure, those Infernal Knights or whatever had broken their 'chains' and chased after him, even moving past the former obstruction, but they had not made it into the forest.
There had not been a single rat within his vicinity when he had activated Blood Vision before and after his healing torpor.
Confident in his assumption, Miles set the bothersome possibility aside, deciding to consider the more practical instructions of the message.
Since Pack’s advice had been quite beneficial before, he could not turn this down without precedence.
Miles shifted his gaze to the system status, or rather, a particular line of it.
New Discipline Selection halted.
This was good, because he did not feel he could handle the ensuing imbalance should he go through with selecting an entirely new discipline. It was doubly confirmed since Pack had mentioned nothing of the sort.
But what was written directly before it, was a different matter altogether.
Discipline Expansion Available.
It would not be any beneficial to a better balance, but supposedly he would need this and at the very least he felt he could survive it.
So, with a deep breath Miles set his willful intent upon the text, and the status expanded.
Ding!
|Discipline Expansion (Newborn)|
[Rejoice Vawulan. A Newborn you may be, henceforth, you shall be a true practitioner of the way of Chaos.
Rejoice Vawulan. You have achieved a feat beyond your station and Chaos shall bless you with power so that the potential within you may blossom as it desires.
Accept? (Y/N)]
Miles considered the message.
The pretentious tone aside, it didn't take long for him to make the decision, and the moment he did, a new notification popped out.
Ding!
[Congratulations, Discipline - Haeomancy expands beyond the limitations set upon the newly born, achieving true completion.
The Path of Blood unfurls before you.]
Miles shuddered, as a strange current crackled through his body. He felt his limbs spasm involuntarily, and a surge of burning heat forming within him.
The intensity rose, slowly but surely, seeping into his muscles, then his flesh. The strange currents gathered, entering his veins, moving through them, all towards one point. And finally, the crackling pain settled into a lull around his heart.
Ding!
[You have unlocked the title, Prodigious Newborn I.
Rare are the Newborn blessed by a Discipline. They are seedlings of potential, and of unused, uncontrolled power.
Rarer are the Newborn with a completed Discipline, wielding the prowess proper.
You are no longer a mere seed, but a grown, thorny vine.
Grants a 5% Bonus to all attributes.]
Instantly, Miles felt a flash energy rush through him, and though it was quite slight, a familiar feeling of attribute enhancement.
He was grateful for the reward, but he did not agree with the message.
He was no 'prodigy', unless drinking old Zhan's blood counted as something genius and unthinkable for the ordinary Vawul.
Still, he had been given it and Miles would not allow a refund.
Ding!
|-|-| Haemomancy (Discipline Tier 0) -> Haemomancy (Discipline Tier 1) Expansion |-|-|
Blood is the essence of life, and the core of all that is living.
Haemomancy means to bend its natural flow through will, lording over life though you remain a being of death.
What was once the path of the Iron Blood Progenitor, is now a fraction of yours.
Tier 1 Haemomancer Boon - Grants +1% to all non-physical attributes, and 1 skill selection.
Newborn Discipline Completion Bonus - (+1) Bonus Skill Selection]
Miles grunted in pain, reaching for his heart, as the currents of energy about his heart intensified.
Before the pain could become unbearable, it stopped abruptly, as if it were unsure of what to do, and of course a new notification appeared.
Ding!
|| Haemomancy (Tier 1) Skill Roster ||
The options before you manifest from your actions and experience prior. Each choice is a step forwards in the path of Blood. Choose wisely.
Available Selections: 2
[Putridum Sanguinis (Rotten Blood) [Inferior] - All blood that you shed rots, gaining a horrendous taste and smell that will sicken any creature that may wish to feed upon you.
Passive. Permanent. Takes effect when your blood is spilled.] {+}
[Ardenti Sanguine (Burning Blood) [Inferior] - All blood that you shed is heated to boiling temperatures, burning whatever it touches. Let those that dare spill your essence feel a fraction of your pain.
Passive. Permanent. Takes effect whenever your blood is spilled.] {+}
[Caecus Sanguinis (Blood Haze) [Common] - Cover the eyes of any living target with blood, forcing them to see the world as you see it, effectively blinding any non-Vawul.
Ranged. 1 BP per target. Time limited effect and may be dispelled by force.] {+}
[Sanguis Amplificationem (Blood Enhancement) [Uncommon] - Burn your blood at will, igniting a portion of your blood and utilize the combusted energy to enhance your attributes.
2 BP per cast. +1% to all attributes. Lasts for 5 minutes but can be recast without delay. Stacks to a maximum of up to five times. {+}
[Ferrosanguis Arma (Ironblood Armament) [Uncommon] - Your will may shape the essence you bleed into whatever you imagine, even weapons or armor, forged of your Ironblood.
Uses as much blood and concentration needed to forge the imagined object.] {+}
[Ferrosanguis Clavum (Ironblood Spike) - [Rare] - Extend your Haemomancy to a distance greater than your immediate vicinity. No longer shall you be limited by the distance you can reach, for you may shoot spikes of your Ironblood.
Status Effect (Blood Leech): For as long as an intact Ironblood spike remains in contact with blood, a percentage of the blood will be transferred to your Blood Points.
2 BP per Blood Spike.] {+}
Every skill was in Latin, and Miles directly translated them without wasting too much time, causing the interface to display the correctly translated phrases. Only afterwards, did he consider the skill themselves and the explanations of what was offered.
To be honest, he had not expected such thorough descriptions having gotten used to entirely unexplained, or barely explained skills.
Miles appreciated it, but it did lead to quite a problem.
What the hell should he choose?