Born in Blood



Liam felt several pairs of eyes piercing holes in his back, but he promptly ignored them and focused his attention on the surroundings.

'That little trick won't last forever. We need to map this place out then bounce.'

The first thing he noticed was the amount of 'Ora' in the air. It was brilliantly pure and came in abundant amounts. 

Perhaps even better than the 'Ora' Well back at the academy.

The source was obvious. The giant plateau – nearly the size of four large mountains on top of one another – radiated dense waves of 'Ora' that spread throughout the city. 

The smell of blood was so pungent one could taste it.

Now that they were slightly closer, Liam spotted countless lines of red that led upwards to the plateau, stemming from the very ground they stood upon.

Zooming in for a clearer inspection, Liam realized it was an upstream flow of pure blood. 

'I know too little.'

Smaller structures lining up the obsidian roads were made with interwoven bloodwood and dark stone. 

They were jagged and unruly in shape, with nocturnal creatures hanging off every corner they could find.

Swarms of bats flew overhead and chirped, blood-eyed rats skittered around dark alleys. 

There were a few vampires wandering around here and there, but they looked relatively normal, if one could call them that.

'Loitering around as a group will eventually garner attention… but splitting up has never been a good idea.' 

First, Liam wanted to know the layout of the city, what currency they used, what facilities they offered, and the likes.

Not to mention, they needed someplace to stay. Someplace quiet and insignificant for them to rest in and maybe lose the suspicion they attract during their time here.

That said, they still needed to explore the heart of the citadel, where all the 'important' activity took place in.

Liam was careful not to stress his mental waves too much, since that could possibly alert the stronger ones of his presence.

Instead, he kept his senses low to the ground, enough to know the precise number of people around him. With his newfound control, that wasn't difficult.

'Good, some places offer rooms.'

Liam sensed a series of weird-shaped buildings that crowds of vampires passed through and entered further ahead.

'It's still too crowded,' Liam thought, annoyed.

"What's the goal?" Nord whispered as his vigilant gaze scoured left and right.

Liam realized he'd gone silent for some time. Sensing no one around to eavesdrop, he explained firmly:

"We'll just explore and note down our findings for now. Then we find a place to stay in within the outskirts. Also, if there's even a chance that you might have gotten found out, abort and run straight towards your bats."

Exchanging a stern nod with his group, Liam shifted his attention to the surroundings once more.

They passed by a spot that looked like a potion/alchemy store. Nessa's eyes glittered with curiosity, yet the space was occupied with vampires, making her grumble in annoyance.

A few more interesting places met their eyes.

Blood Art stores were apparently coveted all around the Citadel. Flocks of rich looking vampires – judging by their bright red garments and cold expressions – filled those large buildings.

There were arenas for vampires to fight against one another and even weapon stores, selling blood-made items that were 'enchanted', from what Liam heard and saw.

More than once, a series of Bloodguards passed by Liam's group. They also had their own base, which was swarming with powerful guards and Rank 3 higher vampires.

'Gotta avoid that.'

Meanwhile, the vampires' currency resembled hardened blood tokens. The purer the blood, the more valuable the token.

As they traversed the streets, Niveh asked if she could split off and do her own thing, but Liam firmly denied her request.

"I only have a little bit of Bloodtokens saved up. Can't you let me enjoy myself?"

'Well, that solves our money problems,' Liam thought derisively.

Eventually, Liam decided to call it a day and headed away from the main attractions, moving towards the outskirts where the number of people dimmed and the air grew a lot more eerie.

Around dark alleys, sketchy looking vampires hid, presumably looking for a victim to rob.

Liam's group of five didn't look weak at all, and no one dared to attack.

Eventually, they arrived at a run-down triangle shaped building, lined beside small houses.

They muddled through the circular entrance to see a pale, wrinkly, unkempt old hag crept up behind a counter.

A welcoming expression gripped her indifferent face, but her weak Nexus tingled when she glanced over at Liam.

She began with a respectful greeting, but received none in response. The short one wearing black walked over, his face obscured.

"One room, how much for one week?"

"Er, ten tokens," the hag responded, unsure whether to increase her fee or not.

Liam took out ten circular bloodtokens from under his sleeve and threw it on the woman's desk. A grumble sounded behind him, but he ignored it.

The old hag suppressed any annoyance from appearing on her face, picking up the tokens with a forced smile before handing Liam his key and directions to the room.

Making their way to the room, they quickly realized it wasn't much.

It was lit by a single blue flame fixed above a dirty bed, and denied them the chance to practice their specializations due to the limited space.

"I choose the bed," Niveh proclaimed, already settling below the blankets and beating Nord to the punch.

Rin gestured to the corner and claimed it, silently cultivating as she faced the wall.

Nessa looked uncomfortable with how the room looked.

"Too dirty for your tastes, your majesty?" Nord teased, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

Nessa scowled, her cheeks getting a bit red with anger. "Not all nobles are rich, idiot. Are these the living conditions you're used to?"

Nord shrugged and picked a corner to lay down in.

"Not like I ever had a choice."