2/5/2019 Malentine Invidia

[00:57] Malentine Invidia says, "Hello."
[01:02] Aspen grew tired of the continuous sparring around Camp Invidia. The same old scenes, the same old outcomes. The young woman didn't find any entertainment in what they viewed as fun.

Priscilla was busy, as usual, which was quite unfortunate. On her own then, the young Corsair traversed through Dawn, purchasing warm clothes for her climb in the mountains. With that being done, the journey began.

This time in the north Aspen got farther, but the higher she climbed the more it felt difficult to breath in the chilling air. The Nethradin were becoming more frequent.

"Interesting," she said to herself about their appearance. Many looked alike, but in some way they were all demonic. Of course they were frightening, after what Hatsu said of their power.

That's when she began to be chased by one. Aspen ran, and ran.. until she eventually reached the top of the mountain, banging on the doors that she found, avoiding these monstrous creatures until finally..

One opened.

The girl stumbled in, out of breath, and collapsing against the door. Aspen breathed in heavily. She sighed with relief. Was she safe though?

"Hello, are you.. Malentine Invidia?"
(Aspen Yano)
[01:09] The girl entered into a cathedral that, against all odds, stood atop the mountain in full and constructed glory. Though the rift in the sky had been shut closed the day it had unleashed its hordes, a constant storm and whirlwind of black cloud lasted throughout the years that indicated both the Nethradin as well as the Gatekeeper who let them through still resided within the city.

Upon entering, she'd be greeted with a creature she may not have been fully prepared to meet. The Elder Invidia, a childlike vampire, a boy of seemingly only sixteen, stood within the well furnished cathedral turned alchemical laboratory. As she spoke and asked her question the shadows among the rooms moved, shifting as if to also focus in on the new visitor as their master did.

A sword was resting upon his back; a nyeshk blade lined with arcanium veins that carried his own icy blood through their conduits. A gem that would have otherwise been an artifact of benevolence rested within the hilt, calling for any good soul to save it from the enslavement it suffered at his hands.

Malentine simply smiled and nodded. "Yes. That's me." He took a careful step forward. "And who..

Are you?"
(Malentine Invidia)
[01:10] * You have been awarded 1 Roleplay Points! *
[01:17] Mahogany eyes cast in Malentine's direction as Aspen caught a glimpse of the shadows in the room shift around in her general direction. Definitely a strange occurrence, but what a vampire's power consisted of no longer surprised her, if that was apart of it.

The girl knelt on the ground before the closed door, continuing to catch her breath. Another relieving sigh, Aspen stood from the ground. Malentine was closer. A quick inspect of his attire, and what he held was viewed in detail. She smiled back.

"Aspen Corsair. That's who I am." A nod of her head for confirmation of her identity. Nothing was quite special about the young woman. Held in wraps behind her had been an mithril weapon, forged in friendship for an old friend. Along the shaft was the symbol of Yin with her name written in cursive below.

The girl continued to breath in deeply, glancing around the lab for a mere second. Her sight returned to Malentine.

"I've been wanting to meet you. I've heard a lot about you and the things you've done."

She supposed that was a proper start to the conversation, and given the information she's learned of the vampire, she was hoping to stay cautious with how she worded everything.
(Aspen Yano)
[01:25] "What I've done..." he put his hands behind his back in a formal stance while the darkness in the room continued to congregate. "I'm unsure if that should be comforting or if it's a threat of some kind, but I'm assuming I'm about to find out."

He tilted his head. "So.

Friend or enemy?"
(Malentine Invidia)
[01:29] "Friend."

No hesitance in her answer is given whatsoever.

"I've come to see if you would be willing to teach me about the Nethradin, Malentine."

The young woman's smile widened a tad. From the descriptions given to her from other fellow allies of Malentine, he seemed to present a better impression than she expected. Although one thing bugged her some.. her father, and this vampire.

"My father's been encouraging me to come see you. He was once a subservient to you. I've been highly intent on traveling up here to learn from you, if you'd allow the time to teach me."
(Aspen Yano)
[01:37] "Your father..." he hummed. Subservient meant thrall, if not ghoul, but as far as Malentine knew all of his ghouls had died. The ones he had called his sons were long slaughtered by the mongrels or Agartha. It was one of his more adamant grudges he kept against them. And there was only one thrall who survived the years under Malentine's wing.

"Ah. Ocelot." he smiled. "And I'm sorry to disappoint but the Nethradin are more just... spirits that I let through the gate. My real knowledge is of the Void, of the War against Fate, of the Arcane Chaos itself." The shadows finally concentrated on his form and manifested in tendrils that slithered out and across the carpet.

"Though I have been to the Spirit Realm. What do you want to know about them? I may offer what I can for my lost thrall's daughter."
(Malentine Invidia)
[01:43] "Yes," she mumbled, followed with a nod, to verify that it was indeed Ocelot.

"That doesn't disappoint me one bit." The shifting of the shadows continue, wriggling along the floor, spooking her. The unusual movement wasn't anything she'd seen before, but that wouldn't bother her any.

"Knowledge of the Void. Anything you know of these demonic spirits, Helheim, your technique to bring them to our world from theirs. Anything you can offer."

Of course.. from her past interactions with obtaining knowledges, they typically came with a payment.

"Is there anything you'd like in return for your teachings?"
(Aspen Yano)
[01:51] Malentine brought his fingers to his chin and drummed them against it, patiently listening. Another person had come to his domain to hear what he had to say, someone else seeking the words of the Void and his ways. Even through all the rumors of his descent into a deeper and deeper state of insanity, the vampire knew the value of passing on one's legacy and experience. And in return, what would he ask for?

"Mm... information. If, as I assume this might be, just the beginning of our meetings, then you may repay me with any collection of rumors or stories you hear out in the world. Where important figures are, what they're up to," he waved his hand lazily in the air, "Boring politics that might aid me due to the fact that moving out of this city can be so... cumbersome."

A small saucer with two simple cups of steaming teacame floating out of the eastern wing of the laboratory. One of the vampire's tentacles coiled nicely around the handle of one and lifted it into his hands while the saucer moved closer to Aspen to offer her one as well.

"As for the rest... before I begin describing any sort of lesson, first I'd like to know why you're interested. And what you're most wanting to learn at the moment. I can't do with explaining everything in one singular meeting. I think as some sort of incentive to follow up on your payment of information... I'll go into one particular thing per visit.

Sound fair?" He asked finally with a conclusive sip of his tea. Though he was a vampire, eyes that shined like emeralds with a sickly green glow stared over the brim up his cup toward the girl as he awaited her answer.
(Malentine Invidia)
[02:07] Aspen hadn't noticed the tea cups making their way towards the duo, until they were much closer. A tendril, extending from Malentine, held towards Aspen and the girl stepped forward to take the cup. The friendly gestures eased the little tension from the lithe shadows wavering about. A sip was taken just as he finished up.

"Information for information. You've a deal. Anything more I can offer to you, I'll consider as well." The girl takes another moment to sip of her tea, eyes trailing down the man's shoulder and towards his wrist. The oddity and descriptive observation and declaration of her father's immense fondness for her to ingest their blood was existing, and she couldn't help but ponder more of the idea.

"Mm.." Her eyes trail back up, staring into his emerald hues.

"The destructive nature of Nethradin and what you've accomplished in summoning them has my interest piqued. Not only am I interested in helping spirits pass on, if you're able to do that for a nethradin, but I see it as a way for me to.. not seem weak. Something that will help me aid the vampires in their endeavors. When those times come, sir.

"Maybe my reasoning is a bit extreme, but learning about them, and to become a master summoner is what I'm most interested in learning right now. Summoning spirits in general, for now, to be most specific, Malentine."

The girl laughs, takes another quick sip of her tea, and mentions one last thing.

"You can expect I'll be here pretty often then."
(Aspen Yano)
[02:18] "As should be expected." Another sip was taken. "And for the Nethradin, they are spirits of pure regret and malice. They seem to have... wanted to return here, so sending them back might not be something they're really looking for. I'm sure as hellish as Agartha is, it cannot beat Helheim in terror and sorrow, yes?

Of course their counterparts, the Wardens, are likely working to gather them back into the Spirit Realm." The gem on the vampire's sword glowed slightly at the mention of the benevolent warriors of the Spirit World. "I slew a Warden once during my travel there. I tore this gem from its helmet after I stuck it through and escaped back here. This was the origination of my Riftmancy, the primary well of power I drew from in order to acquire the techniques that regular magi arecapable of."

"What makes you interested in summoning? And why send them back rather than... oh I don't know... bend them to your will?"
(Malentine Invidia)
[02:27] Aspen nodded in regards to Helheim's maliciousness. Nothing the vampire had said wasn't already known. Aspen new well that these spirits were formulated in Helheim, lost, wandering in a lifeless segment of the entirety of the Spirit Realm because they've fallen to guilt in their former life.

The gem illuminating grasped her attention, only for a mere second. A warden's power resided within his weapon. Aspen stepped closer to Malentine, just a foot or two away, to get a better view of its detail.

"A warden.. I had a friend who wanted to pursue summoning one. A few friends actually. That's incredible," her voice was quieter now that she was nearer.

"I don't know the extend of what I can do with a Nethradin. I'm still a novice when it comes to summoning a spirit. Currently all I'm able to muster are.. birds. That's why I've come here. My ideas aren't in order, but in time they'll come to form and solidify.

"What I'm sure of though is that I want to serve the vampires and aid them however I can. That's my only plan for now, and with what you did.. well.. I was just in awe."

Aspen laughed nervously, it was a poor excuse to her, but she was young, and that was all she could currently think of.
(Aspen Yano)
[02:36] "Spiritmancy then." he said with some curiousness in his own voice. "The old Exarch of this city once aspired to attain as much. It was he who traveled with me into the Spirit Realm in search of knowledge. If I'm not mistaken, he returned with a tome on the subject, though the whereabouts of it are not mine to give out. He passed it on to his daughter you see, and I believe she has it stored away somewhere safe." Another long sip of his tea gave him pause in the conversation.

"He ended up binding some sort of spirit to him though. A dark guardian in the form of his shadow that protected and fought for him in battle. Not unlike my own darkness here but... of another source. Mine are not bound to the spirits, but my truer masters." Eyes began to open along the walls and along the long tendrils that coiled out of Malentine' back. The feeling of watching and staring they gave off before then increased ten fold once they revealed they truly were an audience to the conversation in every sense of the word. "Gehenna boasts of some spiritmancers in their midst, though I believe the most knowledgeable of them is, unfortunately, an Order Magi. Not someone who would stand idly by while you... well, served my kin.

As for your place among them, I'm certain they'll fine some sort of usefulness in you if you succeed. I had heard rumor that Salvas Voss had recently stolen Azrael's art and perfected it in the form of our Blood Lord. What one could do with the aid of Spiritmancy… mmm.. that changes the game in its own way. You don't even need the full proper body for that if my sources are correct. It's a shame the Archon Shiva fell to the savages. She may have been of some usefulness to you."
(Malentine Invidia)
[02:49] With Malentine speaking plenty, Aspen had sipped on her tea until the cup was empty. Her other hand, now held out, allowed the cup to rest on her palm, while the other kept a hold on the handle.

A long breath in and out, the eyes staring from the walls, and the tendrils made the girl uncomfortable; obvious by the widening of her eyes as she glanced around the room curiously.

Gehenna's mention prompted the girl to give away an expression of disgust. The ire she had towards the family who raised her, then demon that killed her brother, and their natural savage natures was immense.

"I wouldn't learn from them anyways," she whispered to herself. Finally her glance came back to Malentine's despite how hard it was not to look around at the dozens of eyes spectating.

"I've heard of that Archon. I was directed to Shiva once before. I never new she fell. That's a shame. Any way I can be useful to the vampires, I'll work with what I've got. Hatsu said something about Azrael's art. Necromancy. I'll be visiting Dawn's library soon to learn more about it."

Aspen pauses, staring towards a pair of eyes.

"My father believes I've be useful by becoming your thrall. Priscilla is urging me to drink vampire blood, and my father tried to guilt trip me into it by saying it would make him feel successful." The girl sighs and lowers her head, snickering.

"It's been a lot to take in." Her head shakes, she was rambling on. Her attention returns to Malentine.

"Spiritmancy then for now. I'll become superior with it than I am now, and hopefully by then my plans will be more.. formed." A slow nod, she didn't seem sure about it.
(Aspen Yano)
[02:56] "Aha, Hatsu. Do give him my regards. He was my student once, but I believe he never succeeded in the task I sent him off with so he avoids the mountain. Little does he know I've eyes everywhere." A cold laugh echoed through the room until he stifled off into an unsettling yet subtle and polite smile toward the girl. Ocelot had urged her to become his thrall despite bearing witness to the last bout of servants the vampire had shared his blood with years ago. To believe the coward who now hid from him urged his own daughter to take his place... there was something off about it.

"I'm uncertain as to why your father would believe sending you here to partake in my blood would be a good idea. As of the present day their are only two still alive who shared my personal blessings. Ocelot, the one who ran, and Vel, my nephew's son. Vel, of course, has ascended to ghouldom through my gifts while Ocelot decided his chances of survival might increase if he was farther away from me. And he wasn't entirely wrong; I slew all of my thralls that were under my command save him.

They were failures. Weak. Pathetic. The only derailed my plans and hindered my progression. I haven't taken a thrall ever since then, and I don't intend to now, not so long as we are strangers, you see." Another sip of his tea. "The future holds many opportunities. And to say it's an impossibility would be a lie. But take that as a warning... I don't condone slip ups. So long as I bear the Balaren's blood in my veins then when I spill it for another it better be worth it. For if it isn't, well.

I could always use another sculpture for my ever growing collection."
(Malentine Invidia)
[02:57] Malentine Invidia says, "Ah. Brigette. How kind of you to join us."
[03:05] Aspen's smile returned. Amused by his statements about those that he had taken as subservient, and slew. That was the Malentine she's heard about.

"I understand, Malentine. I didn't come here to beg for a taste of your heritage, but only to learn. My father's pathetic begging and attempt to guilt me into becoming a thrall was a failure. Even I considered killing him at the time. I was against the idea."

Aspen shrugged. Vel's ghouled state was known to Aspen. Even he was going to bring her to Malentine.

"Though.. I'm not now, and if that's where my future eventually will lead me, I won't hold back from your blessings. I'm sure maybe he thought he'd be off the hook for whatever reason if I did serve under you. I'm unsure," she paused, glancing at the newcomer behind her. Aspen gave a wave, and looked back to Malentine.

"I won't take the warning lightly though, and I'll do my best never to slip up, even if I don't drink it."
(Aspen Yano)
[03:14] Ah, the door was unlocked. The little mammalian siren pressed the door ajar, uncertain as to why it was so. Perhaps Malentine didn't quite care anymore, after- Oh. It was dark inside. Just as cold as it was outside, if not colder. Oh. There was another person.

Brilliant steely blue eyes peered toward the dozens upon dozens of eyes which lined the shadows. Scanning between different sets, looking from one to the next. Another moment, and she stepped inside, a little smile forming on her lips. How pleasant it was.

Aspen might not smell it, but a vampire could. The scent of copper.

As she shifted inside, her steps were slow. She was garbed in Gehennan clothing, rather than the kimono she used to wear. For a few moments her attention remained on the shadows. The darkness. The void which spilled into the world. Until she was addressed.

Then she tugged on her new shawl, her gaze finally turned on them.

"Ahm.. Yea, hiya.."
(Brigette)
[03:17] "I'm happy to hear you have a bit more ambition than your father, Aspen. I suppose that'll be all for now, though as I said; there may be more to learn should you find the tome I mentioned." Malentine held his tea in both hands as his emerald eyes shifted from the girl before him to the one who just stepped inside.

"This is Ocelot's daughter. She's come seeking some of my... Wisdom." he said with a certain smugness to the word. "I assume your own travels went well, Brigette?"
(Malentine Invidia)
[03:23] "Thank you, Malentine." The girl was in all ways far superior than her father, and more capable of handing what becoming a vampire entailed, to her belief. Aspen turned towards Bridgette to bow.

"Aspen Corsair." The girl's vague introduction. At the moment Aspen quiets down to let the two conversation briefly.

(Aspen Yano)
[03:28] "Oh.. Another kid..? Hm."

The little siren took a few steps forward, ever sluggish in her pace. Tired, it almost seemed. Until she paused, drawing a sharp breath through her teeth. A wince of pain, ever so brief. She'd breathed a bit too deeply. Whatever caused that ache seemed to vanish instantly- Or at least her reaction did- when her gaze focused on Aspen.

Steely blue eyes focused entirely on them, for the moment. She made her introduction. It was probably proper to make her own. Her gaze turned away, focusing on Malentine once more.

"My.. Right- Kind of.. I got.. a bit of information."

Another glance toward Aspen, then back again.

".. Don't know.. if you'd want.. her to hear."
(Brigette)
[03:29] Malentine Invidia says, "Mm..."
[03:29] Aspen Yano says, "I can leave, if you'd like."
[03:29] Malentine Invidia says, "Perhaps this is where we say farewell for now, Aspen."
[03:29] Malentine Invidia says, "Do tell your father I said hello."
[03:29] Aspen Yano says, "Will do, Malentine. I'll come back soon. See you then! Farewell."
[03:29] Malentine Invidia says, "Mhm."