explore the rest of the library. After all you were already kind of burnt out with reading anything more about geography, so why not simply read about something you’ll enjoy?
After making sure your clothes properly concealed your appearance, you wander around the library, examining the selection of books around you. Sadly, after about thirty minutes of searching, you couldn’t really find anything that picked up your interest. Most of the books were about farming or medicine, two things you thought you would have left behind once you became a Demonblood just only a day ago.
With another sigh of boredom, you look around the library, almost waiting for something interesting to happen.
Looking around, there was scarcely anyone else in the library save for yourself and the librarian, with everyone else appearing to be common folk, none of them giving you more than a causal glance in your direction before returning to their books., which to be fair, was something you wanted.
Your thick leather boots caused the floorboards to creak heavily as you made your way to the doors leading outside. Moving past the librarian’s desk without a word, you were about to open the door when you hear a small whistle from behind.
Turning around, you see it came from the librarian, who stared at you with her deep amber eyes and a toothy grin, her finger casually scratching her nose.
Despite being a full fledged demon, you feel a shiver up your spine, as you attempt to calm yourself, straightening yourself into a relaxed position as you wait for the librarian to speak up.
“Now where are you going boy, don’t tell me you’re already done reading my books?” She said giddily, her voice much more full of emotion compared to when you first came in.
“I’ve done my business here for now, I’ll be going now.” You say calmly, pulling your hood even further down your face, making sure she couldn’t see a single detail of you.
“Why cover up that beautiful face of yours, I’m sure it appears exactly like I imagine it does...” she said, her eyes piercing into yours.
“I have business to do elsewhere now, may I leave now?” You answer, purposefully ignoring her question.
“I’m sure you do boy, in fact, if you pardon my observation, you seem exactly like the kind of person who has to do a lot of things in a short amount of time.” She whispered, her eyes looking at you knowingly..
Another shiver goes up your spin, as you slowly step backwards towards the door, preparing to make a run for it as you look around to see if anyone else was listening to your conversation, however there was no one else in sight, only you and her.
“Now now, I’d never imagine you to be so flighty, calm down now... I’m a friend” as she said that, you see her amber eyes begin to glow a deep yellow for a moment, a similar albeit bigger light glowing through the fabric of her left sleeve as she spoke.
“You’re a...” You stammered out, starting to feel yourself panic slightly.
“Don’t be so scared, like I just said, I’m a friend. In fact, as a friend, I want to show you something.” She said as she stood up from her desk and motioned for you to follow with her finger.
You pause for a second, unsure of what to do, before deciding to follow her, if only to find out what she wants.
The librarian leads you to an obscure corner of the library where you see a railed stairway lead downward towards a locked door.
The librarian, steps down and pulls out a wooden key from her pocket, and inserted it into the locked hatch and twisted.
She put the key back into her pocket as she opened the door, the wooden frame loudly creaking as it opened.
She turns back and motioned once more for you to follow, leading you inside what you assumed to be the basement of the library.
Once inside, the door shut closed behind you... your eyes widened as you saw the contents of the basement.
Dozens of sacrificial daggers and tools hung on metal racks, a dark maple bookshelf stood in the corner of the room beside a cluttered desk, containing multiple books on the sanguine arts.
In the very center of the room was a large red pentagram drawn using red chalk on the smooth stone floor, with several candles on each corner of the shape.
At the far right corner you also noticed a strange stone vat, only around waist height, marked with a strange arcane symbol on each side. The vat’s lid was closed, not letting you see the inside’s contents, although you were fairly certain what was inside.
The librarian upon noticing your examination of the vat gave you a crooked grin before saying “Ah, that’s where I store my blood supply, obviously blood is a hard to get material, so I store it in there for future use, using the arcane marks to help preserve the blood inside by freezing it, although they are constantly using it as well in order to function. I don’t have much blood stored up right now, so please be considerate when you’re using any for practice.”
When you’re using it?
“Wait a second... Who are you? What are you after?” You say to the librarian, your voice full of suspicion.
The woman grins as you watched her pull up her left sleeve, eventually allowing you to see a bright yellow topaz the size of a small ball embedded into her very flesh. A Viscer crystal, the same type of crystal blood mages use to store their sanguine power.
“As you can see I am a blood mage, particularly a blood mage who devoutly worships our Lord Anubis...” the librarian answered with another toothed grin.
“What...?”
“You didn’t think our Lord would simply dump you in the middle of nowhere and expect you to become a full fledged general by yourself now did you?”
“Well...”
“The answer is no, our Lord is a punishing but fair one, he himself has given me a new purpose, in order to serve as your teacher, for now atleast until you are ready to go out on your own.”
“Incredible.. so you’re going to teach me blood magic?” You say, still not able to fully comprehend what she was saying.
“No! Help you remember how to use it. You are a Demonblood, blood magic is a part of your very soul, I am simply here to reawaken those demonic instincts. Now take off that hood, I would very much love to see the beautiful face made in His image.”
Still, unsure, you take off your hood, revealing your jackal like face to the librarian.
The librarian, upon fully seeing your face, practically devours every one of your features with her eyes. You could almost see a tear form in her eye as she gave a genuine smile looking at you.
“Our Lord Anubis told me how your parents had never accepted you, the fools, the lot of them, but do not worry now, you are among friends now.” The librarian explained, a hint of venom surfacing at the mention of your parents.
“Friends?” You asked curiously.
“Oh of course, Our Great Lord didn’t simply send you to live with a rotten lady like me, there is my son as well, a little younger than you, but he would also love to see you. A skilled blood mage as well, he will help you very much as well.”
“Thank you... I apologize for treating you with suspicion.” You said, blushing slightly as you remembered how untrusting you were acting.
“Do not apologize my prince, in this world filled with foul angels, you are right to be suspicious. But, let us skip the chitter chatter for now, let me show you to your room.”
The librarian leads you to a door you hadn’t noticed before on the other side of the room, opening it and showing a slightly smaller bedroom, complete with a wooden framed bed with new fur blankets and pillows, a writing desk, and a large wardrobe.
In the very corner of the room was a stairway leading upwards.
“I apologize to not being able to offer much more, I’m sure you’ve already rightly experienced much greater luxuries in the pyramids of Our Lord’s infernal kingdom.”
“Oh, I have to thank you... but if I may ask one question?” You said, wanting to ask something that’s been on your mind.
“Oh? Ask away my Prince!”
“Well... I’m afraid I’m guilty of this as well, but why do we call Him, ‘Our Lord’? When I had first seen him in the flesh, he said he despised the Gods who forced their followers to worship him, yet we seem to be almost religiously devout to him.”
The librarian ponders your question visibly for a moment, her eyes looking upwards as if expecting the answer to be above.
Then, in a confident voice she answers “I see why you would be confused, but think of it this way, the Gods are selfish beings, despite being in their so called united Pantheon, they ultimately lust for more worshippers in order to collect more blood for themselves. Anyone in this world who isn’t a follower of at least one god is treated as an outcast of society or even a criminal. The Gods demand worship and our very life of need be, yet Our Lord Anubis never has demanded any worship himself, nor has he ever forced us to sacrifice ourselves to him, he asks but only takes from those who are greedy and selfish. That is why he is the only one fit to worship, even if he himself does not ask for it.” The librarian answers, her voice becoming more and more emotional as she speaks on, her voice nearly on the verge of yelling before she eventually quiets down.
“I see...” You say quietly. What she said did make sense in a way, but... you felt that she was a bit too devout to get a proper answer from. Perhaps after a year has passed you could ask your Patron himself?
“Anyway, I suppose you would like to be by yourself for now. It is almost time for dinner, I will bring it to you in an hour, by then my son should arrive and we can get started on your training. Feel free to go upstairs and relax in a bath whenever you wish.” The librarian said, moving towards the door back up to the library.
Before she leaves you ask one more thing
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve ever introduced ourselves?”
“Oh do not worry Umbren, Our Lord has already told us much about you, as for my name, it is Marga Yellowstone, I’m a descendant of the town’s founder, although none of that matters now. All that matters is you.”