The Monster Inside: The First Vampire - Chapter 329

Aegin sat on the edge of the underground cliff that looked down into the flowing river of fire. It was hot in here, hot enough that it bothered even him. But he’d grown used to the excessive heat over the past year. His forge sat behind him, quiet and cool for once. He’d worked for months to get those Evanine weapons to work, only to have it shatter to easily. Then, much to his surprise, it turned out that the weapon he really needed to at the very least harm Yashi, was the one that he’d been denying was honourable all along.

Honourable? It seemed like such a stupid concept now. Chaos was not supposed to be honourable. It was supposed to oppose honourable.

Aegin sighed, reaching into his internal jacket pocket and withdrawing the cracked evanine pendant. The runes on it were symbol enough to read. The circle on it’s own would usually mean protection, but with the symbol of Djinn in the centre, it came to mean seal, prison, or vessel, though Aegin supposed it was probably all three.

Aegin looked at it a moment, then dangled it out over the river of fire, “I know you don’t burn, Yashi, but if I melt your Vessel, what happens to you? I’m suddenly curious”.

The Djinn, still weak but his eyes somewhat wide in desperation, appeared beside Aegin, “I haven’t done anything for two weeks, why are you threatening me now?”

Aegin sighed, taking the Vessel back in his hand. He turned towards Yashi, who was still nursing the wound on his abdomen, “Do you need a bandage or something for that?”

“The wound will remain until the Vessel is repaired,” Yashi gritted out.

Aegin looked at the pendant again, “I see. So, you cannot be harmed with normal attacks, but you can with magic attacks. Your Vessel on the other hand, can be harmed by both, I assume?”

“Is there a point to this?” asked Yashi.

“I plan on keeping your Vessel for quite a long time, Yashi, I suggest you cooperate if you want to get out every now and then,” Aegin replied.

Yashi huffed and turned away, “I lasted eight thousand years in my Vessel without company, I can last you”.

“I can last eight thousand years too,” said Aegin, “A damn shame your Master is no longer human, huh?”

“Master?” Yashi scoffed, “You have no intention of ever making a wish. You’re my Keeper, my Warden. You’re no Master”.

“And as your Warden, I can seal you within your Vessel permanently,” said Aegin, “Would you rather that?”

Yashi glared at Aegin before he looked away, “What do you want, Vampire?”

“The charmed blade that I made,” Aegin said, “You seemed terrified of it, you even called it…what was it?”

Yashi hesitated for a moment before he replied reluctantly, “A Named Blade. I was wrong. But I suppose you should be acknowledged for making even a crude imitation of such a formidable weapon”.

“What is a Named Blade?” asked Aegin.

Yashi didn’t answer. Aegin hung his Vessel out over the river once more. Yashi sighed in frustration.

“They’re some of the most powerful weapons in the world. A blade made from a combination of Evanine and Anthrite, making them strong and durable, then marked with a rune or combination of runes to give the blade purpose. A Named Blade. Chaos and Order alike feared such blades, but there was only one weaponsmith that had ever perfected the art of forging them,” said Yashi.

“Who?” asked Aegin.

“Ridgeland Redscales,” said Yashi, “The Dragon Lord Blacksmith. To receive a weapon from him was like receiving a weapon from a god. As far as I’m aware, he forged ninety-seven named blades before he retired”.

“Only Ninety-Seven?” asked Aegin.

“What do you mean only?” asked Yashi, “That number took him nearly then ten thousand years to reach”.

Aegin frowned, “Why?”

“Anthrite is called the Metal of Justice. This is because when it senses an individual that has stolen power from something else, it cuts off that individual’s access to the stolen power. It’s why it’s so deadly to the Chaos Races who must take power from something or someone else in order to survive. In comparison, Evanine a vessel for external mist, in other words, it’s very nature it to take power that was not originally its own. Two opposing forces like that cannot exist together to any productive function. Ridgeland found a way around it though. He found that if one applies enough heat to the two together, they are forced to interact with each other in order to prevent themselves from being fully extinguished”.

“You make it sound like they’re living,” Aegin stated.

“Everything that the Mist touches is living in some way,” said Yashi.

“So, he found a hot enough flame?” Aegin asked.

Yashi nodded, “Dragon Flame. A Dragon Flame that was stored and stoked in a Dragon’s belly for a thousand years. Ridgeland stored every flame himself. And no other Dragon could match his self-control”.

“So, you’re saying it would be impossible to Forge a Named Blade without a Dragon’s Flame that’s been stored for a thousand years?” asked Aegin.

Yashi shrugged, “It’s the only method I’ve heard of. But all Blacksmiths have trade secrets. I’m sure Ridgeland was hiding something else”.

Aegin sighed. Pocketing Yashi’s Vessel, “How did you become a Djinn, Yashi?”

Yashi frowned, “I assume I wished for it”.

“You assume?” asked Aegin.

Yashi shrugged, looking somewhat uncomfortable, “The only way to become a Djinn is to wish for it…but the price is always your life. You give up your body, your personality, your memories, and in return you become an all-powerful Djinn. The old Djinn in turn takes your place as a human”.

“So, you don’t remember what you were like before?” asked Aegin.

Yashi shook his head, “I never will either. Though I’d like to think that if this is what I wished for, it was worth it”.

Aegin nodded, “I’ll keep your Vessel safe, Yashi, you have my word. I might even repair it if I can find a way…but in return you’ll answer any questions I ask and do as I say”.

Yashi sighed, “Do you know what the downside is to have a Master who’s not Human?”

Aegin raised an eyebrow.

“I’m never envious of them, just like you don’t thirst for my blood”.

Yashi disappeared back into his Vessel.