World of Alvarra: Rise of the Vampire Lord

Chapter 65 Lyn's Anger

Van looked sadly at Kassandra. Wishing it would end here and they could part to gather their thoughts. But sadly, there was still one more question he had to ask. "Kassandra... what were the Nilfan afraid of."

That seemed to make her freeze, her face going pale.

"I have some memories... faded, not making much sense, but all of them had a desire to live... to live as long as possible. Which I can somewhat understand, but it almost seemed oddly desperate for a bunch of people who were nowhere near old age. Even memories of seeing you, studying and experimenting with potions, and other things to figure out a method of longevity. Why?" Van asked pointedly.

Kassandra's chest seemed to heave in and out, almost as if she was going through a mini panic attack.

"And it wasn't just the memories, you even alluded to it in passing several times. I want to know. Need to know. What were the Nilfan afraid of..." Van asked once more.

Kassandra looked like she shrunk inwardly like she saw her own ghost.

"Kassandra... Please..." Van asked one last time.

With a heavy deep breath, Kassandra slowly, forcibly, relaxed herself and tried to gather the courage needed to talk. Finally, after what felt like forever, she did so, in a shaky and unsure voice.

"We... That is to say, the Nilfan. Believed we were the pinnacle of magic and science." she slowly began. "We believed there was nothing beyond our reach, that even death... that even godhood... was up for the taking... Nothing But Bloody Hubris." she hissed out angrily that last part, surprising Van.

"Our so-called leaders... we... all..." she paused as she tried to gather the words. "We were not the only ones experimenting with creating artificial focal points. It just was too lucrative to pass up. Focal points were a great way to gather essence, essence that could make you stronger, extend your lifespan, give you powers beyond your wildest dreams. We were, we are always penned in by our need for essence."

"And focal points didn't just give us essence. They gave us a method to study the very fabric of reality... how it moves, how it breaks or bends. What does what and why. Just like one would figure out that hot air rises, or aerodynamics, geology! Chemistry!! Physics!!!" an exasperated look soon followed. "Our 'dear leaders' thought they could figure out a scientific way to warp reality, bend it to our will. Not impossible or inherently bad mind you, any good scientist would like to know the hows and whys of... well... everything! but they didn't try for any 'good reasons' like scientific discovery..."

"No, what they wanted was power and control... and they got just what they deserved for it... and dragged us all along for the ride as well. Those FUCKERS."

Van raised a brow at that.

Kassandra sighed, seemingly a little relieved at getting that off her chest, and started talking more professionally. "Those asshats poked something awake that shouldn't have been. And it was mighty hungry after its long nap. But our 'dear leaders'." she kept saying dear leaders sarcastically. "Instead we're able to bargain with the creature, or whatever it was..."

"I have no idea what the deal was." she admitted "All I know was it went wrong and our souls were now forfeit. When we die, it will go straight to who knows what. And no one wanted that..."

"So everyone went crazy, trying to look for a cure, a fix, a method to prevent our souls from being sucked away after we die. In a funny twist of fate. Only our slaves and serfs and anyone else that were deemed beneath us were spared the fate. Because whatever deal that our 'dear leaders' made, was only for the Nilfan and the Nilfan only. And they didn't consider slaves, even if they were born here, as true Nilfan."