My Servant System

Descending down to the battlefield was a simple task, and it was during those last few minutes of peace that I decided what needed to be done as soon as we were amongst the trapped, warring soldiers inside of this trial.

This was where I could begin exercising the powers given to me thanks to my bloodline, particularly the part of my bloodline that had a perfect option that was seemingly made to be nonlethal; Moon Magic was something that affected the mind and could distract, influence or inhibit anyone affected, and although I wasn't the most skilled in it...

Well, the idea behind it was something that I was able to grasp rather well; it was entirely about control and precision, two things that I had in abundance thanks to these years spent perfecting my craft.

It was mana that was infused with the ability to alter someone's mind through any of the senses, and it was something that just seemed so powerful even in its weakest form; I could still remember the time my Mother showed me its power, transporting me away from the Palace and leaving me in a flowery field, the crisp, cool night breeze brushing against my skin while the sweet scent of nectar pooled within my nostrils.

Of course, I wasn't even wielding it properly, so it being in this weakened state meant little if it was used wrong, but to ensure that it was I closed my eyes and held onto Jahi's arm as we walked down to the battlefield, searching for that other 'me' that was always waiting to be called upon.

The blood within me personified as something 'else' within my mind, as a different part of me that was entirely separate from the me that was walking around right now... finding it wasn't an issue since it was tied to the hunger I always felt, but coaxing it out was always time consuming.

Its needs were different from mine, the way it got what it wanted was different from how I would do it... this version of me was just completely and utterly different from me, but it was also... well, it was me.

An isolated, content, quiet version of me that was more than happy to remain secluded within my mind, waiting for the time to come out and relishing every single second given to it whenever it was allowed free.

And now I was coaxing it back out with a promise that from now on, I was going to attempt to understand it, accept it, and become one with it instead of treating it as an 'it' and not as a piece of myself, of my being.

The somewhat familiar feeling of ancient power flowing out of my Core like water surging out from behind a broken dam was exhilarating, and with the release of power came the addictive yet different priorities.

The change of myself from cautious to assured, from calculative to reactionary, from reserved to confident; the way my fangs slid out of my gums and pricked against my lips, the feeling of my skin heating up and becoming as crimson as my flames... and then there was the twisting of my Core as an older magic swept through it.

Not one, but two, and instantly I could feel myself humming with power that many would only ever be able to dream of; my senses sharpened, my skin tingled and there was a thirst that could not be slaked within me, a gluttonous pit that itched at the fringes of my mind.

It felt like giving away control of myself, but the freedoms it provided were so highly addicting, especially as the instinctual understanding of what I was, of what I had began to spark within my mind, like old memories that I just now had access too.

This was a start, and as we emerged amongst the soldiers I was already on the prowl, hunting for my targets and attempting to ignore the way my fangs itched whenever someone drew blood around me.

~~~

Kat PoV

"Oh... this isn't good. Not at all..."

We both stared down at a gigantic crater that was still steaming, the stench of burnt death permeating the air while everything around us was charred to hell and back in what was roughly a three hundred foot diameter.

Going almost an equal amount deep, this was a gigantic crater that spelled trouble very clearly in neon lettering, and yet we were in a trial that required us to investigate it since it might just be the objective of the trial.

Chunks of black rocks were strewn about the place, porous and leaking an even darker fluid that reeked of organic decay, like some sort of amniotic fluid... and yet we were standing in a damn crater, not somewhere that something should have been born from.

"And there are tunnels as well... whether they were here already or are freshly made is up for debate, but this would explain the lack of animals... but not how we didn't smell this earlier..."

Lady Fenyras and I looked around and tried to find signs of life anywhere, only to raise our guard when nothing showed up; the clearest sign we had was in the middle, where larger chunks of that porous black rock rested, but it wasn't a sign of something fresh.

"An egg or something? What is all of this..?"

Gingerly approaching the edge of the crater, we looked down and surveyed the slope for anything at all before carefully heading on in, with the proximity of the rock only worsening the stench of that fluid a dozen fold.

It was enough to make me gag and fear that the contents of my stomach needed to be expelled, but at the same time it had an odd, terrifying twinge to it that made it hard to think; it was all encompassing and pervasive, but also charged with some kind of power.

"It has to be an egg... that fluid is just... organic, but it's coming out of a rock... surely this is the monster we're hunting..? This is our 'hunt'? But if it is... then why was it so far away from where we entered? And... when did it get here?"