The Blood of Vampire: Chapter 8 - The Blood-Weaver's Conquest
The Old Citadel of Syldavia, once a relic-filled tomb, now pulsed with a focused, dark energy, serving as the hidden command center for Jatex's impossible campaign.
After restoring the Water-Veil and absorbing the final revelations of the Progenitor's tablet, Jatex's personal dilemma was over, replaced by an absolute, singular military objective: The Iron Throne. The tablet's warning of the cosmic entity, The Sleeper, provided an urgency that transcended the petty conflict with the Vaelanar loyalists or the human kingdom of Aerthos. If Jatex did not claim the Throne—the only artifact capable of coordinating the final, necessary defense—the entire realm would fall.
He stood before Aeliana, his figure hardened by the weeks of consumption and conflict, the perpetual crimson of his eyes conveying a cold, tactical detachment. Aeliana, now the de facto spiritual leader of the remaining Vaelanar, was the anchor to his dwindling humanity, but her role was now strategic.
She managed the hidden infrastructure and provided the crucial Vaelanar intelligence—maps, troop movements, and the psychological profile of the enemy—that Jatex, as a former Acolyte, could not access.
"Aerthos does not fight small wars, Jatex," Aeliana cautioned, tracing a line on a captured military map showing the vast, sprawling garrisons of the human kingdom.
"A direct assault on their armies will result in attrition we cannot afford. Their High King sees us as a demon infestation to be burned out."
Jatex, clad in the heavy, supple leather and silk of the Blood Lord lineage, dismissed the map with a gesture of his hand. "Then we will not fight their armies, Aeliana. We will fight their will. Their faith-based discipline makes them rigid and predictable, and their generals rely on communication nodes. The Shadow-Blood Weave is not designed for frontal assault; it is designed for decapitation." He articulated his strategy with the chilling, detached efficiency of a predator. "I will not waste energy on the body of the beast. I will sever the head. I will target their high-ranking officers, especially those who carry the most information and the most zealous faith. Their fear will spread faster than any siege engine."
His target was quickly identified: General Marius, Commander of the Imperial Vanguard. Marius was notoriously fanatical, known for his relentless pursuit of ancient Syldavian relics, believing they held the key to permanently banishing all "dark magic."
Crucially, Marius was currently positioned at a major supply depot—Outpost Gamma-Four—and was rumored to possess a vast cache of stolen historical documents and maps, which Jatex surmised would contain clues to the Iron Throne's location.
The Silent Purge of Outpost Gamma-Four
Jatex chose the darkest part of the night for his initial strike. Outpost Gamma-Four was located on a high plateau, a fortress surrounded by standard Aerthos magical deterrents—simple warding circles and Light-based traps designed to deter crude Shadow-Weave incursions. For the Vaelanar, it would have been impenetrable. For Jatex, the Blood-Weaver, it was merely a menu of energy sources.
He moved on foot, utilizing the Shadow-Blood Weave to achieve a state of absolute spiritual silence—an almost complete suppression of his own aura, making him undetectable to both human sentries and the rudimentary Vaelanar spiritual sensors that Aerthos had co-opted. The fortress walls were patrolled by armored guards, their faith a tangible, flickering shield against dark influence.
Jatex initiated his action not with force, but with subtle consumption. He manifested thin, hair-like filaments of his crimson-indigo power, feeding them into the joints of the perimeter warding circles. The filaments silently and systematically siphoned the spiritual charge from the wards, neutralizing them without leaving a trace of damage. The protective magic simply faded, consumed into Jatex's core, momentarily satisfying the subtle, constant need of the Thirst.
He breached the inner courtyard in a single, fluid leap, a dark blur against the stone. The first sentry he encountered was neutralized with a precise, non-lethal Blood-Binding strike. Jatex did not kill the man; he focused the Sanguine Stain to target the sentry's spiritual core, drawing out the man's immediate conscious will and leaving him a catatonic, living shell. This act served a dual purpose: silence the guard and provide a minimal spiritual boost, reinforcing Jatex's self-maintenance.
The internal barracks were a scene of terrifying, calculated efficiency. Jatex moved through the dark hallways like an executioner, using the absolute stillness of his movement to take his targets one by one. His attacks were either quick, non-lethal consumption to secure a prisoner, or, if resistance was offered, a single, devastating slash of a Crimson Edge—a blade of pure, consuming energy that left clean, shallow cuts but instantly drained the victim's life force, leaving a cold, pale body devoid of spiritual echo.
The Revelation of Spiritual Terror
General Marius was not at the outpost, having been called away unexpectedly.
However, the outpost commander, a zealous Captain named Silas, was barricaded in the archives, preparing to burn sensitive documents.
Jatex cornered Silas, who, rather than drawing steel, began frantically chanting the High Prayer of the Light faith, his voice cracking with fear, attempting to generate a ward of holy fire. The white, defensive light flared brightly, momentarily forcing Jatex to pause.
"Your faith is a shield of illusion, Captain,"
Jatex's voice was low, resonating with a depth that was no longer quite human.
"But what is light against the absolute, consuming dark?"
Jatex did not attack the man or the light directly. Instead, he deployed the full measure of his new, terrifying psychological ability: Spiritual Terror. He focused the entirety of the Sanguine Stain's primal hunger—the cold, aching vacuum of spiritual starvation—and projected it outward in a silent, concentrated pulse, aimed directly at Captain Silas's consciousness.
The effect was instantaneous and catastrophic. Silas didn't feel physical pain; he felt the universe's ultimate absence. He experienced the terrifying, cold, metallic void that Jatex had endured for weeks—the sensation of his soul being consumed, leaving nothing behind. The holy light flickered, failed, and Silas dropped his hands, screaming—not from pain, but from the existential horror of feeling his own spiritual core vanish.
Jatex allowed the terror to sink in for a moment before abruptly cutting the connection. Silas fell to the floor, weeping and curled into a ball, his mind utterly broken, his faith reduced to ashes. The captain was now useless as a soldier, but invaluable as a message.
The Imperial Road and the True Target
Jatex moved through the archives, his crimson eyes quickly scanning the captured documents. He found what he sought: not direct references to the Iron Throne, but detailed reports from General Marius regarding a specific, forgotten ancient path—the Imperial Road—and Marius's obsession with a "Demon's Lair" located near its end.
The documents revealed that Marius had amassed a formidable collection of pre-Syldavian artifacts, including fragmented maps and historical charts that referenced a Celestial Gate and a Throne of Ash. Marius was not merely a zealous general; he was a driven fanatic attempting to find the same locus of power that Jatex required. Marius planned to deploy his elite forces to secure this site within the next week.
The realization focused Jatex's resolve.
General Marius was not just a target of opportunity; he was a rival for the Iron Throne.
Jatex left Outpost Gamma-Four not as a conqueror, but as a legend. He executed no one save those who chose to fight to the death, but the survivors—the catatonic guards and the broken Captain Silas—were left alive to spread the story of the Demon of Syldavia, the creature whose eyes were blood and whose very presence consumed faith. The psychological damage was irreparable, causing entire companies to abandon their posts in the following days.
He returned to the Citadel under the cover of pre-dawn, reporting his findings to Aeliana.
"Marius is tracking the Throne," Jatex stated, his voice flat. "His documents confirm the Throne is at the end of the Imperial Road, hidden beneath a major Aerthos staging ground. I must strike him directly before he finds the site."
Aeliana looked into his crimson eyes, a shadow of fear mixed with awe in her own.
"The path you walk, Jatex, is terrifying. This Spiritual Terror… it is absolute consumption of the mind. Is the price of control worth this darkness?"
Jatex reached out, placing his cold hand on her cheek, a stark contrast to her warm life force.
The brief physical contact was his only concession to sentiment. "The price is paid, Aeliana. The dark is necessary to protect the light. I am the Guardian Key now. And the lock requires ruthless force. Prepare the forward scouting assets. The Imperial Road is next. I will take Marius's documents, and then I will take his life."
The war had begun, and the Blood-Weaver was marching toward his destiny.