The Blood Of Vampire: Chapter 13 - Kael's Malice and the Northern Trap
Jatex had secured the Gem of Frozen Tears, but the act of binding the Frost-Leviathan's consciousness had depleted his spiritual core severely. He was still reeling from the effort when the hostile forces of his past found him.
The Stalking of the Elder
Jatex retreated from the Glacier Maw, the precious Gem of Frozen Tears secured in a thick leather pouch near his heart. Its cold, inert power was already acting as a minor Spiritual Anchor, dampening the raw, screaming hunger of the Thirst left exposed by his massive expenditure of energy. He needed several days of rest and discreet siphoning before he could safely endure the long journey south.
He found refuge in a secluded ice cavern, hidden by a natural Shadow-Weave distortion caused by the glacial pressure. It was here, while attempting to enter a meditative state of Controlled Starvation to rebuild his reserves, that the intrusion occurred.
It was not a physical attack, but a subtle, venomous shift in the spiritual resonance of the cavern. The ice around him began to weep, and the faint, peaceful cold of the cave turned aggressive, metallic, and cold with calculated malice. Jatex's crimson eyes snapped open.
Elder Kael.
The disgraced Vaelanar Elder, now a fugitive and a fanatic, had tracked the massive, singular spike of Shadow-Blood Weave energy Jatex released to bind the Leviathan.
Kael was not physically present; he was using a long-range, forbidden technique of the Vaelanar—the Spirit-Strike—a spiritual tether woven from the anger and resentment of a thousand consumed acolytes.
Kael's voice entered Jatex's mind, a low, hateful whisper riding the chilling wind. "You have poisoned the Source, Jatex. You flaunt the predator's gift and call it discipline. The Gem is ours. The Vaelanar will not fall to the whim of a monster who abandons his kin for a false throne."
The Corruption of the Anchor
Kael's attack was brilliant and devastatingly targeted. He didn't attack Jatex; he attacked the object Jatex had just pacified. Kael used the Spirit-Strike to violently inject chaotic, consuming rage back into the dormant mind of the Frost-Leviathan.
The effect was instantaneous. Far below, the mighty creature's spiritual core erupted. The Leviathan did not wake, but its immense, dying rage tore at the edges of Jatex's Blood-Binding seal. The cavern began to shake violently.
The Jarl's prophecy was coming true: if the Leviathan died or was consumed by rage, the local Aethyr-Ice would collapse, causing the entire Glacier Maw to shatter and bury the Ice Clans in an avalanche of pure, magical ice.
Jatex was forced to divert his rebuilding energy immediately. He had to decide: Protect the Gem and save his quest, or Protect the Glacier and save the Ice Clans, thus securing the unstable alliance Aeliana would need.
With a mental roar of pure Blood-Weaver discipline, Jatex chose the alliance. He manifested a massive, crystalline shield of Shadow-Blood Weave and slammed it down over the Glacier Maw's spiritual fissure, shoring up the dying seal on the Leviathan's consciousness. This defense was agonizing; the corrupted energy forced his already spent core to burn dangerously hot, reopening the scars and making the Thirst a physical, consuming fire in his throat.
The Intercession of the Ward
Kael, sensing the Blood-Weaver's momentary vulnerability, intensified the Spirit-Strike, aiming for a fatal spiritual blow.
It was then that the Gem of Frozen Tears activated fully, responding to the extreme pressure. The Ward was an Anchor, and it knew its purpose. Without conscious command from Jatex, the Gem released a blast of pure, stabilizing coldness—a focused wave of anti-chaos energy that slammed into Kael's incoming Spirit-Strike.
The shockwave was silent but devastating. Kael's spiritual tether was violently severed.
The Elder screamed—a sound that was a physical agony to Jatex's mental awareness—and the sense of malice vanished entirely, leaving Jatex gasping but standing.
Jatex had survived, not by his own power, but by the innate protective function of the Ward. The Gem had burned a small fraction of his spiritual reserve to repel Kael, reinforcing the lesson: these Wards were tools that demanded power, but offered critical protection against cosmic and spiritual threats.
The Southern March
The cavern settled into silence, though the air remained thick with the metallic scent of spiritual exertion. The Thirst was raging now, demanding immediate satisfaction. Jatex knew he could not stay. Kael was wounded, but Kael now knew Jatex was alone and carrying the first Ward. The Tundra was too vast, and Kael had allies among the Aerthos rebels.
Jatex quickly gathered his few possessions, his mind cold and resolute. He had secured the Gem, but in doing so, he had confirmed the growing political and spiritual danger embodied by Kael.
He checked the Obsidian Compass. The inner needle pulsed crimson-indigo, now pointing not just south, but southwest, deep into the sun-scorched badlands where the isolationist Sun-Weavers guarded the second artifact.
The mountains are closed, Jatex thought, strapping on his dark armor. The north is compromised. I am being hunted by the very blood I seek to save.
He spared no time for rest, relying on sheer discipline and the dampening effect of the Gem. The journey to the Sun-Weavers would be long and perilous, but the necessity of the quest, and the growing, terrifying shadow of The Sleeper, outweighed all personal exhaustion. The Blood-Weaver turned his back on the frozen north and headed into the hostile deserts.
The quest for the second Ward begins now, complicated by internal betrayal.