Lucy hadn't forgotten the strange phantom pain she felt earlier in her chest. She had no idea where it came from but had every intention of finding out. Right now she sat crosslegged deep in meditation as she tried to inspect her body.
'Nothing...That's weird' she thought as she slowly opened her eyes, 'I'm sufficiently fed and I'm not short on Blood Energy so I wonder what the cause was...'
"Is everything okay Master?" asked Sera interrupting Lucy's thoughts
"I'm fine" she responded as she got up.
Lucy didn't seriously believe she was fine but whatever caused the strange pain wasn't a pressing issue at the moment. As of now there was no pain in her chest and her vitals and innards appeared to be normal.
Even the wound she received from the silver arrow earlier had healed after feeding on a hunter or two. As such she decided to look into the matter later on.
'Who knows?' She thought, 'Maybe Amara's memories holds some clues, I'll check later'
In the meantime, Lucy thought it would be a good idea to get a better understanding of the outside world by asking Sera more questions.
Up until now most of everything she's learned about this new world she was brought into came from Amara's dated memories. And Sera was eager to learn more factoids and vampiric skills, both having something the other wanted the two vampires set up a mutual exchange of information.
After changing into their bat forms, Lucy and Sera flew to the ceiling of the cave to hang and conversate upside down while killing time. Sera wasted no time and inquisitively asked question after question.
'How did you summon all those bats last night? You've got to teach me that! Also, I just want to give you a forewarning master that my information about Aleria is pretty limited, I've never been off the island before but I do know some interesting information thanks to my telepathy' Sera communicated to Lucy telepathically
'That's fine I just need to know what to expect do not worry and the bats will come naturally trust me' Lucy replied, 'as you grow and mature as a vampire your threshold for blood energy will increase, giving rise to new and more powerful abilities. Now that is settled, tell me what governing powers exist in this world
'Ah I see master, I'll definitely become stronger then. Now about Aleria. This world is very big and has countless territories, sects, and small countries. However, amongst these many powers the strongest were the kingdoms of the magic beasts, the werewolves, the human knights, and the dwarves of the southern seas.' Sera explained to Lucy telepathically, 'They each rule one of the 5 Great Continents of Aleria.'
Sera continued to fill Lucy in on the various races, events, and facts about Aleria that she could think of. As Lucy listened attentively various flashbacks to Amara's memories would flick through her mind's eye.
Lucy felt this world had definitely changed since Amara's lifetime, various powers that she had known or allied with had now been lost to the clutches of time.
'In terms of power the magic beast kingdom of Custoze ranks at the top because of their overwhelming numbers and magical ability, furthermore it's said no humans or other races are allowed foot on the land of Custoze so no one even knows how it looks. Second would be the human knights of Trench followed by the Lycans of Ater I believe.'
'Hmm I see, looks like I'll have my work cut out for me if I'm looking to establish my kingdom. But I won't waver!' Lucy thought serious 'What type of weapons or magic do these knights possess, do you know?' she pressed for answers
'U-Uh I don't know master but I do know that the human knights are usually warriors who cultivate ki and can cut entire mountains in half! Sadly, they are unable to use magic. Stepfather told me the gift of magic is not common and that's why we must respect those who have it and listen to those who have it. Master I have a question now' Sera stated suddenly, 'How do I get stronger and why are your eyes a different color then mine if we're both vampires?'
Lucy was taken aback by Sera's question, 'She really wants to become strong… I see, she may have potential after all' she secretly thought. She seriously considered Sera's question before giving a thoughtful answer
'Blood Sera. Blood is how we become stronger, how we cultivate, and how we survive. Besides aging and maturing into our power we vampires cultivate by using the blood energy gained every time we feed. This potent and powerful blood energy is what grants us our vampiric gifts as well as our fuels our undead existence. Our blood energy is stored literally in our dead hearts, that is why you must remember Sera to always guard your heart! All vampires can survive poison, being buried alive, intense cold, and drowning but a stab to the heart with a weapon that can penetrate our skin can destroy us all.' Lucy explained seriously to the breathless Sera.
'Oh, I see master! How long do you think it will take me to become as strong as you?' Sera replied curiously
'That was my next point actually Sera. And the answer is never.' Sera stunned expression as a bat made Lucy stifle a laugh, 'I know I said we cultivate through growing older and blood but there is an extent to this. You see at the very peak of the vampire race are the purebloods, they are vampires that have always been vampires, born as the first of their kind. Distinguishable by their snow-white hair and molten gold eyes, they stand apart from their usual dark haired and crimson eyed counterparts. Purebloods will always have an inherent superiority over converted vampires such as yourself due to their purity. However, there Is a rank in our vampiric cultivation known as the pureblood rank. Once you reach this rank your eyes will look like mine, sadly aging to reach this rank could take well over a thousand years and a born pureblood would still be superior in a fight.'
'Wow how old are you exactly master?' Sera asked.
Lucy mentally calculated for a while before replying, 'I'm over 2000 years old Sera, but sadly most of that time I spent confined and malnourished. As such it'll be quite a while before I reach any semblance of strength befitting my age. You see Sera Blood Energy and Age go hand in hand'
'Woah that's longer than some kingdoms have existed!' Sera mas mentally shaken by the large number of years old her pureblood master was, 'I bet you've seen the rise and fall of entire kingdoms master!'
Lucy mentally nodded at the girl's correct assumption, 'Yes, I have. From allies to enemies I've seen the power of time turn all they've worked for into nothing, I've even seen my own empire come and go-,'
Lucy paused as strong emotions gripped her, 'but just like a phoenix my land will rise from the ashes and this time it will last forever. If I could somehow get off this island, then I could truly rebuild my kingdom! Speaking of which do you happen to know of any way off this island?'
Lucy doubted Sera knew a way off the island, the girl spent most of her life on a cot in a cabin so her knowledge of anything outside the island was limited.
But flying from here to the nearest continent could take a while and add in the fledgling Sera plus the fact she had no map Lucy figured flying would be a death sentence or nigh impossible.
Sera momentarily paused as she considered her master's question. She herself nor any of the villagers had ever been off the island, heck even her wretched stepfather was born here and never left.
But the villagers and her father would often speak of travelers from distant lands coming to exchange the flowers and fruit on the island for various rare commodities sometimes even gold. They always came on shiny ships of wood.
'Master I truthfully know of no way off this island, but people have left before! Travelers from distant lands would come on giant ships of shiny wood to trade with the villagers before leaving again on the ships. I never witnessed these ships or travelers, but my stepfather spoke of them often, he called them the Millenium Company tradesmen.'
Lucy was taken aback at the information Sera had given her. Overseas trade was definitely a sign of a developed civilization. And ships of shiny wood sounded at least partly like metal, which meant an advanced civilization like hers of Morgana.
Lucy felt this Millenium Company and their shiny wood' ships could be a great boon to her plans, she just had to know more about them.
'You're a genius Sera! Tell me everything you know about these ships' Lucy demanded as she shifted back to her human form excitedly.