Immediately after the word left Emerson's mouth her face burned scarlet. 'That was so stupid! Why did I say that!? No it's not my fault, this woman is just too enchanting. That's right it's her fault.' The griffon stared at Emerson before chucking. Emerson's face seem to blush harder as the chuckle turned into a full blown belly laugh.
The woman stopped laughing and said, "little girl you are cute, but you're a bit young for me, I'd say. I may think about your proposal if you can live past a century. But you never answered my question. What are you?" Her voice was different from the cold gravely voice that was projected into Emerson mind. It was melodious and soothing but had an edge that was reminiscent of the strength the griffon showed earlier.
Emerson hesitated but there was something about this woman that compelled her to tell the truth. "Well my name is Emerson and I'm a human… I guess? I've had some crazy shit happen to me recently-" she told the griffon everything from her death to the void all the way to inhabiting this body.
The griffon was silent for a long while, seemingly thinking about the strange story she had just heard.
"You are very interesting Emerson. I've never heard a story like your in the entirety of my long life. I am Phaenna, ruler of the Eternal Forest. I welcome you to my home." Phaenna said this last part with a small graceful bow. "Allow me to help you with something's you don't quite understand. Please ask me anything you need to know, for you are a unique being in this world and I wish to help you. First off you are a half-human. A half-human is a species of its own. It's not quite human not quite monster but completely different from those who are called Demi-humans."
Now Emerson was confused, "wait, what's a demi-human?"
"A demi-human and half-human are very closely related but different. You can say a half-human is like an ancestor of the demi-humans. A long time ago half-humans were much less rare than they are now. They were all powerful beings that ruled many lands, they combined the human and monster genes from their two parents into extraordinary abilities that allowed them to rule this world for some time. Demis we're originally the children of half-humans, they have stronger bodies and a better magical aptitude than the average human and display human and beast like characteristics, but pale in comparison to their ancestors." Emerson listened with rapped attention but was confused still.
"So me being a half-human, that means I'm strong?" She asked Phaenna.
Phaenna chuckled at this question. That damn chuckle made Emerson's stomach do weird things. She was really too beautiful for Emerson's own good. "You are strong compared to the average human. You may even be strong compared to a human who spent his life on the battle field, but these trained fighters would still kill you easily. That's because you lack experience with your powers. As I said before half-humans used to rule many parts of this world. But humans and monsters fears their growing power and systematically worked to purge them as best as they could." After saying this Phaenna's eyes seemed to dim, in sadness? Emerson wasn't sure and decided not to ask.
"So can you tell me what my bloodline is?"
Phaenna thought for a moment. "No I can't. Your powers are sealed inside you and I cannot tell. There are ways to narrow down your parentage and we may be able to guess at your bloodline with some tests. Would you like to try?"
"Yes thank you so much!" Emerson said quickly.
"Alright then" Phaenna curled her wings into her back, making them disappear completely like they never existed, as she sat down cross legged on the ground. "Please sit with me." Emerson followed what she was told and waited. "How much do you know about magic Emerson?"
Emerson immediately replied, "I was able to do some crazy things with my soul is that magic?"
Phaenna smiled at this, "while the strength of you soul is incredibly impressive, no it is not magic. The powers you use come from inside you. Magic is outside of you and your soul. Beings created by magic such as myself will not die unless killed. We will continue to grow thought our lives and amass more and more magic energy from the world to power ourselves. It flows into our bodies and strengthens our skin organs and mind and allows to cast spells. Humans are different, they must borrow magic from the world to cast their spells. While this makes it easier for them to cast large scale spells, in account of the fact that they must only be able to control enough mana. Though they are not able to strengthen their physical bodies with mana."
"So pureblooded humans are weak physically?" Emerson asked.
"Yes and no," Phaenna replied. "They are weak in physical terms normally, but no human would ever survive to become a high level magic user with body strengthening spells. These spells allow them to strengthen their physical bodies and depending on the magi who uses it, can have a body comparable to mine."
Emerson didn't know exactly how strong Phaenna is but all the things she has seen and heard from Phaenna made her think she was very strong. Not to mention the fact that Emerson knew she ruled this entire forest. "So how do I figure out what my bloodline is?"
"Well hold on I'm not done explaining yet." Phaenna said with a smile. "There is another species that has been know to mate with humans. They are the demon race. Demons are from another realm. Humans sometimes summon them here to do their bidding with contracts constraining them, but they stronger the demon the more difficult it is to control the demon. There are many stories of foolish humans who underestimated the power of these demons or was unable to pay the price the demon asked for and were killed by the demon they summoned. Catastrophe follows where a demon appears on this world and demon-human children are of the most feared sect of half-humans. Demons have physical bodies similar to humans but can absorb mana much like how monsters like myself do. But instead they form a mana core in their bodies instead of immediately strengthening their flesh and bone. So all we have to do is help you absorb mana and see if you either strengthen your flesh and bones or form a mana core."