The three of them decided to check the forging and alchemy classes, as they were somewhat nearby. Each one had a separate building located near the back end of the campus. They were separate from the main building.
Upon arrival, they noticed quite a few people standing around. Not as many as there was around Silvana's magic class, but still quite a few. The three of them, Lia especially, garnered a lot of attention. Since she had acquired them, she had been thinking of a way to conceal her wings. Unfortunately, she had no ideas aside from an illusion, and that wouldn't work all the time. Her illusion magic was easy to see through due to her low aptitude for it.
Ignoring the stares, the three of them entered the building. An older man sat in front of the forge. He was hammering away at a piece of metal, and the three of them approached.
He didn't stop swinging his hammer and spoke with a friendly tone. "Interested in forging?"
Lia had now gotten a good look at the guy. He seemed to have fiery red skin. Cracks dotted his skin where veins would normally be. The areas between the cracks were yellow, and it looked almost like magma. He had a long black beard that was braided into a knot and his medium-length black hair was haphazardly tied into a bun at the back of his head. Hid whole body was matted with sweat. Lia knew why. It was blisteringly hot in here.
Lia spoke for the group. "We might be, but I have an interesting weapon I want to show you."
He stopped hammering immediately. It seemed like she had garnered his attention. Even more so when he saw her wings. "Are you a dragon?"
Lia looked puzzled. "Er..no. Have you seen them before?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm a dwarf, you see. Well, half dwarf I guess. My mom is a dragon. I inherited most traits from her, but my love of forging comes from my dad. Let me see this weapon then."
Lia nodded as she unsheathed the crimson blade. She had so many questions for him now and was tempted to take the class just to talk to him.
She held the sword out and he took one look at it before he started speaking. "It's made of crystalline blood. I assume vampires forged this, cause they're the only ones with this forging method. Seems like it's forming something, but I have no idea what. A consciousness, maybe."
Lia responded with a puzzled look. "But why would it form one now? I just recently acquired this weapon from my family, house Darkova. Why would it start forming one now?"
The half-dragon, half-dwarf shrugged. "I have no idea. Sentient weapons are a mystery to pretty much everyone. It might have something to do with the blood used to forge it."
Lia spoke softly. "I see. Well, I do have another sentient weapon if you want to see her. She's much more advanced than this one is."
The forge master raised an eyebrow. "You just collect them like candy then... Well, lets see her."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hysteria appeared in human form, and the man didn't look the slightest bit surprised. He laid his metal back in the forge and wandered over to a corner with a medical table and various medical tools. A stethoscope, a glowstone-infused light, and a pair of goggles.
The four of them followed, and he had Hysteria lay on the medical table. After putting the goggles on, he looked her up and down while speaking. "She's made from obsidian; a dragon probably forged her. Definitely over four centuries old. Based on her markings, she was probably infused with the essence of a dying star, or stars. Might even be meteors. However, I have no idea how that could happen."
He removed the goggles and brought the light to her mouth. "Say 'ahh' for me, would you?"
Hysteria did as she was told, and the man gave her what essentially looked like a full checkup. Afterward, he nodded and said: "You're free to go, and in perfect health too. No chipping, no dents nothing."
Hysteria nodded and spoke for the first time. "Thank you, doctor."
Lia facepalmed, and Hysteria returned to her sheath on Lia's hip. The man turned to her afterward.
"Well, she's in completely mint condition. If you're wondering about her origins, I'd look into astrological events roughly 400-700 years ago. Meteor showers, collapsing stars, etc. She was definitely forged by a dragon of some kind. What kind of dragon is beyond me entirely. It might even be an extinct species now." The man seemed to know quite a bit about her from his little checkup, and she nodded in response.
"Thank you. I appreciate this." Lia spoke with sincerity. She liked this old half-dragon man. He had offered her help without any compensation.
He smiled at her. "I've gotta get back to forging this weapon, but you should consider taking my class. I'll help you research sentient weapons if you want. I've been curious about them most of my life, so it's a win-win."
Lia nodded and hastily signed up for the class. Lacey didn't seem all that interested in forging, but Sisha was eager to sign up.
The three of them exited the building and stood around to cool off. The building was extremely hot, no doubt due to the forge.
Sisha spoke first, "Lia, I had no idea you had a sentient weapon, let alone two. It's kind of amazing. I wonder what we'll learn."
Lia shrugged. "I hope it's worth it. Sentient weapons are definitely an area of research I'm interested in though. We should check out the alchemy building while we're here."
Lacey nodded. "Forging isn't really my thing, but I'd love to see alchemists in action."
The alchemy building was just around the corner from where they currently were. It was maybe a two-minute walk, and when they arrived, there were far fewer students around. The building itself was smaller than the forging one. As they got closer, they were assaulted by an assortment of different smells. Roses, herbs and smoke were the most prevalent smells. It was almost nauseating.
"Urgh. This smell is killing me. It's so strong." Sisha seemed to have a low tolerance for scents.
Lia turned to her and smiled. "Would you mind if I cast magic on you?"
Sisha shook her head. "If you can get rid of this smell, please do. I feel like I'm going to puke."
Lia nodded. "I can't do much aside from replace it. Would you prefer the smell of blood or rotting plants?"
Sisha just gave her an incredulous look and Lia shrugged.
Magic swirled as blood coalesced around Lia's hand. It began heating up before turning into a cloud of blood. The blood cloud entered Sisha's nose, and soon enough, all she could smell was the dry, sweet, and sickening metallic scent. At least she wasn't assailed by a dozen scents anymore.
She turned to Lia and spoke. "Thanks, it's much better, but still sucks. Still can't believe you practice black magic though."
Lia shrugged. "It's just another magic branch. Like all others, it can be used for evil." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Enough of that though, let's get moving."
Although the scents grew stronger the closer they went, Lia and Lacey didn't seem to mind. Sisha was mostly fine now that she could only smell blood. Lia had to keep funneling magic into the spell, otherwise, the blood smell would age, becoming pungent and disgusting. Regardless, she didn't mind keeping the spell up.
The three of them entered and saw various "teachers" in alchemy robes. They were brewing all manner of things. Red, yellow, and green potions; some were even creating various small orbs, it seemed like some were even cooking food.
As soon as they entered, a pretty man in a lab coat approached them. His exceptionally pale skin and red eyes indicated that he was, for sure, a vampire. The man smiled and performed a deep bow. "Greetings, Princess Darkova. I am the alchemy teacher, Mr. Parse. You three can just call me Parse."
Lia raised an eyebrow. It's been a while since someone called her "princess", She spoke softly. "We're just checking the various classes out and were nearby. Please show us around. My friend Lacey is the most interested."
Lacey nodded as she watched the various alchemists brew potions. They even brewed other items that she couldn't recognize. Small orbs, various rings, and even some bizarrely colored "food" items.
Lacey spoke as she surveyed the area. "Yes, please. Tell us about alchemy."
Parse nodded. "A friend of the Princess is a friend to all vampires. Please, follow me."