Stefania couldn't stand still and kept shifting in place with small steps. Despite a whole day of reflection and the impending danger, she still had no doubts. She firmly believed that this was the purpose of her life, the reason she came into this world.
"Who will conduct the ritual?"
The girl looked pleadingly at Alexander. He simply shook his head quietly. They decided to conduct the transformation at his house. They were turning his official lover into a vampire, after all.
"Maria. She has already performed three successful rituals. She's experienced."
Maria turned to the servant.
"It will hurt a bit."
The ritual repeated, leaving the numb girl lying in bed, with Alexander remaining as her caretaker. When everyone left, he gently stroked her head and made sure the blood flask and empty cup were nearby. For some reason, his thoughts were occupied not by the girl lying in his house. The triumvirate was thinking about paladins.
Their training schools in each country had their own traditions and peculiarities, by which a professional could easily tell where a paladin had learned their art. And there would be many professionals on the campaign. Valeria was far away, of course, but the heavens have their ways! The vampires going on the campaign received instructions not to adhere strictly to guidelines and to improvise as much as possible, as long as the visual manifestation of personal magic remained unnoticed or invisible.
Some tricks, ordinary to a twenty-first century layperson who knew a lot about the surrounding world and its physical laws, were fantastic to the locals. Perhaps they could even confuse the locals into thinking that the so-called "Valerian" paladins were not actually paladins.
Finally, Stefania woke up. The girl sat up abruptly on the bed and looked around. It was pitch dark, as she had perceived it before, but now it was not so. There was not a single candle burning in the room, yet she could see everything as if it were daytime. Alexander handed her a cup and poured blood into it.
He had specifically asked Semen for wolf blood, to make it at least somewhat symbolic. The triumvirate saw how the smell of blood excited Stefania, but she restrained herself with willpower and tried to maintain a dignified appearance. Finally, the cup was filled and eagerly emptied right there. The former servant even wanted to lick it clean from the inside.
"With your finger."
"What?"
"Don't collect blood from the walls of the cup with your tongue. It absorbs perfectly through the skin."
For illustration, he cupped her hands and splashed a bit of blood into them. The ruby liquid absorbed through her skin simply mesmerized the girl. Alexander took advantage of this and, touching her ear, took a few drops of her blood. The girl was definitely a vampire.
The memory of blood, inaccessible to those whom Maria now casually referred to as "wurdalaks," was present. Now it remained to test her magical abilities. However, the blood of human mages was stored in themselves, and they were currently sleeping. Scolding himself for being thoughtless, Alexander went to the training ground and pulled the girl along with him. He would train himself and test her personal magic.
"Remember the most important rules. We don't kill people unless they threaten us. You'll have a strong desire to drink blood, but you'll have to restrain yourself. You're forbidden to drink the blood of any of us. At the same time, everyone may drink your blood in the near future — just a few drops each. Did you see the life of the wolf?"
The girl nodded frequently.
"We call it blood memory. That's why the blood of any of us is off-limits to you! And you'll need to learn the language."
"I already speak Elurian well."
"You'll speak Elurian perfectly. All you need is to drink a couple of drops of Elurian blood. But the language we speak, you won't learn even if you drink our blood. I'll try to study with you. And yes, for all the locals, we are mages from Valeria. But try not to talk to anyone for now."
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