"It's going to work this time..." Evangeline mutters, as she applies the dye to her raven locks. The dye is the color of burnished gold, the hair color she was born with, the color her friends and allies had grown used to seeing upon her head. The die catches at first, then like the two times before, began to hiss and bubble, the color fading in a puff of golden steam.Â
"Thal's Balls!" Evangeline curses, throwing the tin of dye against the wall, sending it bent and clattering across the floor. This third dye was strong enough to etch color onto steel. Not for the first time she wondered at the value of Xel's "Gift".Â
The ceremony had been quick, almost hurried, the blood and potions swirling around her like a vortex. The scents of alchemical herbs assaulted her nostrils, and she almost thought she heard a deep, cruel voice, as her body absorbed the dark purple brew. Though... absorbed was the wrong word. It was almost as if the neck deep fluid was forced into her, through every hole, every pore of skin. Her body felt like a a vessel under pressure, and for a moment, she feared she world burst. Her vision had gone black, and for a few pain wracked, senseless minutes, she rolled upon the floor of the chamber and screamed, the fel energies reworking her body for their own purposes.Â
At the end, it had all faded quickly as it began, leaving only her hair outwardly changed, from a golden brown to the deepest black.
There were... other effects as well, though not as obvious. Evangeline reaches out once again for the slim dagger, and as if she still wasn't sure of the results, slowly cuts a red line across her forearm. The red blood wells and drips down her arm, collecting on her fingertips. She watches, as the drip slows, before fading entirely, the skin stitching together. In mere minutes, it is done, the skin of her arm unmarred, the only hint of the wound the trail of blood on her arm.
Evangeline sinks back in her chair, cradling her head in her hands. "Hells..." She mutters, "What did I do?"
Whatever she is now, it is something more than a mere Elezen... or more likely, something less. Xel had called it a gift, smiling when he saw the ritual did not destroy her. More importantly, he also claimed it was the first of many...
"Thal's Balls!" Evangeline curses, throwing the tin of dye against the wall, sending it bent and clattering across the floor. This third dye was strong enough to etch color onto steel. Not for the first time she wondered at the value of Xel's "Gift".Â
The ceremony had been quick, almost hurried, the blood and potions swirling around her like a vortex. The scents of alchemical herbs assaulted her nostrils, and she almost thought she heard a deep, cruel voice, as her body absorbed the dark purple brew. Though... absorbed was the wrong word. It was almost as if the neck deep fluid was forced into her, through every hole, every pore of skin. Her body felt like a a vessel under pressure, and for a moment, she feared she world burst. Her vision had gone black, and for a few pain wracked, senseless minutes, she rolled upon the floor of the chamber and screamed, the fel energies reworking her body for their own purposes.Â
At the end, it had all faded quickly as it began, leaving only her hair outwardly changed, from a golden brown to the deepest black.
There were... other effects as well, though not as obvious. Evangeline reaches out once again for the slim dagger, and as if she still wasn't sure of the results, slowly cuts a red line across her forearm. The red blood wells and drips down her arm, collecting on her fingertips. She watches, as the drip slows, before fading entirely, the skin stitching together. In mere minutes, it is done, the skin of her arm unmarred, the only hint of the wound the trail of blood on her arm.
Evangeline sinks back in her chair, cradling her head in her hands. "Hells..." She mutters, "What did I do?"
Whatever she is now, it is something more than a mere Elezen... or more likely, something less. Xel had called it a gift, smiling when he saw the ritual did not destroy her. More importantly, he also claimed it was the first of many...