For most, Aetherial Crystals were a rather simple affair. There were six types, and a crafter mixed them alongside other base ingredients to create items both fantastic and mundane. A pot of chili might have a dash of fire crystal to add heat, or a chain might contain crystals of earth, to give it strength. Most crafters did not care if their ice crystals came from the heart of a forgotten glacier, or a chilly cellar. Only that they were pure and of the proper size.
For Evangeline though, crystals were more art than science. It was not only the type of crystal, but its history. Where it was from, what its impurities were, its shape, color, texture, smell… and no two sources were alike. She could never prove that such things mattered. They mattered to her though.
An artist has to be picky about their supplies. The fact that she tended to paint chaos rather than canvas, didn’t matter.
In this particular case, her masterpiece was the large beaker before her, the liquid inside glowing a faint pulsating red. Scattered around her cramped lab were cartons and jars of crystals and ingredients, listing their name, date, and origin.
“Hmm… it seems correct…â€
Evangeline paced back and forth, tapping her chin as she went over the process in her mind once more. The first steps had been simple, preserve An’s tainted blood until it could be studied, then slowly extract the aether from the biological components.
She had been excited to find the aether in An’s blood tainted with the void. It made her job in some ways more interesting. Any aether from the void was like hungry fungus or bacteria. It gobbled up any other aether it found, trying to make more of itself in the process. In some ways she didn’t have to replicate the Aether in An’s blood, she had to feed it.
So she did. But everything has a favorite meal.
Fire Crystals full of rage from the ashes of a burned Ala Mhigan settlement. Earth Crystals full of lust from an ancient fertility shrine. Wind and Water crystals bursting with restless energy, from pounding waterfalls and windswept canyons. Ice crystals from the frozen body of a dead drake, and a perfectly formed lightning crystal, formed when a massive bolt stuck an auroch dead.
All of these were mixed together, the dark Aether from An’s blood mixed among them. It had taken three days, but eventually all that remained was the red pulsating fluid before her. While she ached to try it, even she wasn’t foolish enough to consume raw void tainted aether. So she had taken a small amount, taking it to a conjurer who asked few questions. The raw hunger of the void was banished, and in its place Evangeline added new ingredients. A half dozen different stimulants of various strengths. A dash of mind clouding venom from a Morbol’s tentacle. A few slivers off a succubus’s horn. A clump of hair supposedly from the great beast Behemoth, and a drop of dragon’s blood. All these and more she added, giving the concoction the tiniest of sniffs as she works until she was satisfied.
Now, five vials sat in front of her, children of the glowing red vat. If she was correct, they would give the imbiber a sliver of the Falling Star’s power. The side effects could be… troublesome, even deadly, but one couldn’t match the power of a blood crazed near primal warlord and still play it safe.
Weighing her options one more time, Evangeline sighs, before grabbing one of the glowing red vials, and swallowing the contents whole.
Instantly, every muscle in her body seized up, a burst of raging heat spreading forth and filling her limbs with power. Muscle cords her slim limbs, her shirt suddenly seeming far too restrictive as she tears it off with a snarl. Her skin feels like it’s steaming with heat, and suddenly An’s habit of going shirtless makes sense.
The physical effects paled though, in comparison to the mental ones. Without thinking, her hands flex at her side, images of blood, conquest, feeding and breeding flashing through her eyes. In an instant, she rushes over to grab a second vial, then heads for the door, trying to keep control.
S’imba needed to try this.
For Evangeline though, crystals were more art than science. It was not only the type of crystal, but its history. Where it was from, what its impurities were, its shape, color, texture, smell… and no two sources were alike. She could never prove that such things mattered. They mattered to her though.
An artist has to be picky about their supplies. The fact that she tended to paint chaos rather than canvas, didn’t matter.
In this particular case, her masterpiece was the large beaker before her, the liquid inside glowing a faint pulsating red. Scattered around her cramped lab were cartons and jars of crystals and ingredients, listing their name, date, and origin.
“Hmm… it seems correct…â€
Evangeline paced back and forth, tapping her chin as she went over the process in her mind once more. The first steps had been simple, preserve An’s tainted blood until it could be studied, then slowly extract the aether from the biological components.
She had been excited to find the aether in An’s blood tainted with the void. It made her job in some ways more interesting. Any aether from the void was like hungry fungus or bacteria. It gobbled up any other aether it found, trying to make more of itself in the process. In some ways she didn’t have to replicate the Aether in An’s blood, she had to feed it.
So she did. But everything has a favorite meal.
Fire Crystals full of rage from the ashes of a burned Ala Mhigan settlement. Earth Crystals full of lust from an ancient fertility shrine. Wind and Water crystals bursting with restless energy, from pounding waterfalls and windswept canyons. Ice crystals from the frozen body of a dead drake, and a perfectly formed lightning crystal, formed when a massive bolt stuck an auroch dead.
All of these were mixed together, the dark Aether from An’s blood mixed among them. It had taken three days, but eventually all that remained was the red pulsating fluid before her. While she ached to try it, even she wasn’t foolish enough to consume raw void tainted aether. So she had taken a small amount, taking it to a conjurer who asked few questions. The raw hunger of the void was banished, and in its place Evangeline added new ingredients. A half dozen different stimulants of various strengths. A dash of mind clouding venom from a Morbol’s tentacle. A few slivers off a succubus’s horn. A clump of hair supposedly from the great beast Behemoth, and a drop of dragon’s blood. All these and more she added, giving the concoction the tiniest of sniffs as she works until she was satisfied.
Now, five vials sat in front of her, children of the glowing red vat. If she was correct, they would give the imbiber a sliver of the Falling Star’s power. The side effects could be… troublesome, even deadly, but one couldn’t match the power of a blood crazed near primal warlord and still play it safe.
Weighing her options one more time, Evangeline sighs, before grabbing one of the glowing red vials, and swallowing the contents whole.
Instantly, every muscle in her body seized up, a burst of raging heat spreading forth and filling her limbs with power. Muscle cords her slim limbs, her shirt suddenly seeming far too restrictive as she tears it off with a snarl. Her skin feels like it’s steaming with heat, and suddenly An’s habit of going shirtless makes sense.
The physical effects paled though, in comparison to the mental ones. Without thinking, her hands flex at her side, images of blood, conquest, feeding and breeding flashing through her eyes. In an instant, she rushes over to grab a second vial, then heads for the door, trying to keep control.
S’imba needed to try this.
![[Image: yr2A1Eo.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yr2A1Eo.png)
