62nd of Ash, 121 AS
Location: Hidden Lab beneath Lyra's Mansion
Soft and steady lights fell down on the open space of the lab from ensconced lighting in the ceiling. The area was big, enormous some might say, and filled with equipment of various disciplines of magic. Every corner had its purpose, dedicated completely to its purpose and design, yet at the center where Lyra now stood the magics seemed to blend together as each spilled over their barriers and mixed with one another on the tables that made up her centermost workspace.
This evening Lyra poured over notes she had made during her last year's progress. When she had first come to Kalzasi, and been released from that cursed prison, she had been forced to take residence inside of a corpse that was little more than a rotting sack of meat. It had been slow, unwieldy, and the scripts she had used to spread her influence throughout the body had been crude at best. The old witch tried not to be overly harsh with herself but the thought of returning to a time like that made bile rise in the back of her throat.
Her next moderate success had come with rats. With time she discovered that she could trap the soul of a living creature inside a soul gem, and use that to keep that spark of life inside of a body and thus prevent it from dying. It was imperfect, but the process would allow a living doll to be formed. The limitations were a nuisance, however. Though the body still lived, its functions were slowed to the point that it could no longer gain the required aether it needed to function through natural processes such as eating and drinking. Instead, Lyra had to supplement the vessels with additional dragonshards that act as a constant source of energy that allowed them to move and function normally. The culmination of those efforts was Artur, her dear pet who was little more than a half-living puppet with no free will of his own.
Next came what was perhaps her greatest success to date, the body which she now shared with a mercenary named Naila. It had been difficult to create a space in which two souls could inhabit and share control of one vessel, but she had done so. There had been some difficulties obtaining dragonshards powerful enough to support the soul space, but in Searing, she and Talon and the pup had collected what was required and made the improvements. Now her skills and understanding had grown, and with that Lyra knew it was time to advance once more. That brought her to her current project.
Her eyes traveled to a small beaker that had a viscus black liquid inside of it. With a wave of her hand, the liquid rose partially out of the glass, reaching upward to touch her outstretched finger before plopping down with a wet noise back inside it's container. The glass contained a highly concentrated portion of her essence, condensed down to a liquid form that was used to make some of her inks. The trials in the warrens to find the needed materials to repair her body had already shown her how effective this reagent could be to her, and ever since she had begun to wonder how best to move forward. It was not until her trip to Zaichaer that she had come to realize the true potential.
There was a witch in the city that could warp a physical body, taking control of a person's blood and organs as easily as Lyra could control her own essence. The thought was electrifying, and it inspired her in a way she had not been inspired since her awakening.
"My essence, my true body, infuses a corpse when I possess it, allowing for just enough control for simple movements." Her words were directed at Naila, but the mercenary, like usual, seemed to ignore Lyra's musings in favor of playing a game of cards in their soul space. Lyra pressed on despite the lack of interest, "In this body I have strengthened the lines of power inside the muscles, giving me finer control without the need of external lines. I have what one might call an average control over this body, perhaps a bit more refined than is common, but still..."
Raising her hand before her eyes Lyra flexed her fingers, "What if I could move the blood in these veins as easily as I move my true form? What sort of things would I become capable of? What limitations would I break free of, having never even known they were limitations at all?"
So put your black goo in the jar in somebody. Naila said offhand, still focusing on the game more than the conversation.
"It is not so simple as that." Lyra sighed with a shake of her head. She sat in a plush chair next to the desk, "If I replace all of the blood with my pure essence the body will be unable to function normally. My essence does not contain the required parts to keep a body alive, and even if it did eventually it would be filtered out and expelled as all things do eventually."
It was a conundrum. One she had not quite solved yet but felt as if the answer were staring her right in the face. After days and weeks of considering, she had yet to come up with a viable solution.
You make blood all the time right? Naila asked, You put your essence or whatever in it to make that red ink. I lose blood all the time and my body just makes more. Why not just make the body do it.
"I alter blood from another source, infusing it with my essence after it is produced." Lyra could not keep the exasperation out of her tone as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I cannot infuse the blood as soon as the body makes it each and every time I..." Her words trailed off into silence and she sat up a bit straighter.
"I cannot infuse the blood as the body makes it," the words were repeated softer and with more consideration.
Yeah, you said that. The mercenary looked up from her cards long enough to roll her eyes in Lyra's general direction, Can you just make infused blood? Seems like a lot of steps to kill something and then do all that shit to it after the fact.
Naila might have been a genius, or perhaps an idiot savant. Her reasoning was that of a child trying to explain how rain formed, but for all her misunderstandings of the technical, the mercenary made a point. A body produced blood naturally. What Lyra did could be considered post-processing, an extra step that would be difficult to automate and time-consuming as well as resource-intensive. If she could make one of her bodies produce the blood itself, however...
"Salem." Lyra said to the air, not looking up from the paper she was now furiously scribbling on. Behind her, the air shimmered as a tall man stepped out with a flourishing bow.
"My Lady." The young man with silver hair smiled, "How can I be of service?"
Naila's eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets with the amount of disdain she threw into the gesture, but Lyra ignored her.
"When is the shipment from Filter supposed to arrive?"
"Tomorrow." Salem straightened and came to stand beside the desk, his silver eyes sweeping the page as Lyra wrote, "Bones from the Midden, a new shambler corpse, additional supplies to replace your stocks."
"Send him a missive. I need something living as well, rats are fine."
"Rats?" he quirked an eyebrow, "Should I ask the cook to save a chicken or two as well?"
Lyra paused in her writing, and then nodded, "That will be fine. If he has any other living stock delivered to the estate ask him to set one of each aside as well. I may need them for experiments."
"Gordak will not be pleased." the butler said with a smile, but Lyra waved away the concern with an absent gesture.
"Tell him I will approve his request for a new butcher block if he does this. I already a wearing of his complaints, and this should be good enough compensation for his troubles."
"As you wish." Salem said with a bow, turning to leave through another portal.
As you wish... Naila repeated in a mocking tone, That guys such a tool.
"Yes," Lyra laughed, "but he is my tool. And what a useful tool indeed."
Location: Hidden Lab beneath Lyra's Mansion
Soft and steady lights fell down on the open space of the lab from ensconced lighting in the ceiling. The area was big, enormous some might say, and filled with equipment of various disciplines of magic. Every corner had its purpose, dedicated completely to its purpose and design, yet at the center where Lyra now stood the magics seemed to blend together as each spilled over their barriers and mixed with one another on the tables that made up her centermost workspace.
This evening Lyra poured over notes she had made during her last year's progress. When she had first come to Kalzasi, and been released from that cursed prison, she had been forced to take residence inside of a corpse that was little more than a rotting sack of meat. It had been slow, unwieldy, and the scripts she had used to spread her influence throughout the body had been crude at best. The old witch tried not to be overly harsh with herself but the thought of returning to a time like that made bile rise in the back of her throat.
Her next moderate success had come with rats. With time she discovered that she could trap the soul of a living creature inside a soul gem, and use that to keep that spark of life inside of a body and thus prevent it from dying. It was imperfect, but the process would allow a living doll to be formed. The limitations were a nuisance, however. Though the body still lived, its functions were slowed to the point that it could no longer gain the required aether it needed to function through natural processes such as eating and drinking. Instead, Lyra had to supplement the vessels with additional dragonshards that act as a constant source of energy that allowed them to move and function normally. The culmination of those efforts was Artur, her dear pet who was little more than a half-living puppet with no free will of his own.
Next came what was perhaps her greatest success to date, the body which she now shared with a mercenary named Naila. It had been difficult to create a space in which two souls could inhabit and share control of one vessel, but she had done so. There had been some difficulties obtaining dragonshards powerful enough to support the soul space, but in Searing, she and Talon and the pup had collected what was required and made the improvements. Now her skills and understanding had grown, and with that Lyra knew it was time to advance once more. That brought her to her current project.
Her eyes traveled to a small beaker that had a viscus black liquid inside of it. With a wave of her hand, the liquid rose partially out of the glass, reaching upward to touch her outstretched finger before plopping down with a wet noise back inside it's container. The glass contained a highly concentrated portion of her essence, condensed down to a liquid form that was used to make some of her inks. The trials in the warrens to find the needed materials to repair her body had already shown her how effective this reagent could be to her, and ever since she had begun to wonder how best to move forward. It was not until her trip to Zaichaer that she had come to realize the true potential.
There was a witch in the city that could warp a physical body, taking control of a person's blood and organs as easily as Lyra could control her own essence. The thought was electrifying, and it inspired her in a way she had not been inspired since her awakening.
"My essence, my true body, infuses a corpse when I possess it, allowing for just enough control for simple movements." Her words were directed at Naila, but the mercenary, like usual, seemed to ignore Lyra's musings in favor of playing a game of cards in their soul space. Lyra pressed on despite the lack of interest, "In this body I have strengthened the lines of power inside the muscles, giving me finer control without the need of external lines. I have what one might call an average control over this body, perhaps a bit more refined than is common, but still..."
Raising her hand before her eyes Lyra flexed her fingers, "What if I could move the blood in these veins as easily as I move my true form? What sort of things would I become capable of? What limitations would I break free of, having never even known they were limitations at all?"
So put your black goo in the jar in somebody. Naila said offhand, still focusing on the game more than the conversation.
"It is not so simple as that." Lyra sighed with a shake of her head. She sat in a plush chair next to the desk, "If I replace all of the blood with my pure essence the body will be unable to function normally. My essence does not contain the required parts to keep a body alive, and even if it did eventually it would be filtered out and expelled as all things do eventually."
It was a conundrum. One she had not quite solved yet but felt as if the answer were staring her right in the face. After days and weeks of considering, she had yet to come up with a viable solution.
You make blood all the time right? Naila asked, You put your essence or whatever in it to make that red ink. I lose blood all the time and my body just makes more. Why not just make the body do it.
"I alter blood from another source, infusing it with my essence after it is produced." Lyra could not keep the exasperation out of her tone as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I cannot infuse the blood as soon as the body makes it each and every time I..." Her words trailed off into silence and she sat up a bit straighter.
"I cannot infuse the blood as the body makes it," the words were repeated softer and with more consideration.
Yeah, you said that. The mercenary looked up from her cards long enough to roll her eyes in Lyra's general direction, Can you just make infused blood? Seems like a lot of steps to kill something and then do all that shit to it after the fact.
Naila might have been a genius, or perhaps an idiot savant. Her reasoning was that of a child trying to explain how rain formed, but for all her misunderstandings of the technical, the mercenary made a point. A body produced blood naturally. What Lyra did could be considered post-processing, an extra step that would be difficult to automate and time-consuming as well as resource-intensive. If she could make one of her bodies produce the blood itself, however...
"Salem." Lyra said to the air, not looking up from the paper she was now furiously scribbling on. Behind her, the air shimmered as a tall man stepped out with a flourishing bow.
"My Lady." The young man with silver hair smiled, "How can I be of service?"
Naila's eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets with the amount of disdain she threw into the gesture, but Lyra ignored her.
"When is the shipment from Filter supposed to arrive?"
"Tomorrow." Salem straightened and came to stand beside the desk, his silver eyes sweeping the page as Lyra wrote, "Bones from the Midden, a new shambler corpse, additional supplies to replace your stocks."
"Send him a missive. I need something living as well, rats are fine."
"Rats?" he quirked an eyebrow, "Should I ask the cook to save a chicken or two as well?"
Lyra paused in her writing, and then nodded, "That will be fine. If he has any other living stock delivered to the estate ask him to set one of each aside as well. I may need them for experiments."
"Gordak will not be pleased." the butler said with a smile, but Lyra waved away the concern with an absent gesture.
"Tell him I will approve his request for a new butcher block if he does this. I already a wearing of his complaints, and this should be good enough compensation for his troubles."
"As you wish." Salem said with a bow, turning to leave through another portal.
As you wish... Naila repeated in a mocking tone, That guys such a tool.
"Yes," Lyra laughed, "but he is my tool. And what a useful tool indeed."
