15-1-1705
…
Her hip eyes have finished being removed. She was instructed to start removing those scales. That she didn't replace it with skin reminded me that instructions to her were literal. Revising my instructions got her back on track. I have limited her to one drop of blood a day. Enough to maintain the contract. It is not yet time to see what results if I fail to do so. She will need more conditioning.
Tests with mages channeling the blood orbs were mixed. They provided superior healing but deprived the caster of their own blood. When one caster went beyond their reserves they died. The girl's body had started shuddering at that. The aura started to poke out again.
…
16-1-1705
…
The girl's screams brought me to her chambers. She said she can't tell who she was anymore. She apologized to me for failing to control themselves on using the orb. I looked above the monster and saw the Elf's Tapestry above her. She ate his soul for using her core to the point of death. I command her to tear the fool from her Tapestry. She was panicked the whole time, the personality being the male researcher. But she followed the order all the same. She collapsed again after the act was done. I am unsure the Tapestry will return to the collective soul. Another mistake that I am burdened with. I had become empress to prevent this and now I have ordered it to be done.
When the monster woke up again, I commanded her to never eat another Elf soul again. Better to slaughter the inadvertent undead then forever lose their Tapestries.
I got a reply to my missive to Maknor.
A Sara Maxwell Magdeline was executed on 4-12-1704. Her head was severed along with her hands. As was accorded to criminals of the highest crimes in Atlas. Of note, she was found laughing at the end. Two gruesome horns were present on her head at the severing. The body parts were enveloped in stasis magic. Her left hand is pinned to Atlas castle wall, it has yet to rot. Her right was given to a villager who lives near the town of Hilgard. Her head was given to a Lady Minthan. The body was declared to be used for the establishment of a fountain. I am unable to determine which fountain intern her remains.
I sent a reply telling them to focus on fountains founded on 28-12-1704. And attempt to secure the body parts.
…
5-2-1705
…
I handed the left hand to the monster. She stared at it. Trembling. She said a part of her soul was there. I asked if any of my blood was in there as well. She shook her head. I asked if there was a specific place she stored my blood. She patted her chest. I had to assume the other was the same. When asked if her blood store grew when her other half drank she answered that she didn't know.
She asked me a question after my probing. If she could absorb the hand, there was a slight tremor when she spoke. Fighting my previous command. The soul had Elf threads after all. Ultimately claiming the entire body would allow for better control. Perhaps if this one had a greater share of the soul it would reduce the blood store in the other. If it's there at all.
When I gave my permission she promptly started biting a finger. She struggled with the bones of mithril. I asked her to hand the hand to me.
...
7-4-1705
…
I gave the order to extinguish the blood core. If we can not change her body with what we had then we will need to come up with alternative solutions.
The right hand arrived today. I had crushed it into a slurry and given it to her. She knew what it was even though I hadn't told her.
She was done with her scales. I wanted her to restore her lungs next. She asked what Elf lungs looked like. It will need to wait until I can procure a corpse. I told her to fix her hair instead. I hadn't looked at it closely till now but it was alive. When asked, she queried her soul. Her hair was mithril creeping leech vines. I examined her further after that. Her skin was plant cells. That the skin had a network of nerves attached was more bizarre. No lungs, no heart, no blood veins. An amorphous slime for blood. The mithril skeleton and nails. I can only imagine her teeth were as well prior to the change. Her olfactory organs were both cat and bear like. Her digestive system is a hodgepodge of various monsters. Worst of all, she had a fish bladder. Of all things a fish bladder. I can not fathom the use for that.
No explanation of why her words always carried a hint of desire though. Telling her not to speak in that voice rendered her mute. I had to rescind the order. Asked why she talked like that, she queried her soul again. She was cursed by a dryad to speak in its voice, and she then accepted it as her voice. A portion for her to correct then.
I told her to locate that portion of her soul and to remove it. She screamed as she did and fell unconscious. She has yet to wake up.
A new report from Atlas spoke of the difficulty of procuring the head. The Lady in question would not surrender the head of her husband's murderer. I will need to ask the girl if she still has the man's soul.
...
14-4-1705
…
The girl awoke, her voice no longer tinged with desire. Her eyes looked a bit hollow from the experience. It will take time. When she reached to remove her blood core I told her it can wait until her soul healed. Can't be shattering her soul after so much effort. Instead I told her to focus on correcting her skin to be Elf skin. She had looked at my skin before starting on her own.
…
30-4-1705
…
The girl had no qualms about being arms deep of an elf cadaver. She examined every organ. Multiple angles. When she understood I told her to reform her lungs. She asked about capillaries. Surprising, but it will need to wait for her heart change.
The hollow look had left her eyes. I told her to start removing the blood core again. She asked what we planned to do with the body. Informing her that it will be disposed of made her become morose. Asking her why she only said she didn't wish to see more dead Elves. It was a rather surprising statement. Her memories are sealed yet she still has these thoughts. I informed her that the body will decompose, there was no helping it. She only frowns and she started doing a rapid search of her soul. Unbiddened. She asked for the blood core she removed back. Curious about what she planned, I returned it. She cut her hand over the corpse. The body healed. The girl can restore dead flesh to a pristine state.
I sent a new missive to our scribes. Create an undead and implant a blood core. I expect results in less than two weeks. Ensure all precautions are taken.
…
6-5-1705
…
The girl had suddenly looked to the west wall. I ask what the issue was. She said she was in two places. She seems possessed. Dirt constructs formed around her. Words appeared. The words writtern were as follows 'No good can come from making undead constructs through me. They will spread like a plague'. When the construct fell apart she tilted her head when I asked why I was staring. She hadn't noticed the mound of the dirt in front of her. Was the other soul able to make constructs in the monster mana aura? I told her to remove her aura as a precaution.
The scribes stated the moment the undead took the core it gained independence from the caster. It immediately removed the core and crushed it. It then collapsed. Does it count as a body for her? Could I divide her blood store further? Then again there is no telling if a single blood store is needed to kill me. An undead plague though.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
…
27-6-1705
…
A cage of two goblins was brought to the girl. I had dismissed everyone else in the room. I commanded the girl to slay the left one but not eat the soul. I gave her a blood core to use. The goblin stiffened then died. The girl had not moved at all. When it rose from the dead the other goblin attacked it. The undead did nothing. Unusual, the undead are quite ferocious. I told the girl to use the undead to fight the goblin. She said one word, Kill. It did. She shivered afterwards. The aura leaked out again. I think she ate the soul. I was remiss in my instructions. I had another live goblin brought in. This time the body rose as another undead. Both were under her command. I think I could command her to use them for me or to be autonomous. But her other half might gain control instead. Truly do need to find the rest of that body.
…
28-6-1705
…
The girl was crying when I arrived. A new Tapestry over her head. The goblin I presume. She would alternate from Quintarl?ne and the grunts and gestures that were typical for a goblin. I told her to remove the Tapestry. She did not collapse this time. When asked why, she stated she did not know. I was tempted to review her status screen but ultimately decided not to let her see whatever the new change was. Instead I commanded her to grow herself a new heart. It required all the blood trinkets I had crafted to maintain it and the blood vessels to go with it. 20 cores in all. It didn't beat. Pristine and inert. I suspect it is due to her amorphous blood. I asked the girl if she still had the soul of Lady Minthan's husband. She told me she did after another rapid scanning of her soul.
…
5-7-1705
…
Lady Minthan was quite incensed upon seeing the girl. Demanded to know how she was still alive. Apparently the changes I had wrought so far were not enough to convince her otherwise. How long must she have stared at the head of her husband's murderer. I understood her hatred. But I am here to give her hope.
I commanded the girl to bring out the husband Tapestry. To let his personality come forward. What resulted was a bizarre exchange where the Lady probed an earnest man telling her it was truly him. In the end there was tears and closure. It made me wish for the same. I had the girl return the soul inside herself and went to discuss options with the Lady.
I offered her the choice of release or rebirth. She would need to procure a pregnant human for rebirth though. There was no guarantee it would work. Would it have a higher chance as an Elf? She asked me, brazen but I am above such. It would, but I would not allow a dalliance between her and an Elf. She surprised me with the next question. If they were both born through the process, would I allow it? Fundamentally it would be what I offered the hybrids. I agreed. She returned to her home to make arrangements.
…
18-7-1705
…
With a blood core in hand the girl stopped the blood of Lady Minthan. She died shortly after, soul eaten. I now held the head of one ‘Red’. It was still in stasis. Would she regain consciousness should it be released? It looked like the girl, the skin a deep red instead of bone white. Except for two sharp red horns jutting from her forehead. They were like daggers ready to maim any she headbut. When I severed the stasis spell, the ears just sloughed off. Never before had anything rotted on this thing body. Trying to command or compel the head did nothing. In the end I simply ground the head into a slurry to feed it to the girl.
When I arrived the girl was pallid and lacking emotions. I couldn't feel her soul presence. She had been dwindling for a while. I guess the fountain finally took what was available. She had survived though. I handed her the cup. She looked at me. Told me she no longer felt the fountain. She asked if it was alright to risk leaving her soul core. It seems she no longer was the innocent no memory child but back to the monster from before. I told her she could but to return if she felt the fountain pull again. She nodded. The Tapestry returned. I saw no weakening like it was prior. As I examined it the girl drank the cup down.
It was a mistake to let her regain her memories. The girl shuddered as her madness aura ballooned out. I felt the hysteria this time. It was unlike anything I had felt before. It was as if I was worthless in her eyes. When she finally pulled it in, the horns that were on the severed head were now on her. When asked to remove them she asked to remove what. I told her the horns. She only tilted her head. Her next words shocked me. You never cared before.
Her further explanation was that they always were there, only now was I seeing them. I lost my temper. I had snapped them myself. The girl laughed at me, mockingly but there was no aura. I asked how this was not a violation of our contract. She only said I violated it first by attacking her. She then attempted to flee. But she was too weak. I easily caught her. She refused my blood. I ultimately had to isolate her.
…
19-7-1705
…
The girl continues to refuse my blood. She was so eager the first time. She was thirsty before. She lacks her blood core at the moment. She had already shattered the tail though. I can not force her to use a core. I sent the question to my scribes on how to make her use blood magic.
Their response ranged from injuring her to force her to use one for healing. Making her defend herself. And implanting an emptied core into her.
…
20-7-1705
…
It came to a quick conclusion that injury and defense was not an option. She was willing to die. Eager even. The third option then. Conveniently there was an injured individual that the team of scribes could use to empty the core into. It took five of them to empty the core safely. I personally plunged the core into the girl. She regrew her tail. It was as if she never lost it. She started panting as the hole I made sealed up. She is thirsty now. We left her in her room.
…
25-7-1705
…
I found the girl on the floor of the room. Her horns were back. She backed away from me when I entered. The cutting of my hand made her reconsider. She struggled with it but ultimately re-engaged with the contract. She writhed on the floor until I told her to send the bliss to her other half.
I spent the day reviewing my orders with her. In the end, most of them were followed even while she was free. Luckily she had not reviewed her status sheet. I instructed her to remove her horns. She giggled as she did it. It stopped when they broke. The aura she was exuding dissipated when she broke the second. Was it tied to the horns? As tempting as it was to figure out what was the cause. I knew reviewing her status sheet would mean the girl would know too. I told her to break her core until the tail was gone. I no longer had to worry about running out of cores. Annoyingly, I had to instruct her to reform her heart.
…
1-8-1705
…
The horns returned. Only I see them. The others don't. Does it require being affected by her aura? I ordered them removed again. Unlike the core and tail, the horn returned denser. The laughter was more when she did it. Or am I simply focusing more on it? She had standing orders not to laugh and yet when it came to this she always did.
I sent out a missive for the construction of a purification room. It is to contain rune work for aura nullification. It needed to be done by the time the horns returned.
…
7-8-1705
…
I ordered her into the room. To both remove my blood store and the horns. No aura seeped out. I watch through various observation runes. Without me there, the girl became manic. The cackle was madness. It ended the same as before. Abruptly with the horns removed. Her exit from the room appeared jerkly. As if she still possessed a portion of the madness. I instructed her to excise the memory from her soul. She thanked me for the command. The horns went to the scribes.
…
23-8-1705
…
Attempts to change her blood were futile. The girl informed me all her forms had slime blood. She never assumed a different form in my presence, she only replied that it required a tail. When asked whether she could have both she informed me she had no bone marrow. Examining her further that was indeed the case. Her blood was magically made. I instructed her to restore her bones to actual bones and not solid mithril. If we can get her to produce blood perhaps we can have a replacement or at least have it also exist alongside. It required a visit to the corpse she preserved.
…
14-10-1705
…
The girl emerged from the purification room sane and with poise. We had worked out a ritual. First the horns, then the purging of her store of my blood and mana blood, then her memories of the ritual. The mana blood itself was reserved for potion making.
Her heart beats again. Pumping pure Elven blood. She has been commanded to not think of it as hers. It was the only way to prevent it from becoming part of her amorphous blood. Tweaking her mind was a great deal of trial and error. Fundamentally she didn't need a soul memory to continue following a command. In fact removing the memory only made her think it was her idea. A standing order to remove the soul memory when receiving a new order was given unless directed otherwise.
It sped along the creation of her Elf body. With the adjustment of her digestive track and the thought that I granted this body to her she was able to eat food for nutrition. The blood necklace she wore maintained the change. It never became permanent. I had my scribes make trinkets that would remake the digestive track and maintain the changes in case she had the trinkets removed. Suggestions on implantation were denied. Consider too dangerous of her absorbing the core. It still required my blood to maintain the contract.
I long considered the best way to proceed in making her complaint. Ultimately her calling me mother was not enough. She needs to see me as her mother. I had her return all but a bit of memory into her soul core. Returning it all seems to actually make her akin to undead. A soul moving a body instead of inhabiting it. That the sinners were interwoven into her Tapestry was the only thing that prevented me from expunging all her memories.
Further instruction was to forget she had a soul core. Then with over fifty blood cores on her, I had her revert herself to a baby for one month. She was to grow a year older every month until she reached her current soul days. Finally she was to remove the geas on her soul that contained her name.
She nodded and began. I myself had used life magic on myself to induce lactation. I had a baby to bond with.
-----
“Mother, why does my skin look different from yours?” The bone white skinned five year old asked.
“It is because you are not my true family, yet.” I answered the girl patiently.
“Yet?”
“Do you want to be a true family child? I will give you a name.”
The girl gives me a toothy smile as she nods.
“Then come here, I will infuse you so we can be a true family.”
She runs to me and throws herself at me. I caught her and embraced her. She smiled but didn't laugh. That only happened when she was engaging in purification. I pushed my mana into her which her body and soul greedily accepted. Her skin gained color instead of bone white it was a pale peach color like mine, her hair a shiny silver and straight. Her eyes remained the same dull grey, and one strand of hair was both a mix of brown and blonde. It had a bounce of curl to it. Another thing to add to her purification rite. I removed it for now.
“Good Sarcea, we are a true family now.”