Her thoughts dissolved and spired out of control, none of this made sense; questions rushed through her mind faster than she could track or count. How was she a woman now? How did she get here to this world? Why is she now Zerinia Valenhart? She couldn’t get answers by standing here staring at her feminine figure, so turning to the door, Zerinia stepped into the hallways, and just like the bedroom, it all looked exactly like the guild base, every painting, decoration and chandelier matched in exactly perfect detail, it was uncanny.
“Woah…this is fascinating but eerie.” The vampire woman thought to herself, her delicate fingers stroked the intricate details of the wooden doors, it felt much too real to be a dream of any kind. Something was strange about this situation, “Well, if this place is the same as before, the library might have answers.” with that, she moved down the corridors towards where the library was, every step was foreign yet familiar.
Zerinia had walked these halls millions of occasions, but actually being here, in the body of Zerinia with all the physical feelings and realism to it was something else entirely, right? There was a subtle sense of confidence in each step, like Zerinia subconsciously safe in this new yet old place.
“Lady Zerinia, I am most pleased to see you.” A masculine yet soft spoken and polite voice said down the corridor, turning her head, Zerinia saw the man who had spoken out to her and although her face remained still and even lightly smiled, her subconscious was shocked by what she saw. “Head Butler, Octavian Bloodworth?!” she internally screamed.
A man with short tidy black hair, muscular build approached, his crimson red eyes were sharp, and he wore a butler’s uniform, with a pale white gloves on both his hands and a small smirk plastered on his face, not out of arrogance but of self-assurance and familiarity. “So glad to see you Octavian, I hope you’ve been keeping well.” She said with a reciprocating smile, hiding her internal panic and confusion, Octavian merely gleamed at her kind words.
“Ah, Lady Zerinia, your kindness to your subordinates know no boundaries, I have been keeping myself in peak condition as to serve to maximum capacity.” He said bowing his torso, devotion radiating off his body like a smell of its own. “Listen, if you ever need to take a rest, feel free to take a break to rejuvenate.” Zerinia said kindly, reading out a hand of good faith, Octavian’s smirk turned into a dumb grin as he slowly stood back up again. “Ah! Such concern for such inferior creatures like myself simply for my loyalty, I am truly honoured to merely be in your presence, my lady.” Zerinia made sure to keep her kind smile, intrigued to see him acting just like he had been programmed to. “He just as I programmed his personality to be like…I wonder if-“
Before she could finish that thought, another voice shot out. This one was smaller, friendly and a lot less formal; “Did someone say time off?! Count me in, Lady Zerinia!” Both the vampires turned to face the sound, a 4-foot-tall creature ran out from around the corner it wore a butler’s outfit too but with scruffy short white hair and a silly facial expression, before running into Octavian, its small body falling onto its backside while Octavian remained still like an immovable force.
“Deputy Head Butler Igior…care to explain your little act, and in front of the lady of all people?” Octavian said, his smile unmoved but there was a subtle rage underneath it too, it was unnerving even to Zerinia. “Oh! Lady Zerinia, Lord Octavian! I am most sorry for my actions, it won’t happen again, I promise…I’m glad to see you again, Lady Zerinia!” His cheeky smirk was smeared all over his face, Octavian still subtly seething, an inner rage only Zerinia seemed to notice.
“I’m pleased to see you in such great condition too, my favourite hobgoblin.” Igior immediately lit up at her comment, his confidence boosting in an instant, but before he could respond, Octavian pinched his ear and pulled him up, Igior’s smile immediately replaced by a pained expression.
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!” He squealed, attempting to squirm his way out, all attempts failing miserably. Octavian turned back to Zerinia before speaking again, “I do apologise my lady for my assistances….incompetence, I’ll be sure this behaviour is fixed immediately.” Before Lady Zerinia could respond, Octavian began walking away with Igior in tow, his hand still firmly pinching the young hobgoblins ear.
“Well, that was…something, but if both of them act like that on an average basis, does that mean the same for all the others?” Zerinia questioned, the thought branded into her mind as she continued towards the library. “What am I doing? And how am I even supposed to be Zerinia?”
Eventually, Zerinia entered the library and was immediately met with the countless books, reports and more in organized order, she wondered for a few seconds before a new voice spoke out, “Perhaps I can assist you, Lady Zerinia?” The voice was feminine, seductive and alluring as a cute young girl approached, her hair long and black, eyes crimson red and she looked around 12 to 14 years old, comfortable black robes with red trim clung to her body as she approached, smiling at her mistress.
“Velkira, I was wondering if you had left to be elsewhere.” Zerinia was almost asking rather than stating, but Velkira remained oblivious, “Never, Lady Zerinia Valenhart, just as my position, given to me by Lady Zyrella, it is my duty to organise and protect the library and honestly, I enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the solitude.” Zerinia nodded at Velkira’s words, thinking about her words, “So Velkira and Igior act as they were programmed too? It seems it’s not only the NPC’s I created…” After a few moments of silence, Zerinia speaks again, hoping to get answers from the demon. “I wish to ask you a few things, Velkira…if I were to give you orders that contradicted Zyrella’s, who’s would you follow?”
There was a beat of silence before she responded, “Well, my main mistress is Zyrella so I would follow her orders if a situation like that were to ever come.” Zerinia smiled, nodding slightly as if she was expecting that answer before then speaking again. “What do you know on magic? Just to keep you in check.” Zerinia lied, not that she cared.
Velkira cleared her throat before beginning to speak, her voice full of confidence; ‘Magic is a metaphysical energy source of neutrality, it is used by the user to cast spells and increase physical capabilities. Magic is classified into three main sub categories, or better known as ‘the three paths’, firstly is essence magic which is the law over the non-elemental aspects of the world, these include summoning, holy, illusion, soul and more, second is world magic, which is the control over elemental aspects of the world, which include fire, ice, lightning, earth, water and so on, final is bound magic, magic that is found in physical items like runes, artifacts or magic items like weapons or artifacts.” Zerinia smiled, satisfied with the given answer, it was correct and reassuring that she wasn’t going in headfirst into a situation like this blindly. “So, if everything is the exact same as before, that should mean I have all my abilities, items and skills from before.”
Meanwhile, Velkira turned to the bookshelves, picking out a folder in particular, “I almost forgot, I was meaning to have this report sent to you about the last attack from the guild, known as ‘the Withered Abyss’, it’s almost fascinating to believe that Lady Zyrella was once a member of this guild, I am just grateful she left it to join Ravenscroft instead.’ She said, holding the folder out to Zerinia. “Withered Abyss” Zerinia said to herself in her mind, the word branded into her brain after years of rivalries.
“A guild where my friend, Zyrella Noctil had once been part of before joining Ravenscroft…something about the change in leadership made her choose to leave, still grateful I got to have known her personally.” There was a moment of silence as Zerinia flipped through the pages, it simply discussed what they did when they arrived at the castle and how they were eventually defeated while also giving a detailed account of everything that each player did, it was eerily accurate. “Velkira, do we have all reports for events such as this?” Zerinia asked, holding up the folder up, Velkira smiled at the question with excitement.
“Why of course, Lady Zerinia, it would be foolish to not have them…we have each and every single one dating back to the very first assault on the castle by a small party from the ‘White Tree’ guild a few years ago now.” She wasn’t suggesting the idea, she was speaking rather matter of fact, like to suggest otherwise would be blatant idiocy.
“Excellent…” Zerinia responded with a small and satisfied smile, “…Summon the other Guardians to the meeting room, I would like to speak with everyone in person about the security and movement of Ravenscroft.” Her words carried a strong air to them like this meeting could do much for the well-being of the castle, Velkira merely nodded and slipped back into the darkness, leaving Zerinia alone once again.