Chapter 3

The span of a single day was all it took for Volondove to accept the tragic reality of his loss. He had buried Natilda's body right after Lamir's unexpected visit. And for the rest of that day, he pondered about everything Lamir had told him.

All through the morning of the next day, he pondered about what he had learned yesterday. About his family tree, about the lore of the demigod that is the Eam, and about the potential to become the second Eam. Lamir's words were still buzzing around in his head like a swarm of bees in a hive. So much so, that he had nearly lost all thought for Natilda.

He still had her some what on his mind though. After all, this was the first time in five years he had gotten out of bed without her by his side. It felt so strange for him to be all alone again.

But he managed to pull himself out of his bed early in the morning as he would normally do regardless of the circumstances. He got up with some reluctance and went to prepare for his training with Lamir. when ever would would show up that is.

He froze for a moment as he saw the all but destroyed dinning table that lay in the middle of the room. He had been so busy with the funeral stuff and Lamir showing up on a whim, that he had completely forgotten all about fixing it.

"Oh, yeah...I still gotta fix that some time." He mumbled in his weary morning voice. He had slept like a dead man last night. Now that Natilda was gone he had no need to spend his nights in the alchemy lab anymore. He was free that night to get the good night's sleep that he very much needed. (Which was also kind of an odd feeling for him as it felt like an eternity Sence he had a normal sleep pattern)

Getting ready for the day, he began to prepare himself some breakfast by quickly frying up a couple of eggs. He opened a small hatch on the counter top where they kept the eggs. He grabbed three and set them aside for a minute.

He then turned to his left where there was a small fire pit used for cooking. He opened a metal drawer built into the fire pit and grabbed a hand full of tinder from inside. Then grabbing a flint stone he struck the edge of the fire pit and shot sparks into the fire pit. As the fire began to rise up he grabbed his cast iron pan that was hanging up right above the fire pit and began frying up the eggs.

He then took a seat on one of the wooden chairs that would have been set next to the table. But now with the table destroyed, the chairs have been set up against the wall for the time being. They would remain there until he got around to repairing the table.

He still had what Lamir said on his mind as he ate. He pondered about the possibility of becoming the new eam and all that would entail. Like he had learned in his studies, the Eam was hand chosen by the gods themselves. Or at least that's what the legends say.

He thought about all the incredible powers he would posses.anyba mortal could only dream of that kind of power. Some even resorting to blood magic just to get a fraction of that power. Having even one form of magic is a blessing. But to be the master of all of them was a feat only to be held by the first Eam and the long lost Tistive.

And speaking of the Tistive he also thought about what Lamir said about his mother being a tistive. He thought about what she would have been like. Both as a mother and the last of an entire race. What would she even look like? It has been so long since anyone has seen the likes of the tistive that no one really knows what they were like. Were they half bloods? Or maybe a form of elf? Or perhaps something in-human like a naga or a Minotaur.

He thought about the quest that lay before him. He thought about how he was supposed to stop an endless army of demons from consuming the world in flames. He knew exorcism can drive ghosts out of possessed beings. But he no idea how to fight a demon.

He also thought about what he would do afterwards when or if he succeeded in driving off the demon hoards. He had never thought about anything other than starting a family. But now that that option was out of the equation, what was he gonna do?

In the past, the old Eam was responsible for the well being of the indigenous species and races and factions of the whole world. How could Vexellion have ever been able to keep track of all that? And how could he, a mere carpenter do that? Would he then be held responsible for all the wars and famines and plagues and droughts that would come? Would he be held responsible for every wrong decision of every mortal on the planet?

Although the more he thought about it, he would have the powers of a demigod. If those things were to ever come up he could easily resolve them. But what would that would look like? Having control over the whole world is a huge responsibility. Could he even be able to do it? Or what would become of him and the rest of the world if he would fail? What if the demons kill him like they did Vexellion?

He thought about what else the future would have in store for him. Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe he could retire in luxury some day. Perhaps he would even find another love somewhere down the line.

But the thought of having a second love was quickly shut down. He remembered that He had made a vow to himself when he was young, to have no more than one woman in his life. Even though she was now gone, Volondove would remain loyal to his promise and never seen love again.

He pondered about all the possibilities for a while. That is until His fantasies were suddenly interrupted when the sound of clanking wood pounded against his ear drums. Volondove looked up from his ceramic tray to see who it was that was knocking on his door so early in the morning. To his surprise It was non other than Lamir the white once again on the other side of the door.

He had said he would return today, to begin the training, but he wasn't expecting him to arrive so soon.

"Good morning, Volondove." Lamir said taking a step inside uninvited.

"Oh, Lamir." Volondove replied with a mouth full of bread.

"You- you're early." He stamered

"Yes, I am." Lamir said. "The demons won't wait to cease the world, and neither should we wait for them to do so." He said. "I trust you are ready for your training?" Lamir asked. "Do you need more time to... Uh.... Process?" He asked referring to Natilda.

Volondove took a breath as he remember her loss again. "Yeah. Yeah I am good for now. We should begin soon." Volondove replied.

"Then it is time to begin your training." He said taking a seat on the second chair on the other side of the room facing opposite of Volondove. Volondove swallowed the bread in his mouth before speaking again.

"Oh yeah. I was gonna learn some healing magic right?" He asked. "This should be a snap. I have already learned a hand full on healing rituals and potions. From my studies in dwarven alchemy."

"That is a good start. But there is a lot more to teach than healing magic." Lamir replied. "You will be learning about divine magic as a whole."

"Divine magic?" Volondove asked. "I've never heard of that category of magic before." Lamir looked at him with a 'you have so much to learn' expression on his face.

"my boy, Healing magic is only a small branch of the tree of divine magic." Lamir explained. "Divine magic has many more forms and attributes. But the most definitive factor in the category, are it's defensive properties. You may know of the healing parts rather well, but there is also shielding, augmentations, protective spells, and many more you have never even heard of. And during your training, you will learn about and how to use all of them."

"Then I see we have our work cut out for us then." Volondove replied.

"Yes we do. So let us begin." Lamir said clapping his hands together. "Your first lesson will be the most important lesson in combating the demon threat."

"Going into the deeper stuff first are we?" Volondove asked taking the last bite of egg.

"Oh Volondove, if you are going to be the new eam, we can't start off all soft and squishy. Time is of the essence. Who knows when the demons will return. For all we know it could be tomorrow or next week. Heck they could already be here for all we know. We need to cover as much ground as possible as fast as possible. I hope you are a quick learner."

Volondove swallowed his egg before speaking again. "Ok, you said that healing was just a branch of the tree of divine magic, So basically, anything that can heal, protect or augment others would be the rest of the tree?" Volondove asked .

Lamir took a breath as he was about to say something. But then he kept silent for a moment.

"Thats right. that's about it." Lamir said.

"Well done kid." Lamir said

"That tistive knowledge is more powerful than I thought. Ok then let's do something you haven't learned about. since you already have a basic understanding of healing, we'll start you off with light magic." Lamir said said.

"what all would that entail exactly?" Volondove asked as he set his plate down on the table. But he forgot it was brocken before he set it down all the way. But by the time he realized it, it was too late. The plate fell from his hand, and shattered on the ground with a loud crash.

The two men turned their attention to the floor and looked down at the shards as they lay on the ground.

"I'm sure we can find something to fix that some time later." Lamir said breaking the silence.

"Yeah I'll get to it one of these days." Volondove said.

"Anyways as I was saying, if we are gonna be facing demons, you're gonna need to learn about light magic first." He explained.

"You said before that that was the most important form right?" Volondove asked. "But what is so special about it?"

"Now that is a good question." Lamir replied. Leaning back in his seat. "Well, when I said it was the most important form of magic, that was only half true. You see, most divine magic is normally for defence and protection of others in the physical sence. But this particular form focuses on the protection of the soul." He explained.

"It is the only form that allows one to to defend the very soul of an individual, Or to harm it."

"Protect or attack the soul? How exactly would one cast spells on a soul?" Volondove asked. "Wouldn't that be a form of necromancy?"

"Noy quite." Lamir said stroking his long white beard. "It is a bit difficult to explain. I am not entirely sure the difference from light magic and necromancy. Other than it requires a different form of mana to cast. Perhaps a demonstration is needed to answer that one." Lamir said

"Hold still there, and try not to panic." Lamir said as he stood up from his seat.

"Uh what are you doing?" Volondove asked nerviosly.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt you a bit. Or at least, I don't think it will. I never heard anybody's thought on this spell, I don't know it hurts demons like heck though. So we'll see." He said as he began the ritual. His hands began to glow a bright golden yellow as he prepared a spell.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to have a blind man cast a spell on the chosen one." Volondove said panicking.

Lamir looked him in the eye as he said that.

"who said I was blind?" He said intensely. "You think just cause I have white eyes means I am blind?" He said as he thrusted his old withered hands forward to release the magic he had conjured. The spell was complete now, and a beam of gold mana flew from his hands like water.

It all happened so fast, Volondove hardly had time to react before Lamir's spell was cast. but at the same time felt like an eternity. As lamir cast the spell, Volondove found himself falling backwards in what felt like slow motion. But at the same time, he wasn't falling at all.

He soon realized that his spirit was being separated from his body. As he fell backwards, he saw the back of his head right in front of him. The further he fell, the more of his back he could see. His spirit was falling away while his mortal body remained on the seat.

He also could see the spell lamir was casting play out in slow motion as well. A beautiful golden beam of light sprouted out of the wizards hands. They flowed and curved around the room like a beautiful river of gold. The rays glimmered like solid gold as they pushed into Volondove's spirit. Or it hit his physical chest that is. About half of the golden rays were dispersed when they struck his body, where as the rest of the beam was practically wrapped around him like a boa constrictor.

He began to panic for a moment as he had no idea what was going on, or what lamir was doing to him. But the beam was slowly pulling him further and further away from his body. It didn't hurt at all, but the thought of having his soul split apart from his body was terrifying.

But despite the horrific experience, he couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved. It was as if the spell had some kind of emotional healing effect that relaxed him. He could feel his worries and concerns melting away as he drew further away from his body.

But suddenly, reality began to speed up again, and Volondove found himself being pulled back towards his duplicate. With a flash of silver slash golden light running through his eyes, he could feel himself suddenly restricted of air.

He gasped for breath and began hyperventilating when the spell wore off. But yet, he felt lighter than he did before, in an emotional sence. As if a huge weight had been removed from him. He whipped his head up to face Lamir.

"What was that?!" He asked as he took a few more deep breathes.

"What I have done, was cast a spell on your very spirit." Lamir said.

"That separation sensation you experienced was your body being pulled apart from your soul, a perfect example of the true strength of light magic."

"Wait, so you really did separate my soul from my body?" Volondove asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I did. And soon you will learn how to do it too." Lamir said. "But there is a more important reason as to why you will learn this form first."

"As you pretty well know by now, the demons are indeed, souls as well. And this form of magic is one of the most effective weapons against them. As other magics can only effect mortals, light magic is exclusively for spirits." Lamir explained.

"It's like uhhh.... Like uhhh...." Lamir was trying to think of a good analogy to describe the concept of light magic. But found himself stumbling and coming up short.

"Actually, there is no analogy to describe divine magic." He said eventually.

"But what happened to you is exactly what it does to the demons. In a way. You see, demons are spirits in mortal bodies where as mortals are bodies with spirits within them. So being more spirit than mortal, these spell can harm the demons far more than they can harm an elf or a dwarf."

As Volondove caught his breath, he quickly caught on to a contradiction in what lamir said.

"But I thought that divine magic was for protection and defence." Volondove explained.

"This seems like an offensive form for the soul isnt it?"

"Oh no you miss-understand." Lamir replied suddenly.

"I said, most divine magic is for protection." Lamir said raising his finger in correction.

"And now it's your turn. Now you are gonna target a soul." Volondove snapped his head up to Lamir's eyes in sudden surprise.

"You-you want me to do....that to you? Right now? On my first day of training?" He asked feeling rather concerned.

"Oh heavens no. Not to me." Lamir replied. "This a a delicate spell to cast. Any failure in the spell can lead to instant death."

"A great worry entered Volondove as he heard this. Had lamir really just cast a potentially fatal spell on the chosen one? This guy was either very reckless, or very confident in his abilities to pull something like this, especially for a blind man. And on the first day of training no less.

"And besides, you don't even know how to cast it yet." Lamir added. "Oh few, he is gonna teach me before casting first." Volondove thought as he exhaled in relief.

"But before we get started on that, let's get one thing clear." Lamir said leaning forward in a stern expression. "I am not a blind man. I can see just as well as you can alright?"

"Ok, ok, you are not blind, I get it now." Volondove said.

"Good. Now that that has been dealt with, let's get back to the lesson shall we? In order to target a soul with magic, you must first become a soul." Lamir said.

"But that doesn't make any sense." Volondove said.

"I am a soul. Everyone is a soul to some degree."

"Yes, everyone has a soul, but not everyone can part from it." Lamir explained.

"What do you mean?" Volondove asked understandably confused.

"Any mere mortal can strike at another mortal with he sword, but if one were to strike a soul with the sword, nothing happens. The blade would go right through it. Like a knife through water." Lamir explained.

"Only by separating your soul from flesh can you engage spirits on their own turf. Simply put. You can't fight spirits in the mortal sence, you must become a soul, to engage a soul."

"So you want me to separate my soul from my body?" He asked again.

"Won't that kill me?"

"Only if you stay separated for too long" lamir said.

"But how long can one go before actually dying?" Volondove asked.

"Oh not very long at all." Lamir explained.

"Even the first eam was able to go longer than a single minute. Actually come to think of it, Vexellion was the only one who was able to go for about three to five minutes without his spirit. So you should be able to as well, just as he did."

"O-ok, but how do I actually do that?" He asked getting to the point of the lesson.

"Channel yourself." Lamir said boldly.

"Channel your spirit into the alternate plain of existence."

"What do you mean by channel myself?" Volondove asked doubtfully, still as confused as ever.

"How exactly do I do that?"

"You already know how." Lamir replied.

"You have already been separated from your body once. And you know the sensation it brings you don't you?"

"You mean that warm, fuzzy fealing of inner peace?" Volondove asked.

"What was up with that anyway?"

" We will get to that later. For now let's just focus on the spell." Lamir replied.

It was at this moment that Volondove began piecing things together as he tried to make sence of Lamir's teaching.

"You mean when you cast that spell on me, it was the spell it self that gave me a sense of the relief and relaxation? Even though I should have been dead?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Once again, That would be correct." Lamir said.

"All you need to do, is re-create that feeling of inner peace if you are to re-enact the ritual. For the emotion is both the source, and the product of the ritual. Or well, to my understanding that is. It's a bit complicated."

Volondove slowly looked down at his feet as he took Lamir's teachings to heart. He took a deep breath as he prepared to begin the ritual.

"Channel myself. Create inner peace." He said to himself repeatedly. On the outside that is. On the inside he was still panicking. He could hear the voices in his head questioning this whole thing.

"I can't believe I'm gonna do this again. am I even ready for this? What if something goes wrong and I kill myself? What's gonna happen then?"

He chose not to dwell on those thoughts for too long. He closed his eyes as he began to re-enact the ritual. For nearly five minutes Volondove did his best to tap into his inner zen.

Lamir was most impressed with his new student. Never before had someone attempted this spell on their first day of training. But at the same time, he had also never taught anyone the spell on the first day either. But he was still impressed at how quickly Volondove was catching on.

Volondove had been at this for only a couple minutes, and already he could feel himself come closer and closer to replicating the emotional sensation he had experienced before. With each minute, he came closer to separating his soul again. But every time he came close, he could feel himself slip up and come back to mortality again.

After what felt like an eternity, Volondove opened his eyes to see that he was still in his body.

"Darn it. It didn't work!" He said in frustration.

"Don't worry about it boy." Lamir said.

"You got this, you just need more practice. Try it again. Relax yourself. Find your inner peace, and separate."

Volondove closed his eyes and began to meditate again. He did his best to num his emotions in peace. After a couple minutes he finally opened his eyes, expecting to still be in the mortal world. But he was very surprised to see himself once again separated from his body.

Volondove began to panic again. Not out of horror this time, but out of excitement. He had done it. He had sperated his soul from his body all on his own. "I did it!" I did it Lamir!" He called out. But Lamir couldn't hear him. Lamir just hovered over top of Volondove's physical body as if he was about to lay down on it.

He wondered what exactly Lamir was doing to his body. It was hard to tell as the world around him was playing in what seemed to be slow motion. But the thought was short lived as Lamir grabbed his arms and pulled his soul back into it's body.

"Careful there!" He said to Volondove as he gasped for air again.

"You were almost in there for too long. Any longer. and you would have been meeting Neth himself." He said in a panicked tone.

Volondove huffed and puffed for air as if he had been suffocating. This time was much more intense than the last time. Volondove felt like he might pass out on the floor.

"Well done Volondove. Very well done!" Lamir said as Volondove tried to control his breathing.

"That was incredible. Not only were you able to complete the spell right on your second try, but you also lasted far longer than any other student I ever had."

"How long was I separated?" Volondove asked still huffing and puffing.

"A staggering five minutes!" Lamir answered with much enthusiasm.
Volondove even impressed himself with how long he was able to last without his soul.

"Oh uh, but let's not get too celebratory just yet." Lamir said.

"There is still one more thing you must do."

"What's that?" Volondove asked.

"Well you can now sepwerate your body and soul, but you still have to learn how to apply that skill in spiritual combat. Only then will you be ready to battle the demons.

"Ok, but how do I do that?" Volondove asked a bit confused.

"Simply put, just seperate from your body, and you are free to engage your enemies how ever you please. As your spirit form will simply pass right through their physical bodies, thereby allowing you to strike their spiritual forms. Just like how mortal means of destruction don't harm spirits, spirits cannot harm the mortal body."

"So it's like fighting a ghost, but the fighters are reversed?" Volondove asked having finally controlled his breathing.

"Once again, you are correct." Lamir replied.

"Do you think you can do it one more time? Or would you like to take a break?" Lamir asked.

"I would hate to push you to the breaking point so soon in your training."

"No no, I can do it." Volondove said confidently.

"Are you sure? It takes a lot of energy to perform the ritual too many times in one moment."

"Perhaps, but like you said before, the demons aren't gonna rest. And neither should we. I'm going back in."

Lamir gave a smile of encouragement. "Now that's the spirit of the future eam." He said.

Volondove spent another few minutes preparing himself to re-enter his spirit form. It was rather uncomfortable having to come back in and out of the mortal world as his breath was always taken away for a moment. But he was also a very enduring man. If the fate of the world was gonna fall on his shoulders then he needed to push through his discomforts.

After a few more minutes he had seperated from his body once again. He then looked around the room for anything he could manipulate.

He wouldn't do it to Lamir for obvious reasons. But other than him there wasn't anything else alive in the house. Then he remembered that the oil lamp outside was broken by an animal. Or at least that was his assumption. An animal would make a perfect target for his first spiritual attack.

He looked around the room, facing each window in the house looking for an animal to test his new skill on. Then he turned to face the window to his right. A large grey squirrel was frozen in place upon the window sill.

Volondove walked over to it, but found himself hovering instead. His feet were completely gone, and in their place was a stream of spirit energy eminating from his mortal body connecting his spirit to his body. He was still able to move freely, but he still had somewhat of a connection to his body.

Anyways, he hovered over to the rodent and gave it a little touch. Just like Lamir said, his finger went clean through the animal. But at the same time, he could still feel the fur and muscles of the animal as if it were still touchable.

After pulling his hand away for a second he prepared to pick it up.

"This is for breaking my oil lamp you little pest." He said to himself. With the creature still trapped in suspended animation, Volondove moved his hands underneath the squirrel and attempted to pick it up by its stomach. As it lifted off the window sill, he was astounded to see the squirrel being seperated before his eyes.

The rodent it self was still sitting there, but he could see it's spirit being pulled away as he lifted it. And unlike his spirit still being somewhat attached to his body, the squirrel was completely severed from its own.

Before Volondove could admire his accomplishment, Lamir pulled him back into reality once again. Volondove was once again greeted with a lack of air in his lungs and began huffing and puffing again.

"How did it go?" Lamir asked.

"Did you do it yet?" still recovering from the lack of breath, Volondove pointed to the window where he saw the squirrel. Lamir turned his head to see the animal still on the window sill.

He walked over to see it better, and to his surprise, it was dead.

"Volondove, you are something else!" He exclaimed in sheer excitement.

"There has got to be a better way to do this." Volondove said recollecting himself. His head was spinning from having to separate so many times in one day.
"This spirit fighting stuff is gonna be the death of me."

"Oh you need not worry about that." Lamir said.

"With enough training you will be able to target souls without having to seperate yourself. Or well at least not completely." Lamir explained.

"I can see why Vexellion chose you to be his successor." Lamir said.

"You are by far the fastest learner, and the most enduring man I have ever met. But we should probably try a different spell now. You look like you need a break from leaving your body."

Lamir was right about that. Volondove had already had enough of losing his breath and possibly losing it for good.

"You will need to practice your spiritual separation a bit more, but that will be for another day."

"Fine by me." Volondove said getting his breath back.

"I never thought magic could be so painful."

"Only at the start." Lamir replied.

"It will get easier once you get the hang of it."

"So what's next?" Volondove asked.

"Right now you need to rest a bit." Lamir said.

"As a new sorcerer. Your body is incapable of rapid spiritual separation. But there is still plenty I can teach you while you take it easy for a moment."

"Like what?" Volondove asked.

"Like what it is you will have to face." Lamir answered.

"You see, the demons have many tricks up their sleeves. They have many powers the likes of which your generation has never seen. But among their ranks, among the trillions of unholy beasts they have at Thier disposal, there are four demons that are the most powerful, both in a physical Sence, and in a magical one."

"What are these four?" Volondove asked.

"And what makes them so powerful?"

"These are the four demon lords." Lamir said.

"They are the most powerful beings among the demon ranks, and there fore have the most say in what the demons do. These four serve as the horsemen to the demon master himself. They are his eyes, ears, mouth and fists. Their skill and talents have given them a sinister name among the mortal realms. Or at least the ones that still remember the horrors of the demon war."

"The eldest of the four, as we know of at least, is the demon lord Mogroth. Though most call him the master mind. Due to his skill in tactics and strategies on the battlefield. Mogroth is a dangerous foe when facing army to army. Infact, there was one time during the black wars, where we nearly caught that spawn of hell."

"We had him cornered, with tens of thousands of men at our disposal. All he had was a small group of imps, a couple of wraiths and a handful of satyr. That was all he needed for him to massacre the allied forces and make his escape."

"By the gods. That is incredible!" Volondove said astonished.

"How did he do that?"

"We don't know. He is a grand master tactician." Lamir said.

"But he is just the tip of the ice berg. There is also Malanar. We used to call him the silver tongue Because his verbal skill were like nothing ever before seen. His words were sweet as honey, and those who listened to him were spell bound to his speeches. He would use this power to sow discontent within the mortal races. He would convince the people to rise up against their master's, and start conflicts with Thier neighbors."

"Malanar and Mogroth are masters of the mind, but there is one who uses his powers in a physical sence. The demon lord Gilgamien is the juggernaut of the demon hoards. During the black wars there was a saying we used to tell that a demon lord had the strength of a hundred men. Gilgamien was the one to set that standard."

"Gilgamien was a horrifying warrior of incredible strength and resistance. He and his legions have decimated entire dwarven armies. In fact, his was so great a warrior, that he would sometimes face entire battalions and crush them single handedly."

"That is incredible!" Volondove said.

"How did you ever manage to stop him?"

"It is a long story. Perhaps for another time." Lamir replied.

"Now where was I? Oh yeah. But the worst of them was the demon lord Valemier. The father of blood magic."

"Father of blood magic?" Volondove asked. "You mean he created the dark arts?"

"Yes. Seeing that his mind and body were underneath that of his brothers, he found another way to climb the ranks. The dark art of blood magic made him the most powerful mage in the history of the world." Lamir explained.

"More powerful than the Tistive? More powerful than the Eam?" Volondove asked concerned.

"The Eam, no, not even close." Lamir said.

"But the Tistive would feel the full might of his power first hand. His main campaign was in the land of Isakal, the home land of the Tistive. They fought hard, but they were no match for Valemier and his dark magic."

"Is that why the Tistive are gone?" Volondove asked. "Did Valemier drive them away?"

"He didn't just drive them away. He killed them" Lamir replied gripping his staff with both hands.

"All of them. The men, the women, the children, even the elders. Every last one of them, slain by his hand. It was his level of power and cruelty that he has gone down in history as the most dangerous of the four. As no other demon has ever had the power to drive an entire race to extinction."

"Wait a minute." Volondove said suddenly.

"If blood magic was so powerful, why didn't the Tistive use it themselves? Why not fight fire with fire?"

"Because blood magic is a demons tool and was therefore forbidden." Lamir replied. "You see, the Tistive were a very religious race. They believed in preserving the traditions set in place by the gods themselves. As such, they only used the powers they were given, not what others had."

"And besides, the art of blood magic has its own costs. The way of the blood mage is a very destructive and corruptive force. You see, in order to cast a spell, mages and sorcerer's need to burn mana. Every spell caster is born with a special 'pool' of mana within them. But blood magic doesn't burn mana." Lamir explained.

"They don't need mana to use magic?" Volondove asked raising his eyebrow slightly.

"oh no, they need lots of mana. But they don't have a personal mana pool to burn. Instead, blood mages use life essence to burn in place of mana."

"They burn life essence?" Volondove asked frightened slightly at the thought. "How would they do that? How would they collect life essence from others without first using magic to harvest it?"

"Oh no, they don't harvest other people's life essence." Lamir explained. "No, they would burn their own life essence. Just like how other mages burn Thier own personal mana pool, blood mages would burn Thier own personal life pool." Volondove widened his eyes as he heard this. Burning your own life essence for the sake of magic? That was insane.

"So when the mortals started using blood magic they found themselves with only half the usual life span they would have had."

"So if they knew what would happen to themselves after commiting to blood magic, then why would they start it in the first place?" Volondove asked.

"Because they saw Valemier use blood magic and come out unharmed." Lamir answered. "You see, blood magic relies of life essence to burn. As a result their mortality is cut in half. But demons don't have a life span. They are immortal. They can, and will live till the end of time. As such, Valemier is able to burn part of his soul cost free. Though it might hurt him a bit to cast a spell, he will never die from his practices."

"Wait, you said that the mortals DID try blood magic?" Volondove asked.

"Some did." Lamir answered.

"There were some people who saw the potential power too good to pass up. They also believed that if they resorted to the vile magics, that they would gain favor in Valemier's sight. Before long, the demon lord had an entire army of blood mages at his disposal. They then named this new army, the Valemies cult. Named after the creator of their new found powers. A cult that still roams The earth to this day."

"What!?" Volondove asked with slight horror. "The Valemies cult is still around?"

"Yes, but fortunately for us, they are just a shadow of their former glory. If you would even call it glorious." Lamir said. "After the demon war, the practice of blood magic was banned in most kingdoms as it resembled the death and loss of the demon war. Nobody wanted them around to keep the memory of the demon lords alive. And so as soon as the demons were banished, blood mages everywhere were being hunted down and executed."

"The mortals wanted to erase all memory of the black wars. So they set up bounties on all of Valemier's followers. Those who survived the purges now operate in small groups in underground communities. We staff bearers tried to finish the job once and for all. But there were just too many of them. And they were spread all across the world. We would never be able to find them all."

"So they are all in hiding." Volondove asked.

"The ones that are left, Yes. Yes they are." Lamir replied.

"Should we worry about them?" Volondove asked. "Should we be concerned about them returning to Thier old master in aiding his cause?"

"I mean, if blood magic is as powerful as you say, should we be concerned about the cult coming back when the demons return?"

"Oh I dought they will show Thier faces when they come." Lamir explained.

"They would most likely wait untill the demons have won, or at least secure an area for them. Until then, they would probably still serve their master from behind the scenes. They would carry out secret missions for the demons, operate under cover, and refuse to engage in open combat."

"But how will we know when the cult rises again?" Volondove asked.

The cult members have a specific uniform when they comit to blood magic." Lamir said.

"They have satanic tattoos all across Thier bodies, and many of them strip naked before casting a spell. That was a custom Valemier set in place. Why he set that standard, we have no clue. But the ones who are clothed tend to wear mages robes black as coal. And they keep Thier faces concealed by their hoods, or by masks."

"So you say they can burn life essence to cast spells. But what branch of magic do they use?" Volondove asked.

"That's the scary part. As many as they want!" Lamir replied.

"You see, the human race is partially adept in the magics of the mind. The wood elves are rather good practitioners of bending the elements. The trolls are practically born with the gift of communicating with the dead. But what do they all have in common?"

"They burn mana to use magic?" Volondove asked.

"Well yes that is true, but I was referring to the fact that they all have only one form of magic." Lamir explained.

"You don't see humans shooting fire balls, or wood elves raising an army of the dead. Each race has some kind of biological connection to a mystic power. It's as if it is a racial trait. But blood mages don't have that restriction."

"They don't have Thier mystic connection?" Volondove asked.

"No they don't. Not every body shares the mystic trait. But some races are more in sync with thier connection to the magic arts than others. The ones who don't have the trait are the ones that are more likely to become blood mages."

"So let me get this straight." Volondove said.

"Every race has a biological connection to a form of magic, but not every individual can access that trait. The ones that don't will then resort to blood magic in a craving for power, right?"

"That is correct." Lamir said.

"Well, I think you grasp the basic concept of blood magic now. How are you feeling?"

Uhh, like I was before you came?" Volondove said like a question.

"Good, then I recommend you continue practicing your spiritual separation." Lamir said. "But this time, try to only do it once every ten to twenty minutes or so. The last thing we want is for you to die before it's time. Now, let's try that again.