What Makes a Monster

♱Forty-Eight♱

Third Person P.O.V.

The Makai estate is older than Soran himself, so if Soran has secrets then so does the estate. The first isn't a secret to everyone. Those such as the king, Lord Movell, and Lady Connte know of its existence; Soran's laboratory where he continues his research into The Unborn. However, there is another, a room that only Soran knows of for he destroyed the blueprints to the estate long ago. None other than him are alive that know of this secret.

In the library there are a great deal of oddities; endless shelving from one side to the next filled with knowledge. A great stone fireplace rests on the farside of the room with plush deep green couches that one can take a long nap in. The right wall is made up mostly of a stained glass window with the Makai house sigil; a burning shield with two crossed swords, reaching from floor to ceiling. A truly beautiful and intricate room that holds a secret to even more knowledge that only Soran has access to.

The stained glass window glistens bright in the sunlight. Soran stands before it, pressing the tip of his finger to the window while tracing the words; the end is always near. The Makai ancestors often quoted such a phrase before battle, reminding themselves that death was always near and not to fear it, or so Soran was told. The builders must have found the quote intriguing seeing as they enforced the window with magic. The sun warms the words until they are a soft white light on the window.

Soran steps aside, watching the light hit the center of the room where a circular mural rests. The room groans softly when the floor sinks, revealing a stone stairwell into the depths. Soran slips below with torch in hand to light his way when the entrance locks behind him.

The torches brighten as soon as Soran steps into the long and wide room beneath the mansion. There's dust in the air, floating through the warm firelight. Similar to his laboratory, this room is also filled with the world's oddities. There are enchanting tables, only of a much deeper and darker magic, resting on the far side of the room, some of stone and some of wood. Books line the shelves, books that are so rare even the royal family do not own them. Some are chained and locked tight, rattling when Soran passes them.

At the center of the room is glyph; a flame resting in the center of a large sphere. Beneath and above that flame are two curved lines that grow past the sphere. To the left and right are triangles with two spheres within them. The moment Soran steps on the glyph, the chipped white paint flashes a brilliant purple. Then the paint returns to what it once was; a clean white that hadn't been eaten away by time.

This is the room the spies are looking for. This is what the royals, and many others, wish to get their hands on. The knowledge Soran has of vilis, of vampires, of cursed books that were outlawed and burned by the Baylor's own ancestors centuries ago; Soran has many of them. Countless forbidden text and knowledge that he's been hiding from all that he could. Once he, too, was interested in it. But times change and he no longer wishes to delve into the consuming void.

Sadly, today will have to be an exception.

Soran lines the circle with candles and glyphs for each one. The entire time he works, he chants a broken language that casts an eerie purple hue to the room. Even the flames lessen until they snuff themselves out. Only the glyph remains, a brilliant violet that pulses as if it has a heartbeat of its own.

When Soran stands at the center, the entire room is consumed with sparks of purple. The candles roar higher with a searing black firelight. Soran's eyes go black, his veins pulse beneath his skin then Soran thinks of a single person and speaks their name, "Karsissia O'Shear."

He vanishes into darkness.

~~~~~~

Soran appears in the same glyph but a vastly different environment.