Born of Blood and Moonlight

Over at the edge of the Lykos estate, Luna was fleeing as fast as she could towards her car. In her hands remained her suffering lover, Damian. But just as her destination was finally in sight, her desperate sprint was finally interrupted.

And it happened in a blink.

From one moment to the next, a massive, humanoid-bat-like incarnate form blocked Luna's path as if she'd appeared out of nowhere. The creature screeched at her, and massive waves of power flowed off it that immediately caused Luna's breath to hitch.

Although Lavinia and her father were in similar power brackets, Elias was someone she'd known all her life, and, for the most part, he'd been a fine father. But now, she was confronted by someone of his power who might just decide to wipe her from existence.

Rather than recoil or yelp in surprise, she actually froze completely, her mind unable to fully process the situation. It wasn't a fear of death that made her like this, however. It was an instinctual fear of absolute power. A power that could snuff you out with a mere flick of a wrist.

No matter your own bravery and conviction, both things Luna had in spades, no one was completely immune to a confrontation with absolute strength. In fact, the fact she didn't faint straight away was already an impressive feat. Something Lavinia was not loathe to admit.

"Hmpf," the large creature snorted. "I guess I can't fault my son's taste in women."

But before Luna could fully recover or react, the creature underwent a startling transformation. With the cracking of bones and wriggling of muscles, Lavinia turned back into her human form.

Rapidly, the leathery black skin of a bat made way for something far more supple, soft, and fair. Gorgeous, midnight-coloured hair flowed down her mature body, reaching her hips and complimenting her blood-red eyes.

After it was done, Lavinia completely ignored the frozen Luna. Her face was twisted in anxiety, worry, and guilt as she approached her son with trembling steps.

"Oh… my baby… What did he do to you…?" she whispered, full of grief, recognizing his low chance of survival. "I prepared for this day so thoroughly. I even considered backing out on multiple occasions. In the end, I decided to tell you the truth and let you make your own decision."

Slowly, she extended her hand towards Damian, still in Luna's arms, and caressed the wriggling skin on his face. "But now, he took your choice away and made this whole thing even harder," she muttered softly, her voice filled with hatred for Elias.

Taking a deep breath, her hand started glowing with dark red power as myst flooded her son's body. The effects were immediate, as the painful groaning of an unconscious Damian slowed, and the pain that threatened to overwhelm his psyche was lessened.

"But I promise to fix this, Dami," she said, speaking with unflinching determination, before lifting her hand off his face and hovering it over his open mouth. "I'll make sure you survive. In fact, I'll give you the power you need to thrive! Just… hold on for me… alright?"

Some doubt and uncertainty flowed into her last words, but then her eyes quickly hardened again. Without any more delay, she created a cut in her hand and started speaking the words of awakening, her blood dripping into Damian's mouth.

Immediately, Damian's eyes flew open again, and Luna finally recovered at the same time. Damian wanted to roar in pain, and Luna instinctively tried to recoil and get him away from Lavinia. Yet, neither was able to move a muscle. Tendrils of power coiled around them, keeping them both in place.

"I'm sorry, Dami," Lavinia muttered soothingly, refusing to look away from the pain in her son's eyes. Damian saw her, of course, and he felt the pain increase exponentially with every drop of his mother's blood passing his lips.

Boiling ice flowed through his veins as he felt his body reshaping itself every second, and now he couldn't even express his pain through screaming.

Yet, he didn't feel betrayed or angry. His trust in his mother was unconditional, but he still felt confused and fearful about what was happening. Fortunately, Lavinia realized this.

"You now have three bloodlines within you, Dami, but only one of them is awakened," she explained softly. "I need to even them out. I need to awaken the others and then balance them. But… you can't faint again. I know you're strong, Damian, so please stay awake for now, alright? I'll tell you when you can stop."

Of course, Damian had no idea what she was talking about, and his pain-wrecked mind only understood half of it, but one thing he did understand: he refused to look weak in front of his mother.

So, he gritted his teeth, figuratively, and held on. All his muscles tightened and spasmed in an endless cycle as the pain became his entire world. And yet, no matter how desperately his mind wanted to retreat into oblivion, he grasped his last shreds of consciousness and held on to them with everything he had.

More and more drops of boiling blood dripped down his throat, even as he groaned in pain. But, finally, some relief came when Lavinia pulled back her hand.

He wondered if it was over, but then she suddenly procured a vial of red substance and started emptying that over his lips instead, still speaking words of awakening.

Yet, this time, his pain didn't increase. In fact, he felt it lessen. Somehow, this new blood felt like a cooling salve rather than a death sentence. With every drop, he could feel the warring bloodlines inside him grow a little more complacent and accepting.

Unsurprisingly, he relished this feeling as the effort it took to stay awake became a little easier.

Finally, the vial was empty, and Lavinia sighed in relief that Damian had managed to stay awake. "Good job, Dami…" she whispered softly and with love, now caressing his dark hair. It's all over now. You can rest." Instantly, Damian let himself go and sank into the peaceful embrace of unconsciousness.

***

Anxious and worried, Lavinia looked down at her suffering son, who appeared to have gone catatonic. Yet, when she noticed the constant wriggling of his body actually started slowing down, a flicker of hope awoke inside her.

Putting a hand on his forehead, she channelled her myst through his body and checked his condition.

Meanwhile, Luna found herself finally able to move again. Previously, she'd been forced to watch as it looked like the man she loved was being tortured beyond what he was already suffering from now. Yet, now that it appeared whatever she did truly had helped him, she felt far more willing to cooperate.

"H— How's he doing…?" Luna asked nervously, tightly holding him in her arms as Lavinia performed her checkup.

Lavinia stayed silent as she worked. But eventually, she breathed a sigh of relief and took her hand off his forehead. "He's relatively stable… for now. He's suffering, and his body is going through a process no one has gone through in a long time, but he stands a chance now."

Luna, too, released breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, as a lot of tension left her body. "That's— that's good… That's really good."

Lavinia looked at her for a moment, before nodding as well, her expression unreadable. "Indeed it is. Now, hand him over. I need to get him back home as soon as possible. He's not out of the woods yet, and there I have the tools to help him."

Luna looked at Lavinia with an uncertain frown. She opened her mouth, but… couldn't think of a good reason not to give Damian to his mother. "Alright," she nodded, even while keeping a cautious eye on Lavinia.

She simply had no idea what this extremely powerful being was thinking, and that scared her more than anything. In the two years since she'd met Damian, her interactions with Lavinia had been minimal, but she knew this woman was fiercely maternal and protective.

Still, she gently handed over Damian's twitching body.

Yet, as soon as she did, Lavinia's eyes started to glow. "Good. Now, since you were clearly the cause of all this, and I'd prefer that whatever just happened remains a secret, I'll have to kill you. But since you brought him to me, I'll make it quick."

Luna's eyes widened. Overwhelming power gathered around her body, and she instinctively knew death was no more than a breath away. So, she blurted out the only thing she thought might save her.

"I'm pregnant!" Luna's voice cracked, the words tumbling out in a panicked rush.

***

For an unknown amount of time, Damian remained in a fugue state, where he occasionally returned to the conscious world to catch glimpses of his surroundings, only to quickly return to oblivion. Occasionally, he caught glimpses of vats, tubes, and medical equipment, as well as his mother's concerned face.

Meanwhile, Eryndor was not the only place where Damian's awakening caused a stir…