<span style="color: #FFFFBF">White listened carefully to Auxana as she talked, White knew very little about the world and how things were. But she knew a lot about Havoc. White tilted her head and was not confident in answering, but did so as best she could. "I can't tell you what love means to others, or what it should mean to you. I think that's something for you to discover, Daddy had to for himself as love meant something very different in the academy. But that's what I can tell you, what it means to him. To him it is not something that you have to feel back, there isn't something your supposed to do or say or even think about it." <br/><br/>She paused for a moment and then continued slowly. "When he said he loved you, he meant that he feels something for you above what he does for anyone else. That he puts your well being above anyone else's, including his own. That being around you makes him feel better than he ever has, and that he cares about you so much that nothing comes even close to what he thinks about you. But mainly he has this feeling he has in his soul that makes him want to be as close as possible to you, in mind, body, and soul. He feels better with you around, you complete him in a way. I know this because everything I know comes from him, and now you in some ways. I don't know if you love him, but I think I know what it would mean if you did. And I think you know it too, try thinking of living without him, does that feel okay to you? Or would it feel like you lost something close to you? Like being without a sword in combat." She hoped she said the right things, talking to someone was new to her and she didn't think she knew enough to answer questions like this, but she tried her best. Though she couldn't help but smile when Auxana said she felt a motherly love for her. "I love you too mommy."</span><br/><br/>Havoc was having a incredibly vivid dream about working a farm, he had partly studied agriculture and knew enough that his dream showed him expertly using his knowledge to thrive. But the dream wasn't about that, it was about being away from all the evils of the world with Auxana, and their daughter oddly enough. She was a beautiful child, with hair like Auxana and facial features similar to his. But in the dream Havoc could feel that there was something hidden, something lurking that was a danger to Auxana and White, his daughter, something he had to deal with.<br/><br/>So one day he told them that he was going to go on a hike for the day and would be back that night. He trudged off, heading to the woods nearby, heading to where he felt this danger was. As he got closer there was a fear that hit is heart, but this fear just made him more determined to take care of the problem before it hurt Auxana and White. He reached a swampy area, there was a heavy mist that just increased the already eerie atmosphere. Suddenly he started feeling dizzy, then flashes of something came, an older version of Auxana was there, being stabbed by a giant blade, everything was blurry and he couldn't concentrate, he tried to stumble to her but he never got closer. It played over and over again, it tormenting him more and more each time, he screamed.<br/><br/>Then he heard a chorus of unearthly voices, somehow he felt them speaking through his magic. "You can save her, you have a gift, embrace the power. Feel the magical core, tap into it's energy, see the world anew." Just then Havoc could feel something, there was an intense power at the center of the world, no not the world, at the center of everything. It was dangerous, he knew this instinctively, no mortal was meant to touch such power. His daughter appeared beside him. "You can't do anything for her like this, to defeat a god, you must become a god. But there will be consequences." He didn't care, whatever it was he would deal with it, for Auxana, that's what love meant.<br/><br/>Havoc reached his own magic out to the energy, he only just barely touched. Then he screamed in intense pain as an onrush of power filled him, it was overwhelming, he couldn't hope to control all of this, it was tearing him apart and he would soon be dead. Through the magic he did see everything differently, he could see the fabric of the universe, it was beautiful, there was no knowledge hidden from him. He could see easily into the future, time was no longer linear to him. He saw Auxana facing the god with the blade, he steeled himself, if he was to die, he had to save Auxana first. Using his rage he focused this magic towards the god, all the way through time and space itself. The god tried to stand against it but they had no hope against the ancient magic of the universe. Havoc then fell to the ground, Auxana was safe, he could die now, he was ready. The magic started to consume him, his flesh disintegrated, his soul was all that remained, and then he exploded in a devastating magical blast that shook the whole world.<br/><br/>Havoc woke up suddenly, he wasn't dead, he was still in Auxana's arms, it was just a dream. Yet it felt so real to him, all of it felt possible, he hoped he was wrong, but he would gladly make that sacrifice for Auxana. He didn't move afraid of waking up the now sleeping Auxana. He felt strangely at ease, like he could handle anything that might come their way.<span style="color: #FFFFBF">White gasped while seeing Havoc's dream, she knew that the consequences of his touching the magical core in the dream were probably accurate if not underplayed. How could he have known about it at all? Could he really harness that power, she knew Havoc was capable of a lot, but that? That was beyond even the powers of the gods, the Demaculous might be capable, but it was not something they played around with. Even she knew that, the magical core was off limits, period. </span><br/><br/>___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br/><br/>The others in the caravan thought Norah was crazy, even if she could handle Kryban, making that fight a possibility seemed insane. Kryban was focused on her last name, he had heard it before, he was sure of it. Not heard but actually read it somewhere, but he couldn't place where or what was said about it. Torusk might recall better, as they were both scholars and shared anything interesting they found with each other. He shook himself back to reality, he didn't share Norah's confidence, not that she couldn't fight him off, he didn't know. But what about the psychic trance Vampires can inflict on others, if his blood lust became so extreme that he used all of his abilities on her, would she even try to stop him? It didn't matter, he didn't want to ever lose control, not even partly like before. Having to fight such a strong desire to hurt someone he liked was not okay.<br/><br/>Everyone who had stood up sat back down, though the younger vampire sat next to Kryban. He spoke with aged wisdom despite looking so young. "That was remarkable Kryban, in the many decades I've been a vampire I've never seen someone not used to pure blood fight the addiction so well." He looked to Norah. "Especially since I think you're right child, your blood smelled even more alluring than that of most creatures. I really did expect to have to wrestle him off of you." He then nodded back to Kryban. "Bravo my progeny, I am deeply impressed." Kryban smiled and decided that introductions were due. "Norah, meet my Sire, Carmichael, he's the one who turned me into a vampire. And I'm just glad everything turned out alright, also thank you again Norah, I do feel better." He smiled kindly at her, but inside he was having these odd conflicting feelings.<br/><br/>For one he was feeling like he had to protect her with all his might, right now, which was odd as there was no threat to fight. He was thinking that she was being fairly adorable, which oddly made him want to take on the world for her. Of course wanting to do the right things for people came naturally. But doing the wrong or conflicted thing for someone, like becoming a vampire for his family, did not. He only felt like doing something that was not the obviously right thing to do for people he loved. He felt like he would do something wrong to protect Norah, they weren't in situation that demanded that, but still he felt like he would if it arose.<br/><br/>But why? He just met her, though she did offer her life blood to him, something he did not take lightly. She also had a personality that he really liked, she felt like someone he should protect. But none of that made what he was feeling make sense. Could it be the fact he drank some of her blood, no, he didn't believe that. Whatever the reason, he didn't like it, they were still practically strangers to each other, it took him a while to feel this way for his ex-wife, in fact it was when she became pregnant that he felt that way. He tried to bury these feelings, even if he did know Norah for longer and still felt this way, he was not ready to jump into another relationship, he couldn't handle being hurt again.