Chapter 451: A Bloody Diet
The Celestial Shrine’s acolytes moved with deft silence, placing plate after plate of steaming food on the table for the two guests. A few of the acolytes were eager to ask the War Master a multitude of questions; ranging from the simple, like was there a particular dish he preferred? To the more complicated, like what was it like to meet the Mother Moon? But the cold atmosphere in the room stopped them from daring to utter a single syllable.
The War Master seemed calm, regal, his lilac eyes shifting only a fraction as they walked past him. His expression was unreadable, like the still surface of a pond. Whereas Lunae’s Chosen was cool and collected, the woman sitting across the table from him emanated a fiery rage. Her amber eyes burned with anger and her glare sent the acolytes who stepped too close scurrying away. The stories of the dangers of orcs all seemed to be true.
Once the food and the table were set, the eldest of the acolytes took a shaky step forward and tried her best to keep her voice from trembling. “W-War Master…? May we, um, may we help you with anything else?”
He glanced at her and smiled politely. “No, this is fine, thank you.”
The acolyte nodded with a smile and turned to the other guest. “Um, Katag was it? Is there anything else we may help you with?”
Tauri’s glare slowly turned on her. “...No.”
The acolyte paled and bowed her head while backing away. “I-If you’ll excuse us, we’ll leave you both to your meal.”
The door slammed shut behind the retreating acolytes, leaving the guests alone. The silent tension was almost palpable but Stryg didn’t seem to notice. He grabbed the nearest plate of roasted venison and began to dig in.
“...So you can eat meat with no problem,” Tauri noted with an annoyed tone to her voice.
“I can eat anything without any problem. Actually,” he put his fork down. “Spicy foods were troublesome at first, but I’ve gotten used to them.”
“Well, if you’re such a ‘culinary enthusiast’ why don’t you go ahead and drink someone else’s blood?”
“Culinary…? I don’t know what that means.”
Tauri crossed her arms. “It means I’m not giving you a drop of my blood.”
“Oh… You’re not being sarcastic, are you?”
She sighed irritably, “No, Stryg, I’m not.”
“Hm. Okay.” He nodded lightly and went back to eating.
Tauri furrowed her brow. “Wait, that’s it?”
“What do you mean?” he asked innocently.
“You’re not gonna try to convince me? Hold me down and forcefully take my blood? Wait—” Tauri wrapped her arms around herself and looked at him worriedly, “You’re not going to sneak into my bed while I sleep and bite my neck?”
Stryg cocked his eyebrow. “You’ve been listening to Plum’s stories too much.”
Tauri threw her arms up. “What else am I supposed to do when we’re traveling through the woods? She never stops talking even when I tell her to shut up.”
“Uh-huh. Last I recall you were the asking her to finish the tale of the ‘Tormented Vampire & the Lonesome Milkmaid.’”
“How else were we supposed to pass the time at the campfire?” she said defensively.
He smirked. “Mhm.”
“Okay, fine, don’t tell Plum this but she’s a decent storyteller, save for the part where most of her stories end up being very lewd…”
“Yeah, I thought she could work on the realism of those parts a bit.”
“What do you mean?” Tauri asked.e
“When the vampire bit the milkmaid’s breast while she slept Plum said he loved it so much that he kept going back and biting the same spot every night.”
“Okay, besides Plum’s abnormal obsession with big tits in her stories, what’s your point?”
“Well, a vampire would never do that. Sure, the venom that secretes from their fangs promotes coagulation but it doesn’t outright heal the wound. If he kept biting the milkmaid’s tit like that it would end up infected or worse, she’d die.” Stryg shook his head, “If he really was so obsessed with her bust and nothing more like the story goes, than what he’d need to do is alternate between the breasts at the very least, which shouldn’t be hard since the milkmaid has, as Plum put it, ‘~huuuge breasts~’. Honestly, the smart thing to do would have been feeding on different people altogether, especially on areas like the neck or the thighs which have more blood.”
“Is that right…?” Tauri asked in a cold quiet voice.
“Yeah,” Stryg nodded, oblivious to the shift in her tone. “Now, if the vampire was a white mage it would have been much simpler. He could easily mend the wounds after he was done and help promote blood replenishment in the milkmaid’s body. Those spells can be tricky to master, but it wasn’t that difficult to learn—”
Stryg suddenly noticed the cold furious glare in Tauri’s eyes. He laughed shakily, “I mean, I was just thinking about the whole thing out of boredom, purely conjecture.”
“You know a lot about this sorta thing. How many women have you drank blood from?”
He coughed, “I mean, I’ve spent a lot of time at House Gale’s manor. I’ve learned a lot about their eating habits.”
“How many, Stryg?”
He shrugged nervously, “Who is to say? I’ve had bloodwine many times, especially when I was training at the Gale manor. I don’t know how many women or men had their blood drained to make those bottles.”
Tauri narrowed her eyes. “You know what I mean, Stryg.”
“...Two— wait, no, three,” he blurted.
“And who were they?”
“Feli, of course.”
“Of course,” she said in a strangely calm voice.
“Maeve as well.”
“Who?”
“A friend of mine, well, I guess we’re a bit more than friends. Maeve Mora.”
“Mora? You’re sleeping with a merchant princess? Since when—? You know, what. No, I don’t care. Who was the last?”
“Oh, some orc from the Commoner District. She led this drow gang that caused trouble to people who were very important to me.”
“Did you kill her?”
“Obviously.”
“There was no one else?”
“Um, there was one time this thing with these two pretty orcs. Loh got me very drunk and I don’t really know what happened…”
Tauri frowned. “You don’t know?”
He smiled wryly, “When I woke up the next morning they had a lot of bite marks. There was some blood on the blankets too…”
“Did you at least heal them afterwards?”
“I didn’t know any white magic back then.”
“Wait, you didn’t just leave them like that, did you?”
Stryg blinked. “Uh…”
Tauri’s eyes widened in horror. “Don’t tell me you killed them?”
“No, of course not. I left the room as soon as I woke up. They’re fine… probably.”
Tauri sunk back in her chair and sighed deeply. “Sometimes I forget how vicious you can be.” She shook her head and began to eat her food.
“Wait, you’re not angry?”
“Why would I be angry? It’s not like we’re in a relationship. What you do in your private time is your own business,” she said apathetically.
“But you just asked me—”
“That was for my sister. If anything I should be angry for her, she’s your fiancé.”
“I already told you I’m going to break that engagement when I see your parents again.”
“Even more reason why I don’t care what you do.”
“...Right,” he winced.
“Mm.” Tauri grunted and kept eating in silence.
Stryg sighed, pushed his food aside, and stood up from the table.
“Where are you going?” Tauri asked.
“I’m hungry, but this food won’t do.”
“So, you’re going to drink the blood from a deer after all?”
“Nah, I’m just going to ask Plum.”
“Wait, what?” Tauri frowned, “You can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“‘Cause Plum would never let you drink her blood.”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask.”
Tauri bit her lip angrily “....Ugh, fine!” she groaned. “Just a sip.”
“Huh?”
Tauri blushed frustratingly. “You can drink a bit of my blood, just leave Plum alone.”
Stryg broke into a smile, “So you do care.”
“Shut up, before I change my mind.”
He walked over and pulled up a chair next to her. “You know, for what it counts, I’d hate it if someone else drank your blood…” he admitted.
Tauri looked at him carefully, “And what if someone already has?”
“What?” Stryg’s pupils narrowed to thin slits. “Who?”
“No one, I just wanted to see how you’d react,” she smirked.
He frowned. “Haha, very funny.”
She leaned on the table with her elbow, rested her chin on her hand, and stared at his face. “You know, you’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“Is that right…?” He leaned forward slowly.
When he was a few inches from her face, she whispered. “So how are we going to do this?”
Stryg’s eyes drifted down to her small but perky breasts.
Tauri glared at him, “You’re not going to bite my boobs.”
“N-Never dreamed of it. What about the shoulder?”
“Hm… that’s more normal, I guess.” She nodded reluctantly and pulled down her tunic a tad, revealing the scarlet bare skin of her shoulder.
Stryg tried to lean over, but the table’s corner blocked him. “I can’t reach… Maybe if you got closer?”
She looked at him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
He patted his thighs. “If you sit like this, it would be easier for the both of us.”
“How would that be easier for me?”
“Well, people usually feel lightheaded after having their blood drunk. You could tip over and fall. I’d catch you.”
“Uh-huh,” she said skeptically. “Because you’d be too slow to catch me otherwise?”
“Exactly,” he nodded several times.
Tauri shook her head and stood up. She sauntered over and while facing him, gradually sat down on his thighs. She wrapped her legs around him and rested her hands on his shoulders. “Is that better?”
“Much,” he whispered excitedly.
She cracked a small smile. “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?”
Stryg slipped his hands under her shirt and rested his hands on her waist. He leaned into her, opened his mouth wide, and slowly bit down on her bare shoulder with his small fangs. Tauri gasped and grimaced in pain as his teeth ripped into her skin, drawing blood. She reflexively tried to push him away but his jaw did not budge.
“S-Stop…!” she gasped weakly.
The sweet taste of blood filled Stryg’s mouth as the crimson liquid trickled down his throat. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t drunk blood in a long time or perhaps he simply had a taste for orcish blood, either way, Tauri’s voice didn’t reach his ears and he soon lost himself in the exquisite sweetness of her blood.
Tauri’s gasps weakened and became ragged breaths. Her body grew hot and a haze overcame her consciousness. Some small part of her mind warned her of the mental effects of vampiric venom on their victims, but it was soon drowned out by the pleasure emanating from her neck. Gone was the pain, all that was left was a sweet burning sensation that reverberated through her body.
She moaned softly. Her clouded mind didn’t want him to stop, she wanted him to drink every last drop of her blood. Strength left her body and she felt herself falling off the chair. Stryg pulled her back and let her weight fall over him, all the while never letting go of her bleeding shoulder.
Gone were any coherent thoughts, all he wanted was to devour the sweet pleasure in front of him. His hands reached down past her waist and cupped her wide round butt. They were soft yet firm and he squeezed them tight. He swallowed her delicious blood and began to suck greedily, wanting more and more.
Suddenly an ice-cold feeling bloomed across his chest and shook him from the heat of the moment. Stryg loosened his jaw and lifted his head back. He blinked several times and breathed in slowly. The hungry haze faded from his mind and he looked at Tauri worriedly. Her amber eyes were glazed over and saliva drooled from the corner of her lips.
It felt difficult to think straight, but Stryg focused as much of his will as he could. White mana flowed into his hands and he quickly sealed the wound on her neck. Her expression was still distant and her breath shallow. Stryg pulled her into his embrace and held her quietly as both of them gradually recovered.
Frostbird https://discord.gg/uYqw7R6SKz
If you liked the chapter please leave a like, if there is something else you are interested in knowing about the lore, or if you have any questions, remarks, or just want to say hi drop a comment below!
Check out the glossary for more info on characters, lore, magic, and more!
Chapter 451: A Bloody Diet
The Celestial Shrine’s acolytes moved with deft silence, placing plate after plate of steaming food on the table for the two guests. A few of the acolytes were eager to ask the War Master a multitude of questions; ranging from the simple, like was there a particular dish he preferred? To the more complicated, like what was it like to meet the Mother Moon? But the cold atmosphere in the room stopped them from daring to utter a single syllable.
The War Master seemed calm, regal, his lilac eyes shifting only a fraction as they walked past him. His expression was unreadable, like the still surface of a pond. Whereas Lunae’s Chosen was cool and collected, the woman sitting across the table from him emanated a fiery rage. Her amber eyes burned with anger and her glare sent the acolytes who stepped too close scurrying away. The stories of the dangers of orcs all seemed to be true.
Once the food and the table were set, the eldest of the acolytes took a shaky step forward and tried her best to keep her voice from trembling. “W-War Master…? May we, um, may we help you with anything else?”
He glanced at her and smiled politely. “No, this is fine, thank you.”
The acolyte nodded with a smile and turned to the other guest. “Um, Katag was it? Is there anything else we may help you with?”
Tauri’s glare slowly turned on her. “...No.”
The acolyte paled and bowed her head while backing away. “I-If you’ll excuse us, we’ll leave you both to your meal.”
The door slammed shut behind the retreating acolytes, leaving the guests alone. The silent tension was almost palpable but Stryg didn’t seem to notice. He grabbed the nearest plate of roasted venison and began to dig in.
“...So you can eat meat with no problem,” Tauri noted with an annoyed tone to her voice.
“I can eat anything without any problem. Actually,” he put his fork down. “Spicy foods were troublesome at first, but I’ve gotten used to them.”
“Well, if you’re such a ‘culinary enthusiast’ why don’t you go ahead and drink someone else’s blood?”
“Culinary…? I don’t know what that means.”
Tauri crossed her arms. “It means I’m not giving you a drop of my blood.”
“Oh… You’re not being sarcastic, are you?”
She sighed irritably, “No, Stryg, I’m not.”
“Hm. Okay.” He nodded lightly and went back to eating.
Tauri furrowed her brow. “Wait, that’s it?”
“What do you mean?” he asked innocently.
“You’re not gonna try to convince me? Hold me down and forcefully take my blood? Wait—” Tauri wrapped her arms around herself and looked at him worriedly, “You’re not going to sneak into my bed while I sleep and bite my neck?”
Stryg cocked his eyebrow. “You’ve been listening to Plum’s stories too much.”
Tauri threw her arms up. “What else am I supposed to do when we’re traveling through the woods? She never stops talking even when I tell her to shut up.”
“Uh-huh. Last I recall you were the asking her to finish the tale of the ‘Tormented Vampire & the Lonesome Milkmaid.’”
“How else were we supposed to pass the time at the campfire?” she said defensively.
He smirked. “Mhm.”
“Okay, fine, don’t tell Plum this but she’s a decent storyteller, save for the part where most of her stories end up being very lewd…”
“Yeah, I thought she could work on the realism of those parts a bit.”
“What do you mean?” Tauri asked.e
“When the vampire bit the milkmaid’s breast while she slept Plum said he loved it so much that he kept going back and biting the same spot every night.”
“Okay, besides Plum’s abnormal obsession with big tits in her stories, what’s your point?”
“Well, a vampire would never do that. Sure, the venom that secretes from their fangs promotes coagulation but it doesn’t outright heal the wound. If he kept biting the milkmaid’s tit like that it would end up infected or worse, she’d die.” Stryg shook his head, “If he really was so obsessed with her bust and nothing more like the story goes, than what he’d need to do is alternate between the breasts at the very least, which shouldn’t be hard since the milkmaid has, as Plum put it, ‘~huuuge breasts~’. Honestly, the smart thing to do would have been feeding on different people altogether, especially on areas like the neck or the thighs which have more blood.”
“Is that right…?” Tauri asked in a cold quiet voice.
“Yeah,” Stryg nodded, oblivious to the shift in her tone. “Now, if the vampire was a white mage it would have been much simpler. He could easily mend the wounds after he was done and help promote blood replenishment in the milkmaid’s body. Those spells can be tricky to master, but it wasn’t that difficult to learn—”
Stryg suddenly noticed the cold furious glare in Tauri’s eyes. He laughed shakily, “I mean, I was just thinking about the whole thing out of boredom, purely conjecture.”
“You know a lot about this sorta thing. How many women have you drank blood from?”
He coughed, “I mean, I’ve spent a lot of time at House Gale’s manor. I’ve learned a lot about their eating habits.”
“How many, Stryg?”
He shrugged nervously, “Who is to say? I’ve had bloodwine many times, especially when I was training at the Gale manor. I don’t know how many women or men had their blood drained to make those bottles.”
Tauri narrowed her eyes. “You know what I mean, Stryg.”
“...Two— wait, no, three,” he blurted.
“And who were they?”
“Feli, of course.”
“Of course,” she said in a strangely calm voice.
“Maeve as well.”
“Who?”
“A friend of mine, well, I guess we’re a bit more than friends. Maeve Mora.”
“Mora? You’re sleeping with a merchant princess? Since when—? You know, what. No, I don’t care. Who was the last?”
“Oh, some orc from the Commoner District. She led this drow gang that caused trouble to people who were very important to me.”
“Did you kill her?”
“Obviously.”
“There was no one else?”
“Um, there was one time this thing with these two pretty orcs. Loh got me very drunk and I don’t really know what happened…”
Tauri frowned. “You don’t know?”
He smiled wryly, “When I woke up the next morning they had a lot of bite marks. There was some blood on the blankets too…”
“Did you at least heal them afterwards?”
“I didn’t know any white magic back then.”
“Wait, you didn’t just leave them like that, did you?”
Stryg blinked. “Uh…”
Tauri’s eyes widened in horror. “Don’t tell me you killed them?”
“No, of course not. I left the room as soon as I woke up. They’re fine… probably.”
Tauri sunk back in her chair and sighed deeply. “Sometimes I forget how vicious you can be.” She shook her head and began to eat her food.
“Wait, you’re not angry?”
“Why would I be angry? It’s not like we’re in a relationship. What you do in your private time is your own business,” she said apathetically.
“But you just asked me—”
“That was for my sister. If anything I should be angry for her, she’s your fiancé.”
“I already told you I’m going to break that engagement when I see your parents again.”
“Even more reason why I don’t care what you do.”
“...Right,” he winced.
“Mm.” Tauri grunted and kept eating in silence.
Stryg sighed, pushed his food aside, and stood up from the table.
“Where are you going?” Tauri asked.
“I’m hungry, but this food won’t do.”
“So, you’re going to drink the blood from a deer after all?”
“Nah, I’m just going to ask Plum.”
“Wait, what?” Tauri frowned, “You can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“‘Cause Plum would never let you drink her blood.”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask.”
Tauri bit her lip angrily “....Ugh, fine!” she groaned. “Just a sip.”
“Huh?”
Tauri blushed frustratingly. “You can drink a bit of my blood, just leave Plum alone.”
Stryg broke into a smile, “So you do care.”
“Shut up, before I change my mind.”
He walked over and pulled up a chair next to her. “You know, for what it counts, I’d hate it if someone else drank your blood…” he admitted.
Tauri looked at him carefully, “And what if someone already has?”
“What?” Stryg’s pupils narrowed to thin slits. “Who?”
“No one, I just wanted to see how you’d react,” she smirked.
He frowned. “Haha, very funny.”
She leaned on the table with her elbow, rested her chin on her hand, and stared at his face. “You know, you’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“Is that right…?” He leaned forward slowly.
When he was a few inches from her face, she whispered. “So how are we going to do this?”
Stryg’s eyes drifted down to her small but perky breasts.
Tauri glared at him, “You’re not going to bite my boobs.”
“N-Never dreamed of it. What about the shoulder?”
“Hm… that’s more normal, I guess.” She nodded reluctantly and pulled down her tunic a tad, revealing the scarlet bare skin of her shoulder.
Stryg tried to lean over, but the table’s corner blocked him. “I can’t reach… Maybe if you got closer?”
She looked at him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
He patted his thighs. “If you sit like this, it would be easier for the both of us.”
“How would that be easier for me?”
“Well, people usually feel lightheaded after having their blood drunk. You could tip over and fall. I’d catch you.”
“Uh-huh,” she said skeptically. “Because you’d be too slow to catch me otherwise?”
“Exactly,” he nodded several times.
Tauri shook her head and stood up. She sauntered over and while facing him, gradually sat down on his thighs. She wrapped her legs around him and rested her hands on his shoulders. “Is that better?”
“Much,” he whispered excitedly.
She cracked a small smile. “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?”
Stryg slipped his hands under her shirt and rested his hands on her waist. He leaned into her, opened his mouth wide, and slowly bit down on her bare shoulder with his small fangs. Tauri gasped and grimaced in pain as his teeth ripped into her skin, drawing blood. She reflexively tried to push him away but his jaw did not budge.
“S-Stop…!” she gasped weakly.
The sweet taste of blood filled Stryg’s mouth as the crimson liquid trickled down his throat. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t drunk blood in a long time or perhaps he simply had a taste for orcish blood, either way, Tauri’s voice didn’t reach his ears and he soon lost himself in the exquisite sweetness of her blood.
Tauri’s gasps weakened and became ragged breaths. Her body grew hot and a haze overcame her consciousness. Some small part of her mind warned her of the mental effects of vampiric venom on their victims, but it was soon drowned out by the pleasure emanating from her neck. Gone was the pain, all that was left was a sweet burning sensation that reverberated through her body.
She moaned softly. Her clouded mind didn’t want him to stop, she wanted him to drink every last drop of her blood. Strength left her body and she felt herself falling off the chair. Stryg pulled her back and let her weight fall over him, all the while never letting go of her bleeding shoulder.
Gone were any coherent thoughts, all he wanted was to devour the sweet pleasure in front of him. His hands reached down past her waist and cupped her wide round butt. They were soft yet firm and he squeezed them tight. He swallowed her delicious blood and began to suck greedily, wanting more and more.
Suddenly an ice-cold feeling bloomed across his chest and shook him from the heat of the moment. Stryg loosened his jaw and lifted his head back. He blinked several times and breathed in slowly. The hungry haze faded from his mind and he looked at Tauri worriedly. Her amber eyes were glazed over and saliva drooled from the corner of her lips.
It felt difficult to think straight, but Stryg focused as much of his will as he could. White mana flowed into his hands and he quickly sealed the wound on her neck. Her expression was still distant and her breath shallow. Stryg pulled her into his embrace and held her quietly as both of them gradually recovered.
Frostbird https://discord.gg/uYqw7R6SKz
If you liked the chapter please leave a like, if there is something else you are interested in knowing about the lore, or if you have any questions, remarks, or just want to say hi drop a comment below!
Check out the glossary for more info on characters, lore, magic, and more!
