Part 4
A blonde haired woman rushed into the meeting room, her arms full of books and scrolls. She looked at the sigil, now clearly marked warning people against touching it, and nearly dropped them. Carefully setting down the pile of books on a table, she rushed over to the sigil.
"This is exquisite! What is this?" She said, marvelling at it from behind her round glasses.
"Don't touch it Sarah. It already killed one student." Taenya said flatly, arms crossed. "See what I have to deal with?"
Neptis nodded sagely. "Mortals never learn, do they?" She said.
"Oh, who are you?" Sarah asked. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Professor Shotbolt, Head of Divine Magic."
"Neptis, don't." Taenya said, motioning for Neptis to keep quiet. Neptis grinned in response, and simply bowed. "This woman is Lady Neptis, Goddess of War."
Sarah's eyes turned as wide as dinner plates upon realizing she was face to face with a God. "Of course! I was too focused, yes I see it now, the aura. It's definitely divine. Well, welcome to The University!" Sarah said, bowing.
"My successor is very scatterbrained, Taenya. I don't approve." Neptis said, arms crossed.
"She makes up for it in skill, my Lady." Lutz answered.
Neptis snorted in response, a puff of black smoke coming out of her nostrils. "I know I wasn't Professor material either, but we shall see. Now, Miss Shotbolt, take a seat."
Sarah looked up and saw a circle of chairs around a large table had already been prepared, and the remaining students in the room were already moving her books to it.
"Oh? What's this about?" Sarah asked as she made her way over to the table.
"It's about the school of magic I used to cast that sigil, mortal." Neptis said, her air of superiority back, and her voices echoing heavily. "It did not exist until my second birth, it is the school of Blood Magic."
"A new school of magic? Fantastic! Tell me more! Wait, I need my pen first!" Sarah said excitedly, reaching into her shirt and pulling out a pen from seemingly nowhere.
Neptis spoke at length for nearly an hour on the concepts of how the school of magic works, how to cast spells with it, recommended reagents, possible pitfalls to avoid, and more. Using the sigil she had carved on the floor as an example, she filled it up the rest of the way with more blood, the source of which she declined to share. Once it was full, the sigil shone brighter than the noontime sun, before disappearing, leaving the floor unmarked.
"What was the purpose of the sigil, Neptis?" Taenya asked.
"I harvested that blood. It's a part of me now, it fuels my divine fire." Neptis said, her eyes faintly glowing. It was at this point Taenya realized Neptis's eyes were no longer piercing blue, but were bloodshot with red irises.
"Did that student really have to die?" Headmaster Lutz asked, a tinge of sadness in his voice.
"He's not dead." Neptis answered, much to the shock of everyone present in the room.
"He's what?" Taenya asked.
"His soul is detained. Behold, the power of a God!" Neptis shouted, the windows shaking. She grabbed her quarterstaff, slammed it on the ground and the student appeared where she hit the floor, standing up and quite alive, and quite confused. "It's not that I couldn't have claimed his soul, were I inclined. Far from it. It's that Eigengrau would have been quite mad." Neptis smiled, and revealed her blood filled mouth, blood oozing from between her teeth.
"Whatever the reason, I thank you, Lady Neptis." Lutz replied, bowing. "The death of one student is one too many."
"Hmph. If only Demeter had been more like you." Neptis said, remembering an old memory. "He was far too obsessed with progress at any cost."
"He was like you in many ways, Neptis." Taenya said, smirking. "It's why you got along with him."
Neptis laughed sharply. "Perhaps! There's one other person I wish to see before I leave. Where's the lizard?"
"The reports from my Rangers say he hasn't left his tower since he spotted you this morning." Taenya offered, gesturing towards Xilro's tower. "I think he might be afraid."