after they realized it wasn’t working the way it was supposed to?”
“They certainly tried. Upon seeing their misstep, they immediately tried to rectify it with another spell that aimed to expel the reanimated ones from our world and send them back into the Hell from which they were believed to have come.”
“So what happened?”
“Well, it didn’t work,” he said callously. “Undoing a spell is not a simple deed, Jemma. Once you create something, you have conjured a new reality. You cannot simply tap into a magical undo button. What you have created now exists, therefore you must work with that new reality, and it isn’t always easy to do.”
“Right. And since vampires are still around today, obviously they weren’t able to do anything about it.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true. Most of the initial spells went awry in one way or another, though many of them are also responsible for the Revenant as we know them today.”
“Is that supposed to be a good thing?” I snorted as flashes of my terrifying attack bouncing around in my consciousness.
“Well, yes. For one, they can be killed now. However difficult it may be, they’re not indestructible the way First Immortals were. For another, they no longer have free reign over this realm as they once did, further hindering their survival.”
“What does that mean, they don’t have free reign?”
“Well, quite simply, they have restrictions now. Supernatural barriers that inhibit them. As long as they have these vulnerabilities, they can be exploited.”
“Exploited how?” I asked and then said the first thing that came to mind. “Like with garlic and holy stuff?”
“Holy stu—good grief, Jemma.” He did a double take as though I were the village idiot. “Apotropaic symbols can be useful in certain instances, though they should never be depended upon. There are many more layers to their evolution; crucial confines that shaped their very existence.”
“Their susceptibility to wood, for example,” he said, flicking down a finger, “could disable a Revenant instantly if driven through the heart, and their curse into darkness forced them to hunt only with the moon. They could no longer enter dwellings without a summon, which kept them out of homes and away from families. Even their inability to hold dominion over other supernaturals helped because it prevented them from exploiting powerful beings like the Anakim, and potentially achieving ultimate reign. All of these things were helpful in containing them, even getting an upper hand at times, though it certainly did not resolve the calamity.”
Of course not . “So what did they do?”
“Well, they kept at it,” he nodded. “And while they did eventually eradicate most of the Firsts , unfortunately, by that time it was simply too late. The ripple had begun. The reanimated had since infected hundreds of others, and it appeared that those who were infected directly had already become something different—something entirely separate and unaffected by the magic that had created their Makers.”
He shook his head, ceded, as though he were somehow responsible. “And with that, a new breed was born, one that sat on the very crown of our Chain of Life, and sadly, there was nothing more the Casters or their magic could do. What was done, was done, and the rest is history. The Roman Empire eventually prevailed, and King Decebalus, unable to live with what he had done, killed himself shortly after.”
“So that’s it?” I snapped in disbelief. “Everyone just moved on, did nothing? Let the vampires continue multiplying freely?” I was unable to quell my anger. This was personal in so many ways.
“Certainly not,” he said, looking outside the window as we made our way through the gates of the Blackburn Estate. “All things have their counterpart, Jemma, and evil is no exception. What nature cannot provide for, we create.”
“Okay, good, so...what does that mean?” I asked as I
“They certainly tried. Upon seeing their misstep, they immediately tried to rectify it with another spell that aimed to expel the reanimated ones from our world and send them back into the Hell from which they were believed to have come.”
“So what happened?”
“Well, it didn’t work,” he said callously. “Undoing a spell is not a simple deed, Jemma. Once you create something, you have conjured a new reality. You cannot simply tap into a magical undo button. What you have created now exists, therefore you must work with that new reality, and it isn’t always easy to do.”
“Right. And since vampires are still around today, obviously they weren’t able to do anything about it.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true. Most of the initial spells went awry in one way or another, though many of them are also responsible for the Revenant as we know them today.”
“Is that supposed to be a good thing?” I snorted as flashes of my terrifying attack bouncing around in my consciousness.
“Well, yes. For one, they can be killed now. However difficult it may be, they’re not indestructible the way First Immortals were. For another, they no longer have free reign over this realm as they once did, further hindering their survival.”
“What does that mean, they don’t have free reign?”
“Well, quite simply, they have restrictions now. Supernatural barriers that inhibit them. As long as they have these vulnerabilities, they can be exploited.”
“Exploited how?” I asked and then said the first thing that came to mind. “Like with garlic and holy stuff?”
“Holy stu—good grief, Jemma.” He did a double take as though I were the village idiot. “Apotropaic symbols can be useful in certain instances, though they should never be depended upon. There are many more layers to their evolution; crucial confines that shaped their very existence.”
“Their susceptibility to wood, for example,” he said, flicking down a finger, “could disable a Revenant instantly if driven through the heart, and their curse into darkness forced them to hunt only with the moon. They could no longer enter dwellings without a summon, which kept them out of homes and away from families. Even their inability to hold dominion over other supernaturals helped because it prevented them from exploiting powerful beings like the Anakim, and potentially achieving ultimate reign. All of these things were helpful in containing them, even getting an upper hand at times, though it certainly did not resolve the calamity.”
Of course not . “So what did they do?”
“Well, they kept at it,” he nodded. “And while they did eventually eradicate most of the Firsts , unfortunately, by that time it was simply too late. The ripple had begun. The reanimated had since infected hundreds of others, and it appeared that those who were infected directly had already become something different—something entirely separate and unaffected by the magic that had created their Makers.”
He shook his head, ceded, as though he were somehow responsible. “And with that, a new breed was born, one that sat on the very crown of our Chain of Life, and sadly, there was nothing more the Casters or their magic could do. What was done, was done, and the rest is history. The Roman Empire eventually prevailed, and King Decebalus, unable to live with what he had done, killed himself shortly after.”
“So that’s it?” I snapped in disbelief. “Everyone just moved on, did nothing? Let the vampires continue multiplying freely?” I was unable to quell my anger. This was personal in so many ways.
“Certainly not,” he said, looking outside the window as we made our way through the gates of the Blackburn Estate. “All things have their counterpart, Jemma, and evil is no exception. What nature cannot provide for, we create.”
“Okay, good, so...what does that mean?” I asked as I
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