It was unfortunate that by the time Steria and Ashara had returned with the criminals the night of the full moon had already passed, but I wasn't about to wait an entire month just for some extra power to grant to the horses. In the end I simply did the ritual the same night they were captured.
Aside from the three who were worth a money, the rest were tied to stone pillars upside down, there heads forcibly bent back to allow for easy cutting and bloodflow into the stone channels that made up the ritual circle. Some of them had already ceased to struggle, accepting their fate, but the majority were still squirming, making muffled sounds of resistance from behind the silken gags sealing their mouths.
Arya and Renae were in the carriage, not wanting to witness the gruesome sight that was about to take place. Steria was used to bloodshed, and even if the method was cruel, criminals were worse than monsters in her eyes. Ashara on the other hand didn't have value any life besides those she cared for, she had killed and even eaten humans before, so this was nothing more killing livestock to her.
As such, the two of them helped me cut the throats of all the criminals at the same time, just as the moon reached its zenith. Horrific sounds of gurgling and struggle ensued as the criminals flailed about while the lifeblood drained from them and poured into the ritual circle. At the same time, I killed the two warhorses, it was necessary that they be corpses for the ritual, and the fresher the better.
As the blood flowed to completely fill the circle I began to recite a chant from the black book while channeling my mana in the specified manner. A harsh wind began to blow, as black smoke began to emanate from all the corpses, drifting into the center just above the horses. The blood suddenly ignited as if it were oil, but with the same purple-black flames of my Yinfire rather than normal flames. I was somewhat worried with the flashy appearance of this ritual, but I had already started so it was too late to turn back, so I continued to chant while focusing and manipulating the dark and sinister mana that was beginning to build in the area.
Doing as the book instructed I walked into the circle and used thread to cut open my palm and prevent the wound from healing too quick as my dark purple ichor dripped upon the horses, expanding as it began to envelop them the wispy black smoke and Yinfire merging with the two bloody blobs, as if they were being sucked in until the area was devoid of anything but myself and the viscous blobs that were slowly taking the shape of horses once again.
All that was left was to wait, however as I finished the active part of the ritual and the tension left my body I suddenly felt very drained, both of mana and of my life force, not enough that it would be deadly but I was unable to remain standing as I sunk to my knees, my entire body weak. The book had stated that the ritual was for five mid-tier casters, and I figured that was about the same as with Renae's ritual, yet this one had been far more exhausting.
Upon seeing me on my knees, both Steria and Ashara had rushed up to me, concerned that I had over done it, though I assured them that I was fine, just a bit more tired than usual. I had a guess as to what had caused this to be more draining than usual, since there was a single difference between what I had done and what the book instructed, but I hadn't thought it would make much of a difference since it was really just a different method of the same thing the book had done.
Once I'd rested a bit I worked with Steria and Ashara to dispose of the withered husks that had once been the criminals, as well as destroying the stone I'd created to make the ritual circle, turning it to dust or just large chunks of rather normal stone and scattering it about. As we had been working, the horse-like blobs finally began to solidify into actual creatures, though they didn't look all that different from regular warhorses, their fur however, had become completely black, something that while rare, wasn't unheard of for horses, so while it might draw a bit of attention, the Eldur Crest on the carriage would prevent anyone from thinking it was strange.
I could see an almost human intelligence as they looked at me, before the two both lowered their heads, as if bowing to me. Something I acknowledged with a light nod before approaching them closer my hand reaching out to stroke their fur. Unlike when they had been regular warhorses, they no longer had the fearful tension, but rather were completely calm even with Ashara as an Arachne.
I wasn't sure what they had become, and since they hadn't become my familiars I couldn't communicate with them to ask, but I wasn't too worried, imbuing objects had become much easier since I gained Creation, and especially once I'd made the Obelisk. However, I was still having trouble creating a magic item that would let me use Inspect or Appraise, Skills that I missed. Seshat's Library was fantastic, but it simply was too broad and wasn't good for examining living beings.
Ultimately, I wanted to find a Skill that could combo with Seshat's Library, allowing me to inspect a creature and pulling relevant information from the Library, but I had been unsuccessful so far. What I really hoped for was another fragment of Seshat's Divinity, since if it was more complete I could probably get all manner of more use from it, and if I was lucky, a fragment of her conciseness, since one could assume the librarian would have a good idea of what or where certain knowledge was in the Library.
I could only hope that such fortune would happen, but I knew that it wouldn't just fall into my lap, and even if it did, it likely wouldn't be soon, so I hitched the reborn horses to the carriage and instructed them to listen to Renae as we began to make our way out of the forest, the small detour only having costed us a few days, something that would be easily made up for by the tireless nature of the new horses and Renae.
I could barely conceal my tension as the city came into view. It had been so long since I'd been back, and I was excited to see Marian and Reine again, I had missed them both since up until the recent years they had been the most constant thing in my life. However, it would still be a few hours before we actually made it into the city, let alone getting to the manor and going through all the formalities before I could have some more private time with them, so I could restrain myself as the horses pulled us towards the city gate, with Renae's guidance.
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