Spring in Hieron 24: Closer to Kin

Far to the north east of their home at the Last University, a party of nine has arrived on the shores of Alcyon. Here, they hope to find much: Lord Ephrim, the plans to create the ancient protectors which guarded the streets of Marielda; Fero, the source of this peninsula's magical stability; Hadrian, distance from the danger stalking his son; Throndir, further opportunity to bring justice. But a warm welcome, and the sound of bells ringing, brings confusion to their purpose…

This week on Spring in Hieron:

VAMPIRES! These monstrous beings are not UNDEAD in the traditional sense. They are a distant echo of the ancient magical school of RECONFIGURATION, each vampiric body rebuilt, unique strengths augmented, not by ENCHANTMENT, but by a real shift in the nature of their being. Such strength carries a cost: The "semioticians" are frauds, of course, but the unpredictable fragility of the vampire, just as soon harmed by the lapping of a cat's tongue as a serrated golden dagger, is the closest thing to their so-called "pattern magic"...
-An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo