[center][h2]Act I[/h2][/center] Kladora was rather agitated by the tossing and turning of Zouyu in her lap as attempts to sooth his sleeping form proved futile. Kaldora was in the midst of a hushed decision of whether or not it was a good idea to try and wake someone up while they were having a nightmare with the herbalists when Zouyu suddenly awoke. Almost as soon as he did so he began to apologize for going overboard during the hunt, having seemingly grasped the cause of his unconsciousness on his own. [color=Crimson]“It wasn’t your fault. We had no way of knowing this would happen after all. I’m just happy to know you are alright"[/color] Kaldora assured him, her tone kind and not at all put off by his animistic mannerisms. Quite the opposite in fact. She found them rather adorable and was as a result unable to resist the temptation to pet him a few times as he rubbed his face against her thighs. Once that was all out of the way and Zouyu was given a clean bill of heath after a once over by the herbalist and dark priest the expedition set off for home once more, heard of Gorgonbulls in tow. Once they returned Zouyu bid Kaldora farewell with a hug, which she returned earnestly, before he set off to deal with business elsewhere [color=Crimson]“What a lovely young man"[/color] Kaldora commented once he was out of sight, before turning back to her people. They still had plenty of work to do today after all. [hr] [center][h2]Act II[/h2][/center] In the time between the inaugural hunt and the second meeting the beast pens were abuzz with activity as the vampires did their best to settle into a new routine. The influx of Gorgonbull meat and access to the surrounding vegetation staved off the starvation that had threatened the pens on the first day, but the beasts’ ravenous appetites were far from satisfied. Subsequent lesser hunts had also revealed that simply relying on wild Gorgonbull population for meat would not be sustainable in the long run. It was while this eventual crisis was being debated that Kaldora was res-summoned to the throne room alongside the rest of the Chateau’s list of most powerful denizens. Once they were assembled Rodias laid out a rather elaborate plan to take over the small town located at the bottom of the mountain. A plan she had basically nothing to do with, which suited her just fine. The ongoing issue of finding food for the pens took president over a bunch of elaborate political intrigue in Kaldroa’s opinion, even if she couldn't wait to hear about how it all went down. That said, she could definitely see the usefulness of the end result of it all. Having a lovely little town as part of the Chateau’s domain could be quite the boon in her opinion. [color=Crimson]“It would certainly be useful to have some intelligent help around.”[/color] Kaldora commented in response to Graft’s suggestion about employing the citizens of the nearby town [color=Crimson]“Our various low level undead minions can only do so much after all. You would not believe the trouble we’ve had down in the pens trying to get the thralls to act as shepherds without constant supervision!”[/color] the herbivorous creatures of the pens needed to be grazed (now that they couldn't simply import feed for them) and so too did the herd of Gorgonbulls they’d captured to feed the carnivores. Keeping them (and all the thralls managing them) in check was proving to be a rather time consuming task and it was not at all one that the vampires relished performing. Long boring hours out in the dangerous sunlight where none of their idea of a good time. In response to her own instructions, which were to range out on a hunt with the lovely Zouyu by her side once more, she at first asked [color=Crimson]“Is there something in particular in the area that is of interest to you my lord? Or anyone else for that matter?”[/color] before Rodias’ final comment about overexertion reminded her of some information she had been meaning to disseminate among those gathered there. Once the questioning and sugestions from the had quietened down a touch Kaldora retrieved her Wand of Commentary from her coat (which looked exactly like a fuzzy hand held microphone) and then proceeded to hop up onto the central table for a suitably dramatic vantage point to make an announcement. [color=Crimson]“Ladies and Gentlemen. If I could have your attention for just a few moments before you head out!"[/color] Kaldora said, her tone crisp, clear and amplified by her wand . [color=Crimson]“Now some of you may have heard about what I am about to say already"[/color] and certainly the vampires of the beast pens had been gossiping about what Kaldora was about to talk about to anyone who would lend them an ear [color=Crimson]“But for those that haven't I feel that it is vital to inform you that that we have discovered a rather dramatic difference in the way magic works in this world when compared to YGGDRASIL. The good news is that you can now use more Mana than you could previously, effectively going into negative mana values to keep fueling spells after you exhaust all of what would have been your limit back home. The bad news is that if you do so you’ll suffer from something we’ve started calling “Mana Burn” and it could be a threat to your very lives!"[/color] Kaldora paused for a moment to let her proclamation sink in and draw in her audience before explaining [color=Crimson]“Now I hear you ask, what is Mana Burn? Well to put it succinctly, if you use too much Mana you will begin to suffer debilitating effects a short while after you use it. These start from light headaches and spiral downwards to being knocked unconscious. After unconsciousness things start to get really bad my darlings. Anyone knocked out by this effect will suffer horrifying nightmares that seem to drag on exponentially longer and more dreadful the more Mana you burn, while the amount of time you spend knocked out is simply linear. One of our brave volunteers claims to have spent what felt like a week in a realm of horrors despite only being knocked out for a few minutes.“[/color] Despite the dire portent of her news for the most part Kaldora’s voice had been bright and cheerful. The woman was clearly enjoying the act of delivering the news to others even if it's contents being rather concerning. However even she could not maintain a merry disposition while saying what she said next [color=Crimson]“This state also harms the person’s vitals or life force in some way. How bad that can get we are unsure, as even with the death warding we have down in the training arena we didn't want to push anyone to the brink because of the physiological toll such an experience would inflict. Despite this I am quite certain that over use of Mana can and will kill you if you push yourself too hard.“[/color] Kaldora removed her hand from where it had been pressed against her heart while warning the others about their potential demise and then returned to a slightly more upbeat tone [color=Crimson]“Now. I am aware that some of you might be weighing the risks here. It’s a tempting thing, particularly in a dramatic high stakes situation, to risk these effects In-order to win the day and I am, naturally, in no position to command you not to do so. Therefore I instead highly recommend that if you do intend to over use Mana that you ensure that you A. have a healer on hand to help you survive the after effects and B. that you dang well finish the fight you are in because you're going to be taken out of it shortly after exerting yourself to that extreme. Keep these things in mind, steel yourself against some absolutely dreadful night terrors and don’t go so deep into the red that you can never come back up again and you will probably be fine,“[/color] she assured them. [color=Crimson]“That's all I have for you for now my lovely audience. If you have any questions or any additional information about this phenomenon I’ll be more than happy to lend you an ear in just a moment. For now however I’ll let you all get back to your regularly scheduled content. Thank you all so much for listening. Ta-ta!“[/color] Kaldora finally finished her speech with a bow before hopping down from the table and rejoining the assembled denizens of the Chateau with a wide grin etched upon her lips.