Blessed by Night - Chapter 14: The Difference Between Us

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Levelling up?Gods System?After dying from overwork, Harry awakens in a world where humanity fights for survival against relentless alien invaders, each person’s fate determined by a power they awaken on their tenth birthday.With his own tenth birthday looming, Harry chooses a seemingly weak ability, a decision that marks him as an outcast.But beneath the surface of this unassuming power lies a connection to ancient gods and a potential far beyond anything the world has seen.Armed with the mysterious System of the Gods, Harry must navigate a world teeming with treachery and secrets, where betrayal lurks around every corner. The alien threat, ever-adapting and evolving, doesn’t rest, growing stronger with each passing moment.As Harry struggles to master his newfound powers, he uncovers dark truths about the origins of the alien invaders—truths that could shatter everything he thought he knew.The fate of humanity teeters on the edge, and Harry’s true awakening is only just beginning.

David thought he would live a normal life when he awakened the banking system at the age of 18.However, fate seemed to have something else in store for him as his life turned upside down when following the death of one of his loyal client, a shiny window popped up in front of him.[Regretfully! You lost one of your clients today. However, the Bank of Eternal Origin can never suffer a loss.Even if he died, the client will have to pay back somehow, therefore his soul was captured. You now have the following options, keep in mind that you can only choose one.1 - Extract Client's Crystallion of Life (Money Talks, Grade - Uncommon)2 - Extract Bryan's memories from his birth till his death.3 - Any item that client owned in his lifetime.4- Do Nothing, let the compound interest do its thing and decide again when the Client dies in his next life.Please note as capturing the soul and imprisoning it requires a large amount of mana because of which you only have two hours left to make a choice.]

Chu Yi, who was accidentally reborn into a beast-taming world 18 years ago, has finally awakened the Evolution Compendium, a system that could help him with binding beasts.Yet the first “beast” he binds is a little bit extraordinary.[Ding, binding success!][Player binds first Deceit Beast, reward: Initial evolution points +5.]“Binding successful? What did I bind?”“This is... my hand?”