Artifactology. An art that seemed so accessible to vampires but, in reality, was as infinitely distant from them as true magic. After all, what is an artifact? An object with a spell cast upon it. This answer, while providing some understanding of artifacts, is not entirely accurate. A spell can be cast on any object, but depending on the spell and the material of the object, the magic will dissipate over time. Usually, this period rarely exceeds a couple of months, and for some spells and materials, even just hours.
An artifact, on the other hand, preserves a spell forever. Even after expending all its energy, it retains its properties and will continue to function as long as a mage replenishes its power. This is achieved not only through the use of correctly chosen spells and materials or the methods by which the spell is imbued into the object but also through the preservation of a power framework for the enchantments within the item.
And vampires are incapable of creating such frameworks! They can infuse power into an already prepared item, but they cannot create one from scratch. No matter how much Maria engraved intricate patterns on metal sheets, meticulously sketching the spells she knew, once she tried to infuse them with power, the result was a dud. Or a fire. Or a small explosion.
Stripped of power constraints, the enchantments were unstable, and nothing seemed to help. Or rather, almost nothing, as moon silver differed from other materials not only by its unique magical properties but also by not requiring the creation of power lines and spell frameworks; it retained magical energy within itself.
In other words, the material itself was both the power framework and the energy conduit of the spell in one! Thus, the enchantments engraved on it did not need additional constraints from the mage, only his magical power, of which the vampires had plenty!
—I'm taking all of it! — the happy girl declared emphatically.
No one objected. Developing their own artifacts would be very useful, and Maria had advanced much further in this area than Sergey, who once traced magical lines in the ground with a stick and filled them with blood—a substance that, as it turned out, was not suitable for this purpose at all, even though it is an excellent material with a high magical energy content. But this very property of the liquid made it useless for artifacts—the entire power was instantly released into the surrounding space.
Without even saying goodbye, Maria dashed out of the office, almost knocking over Yulia, who was still standing in the doorway. Sergey, deciding his mission was complete, also took his leave, citing urgent business and informing them before leaving that the moon silver was being sent to the black market by direct order of Archmage Elos. The news changed nothing, so the remaining vampires exchanged glances and returned to their thoughts.
— So what are you going to do about Marta, guys? — the last girl left in the office drew attention to herself.
— Nothing! — Alexander declared decisively. — Our fuss over the mage is because we initially decided not to interfere in local affairs, but then, upon seeing something valuable, wanted it for ourselves.
That was pretty much the situation. The activities of the barony's archmage couldn't harm the vampires in any way. The task given to her by her father—to ruin as many competitors as possible and ensure favorable trading conditions—didn't touch the small community in any way. However, the girl herself was an extraordinary person, and it was very desirable to win her over to their side.
— So, I suggest we do nothing. Let's not interfere. The mage, after being hit on the head in a filthy flea-ridden place called a hotel, will lay low and keep quiet. Trade with the northern mines has been suspended indefinitely. No one intends to turn her into a vampire. Let's stop torturing ourselves and wasting time. We should focus on our own matters. We need to attract mercenaries and actually find an earth mage for Olga.
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