#he would stay in the moon temple with Dionel

[windblume-violet]

Do... do I go with the username for the running gag of "worst kept secret" or do I say fuck it and say magister Merlin for giggles to see his reaction

[windmaedchen-oceanhorn]

Lavinia's Hypogean Heart

An explanation of her condition

When Lavinia was targeted the second time, the assassin managed to drive a knife into her heart. Usually such damage to the heart muscle causes death. It was Berial's intention to tie Lavinia to him, and so he stepped in to save her life. When he began to materialize to emerge from her chest, his hand got damaged by the blade as well, and his Hypogean blood bonded with Lavi's heart. It isn't really healed in the way we would assume, but most of the blood clotted and closed the gap, while the rest now flows through Lavinia's veins. The surface wound never truly heals but scar tissue from Berial's blood slowly closes the skin. The line between life and death (Dura/Annih, Celestial/Hypogean) is thin, and Berials Hypogean magic could only revitalise the Hypogean part in Lavinia herself. She isn't dead, but isn't truly alive either.

As mentioned, Hypogean (and Celestial) magic are so unique that they cannot be replaced by anything else. Merlin could remove the Hypogean magic from Lavinia's body, but the damage still remains and a dead heart cannot be resurrected (unless we create a Graveborn from the corpes). So rather than killing Lavi, Merlin attempts to teach her how to use it for her advantage.

The Leylines of Magic

One thing needs explanation beforehand: Dura's and Annih's magic flow through Esperia, like the strings of intertwined fabric. Particular strong strings are what we have heard of as Leylines. It's actually a super small mesh, though, that extends not just as a flat 2D plane, but actually fills all space. Any being of either magic can "retreat" into those respective strings of it's magic, which you can imagine being like a space-realm on its own. Earthly matter is still there, so creatures within that realm can still see "the real world" and move around it with the simple advantage of being invisible to everyone else and able to phase through most matter. This is where Hypofiends are before they emerge into the real world, or were Berial hides in when he disappears (or where Dionel was resting before he woke from his slumber at the Moon Temple).

The Hypogeans use their realm, while the Celestials can use theirs. They will never be able to enter each others realm.

Lavinia's Abilities

Lavinia is able to retreat into this realm of the Hypogeans on Esperia. As she is not fully made of Hypogean magic, however, her time there is limited.

She can sense hidden Hypofiends and be ready when they emerge to avoid panic and chaos.

She can actually also gently nudge them to appear, causing distractions to her enemies. These summoned Hypofiends will take on her form.

She might be able to learn to use Hypogean magic to apply buffs to herself or to equipment. Or potentially use it to create more aggressive offensive magic, too.

Other interesting implications

Since Lavinia's life is running on the blood and magic of an immortal being, she might be immortal herself (I see her then staying at Merlin's side, once they outlive their current friends and families).

Her life could also very much be tied to Berial's life. Meaning that if he dies, as the source of her beating heart, she would die as well.

It could even be taken further and HE is just as dependent on HER life as she is on his. So, she could kill Berial by having his magic removed by Merlin. (This would actually also mean that Berial is no danger to her, unlike the other options, where he conveniently forgets about her.)

If the magic left by Berial is of particular strength, I do think it will overtake Lavinia from time to time, as it did in Knight of the Dark. She would become a Hypofiend, a mindless pawn. In such cases Merlin has to step in to dampen the corruption until it stabilises again. And yes, Merlin might then have to place a seal on Lavinia, to avoid her accidentally hurting her family and friends. (Thanks to @afkhowstrange for the mental food!)