"I'm afraid you won't see that happen even in five hundred years."
York's expression stiffened slightly.
Cheris continued:
"Your Shaping Domain hasn't just started researching bloodlines yesterday. Every time you make a little progress, you go around trumpeting it as some 'breakthrough' or 'era-defining achievement'."
"And what's the result?"
"Either the research isn't universally applicable and can only be used by a few core members."
"Or you get halfway through, realize you can't gather the necessary resources, and come crying poverty to the council, demanding a budget increase."
"Or you just create some bizarre thing that turns people into monsters and blows the lab sky-high, then you just shrug it off and say, 'Experiment failed. We'll try again next time'."
"As for this 'filling a void' you mentioned—"
She sneered:
"A Fourth Level bloodline heir can indeed fill a void. But what's the cost?"
