NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Here is the next chapter in the continuing Assington Vampire saga. Sorry for the length, but I believe it's necessary. Also, be warned that some scenes will be quite violent and gory. Enjoy everyone.
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Those Invited:

Tarlachia
Valient
The Golden Simatar
Wandering Argonians
Callisdrun
Starblaydia
Mikatopia
Gawdly
Five Civilised Nations
The Gothic Underworld
Outer Heaven MK II
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Vampire Stats:

Immortal (but not invincible)
Fire kills
Sun kills
Silver hurts
All normal attacks may hurt but not kill.
Severing of limbs does not kill (can be put back on and healed, save for beheading)
Supernatural speed, strength and endurance/resistance
Telekinetic and Telepathic powers
Flight (only the older vamps, 500yrs +)
Can climb walls/ceilings
Bullets to the head killl

Lychan Stats:

Immortal (but not invincible)
Silver hurts
All normal attacks apply
Severing of limbs does not kill (can be regrown over time, save for beheading)
Greater Supernatural speed, strength and endurance/resistance than Vampires
Great jumping abilities
Can climb walls/ceilings
Silver bullets to the head/heart kill

Human Psychic Stats:

Telekinesis
Telepathy
Pyrokinesis (only the extremely powerful and highly trained)
Electrokinesis (as above)
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OOC/Sign-Up Thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=400535)

The Origins of Darkness within Assington (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=314737)

The Spread of Darkness Throughout Assington (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=385800)

The Banishment of Darkness Within Assington (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=410948)

Assington Vampires (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=299127)

Assington Vampires II: Tides of War (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=320427)

Assington Vampires III: Underworld (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=357294)
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Time had passed quickly without Skadi's presence. The routine of the world and Emerald City continued as usual, not noticing the absence of the oldest vampire in Assington. It had been exactly 256 years since that night when Garm unleashed a barrage of silver nitrate bullets into the vampiress, pushing her to the point of near death. Thankfully, the help of several friends saved Skadi's life and allowed her to cling onto existence. She was still badly injured and had to retire to a coffin beneath the mansion and sleep for quite some time. No one knew when she would emerge; yet her close friends were ever hopeful.

Hondur (http://groups.msn.com/WeatheredImagination/assingtonspics.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=118) considered these very things as he landed within the streets of Emerald City once again. It had been many, many years since he was present in Assington, due to visiting Sigrun in Tarlahica and an unexpectedly long stay. No matter, Skadi was still asleep; he could always sense such things with his sire. They shared a unique mental bond that no other could claim. Maximus had as well, but he lost such a bond when he lost his vampirism. And so it was Skadi and Hondur once again, the oldest vampire in Assington and her fledgling.

Emerald City had progressed, as do human cities. New technologies are introduced, structures designs change, fashions and styles change, attitudes change, laws change. Yet vampires remained the same. Hondur still looked the same as he did over 1500 years ago and would look the same 1500 years later. As he observed his surroundings, Hondur thought over the issue of change. Whilst he respected traditional ways of things, such as combat, if one were to stay alive, they need to be prepared to deal with anything the world around them has to throw. And yet Hondur smiled, looking down at the package under his right arm. He had come up with something that combined the ancient way of the blade with some more modern technology. He knew Skadi still wouldn't approve, but she never stopped Hondur from indulging himself.

The mansion didn't seem too different from when he had last been there. It was a little more run down, yet general maintenance was obvious. Happy that he could trust the vampires within his coven for such a period of time, Hondur approached the front door and slammed upon it with his closed fist. He noticed there was now a security camera situated over his left shoulder yet wasn't particularly concerned. It made security much easier and he would have to commend the one responsible for such.

The door swung open, revealing an excited looking female vampire. He long auburn hair sprawled over slender shoulders, lightly cloaked by a silk robe. Her milky white skin gleamed in the moonlight as her emerald eyes glistened with emotion, obviously overwhelmed to see Hondur once again. For several seconds she stood there, as if not sure that Hondur was actually standing before her. Finally she lunged forward and wrapped herself around the taller Hondur, squeezing him with all her might and affection. Hondur grinned and held the girl tightly for several minutes before place her on the ground.

"It's good to see you again Alysandra. It has been... quite some time."

"Indeed it has Hondur, I've missed you greatly."

The older vampire merely smiled and hugged Alysandra again, dragging her inside and closing the door behind him. Once through the foyer, Hondur and Alysandra passed into a lounge room, where several other vampires awaited the arrival of their coven leader. Hondur bid greetings to all of them, shaking hands and exchanging nods depending upon the character of each vampire. They all showed warm welcomes for the older vampire and asked him to sit and tell them of his travels.

Hondur declined, insisting that he freshen up first. They all nodded in understanding and remained in the lounge whilst Hondur descended the levels of the mansion, sinking into the ground and winding through the maze of hallways, until he reached his own personal quarters. Stepping inside, Hondur noticed it remained exactly the same. Dust coated every aspect of the room, the shelves, desk, chair and other furnishings.

Happy to be home, Hondur sat down and placed his cargo upon the dusty desk. Promptly removing his blade, Hondur placed it upon the desk as well and began unwrapping the parcel, eager to play with his new toy...
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Not a single soul noticed as a massive black cloud lingered right on top of ocean, a few kilometers north of the Assingtonian coast, more specifically the region of Emerald. Radar couldn't recognise the cloud and merely passed straight through, not alerting the humans back on the coast of an incoming force. Hidden behind this black mist was a presence that had not resided within Assington for over 2000 years. Yet this time, they were different. The centuries had changed them; their experiences had changed them. They were now... darker.

Eventually the dark mist arrived upon the Assingtonian coast, east Emerald City and all the filthy humans. Those hidden by their arcane cover had no wish to come across any humans, or any other living creature for that matter. These people desired solitude amongst all other things, especially from humans and vampires. Many could still remember the days of old, when they inhabited the lands all over Assington and the first vampires came, wiping them out colony by colony until very few remained living. It was because of such actions that Assington was abandoned, for safer lands.

The cloud dispersed, revealing multitudes of large transport ships, beached up against the sand. All boats were black and angular, conveying a sense of hostility and fear. Within minutes, thousands upon thousands of dark robed figures had departed the sea-craft and stood upon the beach, looking upon the land that was once their home. They all looked upon the land with bitter memories and a lack of trust. It would take some time before they learned to be comfortable in this land again.

A single figure turned around to face the ships, chanting something under his breath and making a few subtle gestures in the air. Within seconds the mist had returned and the ships were floating back out to sea, heading for an unknown destination to all save for these creatures. Another cloaked figure moved behind him, this one taller and somewhat different. He wasn't quite as graceful as the others; he seemed more of a brute compared to the slender figures of the others.

"It is time we returned home... my friend."

"Aye. The prophecy states we must return and fight the forces of an ancient evil. Your brethren shall perish, as our law states."

The taller figure merely nodded as they both spun around and began their trek towards Emerald Forest, the ancient home of the Assingtonian Elves.

Several hours passed, as the elves had to duck and weave around signs of human activity, they wished to avoid detection completely. Thankfully their efforts succeeded and they finally came upon the boundary separating Emerald Forest and other settlements. No human had entered this forest in thousands of years. The elves had left a certain presence inside to make sure it was untouched, knowing that one day they would return and take up residence within this dark little patch of nature once again.

The same figure that approached the boats stepped forward once again, looking deep into the gloom of the forest. There were no animal noises one would expect to find within a forest, just complete silence. He took a step forward, passing into the forestlands. Immediately a strong gust of wind shot through the trees, flapping the figure's cloak violently. This was followed by a low but menacing groan that seemed emanate from the very trees themselves. Unnerving as all these events were, the figure stood tall and raised his arms, as if making a request to the very forest itself. Those with a keen sight would notice a slight purple hue surrounding the elven figure as he raised his arms, silently communicating with the forest. After several minutes of silence, the forest gave one final groan that seemed more welcoming before the wind dropped and utter silence returned to the area.

The elves moved in silence for the remainder of their journey, deep into the forest heart. Several elves made gestures at certain trees as they passed, alerting the forest of the elven return and reactivating dormant wards. Congregating in a large grove, the elves looked upon their home of old and smiled for the first time within this land. Their home was still the same, even if the nation around it wasn't. Trees appeared to move at the whim of elves, revealing hollowed trunks that were in fact elven dwellings. The diameter of such trees was massive, easily able to house several elves. And these were merely the ground dwellings. Branches arced towards the ground, allowing others to climb upwards, ascending to the city proper and revisit their old homes. And so the dark elves of Assington began reactivating wards and reestablishing their homes of old. Emerald Forest was populated once again...

Idun (http://groups.msn.com/WeatheredImagination/assingtonspics.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=228) stood in the centre grove, his elven companion beside him. They both removed their hoods, Idun revealing a weathered face of fine blonde hair and grey eyes, pale skin and a slightly warmed expression. His companion sported a long black mane of hair with brown eyes and fine pale skin as well. His was slightly darker than Idun's, as he had blood flowing through his veins.

"Well my friend, we are back."

"Indeed we are Ashur, we have returned to our homeland... to spill blood once again."

"So it is told. I'm sure you have matters to attend?"

"Yes, I must delve into the urban centre of these humans and investigate the presence of my brethren."

"I understand. Be careful, we shall be here, establishing our presence once again."

"I look forward to returning."

"Farewell, for the moment."

Without another word, Idun lifted into the air and quickly emerged through the forest canopy and into the night sky. Emerald City could be seen in the distance and so the ancient vampire directed his path towards the human world of a city. He knew not what to expect, yet the blade forged by Uller remained at his side, ever ready to leave its scabbard and spill the blood of his own kind…
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One tends to lose track of all time during slumber. It is impossible to tell how long you have been withdrawn from the world or what has occurred around you. Yet when one finally awakens after such a prolonged period away from the world, they find that all figures of the past have faded into history and the world is different, ripe for the picking.

Svartel (http://groups.msn.com/WeatheredImagination/assingtonspics.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=230) found this to be the case after awakening from his sleep of 2193 years. The ancient vampire slowly emerged from his rest, weak, shriveled and generally confused. After fleeing Assington, he had taken refuge in a nation unknown to him, hiding in a tomb, under the altar of some church. He figured it would be the best place for one like him to hide as there would be none searching for him within a holy building. And so he slid the concrete slab ajar and hauled himself out of the coffin, easily able to see within the lightless gloom. It took him a few moments to remember where he was and how to escape the prison of the dead, yet voices from above soon led Svartel to a hatch that opened through the church alter.

People screamed in shock as the altar burst open and the minister was knocked off his feat. Svartel was thankful it was indeed night and discovered he was interrupting something called an Easter sermon. It didn't bother him of course; all he needed was blood. Some people, stood, backing towards the door slowly. Svartel merely snarled as he reached out with his mind, slamming all doors shut.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Svartel spun around to see the kind face of the minister gazing upon him, inquiring into his own health. Svartel replied in a deep rumble.

"Soon."

With that word he lunged forward and rammed his fist through the abdomen of the priest, ripping out innards and other bodily organs as he rummaged around. The minister collapsed into his arms, allowing Svartel to dig his fangs into the exposed neck of the human, draining him of blood within a minute. Svartel's appearance seemed to change dramatically; his ice blue eyes growing wider as the blood replenished his form, giving his supernatural muscles energy and his acute mind power.

Feeling slightly better, Svartel turned to the screaming church people. He wouldn't need to feed from them all, yet the others would die for sport...

That next morning, local authorities arrived on the scene and were sickened to the point of uncontrollable spasms. Several of the victims had been strung up by their own intestines wrapped around their necks then latched onto the high rafters, hanging them in a most painful fashion. Others were found within the seats, their skin completely ripped off and used to suffocate others that kept their skin yet lost their ears, fingers and toes. The massive crucifix in the background of the church had been used to impale several victims on each end, then propped up between rafters as well. The floor was littered with the intestines and organs of victims, blood seeping from the walls and rafters. Even the women and children were not spared. Small kids were found crammed into a confessional booth, limbs and bones twisted in awkward positions, masks of agony plastered across their faces. One woman was found upon the altar, her shinbones had been removed and used to gut her and finally stab her in the eyes. No one could determine what had done this... but it was the most gruesome crime any of them had ever heard of.

Svartel cackled with laughter as he viewed word of his church deed upon the human invention, a television. The world had changed drastically. Humans had spread everywhere, they had technology, and sprawling settlements called cities, weapons capable of launching objects at high speeds. He was stunned at what these humans could do in 2000 years. Svartel knew he would have to catch up, learn the ways of this world and what dangers lurked about. First of all, he would need a weapon.

The cowering human yelped as he noticed Svartel standing before him. He didn't know what this vampire wanted, yet he seemed sadistic, unstable and generally nasty. After several minutes of administering pain upon the old man, Svartel spoke.

"You are going to make me a weapon..."

The vampire handed him a notebook full of sketches and instructions. All the necessary details were there.

"Yes... just please... don't hurt me!"

Svartel nodded and the man looked over the sketches. This will take me several days. The vampire merely nodded and moved into a corner or the workshop, sitting in complete silence as he watched the old man begin work upon his ideal 'toy'. The days went by without Svartel moving until the old man finally collapsed in fatigue.

"It's... done."

The ancient vampire slid onto his feet and stepped slowly towards his weapon. Picking up the metal pole of about five feet in length, he tested the weight and balance before nodding in satisfaction and placing it inside his sprawling trench coat. Another thing he loved about this world, the clothing seemed to be so varied and mass-produced there was always something for everyone and plenty of it. Picking up a large bag beside the desk, Svartel shoved all other necessary equipment into the bag before turning around to face the human. Kneeling down before the old man, Svartel reached forth wedged his fingers into the eyeballs of the now wailing old man. Yanking them out with a quick burst, Svartel cleaned his fingers of eyeball before hooking his thumb into the skull of the human and yanking out the brain, causing the slimy mass to fracture and spray everywhere.

Grinning once again, Svartel gathered his gear and made for the front door, wiping his hands upon a nearby rag. Now equipped for the world, Svartel would return home to see how things have changed. Svartel was returning to Assington...
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Time heals all wounds. It is merely a matter of how much time and what kind of wound. For Skadi (http://groups.msn.com/WeatheredImagination/assingtonspics.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=207), her wounds were many. Mental and physical, it has taken her 256 years of slumber before she deemed herself adequately healed. Her last waking moments had been filled with pain, the pain of silver nitrate coursing through her veins and muscles thanks to the rash actions of a VP captain. Over the years she had learned to despise the VP and the humans that claimed to be part of such an organisation. One fact stood out above all others. Humans could not be trusted.

It hadn't taken too long for Skadi's body to recover from such dangerous bullets, yet she had chosen to remain asleep for much longer. During this period she reflected upon many issues, memories and people. With Alexander of the Hyraphore out of the way, Skadi could spend more time doing what she wanted to do. Spending time with her long time lover and companion Maximus (Sigrun). Whilst he may now be an elf, he was once her fledgling and by her side for hundreds of years, before he was slain in battle. Now that he lived once again as an elf, Skadi intended to spend much more time with him. During her sleep, Skadi had concluded that Sigrun was her reason to remain living. After 2200 years of existence, there wasn't much left in life for Skadi, save for Sigrun.

Nothing else mattered to her. Sure there was the coven and Hondur. She enjoyed his companionship and occasionally led the coven in dire times, but she didn't care for them like she did for Sigrun. After all these years she had just become used to it, almost bored of it. There was no denying she had a shocking and violent history. Some would imagine that after all this time, Skadi would have lost some of her rage and hate. Yet this was not the case. In her opinion, Skadi was getting too soft. She was tolerating more crap when she should merely let her blade negotiate all arguments. And so the vampiress had resolved to be less tolerant and quicker to deliver death upon those she deemed undeserving of life.

With all her philosophical issues sorted out, Skadi started awake, her black eyes shooting open to find herself still laying within a stone coffin. She felt weak, disorientated and sore after not moving for so many years. It would take her some time to readjust to the world once again, yet she had done it before and would do it again. Looking around the cold metallic chamber, Skadi remembered where she was and how to escape this bare prison. Reaching out with her weakened mind, Skadi was please to find Hondur in his chambers.

"Hondur... it is time."

There was a pause for several moments as Hondur realised what had just happened, then he chimed in with excitement.

"Of course Skadi... it's good to have you back."

Minutes passed before Hondur arrived, keying in the codes to unlock the massive lead door, allowing it to slide into the wall and bring Skadi to freedom. The ancient vampire was leaning upon her blade as Hondur approached and gave his shoulder for support. He led the weakened ancient throughout the tunnels and onto the ground level of the mansion, where several vampires stood in awe. Many of them had never seen Skadi before and were amazed to see her in such a state. One vampire mumbled to another that she didn't appear so tough. No tolerance.

Skadi spun around and lunged onto the obnoxious vampire, digging into her neck whilst restraining his arms. Whilst Skadi was smaller than the male vampire, her strength far outweighed his, especially as she was growing stronger with every drop and he grew weaker. Within minutes the vampire was dead whilst Skadi stood over his corpse, her blade plunged through his skull to assure he would not return to life. The others stared in horror and awe, Hondur also a little surprised. In a tone of utter contempt, Skadi spoke softly to the surrounding coven.

"Let that be a warning. I tolerate nothing."

Now revived thanks to the vampiric blood, Skadi spun around and headed upstairs and into her simple chambers. The ancient of Assington was back... but she wasn't the only one.
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When it came to vampires, Ivan Kolstolv (http://groups.msn.com/WeatheredImagination/assingtonspics.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=229) considered himself The Terminator. He loathed everything that was a vampire and held no remorse for them. This hatred was fuelled by a difficult childhood thanks to the death of his family due to vampires. And so a career in the VP seemed ideal for Ivan. He was paid to kill the vampires of Assington, although his job description varied a little from what he thought it should say. Either way, he was doing what he wanted.

The streets of Emerald City were relatively quiet. Ivan and four other men moved down the road by foot, keeping an eye out for any suspicious vampiric activity. It wasn't long before the spotted a lone figure standing upon the footpath, leaning against a phone booth. His manner and pale skin indicated the man was a vampire and yet he didn't seem alarmed when the VP men surrounded him and Ivan drew his USP.

"Officer, I am a registered vampire."

The calm man withdrew his I.D. and flashed it in front of Ivan. The VP captain didn't seem satisfied.

"What are you doing here then?"

The vampire's eyes flashed towards a club across the street where people were beginning to pour out.

"Waiting for my daughter..."

"Bullshit... you're waiting for a feed."

Without further discussion, Ivan chambered a bullet and unleashed a silver slug into the vampire's brain, causing him to drop to the pavement, brain and blood splattered against the phone booth. Several club goers stepped closer yet the officers ushered them away. Ivan merely glared down at the dead vampire and spat.

"Daddy!!!"

Ivan spun around to see a girl of about twenty, also obviously a vampire, running towards Ivan and her fallen father.

"What have you done to him!?!"

Ivan merely looked at the other officers before drawing his pistol once again and firing another round. The female vampire dropped to the ground, right next to her father...

The soft movements of the breeze filtered through the open window and rolled across the sleeping figure. It carried the sounds and song of the waterfall, a song that currently sang a different tune than normal. The elf lay asleep, but it was not a peaceful one. He twisted and turned, moaning aloud as the images of his dream enraptured his every thought.

Within his sleeping mind...

The vampiric fangs dug viciously into his flesh, drawing great quantities of blood as a pair of hands held the elf tightly. He convulsed under the vampiress's strength, his face locked in pain. Finally, she released him, and he dropped to the ground, completely exhausted, and near death. His eyes looked up to the vampiress...

The unspoken appreciation for his donation was seen in her eyes as she looked back at him with eyes that were as onyx as the shade of death...

The rising and setting of many suns flashed across his memory, the landscape changing through the seasons, the world lying in wait. He could see the faces of spectators during the battles held within a coliseum. Flames shot across his vision, leading forth from the snarling snout of Pyros. Lanta flashed into view momentarily as demons were cut down with relative ease. And suddenly lunging downward into the open pit of the demonlord's mouth.

He had almost died then, but he wouldn't die. No, he wasn't ready. He burst free of the demonlord's shattering body, his eyes full of darkness and rage as he swept through the masses of demonic forces that gaped in awe.

And then there was the assassination attempt that had nearly taken his life for sure...

Forward in time, his mind raced through the years, a number counting upward in the corner of his vision. The cities of the world rose and fell as the years passed by. Numerous faces all speaking, their voices intermingling as one. At first, the shadow that lay in the background of those faces watched him from afar, waiting, biding its time. Then, as the years passed closer to the present, the many faces began to blur, to shift and create the final face that stood before his mind's eye. Skadi smiled at him, revealing her fangs. Her eyes held a deep love, a deep respect for him as she spoke with unclear words.

Yet, in his heart, she had spoken as clear as the rising sun upon the dew-soaked earth of the morning.

"I am back."

Sigrun startled awake as he fell out of his bed onto the floor. He looked up to the morning sunlight that shone brightly through his window. His eyes rested upon the sparrow that stood and pounced about on the windowsill, singing its daily song. And yet, he did not listen, for his mind was far from the present location.

"She's back..." he whispered quietly to himself as a smile broke out upon his face. He lay back down upon the floor and laughed joyfully. His voice carried clearly out the window, heralding the beginning of another chapter of his life. Yet another chapter to join the thousands of others that defined who he was, and his story behind his life...

A figure dressed completely in black stood at the entrance of a long cave cut deep into the mountain. The figure moved down slowly and quietly, not carrying any kind of flashlight or night vision. As he descended, the air got colder and a breathing sound could be heard.

From the narrow smooth grey corridor, a large room with a slim, jagged hole in the ceiling that reached up to the top of the mountain above let in soft moonlight to laminate the large creature sleeping on the floor. The creature was slightly larger than a horse; thick snow white scales covered the creature as its wings covered it. The ice dragon raised its head; its upper lips pulled back into a menacing snarl and spread its wings as it saw the figure approach it.

The figure stopped. It held out a dead rabbit in one of its hands and tossed it to the dragon. The dragon bent down and smelled the body before grasping it in its mouth and quickly devoured it. It looked up at the figure, the dragon’s tail twitched slightly. Not from anger, but from joy.

“Are we happy Cassandra?” Stephen said as he walked into the moon light. He looked around the room; the stone walls had since been covered with ice since the dragon had moved in. He sat down on a rock next to the dragon as it rested it’s head on his lap. The vampire gently stroked the dragon’s muzzle. “Todd would have been quite happy if he could see you now.”

Stephen remembered the human he knew from years ago. He had liked the human and the pair had become close friends in the years since Todd had found out about the existence of vampires. He thought more clearly with the dragon next to him, the night the human had show in it to him. He was in great shock that night, but had quickly gotten over it.

Stephen stood up as he heard footsteps. He jumped to a dark corner and clung to the wall as a young girl came down the tunnel. Cassandra rushed forward and began licking the human; one of Todd’s descendents.

The vampire sunk out of the cave as the human played with the dragon. He stood at the entrance of the cave, looking out across acres of wine grapes of the Harte vineyard. He took in a deep breath of fresh night air before running across the vineyard, through the forest and back to the capitol.

Stephen arrived over an hour later, hungry. After another hour, he had half drained five humans and felt much better. He calmly walked through the streets of Clarence, not having to worry about vampire hunters or other vampires attacking him. Stephen was the only vampire in a country that didn’t believe in his kind.

Stephen walked down the boardwalk and passed couple after couple on benches, looking out across the sea. He could remember the thousand years he spent as a human and in the last years coming out here every night and morning to admire the sunrise and sunset before he had turned. For 257 years he had been a full vampire and enjoyed his new life. His food source knew nothing about him, with his powers he erased the memory of his attack from his victim’s minds, and he could explore more things with his powers.

Stephen jumped onto a rooftop and lay down on an AC unit and looked up at the sky. Life was very peaceful here. He closed his eyes, his mind going back through memories of his travels from his army days up to the very recent. He moved his shirt and scratched on of the many old battle wounds that covered his body.

Stephen lay there for a while before getting up and scratching his head. He smiled as he recieved a message from Hondur that Skadi had awaken. Time to pay a visit to Assington.

Stephen turned and headed back to his apartment to collect his things.

In front of the backdrop of a setting sun, a man stood on the pinnacle of one of the obelisks of the Circle of Swords, as he quietly surveyed his surroundings, his brilliant eyes flickering as they moved. Dressed entirely in a close fitting black cloth, the man was only a silhouette in front of the sun. With an audible sigh, the man moved, leaping off of the top of the obelisk.

Landing softly upon the ground, the man stepped quietly into the torchlight. He was handsome with an aquiline nose and beautiful sapphire eyes that glinted from the dying sun. Strapped upon his back was a single jeweled scabbard, containing two swords of destiny.

The man was Avto Crusade, descendant of demigod that walked the earth for over two thousand years. He was the successor to a legend that had provided succor to innumerable innocents. He was on the path to create a new legend of another Deathwalker, another swordmaster that would shape the destiny of the world around him. He was the wielder of the Swords of Night and Day, two swords of power and magic passed down through the years. The Sword of Day was the Sword of Cala, the hereditary weapon of the House of Cala. The Sword of Night was the cursed Heaven's Will Sword. The two weapons served as counter-weights to each other, helping the wielder to carefully walk the fine line between light and dark...

Raised with the legends of his ancestor, Lance Crusade, thundering in his ears, Avto had always thought to better understand his vaunted predecessor, seeking knowledge of the quests and abilities of someone who had become a god in the eyes of the common people. He had journeyed to Tarlachia in search of Sigrun, the reincarnate of Maximus Destroi. He found him, but discovered little of his ancestor that he had not learned before. Distraught over the lack of knowledge of his ancestor even among his closest friends and allies, Avto found that he had few paths from which to continue.

With a heavy sigh, Avto leapt into the air and as if running upon the ground, Avto began to windwalk through the air. His destination was Assington. Little did he know that the legend of Avto Crusade the Wind Walker was slowly being formed...

Its been a long time he thought...

The figure stood on top of the Eich Tower, the tallest building in Mikatopia. He survayed his city, the Mikatopian capital of Rammreich. He watched with amazing vision, the movement of the thirteen million people on the street at this hour, his subjects and his prey.

He had lived amongst them, hidden from their day-to-day preception. He was, without a doubt, the most powerful man in the entire nation. Few knew of his existence, even fewer had ever met him.

He stood on the building...looking towards the nation of Assington. Assington was thousands of miles away, yet the figure felt as if it were five feet from where he stood.

The figure's eyes closed, and he felt...it. He could not explain what it was in words, yet he knew that his presence would be required in Assington. Yes, he would go there...for whatever reason he was needed.

The man smiled at his city, he was power, he was Phobos...

OC: Note: I have decided not to include Mickey Ciceroni in this RP, it'l just be phobos.

OOC: I'm gripped with insomnia, therefore, here's my next post...

IC:
The sack was filled with few necessities and closed with care. Sigrun (http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TwDvAv0Y5P3IRORw619xppcEggIviLkbUJaLLnaKWAKPRlbKdri66U8IXKoNQtOcfDrKgSlQNbxsBg3YM*XRbdY65wTYJhLBQHc oeFFjDWbhOHJAXHbIww/Haldir_7.jpg)looked up to see that his cousin Arleni (http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WgAfA8Qcez87ExR7viPtFN0X!nUU8drtlv49yOZkdH*MLcha5z8f46lbT0Rn7PP0l0mfI7v0MdoeBwoTb9X7NcascZPb9AyoIBn MFaHP!Hk59p6sB!bC!RVGsig7fECDmqAOWtbh*QM/Arleni%20Greenwood2.jpg), had walked in, prepared to leave. He smiled as she greeted him, "Are you ready?" He nodded, and slung the sack over his shoulder, "Just about." He walked over to the wall of his living room inside his elven dwelling and gazed upon his sword, Lanta which hung horizontially in its sheath. "Time to go, old friend." he whispered as he removed the blade and slung it across his backside. He walked over to a pedestal that had a soft pillow upon it and removed the crown that hung around his head. It was a simple crown, and yet boasted elven design. His people did not like the fact that he felt the necessity to depart for a foreign land on non-government business. They feared that he would not return. "Relax," he told them, "I have faced much worse in my time."

Soon, the two cousins were walking down a lightly trodden path, in an western direction. Assington was to the southwest of Tarlachia, beyond the mountains. They would pass south of the mountains and enter the nation that held great history for both of them. The days wore on as they traveled swiftly by horseback, preferring the creatures over the vehicles of many other Tarlachians. They could have traveled by portal, but they were in no hurry. Time was on their side, and so, they would relax and enjoy the trip.

On the nineteenth day, they passed into the realm of Assington uninhibited. Such was the relation between both nations, that trust had become a great pinnacle of their alliance. Border security was relaxed to a great extent between them, even for the notorious defenses of Tarlachia. They took the road that led to Emerald City, the city that was the center of the nightworld. The city of fame that shone unto the world its mysteries of the shadows. As the city rose from the horizon, the two elves smiled, knowing their long trip was almost over.

In time, they stood before the mansion of the coven led by Hondur. Sigrun entered quietly with Arleni in tow. Naturally, the inhabitants, all vampires, approached out of the shadows, threatening to eliminate them. Sigrun looked upon them and spoke, "See that Hondur and Skadi know that I am here, before you enact harsh measures against us. I suggest you hold your temper until they give you their word."

Arleni grinned slightly, yet still kept her eyes upon the vampires that surrounded them. She watched as Sigrun handed one of the vampires a small emblem that told of Sigrun's lineage, the same one she too belonged to. "Show them this, and they shall know who it is."

The young man crumpled the faxfeed into a tight wad, and tossed it behind him in disgust. The scourge had spread deeply into Phonos IV, and despite the deployment of fourteen Razor teams, the bloodsuckers were breeding like wildfire. His company was pouring millions into this contract, money that could be better spent elsewhere. Casualties were mounting, and he had lost many good men to this mission. It was easier before, when his father and grandfather ran the show...the planet would have been sanitized by now. Still, the young man was now the patriarch of the clan, and leader of the planet, so all decisions were his to make, and rested on his broad shoulders.

Turquine Steele slapped the intercom, and spoke decisively.

"Beltran, get General Felvo and General Mars to my office now. We'll be glassing Phonos today, and I need them to sign off. Then...I want you to clear my schedule...completely. I'll be taking a leave of absence, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. Oh, and bring me a bottle of Glenny...better make it two."

Killing vampires was thirsty work.

The young man stood, stretching his long, athletic form. Blessed with his familiy's size, Turquine stood well over 6 feet tall, every inch of him covered in hard-packed muscle. Trained veritably since birth, Steele was a master tactician, an experienced warrior and a man who vampires feared.

Actually, they feared the legacy of the name more than the man himself. Unlike his father and grandfather, Turq was more interested in growing the business than eliminating the bloodsucker scourge. The young man's main problem was that he had never truly learned to hate the immortals. Many years had passed since Darius Steele had brought war the vamps, and many changes had spread across the universe. There were less rogues all the time, and the bloodsuckers had begun to organize themselves, forming coalition governments and rallying the sympathy of the people around them. They had become almost...accepted in the grand scheme of things.

So now, Turquine found himself doing business with them more than hunting and killing them. Phonos IV was an exception, a small colony that had been raped by a small group of rogue bloodsuckers. The contract had been payed for by a group of vampires that wanted the embaressment to be removed...quickly and quietly. This is why Steele got paid the big bucks.

He turned to the other note on his desk, a quick message from one of his many plants across the galaxy. He had considered the note since it came in yesterday, and it was the reason that he had decided to clear his schedule, and take some time off. The message contained only 3 words.

Assington.
Kolstolv.
NOW.

"We're just about to get under way, my Lady." It was more a question than a statement.

"Very good, Lieutenant," Lady Viannor (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Lady_Viannor) replied, not even looking up from her mini-computer. The Navy Pilot went about his pre-flight schedule and Viannor rubbed her eyes. She'd been sitting in the Helicoper on the flight deck for a good twenty minutes. The sea air and lonely sailors were bad enough, but having her hair messed up by the wash from Helicopter blades was the last straw.

The Starblaydi media were always on a short leash when it came to criticising the Lord-Protector and his councillors' policy decisions, but it was open season when it came to Viannor and her fashion sense. One of the reasons she was perpetually late for important events was her insistance of having any plane or helicopter engines turned off before disembarking.

Out of the window she could see the deck and the vast open seas beyond. The slowly rolling waves off the coast of Assington were only being broken by the Starblaydi Naval Frigate that had brought her this far. As the rotor blades began to spin above her, she checked her belongings one last time. Her mini-computer folded up neatly and fitted inside her coat. Her pair of pistols strapped to the back of the slate grey trouser-suit she wore. For some reson they'd suggested she bring along silver-tipped bullets.

Does that really work on Vampires? she thought to herself as the Helicopter eased itself off the flight deck and pulled away from the Frigate, there are some weird things in this world. She was the one that protected Starblaydia from those things. She was head of the Starblaydi Inquisition and a member of Tiberius Starblayde's elite Council. Though nothing to do with the any kind of psychotic religious zeal, her Inquisition was all about security and intelligence. It was the Dwarven population that was integrating itself into Starblaydi society that she was concerned with at the moment. Perhaps seeing first-hand how other nations dealt with violent minorities would give her a better perspective on the situation.

Not that the Dwarves were becoming violent, of course. Not yet, anyway. But with the Dwarven Liberation Front's recent action, as well as the fact that every single one of them carried an Axe, Hammer or Ice Hockey stick, and could be reeling drunk at any time of the day.

*****

The helicopter hovered gently in to land, creating a wash from its main rotor that was far from gentle. The suspension on its landing gear compressed as it took the weight of the great machine. The pilot, just visible through the front window, turned in his chair and yelled something to the crew compartment behind him. Moments later, the side door swept back and out stepped a tall young woman, instinctively sheilding herself from the wash and the noise. Her long, ankle-length black coat wrapped around her legs as she stepped away from the 'copter as fast as dignity permitted.

She flicked her collar up, not in time to prevent her long dark hair catching in the wind and flaring up around her head. She held on to it as best she could, stepping off the landing platform and into the relative calm beyond the helicopter's immediate reach.

"Lady Viannor?" One of the watchers yelled the question over the din of the engine. "Welcome to Assington."

Hondur stood at the base of the stairs, about to follow Skadi into her chambers when another vampire quickly approached, an expression of concern plastered across his pale face. Shifting to face the young vampire, Hondur inquired as to the situation.

"What troubles you young one?"

"Hondur, there are two strangers here. They're elves... they said to give you this."

The elven emblem of Sigrun's family was placed into Hondur's hand, igniting a reaction immediately. Recognition. Hondur had spent enough years in Tarlachia to recognise the image representing Sigrun's family easily. Before he could speak, Skadi chimed in, sounding actually happy.

"Maximus..."

Without another word she launched down the stairs and disappeared through a doorway before Hondur could even move. Nodding to the messenger vampire, he too disappeared through the same doorway.

Skadi appeared before the robed elf, her eyes showing a deep satisfaction to see her companion once again. Without words, she merely stepped forward and pulled him into a deep embrace, pulling Sigrun into herself with a passion he had not witnessed for hundreds of years. She truly did love him, that was evident to all present.

Hondur appeared seconds later, smiling to himself as Skadi embraced what used to be her second fledgling. Noticing Arleni behind them, Hondur nodded in greeting.

"Good day, elves of Tarlachia. It is good to see you once again."
____________

Ivan was not in a good mood. Even though he had slayed several vampiric scum this night, the fuel to his anger was with his own men this time. He'd had to fire another imcompetent moron that thought Ivan's methods were too brutal and that God would punish him for such violence. If there was one thing Ivan hated almost as much as vampires, it was the religious. He had learned early in life when his family was torn apart before his eyes that there was not god, and if there was then he had abandoned them.

Vampiric activity had been quiet the last few years and the newest officers weren't prepared to use 'excessive force' upon the vampiric scum. Ivan wouldn't tolerate such crap. Either they blew a whole through the bloodsucker's head or he would make sure they never worked in the VP again. Due to the pathetic performances of the officers here, Ivan had decided to hire foreign aid in ridding Emerald City of the scum.

And so he waited within the VP HQ, Emerald City, for the arrival of Turquine Steele.
________________

Idun marvelled at the wonders of the modern day Emerald City. He could still remember when it was a few stone buildings and a fairly large sprawl of wooden buildings and drabby looking people. These days it was filled with structures that rocketed into the sky, seemingly with no limit to their height. People were transport within vehicles of high speed and no animal to provide locomotion Light shone down upon him, yet it was not moonlight, it spawned from odd looking poles. The world had indeed changed.

And so the ancient vampire continued to pass through the streets of Emerald, unnoticed by humans and vampires alike.
_______________

Svartel grew ever closer to his destination. A path of blood and suffering marked his path southward, yet that mattered not to him. The excitement of arriving in his homeland was almost overwhelming. The slaughter had only just begun...

One more day and Svartel would be in Emerald City...

Standing in front of the massive headquarters in Emerald City, Turquine Steele took a moment to let the local architecture mellow within him. It was a beautiful city, the ancients spires scratching the sky, the smell of history hanging heavy in the air. He knew he was expected, and he knew he was late. It mattered not at this point...whatever needed his particular attention could wait a few more moments.

Minutes later, he ascended the long stairway to the main entrance, smiling at the two heavily-armed guards who watched him as he approached. Moving slowly and deliberately so as not to alarm them, Turquine swept open his long coat and withdrew his ID card. He flashed it at them, and spoke quickly, using the voice that commanded billions.

"Turquine Steele of Gawdly, here to see Ivan Kolstolv."

The guards looked at his ID card, speaking amongst themselves. Steele waited patiently, knowing that the guards had a duty to perform. He wasn't worried about passing through any scanners, as he was completely unarmed. As it stood, an unarmed Steele was the equivalent of a small unit of well-armed troops, so he felt no hesitation being on a strange world without a blaster holstered by his side.

As the guards conversed, Steele thought about everything he knew about Assington, which was not very much. He had dismissed the legends, and went with the pure facts. What he was sure about was that Kolstolv was the mirror-image of his grandfather, Darius Steele. Kolstolv had lost his family to vampires, which led him to the position he now enjoyed. He had been very effective in keeping a lid on Assington's vampire population, but obviously things had spiralled out of control somehow, or Steele would'nt be here now.

He pondered the reasons as he waited for the guards to show him in.

After running a detailed enquiry over the I.D. of this foreigner and assuring themselves that he was indeede expected by Captain Kolstolv, one of the large guards stepped forward.

"Welcome Mr. Steele, Captain Kolstolv is waiting for you in his office. Straight ahead, turn right at the first corridor and take the last door on the left of it. The door should have his name printed upon it."

Satisfied with his instructions, the guard stepped back into place, yet slightly to the side so Steele could pass into the VP HQ.

Efficiency and attention to detail were traits that Steele looked for in his own men, and the young Gawdlian was suitably impressed with the way Kolstolv had trained his troops. Even though he was invited and expected, they still watched him carefully. He followed their instructions implicitly, noting the numerous security cameras and scanners pointed towards him as he walked down the corridor. Stopping in front of Kolstolv's door, Steele knocked twice and prepared himself to find out exactly why his particular services were needed in Assington.

Sigrun held Skadi with an equally strong embrace and placed a kiss upon her lips, savoring the cold touch of her flesh. He too spoke nothing, for words could not amount to the love they shared. At long last, they parted, smiling toward each other.

Sigrun turned to Hondur, just as Arleni reached a hand out to the vampire. Sigrun was surprised, for Arleni had made it a code of hers to never touch the hand of another non-elf that deemed unworthy of her touch. He smiled as Hondur looked up at her, understanding the importance of such a gesture.

Sigrun looked back at Skadi and smiled his approval of the exchange between the other two. He spoke to Hondur after the two shook, greeting each other.

"Well if it isn't my old nemesis..." he spoke lowly, his face straight and his eyes glaring at Hondur. Hondur squared off and bared his fangs. The moment of challenge passed and the two shook hands, signifying their friendship. "Good to see you again, Hondur."

Several of the other vampires were confused with what they saw. Skadi, the fearsome figure that had just drained one of their own dry was now latching onto this elf like an infactuated teenager. It was a complete contrast to what they had just seen and many did not know what to think. The one thing that was evident, don't mess with this elf or Skadi might lose whatever 'nice' side she has left.

Hondur took the elven grip and shook it firmly. It hadn't been that long since he'd seen Sigrun, yet it was always good to see an old friend.

"How was your trip?"

Skadi took her place on Sigrun's arm and so the group moved towards a private lounge room, reserved for the pleasure of the ancients.
___________

Ivan looked up as two knocks slammed against his door. Already in a bad mood, Ivan would be even more pissed off if this wasn't the foreigner. He wanted to get things underway as quickly as possible and begin his city purge operation. For years he had been discovering coven locations and adding them to his 'Emerald Cleanse' operation.

Unfortunately, Ivan had yet to discover the largest coven in Emerald. He knew there was a bigger one, a coven that held all the ancients. He would find it, and it would burn to the ground. And that's why Steele was here. Whilst Ivan had well trained men, he didn't have enough of them. For every man that was disciplined and willing to kill a vampire, there were two others that couldn't stomach what they called murder. This man had a reputation for being good at what he does and so Ivan would find out first hand.

"Come in."

Sigrun nodded, "It was good. The weather was favorable the whole way here. We have left our mounts a ways from here, for obvious safety reasons from your coven. Nevertheless, I am glad to see you are doing well for yourself Hondur."

They walked toward the lounge, hardly noticing the numerous vampires that bowed slightly as they passed. It was a ritual that he himself had grown accustomed to back in Tarlachia. Once in the lounge, Sigrun took a seat in a comfortable leather seat and questioned to no one in particular, "What news comes from the city?"

Stephen slunk out of the Emerald Airport terminal into the shadows, a navy blue duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He walked into a small grove of trees away from the parking lot, took off his trenchcoat, and put the duffelbag on the ground. He opened the bag to reveal not only spare clothes, but also a tiny arsenal of firearms.

He pulled out his armpit holsters that already held a pair of nasty Para P14-45 automatics. Stephen put the holsters on, reached inside the duffel bag, grabbed a .45 HK USP Compact with stainless steel slide. He put in one of the pockets in his trenchcoat and grabbed magizine holders for the three firearms and clipped them to his belt.

Lastly he pulled out a strange looking device that appeared to be nothing more than a small barrel, rectangle, and a cylinder attached to each other. Stephen placed it on his lower right arm and strapped it firmly there with leather straps. He put back on his trenchcoat, stood, and zipped up his bag.

Stephen made his way quickly over the rooftops of Emerald, he had noticed a few changes to the city, but he knew Hondur's coven would still be in the same place. He arrived at the doors a few minutes later. He quickly spotted several vampires toting automatic rifles hiding in the shadows, aiming thier guns at him.

He looked at one of the vampires. "I'm here to see Hondur, I'm Stephen Malone."

Stephen then sensed Sigrun had arrived before him, smiling he sent a quick message to him.

"Aren't you suppose to be running a nation?"

Sigrun heard Stephen's voice echoing in his mind, causing him to chuckle aloud. He informed the others, "Stephen's here."

To Stephen, he replied, Even national leaders need a vacation or two in their tenure. Good to see you're alive and well.

He cast his hand toward the double doors, ushering them open. Beyond, they could see Stephen standing, waiting patiently. He looked over to Hondur, "It's your coven, my friend."

Phobos smiled as he breathed in the Assington air. It was good to be back. He ran his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes and listening to the sounds of hearbeats. He found it terribly exilarating that he could hear the sounds of life around him.

God, it had been so long. Phobos remembered this street though, he had walked down it so long ago.

Suddenly, he felt a pulling at his heart. He knew why: they were here. He hadn't spoken to any of them in eons...but he had kept up, he knew what they had been up to for the most part.

Something told him that he should see them again. He was not afraid to...Phobos was fear, he was afraid of no thing.

He smiled again, and walked down the street to the house where his family had gathered....

Stephen bowed politly as he saw Skadi and Arleni through the now open doors. He smiled to Hondur and Sigrun as he waited calmly for Hondur to invite him into his house. As he stood there, he sensed another vampire coming. Stephen reached into his trenchcoat and flicked the safties off on his pistols, just in case of trouble.

He then turned his attention back to the two elves and vampire ancients in the mansion.

"I hope everyone is doing well."

Lujza sat in her room, well, if one could call it that, reading. Her "room" was really an old storage closet in a forgotten part of the attic of the coven's mansion. Her axe hung at her belt and her AK-103 leaned against the wall. An outcast of the Batory clan at home both for her rogue-ish tendencies and her refusal to participate in all the plots and scheming that went on in Callisdrun, she had been forced to travel. Now she found herself in Emerald City, Assington.

Several weeks earlier, she had somehow managed to talk the vampires at this place into giving her lodging in return for running errands and doing odd jobs for them. She was not a part of their coven, but had become somewhat comfortable there. After the initial fascination that a few of the inhabitents had with the oddities of her sub-species, the lack of immortality most importantly, most had simply decided that she was quite weird and so now didn't notice her very much. The fact that she was a ragamuffin, for a vampire at least, compared to them did not help either. It was not that she was ugly, in fact, she had an odd sort of savage beauty to her. She just seemed to have very few clothes that weren't worse for wear, and even fewer of these were suitable for any function more formal than taking out the trash.

She stopped reading for a moment, as she heard some commotion somewhere downstairs. Oh well, whatever. Lujza thought. It probably didn't have anything whatsoever to do with her. She continued reading.

"Come in."

At the barked command, Steele pushed the door open and entered the room. It was an office, much like any office, filled with computer terminals, desks and paperwork. Sitting in a battered leather chair was the man he had come to see: Ivan Kolstolv. Turquine smiled down at him, and approached the desk. He was slightly intimidated, being in the presence of "Mr.Clean", as he was known through the bounty-hunter community. Kolstolv was famous for his cold-blooded efficiency and ruthlessness when dispatching vampires, and wasn't known for taking prisoners. He was similar in that respect to Turq's grandfather, Darius Steele. If it had fangs, kill it and ask no questions.

The current head of the Steele organization had a somewhat different philosophy. Over time, vampires had began to find a place for themselves within the grand scheme of the universe, and not all needed to be hunted anymore. The vampires of DragonsReach and Velmora were well respected, and even in some cases, considered as heroes. The Shentavo clan had also continued to establish themselves as leaders of their people, and Steele's organization often worked closely with them to eliminate mutual threats. The bloodsuckers had become partners as opposed to targets.

Turquine himself held his own philosophies regarding them. Firstly, he was jealous. Immortality was the hidden dream of every man, and Steele was no diferent. He also coveted their great strength and supernatural abilities. Unlike his grandfather, Turquine Steele was simply a man. Even though the blood of elves flowed through him, it had been tempered by his human DNA. Though it gave him a slight advantage over a pure human, it was nothing compared to the force within a vampire. Being of the Steele stock, the young man was very interested in power.

He was also in love with a vampire.

He had first encountered Davos Mikalia during the Rendos campaign, when a Gawdlian team had worked with a small vampire strike-force to eliminate a small coven of wildings that had been snatching children to raise as blood-dolls. Turq had been suitably impressed by the young vampires actions and skills, and had spent many days alone with him, scouting and tracking their prey. Together, they had eliminated the main leaders of the rogue group, and sat back as their teams mopped up. It was then that Turq had admitted his feeling for Davos, not wanting the other to disappear without knowing. Their eyes met, locked, and told their own story.

"We cannot be, until you become." the young vampire hissed with his mind.

"Take what you need then...and take me with you. Please." Turquine replied, his heart yearning and breaking all at once.

"I...cannot. I am not ready to sire...and you are a Steele. To become, you must be taken by an Ancient. So the Legend speaks...and so shall I wait for you." Davos shimmered, and began to dissipate. Turq reached for him, his hands grasping at the wisps of smoke the vampire left behind.

Years had passed, and Steele continued to lead his world. Their fortunes grew as the young man used his bright wit and business acumen to expand the Steele holdings into different industries, making wise investments in a timely fashion. Killing vampires had taken a backseat to making money. Still, the Gawdlians were known for many things, but the one thing they did better than anyone else was hunt and eliminate vampires.

As he approached the desk, thrusting his hand out to Kolstolv, it occurred to him that one day, if his dreams came true, his own people might be hunting Turquine Steele himself.

[OOC: Away for a few days]

Ivan watched closely as Steele entered his office and crossed the room. It was good to see that word of mouth was correct when stating Steele was definitely a physically able man. He was tall and obviously well muscled, perfect for combat against such creatures like vampires and others of supernatural strength.

Standing as Steele reached his desk, Ivan took his hand in a strong grasp.

"Welcome Mr. Steele, thanks for coming. Take a seat."

Ivan indicated a another comfortable looking leather chair and sat down himself. Gazing at Steele with his own blank expression, Ivan begun.

"I'm sure you have a few ideas of why I've asked you over here. I've heard of your reputation and am quite impressed. As you may know, Assington does have quite a large vampiric population and it is my job to take care of those that decide they are outside our vampiric regulations. It seems that many men that join the VP these days are not fit for the job, and so I have a lack of skilled and disciplined officers. And so this is where you come in. I would like to employ you as a tempoary VP officer to aid in a certain operation against criminal vampires. It's at least a few days long and residence can be provided for you. What do you say?"

Ivan waited patiently for a reply, still looking rather unhappy.
___________

Hondur indicated that all was going well within the mansion whilst everyone seated themselves.

"I'm sure you noticed the city has changed, as do human cities over time. I've heard word of a new VP Captain, one that seems to have a pretty high temper and quick trigger finger, but that's no big issue. We've seen many of them come and go, as will this one."

At that moment, a certain feeling crossed over Hondur that he had not felt in hundreds of years. It was only something he and one other person could feel. The inherent link between sire and fledgling. Phobos was back in Assington, he could feel it within himself, recognise his own ilk.

"That's interesting..."

At Sigrun's whim, the doors opened to reveal the younger vampire Stephen Malone standing at the door, obviously only recently arrived in Assington. Smiling to the coven member, Hondur indicated he should take up a seat.

"Welcome Stephen, it seems everyone is returning."

Skadi gave the newly arrived vampire a distinct nod of a greeting, which was more than he would recieve before Skadi's near death experience. Hondur resumed speaking once Stephen was seated.

"As I was saying, things are pretty much the same. With the Hyraphore now gone, it's smooth sailing."

Stephen was suprised as Skadi visably nodded to him, before she had just tilted her head so slightly it was barely noticable. The younger vampire smiled back to the ancient and sat down on a leather couch. He placed his bag next to his feet as he and listened to Hondur.

"Guess everything is back to a state of normality around here. What have you been up to these last few hundred years Hondur? Last time I saw you was at the Star Trials."

Viannor stepped into the taxi and slammed the door behind her furiously, the driver turning round in time to see a scowl as she crossed her arms.

"Where to, miss?"

"Vampire Police Headquarters," she stated flatly, with a tone that offered no avenues for future driver-passenger conversation.

Ignore me at the airport, will they? she thought to herself for the umpteenth time, wondering if this Ivan character even knew she was coming. She flicked her collar up again and shifted in her seat to get more comfortable; her pistol grips were digging into her back. She searched in one of her long coat pockets for a fistful of Amethysts to pay the driver. It seemed like for an eternity that she sat silently in the bad of the cab, scowling all the while.

"VPHQ, miss."

Viannor stepped out of the cab and paid the driver, making sure not to touch him as she handed over the pitance charged to take her this far. She turned aournd and look up the long set of steps that led to the VP building, with a pair of armed guards at the top. She sighed and began the long trek up the stairs, flowing with effortless grace up the steps. At the top she was eyed by the two guards, who seemed both amused and on-edge at her presence.

"Lady Viannor," she growled, accenting her title, "to see Captain Volstov."

They frowned back at her, looking her up and down. With thumb and forefinger she slowly reached into an outer coat pocket and tossed a Starblaydi Inquisition card to a guard. He needed to juggle it in one hand before catching it cleanly.

"No weapons?" Viannor asked.

She sighed at the guard's nod, slipping her long coat off her shoulders and practically throwing it at one of them. Spinning around on her long limbs she allowed the guards to see her twin pistols strapped to her waist behind her. Slowly she drew them out, keeping her fingers well away from the triggers, discharging the clips and handing the empty weapons to the guard. She bent over and removed the dagger from her boot, handing that to the guard before snatching her coat back. She inwardly cursed herself for wearing clothes that accentuated her body rather than hid it. Viannor folded her arms and thought about tapping her foot. She was not accustomed to waiting on underlings.

The two guards found this woman rather amusing. They had been forewarned of a Lady Viannor making a visit and yet they still performed the standard check with the security system, everything checked out. Smiling slightly as the young lady removed her coat and handed over the weapons, they refrained from making any comments as it appeared the young woman was already quite pissed.

One of the guards stepped to the side and indicated with his arm.

"Inside, first corridor to the right, last left door. It has Captain Ivan Kolstolv printed on it."

Without another word, the guard returned to his post, allowing Lady Viannor to pass bym into the VPHQ.
____________

Hondur was finally feeling at ease for the first time in many years. There was nothing to worry about, they could just get along doing whatever they wanted. No lychans, no hyraphore, no assassination attempts. The only variable seemed to be the VP, and they could be taken care of easily enough.

"Things are well Stephen. I've spent the majority of my time back in Tarlachia, exploring the nation. But for now I believe home will do me just fine. And yourself, still hiding away from your ignorant government?"

Sigrun chuckled as he thought about the Simtarian government. The last he had checked, they were still as ignorant as ever. He had taken the care to only speak on verbal lines, no visuals. He doubted they even knew who he was, and his history.

"Given time, one day, this is all going to blow wide open for them, and the entire Simtarian government and society are in for a very rude awakening..."

Sigrun grinned again, imagining this happening. He could just see them running about in a paranoid fashion. For a brief moment, he wondered if such a revelation would spur the nation to enact a very swift decree either for, or against immortals such as their own Stephen Malone.

Striding past furiously, Viannor's boots echoed down the corridors of VPHQ. She put her coat back across her shoulders and let it flow behind her as she swiftly stepped down the corridor. Turning to the left, she faced the door.

'Captain Ivan Kolstov', the sign told her, meaning she'd asked the guard for the wrong Captain. Brilliant she though, this day just gets better and better.

Viannor took a deep breath, composing herself. What kind of tinpot country do they run where I have to knock on a mere Captain's door? she thought as she ran her fingers through her hair one last time, making sure she was presenatable. Damn Helicopters. She extended her arm and knocked three times sharply on the door.

Ivan looked up as the three knocks rattled his door. He was expecting Lady Viannor slightly earlier, but he wasn't about to lecture a foreign noblewoman about being on time, he'd mostly likely get a lecture back himself.

The VP Captain watched as Viannor marched through the doorway, a particularly irritated expression plastered across what could be deemed quite an attractive face when not directing irritation. Either way, Ivan wasn't particularly concerned with women at this point in his life. Foreign, royal or attractive, they recieved no special treatment from him and he expected they wouldn't demand such.

"Welcome. I trust you understand why you are here?"

Ivan's tone was straight to the point, cut the crap and get on with business. He didn't want to listen to her complaints, especially knowing she was royal and so they were most likely trivial.

No, she didn't say, I always randomly walk into foreign police stations and demand to see their Captains. Viannor glared at the enormous presence of the man already standing in Kolstov's office, which she neatly stepped around.

"Yes, thankyou, Captain," Viannor smiled as sweetly as she could, "I'm sure I can learn a lot about the handling of your... minority during my stay."

She glanced at the giant of a man standing beside her and raised her eyebrows. Polite society would grant me an introduction about now, she thought.

Stephen laughed at Hondur calling the Simatarian goverment ignorant. In his case he knew they were ignorant, though it was overwise a competent goverment. A few members had been ignorant when he was human to a threat more human, but he pushed this thought from his mind. He simply shrugged, thinking.

"Well, I have to agree with you Hondur that my goverment is very ignorant in this case. I have been half draining my victims to help myself stay under the radar, I probe my prey's mind after I feed and wipe clean me attacking them so that no bizzare muggings are reported."

Stephen looked over at Sigrun and gave another nod. The Simatarian's eyes became very distant as he thought about what would happen if the goverment found out about vampires and that there was one living there.

"I am actually afraid of what would happen. If the wrong sort of vampires got there and started to slaughter the populace. Then, a no holds barn brawl that would only stop with the eradication of the humans in the Golden Simatar or the vampires.

"Yet if the goverment found out about vampires in a peaceful manner, there might be a law passed that allowed vampires to become citizens of the Golden Simatar. My goverment will probably contact Assington, observe, and figure out where to improve the Assingtonian system. Though, I am still terrified that a rouge gang of vampires will get into the Golden Simatar and start a slaughter."

A small smile broke across Stephen's face. "If the goverment does find out about vampires....the hospitals will be filled to the brim with heart attack patients."

For one such as himself, the anonymity of a motel was an advantage. Whiptail, of the Longtail clan, sat in a relaxed posture at the small table present in every cheap motel room, the ones made of second-rate plastic & plywood. The room was dim, the light of passing cars through the drawn shades glimmering faintly in Whiptail's golden eyes as they passed. His task tonight was a boring one, repetitive in every sense of the word...

Assington had become a favorite hunting ground, a place where he could hone his skills past their already formidable edge. Even for one as old & expeirenced as himself, new tricks could still be learned, new variables taken into account, and new techniques could be tested. With a scaly, clawed thumb, Whiptail firmly pressed a silver-jacketed 9x19mm round into the second of three thirty-two round magazines for his newest tool, a Glock model 18. The handgun was no larger than the model 17 variant, but sported a select-fire switch for both semi and fully-automatic modes. Combined with the thirty-two round magazine, it simply outclassed his old M1911 in basically every category other than all-out stopping power. Seventeen boxes of similar ammunition where stacked on the table, along with a small collection of silver throwing stars. Each was four-pointed & gleamed with a dull sheen in the headlights of the passing cars.

Something unfamiliar sat across the nearest bed... Argonian in design, but totally Whiptail in terms of craftsmanship & quality. The Argonian saber sported an 'edge-and-a-half', as Whiptail called it. Half the back side was honed as neatly as the main edge, while still retaining the weight for slashing as the weapon had been designed for. Forged from solid mithrill, it had little weight, aside from the thin silver edge that ran the length of the blade & its partially-sharpened back edge. He'd tired of the twin katanas he'd wielded in the past, they carried too many memories with them... Namely, the death of this wife & children so many centuries ago...

The hunter snapped to as he realized he wasn't loading anymore... No wonder, the magazine was full. Whiptail slid open a new box & started on the third & final magazine. Within an hour, he'd be ready for his nightly hunt. The past few nights had been uneventful, perhaps tonight would be different. The faint click of the metallic casings entering the magazine continued into the later portion of the night, followed by the distinctive 'ka-chink' noise of a round being chambered...

The hunter was ready, and the hunted was most likely not...

All the better for him...

Ivan indicated a another comfortable looking leather chair and sat down himself. Gazing at Steele with his own blank expression, Ivan begun.

"I'm sure you have a few ideas of why I've asked you over here. I've heard of your reputation and am quite impressed. As you may know, Assington does have quite a large vampiric population and it is my job to take care of those that decide they are outside our vampiric regulations. It seems that many men that join the VP these days are not fit for the job, and so I have a lack of skilled and disciplined officers. And so this is where you come in. I would like to employ you as a tempoary VP officer to aid in a certain operation against criminal vampires. It's at least a few days long and residence can be provided for you. What do you say?"

Ivan waited patiently for a reply, still looking rather unhappy.

The office smelled old and tired and very, very male.

Steele reached out and clasped the older mans hand, smiling tightly. He accepted the offer of the chair with a nod, and sat down as Kolstolv began speaking. It had come as no surprise to Turq that vampires were involved, but what caught his attention was Ivan’s description of his own men. They were obviously trained professionals…how could there not be an officer in the bunch? Something was not quite right, so Steele hesitated before replying. When he spoke, his voice had deep, measured tone.

“I appreciate your kind words, and faith in my abilities. Please understand, I’d need to have more information on this “certain operation” you need help with before I could commit myself or my organization to the job.” Steele looked at the VP commander closely, and then leaned forward.

“We’re both warriors, so let’s not waste each others time. Give me full disclosure or we don’t have anything to talk about. Everything we say stays right here, between us. No bullshit, Ivan, and no surprises.”

A smile crossed the VP Captain's face. He liked Steele and his no bullshit attitude.

"Fair enough. This operation involves a purging of a large majority of illegal vampires. I have information specifying coven hide outs, certain names and appearances, ages and any other vital info. I want to take a large group of our best men and hit these places, wiping the scum out completely. There are certain vampires that must be taken prisoner, but otherwise you are free to shoot as much as you like. There will be those that disapprove of these actions, but this is my operation and I have full jurisdiction. Anyone that questions you, give my name to them and I'll sort it out."

Ivan watched as Viannor put on a nice expression and attempt to seem pleasant. He must admit that she did it well, but Ivan had been around too many so called aristocrats and so recognised their moods quite well. She appeared to be waiting on something whilst looking at Steele.
"Lady Viannor, this is Turquine Steele. He'll be bringing some competence to the team since we don't seem to have many real men in the VP today. We shall be leaving for anot her patrol within half an hour. I've also got these for you..."

Ivan plunged his hand into a desk draw and withdrew two flat screened, computer like objects, placing them upon the desk. Each object had a photo of the two foreigners respectively.

"This is your VP I.D. or badge. It shall allow you access to most VP facilities and resources. Show it to guards and you may pass. It also possesses useful information like an uplink to our database on vampires and detailed maps of the city. Any questions?"
_______________

Hondur nodded in agreement with Stephen's methods of feeding. He had obviously thought things through and so would avoid the scruntiny of the Simatarian government.

"Well it seems you have all that sorted out. Although the system over here isn't exactly that effective. At least not from the human's perspective."

Skadi nodded in agreement, thinking back over all the VP and other humans she had slaughtered over the centuries. It wasn't very effective at all. Skadi remained silent during the conversation, something was irking her. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, yet it didn't appear to be good.

When the door flew open and the woman swept in, Steele was taken aback by the regal beauty that seemed to radiate from her. He bowed to her while being introduced by Kolstolv, taking her hand and brushing his lips lightly across it.

"I'm honoured, m'lady."

Accepting the ID card from Ivan, Steele waited until he finished explaining their use before speaking again.

"We still need to talk, Commander. Until that happens, I'm only an interested visitor here."

Ivan nodded towards Steele.

"Right. Viannor, if you don't have any questions you're free to make whatever preperations you feel necessary, or wander around the VP a bit and see how things run for yourself."

Ivan's manner was rather off-handed, yet such was his nature. Ivan was not a diplomat, he was a warrior.

Stephen nodded and gave a slight shrug.

"No system will ever be perfect, democracy for example still has its little quirks and problems. As in the case of vampire-human relation system, one can only pray that you can make a system that won't lead to a bloodbath and the deaths of hundreds. You will also need both parties ready to accept the other into society."

Stephen thought for a quick second.

"Hondur, you mentioned a new VP captain who seems to be intent on killing every vampire he sees. Has the rest of the VP followed suit or has it gotten a bit more relaxed since the Hyraphore has stopped trying to take over rule over the vampires here in Assington?"

The Dark Argonian made a final check over his equipment before leaving his motel room via the window...

The 18C Glock was loaded with the usual seventeen round magazine, with the three larger ones attatched to his thigh. The weapon itself was under his left shoulder, above the sheath for his new saber. As he was right-handed, the throwing-stars where also fixed to the left side of his tactical vest, a level II model approved for small-caliber handgun & sub-machinegun rounds. The lower portion of the vest held a Stap, a small collapseable baton; and a Kath-clan fighting knife edged with silver. Both where attatched horizontally to allow easy access.

There where no wooden stakes or crucifixes this time... Such where the trinkets of the amatuer comic-book readers & disillusioned holy-men. His gear looked over completely, the hunter departed through the window.

Like the previous nights, targets would need to be selected carefully. Assington had a population of law-abiding vampirics & the death of innocents was never acceptable. Whiptail sought the rogue elements, the un-accounted-for dregs of vampiric society. Those who preyed on the innocent that the VP, the enforcement arm of the vampiric government, sometimes had slip through their many collective fingers. The Dark Argonian was always neat in his work, leaving the corpse on a popular patrol route so it wouldn't fester in the backalleys & basements the confrontations typically ended in...

'A suitable location... Hmm.... The cityscape has changed a great deal in these past few centuries... Most of the underground blood-bars have been either shut down by the VP or closed due to inactivity...'

Shots rang out in the distance, disrupting his trail of thought...

'Small-caliber, most likely a forty-caliber smith round by the pitch... VP standard issue...'

After a quick foray across the rooftops, Whiptail came to overlook the scene of a very different type of slaying, one he'd not seen yet. An unarmed vampire lay sprawled on the pavement, missing the top portion of his head. His license lay in his left hand, contorted by his death-grip...

'It seems I have been hunting the wrong prey the past few nights... Mankind has again grown greedy & distrustful... Perhaps the local coven will wish to know of this, and hopefully Skadi has awoken from her long-deserved rest...'

This image seared into his memory, Whiptail resumed his rooftop-hopping means of transportation on his way to the old location of Hondor's coven, and hoping it hadn't been relocated by the VP...

OOC: Due to very surprising internet access, I will be able to check in every night until I get back from chicago, at which time my normal posting habits will continue.

Skadi found Stephen's comments about humans and vampires existing peace quite amusing. The fact that he still clung to such notions was an indicator of his age and inexperience. Even Hondur as a human had realised it was either vampires or humans, not both. A slight smile crossed her pale lips as she considered what the event would be that could finally open the younger vampire's eyes.

Hondur watched Skadi and smiled himself. Whilst nowhere near as cynical or pessimistic about things, Hondur knew what Skadi was thinking and couldn't help but agree.

"From what I've been told, he's moulding the VP upon his own ways. Getting rid of those that aren't trigger happy and such. They may present some trouble, yet he won't live forever. Most die young."

Ivan nodded towards Steele.

"Right. Viannor, if you don't have any questions you're free to make whatever preperations you feel necessary, or wander around the VP a bit and see how things run for yourself."

Ivan's manner was rather off-handed, yet such was his nature. Ivan was not a diplomat, he was a warrior.

Turquine Steele, on the other hand, was every inch the diplomat. He bowed yet again to Viannor, his voice soft and apologetic.

``M`lady, I apologise for monopolizing the Commanders time, and I promise to be swift with him. If you so desire, I can contact you the moment we are finished.``

He reached into his tunic, and withdrew a small device. Offering it to her, he smiled as he explained.

``Short-range communicator, tagged to mine. It will vibrate when I send a signal, which I will do once Ivan and I have concluded our business. Will that be acceptable to you?``

Viannor took the ID from the desk and turned it over in her hands a few times, considering the offer. It appears this man has some manners, unlike certain people I could name, she thought to herself.

"Thankyou for the kind offer, Mister Steele," she said, taking the Communicator from him, "though I only need to know where this patrol will be assembling. I'm sure I'll ask enough questions soon enough, I'm not a Quaestor for nothing, you know. I'll keep your gracious gift, of course, a girl never knows when she might need a hero around."

She dropped the two items inside a coat pocket. Now all I need is to get my guns back from those two goons at the door.

Stephen sat there quietly, listening to Hondur but his eyes were on Skadi. Her smile made him slightly uneasy. His eyes shifted to Hondur, who now also was smiling. He adjusted his postition on the couch slightly. He felt uncomfortable with the smiles the ancients had. Stephen felt like Skadi was planning something.

"Skadi, are you up to something that would concern me?"

Lower Taria, Tarlachia

The past 19 days had brought many changes to the government of Tarlachia. With the departure of Sigrun Greenwood, Ruler of Tarlachia, and his cousin the Crown Princess Arleni Greenwood, the Council has had to adapt to governing Tarlachia without their presence. Which was not a problem, really, except that they now have trouble explaining to the people about why their leader had to go, leaving them to their own devices. In such times, the position of figurehead usually went to the next-in-line, the Lady Arleni, who unfortunately had also disappeared along with Sigrun.

Still not too bad a problem, considering they had the relatively young Princess Aeris Celadrin Greenwood to fall back on. So it came as something of a disaster to them when the said Princess in question also indicated her intent to follow her exalted uncle into Assington.

"But, my Princess!", exclaimed one of the trusted advisors of the Council, a wizened old elf in Elvish. "We cannot afford to do without you here! We already have enough trouble as it is with the Leader of Tarlachia and his heir apparent gone. We cannot have the heir presumptive, and the only remaining heir to the Throne left in Tarlachia, desert us as well. What would the people think? How would we continue to conduct the affairs of the state? You must stay, my Princess! Tarlachia needs you!"

The object of his objection, a young Elvish woman, sat mutely at the head of the table. Slender and frail-looking on first sight, yet possessed of a great hidden resolve to all who knew her, she stood up, her graceful frame belaying her charisma of command. As the Princess Aeris (http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UADtAmkZbx3XNR9kOZjhcYXqBeBztaegasCqt!MMb6A7hAzJtFdGpRn2NJ4licYeXSajJkFBHHDJXt8X2aEwbJzYrkSVWasgy5i 0hO9cSp*CtT4UkidPOHSC7xsAcO8b/NewAeris2.bmp?dc=4675504884622053078) Celadrin Greenwood walked around the table, all could see the exquisitely carved short sword in her hand, a weapon of ceremony, but also of battle. In its hilt were carved the words:

Megil en' i' Wen

The Blade of the Maiden. The symbol of the power of a Princess of Tarlachia. And indeed, that was exactly what Aeris was.

"I was under the impression that Tarlachia would be well governed, even without the presence of its leaders, would it not?", the Princess Aeris said. "In fact, that's why you, the Council, is here. Isn't it the job of the trusted elders of Tarlachia to govern the land, whether the royal family be here or not?"

"But, my Princess! The people of Tarlachia look up to you! Without your presence, they will soon question, and soon, they will start revolting......"

"Nonsense", Aeris cut in abruptly, startling enough of the elders to make them suddenly silent. A little surprised at herself, as well as the effect she had on these elder ones, those who have more wisdom than her, Aeris blushed a little, embarassed that she should have the authority to cut off the words of these elders, whom she otherwise liked to learn from. Nevertheless, she had to assert her authority this time if she wanted to receive what she wanted to get, and she knew it well. Coughing a little to divert attention from her sudden outburst, she continued her plea to the Council, hoping they would understand.

"My esteemed uncle and my mother would never desert Tarlachia if there was not a good reason for it", Aeris started, catching everyone's eyes as she walked around the table. "And whatever it was, I have a right to go and find out what it is by myself. Although they are headed for Assington, which to me means I might already know what it is about, still I must go and see for myself. It is my duty", she finished, looking around.

None of the other elders were looking at her. Instead, their heads were bowed, as if they didn't like what they had to accept. Finally, another one of the elders raised his head and asked, "My Princess. Who then do you propose to guard your life? You are safe here in Tarlachia. Who would protect you in Assington?"

Aeris merely gave a dazzling smile, equal in parts knowingness and mischief. "Who else?"

_________________________________________________________________

Atrosian Embassy to Tarlachia, Dreban

He never thought that after so many centuries, he would end up back in the kind of occupation he had tried to escape from for so long. Well, at least he was no longer directly involved in the political machinations of the Royal Court of Atros, nor was he directly involved in the same machinations of the Royal Court of Tarlachia now. All he was doing was overseeing the relations between his home country of Atros, and the country of his good friend Sigrun. For he is now Atros' Ambassador to Atros, and besides spending his time relaying messages of goodwill between the Ruler Sigrun and the King Louis, he wasn't doing much else.

And he was bored.

Zero (http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0VgAsA9EboeFRCWlgXkUWBWaDv9rOxOax8jmAth6apgJ*bnKRh*p7cup!GK81EGC1wNstppwdzxCsOhD0bDpe3HSlFCtpJWKNJHe gSwuoDVq7HP6R03BojNHPYIR7PhuS/7-portrait-seph.jpg?dc=4675499251526051645) leaned back at his desk, sighing at the routine he had to face for the past 2 centuries. It has been a long time since he had anything interesting happening to him, and while Sigrun had hinted that they would soon have a friendly spar one of those days when they would be free, it still hasn't come. The only thing he had to look forward to these days would be Aeris, who still came to visit him every now and then........"whenever she gets bored of being a Princess", he thought with a smile to himself. If anything, he shouldn't be complaining. His love had even less to do in the Aria Woodlands than he had at the Embassy, and they were finding so much time together, that Zero had been able to continue training Aeris' powers at his usual pace, ready for the day when Aeris would fulfil a prophecy Liam Celadrin had promised she would. And yet Liam had never, even after all these centuries, told him just what Aeris would become.

"I try so hard, and got so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter.....", Zero hummed to himself, bringing up lyrics to a centuries-old song only he remembered now. Indeed, he had tried so hard to escape all this bureaucracy, and it still captured him in the end. Well, what could you expect, when you just had to be the Princess Consort, as well as the Ambassador? Zero sighed once more. Sometimes, he wondered if the revelation of Aeris as a Greenwood was more a blessing or a curse.......

"The Princess Aeris has arrived!"

"What? She's here? That's great!", Zero thought, as joy leapt into his heart. Quickly exiting his office, he noticed men and Elves of his staff, all bowing in one direction. Instinctively, he turned his gaze to where they were all bowing, expecting to see.......

How strange. It was her all right. And yet she was not dressed in her royal gown, with all its accompanying regalia, as she usually would be in the grounds of Tarlachia. Instead, she was dressed simply as an Elven journeywoman, the Megil en' i' Wen tucked into a sheathe hanging on a belt by her side. Still, it was still her, and reacting with the formality expected of him in his office, Zero merely wordlessly escorted her into his office.

Once inside, they hugged each other tightly, kissing each other.

"I've missed you, Raph", Aeris murmured, her warm body snug against his. "It was getting boring."
"I've missed you too, little girl", Zero teased, kissing her hair. Then, he let go of her, and looked at her with a questioning gaze. "So. Why are you dressed like that? I thought court etiquette would ask for more? Not that I would accuse our dear Ruler Sigrun of being a stickler, but still.........?"

Quickly, Aeris put a hand to Zero's lips, and her smile was mischievious. "Ready to go on a little trip, warrior?"

"Are you kidding me, love? I've been raring to get out of here for, oh I don't know, 200 plus years?" And he wasn't joking. He was so sufficiently bored out of his wits, that Zero had prepared his Treasure Blades, his Uzi, and his Dual Elite Berettas, as well as his other equipment, such that he could be dressed and ready to go in a mere matter of minutes. "But where are we going? And what's all this I hear about Sigrun and Arleni bugging off all of a sudden?"

"They went to Emerald City, Raph", Aeris winkled her nose at him. "And that's where we're going too. Come on!"

"Wait.......Skadi?", Zero guessed, at which point Aeris could only shrug her shoulders. "Must be her then. The Grand Old Dame of Emerald City has finally awokened after so many long decades. About time too. No wonder Sigrun went off so fast." He looked again at Aeris, who was looking expectantly at him. "Alright then, my Princess. Time to go pay our respects."

Within half an hour, the old Zero was back, black leather trenchcoat and all. The outdated but still lethal Uzi hung menacingly from its shoulder strap, the Dual Elites still took pride of place on either side of his belt holsters, and the Treasure Blades gleamed on his back, happy again to be brought out into the open once more. "We're going, my friends", Zero whispered, stroking his blades. Finally, he turned to Aeris, who had taken to sitting in his office chair, and offered his hand. "It's been 200 years too late, my lady love. But finally we're going on our honeymoon", he joked with a grin.

Smiling, Aeris took his hand. "Fly me to the moon, my warrior. Bring us back down memory lane."

_________________________________________________________________

It was nighttime by the time Zero and Aeris touched down in front of Hondur's mansion, where Zero had first come to more than 2 centuries ago. Now, as they walked down the path leading to the mansion, where the plans of the 3rd Assingtonian Civil War was fought so long ago, and where they were now following to pay respects to Skadi, the Lady of Emerald City.

Some things never change though. One of those things was that the young punks ALWAYS challenge you. And so it is that one of them did just that, coming up to Zero and Aeris.

"Hey! This is Hondur's territory! You are not allowed in here!", the punk of a fledgling boasted, two of his gang behind him. So much for bravado, for Zero merely delivered an uppercut to his jaw, and the punk's minions gaped mutely as they watched their companion fly over the mansion, and disappear into the trees in the backyard, earning him a dirty look from Aeris.

"I'm pretty sure Hondur himself would never say that to me", Zero observed dryly. Taking off his Nightshade Amulet, he threw it to one of the fledglings, who caught it with trembling hands. "Pass this to Hondur. Or Sigrun Greenwood, if he's here already. Then await their instructions."

He walked over to the other trembling minion, and put his arm around the minion's shoulders. If anything, it made the cowardly fledgling shake even more, while he looked at the one with Zero's Amulet, as if pleading for help. "Go on now", Zero shooed. "We don't want your friend here to be, aaahhh......roasted, now would we?"

Sigrun heard the front doors of the mansion slam shut, followed by quick footsteps heading their direction. He turned his head as the door opened to show a young vampire looking around at them. Sigrun's eyes fell to the left hand, which held something wrapped by his fingers.

"Give me that." he spoke, as he recognized the amulet. The fledgling did so promptly. "Let the one who gave this to you enter. He is a friend."

The fledgling nodded in understanding, but did not leave. He looked at Sigrun, then to Hondur, and spoke, "There is another with him. Female."

Aeris... Sigrun thought momentarily, glancing over at Hondur, "Let her in too."

Several minutes later, Zero came in with Aeris in tow. Sigrun stood to greet him, then turned to his niece. "Cormamin lindua ele lle." he spoke to her, reverting to Elvish.

Aeris smiled in return, giving a slight bow, "Heruamin."

Sigrun spoke, "I just can't get away from you two can I? Tell me you've not demolished the government and turned it over to the dogs..."

Sigrun tossed Zero the amulet he held.

They shared a laugh, then took their seats. Sigrun took his seat next to Skadi, casting a telepathic message to her, Looks like the gang's here, now all we need is for trouble to knock on the door. He chuckled silently.

Chuckling, Zero led Aeris to their seats next to Sigrun. Aeris plopped herself besides Sigrun, and sighed, tired out from the efforts of today. After a while, she glanced over at Sigrun.

"Uncle", Aeris started to whine, more in mischief than in any actual complaint. "Why is it that the elders in your Council are so dead set against me going out to risk my life? It's not like I'm the most precious thing in the world, or something.", she stuck out her tongue.

At that, Zero chuckled too. "Not to say anything against your people, Sigrun, but she's right. Your elders are a bit.....stifling, to say the least. They should just learn to loosen up", he joked.

Sigrun began to laugh aloud as Aeris whined about the council. He too sometimes thought they were a little too high strung, afraid. It was probably why, when contrasted to himself, it made him look like an excellent choice for the throne.

"That is the way of old farts in any government, Aeris. No matter where you visit, similar people can be found at some level of the government."

He looked at Zero, "And you yourself should be more than familiar with such people..."

He looked back at Aeris and continued, "However, their concerns about you leaving, when I myself had already left, with Arleni at my side. If something were to happen to both of us, you would be left to rule. If all three of us suddenly are killed or something drastic happens, the council would see the end of my rule, and would most likely fall apart once again."

Stephen smiled as he saw Aeris and Zero enter the room. He had not seen the pair since the Star Trials. He stood and bowed slightly to Aeris and sat back down. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly as Aeris began to whine. He regained control of himself as Sigrun explained to Aeris the reason behind the council's fear of her leaving. Stephen waited till he was finished before speaking.

"Sigrun, if something did happen to you, Arleni, and Aeris....would Tarlachia descend into a civil war?"

Sigrun nodded, "It would be a very strong possibility. There would undoubtedly be some who would think themselves as only worthy of the ruler. And if I know anything about Tarlachians, the resulting battle...war...would be very costly for either side."

Stephen nodded. "Well, civil war is usually like that...starts with the death of a ruler, then a few crazy people come claiming to be the next leader...then all hell breaks loose. Peace-keeping is probably the hardest part after the initial slaughter takes place and there is an uneasy truce. Everyone still wants to kill each other and forgien peacekeepers get in the crossfire. Take it from me, it really sucks being a peacekeeper in some place that just almost finished a civil war. Almost as hard as putting down a rebellion."

The young vampire leaned back on the couch, resting his head on the back of the couch. He stared up at the cieling for several minutes.

"Sigrun, just curious. If there was a civil war in Tarlachia, who do you think would come out on top?"

It started out only as a joke, but when Sigrun lectured her on the neccessities of the Council's fears, Aeris's mood dropped a notch. Her expression downcast, Aeris looked downwards like a chastised child. She murmured, "So.......you would have me return to Tarlachia now, Uncle?"

Zero, keeping silent, merely took Aeris in his arms, and smiled at Sigrun knowingly. Even though she was 2 centuries old by now, compared to Sigrun, Aeris was still after all a little girl by Elvish standards.

Sigrun shook his head negatively, "No, I'm a firm believer of traveling the world. It broadens your experiences, makes you more capable of understanding the ramifications of certain actions."

He smiled as Aeris looked up to him, her face once more a little happier. "Besides, I'd say you're more protected here, than back home."

He returned his attention to Stephen, "I cannot truly predict who would win. Whoever manages to gather their forces and play their cards better than the rest will win."

Stephen nodded. What Sigrun had said sounded like the best answer, yet the Simatarian had thought that Sigrun would have said the elves would come out on top. Still, it was the same old that had applied to warfare since the first homonid picked up a rock and chucked it at its neighbor, whoever was the smartest and most cunning wins. A small smile broke across his lips. Rangers the best guys in the business, we could take anything.

Stephen's chain of thought was broken when he heard Sigrun talk to Aeris. He looked up and arched his eyebrow at Sigrun. He decided sent a quick message to Sigrun.

"That would really make someone feel secure. 'You're more protected here, than back home', that would really make a normal person a little freaked out if they are safer in a forgien nation than thier own."

Sigrun glanced around the room, "As much as I like sitting here, you all know how I am. I prefer to be active, constantly moving. What say we have something to do?"

You are mistaken. I meant that she would be safer with the lot of us, than trusting her life to the council.

"Sorry about that Sigrun."

"What do you mean as something to do?" Stephen asked. "You mean like we ask each other 'truth or dare', play spin the bottle...or...what do you have in mind my friend? Hopefully something that isn't too dangerous to anyone."

Sigrun chuckled, "Well, we could do something for old time's sake." He brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully, "Like perhaps a friendly spar or two?"

He glanced over to Zero, "If I recall correctly, I owe you such a spar." His eyes twinkled excitedly, "You game?"

Stephen smiled and arched his eyebrow.

"This should be interesting, depending if we can use weapons. Sadly, I cannot take part in one if we must use swords. Don't have my sword, only..."

Stephen leaned down and opened the duffel bag, he tilted it slightly to show recivers and barrels of at least a half dozen firearms. A small metal object fell out, Stephen reached down, picked it up and put it in his pocket. He zipped up his duffel bag and leaned back against the couch.

"A spar between Sigrun and Zero, be very intersting to watch. Yet, I do not know who to put my money on."

"You game?"

"Definitely, Herr Sigrun. I've been waiting centuries for this, and it's all so much sweeter now that it has come", Zero replied earnestly, and immediately stood up, in one swift movement drawing the Treasure Blades. The Heaven Sword was drawn out of its sheathe with a sonorant ring in the air, while the Dragon Saber cut through the air as Zero drew it, its movement creating a breeze from its weight. Both blades gleamed as if newly-forged, as if happy to be put into action once more. The eyes on the dragon-carving on the blade of the Dragon Saber glowed purple, as did the large jewel on the hilt of the Heaven Sword, both charged with Zero's battle energy, as he primed himself ready for battle in an instant.

"Of course, we'll have to move to the nearby park if we're going to have this duel. I don't think either Hondur or the Lady Skadi herself would appreciate our thrashing up the mansion, or ruining the lawn. I'll be waiting for you where the trees are, Sigrun. No magic from either of us if we can help it, just swordplay. See you around in a few."

With that, he turned to go, but a hand grasped at the tail of his trenchcoat. Turning, he saw that it was Aeris. "Be careful", she whispered, then let him go. With a smile, Zero looked at Sigrun, beckoning him to make good on his promise.

OOC: We'll have to complete the duel by tomorrow Tarl. Otherwise I'll be gone again.

OOC: I've lost this post two times.... grrr :mad:

IC: Ivan gave Viannor an obviously fake smile as she moved through the doorway. He didn't particularly like her, but that was to be expected since she was the aristocrat type. He disliked the whole talking things over and the expectations of having others do everything for you. Ivan was a practical man with simple tastes and simple desires.

"Also, you may collect your weapons if you wish. That badge allows you to carry them within the building."

With the door now closed, Ivan turned to Steele.

"Now Mr. Steele, what can I clear up for you?"
____________

Although the world had changed, humans remained mostly the same. Idun still found them to be ignorant, full of hate, fear and petty ideals and generally a plague upon the world. Living with elven kind had definitely changed his perspective upon things. He now realised just how much damage humans did to the world around them and why elves would always be the superior creatures.

Currently, Idun stood within a lightless car park, surrounded by five dazed humans. They had been easy targets for his mental prowess, easily controlled and confused. And so the vampire took his draught from each human, enough in total to satisfy his thirst yet keep all victims living. They would recover within time, once their body replenished the missing blood. Making sure each victim no longer possessed the signs of a vampiric attack, Idun left their unconscious bodies sprawled against a parked car. Idun figured that a few humans with no memory of last night would be much more ideal than a few dead humans with almost no blood within them. He had already witnessed the brutality of certain law enforcement officers within the city and decided it would be best to keep out of the spotlight.

An hour or so passed before Idun was able to pluck the vital information from the mind of a young vampire. The whereabouts of an ancient by the name of Skadi. It seemed Skadi was quite well known amongst the vampires, fear being the general consensus about her. She resided in a mansion owned by her fledgling, the head of the largest coven in the city. Idun couldn't help but sigh, it seemed she had changed almost as much as he had.

Another hour of wandering the streets finally led Idun to his desired location. The moment he stepped into the street of Hondur's mansion, his bond with Skadi burst into life once again. It wasn't like that shared between a sire and fledgling. The three ancients shared a certain mental bond, being the first. It was not always active and would die down if there was a lack of use. Yet once there was a close proximity between the originals, the bond would flare once again.

Idun staggered as the force hit him like a brick in the face, clouding his senses as the overwhelming presence of Skadi filled his mind. The ancient vampire managed to struggle up the street and leap the high fence surrounding the building, landing directly in front of several armed guards, weapons trained upon the disorientated vampire.
__________

Skadi merely gave Stephen that unnerving smile of hers, letting him know she knew something he didn't and he wouldn't enjoy. Hondur whilst also grinning, didn't have that disturbing aspect to his expression.

"No need to be concerned Stephen. You just have many things to learn... many things."

Hondur nodded. He was about to speak when yet another vampire burst through the doors, bearing an odd looking amulet. He didn't recognise it at all, yet Sigrun seemed to know what was going on. Indicating that the vampire should do as Sigrun asked, Hondur was surprised to find Zero and a young girl step through the doors.

Both ancient vampires had never been formally introduced to Aeris and whilst Hondur gave them both a nod of greeting, Skadi acknowledged Zero and gave Aeris an unwelcome stare. She didn't trust this girl one bit and didn't like the idea of her being in here.

Hondur grinned and rose to his feet at the mention of a spar.

"We have several sparring rooms in the mansion, I'm sure that would work well enough. Don't you think Skadi?"

Skadi didn't reply as she was no longer with the others. Her eyes glazed over and her face took on a contorted expression of anger and confusion. At that moment, gunshots were heard outside.

Stephen sat quietly as Zero accepted Sigrun's challenge. When Hondur spoke to Skadi and she didn't respond, Stephen slowly got up from his seat.

"Skadi? Are you..."

At the first gunshot Stephen spun, grabbed his duffel bag, ripped it open and pulled outa Heckler-Koch HK 36K assault rifle. He slapped it in a magizine and pulled out several more from the bag. He tossed off his trenchcoat, reached down back into the bag, pulled out a combat jacket, and began to fill it with magizines, pistols, and several grenades. Stephen slung a HK MP5K over his shoulder to complete his arsenal. He looked over at the ancients.

"Looks like the VP found this place. Time to rock and roll."

Hondur raised a hand, indicating that Stephen should stop. Immediately he opened up a mental link with one of the guards at the front door.

"What's going on?"

"There's a vampire here, he seems injured or something, but he's armed and unknown to any of us."

"Right, I'll be out there."

Turning to the others, Hondur informed them of the situation.

"It's not the VP, just an unknown vampire. No need to call in the army."

Keeping a hand upon his blade, Hondur moved out of the lounge and headed towards the front door. Skadi stumbled to his side, obviously intent on coming with him. Hondur had no idea what was going on with Skadi, yet he couldn't help but assume it was connected to Skadi's condition. Coincidences were rare in his experience.

Opening the doors, Hondur found himself gazing upon a older vampire, older than himself on the ground, four gunshot wounds upon his torso. Upon the ground next to him lay a sword, a strikingly familiar blade. Drawing his own blade, Hondur willed the other one to his hand and examined them both. They were identical, save this other blade had the word Idun written upon the hilt. Hondur almost dropped the blade in awe but was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"I believe that is mine."

Hondur remained silent as he gazed upon the bearded figure, bathed in a dull grey robe. The force in which he had taken the blade from Hondur's grasp with his mere will was astounding and led Hondur to make an educated guess, which was confirmed by Skadi's words. The female ancient now stood tall besides Hondur, a grim look upon her face.

"Idun."

Idun nodded as he looked down upon the wounds within his chest. Closing his eyes, the vampire remained still for a few moments as the bullets retraced their paths out of his body and fell to the ground. He bent down to examine the bullet yet realised not to touch. This was all quite new to him and the idea of guns and bullets was a mystery. Looking back at the guards bearing arms, Idun glared at the trio and watched as they collapsed to the ground, now motionless.

"Good day Skadi. It has been... quite some time."

Stephen sighed with relief when he heard it wasn't the VP. Stephen brought up his rifle and as Hondur opened the door, he brought the ancient into his sights. He could immediatly tell the vampire was definantly older than him and even older than Hondur. He looked at the blade Hondur held that was carried by the stranger. Idun...is he?

Skadi's words stopped Stephen's line of thought. He still kept his rifle aimed at the ancient, not considering him a friendly till Skadi or Hondur told him he was. His eyes got wider as Idun forced the bullets out of his body. Damn, wish I could do that. This guy would have done nicely as an army medic.

Stephen slowly lowered his G36, now thinking there would be no conflict. As soon as Idun dropped the guards with his mind, the barrel was once again leveled at Idun's chest and Stephen clicked the selector switch to burst.

"I don't care who you are...do that again and I'll drop you."

Idun turned his glare upon Stephen, boaring into the younger vampire's eyes. For several seconds the vampire remained silent, merely looking at Stephen, threatening him without words. Skadi knew exactly what he was going to do and acted to stop him.

Stephen could feel a force creeping around his mind, closing in and squeezing. It was completely overwhelming and strong, seizing control of Stephen's own movements. He attempted to fight back this external force yet it was far too strong. Just when he thought all was lost, another force intervened, pushing the other back. Stephen soon found his limbs under his control once again, yet the gun was now in Skadi's hand. After ending the confrontation, Skadi spoke.

"Stephen, do not."

Skadi reiterated her point by snapping his G36 in half with her hands before dropping it to the ground. Then stepping forward, she matched Idun's glare.

"Come inside."

There was no request in her tone, only command. Without another word, the entire party followed Skadi back into the lounge where the doors were sealed once again.

As Stephen's mental barrier collapsed, he tried his best to shield a small area of his mind, trying to keep the other vampire out. He tried to move his finger to pull the trigger and blast Idun yet his finger failed to move. He felt like his whole body was being crushed by some force, trying to completely break his body in half. He stared back at Idun, knowing this would be the last image of his life, then he felt something pushing the crushing force from him. His body was relaxing and he was quickly regaining fucntion of his body.

As soon as Stephen could move his finger he pulled his right index finger back, and hit nothing but air. He looked around and saw it in Skadi's hands. He gulped, thinking she would now kill him. He was relived when she snapped the rifle and not shoot him with it, but he was still shocked by this act of brute strength. With that in mind, Stephen now knew Skadi could break him like a twig with her bare hands if he ever got in her way.

He was the last into the lounge and sat back down on the couch. He removed his vest and put it back in his bag, but kept his Paras in thier armpit holseters out.

Stephen kept his eyes on Idun, wondering where the ancient had come from.

Before he had a chance to do much of anything, gunshots resonated throughout the mansion, apparently from the outside. Through pure instinct, Zero put the Treasure Blades up, while Aeris also reacted fast, although her action was to duck immediately behind Zero. Still, her hand whipped inside her robes, and out came a rose in her hands, which immediately grew in length, shape and color, until it was a black, sharp-tipped staff. The Nephilim Rose Staff, the symbol of Aeris' status as a Nephilim. And she held it across her chest, hiding behind Zero as he observed the proceedings through a window instead of moving out with the rest.

What Zero saw troubled him greatly. One glance, and he knew things about this intruder only one of his age would know. This was a being that was older than any of them, with perhaps the exception of Skadi........and that, in itself, meant one thing. Danger.

As he observed, he sighed with relief to see that this new intruder wasn't hostile, at least not for the moment. But still, he presented a threat to himself, but more importantly, to Aeris as well. And so it is when everyone else had reentered, including the newcomer, Zero was still standing in the corner, Treasure Blades drawn, although lowered. Now, he was silent and withdrawn, not his usual self. It was his defense mechanism, against the strange one who apparently had a rapport with Skadi he didn't understand.

Svartel's eyes rolled over the sprawling settlement that was Emerald City. He could hardly recognise his own nation, with all the towering structures and machines buzzing around everywhere. It was quite an overwhelming sight for one that had slept more than 2000 years, yet it was also exciting. More people to slaughter and more toys to use. The vampire smiled as he patted the metal pole within his jacket.

The streets were almost completely bare, odd considering it was still early within the night. Svartel couldn't understand why a place with such a dense population wouldn't possess masses of people on its streets, ripe for the picking. As he rounded the corner, Svartel found himself facing eight large brutes, all of them obviously of a vampiric nature. Presenting fanged grins, the vampires surrounded Svartel as the apparent pack leader spoke.

"Well well, I haven't seen you around before. There are a few things you should know. This is my city and you belong to me."

Svartel remained still and expressionless, although his myrth was evident within dark eyes. He couldn't believe this, didn't these elders know how to use their power? How to sense the nature of another vampire?

"If you don't comply with my laws... I'll have to discipline you."

Now looking into the eyes of the vampire, Svartel produced a sickening grin.

"And how do you intend to do that... young one?"

Slightly confused, the brute gave up any attempt at thought and merely threw his fist at Svartel. With a speed far beyond that of the other vampires, Svartel stepped out of the way, grabbed the brute's arm and wrenched his hand clean out of the wrist. Whilst still in shock, Svartel proceeded to ram the vampire's fist down his throat, causing him to squirm around upon the ground, writhing in agony and unable to remove his own fist.

With movement returning to their limbs, the other seven vampire withdrew asorted weapons, daggers, chains, clubs, yet no guns. Either way, this was exactly what Svartel wanted, a chance to test his new toy. Drawing the five foot pole out of his jacket, he readied himself for battle. The two largest vampires rushed him immediately, both holding long daggers. Svartel brough his pole around and promptly hit one of the many buttons upon the grip. This resulted in a scythe blade emerging from the end and swiftly separating the heads from the shoulders of said vampires.

Svartel's grin widened as he watched the blood spay across nearby walls and bodies crash to the ground. Three other vampires leaped through the air, bringing short pipes towards Svartel as they descended towards him. Stepping backwards, Svartel keyed another combination of buttons, causing a curved blade to emerge from each end of the pole before it disassembled into two pieces. The descending vampires could do nothing as Svartel swung the blades towards them, plunging deep into the skulls of that one the left and right. The middle vampire managed to connect his steel pipe shot with Svartel's shoulder, causing the vampire to flinch in pain as his shoulder was broken. Unfortunately for him, Svartel looked beyond that pain of his shoulder and plunged his hand into the vampire's chest, promptly removing the heart and the vampire's life.

Now convinced they were not able to win, the remaining two vampires turned to run yet immediately dropped to their knees as an immense pressure was applied to their brains. Both knew where it came from yet were powerless to stop the telekinetic powers of Svartel from crushing their thought centres. Within a minute they had lost the war and hit the ground dead, their brains having exiting their skulls and plastered across the walls.

Still in a reasonable amount of pain, Svartel clumsily reassembled his toy and departed the scene. It was time he found himself a residence, a place to heal and spawn his web of control. Emerald City would be his.
_____________

Later that night, a VP officer would come across the scene due to reports of thug looking vampires spotted in the area. The officer was completely blown away when he came across eight vampires, all of them had their shins removed and used to pin them via the torso to a brick wall. Some were without heads, two others had deflated heads and one even had his heart ripped out. Evidently all the vampires were dead, wounds either within their hearts or brains, surrounded by burned flesh indicating silver had been used to assure the job was done.

Whilst the VP couldn't complain if thug vampires were being killed, whatever was doing these killings shook the humans to the core. Holding in his stomachm the VP officer returned to his vehicle, in a hurry to report such events back to Captain Kolstolv.

Sigrun had remained in the shadows, watching the event unfold. He kept his eyes on the newcomer. Soon, Skadi had revealed his name to them and he narrowed his eyes. Idun? He's new...

He could sense Idun's strength as he threatened Stephen's mind, only matched by Skadi's own. For a brief moment, he was glad Skadi was more than a friend to him. He was the last to enter the lounge, moving silently, yet for the moment, preferring to remain in the shadows of the room. He watched Idun carefully, not sure of what to make of him. He then thought about the vampire's strength of mind and realized it had come from age, and not just skill. He widened his eyes momentarily as he thought about the vampire's power matched with Skadi's own.

Two powerful Ancients, one coven, one city. I smell trouble...

He directed his thoughts to Skadi, I don't like the looks of this. I suggest caution.

Skadi eyed Idun with a keen interest and irritation at the same time. Whilst she was curious as to why her old time companion had returned to Assington after so many centuries, she was also irritated that he must turn up disturb her peace. All she wanted to do was exist with Sigrun and not put up with the constant flow of crap the world seemed to throw her way. Skadi couldn't help but agree with Sigrun's thoughts as they passed through her mind. Evidently, something was not right.

"Agreed. I somehow doubt he's dropped in for tea and a chat."

Idun remained silent, merely matching Skadi's look as she watched him, thinking things over in her disturbingly merciless mind. Finally Skadi spoke.

"What brings you here Idun?"

"Trouble I'm afraid. A propehcy has come to pass, setting into play a chain of events that will lead to strife within Assington. The elves of Assington have returned to Emerald Forest as war will soon plague this region. Humans will band together in force to purge the vampiric from the land, elves will arrive to reduce the numbers of their old foes and the forces of the vampire will be split by those of old."

Several moments of silence passed as Skadi thought over his words. Whilst she was not one to rely on magic and prophecy, Skadi was wise enough not to ignore it. What disturbed Skadi the most was the last line, "forces of the vampire will be split by those of old." She knew Idun resided with the elves and had learned to accept that years ago, that left only one.

If it were possible, Skadi's face would have gone even whiter upon her realisation. She merely stared at Idun in mute shock, unable to believe that what he said was true. Idun merely nodded.

"I'm afraid it's true. Svartel is back in Assington, or atleast he will be."

With her fears confirmed, Skadi moved onto other segments of the prophecy.

"The elves. You're here to stop Svartel?"

Idun shook his head.

"They are here to kill vampires. Any vampire. I cannot stop such, the prophecy dictates. All I can say is that you try and avoid the elves. Svartel is their enemy, but so are you."

Fury began to rise within the ancient vampire, outrage at the ancient before her and his words of war.

"You would declare war upon this coven, upon me!?"

"It is out of my hands. All I can do is warn you."

Leaping out of her seat, Skadi drew her blade and approached Idun. Anger contorted her face as she glared upon him, blade levelled at Idun's chest. Rising to his feet also, Idun looked down at Skadi from his superior height.

"Skadi, you won't harm me. Your coven is destined to fall, be it by our hand or another. That is the way it is, and you shall accept it."

Obviously Idun was convinced of this elven doctrine and had no regard for Skadi or any of the others within her presence. Skadi looked down, then back up at Idun with a sadistic smile.

"Things change Idun. You will perish if you follow this fool's prophecy."

With those words, Skadi plunged her blade straight through Idun's stomach, up to the hilt. With the blade protruding out his back and Idun frozen in shock and pain from the burning silver, Skadi took the oppurtunity to pick the vampire up and launch him through the window, over the fence and crashing into a large building several blocks away. As Idun departed, Skadi sent him a final message.

"Don't return here and expect to live."

Sigrun watched with a keen eye as Skadi dealt with Idun swiftly, and viciously. Looking out the window that was now broken, he stepped forth from the shadows.

"I don't know if that was a wise thing to do Skadi. You may have alienated a possible ally against this...Svartel. Which brings me to question, who is he? What do Idun and Svartel have to do with all of this?"

Silently, he spoke to her, However, I agree with you. Things do change. If anything, I am proof of that.

He watched her face as she stood there facing the spot where Idun had been once standing. She hadn't moved, her face still contorted in its anger. He recognized that anger, an anger that seldom flared as greatly as it did now. He knew to proceed cautiously.

Skadi turned to Sigrun, her face softening slightly yet the anger was still evident within her eyes. She couldn't help but lose a fair portion of her anger when she looked at Sigrun, her beloved companion.

"I delt with Idun the way he should be delt with. He has no idea what he's getting himself into."

Relaxing slightly, Skadi moved back to her chair and faced the others.

"Idun and Svartel are the other ancients of Assington. We are the three original Assingtonian vampires. Idun is mostly passive, yet he seems to follow the elves now, which have also returned to the forests of Assington. Svartel, he is the trouble. He enjoys causing pain and suffering. He hates humans, hates elves even more and especially hates me."

Skadi remained silent for a moment as she looked around the room, matching everyone's gaze.

"Under no circumstances should you ever engage him. Ever."

Sigrun blinked once, then twice. Finally, he spoke quietly, "This is going to be a very, very ugly fight, if what Idun says about the prophecy is true..."

He looked over at Skadi, "If Svartel comes to me at any time, I'm sorry, but I will not let him pass. He may be strong, but I have my strengths too."

Skadi shuffled forward until she stood before Sigrun, her voice obviously agitated.

"You don't get it. He has no honour, he cares not for battle rules or respect. He will bound you and strangle you with my own intestines if he gets the chance. He's no fledgling with a grudge, we're talking about a vampire as old and even stronger than me or Idun. He knows no bounds to pain and death, he enjoys making others suffer. I don't want to see you put yourself at risk, not over this. If anyone will face Svartel, it will be me."

Skadi's chest heaved with her agitation, further iterating her point. If Skadi was seriously concerned about Svartel, there was indeed a problem.

Stephen sat silent through the whole affair, unsure of what to say or do. He definatly took in that the elves of Assington were here to wipe out the vampires, which would mean the humans would probably get in the crossfire. He was about to speak when Skadi asked Idun to leave her own way. He finally spoke, quiet nervous of what the ancient might do.

"Skadi, I have to agree with Sigurn...you have tossed out a possible ally to the coven. The elves obviously hate Svartel, they probably hold less of a grudge with you.....so we could link up with them against Svartel. 'The Enemy of my Enemy is my friend', we know they are here to kill vampires...why not dispose of Svartel with them as allies; then negotiate with them afterward for peace so that is whole region won't break out into a war that will go on for years?"

Skadi didn't move her body, she merely turned her head, angry at being questioned yet again. She was the one that knew these people, she was there when the elves left Assington, she was alive when they had been slaughtered by vampires. What did the others know? Nothing.

"Shutup. You have no idea what you speak of. These elves hate vampires with a bloodlust. They will not ally with any vampire and they consider me only slightly down the list of vampires they hate under Svartel. I was there when the elves left Assington, I saw the hatred in their eyes! I know how they feel, I know Svartel and Idun. Idun warned me for he is not naturally a violent person. I grew up with him and he doesn't want me dead, yet the elves couldn't care. They will slaughter anything that walks by moonlight. So in the future, don't speak unless you have an idea of what you're talking about... young fool!"

The tone and pace of Skadi's rant was frightening. Some may have thought Skadi was about to leap of the ground and ram her fist through Stephen's heart, yet it seemed the fledgling was safe for now.

Stephen stood there, his legs shaking slightly. Everyone in the room could see he was obviously intimidated by the older vampire. He waited for the moment her sword would plunge into his body and he would be squirmming on the wall. When she had finished talking, he exepected the sword to come and he was ready to fire a silver dart from his wrist gun into her for defence. Still, nothing came. There was a few minutes of silence before Stephen spoke again.

"Skadi, your being thick headed. They hate vampires...okay we all get the point, though they seem to hate Svartel the most. Yet we still need to try and talk to them. God dammit if we don't we'll be facing a possible two or three front war; the VP, Svartel, and possibly the elves if they move against us. Get that through your head! One of the rules of war is never fight a several front battle.

"They seem more concerned with destorying Svartel, so let us use that to our advantage. You wanna kill him, he is a threat...they wanna kill him, because of what he did. I'm sure we can ally ourselves with them until this thing is over. We must at least try. Skadi...we have to try and ally ourselves with the elves."

Skadi was about to commence words with Sigrun once again when Stephen spoke. She couldn't believe the fledgling was persisting with his folley. He didn't understand this, at all. Quite furious now, Skadi floated across the room and landed directly before Stephen, her threatening form mere inches from his younger body. For a few moments she merely looked into him, daring him to say another word. Finally she spoke, in a hushed tone laced with spite.

"No! They don't associate with any vampires, save for Idun. You were not there 2185 years ago when the elves declared their emnity towards vampires. We will fight a four way war, we have no allies here. If you think you know better than me, you walk into Emerald Forest and watch as they remove your heart and burn it."

Skadi turned around, paused... spun around again and placed her fist through the wall, straight next to Stephen's head. Plaster and wood splintered everywhere, covering Stephen's face.

"Consider yourself lucky.... fledgling."

Stephen cried out in pain as the splinters and plaster shot into his face. He began to pull them out one by one. He was still cleaning when he looked at Skadi.

"You stupid bitch! A multi-front war?! Have you lost your mind? Jesus Christ, do you have any idea of what has happened to armies that have fough multi-front wars? They have been destoryed! Skadi...get the fuck off your high horse and face facts! Svartel is here to destory, the elves are back and want to kick his ass....the situation is to our advantage. We can sit it out and wait for the elves to destory him or we can try to talk to them."

That was it. Skadi had taken enough of this arrogant little prick pretending to know what was going on. Skadi prompty removed her fist from the wall and slammed it into Stephen's nose, breaking it with a sickening crunch. A swipe to his legs brought Stephen to the ground and Skadi proceeded to kick him against the wall several times before falling to her knees and repeatedly punching Stephen in the face until he was an unrecognisable pulp.

Stephen's jaw was obviously broken in several places, his nose seemed to no longer exist and both cheeks were severely shattered. Parts of his skull seemed to dip inwards from the force applied to them and blood completely soaked Skadi's fists and Stephen's face. The younger vampire was complete unconscious and would most likely not wake up for some time.

Rising to her feet, covered in blood, Skadi looked around the room before turning once again and delivering a thundering kick to Stephen's side, sending him through the wall and into the next room where he lay in a bloody heap of broken bones and blood.

No one said anything as Skadi turned around once again to face the group.

"That is nothing compared to what any of these elves would do to us if they got the chance. Remember that."

The heaving, bloody form of Skadi was a sight to behold. She was the stuff of nightmares incarnate, and she was pissed as hell. Unfortunately for Stephen, he learned that the hard way.

Suddenly the doors bursted open and another vampire walked into the room. "Hello all, I do apologize for being so late."

In a split second he stood before Sigrun, "Ahh dear uncle , do you remember me? No? Ah, but i remember you soo well..."
And the vampire looked straight into the eyes of Sigrun, and suddenly, an old memory was called up inside Sigrun:

"Katie...such a lovely name...I wonder how tasty she'd be?"

Will began screaming something about killing him, to which Maximus simply shut him up by pulling the dagger off his neck and somewhat gagged him with the blade pressing into the side of the man's lips.

"Oh shut up. You couldn't kill me if you tried. For goodness sake, you couldn't get me a few minutes ago, much less kill me."

Maximus then suddenly leaned his head very close to Will's neck while whispering,

"Perhaps I should just kill you now, and take your blood as payment, yes?"

The dagger returned back to Will's throat, and nestled itself into the cut it had already created. Fresh blood oozed from the wound as Maximus applied pressure again. His other hand took the second dagger and twisted it suddenly. Maximus had a smile upon his face.

The vampire smiled at Sigrun, "It has been awhile uncle..." Phobos said

OOC: Sorry guys, the comp I was going to use while I was in Chicago over the weekend stopped working. Assington, can I still get back in this?

OOC: Of course you're still welcome.

IC: Skadi whirled around as Phobos entered the room, drawing her blade once again and standing before the younger vampire before he could blink. Her blade was levelled Phobos' head. threatening to run straight through his skull and plunge the lethal silver into his brain.

"Who the hell are you!?"

Hondur took the oppurtunity to step forward, no weapon within his hand as he looked upon the younger vampire.

"Phobos."

Skadi turned to Hondur, a look of confusion upon her pale face.

OOC: Phobos wouldn't know who Sigrun used to be, b/c he last saw Maximus (the vampire) in AV2. Sigrun is an elf now. Oh, one more thing. Sigrun technically isn't Phobos' uncle anymore. (vampire-wise)

IC:
Sigrun looked into Phobos eyes with a calm look. He grinned as Skadi threatened to run Phobos through with her blade.

Finally, after Hondur had spoken, Sigrun stepped closer to Skadi, "Relax. Save it for later. Now, what are we going to do about Svartel? We cannot let him take over Assington by rolling over and playing dead. It is not our ways. You say he's stronger than any of us, I say we need to outsmart him."

OOC: I've lost this post two times.... grrr :mad:

IC: Ivan gave Viannor an obviously fake smile as she moved through the doorway. He didn't particularly like her, but that was to be expected since she was the aristocrat type. He disliked the whole talking things over and the expectations of having others do everything for you. Ivan was a practical man with simple tastes and simple desires.

"Also, you may collect your weapons if you wish. That badge allows you to carry them within the building."

With the door now closed, Ivan turned to Steele.

"Now Mr. Steele, what can I clear up for you?"


"The basics...who, what, where and why. I don't like hunting blind."

Steele returned Ivan's stare, his own eyes cold and hard. Mysteries were for children, not warriors. The young man had learned early that entering into a game without knowing all the rules, and the players, could very quickly become fatal.

"Then you can tell me what you need from me."

He was pretty sure he wasn't here for his incredible good looks. Kolstolv needed some bloodsuckers dead, that was for sure.

Kolstolv was starting to get irritated. There wasn't really much to it, they were killing any vampire they came across, plain and simple.

"We are killing a number of vampires. There are several locations around the city, they are highlighted in the maps upon your badge. We are killing them because they are criminal scum that have been a plague on this city for far too long."

Leaning back in his chair, Ivan poured himself a glass of vodka and quickly downed it before continuing.

"I will assign you a squad of men to lead in these operations, or you may bring in your own. I need you to be fast, efficient and lethal. There are certain vampires we want aprehended, yet that is another case. That answer all your questions?"

Ivan poured himself another glass and offered one to Steele when his door burst open and a sickened looking officer launched through the doorway.

"Captain Kolstolv, you're not gonna like this."

The officer promptly connected his electronic badge to Ivan's computer, bringing several images of slaughtered vampires. It was the most grusome thing many of them had ever seen. Ivan glared at the images for several seconds before banging his fist upon the desk.

"Shit! Now we have this shit to deal with..."
__________

Skadi stpped back slightly, yet kept her blade levelled at the newcomer. Hondur appeared to be able to handle things with him and so Skadi turned her attention to Sigrun. She couldn't agree more with his words.

"There is one problem, he's no fool either. If he is here, it will take a combination of tactics to defeat him. This is much more than an straight out fight. There will be skirmishes, yet the final battle will not be between armies. It will end with him and myself."
______________

Idun had not been expecting that blade to pass through him at the slightest. The Skadi he knew would never have done that to a dear friend, even one that lived with the elves. The ancient vampire was more hurt from the hostility of an old friend than the silver blade burning through his organs.

And so with one swift movement, Idun was launched far off from the mansion, soaring through the sky until he finalled collided into a massive stone building, leaving a massive crater within the old building. For several moments Idun merely lay there, waiting as his body healed from the silver burns and several broken bones caused by the impact.

After at least half an hour of healing, Idun picked himself up and ascended into the night sky. It would not be too long before the sun would rise once again. Figuring there was nothing more he could do tonight, Idun spun to face Emerald Forest and took off, back to the comfort of his elven companions.

Viannor strode confiidently back down the corridor, walking over to the two guards who had taken her pistols and dagger. She stood behind them and crossed her arms, tapping her foot slowly until one of them noticed her.

"My items," she said sternly, producing the ID from her pocket, "if you please."

Her guns were returned to her and she reloaded them with the silver ammunition, sliding the weapons into the holsters slung low around her back. Balancing delicately on one leg she brought her other leg up to nearly waist level, allowing her to slide the dagger back into her boot without even slightly bending over.

With that, she span on her heels and took a closer look at the architecture of the Assington building. Not a patch on Starblaydia's, obviously, she thought, keeping one eye on the corridor to see when the Kolstov and Steele left the office.

Kolstolv was starting to get irritated. There wasn't really much to it, they were killing any vampire they came across, plain and simple.

"We are killing a number of vampires. There are several locations around the city, they are highlighted in the maps upon your badge. We are killing them because they are criminal scum that have been a plague on this city for far too long."

Leaning back in his chair, Ivan poured himself a glass of vodka and quickly downed it before continuing.

"I will assign you a squad of men to lead in these operations, or you may bring in your own. I need you to be fast, efficient and lethal. There are certain vampires we want aprehended, yet that is another case. That answer all your questions?"

Ivan poured himself another glass and offered one to Steele when his door burst open and a sickened looking officer launched through the doorway.

"Captain Kolstolv, you're not gonna like this."

The officer promptly connected his electronic badge to Ivan's computer, bringing several images of slaughtered vampires. It was the most grusome thing many of them had ever seen. Ivan glared at the images for several seconds before banging his fist upon the desk.

"Shit! Now we have this shit to deal with..."
__________


It would have to be enough...for now. The mystery of why outside help was needed for a vampire culling was still not yet explained, and Turquine planned to keep a sharp eye on things...he hated surprises.

"Fine." Steele replied, accepting the offered drink. He swirled the dark liquid around in his glass before swallowing a mouthful. The thick alcohol burned a line down his throat.

"I'm not sure what resistance we'll run into, so I'll use a Razor Triad as backup. That should be enough to root out the rat-packs..." and if it wasn't, Steele didn't want to meet the bloodsuckers that could stop four experienced vampire-hunters with combat class exo units and AI-enhanced battle ordinance.

After the harried officer had deposited the images on Kolstolv's desk, Steele leaned over, his hardened emotions recoiling somewhat from the violence depicted. Dead vampires littered the ground, killed in a vicious way. The younger man looked at the Commander.

"Looks like we may have some competition, Ivan...badass competition. Anything else you haven't told me yet??"

With relatively assured steps, Avto Crusade strode warily into the capital of Assington, his beautiful, yet deadly sapphire eyes flickering as he glanced about. Although hundreds of years had passed since the Star Trials in Tarlachia, Avto had not really aged. The magic of the Circle of Swords distorted time, greatly slowing it. As he walked, Avto's mind could not take what he is seeing. The city was a dump, very different from the splendor of the Citadel of Cala, the capital of Five Civilized Nations, different from the tranquil forests of Tarlachia, and different from the sadness and grief of the Circle of Swords. With his eyes downcast, Avto noticed a pair of wolf-like humanoids, slink towards him, as if ready to strike. Frowning, Avto swiftly drew the Swords of Night and Day. As they flashed into the open, the creatures attacked, leaping into the air, right into the twin blades of death. With great speed, Avto cut the two werewolves in half.

Shaking his head in disgust, Avto wheeled on the balls of his feet, as he walked deeper into the despair of Assington. Balls up... I did not come to this country to fight the bloody monsters in this hellhole. With elegance, Avto sheathed both his swords. Suddenly, Avto paused in the middle of the street, his eyes dilating, as his mind wandered, seeking out his target, Skadi, an ancient vampire who had walked alongside his legendary ancestor so many years in the past. After a few seconds of mental searching, Avto discovered the location of the ancient. Smiling to himself, Avto prepared to move towards her. I will soon learn more about Lance Crusade and then perhaps I can finally solve the long riddle of the life of my distinguished ancestor... Swiftly, Lance leapt into the air, wind walking towards Skadi…

A half hour ago, Lujza had finished her book and had decided to explore a bit more. A great commotion drew her attention downstairs. She made her way toward it, being careful not to let her boots thump the floors as loudly as usual. She heard some heated arguing, and then a final loud crash.

When Lujza opened the door, her eyes widened as she found a male vampire slumped against the wall, very badly mauled, his blood spattered all over his clothes. Looking through a hole in the next wall, she quickly identifed the source of whatever assault he'd taken, a female vampire standing in clothes that were also spattered with blood. It didn't look like any of it was hers, and she didn't look like a very happy camper.

"Oh dear..." she said in a voice that was calm, but somewhat surprised. "May I ask what happened? Or do I not want to know?" Lujza was still only poking her head in through the halfway-opened door.

Sigrun cast a look toward where Stephen had been flung through the wall into the next room. He sent a telepathic message to him. Patience in planning is a virtue, my friend, especially with her.

He turned back to Phobos and studied him, "Well, I'm sorry to inform you that Maximus has died. I am here in his place. My name is Sigrun Greenwood. I have only managed to barely retain the mental links with my friends, mainly Skadi, Hondur, Stephen, and a few others. Which begs the question once more, how do you know I am who you claim?"

Arleni shook her head in amusement, standing off to the side. She had watched Skadi devastate Stephen's face, and had come to respect Skadi's strength.

As Sigrun spoke to Phobos, he heard Lujza's approach and drew Lanta swiftly, bringing it to the vampire's neck. "And who are you? Didn't you know it's rather rude to enter a private conversation?"

Taken aback at the very sudden and as far as she could tell, unwarranted hostility, Lujza took a small step back. "Of course I know it's rude. However, I did not know that it was private when I heard all the noise, in fact, I did not know it was a private conversation until you just told me. If you wish, I can easily just go about my business and pretend that I was never down here." Lujza had a thick accent, but her voice was clear and understandable. Though her axe was at her belt, as always, she ignored the urge to draw it, instead folding her arms under her chest. She looked at the one holding the blade with an expressionless face.

OOC: Jolt pushed my post before yours...oddly...nevertheless...here goes again...

IC:

Sigrun looked cooly at Lujza, speaking clearly, "All right, that explains your reason for being here. I'll accept that. But that does not explain who you are. Nor why you are in this mansion, when it is clear you are not part of the coven."

"I am Lujza, of the Batory clan of Moroii in Callisdrun, though they will not take me back after I refused to fight in an idiotic clan feud they were having. I arrived here some time ago, and in return for running errands I live in a store room in part of the attic." She said it in a very matter-of-fact way, her voice making the statement neither positive nor negative.

Sigrun lowered his blade slightly as he looked at Lujza, "Moroii? I've not met one like you. Believe me, I've met quite a number of vampires in my time..."

He sheathed the blade, beckoning her into the room, "Might as well join us, as you've already made yourself present."

He glanced back at the others, then questioned Lujza, "Moroii...daywalker...how is that possible?"

Lujza looked at him oddly. "With sunblock. I don't know, it just is how we are. Perhaps it is compensation for our weaknesses." She gave a small smile.

Sigrun thought to himself with an amusing look on his face, then he grew more serious. "Perhaps we can make use of you during the daylight."

He turned to Skadi, "What do you think?"

Hondur had been studying Phobos when he heard the soft voice of Lujza. He'd forgotten all about her up in the attic and assumed she would be quite startled at the sight of an enraged Skadi and bloodied Stephen. Turning to face the younger vampire, Hondur approached and gave her a slight greeting with his head.

"Lujza, good to finally meet you. How have you been? My name is Hondur, this is Skadi, they're Zero and Aeris, that's Phobos and the bloody heap over there is Stephen."

Being master of the coven and mansion, Hondur had been the one to approve Lujza's residence, yet he hadn't actually met her as he was in Tarlachia at the time of her arrival. He could tell Skadi didn't approve, it was evident within her face, and Hondur simply knew Skadi.

The ancient vampire had remained silent throughout the meeting and quick exchange of words. It seemed today was just full of surprises, the only problem being that Skadi hated surprises. She merely glared at this foreign vampire, unsure exactly why she would come to Assington, to a totally different breed. At that point, Sigrun posed his question. Skadi didn't shift her eyes from the Lujza as she replied.

"Walking through the sunlight is a useful abilitiy, yet we don't have anyone trustworthy capable of doing such..."
______________

Ivan was still quite agitated by this news. He didn't like the idea of something else being out there, not knowing what or who it was and that it was killing vampires so brutally. It just didn't make sense.

"To be honest Steele, I've got no idea what this is about, yet there is one more thing I should warn you of. Assington has been home to vampires for hundreds of years. As they grow older, they grow stronger. I cannot be certain, but I suspect there are a few ancient vampires within this city, those over one thousand years old. These vampires are physically way out of our league, full stop. Their strength is insane, as is their speed. You can usually recognised them by paler skin, and a certain grace and character about them. They not easy to spot physically, just trust your instincts. If they say get the hell away from this vamp, do so."

Leaning back in his chair, Ivan suddenly shuddered as an image of his deceased family crossed his mind, their lifeless forms laying in pools of their own blood. These visions had been occuring for the last few weeks and had driven Ivan into regular drinking, in an attempt to rid his mind of such memories. This one was different though, this time his sister got up. Her eyes seemed different as she glared at him, displaying elongated fangs. With another start, the vision disappeared and Ivan found himself looking at Steele.
_____________

It hadn't taken Svartel long to locate an old run down block on the outskirts of town. It seemed this part of city was dedicated to those humans without the fancy toys of the modern world. They lived around large cylinders of fire and appeared ill and filthy. None of this concerned Svartel of course, his goals would incorporate the humans within the surrounding area. They would become his new army, or dinner.

Stepping into a half demolished brick building, Svartel found himself being observed by several young humans, all appearing as though they hadn't eaten for some time. Their eyes conveyed the hardships they had endured and the dimmed spirit within them. These were the hopeless humans. Those that would merely exist, waiting for the sweet release of death. Svartel would show them a better life, one where they made people notice them, where they were in control. And if they were not grateful... he would feed them their own hearts.

None of them seemed afraid as Svartel approached, plunging his fangs into the first, or the second, or the remaining eight. Over the next hour Svartel would allow his blood to flow into their mouths, giving them life and death at the same time. And so the beginnings of Svartel's army was born. These ten fledgling that owed their existence to Svartel would remain loyal and serve his will. Eventually, he would own Emerald City.

Sigrun looked over at Skadi with a slight smile, "Actually, you've missed out on a few things while you were asleep. Zero, through his connections with some friends of his, now retains the ability to walk in the light of day. I'm not quite sure if I understand it, but it has something to do with her."

Sigrun pointed to Aeris, who merely smiled in return.

Sigrun turned to Hondur. "Is she trustworthy enough to help our cause?" he asked, indicating Lujza.

Hondur had been studying Phobos when he heard the soft voice of Lujza. He'd forgotten all about her up in the attic and assumed she would be quite startled at the sight of an enraged Skadi and bloodied Stephen. Turning to face the younger vampire, Hondur approached and gave her a slight greeting with his head.

"Lujza, good to finally meet you. How have you been? My name is Hondur, this is Skadi, they're Zero and Aeris, that's Phobos and the bloody heap over there is Stephen."

Being master of the coven and mansion, Hondur had been the one to approve Lujza's residence, yet he hadn't actually met her as he was in Tarlachia at the time of her arrival. He could tell Skadi didn't approve, it was evident within her face, and Hondur simply knew Skadi.

The ancient vampire had remained silent throughout the meeting and quick exchange of words. It seemed today was just full of surprises, the only problem being that Skadi hated surprises. She merely glared at this foreign vampire, unsure exactly why she would come to Assington, to a totally different breed. At that point, Sigrun posed his question. Skadi didn't shift her eyes from the Lujza as she replied.

"Walking through the sunlight is a useful abilitiy, yet we don't have anyone trustworthy capable of doing such..."


"I am honored to meet you all," Lujza said with a small bow of her head. Anyone who knew of Callisdrunian culture would recognize that even so slight a gesture carried a huge meaning, as Callisdrunians almost never bowed, not even to their king. "I have been well, thank you," she said in response to Hondur's asking of how she was. While Skadi and Sigrun spoke, Lujza stood in respectful silence. After all, they were the hosts.

Phobos smiled at Sigrun,"You really can't prove that I am who I say I am, but I am here to say that I want to help you. You see, I have recently aquired somewhat of a fortune...it is quite large and I wish to use it to aid you. I also wish to contribute myself as a warrior in your upcoming battle against this Svartel. From what I understand, even our dear Skadi is weak against this foe, so I see it as a move in your favor that you would accept me into your little fellowship."

Another bloody surprise. It seemed things had changed quite a bit in the last two hundred years or so. Skadi merely looked at Zero, as if to question Sigrun's statement. The foreign vampire nodded with a grin and so Skadi accepted this as fact. Now that was useful. She didn't know about this other foreign girl, yet Zero was at least trustworthy.

At Sigrun's word, Hondur nodded quite obviously. She seemed trustworthy in his eyes, yet Skadi's were another matter. Of course, being Hondur's coven, he was perfectly entitled to allow her to join them. Moving next to Lujza, Hondur spoke.

"Come and sit Lujza, I've got quite the story for you."

With the girl on Hondur's hands, Skadi turned her attention to the other newcomer, Phobos. Hondur had told her about a vampire he had sired once, one that had disappeared from the country. She hadn't given it any other thought until now.

As Phobos went on about providing his services, Skadi intervened with a sharp tone.

"And what makes you think that you can make any difference?"

"Really?" Lujza said, sitting next to Hondur. "I'd like to hear it then." She glanced nervously in Skadi's direction for a brief second. She was relieved that the ancient was not looking her way. Lujza could tell that Skadi didn't like her, but with what she had heard, that was no surprise.

Settled down next to Lujza, Hondur began his recount of the vampiric legend within Assington.

"This all started over two thousand years ago. One of the great mages of Assington had delved into dark magiks and summoned a demon from the netherworld. Unfortunately, the demon possessed this mage and formed a creature bent on the destruction of elves and the domination of all other life. During his rampage, his blood was spilled into the bodies of five humans. Skadi was one of those humans. The demonic blood changed them somehow, causing them to eventually become a vampire.

Over the years, Marduk, this demon mage, and Svartel, one of the five vampires, went on a rampage all over Assington, killing elves and any humans in their way. Skadi, Uller and Idun fled North but were pursued by the last vampire. He killed Uller and Skadi killed him. Not long afterward, Idun abandoned Skadi for the elves whilst the mages of Assington confronted Marduk and binded the demon. It cost them their lives, but the mages succeeded in binding Marduk.

Svartel disappeared from Assington, as did the elves with Idun. Thus, Skadi was left to her own devices. She used this time to hunt down other vampires created by Svartel, pushing back the order of vampires until there was a several hundred year gap between them and herself.

When Skadi was around six hundred, she sired me. Not long afterwards she sired, Maximus, now known as Sigrun. During all this, there were violent battles upon the streets between anti government vampires, anti vampire humans and the VP, Vampire Police. On top of that, a foreign coven from Valient by the name of The Hyraphore were also involved in the violence.

After the streets ran red with blood, the anti vampire and anti government groups were destroyed and the Hyraphore went home. At that point, Skadi and Maximus went to Tarlachia where they took care of some governmental issues there. When they returned, they found me and the coven I had established. The Hyraphore had also returned, attempting to take over this coven. In an attempt to weaken us, the hyraphore instigated a war between us and the VP. Both sides felt heavy casualties whilst Skadi and I pursued a member of the Hyraphore.

Unfortunately he escaped and I was captured by the government, chosen to lead a new agency composed of vampires and extraordinary humans. We were meant to be a sort of espoinage organisation, yet we eventually just became better equipped vampire hunters. At some point, Maximus was killed yet returned to life a year later, as an elf. Upon revealing himself to Skadi, the pair returned to Assington, just in time to come across a plot of the Hyraphore's. They intended to use lychans to defeat our forces and take control of the coven once again.

And so the streets were filled with battle between the VP, us and the Hyraphore once again. Eventually the Hyraphore was defeated, a shopping mall destroyed, Skadi shot several times and critically injured and the President was assassinated. That was a little over two hundred years ago.

And now, it seems that the elves of Assington have returned, along with Idun. They are not vampire friendly. Svartel has returned to Assington, he is not friendly in general. And, we have a new VP captain intent of wiping out all vampires.

As you can see, we never seem to get any peace around here."

OOC: I am going to end this night pretty soon, allow TGS to get back into action.

"Sounds exciting... though not in a pleasant way," Lujza said. "At all. Seems Assington is a rather dangerous place to live, for both vampires and humans, what with a four way war going. Not any more dangerous than Callisdrun is for me at the moment, though." She waited a moment before asking "What are the elves like? Do they have reasons besides Svartel to hate vampires?"

Ivan was still quite agitated by this news. He didn't like the idea of something else being out there, not knowing what or who it was and that it was killing vampires so brutally. It just didn't make sense.

"To be honest Steele, I've got no idea what this is about, yet there is one more thing I should warn you of. Assington has been home to vampires for hundreds of years. As they grow older, they grow stronger. I cannot be certain, but I suspect there are a few ancient vampires within this city, those over one thousand years old. These vampires are physically way out of our league, full stop. Their strength is insane, as is their speed. You can usually recognised them by paler skin, and a certain grace and character about them. They not easy to spot physically, just trust your instincts. If they say get the hell away from this vamp, do so."

Leaning back in his chair, Ivan suddenly shuddered as an image of his deceased family crossed his mind, their lifeless forms laying in pools of their own blood. These visions had been occuring for the last few weeks and had driven Ivan into regular drinking, in an attempt to rid his mind of such memories. This one was different though, this time his sister got up. Her eyes seemed different as she glared at him, displaying elongated fangs. With another start, the vision disappeared and Ivan found himself looking at Steele.


He watched as the older mans face displayed first a simmering anger, followed by a look of hollow loss. This was enough to prompt Steele's mouth to engage before he had put his brain in gear.

"Alright, Chief...let's go kill us some bloodsuckers."

Standing, the big man turned and activated the subcutaneous transceiver in his jaw. He spoke rapidly, instructing his Razor team to assemble in front of the VP headquarters. Turning back to Ivan, he smiled grimly.

"We're to ready to roll...all we need now is the target."

Hondur appeared puzzled for a moment as he thought back on the history.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about these elves. They're pretty reclusive. They have a deep hatred for demonkind, and since our type of vampire is spawned by demons, we fall under that category."

Skadi looked out the window and sighed, it was getting late. Unfortunately the sun would be rising soon and they would have to retire.

"Story time is over, the sun will be up soon."
____________

Back to his senses, Ivan got up and led Steele out of his office and down the corridor, meeting up with Viannor.

"We do this raid during daylight, that way they have no chance of escape. Also, don't think they will be all asleep. Vampires do not need to sleep during the day, just avoid the sunlight."

The VP captain moved towards a large projection board and connected his own electronic badge to it, bringing up a map of the southern part of Emerald City. Pointing to several red dots upon the map, Ivan began a small briefing.

"We shall attack in about four hours. They will not be expecting us and chances are that many will be asleep. Entry is to be swift, as is the execution. You're all experienced in vampiric combat so you know what to do. Any questions?"

Sigrun nodded, "Yes, the sun rises soon. In light of recent events, Arleni, Zero, Aeris, and Lujza and I will stand guard around this place."

He got up and thought about the layout of the mansion. "Arleni and I will hold the front entrance. Zero, Aeris, you two take the sides. Lujza, you've got the rear."

He looked around at each of them, "All good? If so, then let's go. Keep yourself in an inconspicious location."

He looked over to Skadi, "I'll let you know if anything comes up."

Arleni followed Sigrun to their positions and settled into place behind large thick bushes on either side of the mansion that rose up to cover the main windows on the front side of the mansion. There, they stood sentinel, taking changes in watch each half hour.

Skadi gave Sigrun a quick squeeze upon the shoulder before she ascended the stairs and moved into her chambers, rooms that had not been used in hundreds of years. Everything was still in order and Skadi decided she would sleep for the day. Even after more than two hundred years sleep, this last night had wearied her.

Hondur showed Phobos to a room he was welcome to stay and bid good day to Sigrun, Arleni, Zero, Aeris and Lujza before heading towards his chambers, downstairs. As he moved towards the stairs, he noticed the bloody pulp that was Stephen. Considering sunlight may actually find the beaten vampire, Hondur used his mind to lift the injured vampire and guide him down into his own chambers, where he allowed the younger vampire to recover upon a couch within his office.

Hondur too was quite tired. All these events and warnings had taken it out of him. Within minutes sleep came to the ancient vampire.

Lujza went up to her room to get her AK-103 before going out back. With dawn just a little over the horizon, she scouted out a place to watch from. No one was out yet, so she put on her sunglasses and took her time, not wanting to select a bad hiding spot due to needless hurry. Lujza found a clump of trees next to the Mansion that would be shady, provide cover with their thick foliage, and be an ideal place to keep an eye on the rear entrance.

Slinging her gun over her back, she climbed up into one. It was as good as she hoped, the branches being large enough to sit comfortably on. She had selected the spot because she knew only one with eyesight as good as hers, which was sharp even for Moroii, and far better than all but the most notable humans' vision, would be able to see her in it, and only if one was looking.

Lujza settled down for her watch.

Like a sentinel, Avto Crusade stood silently in the driveway of the mansion that housed his target, Skadi. Avto's eyes were closed, hiding his beautiful, yet eerie sapphire colored eyes. Behind him, the sun slowly rose into the air, as night passed slowly to day. Motionless, like a statue, Avto stood, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He waited patiently for the vampires within to notice the presence of one man, a mortal, standing alone in front.

Slowly, a small breeze blew, pushing and pulling at his dark long hair. With an audible sigh, Avto raised his arm, brushing back his flowing hair and opened his eyes, as they pierced at the dark mansion before him...

(OOC: Sorry for short post... Will start posting regularly soon...)

Viannor studied the map as closely as possible, she had no experience of Assington besides the VPHQ and the back of a taxi.

Now I would look stupid if I asked if the Vamps were going to be arrested Viannor thought to herself, looks like blowing them away is a simple enough way to deal with the problem.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of her mini-computer. She pulled it out and, flipping it open, checked the message that had come through.

AO Update:
Abattoir tests nuke on island.
Krytenia kidnaps Lauir.

Having fun? We are.

Fursifio.

Viannor frowned at the message and slid the computer, about the size of a large mobile phone, back into her long coat. They must have been waiting for me to leave the country before the real parties started, she thought, I hope this won't be a boring and uneventful trip.

"Captain," she said, "I've never even seen a vampire - that didn't look like Boris Karloff, of course - never mind shot at one. Ostensibly, I'm an observer, but if you need me, just tell me where to stand and what to shoot at."

Ivan paused and considered Viannor's words. Whilst he didn't particularly like the woman, he had no desire to put her in danger or get her killed.

"Alright then. Vampires here look like everyone else, save they may look quite pale. The only other physical feature you can pick out are the fangs, yet they can be hidden quite well. There are a few ways to kill one. If you set one on fire, chances are they will burn to ashes before long. If you shoot them in the head or the heart with a silver bullet, they won't get up. And finally, decapitation kills them. Of course there is also sunlight. These vampires have a painful weakness to silver. They cannot touch it without being burned. So if you're ever in a tight spot, apply some silver to their flesh and chances are the pain will distract them enough for you to put a bullet through their brain. Does that answer everything?"

OOC: WOW, super sorry everyone...
Heres the deal, I'll only be able to post on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and the weekend. I'll do what i can to keep up, but dont feel any obligation to slow down because of me....
Thank you for your understanding

IC: Phobos sat upon the bed he had been given, he had no desire to sleep. He trusted no-one, and he had no problem with the fact no one trusted him. In fact, he really had no feelings for anyone in this little cabal; he really wouldn't have cared if Skadi or Hondur died, though they were his only kin left. He knew the questioned his motives, but he simply give a damn. With thier help, Svartel would die, and Phobos could move on with his other plans...

Arleni watched as Avto approached and halted before the mansion. She sent Sigrun a telepathic message to alert him, as he was briefly napping. Sigrun awoke immediately and peered out from the shadows, until he recognized Avto. He emerged from the bushes like a silent wraith and bowed to Avto, "Well if it isn't the descendant of Lance Crusade..."

Sigrun smiled warmly and inquired Avto of his quest, "What have you learned of your history, your ancestors since we last met?"

Arleni emerged from the bushes seconds later, but kept back slightly, still scanning her eyes in every direction within view, keeping watch. She too had bowed in greeting to Avto.

"Does that answer everything?"

Viannor whipped out one of her pistols and ejected the clip, catching it in the other hand. The first round in the clip was visible, glinting with the unmistakeable shine of silver.

"Silver bullets," she said, "as suggested. And yes, I think that covers everything, thankyou, Captain."

Avto Crusade bowed low in greeting to the two elves before him, but kept his eyes closed, hiding the beautiful, yet piercing sapphire eyes behind heavy lids. In a calm voice filled with respect and admiration, Avto spoke. “My dear friends. In the hundreds of years that have passed since we last met in Tarlachia, I have learned some more information about my ancestor. Delving through the annotated volumes of history within the Circle of Swords. I have learned much of the bloodshed that marked the central part of my ancestor’s life. But I have not found all the answers that I seek. I do not understand the origins of the sword techniques that have formed the basis of the power of House Cala…”

Viannor whipped out one of her pistols and ejected the clip, catching it in the other hand. The first round in the clip was visible, glinting with the unmistakeable shine of silver.

"Silver bullets," she said, "as suggested. And yes, I think that covers everything, thankyou, Captain."

He found himself strangely attracted to the way her mouth moved as she spoke, and for the way she fast-drew a very wicked looking slug-thrower. He listened to her, smiling slightly at her enthusiasm. Obviously, she'd never met a bloodsucker before, and Steele knew that she would be in for a surprise. Admittedly, she looked like she'd be able to handle herself just fine. Taking advantage of the break in the conversation, the young man cleared his throat.

"Well, since we have a few hours to burn...what say we get ourselves a drink somewhere...?

Lujza kept silent in her tree, guarding the rear entrance. She couldn't help getting the feeling that something was going on that she couldn't see. The Batory family was the most gifted in telepathic abilities, but still not nearly as good as her hosts probably were. And Lujza was not nearly as gifted at it as some of her relatives. She sent a message to those guarding the front, though it was not really words as much as a general feeling of curiosity.

Sigrun offered an apology, "My apologies. The mysteries of your ancestors are not much more revealed in my own knowledge. He never did fully explain the entire history of the sword techniques."

EDIT:
OOC: w00t! First to post on nationstates forum after unexplained death of Lazarus Jolt!

Ivan nodded in acknowledgement to Viannor's thanks and looked around the group of gathered officers. All were silent, all seemed to know what they were doing. Content with the briefing, Ivan was about to head off to his office when Steele mentioned going out for drinks.

Considering there wasn't much else to do, Ivan agreed.

"That's fine, but I don't want anyone drinking much. One mistake could cost you yours or the life of a comrade. There is a bar over on the next block, will that suffice?"

Between the potential threat of Idun and the rage of Skadi, the tension was enormous. Zero had thought it best to avoid drawing any attention to himself, as he wanted neither Aeris nor himself to get hurt. Thus, he had backed himself and Aeris back into a dark corner to observe the proceedings, and Aeris was smart enough to give only the minimal response when Sigrun pointed her out as the cause of Zero's ability to walk in the sun. A wise choice, too, as they saw Skadi first stab and throw Idun away into the night sky, then proceed to bash Stephen to a pulp before stalking off. As Aeris winced, Zero pushed her back further into the wall, his other hand stroking the hilt of his Dragon Saber in case Skadi would suddenly turn on them.

Fortunately, that never happened, and the both of them merely complied with Sigrun's request for them to guard the mansion, eager to get out of the situation for a while where they could think. And so it was, that they found themselves walking down one side of the mansion, both silent in thought about what had just happened. Neither talked, and both were troubled by the chain of events that had just revealed itself. Finally, Aeris spoke.

"Raphael", she began, "It's not looking too good, is it?"
"No", Zero sighed in reply, "It's not. Right now, the situation appears dire. Even more dire than 200 years ago. The Assingtonian coven is in danger once more, and this time, it's not from the Hyraphore. It's from the master vampire Svartel, the new VP, and now these dark elves of Idun. It seems like Hondur is at bay from three different sides, and now the Assingtonians are truly in peril. Could this be it? Is this the prophecy of King Louis? Is this the time when the true test of the strength of the Assingtonians begins? If so, it's time the King knows about it."

They walked on for a while more. And this time, it was Zero who started the conversation again.

"Aeris.........about these dark Elves. Do you know anything about them? They are Elves after all. Surely you know something?"
"I'm afraid not, Raphael. Well, what I have learned from the libraries of Tarlachia isn't very much, and I'm afraid studying was never my strongest point. I do know that there are a species of Elve that are named by my kind as Drow, or in the Elvish language, Mori'quessir. They are Elves who uses the power of darkness, and they are apparently sworn enemies of my kind. However, I do not know if Master Idun's elves are the Drows I've been reading about. I shall have to ask Uncle about that."

Pause. They walked on a little while, then it was Aeris's turn.

"Raphael, I have something to ask."
"What is it, love?"
"It's about Lady Skadi, Raph. Somehow I get the feeling she doesn't like me or something. I've seen her giving me that unwelcome stare, as if she doesn't trust me or anything. I'm scared of her, Raph. It's like she wants to kill me or something."
"Well, the Lady Skadi never really did trust many people. Maybe she just doesn't trust you or something. I should know, she was this nasty to me too when I first met her. Don't worry about it, Aeris. As long as you don't spoil anything, she shouldn't bother you too much."
"But.........I'm pretty sure she has seen me before. Doesn't she remember me? She also had a hand in rescuing me two centuries ago, when I was just a mortal girl."
"Perhaps she has forgotten, Aeris. And I wouldn't be surprised, after all, she was sleeping away these two centuries. I would think it's possible she didn't recognize you, after all, you've changed a lot in that time."
"True, true........"

They paused again. And Aeris started again.

"So, Raph. What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. The King of Atros must know of this, that is most certain. I will tell him the coming night, when he's most likely to be awake. After that........I don't know. Perhaps he will send the Nobles out in force once more. What about Sigrun, Aeris? Did he say anything?"
"No, Raph. But I feel that he doesn't seem to keen on involving our people in this. I don't know why, but maybe Idun's elves have something to do with it. I might ask him at a later time. Come, Raph. If I have to ask them, might as well be now while there's nothing going on."
"All right, Aeris. Let's go"

And so they made their way to the front of the mansion, where they saw Sigrun and Arleni greeting a man they had never seen before. And yet, at this distance, they could feel a sense of power enamating from the man, an indication he was far more than he seemed. With that thought in mind, Zero stepped up first, glancing at Sigrun and giving him a quick grin, before turning back to Avto Crusade.

"Good morning, sir. It seems like you know Sigrun here. May I ask your name?"

At the same time, Aeris went to the side of Arleni, but instead of following Zero's example, she instead kept quiet, and gently tugged on Arleni's hand; her silent signal that she wished to talk in privacy.

OOC: Just trying something out. Jolt isn't working quite right for me at the moment........

Idun settled himself down within the safe confines of a massive oak. The tree was thick walled yet almost completely hollow. It was a credit to elvenkind, the way they could create dwellings out of the very nature around them without destroying and killing. In a matter of hours the forest had changed, becoming more lively in the very core, yet the outskirts remained eerie and intimidating, to keep out those unwelcome of course.

Animal sounds had returned to Emerald Forest, although the noises were far more unnerving to the ignorant ear. Many of the creatures within the forest could not be found any other place in the world. They were the product of elven dark arts combining with the creatures of nature. Others may look upon these creatures as abominations, yet those responsible knew their true nature and accepted them whole heartedly.

Idun smiled as several elven maidens passed him by, their long black hair flowing over graceful shoulders. After all these years, it was good to return to Emerald Forest, to be at home with those that he cared for.

It wasn't long before a tall, muscular figure crossed over Idun, casting a shadow upon the vampire's form.

"How did it go?"

Idun replied by pulling back his robes and undershirt, revealing the sword wound, still in the process of healing. Ashur could also notice the bulge of broken ribs and other injuries sustained from his meeting with his old time companion.

"I see. Well that is unfortunate."

"Must we bring a war to her doorstep?"

Ashur couldn't help but sigh, running a slender hand through his own black mane of hair before taking a seat next to Idun.

"I have no true desire to bring hostilities to Skadi, but the prophecy dictates our actions here. If we do not fulfill it, the future is uncertain and possibly non-existent. The vampires must fall."

"I know. Can we at least make Svartel the primary target. Get rid of him first, then worry about Skadi and her forces."

"She has forces?"

"Aye. Whilst there are many unorganised vampires like we expected, there is also a massive coven of vampires, led by Skadi's fledgling. There are several interesting characters involved. I spotted two elves, several vampires like myself, another vampire unlike myself and an odd girl. She had elven features, yet something else."

"Interesting. Elves and vampires."

"Yes, you should know that Skadi never fell victim to an elven blood lust. She doesn't yearn for elven blood like Svartel. From what I gather, she doesn't want this war, but she is more than willing to fight it with a ferocity I have never seen before."

"That is odd. She seems quite different from what you described so long ago."

"Aye."

"Well, we are going on an expedition into the city. Is there anything we should know?"

"Law enforcement is quite over zealous. There is a force called the Vampire Police that attempt to contain these vampires with the use of force. They possess many of man's modern day weapons. I cannot predict their reaction to elves, yet I would recommend we avoid them. Otherwise, you should encounter little trouble."

"Good. Sleep well brother, I shall see you when the world plunges back into darkness."

"Farewell and good luck."

Without another word, Ashur got up and wrapped a dark cloak around himself, hiding the elven armour and weapons upon his body. The elven leader stepped out of the tree dwelling and went in search of the elven warriors designated to join him within Emerald City.
_____________

Svartel could not say he enjoyed his current accomodation. Whilst it was quite large, it was dirty, run down, full of foul odours and generally a hell hole. His loyal followers now stood at forty-five young vampires, all overjoyed at the promise of a better life under his reign.

The remaining hours of the night had been spent modifying the building so as to prevent any lethal rays of sunlight from penetrating the walls and causing an untimely death. Svartel knew this place had potential to be a suitable base of operations. The next night would be spent gathering materials and working on the building. If they lacked the necessary skills, they would merely find someone with the skills and turn them. It would take time, but eventually they would have a suitable place to reside during the day.

Seated within the centre of the most secure room, Svartel reflected and planned. He would have to learn many things about this place before he could take over. First of all, he needed to know about other vampiric presence. Whether there were any ancients and if so, how many. Then of course there was the humans. During his wanderings, Svartel had learned of the human force known as VP. Those that existed to hunt down vampires and make them conform to human laws. They were definitely a problem.

Of course none of it would matter in the end. Svartel couldn't help but smile to himself as he imagined the looks upon their faces when Svartel ripped out their innards and strangled their comrades with them. The pain they would endure, the screams of anguish, the very thought of such things filled the ancient vampire with a tingling sensation. He couldn't wait to begin the blood bath...

As the day wore on, Lujza continued her guard of the rear of the mansion. Nothing more than a chipmunk had passed by so far. Many would find her perch uncomfortable, but she had always enjoyed climbing trees and was happy as a clam, if a little bored. But I was told to guard the back of the mansion, and by the Gods that's what I'm going to do. She figured that if she left, someone would show up and try to sneak in or something. It was like an umbrella on a cloudy day. If one brought an umbrella, one might not need it, but if one forgot it, rain would surely come.

Stephen moaned slightly. His body gave a twitch as he slowly regained conisousness. He opened one of his eyes and looked around Hondur's office, his vision was blurry yet it quickly went back to normal. The last memory he had was a fist slamming into his skull as he lay against a wall in the mansion. It was then the real pain set in.

The young vampire tired to get up but was forced back down onto the couch. His bones had all reset themselves in thier original places, though his chest burned like fire. His head was pounding, it felt like dozens of artillery battiers had decided to open fire inside of his head.

Stephen closed his eyes as he managed to push himself up and sit. He placed his face in his hands and felt the dry blood on his face, his blood. He also noticed the blood on his t-shirt, pants, boots, pistols, even his socks. It all came back, Skadi had suddenly turned on him and attacked him. Jesus she has strength.

Looking at his watch, he could see it was still daylight. He rose slowly from the couch, his hand on the armrest for support and stood there for several seconds getting his balance back. Stephen's body was back in order, yet the pain in his mucles made him do a very stiff zombie like walk.

He went back to the lounge where Skadi had pounded him and picked up his bag and trench coat. He stared at his splattered blood on the wall before turning and heading to the coven's gyms.

Stephen undressed, tossed his bloody clothes into a locker and took a long hot shower. He watched as the blood colored water rushed into the drain, reminding him of the shower scene from Pyscho, only this time in color.

After a full hour, he managed to wash off all the blood and his muscles relax. He dressed in clean black clothes, his body feeling better, yet his head still was hurting. He had his bloodstone in his bag, but was too tired to get it out and drink some to replenish himself. He also thought about finding some Advil for his head, but his sore mind told him to sleep.

Sleep finally overcame the Simatarian. Stephen lay on a bench and promptly fell asleep.

Sigrun offered an apology, "My apologies. The mysteries of your ancestors are not much more revealed in my own knowledge. He never did fully explain the entire history of the sword techniques."

EDIT:
OOC: w00t! First to post on nationstates forum after unexplained death of Lazarus Jolt!Nodding in agreement, Avto Crusade sighed, self-consciously reaching for the sheathed swords tied to his belt...

And so they made their way to the front of the mansion, where they saw Sigrun and Arleni greeting a man they had never seen before. And yet, at this distance, they could feel a sense of power enamating from the man, an indication he was far more than he seemed. With that thought in mind, Zero stepped up first, glancing at Sigrun and giving him a quick grin, before turning back to Avto Crusade.

"Good morning, sir. It seems like you know Sigrun here. May I ask your name?"Bowing in greeting, Avto Crusade spoke, introducing himself in a beautiful, mellifluous voice. "Hello, stranger. I am Avto, a wandering swordmaster of a land far, far away. You are?"

Sigrun nodded briefly to Zero who had spoken first to Avto. Naturally, he remained silent as the two exchanged words. For the brief moment, he wondered why Zero had abandoned his post. It was a weakness in the security of the mansion he did not like knowing was currently existent.

He listened behind him as Arleni spoke softly to Aeris in their native language, "Yes daughter? What troubles you?"

OOC: for the purposes of keeping this thread going, we're skipping ahead a few hours to the raid on the vampires...

IC: Ivan sat calmly within the back of an armoured squad van as himself, Steele, Viannor and the rest of the VP team made their way towards today's vampiric slaughter. Of course, none were allowed to call it a slaughter as that would be illegal. It was a... 'raid'.

With all questions answered, Ivan hadn't spoken a word since the team entered the van and sped off towards downtown Emerald City. All he could think about was his family and the filthy creatures known as vampires that had slaughtered them. Ivan knew that single event was the source of all his hatred and ruthlessness, yet he didn't care. He would have bloody vengence for many, many years until he was satisfied. The government didn't seem to care as he did his job effectively, even if it meant blood would be spilled upon the streets, at least it wasn't human blood.

Within minutes they would arrive outside the unsuspecting hideout of several criminal vampires, more than willing to deliver 'justice'. With mention of the soon arrival, Ivan straightened up and checked his FN-P90.

"Everyone know their job?"

The drinks had been welcome, and the atmosphere electric with anticipation. The three warriors had enjoyed each others company, as much as they could. Each had their own thoughts, dreams and demons to deal with. The downtime passed much too quickly for Steele's liking, and soon they had all been bundled into the back of a large military van, heading towards their first target.

He ran a last minute systems check, ensuring his exo-unit was fully charged and in ready mode. Steele located the rest of his team, and activating his comm implant, he gave the Razor Triad team updated instructions, directing them to the assembly point in Emerald City. Snapping the last of his light ballistic armor into place, the young man replied quietly to Ivan's question.

"Find them. Kill them. No one gets left behind. Standard stuff, Chief..." Steele looked over at Viannor, and smiled tightly.

OOC: I'm so, so sorry if i've held back the progress of this thread. Let's see what I can do to fix it.

IC: The look that Sigrun had given him, Zero knew all too well. It was a look of disapproval, and it didn't take a genius to guess just what the Elven chieftain wasn't too thrilled about. Moving closer to Sigrun, Zero placed one hand on Sigrun's back, as if it was something he did everyday with a friend. What he didn't let Avto see, however, was that his hand was furiously tapping on Sigrun's back with a rhythmic pattern, a pattern that was famous throughout the world.

Morse Code. And this was what Zero was saying to Sigrun:

"What? You think I'm doing this for nothing? Look over at your little niece there. She wanted to talk to you, Herr, but you had to go talk to whoever this Avto guy is."

Even while he was doing this, Zero was still smiling broadly at Avto, as he met Avto's brief response with one of his own,

"Raphael Celadrin, Princess Consort of Tarlachia. As you might assume, I'm pretty closely linked to our friend Sigrun here", he grinned, then turned to Sigrun. "C'mon, Sigrun! You gotta introduce us here!"
_________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile,

Aeris looked up at her mother, the Lady Arleni, with grave eyes. With a glance towards the preoccupied Sigrun, the Princess leaned towards Arleni, and whispered in Elven,

"Mother, what are these elves the Lady Skadi speaks of? How is this Idun character related to them? I sense an Elven, yet at the same time dark, aura about him. Are they Mori'quessir? How are they related to us?"

Sigrun spoke, "My apologies. My manners do sometimes slip to the wayside..."

Instead of pounding the same bruise into my back over and over, why don't you use your mind, fool? Sigrun replied to Zero telepathically. He chuckled telepathically, while simultaneously making sure their link was secured from accidential reading from Avto. He continued, Second of all, do not speak of Avto like that again. He is to be treated with respect, upon recognition of his ancestors. In time, he too will build his reputation, but alas, he needs time.

"Well, there you have it. Introductions are over with. Now, I feel its best to inform you of our current situation. We are not standing outside for no reason. There are several new, but old groups that have appeared in Assington, groups that may very well endanger the coven we stand guard for. For now, the rear and front is guarded, but the sides are lacking guards..."

Sigrun gave a meaningful look at Zero with a slight grin.

_____________________________

Arleni replied in the same low tone, "Yes. As far as I can tell, they are Mori'quessir. We cannot know for sure until we meet them. However, I will not be caught unprepared if necessary to defend against them. Beware the Mori'quessir, Aeris, for they are powerful in the dark arts. Idun's relation to them, I am unsure of. But I feel that this too will be revealed in time."

______________________________

Now that introductions had been completed, Sigrun turned to address them all as one. "Back to your posts. We cannot be caught unawares. Avto, you are welcome to rest inside, or stand guard with us."

(OOC: ok, now let's get back into the proper timeline. It's now a few hours later on in the day, still daylight obviously.)

"Oh well", Zero thought to himself, as he caught Sigrun's hint loud and clear, "As you command, Lord Sigrun. I am at your service", he chuckled to himself. With that, he bowed to Avto, and retreated, leaving Aeris in the hands of Arleni. Once back at his place though, he resumed his conversation with Sigrun with his mind.

"So, Sigrun. Just who is this Avto anyway?"

_________________________________________________________________

Aeris listened with rapt attention, as she shivered at Arleni's warning about the race of dark elves known as the Drows, or the Mori'quessir in Elvish. Even though she herself could not decide if they were Drow, Aeris had heard enough stories about them to be wary. As she turned to Sigrun, she ignored his orders, seeing that Zero was already heading back. Instead, she went forward, and looked him in the eye. In Elvish, she spoke,

"Is it true, Uncle? Are these elves of Idun Mori'quessir?"

Sigrun had returned to his post once more, this time allowing Arleni to rest. He replied to Zero, just as Aeris approached him and prompted her question to him.

He is a descendant of the legendary dragonriders of the Crusade line. They are an extremely powerful line, their strength matched by less than a handful of forces in this world. Avto has much to live up to.

For a side moment, he instructed Arleni to take up Aeris's post, so that he could continue this conversation with her daughter. Arleni complied silently, disappearing from view.

He spoke to Aeris. "It appears to be so, but like your mother said, we cannot know for sure until we see them. Only then will any doubts be relieved and answered."

A quick check of the sights on her twin pistols. Viannor had been in many 'situations' before. Running in dark alleys with faceless agents close behind. Smuggling defectors from rogue nations, being hunted by dogs and troops. But those missions were few and far between for the Chief-Quaestor of the Starblaydi Inquisition. Now her every-day duty was to sign reports and inform the Lord-Protector of the state of intelligence and security. Except for this moment, where she was to storm a building full of supernatural freaks.

A chill went up Viannor's spine as she holstered her guns, tying her hair in a tight bunch behind her head, adjusting the body armour around her torso to fit more comfortably over her chest.

For all his manners, Steele obviously had the blood-lust of a purebred killer, which always unnerved her when she saw it in a person's eyes. Of course, it was kill or be killed in this situation.

And she was not going to be killed here.

OOC: Starblaydia, just thought I'd let you (and everyone else) know that that first raid there is not directed to the mansion where the rest of us are. I asked Assington about that last night, and he clarified that it was an attack elsewhere. I knew that if he didn't clarify in his last post, people were going to be confused. He'll most likely clarify it in his next post though.

"......legendary dragonriders of the Crusade line......"

"Crusade?", Zero thought. "I know that name!"

"Sigrun........Lance Crusade?", he replied. "I'd know the name of Lance Crusade anywhere. You're saying this Avto is his descendant? Whoa. He has much to live up to indeed. Alright, I get the idea. So you have any idea why he's here with us?"

At the same time, Aeris nodded gravely at Sigrun's words. Turning to one side, Aeris fingered her Blade of the Maiden, and was silent for a while. Then she spoke again,

"So, Uncle. What does this mean now? It appears as if Emerald City is in peril once again, and this time, not only from the oldest of the vampires, but from what appears to be one of our ancient foes. How are we going to resolve this?"

She went silent again. Then she looked at Sigrun once more.

"By the way, Uncle. Speaking of the Lady Skadi, she doesn't seem to remember me. Can you talk to her about me? The way she looks at me scares me."

Finally the van came to a steady halt, parking comfortably down a side alley. Ivan found himself facing run down buildings and filth everywhere as he stepped out of the van, making sure he didn't drop his foot into the pile of filth nearby. This truly was the dirt poor quarter of Emerald City. Every city had one, a place for low income earners, criminals and anyone else that didn't wish to be noticed.

Ivan knew it very well. He used to live in this part of town as a child. It was in this part of town that he lost his family, lost everything. Waiting for his entire team to deploy, Ivan pointed across the street. Settled on its own was a small block of flats, windows boarded up roughly but well enough to keep out sunlight, doors firmly sealed yet everything else was in a shocking state of decay.

"That's the place. We'll have several entry points. I'll take the front door, Steele, you and your men can take the back entrance. I want a team on the roof and the others can find any entry point they can, preferably a window, to let in more sunlight. We're not expecting anymore than twenty or so vampires to be in there, but don't get caught off guard if there are more. Remember, get in and kill quickly. Watch your crossfire, I don't want to see any casualties. Let's go."

It was evident that Ivan's lust to enact vengence upon vampires was starting to get the best of him, yet he still managed to go about this operation in a professional manner. Cocking his weapon, Ivan led the VP squad towards the building and indicated everyone should go to their positions.

"Viannor, you're with me."

OOC: Note, this is not the run down block where Svartel is.
_______________

No one noticed as three dark cloaked figures idly strode into the city, not drawing any attention to themselves at all. Of course it was odd that anyone would walk into a city like Emerald City these days, with all the modern methods of transport, yet the people of this city had learned to keep to themselves. Curiosity killed the cat... and it's family. People left other people alone either out of fear or disinterest.

Such an attitude didn't go unnoticed by the elves as they made it into the city proper, amazed that such a society could function with such disunity and contempt for one another. The three figures moved silently down the streets, speaking to no one as they passed, merely watching. Certain buildings stood out as being homes to those more than human. The elves could detect the foulr corruption of the human soul, it tainted their residence.

Continuing through the streets of Emerald City, Ashur found himself draw towards a particular site. A place where the taint was so strong he could almost smell the foul stench of vampirism. Stopping outside the tall gates of Hondur's mansion, Ashur removed his hood and glared.

"This is the place. Where the one known as Skadi resides, I can sense her strength, much like Idun. Mark this place, for it is cursed ground."

The other two elves nodded and both began a low chant whilst Ashur scribed dark elven runes into the air, a purple hue highlighting their presence as the elf prepared a combination of spells.

"Viannor, you're with me."

She crouched low behind the Captain, drawing her weapons from behind her back, going over her mental checklist.

Heckler & Koch Univeral Self-loading Pistol, 'Expert' Model she told herself, nine millimeter caliber, eighteen round magazine, silver-tipped ammunition. Ambidextrous grip, she told herself, looking at the pistol in each hand. I'm ready.

"I'm ready. Let's Knife," she replied, using the traditional code-word in the Starblaydi military for action.

Sigrun chuckled, glancing sideways at Aeris, "Of course. Keep in mind, she has had long to rest, and I highly doubt she has forgotten your contribution to her life at the end of the last Assingtonian war."

Suddenly his eyes caught the sight of a glow that contrasted against the black steel-wrought gates. He turned quickly, drawing his blade in succession. Arleni caught sight of his alarm and stepped closer quickly, following his gaze to the gates.

Sigrun took off at a slight jog, keeping to the grass to muffle his footsteps as he did a wide circle. He kept his eyes upon the dark runes that floated just in view of the gate. He wasn't quite sure what it was creating, but he knew he had to cease the activites of the spell-casters on the other side.

He climbed the wall quickly, silently until he stood atop the wall. Arleni had moved down the way, and had moved over to the other side of the wall. She had drawn her bow and had the arrow strung and taunt in her fingers.

Sigrun cast a rapid series of dispels onto the runes that formed and watched as they disintegrated. He spoke before the elves could react,

"I don't take kindly to those scrawling arcanic graffitti on my property."

He knew it wasn't his property, but with his relation to the true owners of the grounds, it was almost as good as his anyway.

Nodding at Sigrun's answer, Aeris was somewhat surprised when she saw him suddenly move away, towards the direction of the gate, but keeping on the grass and doing a wide circle, such that anyone outside the gate would neither see or hear him.

"Outside the gate......"

And then she saw it. Magical runes floating in the air. And they were dark, evil in nature. Elvish, too.

"Drows! The Drows are here!", she suddenly caught on. Seeing Arleni make her move out of the corner of her eyes, Aeris made hers too, moving to the part of the wall that was on the opposite side of the gate to Arleni. Mimicking Sigrun's stealthy movements, Aeris ran swiftly towards the wall, and in a succession of quick footwork, scaled the wall, and leapt over the other side. As she did so, one hand was reached down the collar of her blouse towards her chest, while the other was resting on something placed on her hip. By the time she landed on the other side, in view of the Elves that were performing the arcane runes outside Hondur's mansion, her Megil en' i' Wen was already in her left hand, and the jet-black, imposing Nephilim Rose Staff was in her right.

"I would ask your purpose in being here, Mori'quessir", Aeris growled, even though she wasn't sure that they were really Mori'quessir, and at any rate wasn't too sure about their strength either. Nevertheless, she smote the bottom end of the Staff on the ground, and the rounded tip on the top part of the divine Staff suddenly split open like petals, revealing a white rose bud that cast forth a white divine light around Aeris. At the same time, the Megil en' i' Wen was also starting to glow green, casting forth the power of the Arian Elves. Quickly, she pointed the rose-tipped end of the Staff and the point of her Elvish short sword towards the Drows.

And she now looked different too. Her normally brownish hair had turned golden, while her eyes and her ears had taken on a distinctively Elvish form. She was now the Nephilim Aerial, and the Princess of Tarlachia, all at once.

_________________________________________________________________

At the same time, Zero sensed danger. From outside the gate.

He immediately turned to leave his post, but then he heard Aeris's words in his mind,

"Raphael. Idun's Elves are here. Me, Uncle, and Mother are standing off against them now. I have no idea if they're hostile, but they seem to have done something to piss Uncle off."
"Hold on, Aeris, I'll be on the way!"
"No, Raphael! I'll be fine, honestly. Just stay where you are. This isn't your fight, and besides, I don't think Uncle'll be too pleased if you left your post again. But be prepared for trouble, just in case."
"........Alright. You take care of yourself now, girl, you hear me?"
"I hear you, Raph. I can take care of myself."

Groaning, Zero stopped in his tracks, worrying for Aeris. Still, there was nothing he can do in this case. He slowly reached for his weapons, and his right hand drew out the Dragon Saber from its sheathe on his back, while his left reached into his trenchcoat, and pulled out the long-disused Uzi. Gritting his teeth, he prepared himself for anything that was going to happen.

Lujza had remained at her post in the tree in back of the mansion. Now she could feel that something was going on in the front, but she had no idea what. Was it this Svartel she had heard about? Lujza shuddered at the thought. Or was it the elves she had been warned about? She wished someone would tell her what was going on. It was late in the day, so hopefully when darkness fell, she would no longer need to guard the rear entrance.

Ashur and his two companions ceased their magiks as Sigrun's dispel collided with their own runes, wiping eachother out. Raising his head, Ashur was surprised to see this elven character and even more so when another elven like girl emerged. Idun had mentioned elven presence, but he never thought them to be allies of the dark ones. Before speaking, the elven trio conversed amongst themselves.

"Ashur, the girl... she is not normal. She is ignorant of our history."

"Aye, but no matter, we're not here to dispute ignorant claims. Let me handle this."

Striding forward purposely, Ashur arrived directly infront of Sigrun and matched his gaze. Immediately he could tell there was something abnormal about this elf. He was physically an elven male, yet his soul held the slight taint of corruption. Putting that aside, Ashur spoke to Sigrun in a stern manner.

"Cala'quessir, why do you reside with the corrupted? They are the enemy of our kind. We were once like your kind, until those known as vampires declared war upon us. Now we are Ithil'quessir, sworn to cure the plague."

The other two elves remained in the background, noting every detail of the mansion and keeping spells within their minds if a battle erupted. In particular they watched Aeris, uneasy with her presence.
____________

With everyone in position, Ivan gave the command over the team comm system and watched as two men detonated the explosive charge upon the door, allowing specially place mirrors to direct a full blast of sunlight into the run down building, killing any vampire that would be standing guard.

As expected, two vampires roared in agony before being fully consumed by the flames of their demise and transformed into a pile of ash. With that done, Ivan stormed through the front door, P90 at the ready as he rounded a corner, side stepped into a room and found several startled vampires upon the ground. Grinning sadisticly, Ivan unleashed two three round bursts into the heads of three vampires, instantly killing them whilst the others were torn apart by the remainder of his clip.

"One room clear. They'll be catching onto what's going on, swift and lethal!"

Ashur and his two companions ceased their magiks as Sigrun's dispel collided with their own runes, wiping eachother out. Raising his head, Ashur was surprised to see this elven character and even more so when another elven like girl emerged. Idun had mentioned elven presence, but he never thought them to be allies of the dark ones. Before speaking, the elven trio conversed amongst themselves.

"Ashur, the girl... she is not normal. She is ignorant of our history."

"Aye, but no matter, we're not here to dispute ignorant claims. Let me handle this."

Striding forward purposely, Ashur arrived directly infront of Sigrun and matched his gaze. Immediately he could tell there was something abnormal about this elf. He was physically an elven male, yet his soul held the slight taint of corruption. Putting that aside, Ashur spoke to Sigrun in a stern manner.

"Cala'quessir, why do you reside with the corrupted? They are the enemy of our kind. We were once like your kind, until those known as vampires declared war upon us. Now we are Ithil'quessir, sworn to cure the plague."

The other two elves remained in the background, noting every detail of the mansion and keeping spells within their minds if a battle erupted. In particular they watched Aeris, uneasy with her presence.


Sigrun kept his eyes locked with Ashur, not standing down in his demeanor. He lept down from the wall with grace, landing before Ashur. When he spoke, he was calm, his voice measured.

"You speak of a time long ago when these vampires were unruly, arrogant, and ignorant of the ways of the world. Could not the same have been said for yourselves, once upon a time? Wisdom and respect comes not of age, but of actions committed. Granted, there are vampires who existed, or still do, that hate our kind and do what they wish to purge us. Granted, some, like yourselves find it necessary to defend your lives. But I tell you, there are many more Moonwalkers that do not actively hunt our kind. Believe me, I would know, for I too was once like them."

He knew the last revelation would surprise them, and reveal to them the taint upon his soul in its entirity. He continued speaking however, intent to say a few more things. "One cannot declare another unfit of a life until they experience their life as they live it. Have you ever been a vampire? Have you ever become friends with one? I tell you, I have."

He glanced aside to Aeris, who was agitated, her experience in battle relatively minimal compared to her uncle. He sent her a message, Relax. They are not likely to attack, for we are elves, like them.

Sigrun was once more looking at Ashur. He gestured behind him to the mansion, "The ones that reside here do not wish to seek warfare with you. They only wish to live peacefully, but alas the world brings them more than their lion's share of trouble."

Arleni remained just out of sight of the others, her bow fixed upon the one closest to Sigrun. She would fire if that one, or any of his companions favored any violence.

Viannor leapt back into the full blast on the sunlight, casting a long, sharp shadow over the floor. With her twin pistols in front of her, she delivered a jarring blow to the nearest door with her heel, slamming it open.

Leading with her left hand she entered the door frame, Vianoor quickly opened up on the first figure she saw there, striking the central mass twice and clipping the vampire in the arm, sending it spinning and stunned onto the floor.

Another Vampire, perhaps sleeping before his front door had exploded, was scrambling around on the floor, perhaps looking for a weapon or somewhere to hide. This one was easier, as Viannor's right index finger squeezed the trigger and placed a pair of bullets into its brain. Turning back to the first Vampire, another carefully-aimed headshot put the first one down for good.

"Clear!" she yelled after scanning the room. She stepped back into the doorframe, waiting for Captain Kolstov to join her for mutual protection.

His face tranquil, Avto Crusade glanced at Sigrun and Zero conversing telepathically. With a sigh, Avto rolled his eyes, slightly exasperated at the conversing done metaphorically behind his back. He knew that they were speaking of him and his ancestors, a topic that came up too frequently.

But then he detected the presence of magic, dark magic. His eyes blazing with hatred and with a grave, terrible yearning for vengeance, Avto wheeled on the balls of his feet and stalked towards the gates. Moving gracefully, Avto drew his swords. As the Swords of Night and Day sang from their sheathes, crying in joy at the coming bloodshed.

Like his esteemed and powerful ancestor, Avto's pupils dissolved into a sea of golden power and energy, as Avto released himself into the draconic power that formed the base of the inherited abilities and powers of his lineage. Forcing a tight smile, Avto spoke, addressing the elf that stood arguing with Sigrun. "Is there a problem master elves? If there is, I am sure that the thirsting Swords of Night and Day would be eager to solve it..." With a hard, wicked laugh, Avto glanced at the two elves standing back. "Come now elves... Show no fear... Step forward... I won't hurt you...much..."

Lujza, being curious, climbed further up the tree and hopped onto the roof of the mansion, peering over at the activity in front of the building. She could still see the area around the back side clearly, but this way she could watch what was going on. She peered interestedly at the elves. Apparently, they had committed some transgression and Sigrun was telling them off for it.

Sigrun kept his eyes locked with Ashur, not standing down in his demeanor. He lept down from the wall with grace, landing before Ashur. When he spoke, he was calm, his voice measured.

"You speak of a time long ago when these vampires were unruly, arrogant, and ignorant of the ways of the world. Could not the same have been said for yourselves, once upon a time? Wisdom and respect comes not of age, but of actions committed. Granted, there are vampires who existed, or still do, that hate our kind and do what they wish to purge us. Granted, some, like yourselves find it necessary to defend your lives. But I tell you, there are many more Moonwalkers that do not actively hunt our kind. Believe me, I would know, for I too was once like them."

He knew the last revelation would surprise them, and reveal to them the taint upon his soul in its entirity. He continued speaking however, intent to say a few more things. "One cannot declare another unfit of a life until they experience their life as they live it. Have you ever been a vampire? Have you ever become friends with one? I tell you, I have."

He glanced aside to Aeris, who was agitated, her experience in battle relatively minimal compared to her uncle. He sent her a message, Relax. They are not likely to attack, for we are elves, like them.

Sigrun was once more looking at Ashur. He gestured behind him to the mansion, "The ones that reside here do not wish to seek warfare with you. They only wish to live peacefully, but alas the world brings them more than their lion's share of trouble."

Arleni remained just out of sight of the others, her bow fixed upon the one closest to Sigrun. She would fire if that one, or any of his companions favored any violence.


Ashur recognised Sigrun's line of thought, his very ideals. Two thousand years ago, he would have being saying the exact same thing. And yet he could not agree. Whilst a fellow elf, Sigrun had no idea what Ashur and his people had been through, what they had to endure and lose to be here this day. They were not about to risk everything once again.

"Tell me. Have you ever stood over the mutilated corpose of a promising young maiden, her inards painting the grasses of your forest crimson? Have you seen some of your best scouts ripped apart by fangs and hands as their blood was lapped up? Have you ever come across the lifeless bodies of children within your own borders? It changes everything..."

Ashur's eyes portrayed the pain these memories inflicted upon him, ripping open old wounds and spraying them with salt.

"Even after all that, I am close friends with a vampire. A vampire that has shunned the ways of his dark soul and lives in peace with us. For him, there is salvation. For the others... there is death. We hold no malice against your kind, but vampires are our enemies."
______________

His face tranquil, Avto Crusade glanced at Sigrun and Zero conversing telepathically. With a sigh, Avto rolled his eyes, slightly exasperated at the conversing done metaphorically behind his back. He knew that they were speaking of him and his ancestors, a topic that came up too frequently.

But then he detected the presence of magic, dark magic. His eyes blazing with hatred and with a grave, terrible yearning for vengeance, Avto wheeled on the balls of his feet and stalked towards the gates. Moving gracefully, Avto drew his swords. As the Swords of Night and Day sang from their sheathes, crying in joy at the coming bloodshed.

Like his esteemed and powerful ancestor, Avto's pupils dissolved into a sea of golden power and energy, as Avto released himself into the draconic power that formed the base of the inherited abilities and powers of his lineage. Forcing a tight smile, Avto spoke, addressing the elf that stood arguing with Sigrun. "Is there a problem master elves? If there is, I am sure that the thirsting Swords of Night and Day would be eager to solve it..." With a hard, wicked laugh, Avto glanced at the two elves standing back. "Come now elves... Show no fear... Step forward... I won't hurt you...much..."

Upon seeing the battle ready warrior, both elves threw back their cloaks to reveal blackened armour that gleamed in the moonlight and carefully crafted bows that found skilled hands within seconds.

Auras of crackling energy erupted into view as the elves summoned their magiks, infusing power into the nocked arrows they held ready to unleash upon Avto. And yet they didn't fire. The pair would not attack unless attacked first or ordered to.

A dark scowl crossing his face, Ashur glanced at Avto before returning a dark look upon Sigrun.

"What is this?"
___________________

Viannor leapt back into the full blast on the sunlight, casting a long, sharp shadow over the floor. With her twin pistols in front of her, she delivered a jarring blow to the nearest door with her heel, slamming it open.

Leading with her left hand she entered the door frame, Vianoor quickly opened up on the first figure she saw there, striking the central mass twice and clipping the vampire in the arm, sending it spinning and stunned onto the floor.

Another Vampire, perhaps sleeping before his front door had exploded, was scrambling around on the floor, perhaps looking for a weapon or somewhere to hide. This one was easier, as Viannor's right index finger squeezed the trigger and placed a pair of bullets into its brain. Turning back to the first Vampire, another carefully-aimed headshot put the first one down for good.

"Clear!" she yelled after scanning the room. She stepped back into the doorframe, waiting for Captain Kolstov to join her for mutual protection.

Upon hearing Viannor's call, Ivan quickly departed the room filled with dead vampires and arrived at the foreigner's side, forcing another clip into his weapon. By now the house was chaos as the vampires had woken up and realised just what was happening. Death.

Leading Viannor into a room on their right, Ivan burst through the door and immediately took a fist to the face. Evidently this was a very young vampire as the blow merely knocked Ivan back a few steps. Recovering quickly, Ivan's towering form came down upon the young night walker, placing the barrel of his gun against the vamp's head and unleashing a swift death.

Getting onto his feet once again, Ivan spun around and prepared to fire once again when he came face to face with a young female vampire. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a very familiar face...

"Natalya?"

The young girl grinned, displaying razor sharp fangs.

"Ivan, my brother... what are you doing?"

Ivan couldn't believe this. His sister was alive and she was one of them, one of the enemy. Falling back into the wall behind him, Ivan stared blankly at his sister, dropping his weapon to the ground.

"But... how?"

Sigrun stepped between the bows aimed at Avto and looked into the elves faces. He spoke quietly in an attempt to keep this interaction from blowing in their faces. "He is Avto Crusade. A descendant of Lance Crusade, a friend of mine. Do not take his words literal. There is much he has to learn."

Sigrun sent Avto a telepathic message, Do not pick fights with these elves. You may be a Crusade, but are no match for their skill. You will get your battles worthy of yourself, I suspect. But not here, not now.

Sigrun continued, addressing the question about seeing a promising maiden slaughtered. When he spoke, he spoke with a coldness in his voice, a hint of the pain that still bore in his heart.

"I know exactly the feeling of seeing a loved one slaughtered, their body violated by vampiric touch. I watched my own wife die, nearly fifteen hundred years ago. I swore to kill vampires, much like yourself now. Until I met one vampiress in particular. She taught me one thing that resonates to this day. She taught me to deliver punishment to those who have dealt out wrongdoing themselves, and not the innocents. Thus I tell you, you seek a war with these vampires in this coven, a war that is unnecessary. For to do so, is foolish!"

Sigrun paused for a breath of air before continuing, addressing Ashur directly. "You and I are not much different. Our paths are different, but our lives have been lived in a similar manner. I am friends with Skadi, and I suspect you're friends with Idun. Therefore, let us put up our weapons and speak this matter over in peace."

Avto grimaced slightly in anger, as he tossed his hair back, allowing the sun to strike his face. Listening quietly to Sigrun's message, Avto glanced at him, his flashing gold eyes piercing into Sigrun. Without a word, Avto shifted his position, shifting seamlessly into a barely discernable fighting stance. Raising his twin swords, allowing them to glint wickedly, Avto returned his attention back to the elf that had addressed him. Speaking in a tongue long since dead and known only to the dragonriders of the east, Avto cursed the elf. "Ay craod sui dfjlk de craod auf de long dodkfj wadjkl truopd tekla..." (I curse you with the curse of the dragons that wander through time...)

With a bitter laugh, Avto spoke, addressing Sigrun, continuing to look at the other elves before him. "Master elf. You do not understand the bloodwrath that have long run through my family... My ancestors could control it, but I, a mere swordmaster with what you describe as lacking in ability cannot..." Pausing briefly, Avto glanced at Sigrun, before he continued. "Kindly step aside or you will find that I cannot distinguish between friend or foe when fallen prey to the strength of my draconic powers..."

Turning his full attention back to Ashur and his two fellow elves, Avto roared, a terrible sound that shattered the tranquility of the rising dawn... It seemed as if a solid sound of wall had slammed into the elves standing before him. His eyes flashing with its odd golden color, Avto spoke, but in an altogether different tone and manner from what he had said earlier. It seemed as if he was a different man... "In all my years, I never met an elf that was not arrogant. You believe that you are the pinnacle of evolution, but you are utterly wrong... You believe that you are the higher most beings that inhabit this world, but you are wrong... You believe that you understand the magic and power that you wield, but you are wrong..."

"I was a swordmaster of great renown, wandering through the realm in my time as a traveller... I had elven friends, such as Sigrun the Resurrected, Elasi the Ranger, and Nova, the love of my life... But I also had many elven enemies, all of whom I have mercilessly massacred, especially the ones who sought to imprison me and utilize the full potential of the magic of my draconic lineage... I have killed more people than you have ever met... I wandered this land before you were born..."

"I fear that you will have to die at the hands of my descendant, here... I, Lance Crusade, will not stand to be insulted by imbeciles such as yourself..."

With another terrible roar of anger, the man known as Avto rose into the air and seemed to change... The loose black clothing that Avto wore was torn apart by an odd dark, yet luminous carapace that covered Avto's entire body. As the dark armor covered Avto's entire body, Lance spoke...

"I am Lance Crusade. Dragonrider and Swordmaster... Sworn brother of the Dragonlord Omnius Stormrider... Father of Amadeus Crusade the Deathwalker... Grandfather of Leto Crusade the Damned... Ancestor of Avto Crusade the Windwalker... I have returned for a time... I have returned..."

"Endless seasons of time... Endless waltzes of destruction, death, and defeat... Endless sources of magic, power, and strength...

"I am the end all and be all... A mortal made immortal... An orphan made into a Duke... I am a man and yet not a man... I am a master and yet not a master..."

"I have arisen..."

With the last three words, "Avto" descended to the earth, possessed by the immortal spirit of Lance. Slowly, his eyes returned to normal, as the golden light disappeared. Sheathing smoothly his twin swords, Lance nodded to Sigrun, before he spoke. "Well met Maximus... I, Lance Crusade, have returned to this wasteland of a world..."

Shifting his attention to Ashur and the other elves, Lance spoke, his voice barely audible, but menacing. "You have no need for those weapons for they are useless against a man well versed in the arts of elven magic..."

OOC: 5CN, just letting you know that Assington wanted this thread to be minimal in the use of magic. On another thought, you just love tossing in a grenade into the scenario, don't you? :P

Sigrun turned to watch as Avto rose into the sky, uttered words of an ally long gone, and then returned to the earth. Lance was back, if only for a short time. Sigrun nodded as he acknowledged Sigrun's presence, and listened to him give warning to the drow.

As soon as Avto/Lance stopped speaking, Sigrun spoke up immediately. He stepped in front of Avto/Lance and spoke directly to him, keeping his gaze locked.

"Lance. Listen to me. This is a conflict none of us here need to have. There is a better way to find peace between us all. You should know that Lance, for you were always one to seek a quiet place. Remember the Circle of Swords? Remember why each one died? They died to preserve their homes, their families in peace. They sought peace through war, but you want to know something? I don't think they have found it, for instead they found pain, sorrow!"

Sigrun lowered his voice, "Let us try a new way, old friend. If they do not listen now, then we shall go to war then. But not until then."

His last words were punctuated, and said with emphasis. Sigrun's eyes kept their lock with the eyes of Lance, refusing to step down until Lance complied.

"I have spent many years learning of a life I knew nothing of. I have become ruler of a nation. If there is one thing I have learned, this is it. Seek the path of peace as much as possible. When all options fail, then you go to war."

Sigrun turned to wave his hand in the general direction of the drows and spoke his last words, "All options have not failed."

___________________________________

Aeris watched Sigrun making every effort to diffuse the situation, and found herself with a new respect for his patience and stamina in these times. As had been proven in the Star Trials, he was indeed the best one to lead Tarlachia. In recognition of her uncle's efforts, she relaxed her position, sheathing her maiden blade. She kept her staff in hand though as she watched the proceedings.

Raphael, who is Lance Crusade? she asked in a silent telepath.

Zero turned his head toward the general direction of the front entrance and replied, The name is familiar. A friend of Sigrun's if I'm not mistaken. I believe he is what they call a 'dragonrider'. Interesting fellow from what I've heard, but he's long dead now.

Aeris replied with a dark tone in her voice, He's not dead. He's possessed the young Crusade's body. He's also causing great tension between him and the elves. Sigrun is trying to stop this before it gets worse. He's got a lot of patience, Sigrun does.

Zero took a moment to reply, having been given a bit of a blow with the thought of Lance possessing Avto's body. For the moment, he was glad Sigrun was there, trying to keep the situation under control. He didn't want to see Aeris in a battle she might not be able to understand. "Come on, Sigrun..." he muttered quietly. He replied to Aeris, Be careful. Let Master Sigrun take care of this. I don't want to see you hurt.

I won't Raphael.

(OOC: :P Lance is only supposed to be there for a short period of time, as he's technically not even alive... Anyways, Lance is here primarily to keep Avto's head on... Avto is the antithesis of what Lance is and wants...)

Shaking his head sadly, Lance Crusade responded to Sigrun's words. "Maximus... Have I been dead so long that you do not remember the principles that I live by?" Pausing briefly, Lance coldly continued, "Do not presume to lecture me on what principles I uphold. I do not fight unprovoked. These dark elves have not provoked me, but my descendant... I am here merely to cool the youthful bloodwrath and intoxicating power that is threatening to overcome Avto Crusade."

Smiling grimly, Lance continued. "If I truly wanted to kill them, won't you think that my swords will remain drawn? I am a swordmaster and yet am not holding my swords..."

"However, they have insulted the honor of the living personficiation of my House, a man that descended from my loins. They sully House Cala at their own peril... That is unacceptable. They will not die now, as I control my descendants body, but in time, they will die for I cannot stay forever, holding the grave anger present in Avto... Avto is my descendant, but is different... Raised as a farmer, he is a hopeless romantic and is quickly drawn to anger. Compared to Amadeus, Leto, and I, Avto is nothing more than an antithesis to what we uphold. Although his heart is good, his mind has been poisoned by an urge to live up to the potential that I, my son, and my grandson personified... He is a dangerous ally and a most troubling foe..."

Turning his attention to the others in the driveway, Lance bowed to Arleni, smiling cheerfully as he spoke. "Lady Arleni. I pray that it is well since we last parted in the Circle of Swords." Glancing at the other two, Lance lowered his head slightly in a nod, before speaking. "Good day, Aeris, Zero. As you know, my name is Lance Crusade, a swordmaster and dragonrider from a bygone age." Pausing, Lance continued morbidly, speaking of his death. "I died three times, lastly, alone in the Timeless Realm... It is said that few could match my swordsmanship and my control of the draconic arts, but I highly doubt this assertion. I was a mere mortal, blessed with long life..."

OOC: Zero is not anywhere near them. He's still by the mansion, keeping watch. He's out of sight.

Sigrun watched as the drow suddenly realized Arleni was nearby. Arleni herself cursed slightly, but returned the bow to Avto/Lance. She spoke nothing as she lowered her weapon, now that her advantage had been spoiled.

Sigrun spoke to Lance, "Avto is learning of a power he hardly can control. He knows nothing of patience. I will teach him, if you so wish. Undoubtedly, he will anger at times you will not be able to deflect yourself. Therefore, he must learn it for himself."

He took a glance at the drow who were currently watching this interaction silently. For the moment, he was glad they were allowing him to converse with Avto/Lance. He turned his attention back to the dragonrider.

Lujza came closer along the roof top to get a closer view of what was going on. She hardly understood any of what she was hearing. After a moment in her new position, she realized that she was in view of the people on the ground.

OOC: Sorry for the short post, just keeping my character in there.

(OOC: I'm unsure where you're going with this bit, Assington, so here's a short post)

"But... how?"

Viannor levelled her guns at the blonde young vampire. Captain Kolstov's hesitancy was plain to see, even in this hectic sitution. If this great Vampire-killing Captain was lost for actions, how should she proceed?

"Captain!" she yelled, trying to snap him out of his trance, "do I drop it? Captain?"

It was a situation that could have overwhelmed any mortal not used to such a powerfully tense encounter. Aeris knew that well, for even she, an Elven Princess, and an immortal though young Nephilim, was overwhelmed by the proceedings of a mere few minutes. A conflict that could potentially have escalated into war, yet violence was kept at bay for the time being with a few mere words from Sigrun the Great. Aeris was suitably impressed, yet her mind was troubled by other thoughts.

"Ithil'quessir?", her mind pondered. " 'Moon Elves'........they're not Drows. I should have known. Yet maybe the fact that I guessed wrong shouldn't be so surprising. The powers of the Ithil'quessir are quite similar to that of the Mori'quessir after all, even though they're not as prone to evil as the Mori'quessir are. Even so........why do they harbor this much hatred in their hearts for the vampires? Granted, vampires have what mortals understate as a 'bad rep', but even so, it does not apply to every single one of them in these modern days. I should know........perhaps our brethren of the Moon have lost touch with time?"

As she adjusted her Staff to a non-threatening position, the divine instrument closed its metal petals on its tip, enclosing the glowing white rose bud within. The divine aura vanished, leaving Aeris just a mere girl with a beautifully-decorated, though sheathed Elven masterpiece of a blade, and a black staff that still seemed imposing. Yet her hair was back to its natural brownish color, and her clothing, where it had been glowing with the sheen of the divine and the Elvish before, was now back to what it was, a typical Elven journeywoman's garb. Taking her uncle's words to heart, Aeris met her mother Arleni's eyes, and it didn't take telepathy for mother and daughter to understand each other well.

It was not a time for violence.

Instead, Aeris stepped forward, seeing that Sigrun was preoccupied with the untimely appearance of Avto/Lance. She knew that it was tough even for him to have to handle two potentially combustible situations at once, and opted to help her uncle the way she knew best, even though she had been warned against it by her own lover. Moving with the grace befitting a Princess of the Elves, Aeris walked towards the Moon Elves, and looking at their leader, gently pushed his bow to one side with her Staff, away from Avto.

"It is time we put down our instruments of war down when we don't need them, Master Moon Elve", she said in Common, before switching to Elvish.

"Mae govannen, heru en amin Ithil'quessir. Amin taa Tarien Aeris Calen'Taur tel'Cala'Quessir tel'Arian'Taur. Mani naa essa en lle?" (Well met, my lord Moon Elf. I am Princess Aeris Greenwood of the High Elves of the Arian Woodlands. What is your name?)

At the same time, she took a step back, and with Staff in both hands, she curtsied in the court tradition of many a royal kingdom of ancient humankind.

His face grimacing at Sigrun's offer of teaching Avto, Lance Crusade replied. "Nay. He must learn the skills necessary himself. The lineage of my House cannot be tempered by the elven magic or patience. He must grow and mature at his own rate, with no master to chain his abilities. Patience is a word that he will learn, but you must remember that at times, impatience can be a great virtue..."

Without another word, Lance gazed quietly at Aeris, before he spoke, in the draconic tongue that Avto had used. "Sui masrk be Arleni's daukd. Sui hakov masy taer larewasd yas tpers letip tekla taer larewasd tluf..." (You must be Arleni's daughter. You have much to learn and too little time to learn it..."

Turning once more to the drow before him, Lance moved swiftly, untying his long staff-like scabbard and letting it drop to the ground. In a bitter voice, he spoke again. "Now then. What will you do? Why are you here? What do you want?"

OOC: Finally.... I can post.

IC: Sigrun stepped between the bows aimed at Avto and looked into the elves faces. He spoke quietly in an attempt to keep this interaction from blowing in their faces. "He is Avto Crusade. A descendant of Lance Crusade, a friend of mine. Do not take his words literal. There is much he has to learn."

Sigrun sent Avto a telepathic message, Do not pick fights with these elves. You may be a Crusade, but are no match for their skill. You will get your battles worthy of yourself, I suspect. But not here, not now.

Sigrun continued, addressing the question about seeing a promising maiden slaughtered. When he spoke, he spoke with a coldness in his voice, a hint of the pain that still bore in his heart.

"I know exactly the feeling of seeing a loved one slaughtered, their body violated by vampiric touch. I watched my own wife die, nearly fifteen hundred years ago. I swore to kill vampires, much like yourself now. Until I met one vampiress in particular. She taught me one thing that resonates to this day. She taught me to deliver punishment to those who have dealt out wrongdoing themselves, and not the innocents. Thus I tell you, you seek a war with these vampires in this coven, a war that is unnecessary. For to do so, is foolish!"

Sigrun paused for a breath of air before continuing, addressing Ashur directly. "You and I are not much different. Our paths are different, but our lives have been lived in a similar manner. I am friends with Skadi, and I suspect you're friends with Idun. Therefore, let us put up our weapons and speak this matter over in peace."

Ashur could see the logic in Sigrun's words. Despite his hatred for those of a vampiric nature, his wise judgement was not clouded by rage, like the young man nearby. Ashur watched the angered man with irritation and curiosity. All those years within a dark forest had certainly made Ashur ignorant to many things in this world.

Turning back to his two men, Ashur spoke calmly in his native tongue.

"Do not attack anyone unless I say. Keep an eye on this Crusade man, he seems unstable."

After Sigrun had a few words with the young man, Ashur returned his attention to the elf before him.

"You speak with sounds reason and wisdom. Whilst I cannot forgoe our emnity with vampiric kind, perhaps we can come to understand one another and avoid a blood bath. Are you aware of the one known as Svartel?"
________

Both elves had already noted the presence of Arleni but decided not to act as she was one of their own kind and didn't appear to be taking hostile actions. What did grab their attention was the young lady upon the roof of the mansion, obviously trying to overhear the current interactions.

Keeping their bows raised, one of the elves alerted Ashur of her presence whilst remaining vigilant, ready to unleash their lethal projectiles at a number of targets if necessary.
___________

nstead, Aeris stepped forward, seeing that Sigrun was preoccupied with the untimely appearance of Avto/Lance. She knew that it was tough even for him to have to handle two potentially combustible situations at once, and opted to help her uncle the way she knew best, even though she had been warned against it by her own lover. Moving with the grace befitting a Princess of the Elves, Aeris walked towards the Moon Elves, and looking at their leader, gently pushed his bow to one side with her Staff, away from Avto.

"It is time we put down our instruments of war down when we don't need them, Master Moon Elve", she said in Common, before switching to Elvish.

"Mae govannen, heru en amin Ithil'quessir. Amin taa Tarien Aeris Calen'Taur tel'Cala'Quessir tel'Arian'Taur. Mani naa essa en lle?" (Well met, my lord Moon Elf. I am Princess Aeris Greenwood of the High Elves of the Arian Woodlands. What is your name?)

At the same time, she took a step back, and with Staff in both hands, she curtsied in the court tradition of many a royal kingdom of ancient humankind.

Ashur watched with keen interest as Aeris approached him and bid him to lower his weapon. After her little display, Ashur was quite stunned at the presence of this young lady. Never before had he heard of the bloodlines between that of the elf and angel being mixed. She was something very different indeed.

Bowing his head in greeting, Ashur spoke in a calm fashion, also addressing Arleni in elven.

"Good day to you young Aeris. I am Ashur of Emerald Forest. I'm interested to know why one such as yourself is involved with a coven of vampires?"

At that point, the young man addressed Aeris in a tongue unfamiliar to Ashur before turning to face the elf. Ashur wasn't quite sure what was wrong with his man, but he could sense the mixed emotions of more than one being within that body. Ashur kept a cool gaze upon the human and remained ready to draw weapons if he were to attack.

"This is my homeland. I was born in this nation over two thousand years ago. Is there something wrong with me exploring the home I have not seen in so long? My presence here does not concern you in the slightest. I have issues with certain creatures of a corrupt nature. Perhaps you should ask yourself these questions?"
______________

Viannor levelled her guns at the blonde young vampire. Captain Kolstov's hesitancy was plain to see, even in this hectic sitution. If this great Vampire-killing Captain was lost for actions, how should she proceed?

"Captain!" she yelled, trying to snap him out of his trance, "do I drop it? Captain?"

Looking up at Viannor, Ivan jumped back into his senses.

"Hold your fire. This is my sister..."

Stepping forward, Ivan took the young lady into his arms. Squealing with joy, the female vampire held onto Ivan with all her might, overjoyed at his acceptance. Far too involved with holding onto Ivan, she didn't notice as Ivan's hand soon became filled with a pistol, the barrel resting at her temple. Stepping back, a worried look crossed over her face.

"Ivan, what are you doing?"

"My job Natalya. Making sure you stay a memory."

BANG

A single gun shot echoed around the room as Natalya fell to the ground, the contents of her head upon the wall next to viannor. Ivan looked down at his sister with cold eyes, then back at Viannor. It seemed the officer was even more hardened now. His stare just dared Viannor to speak out in protest.

After several moments of silence, Ivan replied over the comm.

"Clear."

It was pretty clear to Lujza that she'd been seen by the strangers in the front. Damn. She dropped down to a casual crouch. The posture made her appear relaxed while at the same time being a position in which she was ready in case things got ugly.

"Clear."

Lady Viannor blinked a few times. That was a little... melodramatic, she thought to herself. She hoped that none of the blood had splattered on her, not only would it be a bitch to clean off, but it would probably catch fire when she stepped back out into the sunlight.

Had she ever been that close to someone's - no, something's - brains exploding in her face? Probably not, she thought, though there was that one time...

Ivan's word brought her out of her reverie.

"Let's finish this," she said.

At that point, the young man addressed Aeris in a tongue unfamiliar to Ashur before turning to face the elf. Ashur wasn't quite sure what was wrong with his man, but he could sense the mixed emotions of more than one being within that body. Ashur kept a cool gaze upon the human and remained ready to draw weapons if he were to attack.

"This is my homeland. I was born in this nation over two thousand years ago. Is there something wrong with me exploring the home I have not seen in so long? My presence here does not concern you in the slightest. I have issues with certain creatures of a corrupt nature. Perhaps you should ask yourself these questions?"
Smiling quietly to himself, Lance spoke, laughing mirthlessly at the words that the elf had used. "Corrupt nature?" With a snort, he continued. "Corrupt? In my lifetime, nearly a thousand years ago, I witnessed many corrupt creatures... In the folly and idealism of my youth I believed that elves were the greatest race upon this world, as they were the only ones not poisoned by the materialism, conflict, and turmoil that have plagued the world since time began. But I was swiftly proved wrong. In my lieftime, the most corrupt beings were elves. Elves who had fallen prey to the addiction of the magic that they wielded... Do not judge harshly unless you wish to be painfully judged by the arbiters that flit across the landscape..."

"I lived over two thousand years, a long life for a mere mortal human like myself. For the past thousand years, I have served the gods as an avatar and a witness, flitting across the landscape as an arbiter of justice. I have witnessed much in my time and more in my death."

"You may believe that you have a right to return to your homeland. But that is a lie. My homeland was destroyed in my eighteenth year, fallen to the barbaric hordes of foul creatures, who massacred, pillaged, and raped their way across my land. I have never returned there in the nearly three thousands years that I have been conscious. My dear elf, seek not what you can't have and enjoy what you have. From that, peace and tranquility will be at hand..."

"In the times of darkness that has arisen since my death, there have been untold number of conflicts, destruction, and deathes. You elves were once dedicated to nature and to peace, living serenely in your forests. But in today's world, you are even more warlike then my people. I am disappointed that such a great race has fallen so low towards the barbarism that they so detested."

Smiling quietly to himself, Lance spoke, laughing mirthlessly at the words that the elf had used. "Corrupt nature?" With a snort, he continued. "Corrupt? In my lifetime, nearly a thousand years ago, I witnessed many corrupt creatures... In the folly and idealism of my youth I believed that elves were the greatest race upon this world, as they were the only ones not poisoned by the materialism, conflict, and turmoil that have plagued the world since time began. But I was swiftly proved wrong. In my lieftime, the most corrupt beings were elves. Elves who had fallen prey to the addiction of the magic that they wielded... Do not judge harshly unless you wish to be painfully judged by the arbiters that flit across the landscape..."

"I lived over two thousand years, a long life for a mere mortal human like myself. For the past thousand years, I have served the gods as an avatar and a witness, flitting across the landscape as an arbiter of justice. I have witnessed much in my time and more in my death."

"You may believe that you have a right to return to your homeland. But that is a lie. My homeland was destroyed in my eighteenth year, fallen to the barbaric hordes of foul creatures, who massacred, pillaged, and raped their way across my land. I have never returned there in the nearly three thousands years that I have been conscious. My dear elf, seek not what you can't have and enjoy what you have. From that, peace and tranquility will be at hand..."

"In the times of darkness that has arisen since my death, there have been untold number of conflicts, destruction, and deathes. You elves were once dedicated to nature and to peace, living serenely in your forests. But in today's world, you are even more warlike then my people. I am disappointed that such a great race has fallen so low towards the barbarism that they so detested."


Ashur was now starting to get an idea of why this man seemed so agitated. He'd obviously not had many good experiences with elves. Of course this was not a concern of his.

"It was indeed your folly for believing elven kind to be above anything else on this world. I make no claims of being a higher being. What I know to be true is that demon kind are my enemies and these vampires are a spawn of demon kind. They all have an inherent lust for the blood of an elf, although it seems to be much weaker after so long. I have no interest in you or your issues, I'm here to deal with vampires."

Pausing in thought, Ahsur decided to recite a little of his own history.

"The majority of my native race was slaughtered by vampires. When we left Assington, near one hundred thousand nationwide had been reduced to barely a thousand. We were slaughtered mercilessly and forced to leave for no better reason than blood crazed demon spawn. We have every right to be here and you have no say in such things.

We react to the corruption spread by demons and even men. There is no longer the luxury of peace in this world. Only survival."

Lujza was beginning to understand the source of the tension between the two groups. Without thinking, she spoke. "I think you are wrong, good sir, about some things." Realizing that she might have done more harm than good, she was quick to add more of her thoughts. "I do not lust for elves' blood more than I lust for anyone else's. Why should I? I've never met one before, there aren't any where I am from, and there never were. What happened to your kind is sad, no doubt, but I don't see how I'm responsible for any part of it merely because I'm a vampire. I had nothing to do with it, I wasn't even born yet."

She put an index finger on her chin in thought. "As for me being the spawn of demons, who knows? The legends of the clans say we were born out of our homeland itself, but I suppose your idea is just as good." Lujza shrugged casually. It was impossible to tell exactly who she was looking at with her sunglasses on.

Although slightly irritated by yet another interruption, Ashur remained diplomatic and beckoned for the young lady to come down, towards him. At first he was confused about her statement but after getting a better look at her her realised she was not of Assingtonian descent.

"I would not expect you to lust for elven blood young one. I know not of your origins, but rest assured they are not the same as those of this nation. The vampires of Assington were spawned by the ingestion of a human/demon hybrid, hence the remaining human form and yet abilities similiar to that of some demons. Rest assured we fight only those of Assingtonian descent."
____________

Lady Viannor blinked a few times. That was a little... melodramatic, she thought to herself. She hoped that none of the blood had splattered on her, not only would it be a bitch to clean off, but it would probably catch fire when she stepped back out into the sunlight.

Had she ever been that close to someone's - no, something's - brains exploding in her face? Probably not, she thought, though there was that one time...

Ivan's word brought her out of her reverie.

"Let's finish this," she said.

Satisfied that Viannor wasn't going to say anything, Ivan nodded and led the way out of the room. At that moment, the radio burst into life.

"Sir, we've got all rooms clear save for one in the centre of the complex. There are two doorway entrances and there are several vampires barricaded inside. I'm at one entrance and am sending forces to the other door, not far from your location."

Activating his comm, Ivan returned speech.

"Understood. Viannor and I will be there soon."

With the movements of other officers within earshot, Ivan led Viannor through an emptied room and emerged on the other side amongst his men.

"Give me details."

A young man with blood splattered all over his combat goggles spoke up, communicating all the details he had gathered.

"The doors are locked and barricaded with furniture. We've attempted to gain entrance but they can easily pick us off with guns. We're thinking there are about five, all armed with firearms, semi autos I'd say. There are now windows or other entrances, although the walls are only double layered thin wood, I wouldn't recommend we simply have a firefight through the wall unless we want to risk losing men from their fire and our own crossfire."

"Very true. That's good, we can handle this. Officer, are you hurt?"

Noting the blood on his goggles, the officer shook his head and grinned.

"This isn't my blood sir."

Ivan returned the grin before turning to Viannor.

"Well Lady, I have an idea as to how to go about this, would you like to make any suggestions?"

OOC: I don't know how I managed to get a break in the middle of the week, but since I have, I'm gonna make full use of it :D

IC: Suddenly, everyone else seemed to be joining in, interrupting almost at pure will. Even Aeris herself was starting to get annoyed at this, but she continued to keep a steadfast cool as Ashur fielded question after question from Avto, and then Luzja. Finally, when she sensed it was her time to speak, Aeris didn't give up on that chance to give her reply.

"It is a long story, Master Ashur of the Moon Elves of Emerald Forest. But I shall make it as simple as I can.", she replied, again in Elvish. "I am associated with the Lady Skadi's coven, you might say, by pure chance. Let me explain as best as I can."

Composing herself, Aeris closed her eyes, as if meditating, for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes, a dark-clad figure flew beyond the walls, and landed beside her. Zero stared warily at the Moon Elves, as if daring them to hurt her. But his hands were empty, and he quickly retreated just behind Aeris, knowing it was best he let her handle the situation. Unfazed by whatever reactions Ashur or his companion may have at seeing a vampire walking about in daylight, Aeris continued.

"Master Ashur, meet Raphael Celadrin, of the Noble Brood of vampires, hailing from the distant land of Atros. I know this will be hard for you to take, my lord Ithil'quessir, but whether you believe it or not, Raphael is my guardian, and my lover. The fact that I am alive today is by his hand. More than 2 centuries ago, when I was a mere mortal girl, ignorant of either my Elven or my Angelic heritage, Raphael saved me from certain starvation from the streets of Emerald City, where I was near death, a poor beggar girl. The fact that I live today, both a descendent of the Nephilim, as well as of the Cala'quessir, is something I could not have done without him by my side, guarding me with his love, and his life. Despite his being a vampire, especially one of a blood descended from the Assingtonian Brood, and thereby with the same lust for Elven blood, Raphael has opted instead to save me, one with the Elven Blood of the Arian Woodlands, from certain death."

"Do you see, Master Ashur? Vampires have been associated with bloodshed in the past, and not without reason. But, like I said, that is the past. All these years, while there will always be those who lives only by the blood lust, there are many vampires who are no longer the bloodthirsty demons of your memories. The coven, which is housed behind me, is also partially responsible for the fact that I live, a beacon of light for both Elve, Angel, and Humankind. I understand that your kind may have a feud to avenge, but Master Ashur", Aeris started to plead in an imploring voice, "do you not see my point? Not all of them are responsible for the plight the Moon Elves suffered that fateful day, and even of those that are, I am certain they have since repented, willing to correct the sins they were guilty of, if they could. Granted there are those who would still hunt your kind, and you have every right to defend your lives, your home. But of those who wish only to leave you in peace, would you not leave them in peace also, for the good of all, Master Ashur?"

Suddenly, Aeris got to her knees in front of Ashur. Zero, seeing this, tried to stop her, but desisted halfway, his eyes full of pain for the compromise Aeris was making just to plea on behalf of those who had did her a kindness all those decades before. Instead, he stood up again, looking Ashur in the eye, and merely nodded both to confirm Aeris's story, and to support her plea as well.

Looking up at Ashur, Aeris finished off. "It is time we discriminated between those who want only peace, and those who would only consider war. For the good of all, such that unnecessary blood would not be shed. I plea to you, Master Ashur. Please do not mark the Lady Skadi's coven for the time being, until such a time comes when we could settle this peacably once and for all."

"Well Lady, I have an idea as to how to go about this, would you like to make any suggestions?"

Viannor assessed the situation for a moment, half-lowering her guns in thought.

"They're holed up in there," she said, thinking out loud, "easily defended, in a place that'd be foolish for us to attack. Double-layered wood." She nodded slowly, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Burn it," she said, a half-statement and half-question.

Ivan couldn't help but grin as Viannor uttered the words he was hoping for. Nodding enthusiasticly, Ivan drew a zippo lighter from his pocket and instructed another officer to go outside and return with a can of petrol.

"I like your thinking lady. Just be prepared to shoot any that make an attempt to leap through the walls. Vampires are much stronger than wood."

Within minutes the officer returned, bearing a large red can of petrol which he promptly emptied all over the floor surrounding the barricaded room. There was no escape from here on, the flames would quickly engulf the room and eventually the house, easily igniting the flamable vampires.

With everything ready to go, Ivan flicked open the lighter, resonating around the room with a sterile ring. Flicking a flame into life, the VP captain dropped his zippo into the petrol and watched as flames rushed up the wall and quickly surrounded the room, smoke already pouring from the burning wood. Stepping back, Ivan waited for any sign of the vampires escaping. Nothing.

After several minutes the walls were beginning to crumble and gunshots were heard from the other side of the room. Not long afterwards, the radio crackled to life.

"Sir, we got them. They tried to make it through the wall on our side, two of them caught fire and the others were disposed of."

"Good work officer. Call in the fire department and let's get out of here."

With their business concluded, Ivan led his men and Viannor outside and assembled at the van, waiting for all others to return. Smoke was billowing out of the old building, it was unlikely to be saved.
_____________

Ashur's face remained stern as Aeris poured her heart out to him, begging him to cease his enmity against vampires. Of course he could not do that, yet hers and Sigrun's words did make much sense. He knew of Skadi and did know that she had never once layed a finger upon the elves of Assington. He also had several questions for the ancient vampire regarding events after their departure.

Waiting to Aeris was done, Ashur nodded.

"Perhaps I should speak to Lady Skadi. I promise nothing, but I will speak to her."

His voice filled with the spite and fury that he felt, Lance Crusade voiced a word of command in the ancient draconian tongue that he had used earlier. “Hawr!” A sharp, biting rent through the air and stopped Ashur in his tracks. It was one word, but possessed the power of many. Seemingly towering over the elf, Lance Crusade spoke, as his hands dropped towards the ends of his ivory staff-like sheathe. As his eyes narrowed, Lance spoke. “Your arrogance is ill-founded. You are in hostile territory facing me, the last full-fledged dragonrider to ever walk this world. In this world of many doors; of many opportunities won and lost; of much destruction, death, and turmoil; of much arrogance and ignorance; it would be wise for you to retreat back to the Emerald Forest or else.”

Pausing briefly, Lance smoothly drew the two swords before he continued. “I, too once lusted for battle, thirsting for blood to fuel the latent magic within my personal swords, the Sword of Cala and the Heaven’s Will Sword. It has been some time since they last tasted elven blood...”

“But, I have found a way to control the thirst of my swords. You elves have not fully considered your options. Return to the Emerald Forest and meditate on what you forefathers would have done. War is not natural to any being, but once begun, war is almost unstoppable until one of the antagonists falls. Do not begin a war you cannot finish, for the consequences for your people and for the world will be dire.”

“I have been conscious for nearly five thousand years. Heed the advice of an arbiter or I fear, you elves will perish not by the demonic flames that threaten to burn this world nor by the draconic inferno that has long since been extinguished, but by the demons within your own souls.”

Unimpressed with Lance's so called righteous intervention, Ashur narrowed his gaze as he listened to the dragonrider's speech. The elf couldn't believe the nerve of this foreigner, presuming that his will was the only way and getting himself involved with issues that did not even concern him. Both elves behind Ashur were ready to unleash their own weapons if Lance decided to take his ranting too far. Not allowing anger to reign over him, Ashur spoke.

"Whilst I realise you speak from a vast experience. This is not your issue and you would do well to stay out of it. My forefathers battled the very demons that spawned these vampires and were almost exterminated from such a war. It took us hundreds of years to regrow our numbers, just to be exterminated again by spawn of our demonic enemies. We shall not make the same mistake again.

There are vampires within this very city that lust for our blood, the blood of my friends and family. We shall not rest until their ashes are scattered upon the wind. We are not here to fight foreign vampires, elves or dragon lords. We are here to end a OUR war that started long ago. I do not know the position of Lady Skadi on such issues since she didn't take to our previous offering beforehand so kindly, and so I shall negotiate with her later. You have no authority to bid me return to the forest. This is MY nation, not yours."

"Thank you, thank you so much, Master Ashur", Aeris exclaimed, standing up and bowing. It was all going well, and Ashur had stated that he would not resort to violence against Skadi in the meantime, opting instead for words. That was enough for Aeris, and as she stood up, she smiled at Ashur, grateful that he was at least willing to listen to reason. With that, Zero finally thought it the time to step forward, and step forward he promptly did, extending a hand.

"I am Raphael Celadrin, one of the Noble Brood of Atros", he grinned and extended a hand to Ashur. But when Ashur merely stared back at him, Zero shrugged, and pulled his hand back. "If you're wondering, I'm walking around in the sun not because it's an ability of my kind. It's not, my kind are usually just as vulnerable to the sun as most vampires. But, this is a result of a gift from above", he pointed up and grinned, trying to break the tension.

It did seem like the efforts by Aeris and Zero to break the tension was starting to work. Unfortunately, Lance chose to attempt to intimidate the Moon Elves at this time with a display of power. Whatever effect it may have on anyone else, it would be to Lance's surprise that it did not seem to have affected Aeris in the way he intended. Instead, Aeris whirled around to face Lance, a look of pure frustration etched onto her otherwise serene face.

And to everyone's surprise, including Zero's, she actually stormed up to Lance, and started screaming.

"Lance Crusade! I cannot believe you! Did you not hear what Master Ashur of the Moon Elves has just said? Why do you persist in insulting him so? It does not matter what happened in the past; what matters now is what we do with the present! And Master Ashur has said he chooses words over violent deeds with the Lady Skadi; why do you have to goad him so?"

"Master Lance, you may have existed for more than 5000 years, and perhaps still continue to exist. You may be the wisest being on this planet, but that does NOT allow you to be so presumptuous! You fear that war will break out and consume all. So do I. But Master Lance, I am not just the young, ignorant Elven maiden you see that I am! I am also the Dawn Angel, the prophecy of the Nephilim, and I am meant to bring a new hope for peace to this broken world. And even though I am not yet Ascended into my role, I will spare no effort in preventing violence through peaceful means, and this is my job!"

With that, she suddenly smote her Staff on the ground, and suddenly two jets of light shot out from her back. The two jets of light hovered in the air like smoke, then gradually formed into the shape of two angelic wings, making Aeris look like the Angel that she could be, before dissipating into nothing. Her proof of her destiny shown, Aeris proceeded,

"Master Lance, I can appreciate the fact that you do not want war. But accusing Master Ashur of being 'arrogant' isn't the right way to convince him! You are not giving him the chance to speak, even though he has offered to talk, and only talk, to the Lady Skadi. Please, Master Lance. Allow me to convince Master Ashur in my own way, especially since he has agreed not to attack us without reason first. This is my task, and your attitude isn't helping me!!!", she suddenly screamed louder, then stopped.

And she was drenched in sweat, panting, totally exhausted. Leaning on her Nephilim Rose Staff, Aeris swayed, and Zero was barely there in time to catch her as she fell. The Staff fell from her hands, dropped onto the floor with a loud clank, and transformed back into a rose. Zero hugged her tight, looking panickedly at her, and then at Lance, wondering what trouble she has gotten herself into this time.

But Aeris wasn't looking at Zero, nor at Lance for that matter. Instead, her weakened gaze was turned back to Ashur once more.

"Mas....Master Ashur.......please, do not.....do not take offence.....", she tried her best to say in her weakened state.

Assembled beside the VP vans, Ivan, Viannor and his men watched calmly as the shabby vampiric coven burned to the ground, taking all evidence of the recent event into the black ash. Sirens wailed in the background, signalling the incoming fire trucks that would be too late to save anything but a few bricks or other durable items. It was done.

Content with his work, Ivan beckoned everyone to return to the vans and head back to VP HQ. Settled comfortably within one of the passenger seats, Ivan turned to Viannor.

"So Viannor, what have you gathered so far?"

Ivan's tone was almost mocking yet did hold some sense of true curiosity.

Lady Viannor adjusted her gunbelt to prevent her leather-encased twin pistols from digging into the small of her back.

I just saw a man kill his own sister – or what had been his sister, she thought, right before my eyes. That’s told me all I need to know about you.

"Well," she said, tying her long dark hair behind her head, giving her a couple more moments to think, “apart from a few extra grisly details to tell scarier bedtime stories, plus a new species category in the Inquisition files, not very much.”

The men in the van looked at her for a moment. She wasn’t expecting a ‘You kill vamps good’ comment or anything, but from the looks in the eyes of these men she could see that they were here for one thing: to kill vampires.

“It’s not quite the same situation as what we’re facing from the Dwarven Liberation Front in Starblaydia, of course,” she said, qualifying her previous statement, “but every comparative piece of information helps, too.

“I’m looking to see what kind of root causes there are behind this problem,” she went on, “cultural factors, attitudes, opinions, greivances on all sides…”

Some of the officers were still listening politely, but some had flat-out decided to look out the windows instead. Viannor carried on with her 'official' parley about why she was in Assington, but no-one was really listening. Except perhaps Captain Kolstov, though what she could see in his eye's wasn't displaying interest in her views.

Closing his eyes, Lance Crusade stood immobile as he listened to the tirade spoken by Aeris. As the words crept into the ancient man's ears, it was clear that Lance was gravely troubled. As Aeris completed her speech and turned to beseech the dark elf, Lance opened his eyes once more, revealing tears glistening slightly in the early morning sun. In a voice filled with sadness and anguish, Lance spoke, not attempting to reprimand Aeris's words, but spoke instead on Aeris herself. "Alas, young lady, you are not what you were supposed to be. Your belief that you are the Dark Angel, the one prophecied by the Nephilim, could soon prove itself false. You have an iron will and a three-inch limber tongue that will soon rival many, but your temper must be controlled. Learn self-control and you can fulfill your destiny and more. Do not and fall into the darkness that threatens everything..."

Quietly, Lance turned towards Ashur and spoke with a hoarse voice. "Master elf, I sincerely suggest that you and your own return to the Emerald Forest for now. I have no wish to worsen the coming conflict nor insert my entire presence into the mix."

Without another word, Lance turned and sheathed his swords. Kneeling beside beside Aeris, Lance sadly shook his head. With a sigh, Lance raise his right arm and began to chant a short phrase over and over again in a mixture of Latin and the draconian tongue that he had used. "Anno domino asdkdl dkald fjow." As he chanted a brilliant blinding light encircled Lance's arm and slowly flowed into Aeris...

(OOC: 5CN, a few things. Firstly, it's "Dawn Angel", not "Dark Angel". Secondly, Aeris does not merely believe she's the one prophesied; she actually had been designated, in her presence, as the future Dawn Angel by the Nephilimic Order, so unless I've misunderstood you, I think you'll need some changes in your post.)

As far as Ivan and several of the other men were concerned, the cultural issues didn't matter one bit. They were paid to kill vampires and keep the city safe from this night time menaces and so that's exactly what they did. Noticing that Viannor was genuinely interested in such things, Ivan decided to explain some of the background.

"As far as I know, vampires have been around for as long as anyone can remember. They used to be much smaller in population and not exactly common upon the streets. A couple hundred years ago, the frequency and population of vampires was becoming far too large for the government to ignore, and so the issue of whether they should be considered as citizens was taken to government. As with every issue, there were arguments for both sides of the case, eventually the citizenship side winning considering these vampires were once normal human citizens anyway.

Of course the other side did their part, placing strict regulations and registry systems upon all vampires in an attempt to prevent them from feeding upon the general populace. There are always those that oppose the government's decisions and in this case several extremist groups were formed. The major factions included vigilante like humans that would kill any vampire on sight and a group of vampires that insisted on remaining within the shadows and not become citizens.

And so the government formed the VP in an attempt to settle things down. Basically there have been bloody wars between the three factions for some time until the two official human and vampire factions were destroyed. All that remains are unnorganised rag-tag groups. We are the dominant force now and we maintain control."

During Ivan's little historical recount, the VP vans had navigated the streets of Emerald City without any trouble and had returned to the carpark of the VP HQ. Ivan led everyone upstairs and promptly dismissed them.

"You're all free to do as you wish for the day. We're going on patrol tonight though. Meet back here just before sun down."

Turning around, Ivan looked down at his hand, noticing the uncontrollable shake plaguing his muscles. Whilst he hadn't shown it, the encounter with his sister had shaken him up quite a bit. Deciding he needed a stiff drink, Ivan headed for his office.
_________________

Ashur remained silent for the moment, allowing Aeris to rant at Lance. After her little display of power, Lance began performing some magiks of his own. Ashur couldn't help but feel things were getting out of his league here. He was perfectly fine when it came to combatting vampires and he was a highly competent elven mage, yet angels and dragon riders was going beyond his experience.

The tension between Lance and the elves was quite evident. Lance seemed to possess a different personality each time he spoke and the elves didn't trust him one bit. Considering it wasn't even noon, Ashur agreed to Lance's request.

"Perhaps that would be a wise choice. I shall return at sundown and seek conversation with Lady Skadi."

A quick exchange of mental words and the three elves were hooded and disappearing around the corner of a building, making no noise and leaving no trace of their presence. Even in the depths of Emerald City, they moved like ghosts.

(OOC: 5CN, a few things. Firstly, it's "Dawn Angel", not "Dark Angel". Secondly, Aeris does not merely believe she's the one prophesied; she actually had been designated, in her presence, as the future Dawn Angel by the Nephilimic Order, so unless I've misunderstood you, I think you'll need some changes in your post.)
(OOC: Lance is speaking of something else entirely... He's mistaking Aeris for someone else... Although he knows Aeris is Arleni's daughter, he's slightly confused...)

(OOC: Alright. But one last thing. Please do not cast magic on my characters unless you have discussed it with me beforehand. This time, I will repel Lance's magic on my own terms.)

With a start, Aeris suddenly sprang to life. Leaping up from Zero's grasp, she suddenly glared at Avto/Lance, and as she did so, the white light that was flowing from the demigod into her was suddenly repelled. She turned and glared at Lance, her mere glance a challenge to Lance's presumptuousness. Then she promptly turned her back on him, looking at the departing elves.

OOC: To get things moving along, it is now night time.

IC: After the departure of Ashur and his elven companions, the day passed normally at Hondur's mansion. Hour after uneventful hour went by until finally the sun plunged into the horizon, plunging the city into natural darkness and making way for the artificial light of man.

Both attuned very well to the cycles of daylight within Assington, Hondur and Skadi woke almost simultaneously, ready to emerge from their chambers and prowl through the dark streets of Emerald once agian.

Promptly moving out of her bed, Skadi entered her personal bathroom, disrobed and took the first shower she'd had in over two hundred years. It was very rare that a vampire could ever feel warm and not be in a potentially lethal predicament. One of those situations was bathing in warm water, the other feeding off a live creature. Enjoying the sensation upon her cold skin, Skadi savoured the moment for as long as possible before stepping out of the shower and back into the now steamed bathroom.

Never one to worry about supposed womanly necessities, Skadi didn't even bother drying her hair before she quickly replaced her black clothes and finally her scabbard, holsters and trench coat. Emerging from her chambers, Skadi's boots upon the polished floor signalled her arrival as she descended the stairs to find Sigrun and the others gathered in the main lounge. Skadi almost glistened in the candle light thanks to the water upon her white face, portraying an image of a woman that none would suspect to be a brutal warrior.
___________________

Hondur started awake, his head reeling backwards as an unnerving image ripped him back into consciousness. Sprawled across his desk, Hondur promptly stood up and unruffled his clothes. Staggering into his bathroom, Hondur noticed blood smearing the basin and was momentarily shocked before he remembered what occured to Stephen. It seemed Skadi was not in any mood to tolerate anything and Stephen would have to learn such if he wished to avoid another severe beating.

Sword upon his hip, Hondur was about to depart his office when a brown packaged called for his attention, merel sitting upon an old chair against the wall. Smiling to himself, Hondur ripped through the elven paper and container until he came across his new, shiny toy. It would hopefully prove its use later on. Grinning in delight, Hondur rolled up his sleeves and attatched the implements of pain to his forearms. With sleeves rolled back down, Hondur departed his office and made his way towards the stairs leading upwards, passing the blood soaked showers of the mansion gym.
______________

With the sun gone once again, Ashur started from his trance and stood immediately, still wearing the cloak and various weapons from earlier on. As he opened dark eyes, Ashur layed gaze upon the pale face of Idun, obviously eager to return to the city.

"Are you ready?"

Ashur nodded. Spinning around, the elven leader found three other cloaked elves sitting behind him, all apparently ready to make the journey back to the city. Turning back to Idun, Ashur gave his younger companion a stern look.

"I've agreed to have words with your childhood friend. I don't want you coming inside and getting her angry again, we've already seen the effects that can have upon people."

Nodding, Idun patted his bruised chest before slinging a cloak over his shoulders and opening the think doorway of their tree dwelling.

"Don't worry, I'm not game to try that more than once."

Smiling in understanding, Ahsur led the other three elves out of the three and through the unmarked paths of Emerald Forest, finally reaching the border. The group of elves and vampire gazed upon the monstrosity of a human dwelling before setting out once again, heading for the coven mansion.
____________

Ivan was started awake by his dusk alarming ringing throughout his office, the rythmic buzz hacking into his ear drums. Grumpy and partially drunk, Ivan swiped the bottle of vodka off his desk and allowed it to crash to the floor, the last few drops sinking into his cheap carpet.

As the VP captain contemplated tonights happenings his left shoulder suddenly spasmed uncontrollably, causing the young captain to grunt in pain as the spasm spread down his arm, theiving what little control he had over the limb. Spinning around in his chair, Ivan glanced out the window and glared at the full moon. It almost mocked him, sitting up there in content peace whilst Ivan sat down here in a fit of spasms and pain.

Turning back to his desk, he grunted once again as he used the functioning right army to rip open a draw within his desk and remove a small kit of syringes. Withdrawing the sharp object, Ivan handled it with skill between his fingers as he removed a small vial and plunged the needle into it, drawing in the vital liquid. Without hesitation, Ivan plunged it into his spasming shoulder and cursed under his alcohol ridden breath. With the injection done, Ivan had to merely wait until control returned to his shoulder.

Calmed down slightly, Ivan withdrew his electronic badge and keyed in a command, alerting several VP members and Viannor to meet at his office for the nightly patrol briefing.

Stephen's eyes slowly opened shortly after Hondur had passed the gym. His back still ached a little, his head still had a few cobwebs to clean out, but his body was not in the severe amount of pain it had been earlier in the day. He slowly sat up, a shot of pain bolted through his back before subsiding.

The young vampire finally stood and held his balance. Stephen clearly remembered during his late twenties as a human, waking up to more than one morning feeling like this. Christ, feel like I'm human again...with a hangover.

Remembering how he ended up in the coven locker rooms and the beating Skadi had given him; Stephen decided it would be best for him to leave the mansion for a little bit, if Skadi still angry for what he said, he didn't want to be near her.

Stephen threw on his trench-coat, gathered his pistols, Wolfe Knife, and placed his duffel bag with his extra gear in a locker. He headed upstairs and debated if he should go to the lounge or head off into the city for a little bit, as to allow more time for Skadi to cool down. Due to her unpredictable nature, he chose the the latter.

Stephen left the coven and headed off into Emerald City.

Sigrun turned as soft footsteps came down the stairs. He laid his eyes upon Skadi, her face glistening from water droplets that ran down her face slightly from her hair. He couldn't help but smile.

The devil may cry, but at least she knows how to strike an appearance. he thought humourously to himself.

"I would venture to say that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but in the essence of the truly beautiful." Sigrun commented her with a smile.

Hovering quietly in the air above the mansion, Lance Crusade quietly pondered his presence in Assington. Yes, he was dead, having died over a thousand years ago, but he still existed as an ethereal being of magic and power. An arbiter of justice that flitted across the landscape, Lance Crusade was not a god, but merely a conscious dead.

Sighing heavily to himself, Lance Crusade closed his eyes, as he dropped to roof. As his two feet thudded onto the rought surface of the tiles upon the roof, Lance shuddered as he unconsciously convulsed. With a groan of pain, Lance realized that his presence within Avto's body was at its end. With a silent roar, Lance reverted to his ethereal state and vanished, blown away by the winds of time.

With a heavy thud, Avto's body landed upon the roof. It would be some time later before Avto regained consciousness...

Lujza sat sprawled in one of the chairs in the lounge of the mansion, appearing as if she had simply fallen into it. She had come inside when the sun set, reasoning that some coven vampire could do guard duty now. Anyone who cared about such things would be apalled at her slouch, but she didn't much care how she looked. She was now dozing, awakening every few minutes but not staying so for very long. Her AK-103 leaned against the chair, and her axe was still fastened to her belt. Lujza had decided to keep them handy until she went to her room, well, closet.

As she entered the lounge room, Skadi only had eyes for Sigrun. She gave him a smile that conveyed her true feelings for the elf, a smile that only Sigrun recieved. Taking a seat directly next to Sigrun, Skadi took hold of his hand as she looked around the room, inspecting who was present. Immediately she noticed the foreign vampire, sitting there in a barely conscious state. It seemed she'd been guarding the mansion for the majority of the day. Whilst Skadi didn't trust her a single bit, she respected Hondur's authority over his own coven and mansion, even if she didn't agree with it.

Stephen didn't appear to be anywhere in sight, which didn't surprise her. Skadi felt no pity for him and was perfectly willing to deliver another beating into the young vampire if he tried her again. Tolerance was something Skadi was not known for and would not be likely to develop. Lying back against the couch, Skadi turned back to Sigrun.

"So tell me O king of Tarlachia. What has passed during the day?"
______________

Putting the current issues of returned ancient vampires and hostile elves into the back of his mind, Hondur looked around his mansion, listening to the sounds of the many vampires he offered hospitality to, those that would follow him to the end. Hondur couldn't help but feel content. Everything that was right could be right at this moment. He had everything he could ever want or need. True friends, a potential love, plenty of material supplies, a vast mansion and a life that could go on forever.

Of course it was all too good to be true. At that moment, the distressed call of Alysandra hammered into his mind, renching him out of self reflection and into a state of horror and worry. Alysandra's face was covered in blood, her own blood and there was a dark figure standing over her, his own fingers covered in her thick life blood. It was obvious this figure was harming his Alysandra, one of his coven.

Without thinking to inform others, Hondur launched himself into the air and made a quick exit through the now open sky hatch above the main foyer of the mansion. Hondur had the hatch installed for the very reason of a quick exit from the mansion for those old enough to will themselves into flight. Rocketing through the night sky of Emerald, Hondur headed for the poor quarter of the city in an attempt to save Alysandra before it was too late.
____________

Svartel loved the screams. The expression of pain, fear and the desire to be unharmed and remain living. It gave the situation a certain atmosphere, almost ecstatic in intensity. When Svartel had spied a young lady vampire feeding amongst the dark alleys of Emerald, he could not help but intervene. Emerged in her own affairs, Alysandra did not noticed as the far older Svartel approached from behind, ripping her off the unfortunate human to be her meal.

Immediately the sadistic vampire was bombarded with emotions from the minds of both creatures. The human was full of praise and gratitude, which was promptly ended by a pale fist boring into the heart of the human, literally ripping the very life from his young body. As the human fell to the ground, pained shock across his face, Svartel merely smiled.

The young vampire on the other hand delivered shocked anger as she struggled to escape Svartel's cold grip upon her think neck. It wasn't long before she realised there was no escaping this superior strength. At that moment, Alysandra jolted violently as something stuck her. Looking downwards, she found a metal pole firmly wedged within her abdomen. Unfortunately there was no time to react as Svartel began moving the object around, causing Alysandra to splutter up blood from her damaged organs, covering her paler than normal face.

Words lost all meaning as pain took over. Her strength failing due to lack of blood, Alysandra could do nothing but call for the one she truly trusted and hope he could save her. Hondur.

Sigrun shook his head amusingly at Skadi, "You don't have to call me king. Here, you and I are equals. Let that never change."

He took a moment watch Hondur leave abruptly, wondering if there was something wrong. He had caught a glimpse of worry, perhaps rage in Hondur's face as he left quickly. However, the vampire's movements had been fast, and kept Sigrun from confirming his thoughts. He glanced about the room again at the remaining persons before finally turning back to Skadi.

"Well...a lot has occurred while you slept. It is too much to explain in words alone. Perhaps I shall share my memories with you to let you see everything I saw."

He reached out and pulled Skadi closer until their foreheads touched firmly, but softly. He closed his eyes and opened his telepathic link fully as he recalled the images of the day's events. They flashed before Skadi's own mind's eye, the voices of those present, and the lingering images of the Emerald Elves. Finally at the end, Sigrun's voice was heard in the telepathic exchange:

I fear much for what may come. Darkness rolls in from the horizon like a dark thundercloud, threatening everything we hold dear.

They broke apart in their grasp and leaned back. Sigrun nodded to her as she looked at him, blinking several times.

"What are your thoughts?" he asked simply.

Skadi cleared her mind of all thoughts as Sigrun's presence entered her head, sharing his memories of the recent day. The very sight of the elves triggered something within Skadi, bringing back a bloodlust she hadn't felt for thousands of years. She had never understood the vampiric lust for elven blood but had realised it was something between Assingtonian elves and vampires and didn't include foreigners.

Putting the thirst behind her, Skadi continued to watch over the happenings, noting that Avto seemed to be doing all that he could to start a war, something that Skadi did not appreciate, especially since the young warrior knew nothing of the history between such factions. Curbing her anger, Skadi viewed the remaining memories before opening her eyes once again, considering the recent events and what the best course of action would be.

"Ashur is wiser than Idun. Avto is a menacing idiot and Zero's girl is the oddest hybrid I have ever come across."

Whilst there was a sense of humour in Skadi's words, she also meant every last letter. She would speak with Ashur as it seemed more ideal to keep a potential enemy neutral for the moment at least.

"I guess we should await the elven arrival."
____________

Hondur arrived to find a dark figure standing over the now unconscious form of Alysandra. She'd passed out from loss of blood and was at the point where she could die if she wasn't left to herself in order to heal, with the aid of blood of course. Seeing her in such a bad way summoned a fury within Hondur that had not been seen since his younger years, back when he battled Maximus.

A metallic chime filled the air as Hondur's blade left its scabbard and whistled through the air, plunging straight for the dark figure's neck. A graceful step to the left found Hondur stumbling forwards as his blade found no flesh to sear. Before he could regain his feet, a vicious blow to his lower spine caused Hondur to crash to his knees. Grunting in irritation and pain, Hondur used his mental prowess to lift himself back onto his feet as he spun around with the blade, aiming for a slash at the figure's throat. An unnerving click replied as Svartel brought his seemingly innocent pole around in an arc, a glinting scythe blade clearly protruding from the end.

Hondur could do nothing but watch as the faster, more agile vampire arced his razor sharp weapon around and cleanly sliced through Hondur'f hand, causing the upper half to thud against the paved ground whilst the ancient blade clattered alongside it.

"Heh. You're what this city has to offer?"

Grinning down at the severed hand, something about the blade caught Svartel's attention. Willing the blade into his hand, the ancient vampire examined the blade carefully, going over every detail until he finally recognised it.

"You're one of Skadi's."

It wasn't a question. Svartel knew Skadi carried a blade just like this one and also knew she wouldn't give Uller's blade to just anyone. Hondur remained silent as he gasped in agony, the throbbing ache of his arm clouding his thoughts. The blood had already begun to clot, yet it would take quite some time for that to heal without Hondur drawing upon the blood of another. He'd never lost a limb before and it appeared as if he wouldn't get the chance to again, for he was facing Svartel.

"Well young one, you won't be needing this anymore."

Stepping to the side, Svartel brought the ancient blade above his head and plunged it into the filthy brick wall beside him, burrying it right up to the hilt. Enjoying Hondur's obvious displeasure, Svartel wrenched the grip downwards until a satisfying snap resulted. The blade was now burried into the wall, unretrievable.

Now intent on inflicting pain, Svartel turned back to Hondur and plunged an already bloody fist towards the suffering vampire. Another click and the noise of metal sliding against metal filled the air again, yet this time it didn't originate from Svartel's pole. Hondur's left arm had shot upwards, three silver/steel blades emerging from his sleeve to form razor sharp claws above the hand. Caught completely off guard, Hondur took the oppurtunity to launch forward and plunge the claws into Svartel's chest, allowing gravity to aid in doing damage as he fell to the ground once again, pulling the claws through Svartel's body.

The stench of burning flesh filled the air as the silver reacted with vampiric flesh, causing Svartel to wail in searing pain. Whilst Hondur had taken a small measure of revenge, he was now spent of energy and still hindered by significant pain. Finally, he resorted to his last measure and reached back to the mansion.

"Skadi, Sigrun. Svartel..."

At that point, Svartel recovered from his initial shock and took hold of Hondur's arm, yanking the claws out of his body and twisting with vengeful fury, causing the bones in Hondur's arm to snap as his forearm was rotated well over 360 degrees.

Stephen walked through the dark streets of Emerald, his trenchcoat flying behind him as a gust of cold wind hit him in the front. He was on the other side of town, not sensing Hondur's battle with Svartel. He was not hungry and so many humans traveling alone on the streets passed the vampire with safety.

"Hold it vampire."

Stephen stiffened and turned to face a VP officer holding a HK USP Match in one hand.

"Can I help you officer?" Stephen said calmly.

"ID, now." the man said.

Stephen slowly reached into his pant pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out an Assingtonian Vampire ID card and handed it to the officer. Stephen hand lifted it off a legal vampire and had simply removed the photograph from the card and placed his own there.

The office looked at it and nodded. He holstered his gun and handed the ID back to Stephen. "Thank you sir."

"No problem officer." Stephen said with a slight grin.

He watched the officer walk to an unmarked car and drive off into the city. Stephen sighed in relief, a violent confrontation had been averted. He put the stolen ID back in his wallet and the wallet back in his pants. He couldn't help but feel sorry about the perdicement of the legal vampire he had taken the ID from.

Figuring he had given Skadi enough time to cool off and it was slightly safer to be near her, he started to head back to other side of town.

Sigrun smiled as Skadi sat next to him and agreed to keep things neutrally peaceful with the Assingtonian elves. As she wrapped up her speech, he suddenly heard the familiar voice of Hondur barely whispering through his mind.

Skadi, Sigrun. Svartel...

In those three words alone, Hondur had transmitted more than the words could tell. He had told of pain, of great suffering at Svartel's hand, and one thing most of all.

A desire to live.

Sigrun looked over at Skadi, knowing that she had recieved Hondur's desperate cry as well. They did not speak as they mirrored the escalading rage that built in each of their eyes. Svartel had gone too far. Sigrun blinked at long last, his rationality finally breaking through.

"Svartel is strong. We better be ready for what he may deal us. To my dying breath, I will do all I can to help him."

He turned immediately and went up the steps to the room in which Skadi kept for herself. Inside, he approached the wall and pulled down his sword. He drew the blade, its soft voice belying its dangerous nature. He brought the blade up to his gaze and spoke softly.

"More shall be fed to you tonight, and I intend for a most powerful foe to feel your vicious bite!"

He sheathed the blade and set it down. Opening the wardrobe nearby, he pulled out his armor and donned it with care. At last, Lanta was secured to his backside. His cloak was thrown on over as he turned away from the wardrobe.

In his eyes, death had become the quest...

Ivan withdrew his electronic badge and keyed in a command, alerting several VP members and Viannor to meet at his office for the nightly patrol briefing.

The Dusk Alarm signalled a subtle change in the behaviour of everyone in Emerald City, particularly in the VP Headquarters. There was something primal about the coming of night in this city, a deeply-entrenched wariness about the dark. It was almost as if the dark itself unnerved them.

Viannor couldn't remember the last time nightfall had unnerved her, her mind shrouding her earliest childhood days in the mists of time. Back when 'the Dark' was a creature all of its own. Not merely the lack of light, but the Dark itself was a pervading, creeping power which brought all the terrors of a nightmare.

For an observer like Lady Viannor, Chief-Quaestor of the Starbladyi Inquisition, the change of mood in the people around her was obvious. The night had come, but what would it bring?

After dozing off, Lujza woke up with a snort to see Sigrun leaving. She noticed that he did not look to be in a good mood. She looked around the room, somewhat abashed and waking with what could be construed to be a snore.

Ivan had made it out of his office and into the main hall of the VP HQ as he awaited the arrival of his team. By now the effects of the depleted vodka bottle had mostly worn off Ivan, leaving him in the mood to rid his city of vampiric scum. The full moon had him edgy, it always made him anxious for some reason. Whenever Ivan was doubtful, he let his twin USPs clear all the worries from his mind.

Within the next few minutes the VP squad began to assemble, many emerging from the on site dorm rooms provided for those that don't wish to return home between shifts. Ivan eyed all of them, noting which officers seemed keen to be out there and killing vampires, which ones were merely performing their job and which ones were likely to be a problem in the future. With all the men assembled, the team was only waiting on Viannor.

"Alright everyone, get geared up and prefer for a standard patrol. We'll take the inner city west quarter tonight."

As the men began gathering all their equipment, the echoing of Viannor's boots upon the hard floor caught Ivan's attention.

"Nice of you to join us Lady. Feel like a moonlight stroll?"
______________

Hondur's words had ignited a rage long dormant within Skadi. A rage that she held especially for one person alone, Svartel. Shooting to her feet, Skadi spoke briskly to Zero and Aeris as she followed Hondur up the stairs.

"Watch the mansion. Hondur is in trouble."

Moving upstairs without touching the floor, Skadi flowed through the air and landed before a large cabinet alongside a wall. To most people it would appear to be a place where normal people would put their clothes, yet anyone that knew Skadi wouldn't make such a presumption. With no apparent lock or handle, Skadi merely watched the doors, unlocking hidden mechanisms within the object. Seconds later the door swung upon, revealing a small armoury.

Knowing the cabinet like the back of her hand, Skadi immediately removed her trench coat and grabbed two thigh holsters, promptly fixing them to herself and filling the holsters with twin berettas. Replacing her coat, Skadi pocketed several clips and checked to see her blade could exit its scabbard unhindered.

"Let's go. We must his him hard and fast. No warning, no negotiation, just take him down, grab Hondur and leave. Understood?"

There was a lethal glow within Skadi's eyes that also contained something rarely seen within the ancient vampire. Fear.

Sigrun nodded his understanding. He also pulled out a pistol and holster as well as a few clips from Skadi's armory. Seconds later, he was ready.

"Portal will be our best means of surprise." he stated simply. He knew she would agree. As much as she didn't like traveling via her love's strange abilities, she trusted him. Besides, they both cared for Hondur's wellbeing.

Sigrun sought with his mind until he locked onto where the message from Hondur had come from. He spoke to the air, "Hondur."

The portal swirled rapidly, and opened up. Skadi surprised him by being the first to leap through. He followed shortly thereafter, his pistol in hand, the blade in his other...

Whilst Skadi normally wouldn't be so eager to plunge into one of Sigrun's arcane portals, there was no point delaying. Hondur's life was in dire threat and Skadi was perhaps the only one that could physically match Svartel. Drawing her blade, Skadi snarled as her feet left the ground and she launched herself through the air and into the portal...
______________

With Hondur in too much pain to even open his eyes, Svartel would have no trouble bringing down his scythe blade over the younger vampire's neck, severing his head and plunging him into an eternal darkness. As the blade reached its maximum arc above his head, Svartel halted his downward swing as a small spark of blue light appeared within the wall beside him. Within seconds it had grown into a swirling vortex of energies easily able to accomodate human form.

The ancient vampire had never seen such a magical working before and was quite stunned. Counting upon his surprise, Skadi came charging through the portal in full flight, her lethal blade in hand as she burst out of the portal and slashed at Svartel, sending her razor sharp blade through his abdomen and exiting at the small of his back. Svartel's expression of stunned curiosity soon shifted to stunned pain as the upper half of his body fell away from his legs.

Halting mere inches from the opposite alley wall, Skadi planted herself upon the ground as she spun around to face Svartel. Taking only enough time to recognise his position, Skadi brought her blade up once again and began a series of vicious stabs upon the torso of her vampiric nemesis. Stab after stab resulted in the grunts of Svartel as his blood sprayed forth due to the force of Skadi's blows, much of the blood splattering against her pale face.

At that point Sigrun emerged, surprised at the damaged Skadi had already caused. Without taking her eyes off Svartel, Skadi spoke to Sigrun.

"Grab him and the girl."

And so Skadi returned to her bloody task of mutilating the severed body of Svartel.

Sigrun stepped between the realms on both sides of the portal and immediately heard Skadi's command. He glanced down at Svartel, who looked up at her in pain as she relentlessly slashed her weapon at him. There was a rage in Skadi's eyes, a rage that even made Sigrun feel pity for Svartel for a brief moment. He himself would never wish to be in his place.

Sigrun looked over at Skadi and called out to her. She turned her head slightly to look at him, the bloodlust in her eyes now causing her body to quake slightly from the anger. He tossed her his blade, spinning it through the air.

He turned and looked at Hondur who lay bound and beaten to a bloody pulpy mess. Sigrun undid the bindings for Alysandra with a blast of arcanic energy and caught her as she slumped forward. She stood on her own feet after several moments and looked into his eyes thankfully. He helped her to the portal and instructed her how to get through and where to go after that.

Turning to Hondur, he did away with the bindings for him as well, and caught Hondur's suffering form with his arms. He hoisted Hondur to his shoulders, his body dangling limply. As Sigrun walked toward the portal he looked over to Skadi and called out, "I've got them. See you back home. I'm keeping the portal open for you."

She didn't reply as she held both swords in her hands and glared down at Svartel in her brief moment of pause.

Sigrun spied the lower half of Svartel's body lying in a bloody pool nearby and freed a hand to cast a float spell on it. It rose up a foot off the ground and rapidly disappeared through the portal. Sigrun took a secure hold on Hondur once more, causing his friend to cry out in his anguish. The two disappeared through the portal seconds later.

On the other side Sigrun lay Hondur on Skadi's bed, next to Alysandra. He ran to the door and flung it open, calling to those downstairs.

"SOMEBODY GET SOME BLOOD DONORS NOW!"

He turned to the portal, his mind never having unleashed the portal's structure since opening it. He waited, with his pistol in hand. The lower portion of Svartel's body now sat on the floor, its blood seeping out and drenching the floor in blood. He glanced down at it, You'll suffer greatly for harming my brother... he thought to himself darkly. Skadi would ensure that to every degree. If he still lived after that, Svartel would die by his hand...

With Sigrun, Hondur and Alysandra gone through the portal, Skadi savoured her moment alone with Svarltel by plunging Sigrun's blade into his throat, pinning him to the ground. At that point she moved her attention to the side where Hondur's severed hand still lay. Obviously her fledgling will need his hand back and so a quick use of her mental powers sent the bloodied hand through the portal.

Unfortunately the distraction had given Svartel all the time he needed to gather his wits and unleash a thundering mental blow upon Skadi. Her mind was sent into chaos as her body was flung off the ground and slammed into the brick wall behind her, causing the wall to shudder upon the impact. Still clinging to her blade, Skadi aimed her blade as gravity accelerated her towards the grinning form of Svartel.

With so much blood loss, Svartel was unable to produce another mental blow and could do nothing as Skadi's blade plunged through his heart. Whilst the organ was dead, the nerves within his body was not, causing Svartel to howl in agony as the silver burned his flesh. Groaning from the impact upon the cement next to Svartel, Skadi rolled over to catch a glimpse of a bloodied fist pound into her face, sending her skidding across the ground and into the wall. next to the portal.

A broken nose and jaw began to eat away at Skadi's mind with pain, attacking her senses and overwhelming her will. Deciding it was time to leave the battle before it took a turn for the worse, Skadi rose to her left foot as the other was fractured from her impact against the ground. Reaching out with her mind, Skadi brought the two blades out of Svartel's body and into her hands as she fell backwards and into the swirling vortex.

With Skadi gone, Svartel was left to recover from the psychotic attack and get over the shock of such an event. The ancient vampire couldn't helpt but smile as he contemplated their next meeting and the measure of revenge he would have upon Skadi and the elf, especially the elf for taking his legs.

Sigrun ducked as an object came flying through the portal at surprising speed. He whipped about aiming the pistol at the object only to see that it was Hondur's own hand. He looked over to Hondur and finally saw the injury. He felt an anger rise in him once again.

He picked the hand up and placed it on Hondur's side, allowing it to touch his flesh. Once Hondur began to feed, he would be able to reattach the hand to his forearm.

Hardly a second later, Sigrun heard Skadi call to him as she stepped forth from the portal. He turned and snapped his hand away, dispersing the portal. He saw that Skadi had suffered from some pain herself. It only enraged Sigrun more. He watched as the swords clattered to the floor as she slumped into a chair, favoring her injuries.

"Did you kill him?" he asked quietly, the anger evident in his voice. Skadi shook her head negatively, while reaching out and taking hold of his arm. "No...tend to them." she requested, indicating Hondur and Alysandra.

"Then I'll finish him off the next time we meet..." he growled.

Head swimming from the multiple sources of pain all bombarding her senses at once, Skadi took a moment to lay back in the chair as she attempted to clear her mind of the pain. It was necessary to set her broken bones straight or risk having them heal in an odd manner. Closing her dark eyes, Skadi placed delicate, blood splattered hands upon her jaw and snapped it back into alignment before straightening her nose also.

The painful cracks of damaged bones combined with the low groans of Hondur and Alysandra made the room seem like the aftermarth of a full scale battle. With her bones set straight, Skadi would merely have to wait until they healed up. She couldn't work on her fractured ankle and her mind was too ravaged to fly. Skadi needed blood.

Hondur and Alysandra were in much worse conditions. Both had suffered significant wounds at the hands of Svartel and Hondur endured two badly broken arms, many shattered ribs and the loss of his hand. Thankfully at that point, several vampires rushed into the room, each holding a fearful looking human. Gazing upon the devestation, one of the vampires finally spoke up.

"The donors are here..."

"Nice of you to join us, Lady. Feel like a moonlight stroll?"

"Why, Captain," she said with a smile, "I never knew you felt that way."

She watched for the reactions of Captain Kolstov's men, seeing who was paying attention, measuring their respect for ther commanding officer. She checked the magazines and chambered rounds of her own twin USPs, before slotting them into the waist holsters at the base of her spine. She adjusted her long coat and was ready.

Girl's gotta look her best on a night out, she thought, having spent the last fifteen minutes perfecting her hair and make-up in the Ladies' restroom.

""Ready when you are, Captain."

Kolstolv replied with a grin of many meanings. Whilst it was evident he appreciated her sense of humour, he also made it obvious in his gaze that he wasn't interested in her.

"Well that depends Lady. If manage to survive the night, perhaps we may have a future?"

With everyone ready, Ivan led the way as the group of ten men and Viannor followed closely behind. There was no need for vehicles as they were out patrolling the streets with the purpose of purging the scum. All men wore the standard navy blue coat, concealing several weapons, body armour and any other nasty devices.

This was a different form of combat out on the streets. Whilst the VP could merely suit up in uniforms and burst inside with sub machine guns when they raided buildings, the streets required a little more subtlety and sneakiness. All twelve members of the group were fanned out over the street yet they remained in radio contact. No weapons were evident, giving the VP officers a basic guise of a citizen. Whilst it wasn't the hardest guise to discover, it worked well for their purposes.

"Alright everyone, listen up. Maintain positions and stay in sight of eachother. We're more than likely to attract some attention so be ready for it."

Each officer had eyes for the shadows, half suspecting a vampire to leap out at them.

<Alright everyone, listen up. Maintain positions and stay in sight of each other. We're more than likely to attract some attention so be ready for it.>

An intelligence officer through and through, Viannor had stepped along the streets of foreign nations as an 'illegal', better known as a 'spy'. Now she was interspersed with ten indentically-dressed Vampire Policemen who seemed to have come disguised as a sore thumb. Much better to have a few civilian-dressed officers scouting ahead, with some heavy back-up a few streets away, she thought, trying not to overtly check the positions of the men around her.

She felt very visible, even on the dimly lit streets of Assington. Perhaps that was the point? She asked herself, a visible presence. Maybe a noticeable force on the streets of Starblaydi cities would keep the Dwarves in line, or would that merely provoke them further?

All sorts of questions she had time to ask herself on the patrol. Until she noticed something she could only term as 'out of place'. A man, walking down the street ahead of them. He had come along a sidestreet and then caught a glimpse of Kolstov's group, immediately turning away from them. He hadn't looked back since.

There was something about the way he moved. So purposeful and confident, yet somehow smooth as silk, he seemed to glide along the pavement with long, powerful strides. Viannor whispered into her radio.

"Male, about 6 feet, dark suit, two o'clock," she said, "he looks... out of place. Any action?"

Right after the vampires arrived, clutching in their firm grips, seemingly unwilling humans, a loud crash of shattering china was heard in the room, followed swiftly by several loud curses. With uneven steps, Avto entered the room, his two hands clutching his head. Moaning quietly in pain, Avto's brilliant sapphire eyes flickered, as he glanced briefly at the elf, vampires, and humans in the room. With a loud sigh, Avto sat down upon the floor and shook his head, attempting to clear out the excruciating headache that he had. Although the descendants of Lance Crusade could stand great agony, the strength of Avto's headache was beyond description. With the last vestiges of his self-control, Avto maintained his composure; but it was evident from his face that he could not stand what he felt.

With great difficulty, he spoke, questioning Sigrun. "How...did...I...get...on...the...roof? How...did...time...pass...so?"

When Sigrun came back through the portal with Hondur and Alysandra, Lujza sprang from her seat. "What the Hel happened? Is there anything I can do?" She asked her questions in quick succession, but before she was done, Skadi was back, and then in came some very frightened looking humans, and then to top it all off, Avto crashed the party. Lujza, very confused, kept a hand on her axe.

Sigrun looked over as Avto crashed through the roof. The elf scowled as Avto didn't seem to realize the severity of what had happened. He spoke quickly, and somewhat harshly to him.

"You are the least of my worries right now, Crusade. Do you not see that they suffer?!"

He stepped closer to one of the humans and spoke to her, "My apologies." He thrust her toward Hondur on the bed. He did the same with another human who screamed as Sigrun thrust her toward Alysandra, and yet another human was thrust toward Skadi.

He stepped closer to Hondur, noting the severe wounds suffered. He glanced over to Alysandra. She was the only thing he didn't understand. Why had she been with Svartel? Was she an agent of the dark vampire? He didn't know, but he would find out soon enough.

Finally, satisfied that the vampires were feeding for their survival, he turned back to Avto and spoke quietly. "Forgive me, but they were about to die. Lance came through you to speak to the elves that you were about to wage war against. We managed to strike a peace accord, upon agreement to meet with Skadi under truce. At no time shall you irritate the elves before, or during this meeting. I warn you to keep your tongue under control or you will find it frozen to the roof of your mouth. Am I clear?"

Sigrun spoke with a hint of warning in his eyes. He knew Avto would probably respond with a bitter response, but he hoped the Crusade would heed the words of his ancestors through Lance's lingering effects on the descendant.

Sigrun turned to Lujza and spoke, "We might need a few more donors. Gather a few of the others and get ready to leave at my command."

Sigrun looked about and finally asked to no one in particular, "Where is Stephen?"

Ivan and several of the other men fixed their eyes upon the figure Viannor had pointed out. Whilst it wasn't easy to tell whether he was a vampire from this distance, he was definitely looking quite suspicious. Ivan merely grinned.

"You have a good eye Lady."

Drawing one of his pistols, Ivan took careful aim before letting loose a single bullet. The air reverberated with the noise of the single discharge before silence reigned again. The streets were either deserted or everyone hid well, hoping to avoid the wrath of the violent VP officers.

With the man downed from an ankle shattering bullet, the VP officers shot into action, all sprinting down the street until the single man was surrounded. Upon arrival, the man's vampiric nature was displayed as his ankle steamed from the searing contact of silver. Looking at all the armed men around him, the vampire began to plea.

"Please, I've done nothing wrong! I'm registered, I use the government feeding program! I'm innocent!"

Cold eyes glared back at the vampire as Ivan pressed his USP against the vampire's head whilst he fished out a wallet, containing a vampiric I.D. card. Ivan gave the card a quick glance before tossing it to Viannor.

"One trick they try often is to steal I.D. cards and place their photos over them. As you can, it doesn't quite look right. Give it a scan with your badge and it should bring up the vampire database."
_____________

Skadi managed a thankful nod towards Sigrun as an unwilling human was tossed into her grasp. The ancient vampire held no mercy or remorse for the young man as she plunged her fangs into his muscle neck, ripping through the flesh until she pierced his main artery. The intense fear increased his heart rate, causing more blood to flow faster into Skadi's mouth. Ecstacy replaced pain as she drew in his life essence, providing her body with the necessary blood to heal her injuries.

Being of such an old age, Skadi didn't require massive amounts of blood to heal and was content with the contents of one human. Minutes passed by as she continued to draw upon the red fluid of life until finally the human's heart made a last beat before resigning. Feeling much better, Skadi dropped the young man to the floor and reclined in her chair, waiting contently as her body healed up. Muscle fibres regrew within seconds of the healing blood flowing over them, bone knitted back together and Skadi found that her most significant injuries had now become bearable.

"Thanks."

By this time, Hondur and Alysandra had fed enough to be far away from death. Their major wounds had healed and left them with many pained muscles. Alysandra sat next to Hondur, holding his hand in place as he fed off another human, giving him the blood necessary to reconnect this hand. Several more minutes passed before all major injuries were healed reasonably. Whilst they would remain sore for the rest of the night, the three vampires were in relatively good condition.

Skadi floated across the room to avoid pressuring her ankle and landed upon the bed next to Hondur, irritation obvious within her voice.

"What possessed you to challenge him?"

Hondur couldn't help but return a pained grin.

"I had my reasons."

At that point Alysandra cleared her throat, slightly blushing from Hondur's implying and the fresh blood within her. Skadi glared at the young girl, then back at Hondur's downward gaze.

"I see. Perhaps I should ask, what were you doing out there?"

Even more embarassed to be under Skadi's scrutiny, Alysandra stumbled into words.

"Well, I was feeding. I go to the poor quarter because no one ever notices if a bum is killed. He attacked me from behind and I couldn't do anything, he was too strong."

Skadi narrowed her eyes slightly but decided not to pursue the matter any further.

"I hope you've learned your lesson young one. It would not be advisable to move far from the mansion until this business is settled."

An object upon the floor caught Skadi's attention as she got up. Upon close inspection she realised it was a pair of legs. Svartel's legs. Looking up to her elven lover, Skadi couldn't help but smile.

"You are slyer than ever."

Pulling the elf into a tight embrace, Skadi whispered into Sigrun's ear.

"We shall both kill him. As for now, I think it's time we relaxed..."

Sigrun sighed somewhat. He looked into her eyes and whispered as well to her.

"He will not rest until all of us are dead. Even with no legs, he will do everything in his power to find us. He will use innocents to hunt us. He will move about my his telekinesis. Never will he rest until we are dead."

He paused and looked over at Hondur and Alysandra. "But then, we do have that meeting with the drow. Once we straighten things out there, we shall hunt him down and kill him."

"Give it a scan with your badge and it should bring up the vampire database."

Viannor took the ID card from Ivan, never taking her eyes off the vampire's ankle, attempting to heal itself despite the presence of silver in the wound. There was something... magical about it. She swiped the card across the badge she had been given earlier, waiting for the results.

Within a minute the ear piercing beep that the injured vampire had been dreading emerged from Viannor's badge. The screen displayed the same details as the card, yet the image of the cardholder was obviously far different to that of the man before them. Ivan merely smiled as he looked down at the frightened man.

"Well, it seems the end times have arrived for you."

"No!"

With unexpected speed, the vampire lunged upwards towards Viannor, reaching for her throat as hs blamed her for the negative identification. Thankfully for the visiting officer, Ivan also was known for his lightning fast reactions. Another bullet departed his weapon and rammed its way through the skull of the vampire and into the brain, causing instant death as he landed atop Viannor.

Kicking the corpse of the young lady, Ivan offered his arm to Viannor.

"Sorry about that. They tend to get a little hostile once they realise their fate."
____________

Skadi nodded, well aware of the facts Sigrun stated.

"Aye, but for now we shall rest, as he shall. Just don't underestimate him. We got lucky this time, we surprised him with that portal. Next time won't be so easy."

Hondur nodded as he helped Alysandra to her feet.

"We'll be downstairs."

Without another word the pair disappeared through the doorway. Immediately afterwards, Hondur's voice filled Skadi's head.

"I'm so sorry. He broke Uller's blade. He was too strong. The blade is within the nearby brick wall where you found us."

Skadi didn't reply as rage filled up within her once again. This time she kept it contained, realising it would do her know good.
______________

The streets were near deserted once again. It seemed the humans of this city were well aware of the dangers that lurked about in the shadows, the corrupted creatures known as vampires. After weaving through the filthy streets of Emerald City, Ashur, Idun and the elves finally arrived outside the coven mansion.

The master elf indicated for the others to remain at the gate whilst he walked forward, his presence almost silent yet still detectable by the supernatural senses of the vampiric guards.

"Halt... elf?"

"Aye. I believe Skadi is expecting me."

One of the guards nodded and headed in doors to fetch the vampiress and her elven companion.

As Viannor lay on the ground, the more-observant of the VP Officers noticed something crucial about Viannor's position. Though her reactions had obviously been fast, but not fast enough, her defence instincts were not associated with Vampire attacks. As she lay on the groun with the dead assailant on top of her, they could see her error.

She had managed to get her hands up in time, fending off the powerful claw-like fingers reaching for her throat. She had pulled her head back, too, and therein lay her crucial mistake. For a vampire had fangs, and her exposed neck was an attractive target for a vampire. Luckily for her, Captain Kolstov had anticipated this move and placed his hand on his gun.

Viannor took the hand that was offered and lightly got to her feet, resisting the urge to brush off any dirt that she knew the back of her coat was now covered with.

"My thanks, Captain," she said genuinely, "another lesson learned, caged animal and all that."

Lujza did as Sigrun said, though a battle raged in her mind about what was going on. If they were being killed, then these so-called "donors" were obviously nothing like the donors in Callisdrun, who frequently became close friends or even lovers of their vampires.

She had killed humans by feeding from them before, but those had been scum who deserved to die. These looked to be simply random terrified people. Still, it had to be done she supposed, though her stomach troubled her. After carrying out Sigrun's instructions, she went and loudly vomited out a window for a few minutes. Lujza then returned to waiting for orders, with a very hard scowl.

Sigrun watched for a moment as Lujza vomited, not cringing at all. He could see the moral dilemma being fought behind the eyes of her, and he understood. He addressed her directly.

"These humans were merely a few of the homeless people, or lowlife of the city. The vampires around here are careful about which victims they take, lest they gather the attention of the VP. Rest your thoughts, friend."

He turned and walked out the door, with Skadi leading down to the lower levels of the mansion. Just as they reached the lower floor, they noticed that the Assingtonian elves had arrived. Sigrun walked up to them with Skadi and bowed.

He spoke to them in elvish, "Mae govannen." He then switched to common, "I'm glad you have come. We have much to discuss."

He held his hand out to his right, leading to the sitting room. Skadi led the way, and took her seat. Sigrun took his to her left. Sigrun summoned a few elven drinks for the elves, appearing on the table before them. Skadi had a goblet of blood before her. It was actually blood from the bloodstone she owned, from their quest long ago. He himself still had his, but it was tucked away in secrecy. Skadi alone knew where it was, and it was free to her use should she desire.

He looked to each elf, studying them, "Now, we are here to discuss the relations between the vampires of this coven, and the your elven clans. Let us work this out amicably to everyone's satisfaction, shall we?"

Ivan nodded in agreement.

"It's a necessary lesson. Never expect anything to be simple or easy, that way you can react better at the crucial moment."

Looking down at the corpse, Ivan stepped back and nodded to one of his men. The officer promptly pulled out a small container and doused the body in a clear liquid smelling of metholated spirits. A dropped match finished the procedure and within minutes the body was nothing but melted fabrics and ash.

"Let's continue. There's a night club a couple blocks from here that's a popular target for vampires."

With that the VP men took up positions once again and headed off towards the night club, eager to blow away some blood sucking scum.
______________

Skadi had remained silent as the elves entered and were led into a lounge room where they all seated themselves and drank thanks to Sigrun's magiks. After a noticable silence, Skadi finally spoke.

"Idun is here."

Another short silence followed before Ashur pulled back his hood, revealing long black hair and nodded.

"Indeed. I thought it best that he not come inside after his recent visit to your residence."

"Bring him in."

Within a few short minutes Idun was standing at the entrance of the lounge, looking down at Skadi. She matched his gaze with cold indifference for several moments before finally speaking.

"Sit and see how real negotiations are done."

Idun knew it was not an invitation and chose not to challenge the unstable woman. Taking a seat next to Ashur, he remained silent. Ashur wasn't quite sure about things between Skadi and Idun but decided it was not his place to intervene.

"Lady Skadi. I'm sure you are well aware of Svartel's presence within this city. And I assume you have been informed of the elven stance upon vampires?"

Skadi nodded, focusing her cold eyes upon the elven leader.

"I see. Well your elven companion here has spoken wisely, as has that odd angel girl. I'm sure we both agree that none of us want Svartel here, at all. And whilst we shall not change our ways, perhaps we can come to a sort of agreement regarding the current predicament?"

"I think we can arrange a tempoary agreement. Svartel will die and that is indeed my major concern. It will be insanely difficult and many of us are sure to die, but it must be done. This city is not big enough for both of us, let alone you elves as well. Consider it agreed upon."

"Good."

But, if you elves even think about slaughtering anyone from this coven, your woes will not end until a prolonged death is finally completed by my blade. Are we understood."

"Aye. Don't attempt to intimidate us vampire. The corrupt will fail, it is destined."

Skadi merely sneered at the last comment.

"If destiny gets in my way, she can taste my blade as well."

Obviously tensions were building up between the two, minutes after an uneasy alliance had been settled.
____________

After quite some time of lying in the alley, Svartel regained consciousness. His wounds had healed beyond the risk of bleeding to death, yet the ancient vampire was still severely weakened by the sudden and intense attack performed by his female counterpart. It had been over two thousand years since he had seen Skadi and funnily enough it was in similar circumstances, save that he wasn't the one left battered and bleeding.

Gathering what little mental strength remained within him, Svartel called out to several of his fledglings, insisting that they convene on his position and offer aid. At least half an hour passed before the first vampire arrived, evidently exhausted from his movements throughout the city. Being young vampires, flight was unavailable to them and their speed was miniscule compared to Svartel's.

Impatient after the wait, Svartel lunged forward and gripped onto the neck of a young vampire attempting to aid him. Fangs plunged into the artery, Svartel drew upon the life blood of the unsuspecting vampire, each draught giving him strength that had previously bled away onto the cold ground. Within seconds the recently made vampire was dead and nother within Svartel's grasp.

Other vampires arrived to find Svartel propped against a wall, two vampires dead before him. Confusion sat upon their pale faces as they gazed upon Svartel. He merely glared back at them.

"Our enemies have made their move, but we shall strike back. Harder."

Due to the issue of having no legs, Svartel floated into the air, levelling at about the right height for a human. And so the vampires stalked off into the night, planning their next move against Skadi and her ilk.

The humans didn't notice a figure hiding in the far back of an alley, watching them. Stephen looked at Ivan and quickly took a mental picture of the man, knowing Skadi, Sigrun, and the others would be interested to put a face on the new, trigger happy VP Captain. Russian, this one has vodka instead of blood running through his veins. He also noticed the beautiful woman who was with them, obviously not a professional vampire hunter.

Stephen quietly followed the group, moving slowly through the dark alleys and avoiding the sight of the humans. He followed them to the club and once again hid in an alley as the humans approached. As the woman walked past, an alley cat appeared and knocked over several bottles, sending them crashing to the ground.

Stephen cursed softly under his breath and retreated into the shadows of the alley and slunk away.

Viannor's head snapped round at the noise. The sudden high-pitched clinking of bottles had been out of place over the deep, bass-heavy, muffled music that was coming through the club's doors. Almost without thinking she wandered across the road, over to the alley where the sound had come from.

Staring into the darkness, trying to accustomise her eyes to the lack of light, the signs outside the nightclub had been so bright. Without really realising it Lady Viannor, Chief-Quaestor of the Starblaydi Inquisition, was alone in a very dark alleyway in a country she'd barely heard of six months before. There was an eerie silence to the alley and Viannor instinctively drew one of her guns, in her favoured right hand.

You'd better not be in trouble, she told herself.

Skadi...please...we cannot afford having these elves fighting us and the coven with Svartel on the other front. Sigrun said to her quietly in her mind.

He spoke to the elves, "Then it is settled that neither groups shall attack the other so long as Svartel is our common enemy."

He looked between the elves and Skadi, awaiting their responses.

Stephen slunk away, deeper into the alley. The cat seemed to follow him, creating some noise every so often, drawing the human in. Stephen cursed and finally reached down and grabbed the cat. He growled at it and the animal quickly hushed up, the vampire put it back on the ground where it scurried off. The alley had dumped him in a small courtyard behind some buildings, trashcans and garbage littered the concrete floor. Stephen quickly moved into an alley as Viannor appeared.

As the human slowly entered the yard, she didn't notice seven figures dressed in black leather appear behind her. A sharp cackle made her turn and the group slowly moved to form a circle around her. All were fledglings, the oldest was just over one hundred years old. The leader of the pack gently twirled a switchblade in one hand.

Stephen could easily see they didn't belong to any coven. Just a loose band of punks who roamed the streets, raped, killed, and made hell for anyone who got in thier path. He pulled out a Para and gently screwed on a silencer and waited.

The leader smiled at Viannor. "Well now, what do we have here? A little girl and her pop gun. Come on dear, put it down and we gonna have some fun."

The vampires didn't consider Viannor much of a threat, so the leader walked slowly up to her, his eyes scanning the surrounding area. He locked eyes with Stephen, his fatal mistake as a silver bullet from Viannor's gun smashed into his skull, sending blood and gore onto the pavement.

The rest of the group rushed Viannor, intent on a quick kill. The human pivoted and fired off several shots, the first missed, but two more slammed into the chest of an on coming vampire. The vampire doubled over, in pain but not dead. Another member of the pack kicked Viannor from behind, knocking her over.

The vampire pulled out a short sword, and moved to drive it into Viannors back. The last thing he saw was Viannor turning over and a silver bullet heading towards him. With two dead and a third injured, the other four took no chances and one kicked the gun out of Viannor's hand. Without pause, the vampires proceeded to kick and punch the downed woman, wanting to make her suffer.

A soft thump stopped the beating as one of their number fell dead. Three more shots quickly followed. The rest of the group crumpled, not having a chance. Stephen emerged from the shadows and looked at the single, surviving vampire, he raised his pistol and finished the job.

Stephen walked over to the human's body and knealt down beside her. He did a quick mind scan and pulled her name. Viannor, you are extremely lucky to be alive. He looked over her, her face wasn't broken, a few scars, but the rest of her body was a mess. Bruises, a few cracked bones, and possible internal bleeding. Stephen knew he could take her to a hospital, but she would die before she got there.

After a few minutes, he decided on his course of action. Stephen gently lifted her body and tilted her head slightly. He lowered his fangs and sunk them into her neck, drinking the warm crimson liquid. He felt her slowly grow weaker in his arms, he finally pulled back, a few drops of blood hanging on his lips. Stephen bit his wrist and placed it to Viannor's mouth, he felt her suckle on it after a few seconds. He smiled and let her drink for a while before pulling his wrist back and letting it heal.

Stephen licked the blood off his lips and picked up her sleeping body. Knowing the VP would have heard the gunshots, he jumped onto a roof and headed back to teh mansion. Stephen headed inside and upstairs to a vacant room, the same room he had used during the third Assington War.

Stephen laid her body on the bed as his blood continued to transform her. Stephen turned and left the room. He would return when she woke.

He headed towards the lounge.

Not losing her glare with the elven master, Skadi nodded at Sigrun's wise counsel. Whilst she didn't like theses elves, or Idun, it would be a mistake to setup a situation where the coven would be taking attacks on multiple fronts.

"Alright. I suggest you leave elf, and let the next time we meet be standing over the corpse of Svartel."

Ashur smiled slightly and nodded. Getting to his feet, the ancient elf gave Stephen a brief glance before leading Idun and the other elves out of the lounge and back into the dark streets of Emerald.

Once the elves were gone, Skadi turned her gaze upon Stephen.

"I see you still live. What do you want?"
__________

As gunfire erupted not far from the club, people began to scream and run in all sorts of directions. These days any sort of violence was always assumed to be involving vampires since crime was generally so low.

Ivan and his men immediately cocked their weapons and headed towards a small alley where the gunfire had emerged from. Ivan was first upon the scene and first to discover several vampiric corpses upon the ground. Ivan didn't like it. If someone was killing vampires and it wasn't him then he couldn't rest easy. Turning back to his men, Ivan looked over all their faces for several minutes before swearing.

"Shit! Where the hell is Viannor?"

None of the men replied.

"Shit!"

Looking back at the bodies, Ivan spat before heading off into the night again. Now in an even worse mood, he was bound to do some damage to the vampiric community.

Stephen looked Ashur as he left with Idun and the other elves. He wondered what had happend, but since they left with all thier limbs intact it appeared everything went well. He turned back to Skadi as she spoke to him in her usual cold tone.

"Yes, I'm still alive and ticking. I have been out and stumbled upon the new VP captain."

Stephen sent the mental picture he had of Ivan to Skadi. "The guy is a Russian, very trigger happy and will probably shoot a little kid who is going as Dracula for Halloween."

Stephen paused as Skadi digested what he said. He took a deep breath, he knew what he had to say. Skadi would find out any how, might as well get it over with.

"Also, a woman who is part of something called the 'Starblaydi Inquisition' was with them."

He took one more pause. "I've sired her."

Sigrun glanced over at Stephen with a surprised look. He glanced back to Skadi, and instantly saw her eyes darkening while glaring at Stephen. Quickly, he stepped between them and put a hand on Skadi's stomach, gently but firmly and pushed Stephen back. He looked to him and spoke, "You better get out of her sight, if you want to live..."

Go. Now. Don't try anything else stupid. he spoke silently to Stephen. Get low for a while...

"Go!" he demanded to Stephen.

Having finished what Sigrun told her to do, Lujza went to him and stopped a few paces short, not wanting to be rude. She still wore a look of mixed disgust and shame at what she'd participated in, but was no longer vomiting bile (due to the lack of anything in her stomach) or even looking sickly.

"I've sired her."

Stephen must have been making a concious effort to irritate Skadi. It was working. She couldn't understand what went through the young vampire's head but she would make an effort to beat it out of him. An eerie silence reigned as Skadi got to her feet, softly but forcefully removing Sigrun's arm from her waist.

"Do not intervene."

There was a danger within Skadi's voice that Sigrun had learned to respect over the years. They both knew eachother inside and out, knew the boundaries and when it was best to stand back. Eyes glued on Stephen, Skadi moved within the blink of an eye, now standing before the obviously intimidated Stephen.

"What possessed you to sire a foreign human!? Why would you do such a thing? Have you learned nothing over the years, nothing of our ways? We don't just sire any human we like the look of! Out of all my long years, I have only sired twice! And even then I was older than you are. Is there something wrong with you... neonate? Why do you continuously try my patience!?"

By the end of her speech Skadi was screaming in Stephen's face, her ancient fangs inches from his pale flesh. Without warning, Skadi's overwhelming strength took hold of Stephen as she led him towards the front door. Standing upon the porch and looking out at the moon, Skadi snarled.

"You're bound to learn your lesson eventually."

Releasing Stephen, Skadi brough her slender right arm back before launching it foward in an upward arc that ended with her fist collecting Stephen in the jaw. Unfortunately for Stephen, he wans't a match for the strength of speed of the ancient vampire and was promptly launched into the air and sent over several city blocks, landing somehwere in the far distance.

Still furious, Skadi returned to the lounge to meet the gazes of Sigrun, Luzja and all others.

"He deserved every bit of it and more."

She lay in a dream-filled sleep, walking the path, unbidden, towards undeath. Her dreams, however, were the stuff of nightmares.

Darkness all around. How did you get yourself here, Viannor? she asked herself. All alone chasing echoes in the dark. You shouldn't be here, little girl, she knew already, knowing also that she had done this many times before, extracating herself each time through a combination of skill, speed. And luck. Only more than her fair share of luck was needed this time, she knew.

The Dark was closing in on her. She knew the effect the Dark had on the people of Assington. Not just dark, but The Dark, an entity in itself, bringing all the terrors of a childhood nightmare to life. A nightmare that had now enveloped her with the cold hand of fear placed lightly on her shoulder, its touch colder than ice, harsher than a spiteful laugh, deadlier than the glint of a blade in the moonlight.

They had surrounded her, a hundred foes with a hundred weapons and she was but a little girl with a pop gun. But she was stronger than that. No you are not, the voice, her voice, in the back of her head told her, you are but a very little girl in the big, wide world. And you are in trouble, Viannor. Her weapon was more powerful, she knew, and she wielded it with all the anger of a caged animal, beasts falling before her, parting like branches in the wind. She was the hurricane and righteous was her sword.

But you lost your weapon, didn't you? She admitted it. You lost it. You had another but you forgot it. Lost and forgotten, little Viannor, just like you. No! Pain lanced through her, her body a conduit for suffering, battered by forces, destroyed by The Dark. But then it stopped, the assault ceasing after an eternity, but the pain was still there.

"Viannor." Something, no, someone, spoke in her head. It was not her own voice, where was it coming from? "You are extremely lucky to be alive."

No I'm not, I'm dead, I can feel it. Can't you see?

But no, this was not death, for a new feeling came. This one truly a feeling she had not felt before. This felt like... dying. Her very soul was seeping away, but she didn't want it to stop. She wanted to die. It would be better, after all. Her lips were warm. But everything else was cold, how could this be? Warmth meant life and in the absence of warmth she had called for death, but here was the chance for life again, wasn't it? She drank in the warmth, feeling it flow into, through and around her being. But there was something in the warmth, something sinister and deadly. In the midst of the warmth lay The Dark.

The Dark.

The Dark had enveloped her, trickled into her very being, and she embraced it now. It was both life and death. Had she not just asked for both a moment ago? Now it was here for the taking, and she took it, drinking deep of the warmth.

I am Viannor, and I am not a little girl.

Stephen was cringing on the inside as Skadi screamed at him. When she stopped, Stephen tried to speak.

"Skadi if you let me ex..." His voice was choked off as his eyes bulged as she took hold of him, the ancient's strength suprising him.

As she dragged him outside, he tried several times to get her to listen to him. She kept marching, not hearing him. When she finally released him, Stephen was relieved.

"Ska..." He spotted the blur just as her fist greeted his jaw. Stephen was stunned and the image of Skadi's angry face was burned in his eyes until he smacked with a dull thud against a wall and fell into an alley.

The vampire stood and smelled something, dried urine and cheap booze. He turned to see a bum, grasping a paper bag with his presious booze inside. The man looked at Stephen.

"Fuck off...my drink ant my alley." the man growled before taking a swallow of his drink.

Stephen looked at the man for several seconds before jumping on top of the building and making his way back to the mansion. Viannor, his fledgling, was still in his room and in Skadi's mood, there was no telling what the ancient would do to her.

Stephen made it back to the mansion and jumped on the wall. He didn't want to enter through the front door, for fear of envoking Skadi to have her sword say hello to his neck. He climbed up the wall to his room window and using his mind, gently opened it.

The neonate climbed through and shut the window. Stephen walked over to the bed and sat down on it and looked at Viannor. He could tell she had finally turned into a vampire and was waking up.

"Viannor, wake up. Time to get you something to eat."

Lujza folded her arms and, not wanting anyone to think she found the situation amusing, though she did think it was interesting, she frowned and stared at Skadi's feet. Poor Stephen she thought. Why would he do that? Skadi's reaction was predictable, she seems to get angry at most things, especially when they're things done by Stephen, so what was his reason?. It appeared that no one wanted to break the awkward silence in the room. However, the rumbling of her stomach drove Lujza to use her hunger as an excuse to leave the room. "I'm famished, I'm going to go get something to eat."

Skadi nodded as Luzja left the room, watching the foreign vampire. She hadn't had the chance to really speak with her and she had no real intention of. As far as she was concerned, Luzja was a guest of Hondur's and had the sense not to intervene in other matters.

Turning to Sigrun, Skadi took hold of the elven king's hand with her own pale fingers. Lips curling upwards into a smile, Skadi invited Sigrun to join her.

"How about we go upstairs and get reaquainted after all these years?"
_____________

Dark storm clouds loomed over he grey mass known as Emerald City. Idun and the elves found the place cold and uninviting, an unnerving environment for humans to live in when there were much more aesthetic options. Being the ignorant creatures that they were, they destroyed places such as forests and replaced them with their sterile world of towering structures and poverty.

The people didn't seem any better. Most on the streets wore dirty looks plastered across their faces as they passed the elven party or scowled in displeasure over some private matter. Whatever the cause, the humans of this city didn't seem particularly happy either.

Idun and Ashur walked side-by-side whilst the three elves followed behind. Mostly the streets remained unpopulated, yet as they progressed it was becoming more evident that some sort of mass human gathering was in progress involving loud noises. The leading pair decided it best to avoid the large amount of humans by taking a detour through one of the common dark alley ways. Most humans wouldn't even consider such an act, yet no one within this party was human.

Within the shadows he waited, hoping for a meal to idly walk by, unsuspecting of his presence. Finally it happened, five of them in cloaks moving quietly through the alley. It appeared as if none had seen him, making it all the more easier. Eager to plunge his fangs into the cloaked figures, the young vampire hissed as he dropped off a high window ledge and headed straight for one of the three in line. Unfortunately for the young bloodsucker, he recieved a silver broadhead instead of a mouthful of blood. One of the elves had casually thrown back his cloak, drawn his bow and unleashed an arrow before the vampire could even reach them. With no time to react, the vampire could do nothing but die as the arrow bore into his brain, causing a great crash amongst the piled filth along the walls of the alley.

As he passed by a long alley, a slight thud caught the attention of a young VP officer. Turning his head, he saw several figures standing around the dead figure of what appeared to be a vampire, a wooden shaft protruding from his head. Startled into action, the officer dived back behind the corner and immediately radioed for nearby backup.

Ashur and Idun gave the body a quick inspection before resuming their path down the alley. The elves promptly retrieved their shaft and continued behind their companions. Nearing the end of the alley, the party was stopped in its tracks as a man wrapped in a blue coat bearing what appeared to be some sort of firearm appeared before them.

"Gentlemen, I'm Captain Kolstolv of the city VP. May I ask why there is a dead vampire in the alley behind you?"

Ivan's tone wasn't particularly friendly yet not outright hostile. The elves moved to draw their bows yet Ashur indicated not to do so. At this point the looming clouds unleashed their load of water.

"Captain, that vampire is dead because he attempted to attack us."

"I see. Then you wouldn't mind giving me the details for a report?"

"Is that really necessary?"

Ivan stepped closer, the P90 now easily indentifiable within his grasp. Taking on a menacing tone, her replied.

"Yes. We'll start by your name and image. Remove your hoods."

Ashur and Idun took note of the several armed men watching from across the street and the footsteps of those approaching from behind. They were boxed in. Turning back to his men, Ashur nodded and removed his hood, as did Idun.

Ivan's jaw practically unhinged and dropped off his face as the faces of these men were revealed. Four delicately crafted, pale men with long ears and one human, far too pale to be anything but a vampire. Ashur nodded.

"Elves captain."

"Elves? And a vampire. I don't suppose you have any lychans with you?"

Ashur remained silent as he watched Ivan.

"I see. Well, you'll have to come with me, and your friend here doesn't appear to be in our databanks so he is under arrest."

Idun shook his head as he stepped forward, Ivan's gun immediately levelled at his head.

"I'm afraid that is impossible captain. We can't allow it."

Reaching out with his mind, Idun contacted the four elves.

"Now!"

With the rain still pouring around them, Ashur and the other three elves threw down their cloaks to reveal finely crafted elven composite bows. Whilst outgunned, the long lives of the elves had lent them a speed far greater than that of the humans. The first volley of arrows took down an officer across the street and three down other end of the alley. As the remaining VP officers realised what had just happened, they were slammed by the force of more elven broadheads.

Spinning around, Idun moved with a speed almost beyond the eye's ability to measure as he launched a fist directly towards Ivan, catching the captain square in the chest. That one blow filled the captain with enough force to lift him off the ground and send him into an arc through the air that abruptly ended with a collision against a brick building on the other side of the street. Ivan roared in agony as he fell to the hard ground, plunged into darkness as his mind faded out.

Gunfire erupted throughout the alley yet the elves were no longer there. All four of them clung to window ledges high above the ground whilst Idun had taken to the air and disposed of the rooftop officers. With all officers in the immediate area out of the way, Idun aided his companions onto the roof where they made a speedy escape through the shadows, towards the city outskirts.
_____________

Hondur smiled as he watched Alysandra slipping back into her simple dress. Hondur had never really taken to the dark trench coat thing like Skadi and prefered an old style of tight sleeved robes. Alysandra also prefered older clothing, which had been one of the frist things Hondur had ever noticed about her.

"You're beautiful you know?"

Alysandra returned the smile as she fixed her dress up.

"You're not so bad yourself for an old man."

Alysandra was only four hundred years and obviously a lot younger and weaker than the master of the coven. Of course this didn't bother Hondur, this way he wasn't likely to get beaten up if they ever had a fight. The ancient vampire opened his mouth to speak whilst part of his mind idly browsed the mansion, searching through the identities within the mansion. At that point, one very young and unfamiliar came across his mind. Immediately his smile turned to a cold face.

"There is a new vampire in the mansion."

Alysandra looked puzzled but trusted in his word. Taking hold of her vampiric lover, Alysandra allowed Hondur to lead her into one of the hidden passages of his chamber, revealing a clear path upwards to the higher levels of the mansion. This provided the pair a method of getting between levels undetected. Flying upwards to the second level above ground, Hondur led Alysandra into a main corridor and finally up to a large single door. Stephen's room.

Without knocking, Hondur opened the door to lay his eyes upon the newly turned Viannor and the bruised Stephen.
__________________

Svartel found not having any legs to be quite irritating and tiresome. It meant he had to constantly use his mind to get around, a constant drain upon his strength. After returning to their fortified apartment block, Svartel and his growing followers gorged themselves on the majority of humans within the street. They needed their strength for the upcoming battles.

A the sound of the door clicking, Stephen stood and spun, pulling out one of his Para P14s. The massive .45 caliber barrel swung and was soon level with Hondur. The young vampire held the postition till his mind told him it was Hondur and not Skadi. The Simatarian lowered his pistol, flicked the safety back on, and rammed it back into his hoslter.

He turned slightly to see Viannor almost fully awake and probably now being very confused at what she was seeing and feeling. Stephen turned back from his fledgling and looked at Hondur and Alysandra. Stephen smiled and bowed polietly to the female vampire before turning to Hondur.

"What can I do for you Hondur?"

A scornful looke crossed Hondur's face as he realised just exactly what was going on. He gazed upon Viannor, he didn't seem to know what had happened to herself. Upon his visual inspection he noticed several wounds and bruises in the process of healing and now understood.

"You sired a dying woman."

It wasn't a question, Hondur already knew the answer and didn't particularly approve.

"Stephen. You better pray to whatever you believe in that Skadi doesn't find you. There is a very good reason why we don't just sire anyone. Can we even trust this woman? What does she do? Where is she from?"

Alysandra gave Stephen a small smile whilst remaining at Hondur's side, not interrupting his scorn of the younger vampire.

Stephen gulped. He had already been beaten within an inch of his life, screamed at, and punched across the city by one ancient; the neonate didn't want to face another possibly pissed ancient. He stood quietly as Hondur scolded him, knowing at any moment Hondur might attack him and beat him like Skadi had done.

When Hondur was finished, Stephen spoke.

"She is Lady Viannor of Starblaydia, she is also thier Chief-Quaestor of thier Inquisition. Here you might say on a fact finding mission for her country. From what I have read of her mind, their Inquisition isn't like the Spanish Inquisition. The Starblaydi version seems to be a mix of an intel and seceret police service. She has been with the new VP captain since she arrived here in Assington."

Stephen looked at Hondur. He considered the man much calmer than his sire and easier to approach. Though, Stephen knew with siring Viannor at such a young age; he probably was also testing Hondur's patience.

"Hondur, I know why Skadi is pissed at me. She doesn't think anyone my age should sire a human. So, I guess by beating me she will get her point across not to talk back to her or go against what she says. I made my choice to sire Viannor...it was my choice and no one elses."

(OOC: Argh, lack of time and lack of a muse. I'll be gone til sunday night/monday morning GMT - so shortish post here - feel free to progress)

Viannor had been trying to conceal her growing terror. Two men, obviously vampires, were conversing in detail about her, a woman hanging back in the doorway. She scrambled backwards as fast as she could, trying to get to her feet on the bed and make her escape. She stopped, something was wrong. She looked down...

Down? That wasn't right. Viannor glanced at the material her hands and feet were touching. Wallpaper?

With a shriek she scrambled back again, instinctively trying to get away from the situation she found herself in. With a hard material at her back she stopped, breathing hard. All she could hear was a chuckling from below. Opening her eyes, Viannor found her self looking at the floor, everything was upside down for her.

I'm on the bloody ceiling! she thought, scarcely time to think anything else.

"What the hell is going on?" she shouted.

Hondur sighed as Stephen pleaded his case. He couldn't say he agreed with the young vampire's actions at all but he could understand them. Stephen was a kind hearted person, much like Hondur once was when he was human. Over a thousand years of life had changed that, yet Hondur still held a much calmer and understanding composure than Skadi.

"Well it's too late to undo things now. We do have a problem though. She's part of the enemy. What's to stop her from going back to this new VP captain and telling him about the mansion, about us?"

At that point Viannor scrambled further up the wall until she reached the ceiling, obviously distressed about her current predicament. Hondur's eyes left Stephen and focused upon the newly turned vampire.

"Young lady, I'm sure you're quite confused. You are now a vampire and would be dead otherwise. You are safe here but we still have much to discuss."

Turning back to Stephen, Hondur's face grew sterner.

"She is your responsibility Stephen, yours to teach, guide and keep safe. I'd suggest you don't introduce her to Skadi."

Stephen knew Hondur would probably bring up the fact Viannor had been with the VP and could still be part of the enemy. He looked up at Hondur.

"Hondur, you haven't seen this new VP captain. He kills any vampire, if they are registered he still shoots them. He doesn't care if the vampire has enough regestration to cover the world nine times over...they will still get a silver slug to the head. Man is a psychopath and I know..."

He turned and looked up at Viannor as she clung to the wall. He nodded in agreement with Hondur. He sent a message to her.

"You are now a vampire Lady Viannor. I am Stephen, your sire. You probably would have died at the hands of that gang an hour or so ago. Do not panic, I will be there in a second. I have some business to finish."

Stephen turned back to Hondur. He knew he had a long road ahead of him to train Viannor how to hunt, use her new powers, and help her get on her feet. The last thing he wanted was Skadi to meet her, the ancient would kill her and torture him for the next few centuries.

"One thing you and that....bitch must understand Hondur. I was taught by my father and by someone far scarier than Skadi that life was something to value and you must do whatever you can to preserve it. Obviously Skadi doesn't know that well...beating me to a pulp is proof enough. Tell me Hondur, why were the elves here? What did they and Skadi talk about?"

Hondur continued to scowl at Stephen. This was indeed a serious issue and Stephen was fortunate that this was Hondur's mansion and not Skadi's, otherwise he and Viannor would most likely be dead.

"I have been informed that this new captain is not quite as law abiding as the others, but that doesn't chance the fact that we can't trust her."

At Stephen's referal to Skadi, Hondur raised his hand to point at the younger vampire.

"You should treat Skadi with more respect if you wish to live. We have come to an unsteady neutral stance with the elves for the moment. Very unsteady, Skadi and Ashur almost started a brawl in the lounge."

Stephen was glad to some extent the vampires and elves had come to some sort of cease-fire. Though, part of him was angry as hell. The previous night he had suggested an alliance; while the cease-fire wasn't an alliance, it angered him that Skadi had beating him to a pulp after she had said that they would fight against the elves and would not speak to them and now she had done something that she said herself couldn't be done.

Stephen muttered something incoherent to Hondur or Alysandra. Whatever he said, it obviously wasn't flattering to Skadi. Stephen's cobalt blue eyes looked up and he stared right into Hondur's brown eyes.

"Treat Skadi with more respect? Hondur, I do respect Skadi up to a certain point. Someone who believes instilling fear into another person and beating them till they are as loyal as a dog doesn't deserve much respect. I respected my father as a kid because he was opening minded, taught me many things, and he understood me...he also disciplined me when it was needed. I respect people who deserve respect. Skadi in my opinion deserves little respect because she seems to think that since she is the oldest and willing to kill someone for doing anything she gets respect. You earn someone’s respect, not expect it because you beat them senseless. I thought you would know that by now."

Hondur didn't say anything until Stephen finished with his little rant about Skadi. He could fully understand why the younger vampire wans't happy with the dominant ancient. She had contradicted her very words and Stephen had suffered a severe beating for suggesting something sensible.

"I know very well that respect should be earned. You must appreciate that Skadi looks at things very differently. She's not trying to earn respect, she's trying to make you understand that you as a fledgling are subject to her rule on such matters of her history. Of course you are welcome to make suggestions, but to challenge her will is a mistake."

Hondur took another glance at Viannor, not trusting her at all.

"You don't worry about Skadi and take care of this new one. I'll talk to you about her later. We'll be downstairs in the lounge."

Stephen nodded to Hondur and waited till he and Alysandra left his room before turning to Viannor. She was still clung to the ceiling and afraid. Stephen jumped and grasped onto the ceiling and crawled over to her. He smiled politly to her and spoke in a calm manner.

"Viannor, I know you are afraid. But I am here to help you adjust to your new life as a vampire. You impressed me enough with your skills fighting that gang enough for me to turn you. Now, how about we come from down from the ceiling, leave the mansion and go for a little walk? We need to talk and I need to train you in your new ablities and how to get a meal. You have already figured out we can climbed on walls. Now, do exactly as I do."

Stephen pushed himself off the ceiling and landed softly on the floor and looked up at her.

"Come on, you won't be injured by the fall if you land properly. Once you get down we can leave."

Lujza picked the last crumbs off her plate before crushing the last ice cubes in her soda between her teeth, making loud crunching sounds. She had been careful not to open her mouth very wide in front of anyone, pretending simply to be shy.

Getting up, she emptied the trash on her tray into the garbage, refilled her paper soda cup and left. The restaurant had been a pay up front diner, and not a very successful one at that. Taking a sip from her drink once in a while, she headed back to the mansion, her fast pace making the walk short.

[OOC: back from a weekend excursion]

Skadi nodded as Luzja left the room, watching the foreign vampire. She hadn't had the chance to really speak with her and she had no real intention of. As far as she was concerned, Luzja was a guest of Hondur's and had the sense not to intervene in other matters.

Turning to Sigrun, Skadi took hold of the elven king's hand with her own pale fingers. Lips curling upwards into a smile, Skadi invited Sigrun to join her.

"How about we go upstairs and get reaquainted after all these years?"


Sigrun nodded in agreement, finally glad they would get a bit of personal time. However long it was, they would treasure each moment. Once they were up in her room, they nestled together on the bed, preferring to just simply be satisfied with holding each other close and talking quietly with their thoughts.

I don't know about this situation Skadi. I don't like the looks of it, but that alliance was definitely an improvement. I just hope it lasts long enough.

As Hondur and Alysandra came down the stairs, Luzja made her entrance through the front door just in time to meet the vampires. Hondur smiled at the young woman and was about to pass her by when he considered a possible task she could perform for their coven. Releasing Akysandra from his grasp, Hondur approached Luzja.

"Luzja, I have a favour to ask you..."
__________

Idun, Ahsur and several other elder elves sat around a single fire, all rather concerned over the recent events. The alliance with the vampiric coven was evidently an unsteady one yet that was not the major issue. Skadi had never been known to prey upon elven kind ever yet that didn't mean she wouldn't start.

That aside, the issue at hand was that of the so called Vampire Police. This human organisation had stumbled across the knowledge of elven kind and that was unlikely to mean anything good for the ancient race. Whilst the majority of the VP that had witnessed the event had been killed, there was no time to remove their arrows and no guarentee that all had died. The seriousness of such an issue was reflected in Ahsur's tone.

"We can't afford to be fighting a war on all fronts. The vampires are our main target, yet we cannot ignore the humans. Any suggestions."

A younger looking elf spoke up, his voice full of enthusiasm and pride.

"Perhaps we could merely stay out of sight and they will forget about us?"

Idun shook his head.

"No. It's too late for that. They've seen us and know we are somewhere close. We just need to take their attention off us and onto the vampires."

There was a general agreement amongst the other elves. Ashur smiled and nodded.

"Good. We'll divert their attention, and I can think of something that could work quite well."

The grin shared between Ashur and Idun could at the least be described as sinister.
___________

Ivan awoke with a start, bringing his arms up to cover his torso. Such an action caused massive amounts of pain to surge through his nerves, causing him to groan in agony as he settled down once again. Obviously he'd been hit very hard and the impact had delivered significant damage to his ribs.

At that point another officer appeared within Ivan's vision, concern plastered across the young man's face.

"Captain, good to see you're still with us. We arrived shortly after the call to find your whole patrol team dead. We thought you were gone as well but we couldn't see any arrows within you. It seems you've taken a mighty blow to the torso but you're healing up pretty well already. Guess you have strong bones or something ay?"

"You have no idea officer. What are these arrows you speak of?"

"Ah, about that. Almost all of the others died from vital arrow wounds. I've never seen arrows like this before, in fact I've never seen a real arrow in a battlefield before."

"Damnit! They're bloody real! I can't believe it!"

"What captain, what are real?"

"Bloody elves! There are elves in Assington and they are killing vampires... and us."

The officer remained silent as he knew not what to say. Elves were a completely new notion to him. Noticing the captain was furious, the officer decided to depart the office. It was near dawn and perhaps some sleep would calm the VP captain.
_________

With Sigrun's warm blooded embrace engulfing her, Skadi was more than content to remain within her chambers for ages, even though she realised it was not a practical possibility.

"I know, but I don't trust the elves, or Idun. Ever since he abandoned me all those years ago, I've never trusted him. He doesn't deserve it."

Lujza had barely wiped her feet and come inside, soda still in hand, when Hondur accosted her. "Sure thing, sir. What kind of favor would it be exactly?" After speaking, she took another sip of soda from her straw.

She wouldn't mind doing Hondur a favor, as long as it wasn't horrible beyond reason. Lujza respected Hondur, he seemed to be a good leader for his coven. In addition, being useful might help her avoid Skadi, who she feared and had already shown herself to have quite a temper. All this ran through her mind in less than a second.

Hondur smiled at the formal address yet shook his head.

"There is no need to call me sir. We are all on a friendly basis here, no need to be so formal. Anyway, I would like you to venture out into the day once it is upon us and see what you can find out about the new VP captain. You should be safe to walk around the VP HQ since they won't be expecting a vampire that can withstand sunlight. It is a little risky, but I wouldn't put you in a position that I didn't think you'd get out of safely."

As the vampires conversed within the mansion, the sun slowly began to emerge from the horizon, spreading rays of potentially lethal light upon the world. It was now time for vampiric slumber as the humans emerged from their dwellings.

"All right. I'll try to pry out what I can about him." Being told not to say "sir" evidently perplexed her. The Callisdrunian Moroii were often a rather militaristic bunch, and modes of speaking were often quite formal. "I guess I'll have to keep from opening my mouth too wide so they don't suspect anything," she said with a smile.

Stephen looked out the window and mentally closed the shutters and drapes. The sun was nearly up, training Viannor would have to wait till tomorrow night. He had finally convinced her most of the way down the wall, now she was about a foot off the ground. He looked at his fledgling and took a chain from his neck, on the end of the chain was a red stone dragon. The young vampire handed it to her.

"This is a bloodstone, bite into it and drink up. Then go to sleep, you can have the bed, tomorrow we start your training. I also suggest you don't open the drapes, unless you wish to burn by sunlight."

Stephen smiled to her and left the room, he closed the doors and headed downstairs to the lounge. He entered and bumped into a female vampire he hadn't met. She was very different, almost human in a way. He smiled and gave a slight bow.

"I do not believe we have met. I am Stephen."

"Hello Stephen," said Lujza warmly. "I am Lujza Batory, though I am not part of the clan right now." Pausing, she then said "Are you the one Skadi was beating up on?"

Stephen smiled to her. "Pleasure to meet you Lujza..

He gave a slow nod with a slight smile. "Yes, I am the one Skadi pummeled into a mushy pulp. I see Hondur is having you go on a...."

Something clicked in Stephen's head. Vampires couldn't got out in daylight, unless they wished to die. He then thought back. Batory, sounds very familiar. I wonder.

"Lujza, do you know anyone named Eszti Batory?"

"Why yes, she's my cousin. Do you know of her?" Lujza gave an inquisitive look, as she had no idea how Stephen would know Eszti. Perhaps he had heard of her, she was the high priestess, after all.

She took another sip from her soda.

Sigrun sighed, slightly shivering from the effect of Skadi's cold skin, but he ignored it, instead embracing her more. He knew she relished the warmth he held, for it reminded her of a time unknown to him.

A time when she had been merely a human. A time buried beneath the two millenia of cold-hearted, spiteful, and long years.

As Sigrun lay there, he thought back to the first time he had met Skadi. That dark alleyway, her eyes glowing yellow in the night. He remembered tossing his sword to the ground, its metallic ringing echoing down the street. It was then, he had gained her interest, it was then, she unwittingly fell in love little by little. The many journeys they shared passed through his mind, the anger, the times of peace, the times of war. He looked up into her eyes to see that she was also watching his memories silently. Her hand reached up to gently squeeze his shoulder and rest there. They had been through much in their time, and sometimes it wearied them to no end. Other times, it was just another memory to them.

Sigrun grasped Skadi's hand with his own and spoke, "I wonder if we should take a trip soon...just the two of us. Somewhere, where nobody knows where we've gone, somewhere where we can sit in peace from the daily turmoils of our lives?"

Skadi smiled and nodded silently as she drifted off to sleep. Sigrun looked past her to see the sun rising. His hand waved in the air, gently closing the blinds and shutters to cast the room into darkness. A few candles nearby lit a moment later, sending a warm glow into the room. He too closed his eyes at last and drifted to sleep.

Stephen gave a slight nod. "Yeah, I met her a long time ago when I was very young at a festival in Thrope. Still a little hard to believe that some vampires can move around in daylight."

Stephen then turned to Hondur. He knew the ancient had something up his sleeve for Lujza.

"Hondur, what exactly are you planning to have Lujza do?"

Hondur watched as the still slightly brusied Stephen came down the stairs, without his new fledgling. The young vampire approached him and Luzja and began speaking to the young lady. Finally he addressed Hondur.

"Luzja is going to head into the VP HQ and see what she can find out about this new captain and anything else of interest. Perhaps I should send Sigrun with you but I don't want to raise suspicions, which is exactly what an elf might do."

Turning back to Luzja, Hondur filled in more details.

"I'd just like to know some basic information about this captain and some of his common VP practices. With Svartel and these uneasy elves, the last thing we need is another significant threat."

"There are a couple problems I'd like to work out before I go on this mission," Lujza said in a very business-like way. "Unlike my cousin, who I'm sure was charming," she nodded to Stephen, "though I do wonder what she wore," Lujza gave a half smile, "I do not have such an easy way with people. I get along all right, but I'll probably need some excuse to be in the VP headquarters."

"Also, I may be able to go out in daylight, but I still look like what I am, should I just pretend I'm a goth or something?" The average eye would probably not be able to tell she was not an Assingtonian vampire just by looking at her, and the VP might instantly suspect something just on the basis of her skin and hair color. "Any suggestions?" she looked from Hondur to Stephen and back again.

Stephen thought for several minutes, getting into the VP HQ was a massive problem. He clicked his tounge for several seconds before hitting on an idea.

"I got one, it is somewhat silly, but it might just work. How about one of us bites you on the shoulder, just enough to leave a good mark. I'm sure Hondur has a pint of blood or two lying about, we smear some on to your shirt and shoulder...make it look like an attack. Claim you were walking with your boyfriend when a vampire jumped out, knocked him away, and attacked you. Your boyfriend got up, attacked the vamp who let go of you to finish him off. You in turn ran like hell to the VP headquarters."

Stephen looked between Hondur and Lujza.

"What do you think?"

Hondur nodded as Luzja pointed out a few key details that would need to be taken care if she were to enter the labrinth of the enemy without gaining a bullet to the brain. At that point Stephen spoke up, unleashing what was perhaps the worst suggestion Hondur had ever heard. The ancient vampire turned to Stephen, a slight scowl upon his face.

"Do you honestly thing that would work? If your initial impression of the new captain is correct, don't you think he would be likely to shoot anyone that's been bitten and possibly about to turn? No, we don't do that."

With Stephen's suggestion rejected, Hondur returned to Luzja.

"We have a certain element of surprise here. As far as the VP are concerned, all vampires are the same. And even if they realise there may be some variation, the fact that one could walk under the sun would never cross their minds. Pale skin isn't an issue. Many humans have pale skin for a variety of reasons. The only thing that would really give you away is your fangs. As far as an excuse. You could give a report of perhaps some vampiric activity near your residence and would like to know the facts about how to deal with one if they ever approached you. Something along those lines should suffice."

Sigrun awoke to hear voices floating up to him. His elven hearing had picked up the soft voices from elsewhere in the mansion. He looked over at Skadi, who slept peacefully, her face relaxed and almost youthful. Yet, he could see the years that seemed to invisibly etch themselves on her face. Giving her a slight kiss, he rose and departed the room, closing the door behind him softly. Minutes later, he walked into the room where Stephen, Hondur and Luzja were.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation from the other room. I have a suggestion, if you're willing to take me up on it."

He looked at each of them before continuing, "Since I would cause too much alarm, Luzja is the best candidate for this mission. I can, however, offer something that will help mask her true nature to the VP, something they will not be able to detect. What I offer, is a sort of arcanic blindfold that is cast upon those that look upon her...with this."

He spun his hand in the air, revealing a necklace of a closed eye. He handed it to Lujza. "This will cause them to not notice your vampiric state, even if you openly flaunt it. It is limited in its effect though, so whatever you do in their headquarters, you better do it fast, and carefully. They are, after all, sentient beings, and soon enough, they will notice something is amiss."

Hondur nodded to Sigrun in greeting as the ancient elf stepped into the room and made a suggestion. Hondur knew almost nothing when it came to that of magic, but he didn't hold the same distrust of it that Skadi was known for. He was more than willing allow Sigrun's tricks to give them a slight edge.

"I see no problem with it. What do you think Luzja?"

"Why thank you," Lujza said to Sigrun. "This will be most useful. How long do you think it will last? Would it still be a good idea to put ink over the extended portion of my fangs, just in case?" Taking the necklace gingerly from Sigrun, she said, "As for what my residence is, I'll refer to somewhere in a really shitty part of the town."