NationStates Jolt Archive


No rest for the wicked

Midlonia
25-01-2008, 23:09
The Castle of Porphyria was a large grey slab of a building, placed on top of a high hill near the centre of the Island itself. Perched in the centre of the large city of Porphyria itself the castle overlooked and kept sentinel over the whole city itself. A bustly population of nearly 1 million in the city, with a further million and a half spread around small villages, towns and smaller cities all held their allegiance to this point.

Flapping gently in the breeze the Flag of Porphyria clattered against it’s flagpole. A black flag with a golden Ankh shook in the breeze, held higher than the castle, scraping the sky.

The saloon car turned a corner and whispered quietly down the street, the Silver Ghost as the type was called, was being driven by a young man, yet to be sired as a Vampire. He was a hopeful recruit who would do various administrative duties while his physical condition was improved and the start of his training was begun, after a few years and if he passed the rigours tests, he would become a vampire through choice.

Sitting in the back, in his formal dress uniform of a blue trench coat and peak cap Terefedel yawned. It had been a quiet journey. They were also a couple of weeks late due to a minor inconvenience that had occurred during some permitted vacation. The matter had been dealt with and they had both been given additional time to recover. He turned to his companion. She was less formally dressed, but it was better than another ruined shirt he mused to himself with a slight smile.

Ravelyn sat next to him looking out at the Vampiric civilization. It was a strange thing to see. A well organized and civilized collection of Vampires. Shops catering to clothing, a butchers, a green grocers. All very strange to a woman who had seen other masses of Vampires turn against the common people. No such thing had happened here. But, that may have had something to do with the vastly superior numbers and perhaps even a historical incident that had resulted in this.

She smoothed the cargo pants slightly where they had become ruffled and checked a bandage on her arm, a wound she had sustained against Mephisto, before then playing with a strap on the black tank top she had chosen to wear for her meeting with the Prince of Porphyria. Terefedel didn’t know wether it was to cause offence, or for sheerly practical reasons as they were going there for one reason and one reason only.

To Duel.


The driver kept giving quick glances in his mirror at Rave sitting in the back, causing Terefedel to chuckle quietly.

Terefedel took Rave’s hand in his. “What do you think of all this then?” he asked, nodding to the city outside the window at the streets sliding by filled with people going about their daily lives.

"Different," she said, gently tearing off the bandage, and placing her hand over the half-closed wound. She hadn't wanted to use magic to seal it because it would take energy. She needed all her energy for the deul. At least it wasn't the arm that was dominant in weaponry. "I find it strange vampires are so numerous, and yet so obediant. Normally there are rebels."

“There are. You know of one, and we suspect He’s somehow influencing some to rebel and work against the balance of order to bring about His return, but a lot of them are complacent, they’re kept fed, in jobs, and socializing.” He glanced at her wound with idle curiosity, having bandaged them himself he knew that they weren’t completely healed up yet, but she said she was feeling ready for the duel. So he had reluctantly agreed to her requests.

The car turned again, and the castle slid once again into view, this time much closer. An ornate gateway came into focus, reached by a bridge that spanned a gap between the sheer face of the hill and the castle and the city proper. Along it were various statues, gargoyles and other assorted figures, crowned figures. The Kings of Porphyria.

The car hissed to a stop at the gate and a sentry came over, checked the front of the car, then moved to the back and peered in, checking the Leftenant’s ID, before setting for a while on Rave, after about 30 seconds or so Terefedel coughed rather sharply, the sentry snapping to attention and waving them through.

“Cute. If I knew better I’d have thought you’d have dressed like that on purpose.” he chuckled and winked at her as the car came to a stop in the court yard.
Midlonia
26-01-2008, 01:40
"Perhaps I did," she said with a smile. "It is a lot easier for the armor to rip through light cargo material and form on bare skin than a dress or other fabric. You forget my armor is summoned, not brought."

"Good point, but the Tank Top?" he said with a grin.

"For my guantlets."

“Uhhuh.” he said winking.

The Driver opened the door and stared a little as Ravelyn got out. The court yard was largely empty, only a few guards were about, some moving boxes of supplies, others were talking. Some stopped and looked when Ravelyn and the Leftenant arrived.

"So how often does Heruss duel?" She questioned.

“Depends. I duel with him at least twice a year, and I know he challenges others in the regiment. It keeps it varied and him strong.” he said, nodding to some of the guards as they began to walk across the courtyard.

Ravelyn met their eyes with such fire in hers it made a few of them glance away, if only for a second. She chuckled to herself. "Why do so many people stare?" she asked, spreading her wings slightly with a grin on her face.

“Gee, I don’t know, the stunning beauty that is amongst them? Or perhaps the way you’re dressed. They obviously think you’re a guest, or a visitor of some sort, so are naturally curious.”

She laughed a bit once more. "I like the way I'm dressed."

“So do I, and most others by the looks of it.” he grinned as they passed under an archway, he turned and kissed her, placing an arm gently around her waist, gripping it tightly. “You will have to watch out for a couple of people while here though, mostly the Major.”

"Watch out for?" she smiled wryly. "What do I have to be afraid of?"

“Major Minerva is the second in command of the regiment. Officially anyway. Unofficially I run most affairs and these day’s she does little more than command a desk. Still got a fierce tongue on her tho, and certainly won’t take kindly to having another woman in the regiment if you beat the Colonel.”

"I play well with other women," she grinned strangely. "My ego isn't bruised by having another one around." She gave him a breathtaking expression. Or perhaps it was because Miss Shentavo didn't feel threatened by another female. If another liked some other girl over her who was she to care? She didn't need to justify her life through the acceptance of others. "I have to beat him. If I don't I risk the chance of never seeing you again." She kissed him.

“True enough, but still you should be wary of he-”

“Fraternization of personnel is not permitted within castle grounds” barked the female voice.

“Uh boy.” he muttered, grinning at Rave.

“You know the damn rules Leftenant,” barked the auburn haired female as she strode down a wide set of stairs in front of them. She was beautiful, with wide green eyes, full lips and a tight fitting uniform that accentuated her curves, she was utilizing a vampiric trait. Fear. Drawing it around her, causing the air to go cool. “they’re quite clear that no fraternization on castle grounds are permitted.”

"Hello Major Minerva," Ravelyn said, turning around. She saw her soul; the essence of what she was drawing pooling around her. Two can play at this game, sweetheart... she thought to herself, and Miss Shentavo's allure became ten times as strong. Ravelyn drew on Tere's thoughts; those that concerned her. Lust could be quite a powerful thing and was useful especially for social charm.

She spread her wings out fully, and the metal flashed in the light. The wingspan was more than impressive. This was almost as bad as two male's comparing size and arguing over who is bigger. Ravelyn bowed her head, even managed to wipe the smirk off her face even though she rejoiced inside in twisted satisfaction.

"Forgive him," she said, her voice coated in blood and honey. "It was mostly...ah, my fault..." she smiled.

Mivera merely sighed. She had been blunted at least, but she was still seething underneath. “Then I suppose you can be forgiven, a… prestigious visitor such as yourself can be forgive for this transgression.” she smiled weakly.

"Do not let my reputation precede me," Ravelyn said gracefully. She could see the heat roll off of her aura. How much she wanted to drink that down to fuel the fire within her! She restrained herself and kept that friendly smile even though she could watch the shifts in her prescence. Tere probably saw it as well. "Think of me as a normal guest, nothing more."

“Oh, don’t worry. I shall.” Grinned the Major. “I shall. Just sign in.” She pointed to a ledger nearby and promptly moved off again, berating some other guards who had watched the whole scene unfold.

Terefedel waited until she rounded the corner, then starting to chuckle. He placed his arm back around Rave’s waist and clamped his hand down. “I do believe you managed to show her a thing or two.”

Ravelyn sighed. "Perhaps. Or maybe she just taught herself something." Rave looked thoughtful for a moment. She put the major in theback of her mind. "So where do I find Heruss?"

“Well, place your name in the book and then we’ll go to him.”

She signed her name; in ancient enochial, which technically was what her name was supposed to be written in.

“Ready?” he said with a smile.

"As I'll ever be," she commented, taking in a deep uneeded breath. She had just almost died against the fight with Mephisto, and now she was fighting the colonel. Apparently there is no rest for the wicked.

“No rest for the wicked, darling.” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “Come. I’ll take you to him.”

He led her, still clasping her waist up the stairs and along the granite stone corridors. On the walls were photographs and paintings of victories, of battles old and new, and pictures of the companies that form the regiment. Terefedel stood in one picture with the Colonel. It was his own Company of men. He merely nodded to it as he passed by. “My boys aren’t here. I’d have liked to have you met them. They however are guarding something special.”

"Show me off, eh?" she pushed him playfully.

He responded by gripping her tightly and pulling her closer to him. “Something like that. I think you deserve it.”

She blushed lightly. "Mmmmhmmm..." she murmured. "Just promise you'll take care of the colonel and I after this fight. I'm not holding back."

“Neither will he, darling. You may be surprised by him.” Terefedel smiled, kissed her again, then stopped in front of a pair of heavy oak doors.

"Hopefully he'll be suprised by me," she added before she clasped the handle of the wooden door. She could see the aura behind it. "Can you see it?" she asked Tere. "When I fight that's all I see. The soul tells better than the muscles."

“And have you noticed the colour?” he whispered as if in awe. “Golden….”

"Personally I prefer silver," she winked at him and opened the doors.

The room itself was unlike the rest of the castle décor. It was padded, and full of wood panelling.
The floor was wall to wall reed matting of some kind, and the room was long and well lit.

At the far end the room was raised slightly on a small platform, like a church altar. Here, crossed legs and head bowed sat the Colonel. He was wearing the battle uniform similar to Terefedels, a sword, and only a sword, sat to his side, it’s unusually shaped sheath suggesting something different to Terefedels own duel-bladed weapon.

Heruss looked up. “Lady Shentavo.” he said calmly, quietly.

"Colonel Asopher Heruss", she offered in greeting. "You have a beautiful soul," she said suddenly. As easily as she had brushed off Tere's comment, it was striking. Her's shifted to crimson when her vampiric side was stronger in urges, and to a blinding silver when her angelic side took over. It looks good enough to...drink. She communicated to him and him alone.

She smiled, and bowed her head. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Are you?" he smiled, getting up, sword in hand.

"Give me a moment," she said in return and closed her eyes. Metal formed out of thin tendrils of white light around her feet and travelled up her thighs. The cargo pants easily ripped, the metal taking them over till they became shorts. Gauntlets formed around her wrists and hand, and her chains swayed in the air; ready. She was very apt at using those as a weapon too as she could command them however, her real passion was the scythe that formed in her right hand.

The entire thing was a rich metal with rubys at the end and a long ominous blade serated once. Her wings spread out; the metal gleaming. It was no ordinary metal; it was adamantine. This was why sometimes people had once referred to her as the adamantine angel, when they did not know who she was. "Azrael, Colonel...not Lady Ravelyn." She was actually permitting him to use her true name. "I'm ready for you," she said, her skin heating up and a raging fire within her eyes.

“Very well, Azrael Seraphim of Chaos, Ground rules.” he spoke gently and quietly still. “No holds barred, when you hear the gong you stop immediately. If you wish to end this sooner, then you need only think it and the gong will sound, if I am honest I need a Vampire Warrior, not a Seraphim fighting in my regiment. Though the irony of having a dark winged angel would be appreciated.”

"You will find my skills most valuable," she said smoothly. "And I would much rather die and be reborn again then give up. I believe you to the same." She smiled, and spread her dark wings at the comment. She contracted them once, and she was a good three feet off the ground as she moved a bit forward and descended. Those things were strong! Her chains clanked and she spun her scythe in her hand.

"Come on then," she growled. "Show me what you have, vampire of the throne..."
Midlonia
26-01-2008, 14:13
"I hope you are ready," she said; her soul starting to shimmer silver and severe heat radiated from her. Tere might have found her rather uncomfortable to touch. Her ethereal wings burst into hell-flame, and her black wings beat once in taunt. She rushed towards him, and leading her path was hellfire, raging across the ground like a destructive messenger.

“As you wish.” he said. His own weapon was drawn, the blade was called Quethenia and was a tri-bladed Katana, three blades of varying length and varying angles fastened into one singular handle.

He moved.

A blaze of black a sheer blur that shifted from the spot he was standing a good twelve feet from Ravelyn to her within no more than a mere second or two, his own blade clashed violently with Azrael’s, sending sparks flying across the mats they were standing on. The air within the room became cold, frost formed on the wooden panels and the room turned slightly hazy as persperation and fog were created around Rave as she had made herself hot.

"Uh-uh uh..." Ravelyn chastised. Her hellfire chased the ice around the room; melting it's trail and licking at it's heels. Her blade clashed with his, and there was a madness within her eyes; she was asking for more. She beat her wings suddenly, lifting herself off the ground and into an arial position. Her chains extended, lashing out at him as she moved upward. She dove back down; her bladed wings cutting through the air. The metal had become red with heat. "Come to me," she growled, seemingly partially insane. "And burn..."

Heruss flipped and moved and twirled with feline-elegance, then he launched himself from the ground, turning as he did so, avoiding a lashing chain, blocking a second with his sword, then finding himself next to Ravelyn as she’d moved to meet him. A flurry of blows followed, all of which in the air, he landed hard, splintering a reed mat, before launching himself again as a chain lashed down, smashing the mat in two.

Her soul shifted to a deep crimson red as her agility began to take over. He hit her, yes, but a hit to the stomach was much better than a hit to her wounded arm which she still wielded quite well. He had grazed some of her armour; but she didn't catch how the burn was, she was intent on incapacitating him. Her soul shifted back to silver and became brighter as a circle of flames spread out from her.

Heruss upped the fight. The room now formed ice sheets in the room, the ground now cracked when he hit the ground, even her hell fire was reluctant to melt this new ice. A quiet ticking had now apparently entered the battle along side Heruss as they traded another series of furious blows, this time it was her turn to land a hit to his chest, he hit the ground, ice cracking as he landed, he rolled and leapt to his feet, smashing aside a chain as he moved, running around the edge of the room.

She looked at the ice, which refused to melt. She needed to give it more power; or perhaps something else. She ran away from Heruss as he did her, biting quickly into her wrist and making a circling motion around the room before she met with him; but nothing happened. "Don't run from me," she said softly in more of a grumble than anything. She swung her scythe through the air, aiming to disarm him. She backed up and he followed her.

"Come on, vampire," she said, bearing her own fangs as if she had none. "Fight me..."


The ticking began to grow louder and louder. “Then who is running?” he said as he moved, blocking the blow with only one arm this time, then grabbing it in both hands again, but it wasn’t enough, the sword was knocked from his hands and skittered and clattered over the floor to the other side of the room, where it cracked loudly against the wall.

She grinned, and turned from him, making a run to one corner, then at an angle to that, the blood going freely from her wrist. She began to grow paler, and the cold chilled her for an instant causing her to slow. I won't lose to your kind... she thought out loud, and her soul began to shimmer solely a silver colour.

Heruss had calmly moved across the room and retrieved his sword, watching where she was running and what she was trying to do. Instead he charged at her his sword held aloft.

She turned as she sensed him approach, not hesitating to use her scythe. She backed up to the edge of a circle. Her movements and the dripping blood from her wrist had formed a pentagram. He knocked her ground, and the cold started to take her. Her wings made a screetching sound as they ripped hotly across the ice as she slid a bit. She tried to get up but stumbled. She looked up at Heruss.

"Too late," she whispered, and the colour of her eyes twisted and contorted into a vicious shade of black. "Ahhhhh yes," she said almost in a seductive fashion. "You are mine..." She was rapturous as souls formed around her like a vortex; and her soul became a black vortex.


Look away... she said to Tere, before she gave herself up to the chaos within her. The vortex that Heruss couldn't see was half he size of the room. The soul which stood behind her was a demon Tere knew all too well. As much as it tried not to, it got pulled into her, and filled out her body under her control. Her voice changed; was almost masculine, and Heruss was greated with Mephisto, under Ravelyn’s control.

“Hmm.” Heruss sighed as he placed his blade on the flat of his shoulder, then with a spin, he rammed the blade home into her shoulder, with a triumphant yell, his feet sliding on the ice slightly, mixing with the blood that lay on the floor.

As he rammed the blade into her shoulder, she grabbed onto part of the blade which was sticking out of her; unable to feel the pain. The souls trailed from her, reaching out through the connection; and whispers turned into pleas; pleas into yells; yells into screams. She took advantage of the close range and pushed the blade in further, bringing them closer as blood flowed down. Was she insane?

She grabbed a hold of him, trying to pull him as close as possible. Let them take you to madness… she thought to herself, as Mephisto's soul was driven out of her to torture the one closest to her. She felt the pain begin to sit in as her slave left her, felt the cold, and felt a pang of weakness. She couldn't give in though. She had to go with Tere. She couldn't leave him. "I can't lose…” she said. "I love him."

She felt another wave of weakness wash over her, and tried to bring herself back to a healthy temperature. Fire flared up around her.

Heruss, somehow, remained un-phased by the attempted attack by the spirit, instead he was sweating profoundly, the ticking got louder and slower. Click….clack…..click…..clack….

He yanked the sword out from her shoulder, then slashed wildly at her bandaged arm, then flipped over and landed on the raised platform at the end of the room.

She beat her wings to give her further moment, racing towards him; she wielded her scythe. She saw his soul, wanted to drink it down. He could feel it weighing on his heart, how badly she wanted it for her own; some dark part of her. There was restrainment. She didn't want to kill him, and didn't want to force that soul into a soul gem that was for sure. That would be a bitch. She appeared behind him, oh? A vampiric tactic; one of the only ones she used.

"When the time comes that your soul is marked, I pray to be the one to shoulder your death..." It was an eerie thing to say, but it was a rather big compliment. She lashed out her scythe as a grim reaper to his neck.

The clicking started up loudly. Her scythe became as if moving through the solid ground, it stopped barely an inch from his face.

He finally revealed the source of the clicking.

A pocket watch, a small silver watch that ticked loudly. Moving away from her he turned, holding it up so she could see it. He felt the intense rush of heat burn from her as her eyes darted around angrily at him.


A gong sounded.

Son of a bitch. she cursed at him. Oh she was not happy about not being able to move. She could perhaps go into the twilight; but risk dying there.

“Azreal.” he nodded. “You are very impressive, your reactions are good, your powers incredible… as a Seraphim.”

He put the watch away. “However, as a Vampire I do not feel you have developed any of your traits or abilities.”

"When you received the dark gift in the way I did, the dark curse ...I was never meant to be this way," she glared, not mad at him, but someone else in her past. "Why try to be more like the thing which robbed me of my light Path?"

“Because using those skills given to you does not mean you become dark, Azreal.” The clicking faded, and she could feel her ability to move again being restored rapidly. “It is by your actions that you choose a path, not necessarily whether you can walk completely in the white, or completely in the black. Perhaps it is because you are a Seraphim you do not see the world in that way.”

"There are only two paths," she said. "There are only two paths open to me, and one of them has already been closed."

He paused. “There is always another way.” he said after a few moments. “Perhaps you need to learn it….” he paused again. “Perhaps I need to teach it.”

"Excuse me?" she said a bit surprised.

“You were torn from the realm of light and imbued with black traits, yes?”

"Torn from the light realm, yes, not by vampirism but by other means. Vampirism was forced upon me, and when that happened, I would no long be able to return to the light realms for all eternity. No heaven, no death. When I die I only am to be reincarnated, be awakened in someone as a vampire again...and keep doing my job."

“Then you realise you are on a path already between the two, correct?”

"My path is still of the light, even though I am allowed no reward..."

“That is only because your actions dictate them to be so.” he nodded, cutting her off. “But you see, because you have both traits of darkness and light, you walk a third path. The path of the twilight.”

She chuckled. "The twilight doesn't quite like me either, you can ask Tere about that.”

“I do not mean the twilight realm.” he replied. “I mean you serve neither light nor darkness, you serve a balance between the two, it is because you yourself refuse to be at peace with the two parts that make you a whole that you are rejected by those realms and why you find yourself agonized over your life and existence.”

"My job...is to keep the balance. But I work on the light side. I destroy and consume dark others who disrupt the balance. That is my debt to the Light side which graded me this essence."

“You need a figure. A sire, one you have lacked throughout your time as a child of the night to help you understand properly, so I will share that burden.” Heruss then moved over to her, and sank his fangs into her neck, rather than drawing on her memories and experiences he drew her pain from her wounds.

Ravelyn had tried to push him off of her at first, but was swept into that realm. She fell against him, and experienced the memories; everything. Her life experience he took knowledge of; her sire, her life, her children, her job, her people, her lovers- even Tere, her Pain, her demons, the souls which tortured her, the death of everyone around her while she kept living." She began to cry, burying her head in his shoulder, and hugging him.

He held her close to him, and wept also. The suffering and the pain and all of the experiences she had experienced were profound. Even the pleasure seemed to be mixed with a dull pain.

The metal receeded from her form as her true form begain to fade. She remained in ragged cargo pants and a bloodied shirt. Her ethereal wings vanished from site, as did her chains. Her soft black wings folded behind her naturally as he held her.

Gently he moved away from her. “So. I want to offer you a place here, you can be with Terefedel as you wish, you will be a part of this place, this regiment. I will teach you to be at peace with your conflicting sides.”
Rave Shentavo
26-01-2008, 20:36
tag
Midlonia
26-01-2008, 21:52
The heavy wooden doors flew open, Tere, now just in his long coat came into the room, his feet squelching as he strode across the soaking flooring. He looked at the two figures, the Colonel as ever apparently unfazed by most things, nodded to Tere as he came in.

“Azreal?” he said quietly, looking to her.

Heruss nodded. “I will leave you two alone for a while, please see to Private Azreal’s wounds. She’s hereby assigned to your unit. Congratulations.” With that he left, his sword resting on his shoulders.

She dropped her scythe, and it turned to a light mist which surged into her body. She collapsed on Tere, tears which were mixed with blood.

“Did you mean what you said?” Tere asked, barely a whisper after Heruss had left, his arms wrapping tightly around her, holding her close.

She could barely hear the question as the darkness began to take her, and she fell limp in Tere's arms.

He sighed, and kissed her now unconscious form. “I’ll ask later.” as he began to carry her to a private infirmary.

He set her down on the bed, gently laying her arms to her side. He stripped her of her ruined clothes, before also washing her face, arm and body of blood, she seemed to have lost a bit of it.

Tere tended to Rave’s wounds with some rubbing alcohol, he gently tended to the bruising to her stomach and the gashes to her shoulder with some new bandages, and rebound the older wounds that had re-opened, as well as replace the new ruined bandaging.

She now had bits of bandage to her shoulder, wrist, arm and even her neck, where the bite mark from Heruss hadn’t healed properly.

After all of this, he sat down on the bed next to her, stroking her hand gently and waited.

She woke up slowly, taking her time. A dull ache resonated in her mind but eventually faded away when she became conscious. It would be very strange for her to follow orders. Heruss knew this; for he saw her command of the armies of her nation, even in battle. This, however, was all to be allowed to go with Tere. Did he think he could teach her anything about her cursed vampirism? Perhaps, but she still wasn't to keen on developing that side of her.

"Hi," she managed.

Terefedel smiled widely. “Hey.” he said back softly, running a free hand over her cheek. “How you feel?”

"Oh, just wonderful," she smiled.

He bent down and kissed her, caressing her face as he did so, a fiery kiss, a passionate kiss, a loving kiss.

She pulled away from him slightly, managing to sit up. ""Hey, isn't fraternization of personnel not permited on castle grounds?" she winked. "Sorry to say I might not be able to stay here long on that stipulation."
“I think they make exceptions.” he grinned, grazing her lips with another kiss. “Minerva is a hypocrite in her own right. She knocks off her aids all the time.”

"Physical contact makes me stronger."

“Is that so?” he smirked as he kissed her again, his hands wandering down her neck and her shoulder.

"No, I was lying through my teeth," she said, taking in a breath before nudging him on top of her. She drew him close and bit down on his shoulder, drawing in blood. Her wounds, even the deepest ones began to close. Even Heruss' bite marks closed completely. She spread out her wings to either side of the table.

“Leftenant!” barked a voice. A female voice.

“Oh heck.” he muttered at Rave as she took her fangs out of his shoulder, he kissed her again before rolling off the bed and standing up. There in the doorway was Major Minerva and a rather hot and bothered looking aid.

“Fraternization isn’t permitted Leftenant, you know it, I know it.” she jabbed a finger at Rave “And she knows it, especially as she is now a new recruit!”

Ravelyn turned, covered in bandages, but looking rather good for having just fought Heruss. She undid a bandage on her arm revealing smooth unscathed skin. "Also the head of my own army but we have no wars to fight," she shrugged. She knew she was just doing this for Tere. "Oh my," she said observing the aid. "Pheremones are dripping off of you; your aura is seething with a deep orange."

The aid merely stood rigid at the doorway. “I found him looking at a rude magazine, see?” Minerva butted in, as she held up a lingerie catalogue in her hand.

She turned away from Minerva so that her back was too them, removed the bandages around her chest. A dark; skin tight fabric wrapped around her. Her cargo pants had been reduced to shorts; which she was still wearing though the bloodied ragged bottoms had been cut away in a clean line. She licked the stray blood from her lips, and turned back to the four.

"Physical contact makes me stronger, and I need to recover," she commented, then stepped towards Minerva and took the magazine into her own hands. She flipped through the pages. "Not bad," she commented. "Not good either but...if that's all you have to deal with. Oh..."Something piqued her interest. She turned to Tere. "What about this?" She questioned, completely serious even though she could feel the burn from Minerva's eyes. Oh she would enjoy tormenting her. She handed the magazine back.

"Perhaps its your nation, but in mine sexuality has every right be be expressed, even within my training facilities. If you keep it pent up, it will cause nothing but tension."

“I quite like them. I know the store, if you want we can stop on the way bac-” Tere began, but was cut off by the Major.

“Unlike you, physical contact, especially constant contact such as that saps energy from us.” she hissed. “I am sure the Leftenant here isn’t feeling 100% now is he?”

“Actually I feel fine Major.” he commented with a shrug. “But that is because I also feed off of her at times.” he grinned at Rave knowingly.

"But unlike 100% vampires," Ravelyn said condescendingly. "I am a seraphim. Energy grows in me when I'm near poeple I care about. Doesn't have a cap on it, so it keeps growing. I can manipulate that energy, even to another being. Regardless of just how often he feeds off of me. I think that is more for myself than for him."

Now there was something he had not known, she didn't chance a smile at him. Her eyes were on Minerva. "Do you have any idea about my...race? I mean there are only four of us so I am not sure you could call it a race, but no matter. Ever read about us?"

“Rumours at best.” Minerva replied. “Largely because the Department for Occult Warfare requires us to study as much mythology as possible. Your ‘race’ however is hazy at best due to being in a different realm that doesn’t often bleed into this.”

"I see," she nodded, and licked her lips.

"I shall give some insight," she began. "You are familiar with the heirarchy of angels, the highest levels contained Seraphim. These four essences were given important jobs.

To one, of Life, was the healing of broken souls, shedding light upon those who had fallen into darkness, instilling souls in the new, and giving them what they needed to thrive. All of this, mind you, was done through the Light Path, a sort of parallel would you. There were others, of course, that did the same but this one did a good amount and very special cases.

To a second, whom had to counteract the first to maintain balance, was of Death. This one is responsible for taking out of the world specific persons who were to change the balance, as well as bear their souls upon their own. Not sure if it was for punishment or just if someone had to bear the burden. She would guide stray souls to the other side, to wherever they belonged.


The third is of the Throne, to watch over the light realm as the prior two affected this one. The fourth to the nether realms; the void, as it were.”

“So which one are you? The void? It seems like things go in one ear and out the other.” Minerva sneered.

"No, Death." her crimson eyes sparkled.

“Huh. Ironic.” she replied sardonically. “Angel of Death for a regiment of Death, an Angel with dark wings who’s official title is the Dark Angels.”

Ravelyn beat her wings once, and extended them fully. They almost hit the back of the room. "Would you like to see my scythe too?" she joked. Ha, ha...Minerva. Ha. Ha.

“I’ve seen enough of scythes from our other occasional guest.” she sighed, merely raising her eyebrows at the wings, she was radiating a hint of fear, but it was under control and certainly so on the surface.

"But mine is so pretty," she looked dejected, though it was all a ploy. Apparently the angel had been serious. "Are you talking about the Grim? If so, mine is soooo much better. Enochial architects have so much more insight to the design."

Her scythe appeared in her hand with a dark seething glow of red. She twirled it once. "Isn't it far more beautiful than any one you've ever seen?" She was glowing.

Minvera merely stared at the scythe, now barely controlling her fear. “Who’s skull is that?” she half-hissed, half squeaked.

"Oh...that's Bob. Bob tried to steal a parking place from me," she grinned with a thrilled expression.

Terefedel snorted with laughter, before controlling himself.
Minerva merely looked at it horrified, then she simply turned on her heel and left, dropping the catalogue as she made a very hasty retreat from the room. The aid found himself dragged along by the Major.

Terefedel started laughing as he wrapped an arm around Rave’s waist, squeezing her tightly “You managed to first get her into a huff, now you’ve terrified her. I love it.”

She grinned and kissed Tere heatedly. They now were, most definately alone. Her scythe dissapeared s quickly as it had come.

Tere moved to close the door with his foot, before spotting the catalogue. “Hey, she dropped her reading material” he snickered as he picked it up.

He grabbed her and kissed her again, throwing the magazine to the side as he wrapped his arms tight around her, his hands resting at the small of her back as she was pressed against him, together they fell back onto the bed.
Midlonia
27-01-2008, 00:46
Tere and Rave moved down yet another spiral stair case.

“Just down here is the Quarter masters store.” he said, leading the way. “We need to get you fitted out with a uniform of sorts, preferably one more durable and less likely to be ruined every time you summon your armour.”

"That means it is going to show a lot of skin without the armor," she said in observance.

“They’ll have something that will cover your modesty I’m sure.”

"Uh-huh," she said.

Tere reached the bottom of the stairs, turned left and pushed open a large heavy wooden door. Behind it was a counter with a few racks of clothes, boxes of guns and ammunition and all sorts of paraphernalia regarding the military clothing and equipment of the Dark Angels Regiment.

“Leftenant.” nodded the Quartermaster.

“Hello Q.” he nodded back, before motioning to Rave. “This is my latest recruit, Private Shentavo, she’s here to be kitted out, she needs new clothes and the usual stuff like a canteen.” he paused. “But no blade-pistol, she’s already armed.”

“Right.” Q replied. “Lessie now, Private? Do you mind being measured at all or would you prefer the Leftenant do it?”

"If he does it, we'll never get it done," she said plainly, and could feel Tere look upon her.

Q snorted with laughter before being silence by Tere’s glare. “Right, right.” he said as he grabbed a tape measure and began to size up Rave. “Anything in particular you’d like? Colour perhaps? We have black or black and maybe a spot of black.”

"Black," she said in agreement. She would have chosen no other color, except maybe a dark red. "Could you honestly picture me in a soft pink?"

“Not really. I’d have said reddish perhaps. But it’s not the most practical colour for night time, though I do have that in stock for Trench coat material…” he ponded for a second, tapping his tape measure against his chin.

"I like leather..." a grin trailed across her face.

“You’ll enjoy the uniform then.” he nodded with a chuckle, getting up having scribbled the measurements down. He then looked at a clipboard. “Right… it says here that you have armour already of some sort?” he looked at the tattered clothes. “Yeah, I can see we may have a problem here…”

"Yeah," she said in return. "And nothing to hinder my wings..."

“…give me a second? I need to go check something.” he them moved into the rows behind him, the sound of boxes crashing and some sort of small creature squeaking before it was ceased with the sound of a heavy boot. He returned a few seconds later with a small white box. “I remembered I had some of this from one of the fashion houses we use to test out material, it’s leather based, well, its fake leather really.”

He took the material out of the box, it was just like leather and pliable like it, it even smelt faintly of leather.

"And what's the difference?" She questioned.

"Oh...and nothing that interferes with my chains either," she realized he couldn't see them in this form. She sighed. "Do you want me to just show you the armor and everything else you are going to have to work around?

“Well.” he said, producing a knife. “Let me show you.” He stabbed the material and held it there, forcing the blade into a circle and making the tear wider until it was a jagged strip of material.

“We’ll cross that bridge when it comes to fitting dear.” he replied, merrily cutting it some more.

“Lets say this was normal leather, that is probably what’ll happen to it when your armour appears.” he removed the knife. “But with this…” he motioned to it and all three of them watched it as it quickly reformed into a single piece of material again.

"Clever," she commented.

“Mmhm.” he nodded with a grin. “Just about everything I can think of, it’s been tested to destruction by the Midlonian Intelligence and Research Agency, or MIRA.” He promptly produced a small blowtorch and ignited it, he waved it over the material and it barely reacted.

She looked at the small piece of material in her hands, and a flame ignited as hellfire consumed it. It was quite a more dramatic heat than the fire he had produced. In that flash the glimpses of her shackles could be seen. She extinguished the fire by will, and the piece of cloth was still intact. "Marvelous."

“Yep. I can have something made up for you quite quickly now if you wish, oh, and the usual trench coat and what have you. It can get quite cold around here you know, it’s useful.” He put the material back into the box. “I think it’d be best if you got out of those clothes and into your armour, it’s better to work around the armour than the armour and your present attire. You can change round the corner.” he motioned to the right.

"It's not really armor I need to slip on, er...here." She closed her eyes for a moment and the armor formed around her quickly, even her wings were bladed now. She had her scythe in her right hand, and the chains around her wrists were at half length and spiked.

She spread her wings out. "Good luck."

“Hmm.” he looked at the armour and sighed in admiration. “My my this will be difficult, I relish the challenge Private Shentavo, relish it!” he grinned “It’s simply fantastic. Garcon!” he shouted. “Where has that blasted thing got to. Garcon!” A small orb floated from the back. And bleeped several times.

“There you are, measure this woman for her uniform in the armour please, just so we know where to use slightly less material.”

The orb bleeped again and began to move around Rave, clicking and whirring as it did so.

“I must say that is some remarkable armour, Madam.” Clucked Q. “What is the material?”

"Adamantine..." she said in return.

“Mmm, never heard of it. It looks like such a wonderful material to work with.” He sighed and moved around Rave himself. “It does seem to have a few gaps for armour though.”

She gave a nervous smile. Of course he had never heard of it...it didn't exist here. "It's unbreakable," she said in return. It's the same material my chains are made out of."

“Really? So no maintenance whatsoever?” he gasped and looked at it a little closer.

"...I'm not from around here."

"Anyway there are spaces because i'm a magic user. If I was covered in it completely, i'm afraid I'd have a good risk casting, but that lighter material you have shouldn't be an issue as it isn't metallic."

“Aaah, I see, a magic user. Hmm. Not many of those in this nation any more. Not since the cataclysm anyway.”

"In my nation there are many. It's an art that is nourished."

“Mmm.” he mused as the orb bleeped again “Ah, it’s done. Give him a few moments and he’ll make it himself, quite a smart unit. Glad I converted it from a TRX-28 Recon/Battle orb.”

"I'm not so familiar with...well, any type of electronics."

“Ah, heh.” He smiled and grabbed another larger box, hoisting an orb. “It’s basically a floating orb that can scout ahead and shoot if it needs to. I converted mine, a little illegally I may add, into something more useful.”

"I see."

“They’re highly useful, and apparently highly adaptable. Almost like they couldn’t be bothered to make different kinds and let the owner of them play with them as they need. Cute little things too.”

"I mean...I guess if you are into those things."

“Just thought I’d baffle you, seeing as you did the magic number on the material to baffle me.” he grinned.

The orb bleeped as it floated back into the room, hanging on a peg underneath it was a black uniform.

“Ah, brilliant. Here we are then.” he said, taking it off the peg, it was similar to the uniform Terefedel was wearing, the difference was that where his was padded, hers was thinner to compensate for the armour.

“I suppose you want to try it on?” Q asked with a smile.

"All right," she said, taking it. "I hope your little droid is good..." She took it, gave Tere a look and went to the back room where she removed the remaineder of her cargo pants. She slipped on the smooth material after the metal had been recalled. It fit perfectly, and there was a low enough back to compensate for her rather large wings. "Oh my," she said looking in the mirror. She stepped out of the room, called her armor and recalled her armor. Nothing broke, and what did was repaired. They were both just starting at her. She put one hand on her hip as her other held her scythe. "What?"

“Uhm well, rather tight fitting, and nice looking.” stumbled Terefedel before grinning widely.

“It’s a masterpiece! You make it a masterpiece my dear! You look stunning!” Q bubbled.

She blushed. Poor Tere; stumbling over his words. That made her smile. "Thank you," she said to Q. "I've never been able to find someone clever enough to make this type of material."

“Sometimes technology trumps magic.” he said with a grin. “Now, how about a trench coat? Which colour would you like? We have the standard blue which the Leftenant is modelling, or black, obviously, or I can make it in a darkish red material.”

Her crimson eyes glistened. "Red," she smiled.

“Mmhm!” he smiled and vanished into the rows behind him this time.

Terefedel merely whistled slowly. “I have to say, it really does look stunning.” he walked around her slowly. “You’re beginning to look like one of us already.” He smiled.

She kissed him, and the heat seeped through the thin material.

He held her close, feeling her heat, and sighed happily as they kissed, he broke the kiss after a few moments and whispered. “I feel, so… happy around you, Azreal, I‘ve not felt like this for a long long time.”

She closed her eyes and leaned against him, feeling his arms around her.

They simply stayed like that for a few moments until a crashing sound brought their attention back from their own little reality.

“Here we are!” Q said triumphantly holding a dark red trench coat. “I had to really work with the material for your back, but I think the open back like on your uniform works best for your wings.”

"Thank you," she said, taking it in her hands. She slid it on. It fit quite well. She smiled.

“Perfect. Complements you quite well I say.”

"Thank you," she said, taking it in her hands. She slid it on. It fit quite well. She smiled.

“Looks good.” Terefedel commented.

“Now the finishing touch! Your badge.” he slid a small black ankh across the table, on the arms were the lettering “D A” - Dark Angels. “Make sure to fix that to your trench coat and your uniform proper when on parade.”

"Why did they chose this of all symbols?" she questioned, and did as was told.

“Irony, probably.” Terefedel shrugged. “It represents life, of all things, so perhaps because we’re already technically dead… we’re always alive.”

"Perhaps," she said in thought.

“Still, we have to go see the Colonel now, thank you Q.” Terefedel nodded and placed his arm around Rave’s shoulder.

“Anytime Leftenant.” called Q as he left “You too Private Shentavo!” The door swung shut as they headed back upstairs.

----

They walked back along the same corridor they had been at a day before, during the Duel.
“This way” Terefedel said, motioning past the large double doors to another slightly smaller set, these were made from dark Ebony wood, with the Ankh symbol superimposed on top.

“This is his private office.” he said, knocking.

“Enter” came a voice. Inside was a small desk with a typewriter, laptop and a youngish brown haired man sitting behind it, rattling off a report of some kind. “Hello Leftenant, Private.” he nodded to each. “Here to see the Colonel?”

“Yes Kristian we are.” nodded Terefedel. “He busy?”

“No, just reading and getting messages from the team back at the Library Of All, go right on in.” he motioned to the small glass French doors that obscured his office proper.

Can you give me a moment, she asked Tere, looking at him seriously.

Of course he replied, giving her shoulder a squeeze before standing next to Kristian’s desk instead.

She entered, and closed the door behind her.

Heruss was wearing a pair of small reading glasses and had a tome open of some form, he was sitting in a high backed chair next to a roaring fire place, around him were numerous bookshelves and books of all shapes and sizes, in the middle of the room was a large ebony desk, cluttered with rolls of parchment, quill pens, and ink pot and various clutter covered the desk, next to Heruss was a large pile of books on which a cup of hot tea sat, steaming gently.

“Hello Private Azreal. I take it you are recovered well?” he looked up, taking his glasses off for a moment and smiled warmly “Glad to see you in a uniform also, quite fitting for you, certainly distinct.”

"I recovered quite well, father," she said without hesitation. So much was loaded into that one sentence. She had an intense look within her beautiful scarlet eyes that left the air heavy in memory.

Heruss’ face looked shocked for a moment. He looked at Rave with something of awe. “Have a seat, daughter…” he said, half whispered, half stunned awe.

She sat down in the chair across from him, quite at ease. "You've experienced my entire life, millenia of experiences. You saw what it was like before I even came here. You saw the realms of light which you have always been denied." Her accent was coming out a bit more. She had normally done a good job of concealing it. "No one has had the ability to reach that far back, or to get through it all without pulling away."

“That all depends on who we are. Or our responsibilities.” He said, closing the book carefully after marking the page he was on. “You know the colour of my soul, correct? In the Duel you called me a Throne Vampire.”

"Yes, I did."

“More true than you realise.” He smiled, placing one of the arms of his glasses into his mouth in thought. “When this land was independent I was it’s King.”

He sighed, put the glasses down and picked up the cup of tea from the books. “Even today I am it’s Prince, because I am higher up in the society of our vampires it also means I am more powerful than many of them.”



"I know," she said softly. "What you experienced wasn't once sided. What we experienced doesn't happen that often in history."

"By being able to share that with me, you have lessened the pain on my heart. I know you can fully understand me more so than anyone who has ever walked the face of this realm."

"But I also took some of you as you of me; memory, I mean. I see the imprint of your soul even now. You are of the throne and a far different class than I could ever be. Not better nor worse, just different. Even so, our paths were meant to cross."

He raised the cup and took a sip and savoured it before speaking. “As such, I was able to see much further into you than many. Even the man you love quite dearly with your heart. In a way I have sired you again.”

“It is that event that worries me though, daughter.” smiled Heruss. “Fate. Which is dictating so many things right now for this nation, it’s people and the entire world.”

"Not hard to interrupt it no," she said in return. "Anyone can interrupt it with some of the simplist things. It's about finding out which leaf you need to step on. Choosing from an endless amount is the difficult thing, but once you find it...it's easy to crush."

“All I see right now is a leafy floor in a forest and they all look exactly the same.” he sighed. “Now of all things I have a daughter, at this time. Perhaps you and others will be the interruption to what I hope will never come to pass.”

"Don't fear," she said in return. "The scale now tips in favor of darkness. There must be light to balance it out again."

“Perhaps.” he smiled weakly. “What did you wish to see me about anyway, Ravelyn? Aside from shocking me by being my daughter.”

"See if you liked my outfit." She smiled, and this time her fangs showed.

“Daddy approves.” he snickered. “How are things between you and Terefedel, by the way? Have you told him what you told me? Call me… a concerned father.”

"And have him be any more afraid of you?" she winked.

"Things are quite good between us. Oh-- I must say, I enjoy Minerva's company quite thoroughly."

“He’s only afraid of me when he’s not doing as he’s ordered.” chuckled Heruss. “Like when he first met you, for instance. That message was very important, he knows when to be afraid around me and when not to be.” He chuckled "Yes, I am aware of you and Minerva. I must say it's good to see her more in control. I push her to the side and she just takes over everything that is still within her power. I am trying to get her posted to assist other special forces groups instead of us so Terefedel can assume the role he's been playing for years."

A devilish grin swept across her face; like someone who knows that they are up to no good. "If you'd like," she began. "I might have a way to do that."

“No.” he chuckled. “No no, we’ll promote her when the time comes. Quietly move her on while massaging her ego. Easier that way for everyone.”
Ravelyn frowned. "Too bad....being her personal assistant might have been fun for a week."

“I doubt you’d have kept up with her libido.” Heruss casually remarked with another sip of tea. “She’s a hypocrite and has been for a long time. Only person I know of that gets overt blood lust within the regiment. Everyone else is much more controlled in their takings, except for her. We had to stop giving her unsired aides because they kept turning up in the infirmary half dead.”

"Mnnn...giving her my blood would not be a good thing. Do you think she would dare take it though is the question."

“From what I can tell now from various Cherian Whispers that have come back to me? No.”

Ravelyn grinned in satisfaction. "And what have you heard? I do like a good story."

“That a certain new recruit has arrived and is both managing to annoy and scare the bejezus out of my Second in Command.” Heruss idly remarked as he put the cup of tea down with a grin.

Her grin became wider. "Wicked."

“Mmhm, can I get you anything to drink?” he asked after he picked the book back up he had set down from earlier.

"I had a rather large drink when I woke up, but thank you," she smiled. "You can call in Tere if you want. Private matters have been discussed."

“Very well, Leftenant!” he called to the door.
Midlonia
28-01-2008, 00:23
Terefedel opened the door, closing it quietly behind him. "Yes colonel?" he asked, arms behind his back.

"Please come and take a seat with myself and Private Azreal." The Colonel motioned.

"Yes sir." He said, sitting in a chair next to Rave and resting his hands on his knees.

“Now, as you know as a new recruit adds complications as I cannot simply shift her off to the rest of your men on the island they’re currently based.”

“Yes sir.” Tere nodded.

“And I cannot let you take her to the Library of All just yet as she is not yet fully trained as a vampire. So, you’ll have to stay here for now and help train her with me.” he nodded.

“Yet you allowed her into the regiment, surely that entitles her to-” Terefedel began, but stopped when he raised his hand.

“Yes, I did. Because her combat as a Seraphim was impressive, as a vampire though she is woeful and refuses to exploit all the powers at her disposal, as I have said, I do not need a seraphim in this regiment I need a vampire.”

"You don't like my wings?" she said with a false frown as she smoothed the feathers. Despite any situation, she would always be playful. He knew it was the only way she kept smiling.

“The irony of a dark winged angel is appreciated. However your unwillingness to exploit those dark traits, or curse, as you put it is why I am still reserved on allowing you anywhere near the mission regarding Franz.” he nodded and picked up his tea cup again, taking a sip, before retrieving his pipe “Do you mind?” he asked questioningly.

"Those will kill you, you know," she said, leaning back in her chair slightly looking at the ceiling. Something else weighed heavily on her mind, that was clear. It was also clear she didn't want to divulge everything.

"I do need to ask a favor of you though," she said. This was directed towards both of them.

“Doubt it.” he muttered as he lit it, took a pair of puffs and then raised an eyebrow at her. “That being?”

“What is it?” Tere asked turning to her.

"If I should die, that you seek me out again in a century when I return."

Tere reached across from his seat and took her hand in his and squeezed it. “Of course I shall.” he said sincerely.

“If we work out how Franz keeps coming back we may not need to wait a century, Azreal.” Heruss remarked casually, taking another puff on the pipe.

"Ah, but that is the thing. It is my punishment for not being able to do my job. They'll keep me there until I have served my time...then go back." She shrugged. "Will you look for me, Heruss?"

“One century exactly?” he questioned.

"To the day."

“Mmm, then you have my word. Either I or any successor shall seek you out in a century.”

"Thank you," he said, flicking her eyes down from the ceiling back to him.

“You’re welcome.” he grinned. “Now, we have the more important matter to atten-” He didn’t finish the sentence as an explosion rocked the room and a dull thud could be heard somewhere nearby, a wailing air raid siren began to groan. “What the hell?” Heruss said, standing up and immediately moving over to the door the led out onto a balcony.

A second explosion climbed high into the air, belching some black smoke as it did so. Then the sound of gunfire started up somewhere in the courtyard below.

Ravelyn raised her eyebrow. She appeared at Heruss' side and followed his vision outward.

She reached out her hand, closing her fist tightly, causing the fire to die down significantly. "Need to get closer to draw it into me," she said softly. "What's going on?"

In the courtyard figures were running around, some were firing weapons wildly at the vampires and other soldiers that had been only scant moments ago were happily going about their daily tasks, a truck and the car that had bought Rave and Tere to the castle was on fire and throwing smoke into the air.

Frowning he clucked his tongue “Hrm, interesting, seems you get a bit of on the spot training Azreal.”

The doors behind them opened and Kristian came in, dressed in armour and carrying Heruss’ tri-bladed sword and Tere’s duel blade. He had his own weapon strapped to his back. “I believe you’ll be needing these.” he said casually.

Heruss had buttoned up his blue trench coat and had fixed his peaked cap onto his head. “I do believe I shall, thank you dear.”

“Thanks Kristian.” Tere said as he took the blade and fixed it to his back. “Shortcut?” he asked.

Heruss nodded, his pipe still in his mouth, he leapt from the balcony some hundred feet above the ground. Kristian leapt after him.

“I’d take your new jacket off and armour up if I were you Azreal, seems you get to show off your skills to the guys down there.” Tere smiled as the gunfire continued.

"I'm out for some blood anyway," she said, and took off her coat. Ravelyn followed without hesitation. Her wings provided a rather elegant flight. She could move faster in the air then the others could on ground. She flipped before hitting the ground, her armour forming around her by the time she landed. She spread her wings out in full; the adamant blades shining in them. She hadn't called upon her scythe; but her chains were in full view.

Shots were fired at her, and she bent back, the metal melting as it passed over her and falling to the ground. She eyed the shooter, leapt and wrapped her legs around his waist. In seconds the body was in flames, and she darted from the charred body.

Lurching at her first was a man in polished silver armour, on his chest was a symbol, but she paid no attention to it for now as a broad sword, crackling with electricity arced at her.

She lashed her chain out, and the electricity hit it along with the sword, but for some reason the electricity did not travel up the adamantine. She was close enough to the fire to manipulate it, and she drew it into herself. With the weilding hand in one of her chains, she wrapped the other around his neck, and pulled the two from each other. The arm was the first to tear off, and she released her chains which seemed to have a life of their own.


Heruss, Kristian and Terefedel hit the ground after sliding down the vines that grew on the side of the building. They drew their swords and blade-pistols and immediately sent out bright blue bolts of plasma at a pair of figures nearby. Heruss, still puffing on his pipe clashed swords with a knight in armour, trading a series of blows before ramming the blade home through the armour, the figure with an eerie scream collapsed.

Kristian traded a set of blows in a fight against a red-coated soldier before taking his head clean off, the body slumping to the ground and bleeding.

Terefedel hit the ground running, ramming his blade through the body of another knight.

On the far side of the court yard a red robed figure held aloft a staff, which glowed at the very top, it fired and an orb of pulsing hot fire flew across the open space and exploded another truck, sending a pair of vampires flying.

Why, hello there, Ravelyn said to the red robed figure with the staff. She spread her wings in threat, and her path was headed straight to him. All others seemed insignificant. There was a hunger in her eyes; but not for blood. Her body reacted to those who tried to stop her path mechanically. Her chains kept a circumferance around her. "Children shouldn't play with fire..."

The figure turned “Nor should whores fight in mens fights.” it replied blankly, it’s eyes were unfocused and dead as it raised it’s staff and fired another ball of fire.

She didn't move, but waited as the ball of fire came towards her; and she absorbed it as quickly as it had been summoned. Her ethereal wings were now visible to all in a heated red glow. She ignited a bright green flame in her hand which licked yellow and white at the tip. "Burn in hell, and say hi for me. Haven't been in a while..." She raced at him, her hell fire rushing towards him; and a good deal of it as well. he had been giving her fuel the entire time from the fire around him. Vampires were normally very weak to fire; but she was definitely not.

“Different.” the figure muttered as she came closer and closer, then it raised the staff again, and a sheet of ice roared across the courtyard at her, smashing up the paving and stone flooring as it did so.

Extend... her chains ripped through the ice, breaking it, as she wrapped her wings around herself. The adamantine in her blades shielded her from the assault, and the ice bits that shattered around her began to melt when they came in range. She saw his soul shifting between four mediums. He was marked too; somehow breaking the treaty. Perhaps it was a minor transgression, but she had every right to take him. She just had to get close enough. She summoned her scythe into her right hand.

It was different though; glowing red. It had a soul it knew belonged to her now. She was within ten feet of him, and decided to close the gap. She lunged forward, spinning her scythe to delve into his neck with hellfire ready in her left hand for defence.

The staff came up to meet the scythe and they danced and hit and danced as blasts of hell fire and ice were hurled at them. The fight around them had quelled to nothingness. Then suddenly, the body slacked, and the scythe rammed home into his neck. Then an unearthly scream echoed around the courtyard, the body twitched and spasmed before finally going slack.

Ravelyn's eyes lit as she pulled the body close to her. The scream could be heard even though the body was dead as a light tanishish essence was torn from the dead body and engulfed through the lips of the angel. She glowed that same light color for a moment, before both her scythe and her skin returned to normal.

The body began to twitch again, and grabbed her with a vice like grip it began to boil and writhe, a green mist escaping from the body as it began to bloat and hiss. “I will take you also, whore.” the body said slackly, drool escaping from it’s lips as it began to scream with laughter as it’s fingers bit down into the armour and the flesh. “You can’t take what was already gone.” it giggled as it’s face bloated also. “Can’t take can’t take can’t take!”

Ravelyn's body went limp, but a bright silver light engulfed the two. "My name is Azrael," the voice came in a thickly slavic whisper which seemed to float around the entity. "I bind you to my own soul. What essence of you may remain, enchantments will lay broken. You are mine...and I will break you." She had taken something from him; perhaps it was his sanity; or partial soul.

“And I,” giggled the figure. “Am already dead, already gone, what remains is our service to him, him HIM!” the head screamed as more ice flickered out, attaching itself to the slacked body once again, snatching the head out of her hand and back onto the body.

She returned to his body. She had consumed his soul completely, this was an enchantment. She pushed away from him, and lashed out her chains wrapping them around either arm. His arms were spread out ward, holding their own. She used them as leverage as she flipped backwards, kicking his already healing head. Her scythe could not be used because of the position of her chains, so she used her body.

The adamantine fell hard upon his chest, and as she pulled as hard as possible, bones snapped at his shoulder on oneside and elbow in the other. She released the chains and brought her scythe in an arc upward towards his heart.

The figure screamed with laughter again, a high pitched insane giggling as the healing head cracked, snapped and formed back on again. The ice this time began to eek onto her adamantine chains as the bones splintered and black slush hissed onto them as his flesh was cut. The sun caught the badge he was wearing, it was unuaul. Like an Ankh but upside down similar to the one she wore on her coat, the top part had been removed and the lettering was backwards, “AD” instead of “DA”.

"Why won't you die!?" She growled in rage, the ice melting as her frustration amounted in a pillar of hellfire dancing around the two, and over them. She looked at the pin, recalled her fire for extra energy as she pushed herself backwards, falling on the ground and grabbing one of the fallen's pistols. She fired; ad the bullet ignited in hellfire, shattering the pin to pieces.

“Thank you.” the figure hissed and smiled warmly to her as it fell over and stopped moving, however the soul was already hers, in her head a voice came to the fore of her thoughts “I don‘t blame you.” the voice came clearly and yet so quietly. “I am sorry.” it said before it faded.

Around the courtyard similar acts were taking place, some bodies were coming back and attacking again despite missing limbs and even heads in some cases.

Terefedel was fighting a headless rifleman, he slashed wildly and clipped the pin as it tore away from the uniform the body slumped.

“Knock off their badges!” He yelled as the realisation, and perhaps even some help from Rave prompted him to do so.

"Doesn't matter if you are sorry," she said softly, though he wouldn't hear the reply. "You were marked." She sighed heavily, and began heading back through the newly christened battle field, helping to tear off or destroy the pins the remaining ones wore. She felt numb.

“Too much light.” the voice spoke again, it was somehow cutting across others. “I have such a story but I know you already know it. You know I didn’t become this willingly but you did so anyway. This is perhaps the problem with such a light creature….”

“Behind you, by the way.” the voice said idly.

Another figure in a suit of armour made an attempt to slash at her wings.

"It's my job..." she growled, turned around and sliced the body of a soldier in two, taking the pin with it.

“True… my name is Alahdrel by the way, what is yours?”

"..."

“Well? I have a feeling we’ll be together a while.” the figure suddenly appeared in front of her, an essence more than a figure proper, still robed. “You may as well tell me your name, it’d be rude not to.”

"..."

“Or do I have to play the guessing game? Another to your right about to shoot by the way.”

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP," she screamed, seemingly at no one, and litterly ran her hand through the chest of the one to the right, snapping the pin with it. She was growing tired and frusterated

“Temper temper.” the figure spoke again. “I am helping you aren’t I?”

"No," she commented. "You are annoying the hell out of me. Don't make me pick apart your essence completely. I may be punished for it, but it's sure a hell of a lot better than dealing with you."

“Riiiight. And how would that punishment be meeted?” he took a deep breathe. “Seems to me somebody doesn’t realise what she’s doing at times.”

"I've done it before..."

“Really? I don’t think so. You know very little about this place, it’s souls it’s magic, it’s people. You‘re not from here, you refuse to tell me your name and now you threaten to tear apart my essense. Note how I am not begging to be let go and even those other whispering annoying voices you normally hear have been suppressed better, even when I shut up and stop talking.” The figure disappeared and tittered with laughter.

"Thank God," she said, leaned up against the side of a building. She was still debating eternally whether or not to pick apart the essence and absorb it. Perhaps in the morning. Right now she took in the sight of lost souls that only she could see; and the burning fires.

“Check the wounded and check vital signs!” Barked Heruss as he placed his sword back in it’s sheathe and threaded it onto his back. Somehow despite the blood and gore his coat was immaculate and his pipe was still in his mouth puffing away.

Terefedel had picked up the piece of cloth that had the badge on and pocketed it with a thought, talking about that would come later.
Midlonia
28-01-2008, 02:16
A whirl of light split in the middle of the court yard suddenly.

“What now.” muttered Terefedel as he reached for his sword before being waved down by Heruss.

A figure appeared from the rift. A cloaked figure holding a scythe, he wore simple sandals that held fleshy feet. The scythe glistened.

But the figure, gently eeking steam of some kind from under the hood he wore was singing….

We can be like they are, Come on baby... Don't fear the Reaper, Baby take my hand... Don't fear the Reaper, We'll be able to fly... Don't fear the Reaper, Baby I'm your ma-

The figure threw back his hood, revealing a joint of weed smoking away happily, his wild bright blue eyes however showing no hint of the classical red-eye. Taking in the carnage as he moved the joint to the side and forced a tooth into his mouth.

“Ooh.” he said with a look around the courtyard and a smile “Come at a bad time?”

Ravelyn splayed her wings out across the wall to be more comfortable. She had her arms folded across her chest. She looked at her scythe, then at his. Her's was definately better, she decided.

“Well I never” he gasped looking at the carnage, then at Rave “A fellow Grim! Or are you perhaps….” he trailed “Nah, they belong to a different realm.” he removed the joint from his mouth and offered it to her “You look stressed, want some? Nice scythe by the way.”

He twirled his simpler wooden one. “Think I prefer the classical one though, makes you a bit more instantly recognizable. “Attendant, by the way, also called Nex.”

"I'm the seraphic of Death," she said blandly. She took the joint and inhaled deeply. "Name's Azrael. Suprised I haven't seen you around more." She handed it back to him. "Oh, thanks..." she said to the comment of the scythe. "Adamantine from my realm. That's Bob..." she said looking at the skull. "He stole my parking place."

“Aaah, you should meet Tim!” he replied cheerily hoisting a skull with a hinge on top. “He tried to cut in line when I went for dinner.” he opened it, revealing more joints inside. “Take one if you want. I got plenty and Tim has more than enough room to spare!”

"I like you," she said, taking another joint and igniting it with a bit of hellfire. It glowed light green at the tip instead of orange. "We should have dinner some time."

“I may object” chuckled Tere as he appeared behind Nex. “Hello Grimmy.”

“Terefedeeeeel!” he chuckled shaking the lieutenant’s hand vigorously. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re with the Seraphic of Death and Chaos herself?”

He offered him a joint which Tere politely took and motioned to her “Got a light?” he grinned.

"Yes," she said, and ignited his joint. "I must say that he is with me, but this stuff makes me hungry...and I wanted dinner." She looked over the rather vast amount of souls. "Do you want help cleaning this up? I've been behind on my work anyway. This might help make up for it."

“Oooooh.” Nex thought for a moment. “Kinda my patch babe.” he said spinning his scythe in his hand. “But sure, why not. Be good to have someone else helping with the Ay Dees.”

"What is your method for sending them?"

“Reassurance and offering them supplies from Tim if they freak out too much, then I herd ‘em through that,” he pointed with the scythe, “and drop them off at to be judged by you know who.”

"Ah I see. Do you want to do your half first? I don't want to take too many from you," she commented.

“Sure sure.” he said. “Ah, always a good day to do this…” he said as he moved over to where some vamps were tending to another wounded one. The soul of which was beginning to sit up. “Ah. Ah ah!” Nex said as he whacked the head of the soul back into the body with the bottom of his scythe. “Not your turn.” he looked at the two medics and grinned “He’ll pull through, out of body experience and all that.”

Ravelyn laughed, which probably seemed inappropriate since others could not see the souls. She quite enjoyed this grim's company.

“Right, come along you.” he barked at a hazey soul “My my… interesting, you’re quite late. How long would you say? Wait, you were killed when?” he swung his scythe a few times. “Seraphic of Death? Could you come here for a moment?”

"Mmmhmm," she said, walking towards him. "Yes, dear?"

“Well babe, we seem to have a problem. This is my patch, I know every soul and visit it when they die. Yet this gentleman here.” he motioned to the hazey figure. “Says he was killed several hundred years ago.”

“About 700.” the figure wheezed.

“About 700.” echoed Nex as if not hearing him. “Yet as you can see his essence has only just become apparent and his body is, well…” he started pointing. “There, there, there, and somehow in that hanging basket…”

He stared at it for a moment or two before continuing. “Anyway, as the expert on these matters, uh, any clue?”

"Perhaps," she began, looking at the body, and the hazey soul. "It is quite possible that he was reincarnated, and upon death reverted back to only that knowledge. Also possible that...I killed him 700 years ago because he was marked for me, and during the battle he thought it a good time to try and sneak away. It would mean that the rest of him is still in one of my soul gems. They should know not to try and escape by now. Probably targeted the nearest body and tried to jump to it." She sighed heavily. "You wouldn't happen to have somewhat of an ethereal dust pan would you?"

“Mmm, perhaps. Mind, I don’t see no marker on him babe.” he replied taking a draw on his joint and pondered. “I see most of him there, but outta focus, so… to me it’s just an old soul that didn’t go anywhere… hmm, interesting, interesting. Well buddy, wanna go to rest?”

“Yes, yes yes!” the figure pleaded suddenly. “I remember so much pain and that mad laughing face, oh how I didn’t want to do those things, oh but how he tricked me, broke me like a twig….” The spirit started sobbing.

Nex raised his eyebrow “Hrm, so it seems somebody is taking bits of souls, but it ain’t you or me babe…”

She frowned, and waited for a second. "All my souls are in their soul gems," she agreed. "Since I'm kind of cut off from my light realm, mind checking in the dark realm if you can find anything? I'm sure we will see each other again after this."

“Well I’m supposed to be around here for a bit anyway, call it my earthly bound home.” he grinned. “City of dead folks and me go down real sweet.”

He motioned to the several souls that were hanging around “All right you lot, into the swirly thing, come on, into the light! Into the light!” he mocked a deeper voice for a second. “Come into the light my son, or daughter, whichever applies to youuuuuu.”

The souls, hazy and well formed moved in a line towards the portal, all had blissful looks upon their faces as they did so, all told of something as though they never wanted to come back ever.

He turned back to her. “Well, that’s my lot done, your turn.”

She nodded, and closed her eyes. Her scythe spun once in her hand, then again. To everyone else around the two beings of Death, it seemed that a gentle breeze stirred. Her voice sounded out through the field of souls; quite beautiful. If there was any doubt that she was a true angelic it was settled by her resonating voice. She sang softly, something in her own language. It was a particularly eerie verse. To the beings of Death, the souls were swept with tendrils of white light into the portal, blissfully unaware of anything at all. The last two that entered were in torment. She knew where they were headed.

“Verrrry nice.” he nodded. “Shame about the last two tho, ey?”

When the souls were gone she stopped singing, and the bright glow of white light which had nearly consumed her being faded. She took the last drag of her joint.

"They will get what they deserve," she commented quietly. "Not my responsibility. I'm hungry..."

“Aaaah, getting the munchies, huh?” he popped open Tim again and offered her a packet of small chocolate chip biscuits. “These work for me. Oh, wait, you have the whole Vampire thing too, so I suppose you’d be needing lover boy.”

Heruss merely nodded, his pipe still going. In his eyes was… pride. Pride for his new Daughter who had performed very well during the fighting.

Terefedel had leant back against the wall and was looking up into the sky. He looked down and to Rave when he realised she was looking at him. In his eyes were a myriad of expressions. Love, pride and perhaps a pang of jealousy at not being able to share all that she had just done so with Nex, the power given to him by her still not being very strong, or refined.

"I'm never going to hear the end of it am I?" she questioned Nex, referring to her dating of Tere.

“Course not. You get no quarter held from me babe, Seraphim or not, especially considering how young he is compared to you, so he‘s your boy toy too.” he snickered, twirling his scythe a few times before tapping it on the ground. The portal closed behind them. “Mind, I know you’ve had a lot worse.”

"Oh," she commented, trailing off in memory. "Vaughn," she said his name, knowing what Nex was referring to. "He was marked...and I had to follow through. Please speak no more of it."

He bowed slightly, “Of course.” he said, dropping and stepping on the joint, before putting another into his mouth and lighting it immediately.

She felt a pang of hunger kick in and she looked at Heruss.

She had fought quite hard, and used up a lot of energy.

Heruss merely looked at her. “Something wrong, Private?”

Nex spluttered next to her, “You only gave her the rank of private?!” he choked for a second. “You! Gave the Seraphim of all Death and Chaos the rank of Private?”

“Any recruit has to work their way up the ranks Grim, you know it. I know it, she knows it.”

"Nothing, father," she said in return, bowing her head lightly as custom to one's sire.

"Besides," she said in return. "Rank really means nothing. It's an earthly term used to impose order. No matter what you call me, it won't change what I can do, nor who I am."

Nex got himself caught up in a new round of choking. “FATHER?”

Most of the soldiers and vampires around them had stopped to watch the conversation, even the badly wounded who were having their wounds seen to had propped themselves painfully up. It had been a while since their last drama…

“Father?” whispered Terefedel quietly, looking at her.

"This vampire was supposed to sire me a millenia ago, but fate got tangled for a shift in balance with Daja...the vampire who never was supposed to have reached me," she explained quietly, only to Nex and Tere. "His aura is a perfect set above mine vampirically speaking in colour. Yes, he was marked for me as my father." She leaned against the wall, and looked at Nex, not daring to look Tere in the eyes.

“Azreal. Look at me.” Tere said quietly.

She turned around, her crimson eyes looking up at Tere who was extremely close to her. Her heartbeat quickened.

“Fate.” he said quietly, his eyes shining and a grin on his face. “Fate brought you here to him, to me, fate… made me fall in love with you.”

"Oh?" she said in a bit of shock. Albeit she had begun to fall in love with him; but it was a new love. Regardless, she loved him. She was stunned by the look in his eyes, and her skin grew warm.

“Yes.” he said, taking his hand in hers, his own skin warming also. “It must be fate for us to have been together and for me to love you, to begin to love you to want to know you body and soul, and for you to come here and put your own conflict at rest.”

"Fate isn't always as kind, my dear," she said softly. "We will only know how it plays out when the time comes. Perhaps it will be my fate to love you now and kill you some day in the future. I don't know. No more talk of fate," she said, a bit frustrated. She shoved him against the wall which was two inches behind him and kissed him.

“Fraaaaaaaternizaaaaaaatioooooooooooon!” Yelled an unmistakable female voice.

“Oh shut up Minerva, that’s my daughter you’re yelling at.” Heruss replied with a sigh.

Nex merely looked at the couple as they kissed. Then at Minerva. “You are shouting about the actions of the Seraphim of all Death and Chaos kissing her boy toy! I feel highly insulted!”

The courtyard erupted in laughter.

She pulled away from Tere, and looked back at Minerva. She took a step forward towards the woman. "Something you'd like to say?"

“…no” replied a very red faced and embarrassed Major. “No, not at all….”

“Where on earth were you during this fight anyway Major?” Heruss replied with a frown.

“I, uh, was, busy…” she replied feebly.

"Sucking on an aid," Ravelyn replied without hesitation, scanning the nervous' woman's thoughts who had let her guard down towards her. She felt an immenant rage twoards her, that simmered and lessened. How could she be mad at someone so ignorant?

“Busy? There was a sodding battle going on in my courtyard!” Heruss barked back, really coming into his role as Prince and commander. “I think you’ve become a little uninvolved with the common ranks Major!” He thought for a second or two, then a cruel hint hit his eyes as a rather red faced and still doing his trousers up aid came into view of the courtyard.

“I believe, because of dereliction of duty, you shall be demoted.” he said, allowing the silence to hit the courtyard. “To Sergeant.”

“For fraternization? You hypocritical bastard! Those two, your precious daughter and your leftenant fraternize all the time!” She yelled back.

“Yes, but I am sure they would stop even mid-coitus to come to the aid of their fellow soldiers, correct?” he barked to the two to his side.

"Less than a second I had jumped the window after you," she said plainly. "And would not hesitate to do so again."

Ravelyn kept straight faced, not daring to look at Tere. She did look at Nex though.

Nex was cracking up and giggling badly, he was doubled over with laughter, leaning heavily on his scythe for support, he shoved his hood back over and held it shut, his giggling muffled into the material.

She heard a snicker from Terefedel behind her before he moved forward and wrapped her arms around her waist, squeezing tightly. “Even during it, Colonel.” he spoke clearly.

“That is dedication to duty!” Heruss yelled out. Even now various soldiers were snickering and laughing openly now. It was a dressing down a long time coming.

Ravelyn gently fwapped Nex upside the head while blushing a good deal.

A muffled “OW!” was a response, followed by more giggling, quieter now.

“If they can do it, why can’t you? Is it because your dedication needs correcting?” Heruss still shouted.

He sighed, a finality to it. “Major Terefedel, Leftenant Azreal. Please see to the sergeant’s new posting.” With that he simply walked away and past Minerva without so much as a nod.

Ravelyn's lips slightly parted, and she hesitated, and could do nothing more as she watched Heruss walk away.

“I guess that means we got promoted.” Tere said, squeezing Rave’s waist tightly again.

Minerva merely stood aghast, mouth flapping like a fish out of water.

Nex was still giggling slightly, but he threw open his hood, gasped for air inbetween laughing, squeaked out a “Congratulations, it’s a much more respectable rank!” before disappearing back into his hood.

“Fancy giving an order?” Terefedel whispered in her ear, kissing her neck after he did so.

"Like what?"

“Whatever you want her to do. I guess she’s under your command now, same as you’re under me directly now.” he chuckled, he pondered. “I’d suggest something either very cruel, like getting her to fraternize with A company for the night, or perhaps something a little more tame, perhaps send her to clean out the shower bloc by herself…”

“…nothing?” he sighed. “very well.” He lifted his head up and spoke clearly “Sergeant, you can spend the rest of today cleaning out the shower blocs.” The soldiers cheered.

Ravelyn fell back a bit on Tere. Sending souls took as much out of her as did the fight.

Nex had recovered from his fit of laughter to pull back his hood again. “You should take her out of here Tere.” he said with a whisper. “She’s beat.”

Terefedel nodded, kissed her neck and whispered. “Lean on me and we’ll go give you a rest and you can feed on me, ok?”

"Mmmk," she murmured, and folded her wings neatly behind her as she held on to Tere a bit.

They moved away, some saluting smartly to their new Leftenant and Major, others nodding and bowing. They had seen her fight today, and seen her become one of their new leaders. They respected her for now. Nex followed a few paces behind. “The Goddess doesn’t have too much stamina, it has to be said.” he whispered quietly to himself.

“My my, how beat we are…” muttered Alahdrel

"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONNNNNNNNNNNNE," she whined. "I SWEAR TO GOT I WILL CUT YOU INTO LITTLE TINY PIECES AND STOMP YOUR ESSENCE OUT!" She growled as the doors closed behind her and she fell to the ground.

"Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeex," she said. "I consumed a marked soul and its not shutting the fuck up. It's more than a whisper and i'm about to break some very serious rules if it doesn't shut up."

“Oh we’ll get to know each other in time Azreal, we shall….”

“Really?” he remarked with a raised eyebrow, lets take a looksee shall we?” he said, holding his scythe up and touching her forehead with the very tip.

She opened up to him.
"It's Az-ray-el, not Az-rey-al..." she mumured back.

Nex then looked at her slightly aghast. “You consumed it, but it’s not marked, I don’t know how to shut him up and you may not be able to dismantle it either…”

“Close enough.” the voice replied with a chuckle. “I’ll leave you to rest now Az-Ray-El. But we’ll talk again soon.”

"I checked it," she said. "It was marked for me. Had my name on it."

“It’s not marked any more, not the way it’s normally marked even when you consume them.” Nex was looking genuinely worried now.

She fell against Tere, but was still looking at Nex. "Did someone know I was going to be here?...I'm not marked by anyone for any reason, correct?"

“Not unless Franz somehow knows of you being here. No. I suggest you go get some rest first, then we’ll deal with this problem later.”

She looked very much displeased. And to you it's Ravelyn. She commented inwardly. Such a great burden it was taking on new souls, but this was different. She wanted to say, why me? And why? Because that's what she was made for.
Midlonia
29-01-2008, 00:05
“What do you mean by not marked?” Tere whispered to Nex outside the room they had put Rave to rest in.

“Well. A soul for her is marked by her colour, red. So she knows to take it herself and deal with it her own way. Even when she absorbs said souls they’re still marked in a way. But this one soul she now had bothering her seems not to be marked. It’s lost the mark and is now somehow, well. A part of her.”

“I see, so, she’s stuck with it?” Tere asked, rubbing his chin in thought.

“As far as I can tell.” sighed Nex, leaning his scythe against the wall and stretching until his back cracked. “Aaaaah, much better.”

“So what do we do for now?”

“Well, two ways. I doubt I’d find answers at the River, and you know who upstairs,” he jabbed a finger at the roof, “rarely talks to me because he’s so busy, only option I could think of as really viable is the Library of All..”

“Raaaaaaveelyyyyyynnnnn, wakey wakey….” the voice whispered.

"Fuck off," she grumbled, and pulled the covers over her head.

“Awww, that’s mean.” the voice tittered. “I helped you in the fight and that’s all you have to say?”

"Don't want your help," she commented sullenly. "Just want you to shut up."

“How anti-social!” the voice hissed gently. “No wonder everyone you loved has either died or left you, so dislikeable and harsh…”

"TEREEEE!" she yelled, calling him in.

The door opened. “What’s wrong?” he asked sharply.

Nex popped his head around the door frame. “Hello again!” he grinned, joint permanently stuck somewhere in his mouth, this time between where a tooth was missing.

"I can't deal with this," she growled. "I'm about ten seconds away from killing myself for transcendence into the netherrealms and having the dark One tear his soul into little pieces for punishment."

“Woah woah woah!” Tere said, moving to her bed side. “I’m not going to be happy sitting around for a century pining for you you know.”

“Selfish too…” hissed the voice.

"Well then, either we find a solution or I get him out the old fashion way."

“And what solution is that?” Tere asked.

"Take him to the nether realm myself..." she looked displeased.

“Oh, cute, a trip… even when I might have information to help you, or know how Franz works, or how I helped you during that last fight and all. That’s the thanks I get?” Alahdrel muttered.

"If you had information," she said allowed. "Then you'd tell me. I'm sure you don't want to stay in there forever. If you could get out, you would have."

“Or I may find it comfortable here. Or I have to stay here for whatever reason because if you tried to take me out I‘d cease to exist.”

“Hrm, well babe that may work.” Nex said with a sigh and a shrug. “I dunno what to do about it though.”

Nex let out a long sigh and sat down on a chair in the corner. “Might find something in the twilight though…”

"The twilight doesn't like me," she said to Nex with a frustrated sigh.

“Might like him though…” he said pointing to her head.

"Ohhh," she thought.

Allright, fine. What is it you have to say? she questioned the voice.

Ooooh, a good magician never reveals all his secrets Ravelyn. the voice snickered. What I can tell you though is to tell your little lover boy to check his pocket.

"Check your pocket," she said quickly to Tere, and her crimson eyes flashed. Why was he helping her?

Tere checked his pocket, revealing the badge from the fight earlier. “Why? All I have is this badge that they were wearing. I was going to give it to the Colonel later.”

Those who wear that badge are already dead, they’re being arranged into units led by rebellious vampires and other magical beings. the voice hissed along. They’ve been long dead and brought back.

"Those who wear that badge are already dead, they’re being arranged into units led by rebellious vampires and other magical beings.They’ve been long dead and brought back," she said, repeating what he told her.

They go by the collective name of Anno Domini, After Death. What you saw were just an assortment to test the defences of this place, as far as I know they‘re led by a Lord Malkren. The voice grew a little stronger now, speaking quietly instead of whispering.

Ravelyn repeated what he said. "Quieter...please." She placed her fingertips to her temples.

Sorry, excited a little. the voice giggled. I have more like that, but I think that should be enough for now. I’ll leave you alone…Provided we have an agreement to… work together for now.

It wasn't information that I couldn't obtain from the pin except for the leader's name. What does Franz have to do with this?

It’s an army for him, the voice came back. When he returns he shall use it. Just imagine it, a nigh unkillable army of men from all eras, adapt at all forms of combat including one largely lost to this nation and The Commonwealth of the Freethinkers. Magic.

So why are you in me of all people? Why were you marked for me?

I wouldn’t know. I really wouldn’t. Perhaps he was trying to see how you work. He’s not dead after all, just… resting, he can hear and see what he needs, he just doesn’t walk upon the earth.

Are you saying that he knows of me?

Of course, he wants to ascend and become a god, you have light-realm blood in you after all. Have you been told about all He does when he walks upon the Earth?

Yes…

Aside from the wars and the millions of dead? The voice quietened to a murmur now.

No..

Ooooh, now I don’t want to be the one to tell you that. The voice became slightly louder again.
I’d suggest you ask lover boy, or Grimmy, they‘d be better at telling you the stories.

"Ok. So here's the deal," Ravelyn said, curling back up under the covers and getting comfortable. "It is an army for Franz. A seemingly unkillable army of men from all eras, adapt at all forms of combat including one largely lost to this nation and The Commonwealth of the Freethinkers. Magic. I believe my nation can help out with that as we have many adepts in the military."

She held her tongue. To tell Tere or Heruss that Franz knew she was here was an immediate order to stay, so she said nothing of it. "So tell me what Franz does, besides the wars and such. The little voice in my head said you two would know."

Nex and Tere exchanged a glance before Nex sighed and Tere looked at the ground.

"What have you been keeping from me," she questioned. "Nex, tell me."

She peered out from the blankets like a rather cute menacing rabbit with razor sharp fangs.

“Aaaah, eeer… well.” Nex coughed a couple of times.

His joint went out. Her eyes simmered.

“Fine!” he snapped. “He always seeks out things of high holy reverence, or of magical power, or both. He’s been doing so for centuries. He tried to get the Moonstone Gem last time. Twice. Before that he tried to get the Eye of Twilight from the Laputian people who used to control the centre of the land that makes up the Great Island. Before that he sought out an enchanted sword made of Adamantine…”

"It's a good thing he doesn't know I am here then," she said in return, and relit his joint.

“Yes, it is.” Tere said with a smile.

And now he wants to become a God! He knows you’re here, why lie to them? If they ever found out there’d be trouble, you know it… the voice wheezed.

Because, she responded. If they know I am in danger they will lock me away in the highest tower. I am drawn to go. I feel it in my soul. I need to go. And, I can't let Tere worry about me.

You’re still a soldier, an asset, you’ll still be used, heck I bet they’d put you up front as bait.

Are you just saying that to keep your own hide safe from damnation?

I don’t feel damned, the voice echoed I feel fine. I just think you should be honest, after all, it’s not as if they can actually stop you, can they?

Heruss could with only his word.. she said softly to the voice, then looked at Tere with a blank expression. "He knows I'm here."

Tere simply moved closer to her and kissed her.

“The Librarian so owes me £10!” chuckled Nex, jumping to his feet. “Knew it, you were too damn good to have around. You may be the final piece he needs for ascension.”

"Or any other seraphim," she commented.

“Aaaah, but you’re the only one who can’t go back, you’re… well.” Nex shrugged. “Broken. You have the elements but don’t use them because you can’t, he will.”

"You are right," she said in agreement. "I still have all the abilities within me, they have just been blocked some of them."

“So my daughter is the final piece.” A voice said from the door.

Ravelyn slipped out of bed. Her skin had completely healed and her complexion was once again flawless. She walked toward him, and knelt with one knee on the ground and her wings spread outward, and head slightly bowed.

Heruss nodded and smiled. “No need to beg, daughter, I know you want to go and I know that even if I told you not to, you‘d find a way. The Seraphim in you would ensure it.”

"I would not go if you told me not to," she said in return. "I would, however, probably take hostages until you gave me permission." She smiled.

He shook his head and chuckled. “What’s the problem anyway? I heard something about voices?”

She stood and offered her wrist. He was the only one that would pick up all the information; and understand her.

He gently took her wrist and bit it, seeing all the information that he needed.
“I see.” he said quietly. “He has given some useful information though.”

He thought for a moment. “I cannot stop you from going, so instead we shall have to train you more, Nex and Tere can help I am sure. You may also need to visit the Library of All to find out more information.”

He let go of her wrist. “There’s a lot more to this this time than any other.”
Midlonia
30-01-2008, 11:58
Midlonian Colony of The Birchester Island Chain, Isle of Pushan

The scream was inhuman. Completely inhuman as the explosion rose gently into the sky, flames and smoke belching as it did so.

“Keep firing, tighten up the line!” shouted a short robust man. He was wearing a buttoned up red coat, white pith helmet and carried a sword by his side.

His eyepiece dropped down as he reviewed the data. It was not good.

The chanting began again.

“Odin! Odin! Odin! Odin! Odin! Odin!” The chanting was coming from a small pickup truck which had some large “ghetto blaster” style speakers strapped to the back. Around it were swarms of people, twisted and broken and daubed with symbols and armed, seemingly with everything from ancient Mittelstand rifles to machine guns and pistols. They were firing and moving in a huge mass on the small platoon of men that were standing behind an anti-terror barrier, firing at the crowd as best as possible using Friction Powered Rifles and Pericles Plasma weapons. The blue arcing lights from the weapons thumping into the crowd, but doing little to deter them.

“Gawd’s sake.” Sergeant Biggins of the 84th Rifles Regiment muttered to himself. “Sniper team!” he barked into a small microphone which dropped down from his helmet on a small retractable piece of metal. “Can you please take that sodding thing out? It’s doing my bloody head in!”

He was looking up at a tall financial building behind him. He had placed his two snipers into the building there to afford him a better view of the general area. Fighting in a city was bad at the best of times, fighting in a city which was demanding minimum property damage was just plain ludicrous.

“Negative, we cannot take the shot.” The voice came back.

“What do you mean you cannot take the bloody shot? I’m staring at you. I can see you’re bloody there and you’re in the tallest building on the block!”

“Negative we cannot take the shot.” the voice repeated again, rather slackly, whimsically even.

“Why?” he asked quietly.

“Negative we canno-”

Biggins retracted the microphone, cutting the transmission off.

“Jenkins!” he barked to a man by his side. “Get up there and find out why those idiots can’t take a sodding shot in an open area.”

The soldier nodded as he moved away from the firing line, hefting his plasma rifle as he did so.

“Keep in contact!” Biggins barked as the young man ran from the barricade.

Standing in his place Biggins fired a full clip of burning bright plasma into the crowd.

“Sir, there’s something wrong.” crackled the voice in his ear.

“What’s that son?” Biggins barked as he reloaded and began firing again.

“Oh christ. I’m gunna be sick…” The voice trailed off before he could hear coughing and heaving on the other end.

“What’s wrong lad?”

“There’s bodies on the second floor, and blood everywhere. Oh God…” he hurled again.

“Get up to the top floor, we need to know what happened to the sniper team!”

“Ye, yes sir…” the voice replied groggily.

A minute or two passed before the voice came back on, in a panic.

“Sir, sir, oh jesus sir they’ve been butchered! Both the spotter and the shooter are in pieces.” He couldn’t bring it on himself to say their names.

“Negative, cannot take the shot…” echoed quietly on the comms.

“What was that? I keep hearing it!”

“That’s the most disgusting thing sir, it’s the shooters head and neck. It keeps saying it over and over.. Oh christ…How is it doing that?”

“Son, get out of there now. Out now now now!” Biggins yelled.

There was a rush of air over the comms. “What was that?” whispered Jenkins. “I heard something.”

“Never mind about that, just run you fool! Get out of there!”

“I’m not alone..” Jenkins replied bleakly, he then screamed and began firing, the fizzing hiss-pop of the Plasma weapon on full auto. The scream became inhuman.

“Jenkins! Jenkins!” shouted Biggins.

“His soul and body are now mine.” hissed Jenkins’ voice over the comms.

“What the bloody hell is this? Who the bloody hell is this?” Biggins yelled.

“Oh. Just a friend.” hissed the voice, slackly now. “Suggest you run!”

The top of the building erupted in a series of explosions.

“Shit.” said Biggins quietly as the top of the building began to come away. “Fall back to the plaza!” he screamed as his men broke into a run, two were crushed under the falling debris.

“This is Sergeant Biggins of the 84th! We’re falling back to the Plaza now, or position is severely compromised!” He yelled over the radio.

“Roger that, all units are pulling back to the Plaza area around the Consulate now. Reform on the corner of Mayfield and Hastings.” Replied the smooth electronic voice.

---------

Withdrawing the blade from the back of the young Jenkins’ head the figure grinned as he ran his tongue along it, before retracting it back into his wrist. “My my, it is fun to be back.” hissed Odin.

------

Porphyria, Heruss’ Office.

The bakelite telephone rang shilly on Heruss’ desk.

“Colonel Heruss.” he said as he picked it up. “What? I see.” he paued for a moment. “I’ll take the Hatherwaite immediately.” He paused again. “I intend to use a recon platoon from the Mainland Corps, a unit from the Defluo Schola and my own platoon.” he listened to the voice on the other end. “Yes, yes. I see, then we’ll drop in at the Consulate. Yes. Ok. Goodbye Minister.” He replaced the phone before leaping to his feet and opening the door, Kristian looking up at him from his work.

“Darling can you get the Major and our daughter in? I have a feeling I’ll need Terefedel on this, and Azreal will insist to follow him. Get Nex also if he’s around.”

“Ok, she’s quite troublesome isn’t she?” Kristian sighed as he picked up a phone on his desk.

“Yes, makes her good daughter material.” he chuckled as went back into his office.
Midlonia
31-01-2008, 01:37
The office door opened. “You wanted to see us Colonel?” Terefedel asked. Nex and Rave behind him.

“Yes, come in, come in.” Heruss said as he was pouring over a map. “Take a seat.”

Nex took up a seat by the fireplace and rubbed his hands.

“So why did you call us here?” Terefedel asked, taking a seat at one of the smaller leather chairs in front of Heruss’ desk.

“Odin.” he said simply.

“Eruch. Him again? I thought we had his pieces in the vaults.”

“We do.” Heruss replied idly, pouring over the map again, pennies were placed at various parts of the map itself, with small black playing pieces from a chess game at other spots.

“Right right, death now doesn’t mean…” Tere began.

“…death eternally.” Nex finished.

"I bet he's killed so many people his soul tastes like chicken..." she said, somehow able to find humor in such a morbid situation. She was always able to do that. "If I knew what that tasted like..." she muttered.

Nex snorted and even Heruss quirked a ghost of a smile.

“Something like that.” Tere said with a sigh and a lopsided smile. “He’s an oddity. Paranormal sort. Did we have his file from last time he was on Pushan?”

“Yep. Still not very pleasant reading. But take a look again if you wish.”

So do you know anything about this Odin, Wrexx? she said to the voice in her head.

Heruss passed the manila folder across to Rave and Tere. Inside were pictures of the Necropilis, the Department for Occult Warfare symbol in the top right hand corner. Corpses arranged in disgusting positions, blood daubed on the walls in pentagrams, in the far corner of one picture, slightly blurred was the symbol of the Anno Domini.

Oooh yes. I like the nickname by the way, suits me… the voice trailed off. He’s a nutcase. Complete and utter nut-case. Also in league now with you know who. Promising him his own little utopia if he helps him now at this time, see the symbol in the left hand bottom corner? It‘s fuzzy and near several others but it‘s a case of guess who? Seems he‘s been in league for longer than thought.

"Anno Domini," she said aloud. "And I'm glad you like your new nickname. It's more petlike. Like a puppy.”

"Maybe if you are good," she said, "I'll buy you a bone." She scanned over the pictures carefully. "Odin is in league with Franz."

“You renamed him?” smirked Nex from the corner.

“To what? He’s a pet now?” chuckled Tere as he looked at the picture closer.

“What?” Heruss looked up suddenly.

"I renamed the voice in my head Wrexx. Cuter name. Plus I never had a pet before..." She winked at Heruss.

“So he’s in league with Franz… This just gets better and bloody better.” he snapped and thumped his desk with his right hand, causing the pieces to jump.

"Eventually Franz will come, and that is inevitable. He's not here yet. No reason we can't rain on his parade," she commented, and snapped her fingers; a spark of electricity sparked between them.

"Let's slaughter Odin's troops and leave Franz a welcome mat."

“No, but it adds complications.” Heruss sighed. “We have to deal with this situation now, we’re being used because of our speciality in the paranormal, which Odin definitely is, the problem is this pulls resources away from our main focus on slowing and even stopping his return. This might be a major distraction.”

“So what is the situation anyway?” Tere asked.

“Well.” Heruss said looking down at the map. “Bad. There’s elements of the 84th regiment spread out between several key points. This railway station here.” he pointed to a coin, then others. “Several bits at the water resources, and more at the power plant and consulate.”
He shoved a set of pawn pieces up along a pair of roads. “There’s a load of them coming up here at the train station and cathedral. We’re worried they’ll use the holy ground to make some sort of ritual.”

"If I can get to that cathedral, they won't be able to touch it," she said, sitting on the edge of Heruss' desk. "I can bless it, the same as the temples and cathedrals in my nation. I can bind it from the twilight with Tere's help. Did you tell Heruss of your gift?" She turned to Tere.

“No, he didn’t…” Heruss trailed off looking up from his map.

“Um, well. Kind of hard to explain.”

“Basically,” interrupted Nex, “Her angelic blood accepted him and gave him some powers which includes going into the twilight realm itself and move around and he can see souls and their colours blahdy blahdy blah.” He lit a joint off the fire. “Needs training though.” he added.

"Actually no," she commented. "That gift was never my own." She gave Nex a death glare.
That gift was given to her from Vaughn, but she was never able to use it.

"He's able to penetrate the rift into the parallel world, into the Dark path, or the twilight. I used to travel and use the Light Path without reprecussions, but it has been long since I have been allowed. The twilight hates me, however, seems to accept Terefedel."

"Souls, yes, he can see. That is my power. As I told Minerva, being with me makes one stronger, not weaker."

“Fair enough.” said Nex.

“I see.. Interesting. Could be useful” he looked thoughtfully at Tere and Rave.

“So. Where do we begin?” Tere asked after a few moments of silence.

“Same place as last time, We‘ll land at the consulate and push to link up with the church and railway area, I‘ll trust you to lead the Mainlanders Tere and you Rave, to lead the Defluo Schola. ”

She frowned. She didn't want to be separated from Heruss or Tere.

“I suggest keeping you and the Mainlanders together, the church needs to be stopped. I’ll work with local ground forces to secure the power plant and the water treatment centre.”

"I need to have a drink before we go..."

“Fine.” Heruss said with a sigh as he clicked the console. “Kristian get the Sergeant in here please, she can fulfil a simple duty I am sure.”

“Yes sir.”

A few moments later Minerva arrived, she wasn’t in her usual uniform now, but in more general work clothes which had a plunging neckline. “You wanted to see me, Colonel?” She asked icily.

“Stand still and don’t move.” Heruss idly replied.

"She can move if she wants," Ravelyn said softly, her eyes slightly glowing in a rich sanguine color. Her soul erupted in flames as she gave way to the hunger and let it flood her. She normally fed once a year, but she had been growing stronger since she drank more. She leapt from the Colonel’s desk, and walked towards her slowly, boots clicking on the floor. Her movement was like that of a lynx, her hips rolling back as she walked. “…try rather.”

She was within three feet of Minerva, who had dared to meet her eyes. She was stupefied before the angelic vampire. Ravelyn closed the gap between them, wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her close. She dragged her nail over the leather just above her breast to tear it open, and she did so easily. She ripped a small piece of leather away, not exposing anything, and bit down onto the flesh.

Let people see the disgrace. Let that be her mark. Ravelyn would stop the bleeding, but she wouldn’t seal it. Let that humble her. Her bite, regardless of her wanting it to be, was pleasurable; euphoric. Minerva’s face had an unexplainable expression on it; as if she were having sex with that aid she had her eye on the whole week.

She even strained to make a sound, but Ravelyn cut it off short by pulling away from her. There were four marks left, no more blood rose, but the wounds didn’t heal.

She caught Minerva from falling and picked her up. It was strange to see Ravelyn carry her because Rave was a bit smaller than the Sergeant. She placed her in a chair, in which she fell asleep. She would have those four marks for life. To her it was more of a punishment than what Tere had prescribed.

She turned back to the three whose eyes did not leave her.

“I… Hrm.” Tere merely coughed, his face blushing slightly.

“Done?” Heruss asked with a raised eyebrow. The even hadn’t effected him.

“Hot.” Nex said, poking Minvera with a finger. “How long she going to sleep for?”

"Couple days," Ravelyn responded to Nex, then looked at Heruss. "Yes, done." She then turned her attention to Tere. "You all right?"

“I, uh. Just watched the women I am dating do the vampire equivalent of making out with another woman. How do you think I feel?” Tere stammered.

Ravelyn chuckled. "You would have loved Cecelia then..."

“Huh?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Ex lover," she shrugged.

“Oh.” Tere replied emptily, still not quite believing what he had seen.

“Shall we get going?” Heruss asked, getting up and placing his cap on his head.

"I'm ready," she said stretching.

----

The Hatherthwaite had updated over the years. First starting out as a wooden sailing ship it had steadily evolved over the centuries. Today, the 12th such iteration of the vessel flew. It was an anti-gravity ship some 600metres long, armed with 6 inch cannon and anti-missile systems it was escorted by two smaller escourt ships, also similarly armed, but more against aerial targets and other such things. All three were sleek and dangerous looking. A statement as well as a weapon of war.

It caused a shadow to fall over the castle itself as it locked with the docking ring at the very top of the tower.

“Impressive isn’t she?” Heruss yelled over the whine of the anti-gravity engines and the turbo-jets that were holding her aloft. “Our transport ship, come on!” he yelled as a ramp lowered down onto the keep proper with a whine and a thud.

The sound outside died to a dull roar and the sounds of electronic bleeping, hissing and clicking took over instead.

“Better.” he said, taking his cap back off. “This is the Hatherthwaite. Our flagship.”

"Oh," she commented. Not wanting to look disinterested, she continued "Our military is quite different. Excuse my lack of knowledge on...ships."

“Right.” Tere said looking around and smelling the air. “Hate the recycled air though.”

“Pshaw.” quipped Heruss back. “Now,” he said as he stopped an aid who was walking along with a check list. “Everyone aboard?”

“Yes sir.” replied the young vampire. “The unit sergeants are waiting in the briefing room now.”

“Good.” he replied. “Well, lets go meet your units then.” Heruss said, clapping his hands together.

The Briefing room was a cool mechanical blue with a raised platform for seating in the middle. On one side sat a human wearing what appeared to be desert-style robes and home-made battle armour, Kristian and a large figure that appeared to be all muscle wearing a visor of some sort.

“Sergeant Jennifer Sanders, 1st Defluo Schola.” Heruss said pointing to each in turn, “Leftenant Kristian Heruss 1st Company Dark Angels, and Kyran Ardane, Mainland Corps 3rd Recon.”

“Leftenant.” Sanders nodded to Rave.
"And Wrexx," she nodded in return with a half smile. Always smiling to keep her own spirits up.

“Who?” The Sergeant raised an eyebrow and leant forward.

"The voice in my head," she responded. "I thought Aladrahel sounded like too helpful a soul, Wrexx is more petlike. Don't you think?"

Sanders leant back. “Been in the sun too long dear?” she asked with a quirked smile.

Heruss merely snorted with laughter. “No, no Sanders I am afraid it’s quite true. She has a voice in her head that’s somehow got useful knowledge of what we’re up against.”

“Just another screwy day at work…” she muttered.

"Least you aren't dead," Ravelyn said, looking at her nails and shifting her black wings out from behind her back to make her comfortable. "Dying is a bitch. Hell isn't that welcoming either---" She looked at Heruss as a 'can we get on with it' look to save her from going over her life story to explain herself to Sanders.

Wrexx what do you think of Sanders? she asked internally. Somehow calling him Wrexx made her a lot more happy about the soul than Aladrahorrible name.

Arrogant. But justifiably so Wrexx replied. You know what Defluo Schola is, right?

I'm not from around here. Who is Defluo Schola?
She reminds me of Minerva, Wrexxaroni. Just want to slap some sense into her; except she is far less annoying. or trashy.


Lost soldiers, the last time Franz walked the earth they invaded The Commonwealth, where that big guy is from. The problem is that during the war a number of units got lost from the sand storms. They became the lost battalions. Every so often they find colonies still fighting the war, a good 150 years on since it’s end. The Midlonians have guys out there to convince them the war is over and that they can come back into the fold. Hard as nails fighters, unable to fit in society in general, so they formed Defulo Schola, which is latin for “Lost Soldiers.”

Oh Ravelyn replied to the voice. Well fancy that

The doors opened again and Nex came tumbling in. “Seraphim of all Chaos and Death” he said bowing slightly after he got himself back up. “Now, what did I miss?” he said grinning.

“Nothing important…” Heruss said with a shake of his head. “We’re about to make way.”

The room shifted slightly as the engines cut in, causing all to sway slightly and for Nex to find himself on the floor, his skull rolling and clattering away.

"Oh! Tim!" she reached out her hand and it recalled into her hands seemingly without any strings attatched. She took a joint out, and handed it to Nex. She hadn't gotten her real armor on yet. She did have her fo-leather armor on; and it was thinner than everyone elses...tighter to. Oh Q...

“How long this gunna take?” Asked Sanders.

“24 hours tops.” Heruss replied. “We’ll be off to do our own things and sort out our quarters. I suggest you and Sanders get to know each other.” With that he left with a nod to the other two soldiers, who also left. Kristian with Heruss. Nex, Tere and Rave remained behind with Sanders.
“So, she any good?” She asked to Tere.

"In which way do you mean?" she questioned with a half smile.

She laughed, a deep feminine chuckle. “Hey, which way do you wanna take it?”

"I don't know. I mean, you were asking Tere..."

"So, Tere...how would you describe me?"

“Brilliant.” Tere replied, looking at a spot on the wall behind Sanders and not looking at Rave.

"Tere..." She drew it out. How long could he possibly resist her? She leaned her head on his shoulder.

The answer was not very, his arm wrapped around her waist and he turned to look at her. “Incredible then. As a fighter and as a lover.” He chuckled.

Sanders laughed and nodded. “Fine, then you’ll do. I’ll fight for you Leftenant.” She threw her long auburn hair over her shoulder, showing a scar running down her left eye and cheek. “Though I have yet to see you fight for myself. Two ways you can tell how good a person is. How they fight and how they make love. Especially in the desert.”

"Mmmmn..." she cuddled with him, and he felt a surge of strength begin to enter his soul. Being with someone she cared about made both of them stronger.

"Chose to fight for me or not. If not for me then for yourself. If you chose not to...just more people I have to kill to compensate. I am, afterall, the Seraphim of Death and Chaos. If I am not skilled at killing, I'm afraid I would be out of a job." Her skin grew warm as she nuzzled close to Tere. It once seemed impossible to get that close.

Tere leant into the nuzzling, resting his head on top of her’s as he held her close to him. They were rapidly becoming lost in their own little world as he felt warm and stronger with her, together he felt they made a whole. They both became stronger the more time they spent together.

“Want one?” Nex said, offering Sanders a supply from Tim.

“No thanks. I don’t smoke.”

“Really? Don’t smoke? How about a drink?”

“Nope.”

“Then what do you do?”

“Sex.” she replied deadpanned watching the two lovers cuddle on the other side of the room. Nex looked across.

“They’re like that a lot.” he said with a sigh. “They should really get a room, but you know how it is.” He shrugged.

She bent up and kissed Tere, and instantly her ethereal wings became visible in addition to the dark feathered ones. They glowed a heated red, and grew bigger to reach the length of the other too. They swayed without pattern. She glowed, and her skin became hot.

“Now that is interesting.” Sanders muttered, looking at Rave still.
Tere wrapped his arms tight around Rave’s waist and pulled her as close to him as possible as they kissed. Both were now hot and stronger than they were before, he could see souls more clearly. Rather than flickering colours he could see shapes better. The echos and the vibrant colours that danced in Nex’s own soul. Sanders was a dull blue colour.

Ravelyn had her eyes closed, and had somehow managed to get on top of Tere. She was kissing his neck; back to his lips, to his ear, and back to his lips. The heat from the two hit both Sander's and Nex all at once.

Nex’s hood billowed slightly. “I do believe that is a queue to leave.” he said grinning, tapping Sanders on the shoulder, who now seemed to be enamoured by the scene in front of her.

“Your quarters are second on the right!” called Nex as he dragged Sanders unwillingly from the room.

Tere finally broke the kissing for a moment. “You’re incredible” he breathed.

"Stop talking," she said in a throaty whisper, and before he could protest, sealed his lips with a heated kiss.
Midlonia
31-01-2008, 11:21
Pushan

The gunfire erupted again as a mass of cultists pushed their way slovenly down the street.

“Christ’s sake don’t they know to give up?” Yelled the young soldier.

“They just keep bloody coming!” Screamed another.

Gunfire was sporadically exchanged between the two groups in the shadow of the railway station. A large gothic style building in keeping with the local architecture.

The infinite repeater, an energy-based heavy machine gun opened up, practically blind firing at the thick crowd.

Sergeant Hastings growled as he looked out at the situation. “It’s no good, we’re going to have to seal it up. Get everyone indoors now.”

He was a tall barrel chested man with thick bushy salt-and-pepper eyebrows and large expressive blue eyes, his hair was shock-white.

The last few members of the squad outside fired a few more times before running inside, one man getting clipped in the leg as he did so. He was dragged inside by two other men and immediately seen too by a medic.

The blast shutters began to clatter shut. Thick steel and concrete hammering down on the ground floor doors and windows.

The men ran up the stairs and set themselves up again, firing down onto the crowd that was now standing in front of the closed building, many shooting up but missing widely.

Suddenly a loud low humming noise caused the cultists to stop shooting, and turn and run, en masse all of them turned and fled, screaming and dropping weaponry behind them as they did so, within a minute the crowd was gone, destruction and bodies in their wake.

The men started cheering. Cheers which got louder when they saw a helicopter and a tank appear at the end of the street, followed by men running behind it, they fired off a flare as they got closer due to their older uniforms denoting they were part of the Territorial forces.

Or so they thought.

The helicopter flew faster forward first and began firing, the bullets apparently charmed in some way due to the snarling face of fire which followed them, tearing chunks out of the stonework as they hit.

“Shit, they’re not friendly!” Shouted Sergeant Hastings. “Wilson, use the launcher to take it out!”

The pasty faced acne scarred youth known as Wilson hefted the large launcher onto his shoulder.
“Firing!” he shouted.

“Clear!” yelled everyone at the same time to open their mouths to cope with the pressure difference.

The missile arced it’s way the short distance to the helicopter and smashed dead centre into the cockpit, smoke covered it for a few seconds and the men cheered again. There hadn’t been a known helicopter to survive a direct hit from a Midlonian Hand Held anti-air missile ever.

Until today.

The cockpit was just crashed in and crumpled, most of the front had gone in with it.

But it was somehow still flying.

“What the fuck?” Hastings hissed quietly.

It had evidently angered whatever was piloting the crumpled helicopter as this time it fired rockets, and didn’t stop. Tearing apart the upper floor with a steady, methodical precision. On the ground, the tank, an old obsolete design long since removed and scrapped by even the Territorial Army began to shoot at the ground floor, tearing apart the ground floor also.

Hastings ran down the stairs with just two of his men left, the rest were dead, kicking open an emergency door they ran outside, only to find themselves facing another figure.

“Hi!” Said the tall, thin long brown haired man with a beard and fiery green eyes.

“No…” Hastings screamed.

“Yep!” Odin replied as he ran forward, blades firing out of his wrists with a hiss as he did so. He turned, span and stuck a blade into each of them men’s chest.

Gurgling in pain they both fell to the ground, bleeding out from the direct stab wounds to the heart.

A pair of the “old” soldiers came out of the building door. One carried a radio pack, the other had a Katana sword slung over his shoulder and had stripes denoting he was the leftenant of the squads that had attacked, he had a sharp nose, no chin and pale yellow eyes, his skin was an unhealthy grey colour.

He looked at the bodies on the floor outside. “Badge them too.” he said nodding to the radioman to his side, who had covered the bottom of his face with a bandana.

“Told you we were more efficient that your cultists, you’re lucky Lord Malkren has allowed this detachment here, we heard that a certain target was coming soon.”

“And she’ll die when she does…” giggled Odin as he licked the blood-coated blades clean.

“No.” barked the Leftenant, his eyes glistening dangerously. “She is to be captured, not killed.”

“Huh. No fun at all. I bet Franz would let me kill her…” he added whistfully.

“You do not use the Lord God’s name!” hissed the Leftenant.

Odin tittered again, causing the Leftenant to snarl.

Another soldier followed them out, she was wearing a medic’s badge and carrying a small box which rattled as she walked. The soldier sighed and put her hair back up into her helmet properly then swaggered her way over to the dead bodies of the Sergeant and his two soldiers. She opened the box and recovered a badge which she attached to the uniform. She then kissed the dead soldier and he gasped in pain, breathing and coughing for a moment or two as he own skin dulled in colour. This process she repeated on the other two.

“Fourth squad, form up!” shouted out the Leftenant.

Boots clanking and clattering the previously dead squad reformed at the back of the building as the tank and the other three squads of men rounded the large gothic exterior. Their uniforms were bloodied and showed gashes and wounds in their bodies. But they were all wearing the Anno Domini pins. They were now just yet another unit in a different war machine.

“Whom do you serve?” the Leftenant barked.

“Lord Malkren and God!” yelled back the soldiers, their eyes had all turned yellow and their pupils were fixed and dilated.

“Move out!” he shouted again.

“Well well Leftanant Garufedel. I shall leave this to you.” Odin bowed and leapt high into the air before disappearing.

“Why do they tolerate him?” said the radioman to his side in a flat, emotionless electronic voice.

“Means to an end.” Garufedel replied, baring his fangs with a hiss before donning his bowl helmet again.

“Lets move on to this church anyhow. I hear there’s still a squad there that needs mopping up. It’s got an item in there of His too…”

“Yes sir.” the electronic growl replied.
Midlonia
02-02-2008, 22:33
The Klaxon began to wail loudly. The lights in the rooms and corridors slammed to a crimson red.
“This is not a drill. This is not a drill. All personnel report to battle stations.” The cool electronic feminine voice spoke quietly over the noise.

Tere sat upright in the bed. “An Alarm? Oh God…” he leapt out of bed and began to look around the room, finding his uniform and pulling on the bottoms quickly.

Outside the dull thud of explosions sounded, followed by the barking of guns boots ran along the corridor outside of Tere and Rave’s quarters as all hell had apparently broken loose.

Ravelyn had somehow already managed to put her uniform on and was in the process of brushing her hair. She apparently wasn't alarmed. Her entire entity glowed with the raging power within her. Her skin looked heated.

“This is not a drill. This is not a drill” echoed once again throughout the corridors. “A boarding action has taken place and we are presently under attack. All personnel are to report to their commanding officers immedi-”

The voice was cut off as the lights cut out for a second, before once again flickering on.

“God’s sake can I just have a day of rest?” muttered Terefedel as he picked up his sword, then his pistol, stuffing both into his uniform, he turned to Rave, who he noticed was seething with energy. “Ready?”

She made a quick motion with her hand and a light emminated from her; illuminating the dark corners of the room. She stretched her wings. "As I'll ever be."

“Good.” he nodded and moved to open the door. The gunfire tore it apart and hit Terefedel several times in the chest, he was thrown suddenly backwards and onto the bed with some force as splinters of wood and metal showered the rest of the room.

“She’s in here!” screamed a voice on the outside ruins of the door, a boot kicked open the remains. “Ah Ha!” the figure, wearing a funny uniform with a bowl helmet on his head said triumphantly, cradling a gun in his hands. His face soon turned to anguish as he was incinerated by Rave’s fury, all that fell was the burnt steaming skeleton, which clattered onto the floor with a hollow ring.

She had leapt in front of Tere's body. Her left chains wrapped around his waist and around his back, hoisting him up behind her to keep him safe from the gunfire and to bring him along with her. She kept her right hand out, litterally burning alive all who came close to her. Her face was expressionless as she amde her way through the ship. "I'm afraid today isn't your day..." she sighed, as if it had been an every day chore. It was about that difficulty from the power which she had gained from being with Tere and the churning fury within her stomach of the bullets which were lodged in his body.

“I’ll say it isn’t” Tere coughed after a few moments. “Can you put me down?”

She set him down carefully as she survayed the room. "Clear in here..." she snapped her fingers repetetively, causing a small spark within her fingertips every time.

He was propped up against one of the walls of the ship corridors for a minute. He moved his arms painfully to his chest and pulled at one of the bullets lodged there. It came away as a small flat disk. “Quite good the armour on this.” he said in reference to his uniform. “Stops anything, but hurts like hell. I’m just badly bruised, but I’ll be alright in a minute or two.” he coughed again.

A set of men appeared at the end of the corridor where it bisected with another, but they weren’t running towards Rave and Tere, instead they were running from someone, or something.

An ethereal skull rushed through a couple of stragglers causing them to immediately turn into ice. The screaming continued as the heavy footfalls receeded.

Walking rather idly into view was Nex, holding the skull aloft. If glowed a pale yellow and he was chuckling quite darkly. He then tossed the skull up into the air and caught it a few times before smashing the two frozen figures with his scythe. “Never get tired of doing that.” he chuckled again.

“Hey, Seraphim of all Death and Chaos!” he shouted up the corridor to her and Tere. “Seems this ship is now right up your street!”

"Hey Nex," she winked charmingly, and walked over to him. She had known Tere would be okay. She could see the soul within his body. She swiped the skull, took out a joint, lit it, and took a drag. "How've you been?"

“Eh, you know.” he said taking one from behind his ear and lighting it with a small lighter that was hidden in one of the eye sockets. He then went back to throwing it and catching it with one hand. “People to see, to administer death to yadder yadder yadder, all the usual business stuff you know?”

Tere got up and had limped over to Nex and Rave. “Hey Attendant.” he said with a grin.

“Oooh, Jesus kid you look like crap. Here.” he said as he stuffed his own spliff into Tere’s mouth and put another into his mouth “S’ok, it’s herbal not weed. Pain killer, take the edge off of your bruising.”

“So why you got it?” Tere asked as he took a drag.

Nex merely showed a cut to his neck. “Got into a little knife fight.” he said with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes.

The intercomm crackled into life again with an unholy screeching sound. “Seraphim Seraphim where are you?” a sing song voice came over dripping with sweetness and almost a child-like voice.

"Uh, right here..." she responded, leaning against the wall. "Kind of bored. All your men are dead...Kind of dissapointing really. I've fought humans more impressive."

“Oh? How cute! You sound adorableeeeeeeeeeeee.” the voice eeked out again. “But I wonder how you’d do elsewhere?”

Suddenly the three of them were no long aboard the ship, instead they were up to their knees in blood in a darkened place.

"What do you think? I'm scared of the dark? Honestly..." She contracted her wings and pulled herself up out of the blood which dripped from her boots. Her hand reached outward, and light coursed throughout their surroundings. "Only cowards hide in dark places."

“Or maybe we are trapped here in darkness.” said a deep male voice as the sound of ticking cut heavily through the silence, Rave’s light doing little but beat back the darkness from the immediate area.

Ravelyn sighed. "You bore me..." and she actually was getting pretty bored. "I've lived more than several lifetimes and people think their theatrics will instill a sense of fear in me. It's the same thing over and over again. Now this time the water is blood...but i've seen this all before."

“Hrm. I see.” the voice continued, sneering. “But did this happen?”

Ropes and silken material flew from the darkness, wrapping themselves around her, her throat and arms, her legs and a blindfold fluttered around her face. They pulled tight from all directions holding her in place.

Not quite, but the silk is a nice touch.she managed, though didn't like the current situation. "What do you want from me?"

“What don’t I want, Azreal?” the voice chuckled. “From you though? For now? Nothing. Except…”

The scene changed and Rave found herself in a sealed tube with a glass front. She was in a lab and her hands were still bound. White coated figures were standing around with their backs turned looking at monitors and machines. Whispering and laughing.

A figure moved over to the tube. “…maybe your mind.” It was a short man, with brown hair a pointed nose and a monocle. He wore a peaked cap with the Anno Domini symbol on it. “Such a rich place of ideas and spells and casting…” he trailed off, his eyes glistening with greed he drew in a breathe of air and she could feel the memories and the secrets being drawn forcibly out of her.

Clearly you want something… she managed to say. This wasn't real was it? It couldn't be. Everything was how she remembered it. That was millenia ago, and the lab had been nuked. What good were her memories to a tyrant? Clearly there were things that he simply couldn't understand. "Get out of my mind..." she growled, and began to work on the glass.

Franz chuckled, a long low laugh that cut right through a person when it was heard, a deep chuckled that cut right down to the soul. “I quite like your mind, it has many experiences that will be useful to me….“ he snapped his fingers and electricity and fire arced between them, the flames flicking and crackling with electricity. “Very nice.” he said with a grin, revealing his sharp, large fangs.

“You know such labs had containment procedures, right? At this moment in time, you were weak.” he pushed a button to the side and the tube began to depressurise, the air hissing and escaping. “It’s a corporeal body after all.” he chuckled again. Watching her.

"You might be able to cast here...but to cast in full strength you need something that you can't take from memory..." she ripped at the glass. "Do you ...do you know what happened next?" Her wings burst from her back; the glass broke and water spilled out onto the floor along with her. Her wings were white. "You might want it from me...but you will never be as good as the original..."

“Oh I’ll get that, don’t you worry…” he said as he faded. “Don’t you worry. I can never loose…” he hissed.

The Corridor on the ship was aflame and it was now sitting at a slight angle. Nex, Tere and Rave were all sat on the floor dumbfounded.

“Hope you enjoyed yourselves.” The childlike voice sang again. “I know I di-” The plasma shot shattered the speaker nearest to them as Tere lowered his blade pistol, he was drenched in sweat.

“So what did you see?” he breathed heavily, looking at Rave.

"Just invading or trying to, bits and pieces of my memories. Nothing will really help him unless he has me though. He's toying with us. He's not at full strength yet though, just testing or trying to see what he will get."

"Part of my past however," she said in return. "Is blocked even from me."

She curled up next to Tere, laying across his chest really.

Tere put his arm around her. “He tried something similar on me. Part of my past, and a future somebody else was trying to set.” he shook his head and stroked her hair.

"What do you mean by future?"

“A reunion of sorts…” he just trailed off.

Heruss appeared at the door, holding onto the frame as he moved himself through “Everyone alright?” he asked, as ever his uniform was immaculate. Kristian appeared behind him, uniform bloodied and hair ruffled, but blatantly none of the blood was his.

"Physically, yes," Ravelyn said as she felt secure in Tere's arm.

“Right, well there’s still problems ongoing. Borders near the engine rooms. I need some help, there’s some sort of barrier preventing us from going further. No rest for the wicked now, chop chop!” he clapped his hands and moved on from the doorway down the corridor.

Nex got to his feet and dusted himself down. “Come on then, no time to dawdle and nightmares.” he shrugged and moved off, even he seemed to have become subdued a little by the event.

Tere simply cradled Rave in his arms some more, reluctant to move. “We can stay here if you want…” he said quietly to her.

"I need a vacation," she said getting up with Tere and Nex. She followed behind Heruss obediantly, and fought the urge to just sit down and smoke.

The klaxons were still going half heartedly and the ship was leaning badly to the left as they walked unsteadily down. They passed a large window where an aircraft thundered past, engines sputtering as it did so. The symbols of the Anno Domini all over it. They had to be considering it was still flying without a wing. A gun from the ship fired at it, clipping the cockpit and a large symbol on the tail, finally sending it down eeking green flames and yellow smoke.

They came upon the sound of gunfire being exchanged. A group of Defluo Schola and Vampires were shooting at a group of drab suited men at the far end of a long wide corridor, between them was a shimmering blue barrier of some form that crackled every time gunfire passed through.

She took Tere's arm. "Dark path, Tere...and cross the line." She grinned slightly. "Bring us out on the other side and drop me off."

“Right.” he nodded and felt for the right moment in his mind, as time around them slipped away and the land turned into shadows. Bullets and plasma arced their way through very slowly and they moved slowly towards the practically black barrier. Both moved steadily and slowly as the twilight hissed and whispered around them.

"Bullets won't harm you here," she whispered, as she grasped his hand and lead him to the other side. "They are shades of what they are in that realm..." When they had crossed over. She was growing colder. "Take us out of here but hold onto me still...Don't want you getting burned..."

“I can look after myself when prepared.” he smiled, then moved behind her, his arms slipping around her waist as he leant in between Rave’s wings and whispered into her ear “Ready?”

"Yes, hurry..." She leaned back against him and closed her eyes.

With a rush, all hell broke loose again, bullets whizzed and snapped past them. The move had been so sudden in Heruss’ eyes that he barely had time to scream “Cease fire.”
From one direction at least, the gunfire had stopped.

It was as if an explosion went off on the other side of the barrier erupted in flames. Ravelyn could feel Tere's grip tighten around her. Her skin was warm, and while the fire also passed over them, it did not burn them. It was a strange light green color with yellow and white tips where it was the hottest.

The shield burst and disappeared and the smoking corpses of the Anno Domini soldiers began to cool, smoke drifting from them.

Defluo Schola soldiers ran past them both, bursting into the engine room proper.

The shouts came back a few moments later “Clear!”

“Nice work.” Heruss nodded to Tere and Rave as he walked past them, kicking over a cooling corpse. “Hrm. Explains it. This lot are from the Colony Wars era and the Second Moonstone War. Explains why they matched us in places…” he sighed and shook his head. “The situation keeps changing rapidly.”

"What should we do?" she questioned, waiting to be given another order

“Overseer!” Barked Heruss. “What’s the status of our escourts?”

The cool female voice came back again. “Both ships are still operational, but damaged.”

“Then continue our course while repairs are made.” he replied. “Also, contact the fleet and order the 56th Heavy Foot to be deployed to Pushan also, we’ll need to firepower evidently.”

He chewed on his lip for a moment before taking out his pipe and lighting it. “Stand down. That’s my order for now. We still have some hours to go before we get there. We also have to wait for the additional firepower now.” He shook his head and looked at the damage around him as the ship began to right itself properly. “Better.” he nodded.

“Stand down.” he nodded to Tere and Rave as he walked away, stepping over another corpse as he did so.

Tere slowly let go from Rave’s waist, his hand slipping into hers as he did so. “We did good.” he nodded with a smile.

"All of this killing all for power, when it all gets taken away from you at the end. You can be as powerful as you want on earth while your time lasts...but your soul rots in darkness." She placed her arms around her knees, pulling them close. "Franz does not see his soul is doomed. The soul; above all else, is the most important."

Nex leant his scythe against the wall. “His soul is a strange one. Not a vortex, but not a solid one either.”

"It's filthy..." she trailed off in disgust.

Some say it doesn’t exist… Wrexx came in, apparently yawning.

It does… she responded.But it is too clouded in darkness to locate what remains of it. she sighed. Sleep well?

Like the grave… Wrexx yawned again. Oh… I missed a lot didn’t I?

She sighed. "I don't know how long I can get on with this talking voice," she said, leaning on Terefedel.

Tere chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Well, he’s your pet.” he said with a half-smile.

She sighed dramatically, and settled in Tere's arms. It didn't really bother her there were dead bodies around.

“You feeling ok? Not drained or anything?” Tere asked, resting his head gently against hers.

"Just tired," she said in return as she closed her eyes and nestled into him like a cat.

He sighed and held her close to him. “Want to head back to our quarters and rest for a bit?”

The angel was already asleep.

Tere chuckled and lifted her up and began to carry her back to their room.
Midlonia
08-02-2008, 01:28
“Urgh. Jet laaaaaaaag” groaned Nex the next morning, his head was practically in a bowl of cereal in front of him. “Where we going again anyway?” he asked to Terefedel, who was presently poking a piece of “Black Pudding” also known as blood sausage around his plate.

“Pushan.” He replied with a sigh.

“Oooh!” Nex perked up suddenly, clicking his fingers and changing into a tropican shirt and a large pair of sunglasses. “Party on the beach!” he yelled, causing some others nearby to chuckle and look at Nex.

“Yes yes. Aside from it’s been perpetually raining since this incident started.” Tere replied with a grim expression.

Nex stopped dancing and pretending to play a guitar with his scythe to look at Tere. “What? Pushan of all places? You gotta be kidding.”

“Nope. Been raining constantly. Not beach weather at all.”

"For a bringer of death aren't you a little to cheerful," Ravelyn cut in upon entering the room, sitting down next to Tere, looking a bit forlorn at the substance on his plate. She lit it on fire.

“Weeeellll.” Nex took the glasses off and thought for a moment. “I guess so when compared to you Miss-set-things-on-fire.”

“Good morning Rave.” Tere said with a weak, still sleepy smile.

“I’ve always been a bit mad really. Suppose it’s because I’ve experienced a lot of things that’d depress most people, but instead I just stay cheery. Death isn’t the end after all!”

'Don't remind me," she said, putting out the fire, and then resting her head in her hands with her elbows on the table.

“Point taken.” Nex said with a grin. “You gunna eat that?” he asked Tere at the burnt piece of Blood sausage.

“Uh, no.” Tere said, pushing the plate to the other side of the table. Nex hungrily tucked into it and cleaned the plate in a few seconds.

He belched loudly and smacked his lips. “Nice, you’d make a good cook, Seraphim.”

"I can't eat food...why would I want to cook it?" she said morosely.

“Eh, something to do I suppose. Better than being so mopey. What’s wrong?” Nex asked, now standing on his chair in the mess room.

"Boredom," she said in melancholy. "And there isn't anywhere to go..."

“Well, we’re supposed to be over the Island now. There’s a good way to see the Island if you fancy it….” Nex trailed off.

“You’re not thinking…” Tere began.

“Yep!” Nex grinned.

"Can I just jump out the window and meet you there..." her eyes trailed over to Tere.

“I can kind of join you.” Tere replied. “We’d just need to see Q quickly.”

“Tell you what. Nex, you go take Rave to the bay doors and I’ll join you in a minute, ok?”

She expanded her wings, and nearly hit Sanders in the face but skillfully avoided that by shifting her body. She just wanted to get out of here that was apparent. "Well, better hurry."

Tere moved quickly from the mess room and Nex chuckled and clapped his hands. Still in his brightly coloured shirt and sunglasses. “Oh this is going to be fun!” he said.

"Mmmmhmm," she said with an unfamiliar smile, and rose from her chair.

“Was that a smile, Seraphim?” Nex chuckled.

"I'm getting out of here," she commented. "Of course it was..." She winked.


The air rushed from under the craft, air sucked and blew around the fairly large room near the gap in the floor. Far below was a tiny spot in a tranquil turquoise blue. It was an island covered with trees and the gentle grey of the buildings and habitation.

“Oh man this will be fun!” Shouted Nex again. “You’ll love the kit Tere will bring with him, seriously!” Somehow his joint was still alight and wedged into his teeth.

Tere had come back into the larger room carrying a small red and yellow pack on his back. There wasn’t a second one for Nex. “I’m ready!” he shouted.

“Bout time!” Nex yelled back. “Was about ready to go!”

“Ready Rave?” Tere yelled to her, the air was rushing loudly now as the wind picked up.

"Uh...yeah. But...what is that?" She pointed to the thing on his back.

“Something Q made a while back.” He grinned and pulled a cord on the back as a pair of metal wings shot out. “Better than a parachute because I cannot fly!”

She spread her own wings outward. They were a good deal greater in wingspan than his. "Uh huh..." She was a little bit appalled at the mechanical artwork, but didn't make any mention of it. Without warning, she jumped out, folding her wings close to her skillfully so the velocity picked up.

Tere shrugged, looked at Nex then jumped after her. Nex clapped his hands and rubbed them and jumped also.

The wind whipped and roared around them as their speed picked up. Nex had donned a very laid back pose, arms folded behind his head as he plummeted downward towards the earth. They couldn’t hear each other over the rush of air.

Tere simply grinned as the wind threw his hair back behind him, aiming downwards to the small island in the turquoise sea. He looked to Rave and waved.

Enjoying the view? Wrexx piped in.

Seen it all before, she said softly. I want to go back… she commented.

Back where?
The Realm of Light? Wrexx asked slyly.

...

Ooooh, the silent treatment again, huh? Yawwwwn. Wrexx muttered. By the way, enjoy the postcard view while you can. It’s gunna change in 3.…2.…1

Suddenly they were barrelling through thick clouds, black dark clouds that were filled with droplets of water, soaking them as they fell. Even Nex has turned over looking at the clouds that had suddenly appeared. A confused look on his face.

Ravelyn frowned at the change in whether, and landed swifter than she had planned to. More fighting..more death...nothing changes. Nothing has changed in all of these years…

They had landed on the beach, the sea had turned a strange yellowish colour. Tere landed softly next to her, the wings slamming back into the backpack with an audible snap and clack.

Nex simple barrelled into the sand next to them, leaving a body imprint in the sand as he disappeared from sight. He clambered back up a moment later. “Huh, that’s odd. I couldn’t do anything.” he remarked as he dusted himself down as he looked around, then crossed his eyes as he looked at the bent joint which he straightened out as best as he could. “Anybody else notice the air is… heavy and, kind of anti-magic?”

Ravelyn spit to her side. Oh, Corothisia… she sighed to herself. She had been with Coro when something like this happened. She had broken the anti-magic field with him. It wasn't able to suppress her for long. Ravelyn did something odd. She knelt upon the ground, and lounged in the sand, waiting. Waiting for death to claim her. If it was her day to die, so be it.

“Hrm.” Tere commented as he looked at the cityscape. In the distance was the great Grave-towers which were being struck with lightening. “We should really move on from here.” he said simply.

"To where," she questioned.

“Well.” he said in thought for a moment, trying to remember the map. “They were supposed to be rallying near the Consulate building which is…” he paused and looked at the Grave Tower again. It had moved. He was sure of it. “Uh.” he looked for another building, a tall skyscraper. “That way.” he pointed.

She looked desparingly at the pair, lifted herself from the ground and began to walk. This is why part of me hates humanity...all they cause is war. While part of me longs for a war after a long while, I grow tired of continuously fighting.

Been a while since these guys had a war you know Wrexx Commented.

Been two years since I've fought in one… She said to to the voice in her head. I just want to get awa from them for a while. I want to see Heruss, and just spend time with him… Such a strong woman, but still so fragile.

Just your rotten luck then. Wrexx said with a chuckle. I’ll also note that Heruss is a military man and has been for centuries, either way he’d always be called away.

I want to see him… she said, her mind resolute on this decision, and her pace quickened.

Ladies and gentlemen please look to your right and you will see some very interesting naval design… Wrexx said again in an almost professional voice.

A roar and scream barked from their right, from out to sea and part of a large building ahead of them crumbled suddenly.

What is it.. she asked him again, assuming he would know. He seemed to know a lot of history about this nation anyway.

Out in the wrong-coloured sea was a ship of some form. It was partly cracked in two and covered in rust. The only thing not covered in rust, barnacles and coral was a large symbol on the side. It’s guns were turned to the coast and began to fire, flaming effigies of skulls seemingly following the shells as they began to smash into the coastline and the buildings behind it.

Random guess? Part of the First Moonstone War Armarda. Commonwealth apparently. Man that’s a wreck. These guys are good. I thought they could only do this kind of stuff to people…

“Run!” Yelled Tere as he broke into a sprint.

"I see," she said outloud seemingly to no one. She drew her scythe, and lifted up about six feet in the air. I can't run any more Tere. I'm tired...I'm tired of running. Indeed it was no longer in her heart. Her concern about her wellbeing had slipped from herself frighteningly easily.

"Did you come here for me?!" She roared across the pouring rain which pounded upon her wings which still managed to keep her skillfully airborn.

The ship simply carried on, it apparently wasn’t interested in the figures on the beach all that much and was mostly shooting at the buildings behind them, but the debris was beginning to fall perilously close.

It was at that moment a searing ball of blue light thundered down from above, smashing aside the clouds, turning the rain to steam and smashing hard into the ship. It melted under the impact, the ship broke apart and sank back below the waves.

The Hatherthwaite appeared with a thunderous roar as the two support ships followed either side of it. The huge bodies thundered over the figures, headed in the direction Tere had been heading.

“Showoff.” muttered Nex as he looked at the sinking wreck.

I can't take this much longer, Ravelyn said to Wrexx. She followed Tere reluctantly.

What, not being able to show off so much? Wrexx replied sarcastically.

Not being able to die...I just want this...all of this to be over. I want to die, she said quite frankly. She had never shown off in a real battle to show of. It's what she did best. What she had been looking for was a ticket out of here, even if just for one hundred years. Then Franz wouldn't be able to get a hold of her, and she would have some peace for a while.

And I didn’t. Isn’t destiny a bastard? Wrexx replied with another chuckle. Fact is it isn’t about you, if he doesn’t try to get you here he will come for you.

“We’ve got to keep moving Azreal!” snapped Tere, he was irritable at the situation right now.

Can't get me where his soul isn't allowed. I'm not afraid of him, don't get me wrong. I was never meant to be a soldier. I've always been a weapon. I've always fought alone. Now... now it's just the same. No one understands me.. She shot quite the glance back to Tere. "Don't call me that," she snapped back at him, hiding fresh tears with a flick of her long hair.

He didn't even understand. How could he understand. She raced in front of him, breaking out into a run. Just to get away from all of this; to be one of the Light Ones wholely again. To go back to that place. There were her favorite flowers...

Considering nobody else is a seraphim I am not surprised Wrexx replied.

There are three others… she whispered, feeling the strain of her body as she pushed herself harder. When do we stop running. When does this all stop?

He could probably stop it… Wrexx mused.



[I]Possibly… Wrexx replied. He has a lot of power at his disposal. I mean look at all the stuff going on now!

I'll let it happen as it does, and accept it.

Tere and Nex had struggled to keep up with Rave as they ran. Eventually they found themselves near to the Hatherthwaite again floating above a part of the coastline. Below it were men in red coats, Heruss was standing talking heatedly with a figure in an ochre coat who was gesturing a lot.

She came to an abrupt hault as she reached Heruss. Her hair half covered her face and it was unreadable. She froze, wanting to reach out to him but this need of hers remained unknown to him. She wanted to scream. She remained ten feet away from him, and did not interrupt him, but her aura weighed heavily upon those who were sensitive to it. She was in torment, quite contradictory to her facial expression.

“…don’t care if you think you have the situation handled, I can tell you categorically you men at Psy Ops don’t.”

“Colonel.” the figure replied, shooting a disdainful look at Ravelyn as she arrived and hovered around, followed by a couple of other figures. “We are dealing with the situation as ordered to by the Ministry of Psychic Warfare.”

“I am here on the orders of the Greater King himself because this is a paranormal issue!”

“Involving a lot of regular troops? I don’t think so.” Replied the figure again. “Fact is there is a lot of psychic activity controlling this weather and dampening a lot of communications equipment and other things.” He took another look at Rave. “And will you get that smouldering emotional wreck away from me?” he snapped irritably.

Heruss looked at Rave, then back at the Ochre clad figure. “We’ll talk again soon.” he said menacingly before moving swiftly over to Rave and putting an arm around her shoulder. “Daughter,” he said softly. “What’s the matter?”

She couldn't help herself. Despite the company present, she embraced Heruss strongly, extending her wings all the way outward nearly hitting the Ochre clad figure in the face. It was so intentional, there was no denying that. She held him tightly to her. Heruss felt a weight being taken off of his shoulders; felt a good deal stronger. The angel felt the same physically, but her skin started to warm.

All the thoughts of waiting for death to claim her receded to the back of her mind. How she loved him! It was a kind of love Tere couldn't offer her. His was a different love. She had even dropped her scythe on the ground to embrace him. Nex had tried to pick it up, but it was unusually heavy for him; not necessarily by weight but by force.

There was something rekindled within her soul which gave her back her sanity and sureness of herself. It helped to lessen the aching feeling in her stomach. There was something else than misery and despair here. They wouldn't keep running. They would fight. She reluctantly pulled back from him, feeling the wisps of heat fade from her in the transfer.

“Better?” Heruss replied simply. Tere simply stood away, feeling slightly shut out and like a third wheel.

She turned slightly, still very close at Heruss, and looked at the man who he had been fighting with. There was an unmistable urge to kill him for addressing Heruss in such a matter. He knew he only needed to give the word. "...better."

Heruss’ gaze followed her. “Leave him. It’s just the usual spat of folks trying to do the same job, my duty, my job, my responsibility. Not yours.”

She lifted the scythe from the ground, and left him. Her aura had cooled, and she was remarkably calm. The embers within her had started to churn. She wanted to fight...something anything...she wanted to help.

Ich, you do have some issues… Wrexx hissed gently.

Don't remind me, she said, and settled next to Tere, though somewhat off from him. She didn't look at him. What did he expect from her? What did he want? He couldn't possibly ever understand.

Heruss had gone back to arguing with the ochre glad figure, Sanders was beginning to organize her company off of the Hatherthwaite, as was Kristian. The sea was still sloshing into the beach but not changing. Even time had seemed to have stopped here.
Midlonia
11-02-2008, 00:48
Tere sighed and looked down at the ground. He dug his feet into the soft sand and yawned. The Hathertwaite was still sitting above them, suspended by it’s own engines as things were rapidly sorted.

“Come on.” he nodded to Rave after a while, Sanders was waiting.

“Well?” Sanders yelled. “What you want to do Ravelyn?”

"The church," she said quietly, folding her dark wings behind her.

“Right.” she said as she brought up a long rifle with a scope ontop. “Move it out! You got your maps hustle it!”

The men and women of the Lost Battalion began to move from the beach and inland.

“Ardane, follow the Defluo Schola!” Tere snapped to the Freestian Ghoul who was a few feet away. He nodded and simply waved to his men, who also began to move into the city.

The city itself had been transformed. Rubble was strewn everywhere, glass shattered across streets and cars seemingly abandoned. The church, a large gothic building at the end of the long street was quiet. Serene almost. But there was something not quite right about the situation.

“Huh.” Sanders remarked with a spit on the ground. “What happened to all the cultists?”

Ardane merely shrugged next to her. “Hellifiknow.” he replied simply.

“Ok.” Sanders turned to Rave and Tere. “Who do you want to go in first? Us or the Ghouls?”

"Let's all go in together," she said, and muttered afterword, "like a big dysfunctional family..." To which only Tere heard.

He snorted with laughter and shook his head as they began to move carefully down the street. It wasn’t long before gunfire soon erupted from high above them, spattering the ground with little whips, cracks and pings as the bullets rained down on them.

“Contact up high!” Sanders shouted as her own unit snapped their eyes skyward and began to fire slowly, methodically and carefully at the sky. Above them were birds of some kind. No. Not birds. Humans with wings on them.

“What the fuck?” Tere managed before he sidestepped a bullet which whipped down, cutting a small piece of the pavement from the ground.

Ravelyn extended her wings. "Can anyone else fly?" she questioned Tere as she deflected a bullet with her scythe.

“Afraid not.” he replied. One of the figures fell to the ground with a wet squish, most of the body being turned to mush as it did so. “Mind with these guys we might not need it.”

Another gun fired and another figure fell from the skies. A dozen more appeared from behind a building while a squad of men on the ground ran out of hiding as they began firing also. The Ghouls opened fire this time. Their heavier and more explosive guns tearing one end of the street apart.

Another figure appeared in the sky. Unlike the other flying creatures it was wearing robes as it beat it’s heavy black leathery wings. It was short, fat and carrying a staff, it pulsed energy around as it moved, causing the air to feel heavy. Sanders nodded to the figure up above. “Might I suggest that one Rave?” she shouted over the gunfire. “Giving me the creeps it is.”

"Ugly too," she said over the gunfire, and leapt up into the air. Her adamantine armor formed around her and her wings, sheilding from the bullets which followed her. Not even a scratch was made on the metal. It was better crafted; made with more structures of different molecules than the bullets; which with the right force the molecules were forced to slide past each other shattering or creating dents but mostly falling away after their place of impact.

"Aren't you a little too fat too fly?" She questioned as her chains reached out for the mage.

The figure merely looked over to Rave as she rose above the bullets and gunfire before raising his staff high. A thunderous roar was now heard across the city as he first did this, then a thunderous creature of ice began to form around him lashing the chains away with little thought or care. A snarling feral ice-like beast with dull red eyes. A dragon made purely of ice, and the fat little mage in the middle, at it’s heart.

"Surely you can do better..."Ravelyn beat her wings strongly, pushing herself backwards at a certain angle to give her more time to cast. She did not use a staff; she used her hand. Tendrils of light emerald flames burst around her, stretching out. The flames took the form of a chimera; a rare animal from her nation. It's grand wings spread outward; feathered. It's face and body was that of a lion with a lizard's spiked tale.

The Ice dragon merely roared again, diving for her with incredible speed, it’s great jaws opening impossibly wide and swallowing the Chimera and her whole. It span around again, smashing it’s way through one of the tall skyscrapers in the street, smashing the glass and causing it to cascade below onto the battle raging in the street.

The Ghouls had opened up with everything they had at the bowl helmeted figures, tearing the street in front of them littered with cars, trams, busses and everthing else normally found on normally busy roadway ablaze. Adare tore the belt out of his large Vickers machine gun and threw another belt rapidly in after it, glancing up and diving to the side, dragging Sanders and two other Defluo Schola with her as a massive chunk of glass embedded itself into the road.

Blasting out the other side the Ice dragon roared again as it’s midriff was torn apart by the Chimera and Rave, it span, twisted and turned to face them again, this time opening it’s jaws and flinging shards of ice and blizzard like winds at them both.

Ravelyn regained her ground,and rushed towards him. The fire followed her; not reaching out, but rather burning anything that got close. The differenece between the two structures was that her fire could change structure while ice, fortunately could not. There was structure to be broken on the mage, but not with Ravelyn. She twirled her scythe in her hand and swung it as she got close to the mage.

The arm of the beast came up and smashed her aside it‘s claw melting partly in the process before reforming from the rapidly cooled air around it, the mage himself was curled up within the ice-dragon at it’s heart where he glowed a soft blue.

She took a different approach around the beast's back, searching to break through to get access to the fragile body within.

The back of the beast itself was a mass of jagged ice, a huge mass of spiked cold hard water which crackled and snapped as the creature twisted and turned, changing direction again and again as it tried to find Ravelyn.

She maneuvered to stay at it's back, hacking away at the ice with her heated scythe. The chimera around her seemed to grow, it's tail lashing down upon the beast and it's claws ripping away the shards of ice
Rapidly the creature shot away from her again, ploughing its way through another of the seemingly endless skyscrapers that dominated the Island of Pushan. Sending yet more glass thundering down onto the streets below.

With a primal roar it thundered back out of the building but many floors lower, snapping it’s jaws as it did so. With a groan and a shudder the skyscraper began to list to it’s side, the structure itself was compromised and only moments from collapse.

Right down onto the Midlonians below.

Right down onto Tere.

Ravelyn switched her focus immediately, the fire around her dying as she altered the gravity of the falling skyscraper as as best she good, giving those below enough time to get the hell out. She, on the other hand, became very vunerable as the extend of her powers were focused on the building.

The mage-dragon creature had calculated that she would have been concerned for the fighters below her, it was now it chose to strike at her, smashing the chimera to one side for just a moment it dived straight for her, it’s iced dagger-like teeth clamping themselves down hard on a part of her skin covered by the leather of her uniform rather than the adamantine.

She screamed in pain as it bit down on her shoulder. Her wings had been folded and had not prevented the vicious bite. Reflexively she extended her wings backwards into the ice. The adamantine metal cut straight through, and as she forced herself backwards, it reached the mage.

The creature this time let out a very primal and terrified scream as the adamantine pierced through to him. The creature, still cast in ice and still biting hard down on Rave, began to plummet to the ground.

She fell with it, and swung her scythe over her head, reaching back in between both of her wings to further hack away at the ice and it's caster. She managed to recast hellfire around her, while it did not take any form, in an attempt to retract the dying summon's painful bite.

Instead of causing the beast to loosen it’s grip, it tightened it’s bite sinking further into her shoulder a spasm of the creature’s essence, like many dying creatures it was loosing all control of it’s functions and ability to control it’s limbs and mouth, the back end smashed into the second skyscraper in the street, tearing it’s way down the building, hurling debris at her as well as down below, the ground was rapidly coming closer to them both.

She let out another cry and grit her teeth. The ground approached them. She had to get him off of her. "TERE!," she called, nearly everyone hearing her over the gunfire. It was an ethereal voice, though brutal in tone. "Twilight...now..." She held out a hand and kept the other weilding the scythe.

Time slowed, everything turned to shadow. To the people around them it was as though both had vanished completely from view, simply dropped out and disappeared.

He held her in his arms, and despite the cold which penetrated through both of them from the grasp of the twilight, she was comforted. "Back..." she said weekly as her blood from her shoulder seeped into his chest.

Time and light and the world rushed back into focus, the mage-creature was still hissing and barely alive. It made a final dive towards them both.

It was torn apart less than a second later by a blue skull.

Nex leant on his scythe with a sigh, his dark robes were back on again and he tutted and shook his head.

“I cannot leave you two alone without getting into some serious trouble, can I?” he remarked with a chuckle.

"Nope...trouble likes to follow me," she said with a slight grin, and leaned against Terefor support. The thing had nearly torn her shoulder off.

“You need to fix that?” Tere asked, first looking at her shoulder and then away as he tilted his head from her, offering his neck.

"I can wait until after the fighting is over," she leaned up against some debris. "Help them..." she said as she heard the gunshots fire off across the field.

“Right. Nex come on!” Tere said as they both ran back around the corner towards the gunfire.

Eeesh, nasty. Wrexx commented.

Yup.. she commented as she made herself comfortable. She put her wings around her as a shield as she attempted to deal with the open wound.

Indeed... she commented. Needs more time to heal, but it will heal allright. Just will take some time...

“Which you don’t really have.” a voice spoke from behind her.

Yeah yeah... she said in return. You know if i was able to go into the light realm right now I'd come out perfectly okay...

Uh, that wasn’t me…. Wrexx replied.

Rave leapt up from the rubble and turned behind her.

There was no one there, just a newspaper fluttering in the slight breeze.

“Oh, not very fast are you?” the voice came again. “Shame, you seemed a bit quick to get away from Malcus and then Terefedel…”

"What do you want," she said, now seeming painfully disinterested.

“You.” the voice replied with a chuckle. “How cute, when somebody threatens you, you simply act disinterested.” The figure whispered into her ear “But how scared are you really when you realise you’re helpless?”

"I've been threatened so many times, it's hard not to loose interest after the first 100 times..." she ignited in flames. Away...

Small rotating swirling portals appeared and crackled as they moved around her, chains made of some dark dull metal thundered and rattled out as they wrapped themselves, one painfully wrapping around her shoulder and tightening on the wound. Another wrapped around her throat and more around her legs and arms.

She screamed in pain but cut it short by biting into her lip. Part of her liked it. Break my body if you will...my soul is not of this realm, and you cannot claim it... she thought silently as she merely observed what was happening. While she could do nothing at the moment given the fact she did not have a target, it was the only thing she could do. Heruss... she called to him.

“Calling the Colonel won’t help you Seraphim.” the voice commented as the source of it slipped into view. It was a tall lithe vampire wearing the drab khaki uniform of the old soldiers, a bowl helmet on his head, an anno domini pin proudly on his chest and a scar down his face over his eye. His face was like someone she knew dearly. Someone she loved. It was like that of Terefedel. The face grinned at her. “So you’re what he wants eh?” he chuckled.

"That's a pretty ugly helmet," she spit at him. He would have been rather attractive save for that grotesque thing. She didn't respond to the question, but her furious red eyes glared at him. "Some...some brother you are..."

He removed the helmet and smiled at it as his blonde-brown hair fell down his back, he held it by the strap and then smashed her in the face with it. “I only serve those who don’t betray their land and principals. He gave up during that war after my death. I saw it. Then pathetically spent 60 years wanting revenge. I urged Franz to let him have it so he got it. But rather than putting the issue to rest it tore him up any more. I am ashamed to call such a pathetic emotional wreck like him a brother.”

Her face recovered from the blow and returned to it's flawless state. "He was only that way because he loved you so much...I saw you die. I saw what he saw, and experienced for myself. If he knew...if he knew what you just told me, he would be ashamed ever to have had such a sorry-excuse for a brother, and ever to have known such a ignorant wretch who is blinded by his sins. Really...from his memories you'd be more impressive. Yet, you hit a woman whose tied up, OH! Some man you are. You are nothing more than a coward, and a waste of organic materials."

Fire burned within her soul as her eyes grew in intensity. She was so beautiful when she was angry. Even the blood running down from her shoulder seemed to strengthen such an image.

"Your mother should have thrown you away and kept the stork.." she growled at him as heat began to rise from her body and her ethereal wings were fully visable.

Garufedel merely hit her again with the helmet, this time the sharpened edges. “Perhaps you should consider, Seraphim, that we had no mother.” He smirked. “I’m sure Terefedel has told you about us?” he hit her again, opening a gash on the side of her face despite the fire. “Oh, and I am hardly hitting a woman, am I seraphim? You merely had this body thrust upon you.” This time the chains tightened around her throat and wound, and crackled, causing her fire to dull considerably.

"Do you not get...it..." she struggled to say. "I don't care what you do to this body...but I can tell you if you kill me...Franz will not be in the slightest bit happy. I mean...it would prevent his ascension and I mean...actually...why don't you hit me a few more times. You'd be doing me a favour...really..." Her skin seemed to heal overly fast. Her look denied him any pleasure from the beating.

“Oh, I can garuntee he’d find you.” Garufedel replied, hitting her again. “I’m still enjoying this you know.” The chains tightened again, choking her.

"I gaurentee that the Powers wouldn't allow me to be touched from anyone else but the ones they dictate. Franz holds no sway in that realm nor will he ever be able to enter despite his power." The chains tightened around her throat, and she closed her eyes. She lashed out at him with her aura; burning hot, and a good deal stronger than the state her body was in right now.

Garufedel was caught by the heat of her aura, but after a moment in which his surprise was evident he managed to brush it aside. “My my, I can see you’re a feisty one.” he chuckled.

He moved right up to her now. “Quite a pretty looking one also.” he chuckled as he pressed his face right near to her’s.

Now that you've had your fun, let me have mine, she said, feeling her body fade in and out of consciousness. He was close enough to get a good amount of force she generated knocked straight into her chest. The aura from her essence extended outward in a solid and swift motion, not affecting him physically, but spiritually, quite so. It grew larger almost to encompass his entire essence.

Back off… she growled silently. I bite…

With that she began to playfully push what essence was left inside of him around, just a little at first. Threatening.

“Good,” he hissed, pressing his lips against her cheek for a moment before grazing his fang against her ear. “I like girls with a bit of fight in them”

"Ah, I might have too much fight for your liking," she managed through her lips, and her own chains wrapped around him, binding him close to her. The adamantine locked; the spires driving into his back as well as hers, however she could not feel it. The pain of her shoulder encompassed all. her aura crashed down upon his, forcing it into such a small space; trying to devour what remained.

The chain finished wrapping with one of the spires upon his pin. She began contricting very, very slowly.

Didn't anyone ever tell you that fire burns?

The pin fell, ringing quietly as it fell to the floor, but Garufedel was still standing and grining.

“Didn’t anyone tell you stone can’t be burnt?” He chuckled as his body simply faded and moved away from her as a mist before reforming. “Did you honestly think that I’d be bound back to my body with a bloody pathetic pin?”

"Was worth a shot," she commented, taking advantage of the distance. She rotated her scythe in her hand and managed to cut through one chain. The rest followed suit. Her body was weak, however, and she backed away from him. "Stone in fact can be burnt..you just need the right amount of heat." He had made a foolish statement, and she couldn't help but comment on it. She knew very well what her fire could do.

“Oh dear oh dear.” He tutted as he drew his own katana which was serrated. With a spin and a smash he hit one of her chains aside.

Heruss came around the corner at this moment with Kristian next to him, both had their weapons drawn and were running rapidly at Garufedel.

Garufedel looked across at them “Oh, the cavalry has arrived.” he chuckled as he began to fade. “I’ll see you at the church, Seraphim.”

She didn't falter until he disappeared, and she turned around to face Heruss and Kristian.

“Hello daughter.” Kristian casually remarked as he looked around at the debris.

“Rave.” Heruss said with a look of worry on his face. “What happened?”

Ravelyn took a step towards him, then collapsed.

Her shoulder had very well been torn open, and the bone was exposed.

Heruss grimaced at the sight. “Kristian, get a medivac now. She needs to get that wound seen to.”
Kristian nodded looked down to find his radio. He then spotted a chain on the ground. When he picked it up it turned to ash and blew away. He frowned and looked up at Heruss who was still holding Rave and gently stroking her hair. He shook his head and reached for his radio with a sigh. “This is Angel 3 Angel 3 calling central, calling central…..”
Midlonia
11-02-2008, 01:41
Hathertwaite Infirmary, Private room #003

The hospital machines bleeped. The private room on the infirmary was quiet and the air conditioning hummed gently. Tere was standing at the foot of the bed with a look of concern in his eyes.

Heruss was at the door. “I don’t know what happened. But it was something quite bad. The aura in the area was strong.”

“Her shoulder wasn’t that bad when I left her.” Tere said, checking her chart before sitting down on a comfy chair and rubbing his eyes.

"Charmaine..." Ravelyn whispered. The wound was not closing. Get Charmaine…

“Who?” Tere asked looking at her.

“Her ex-lover?” Heruss raised an eyebrow.

Charmaine… she slipped into unconsciousness.

“Not her lover, her daugther. But I don’t know how to get back to her land…”

“Twilight lad.” Nex said poking his head around the door. “I can come with you if you want, but it means getting to the next level, where you can shift around.”

“But I can barely use it now, how…”

“Let me worry about that, right?” Nex cut him off.

“Right.” he cast another worrying look to Rave. Then went into the Twilight, vanishing from view.

“I’ll catch ya later Princey boy!” Nex said with a grin as he too faded.

Heruss sighed, shook his head and sat down in the chair Tere was in earlier. And looked up at the ceiling.

The second level of twilight was complete darkness except fot the grey outline of souls, some darker some lighter than others. One could barely see the shape of the earth. The cold was nearly stifiling

“I can…barely breathe.” Tere hissed.

Nex grabbed him by the arm looping it through his. “Oh hush up and suck it up lad. How can you be of any use to Rave as a strong male figure in her life if you’re on the verge of tears?”

“I… Its been so long since….” he breathed and wheezed. “Since I’ve had someone to care about I’m so…” he wheezed again “Worried all the time.”

“Sometimes mate.” Nex replied briskly as he pulled on him a bit more. “You have to stop and be dominant, you have to be definitive! You just got to do it.”

Nex’s own affinity with these kinds of realms allowing him to interact with it fairly easily. But even Tim had begun to talk.

“Come on man, keeping my head? You gotta be fucking kidding me. You know I liked fish and chip Fridays man! Why did you have to kill me on a Fish and Chip Friday, I just slipped in in front of you…”

“Oh shaddup!” Nex snapped at the skull.

“Look, now you come out of this slowly and gently, ok? You’ll probably feel a tad weak but you’ll get used to it. Ok?” Nex tapped Terefedel on the cheek, “Ok?”

“Yes…” wheezed Terefedel.

Everything was quiet. There was not a sound. As they approached her nation, they were not longer travelling alone. Shadows darker than the twilight rose from the ground. Their form was similar to that of a human; but deformed and without any features. They were shades without any defining features. There were three in total, all of which targeted the two travellers, and lunged for them.

“Uh boy, gotta go Tere!” Nex spoke urgently. “Out out out! The Twilight still knows you’re alive.”

“Right. What are they?” He wheezed.

“Out you idiot!” Nex kicked him in the chest and he vanished from the realm. Nex followed him immediately.

Tere was rubbing his chest in an the room in The Three United Empires.

“What the hell did you do that for?” he shouted at Nex as he appeared beside him.

“Shadies.” he simply replied.

They were in the conferance room Tere had visited before. It was common that people only go to places they have been before when starting out with that type of travel. Charmaine was sitting in a chair by the table. She was wearing dark gray robes. Her long white hair fell over one of her violet eyes. The other individual was Quissera. He was leaning against the opposite wall. He had one full black wing and one half wing. He ran a hand through his short white hair as he was the first to notice someone entereing from the dark path. "Why are you back here?" he said, not particularly amused with the fact that Tere had returned, but he seemed to be even more upset with the method he used to travel. "How did you enter the twilight!?"

Charmaine raised her hand to quiet her brother, and stood. "Why are you here?" her voice was soft, and flowed like water.

Apparently, Tere and Nex had entered into the middle of an argument given the amount of tension within the brother.

“My apologies, your mother sent me.” Tere said with a slight bow to Charmaine.

Nex merely raised an eyebrow at Qui. “Good question junior.” he said simply.

Qui payed no attention, and cracked his knuckles. He was very, very well built with a litheness to his figure as well. He wore dark pants; and his white shirt which blended into his skin was unbuttoned. Scars ran over his chest; beautiful scars. It was clear to anyone by the look in his mismatched blue and scarlet eyes that he was a sadistic individual. He, however, was Rave's son.
"Mother?" Charmaine questioned, approaching Terefedel. "Why?"


“She has been injured.” Tere said gently. “It’s not closing and she asked for you specifically.”

"RAGE!" a voice said as a young woman materialized in another chair. Her physical body wasn't really present. She was a beautiful girl, but seemed more of a dark ghost than anything.

Charmaine's eyes lit up with violet fire. "If she asked for me, I must go at once..."

Nex jumped, then composed himself and peered at the woman who was hazy. “Huh.”

"MOTHER." the girl said, and folded her arms.

“Uhhhh….” Nex said looking to someone for some sort of pointers. “So… let me get this right. You,” he said pointing to Charmaine, “Are the light side. Smarmy boy here is the dark side, making her… what?”

"Easy Kayde," Qui said, walked over to the 'apparition', and placed a pale hand on her shoulder. "She..." he said pointing to Charmaine. "Is of life. I am of the throne...and Kayde here is of the---"

“Uh-huh. Interesting….” Nex trailed off. “So she’s here and yet not…”

"HERE!" the woman said clearly offended.

"Better stop talking about her appearance or she's going to get touchy," Qui commented.

“God you know how to pick the family Tere…” Nex muttered before leaning on a wall and lighting a joint. “Let me know when you’re done…”

"I take it you don't really know much about the dark path yet do you..." he said, now addressing Tere.

“No.” Tere simply replied looking at Qui.

"Ravelyn and Charmaine here used to use the light path. They are light spirits. Myself and Kayde use the dark path. Do you know what happens when a light one enters the dark path?"

"SHADES!" Kayde answered for him.

“Shades? Those things?” Tere asked looking between them.

"If you take Charmaine back that way there are going to be a good deal of shades waiting to take hold of her. Kayde and I will accompany you back to Ravelyn, and we can escort her there and back safely..."

"Yes...those things which devour your essence much like my mother, except non-discriminatory."

“Right, so how come they attack? I‘m not really from the light either, so how does that work?” Tere asked.

"Oh...they attack me too," Quissera said continuing. "They do not matter who you are, but only dark ones can destroy them."

“Or basically me.” Nex replied idly.

"Even you," he said pointing at Nex. "Won't be able to fend them off at the second level of twilight with her ," he pointed at Charmaine.

“You don’t know who I am do you?” Nex replied with a sigh.

"Do you know who she is?" he said, pointing at Charmaine.

"BOYS! ENOUGH!" Kayde roared.

"Indeed," Charmaine agreed. "Shall we?" Charmaine offered one hand to Quissera and one hand to Tere. Kayde got up from her chair and stood by Nex.

Tere took Charmaine’s hand gently and nodded. “Yes. We shall.” He shoot a look at Qui.

Nex couldn’t help himself, he waved his hand through Kayde’s stomach for a second before moving and looking quickly away when she looked down.

"RAGE!" Kayde said looking at Nex, and entered the dark path without him, hurt.

“Oops?” He said with a wide grin as he too faded.

Quissera sent an electrical jolt through his sister and it hit Tere. His element was lightning. The moment they entered the twilight, they were engulfed in Darkness. Kayde was there, and no one else had enough time to react. She jumped in the air, and the shades which had appeared rose with her. She was of gravity it would seem. She landed, and they crashed, sending them to oblivion.

“Cute party trick.” Nex merely commented as he began to move.

Tere merely shot another cold hard look at Qui after the jolt and began to move steadily.

"FOLLOW!" She yelled, and darted off into the twilight. Quissera stayed closer, holding on tightly to Charmaine who glowed brightly here. Electricity shot off in a circumfrance aroudn them. Apparently after a bit, they stopped attacking and just followed Quissera and Kayde.

Whether anyone else noticed or not, Qui had done quite the job of keeping Charmaine awake, coherent, and the twilight of of her as well as keeping the shades back.

“Why does she shout only single words?” Tere asked looking at Charmaine.

"REALM! MINE!"

Charmaine looked at him. "It's just how she talks since she was trapped within the void. I don't blame her. I'd be angry too, but her throne is there."

“Right…” Tere nodded. “How did she get trapped here?”

"Long story..." Charmaine trailed off. She apparently didn't want to talk about it.

"RAGE!" Kayde said, as she resumed her position next to Nex.

“Sorry about earlier.” Nex whispered to her. “Couldn’t resist, not often I see somebody do that and I kinda got carried away…”

"FORGIVEN!"

“Good.” Nex said and looked around. “Nice realm, should see mine some time…”

"MINE? NOT."

"This isn't her realm. She was just claiming it because she's a dark one, and hates shades..."

"HATRED!"

“So what is your realm?” Nex said. “I thought…Huh.”


"VOID."

“Ahhhhh.” he nodded. “Not been there in a long time…”

"DARK."

"Are we almost there," Charmaine asked, closing her eyes momentarily. Qui, showing a bit of concern towards his sister, lifted her up into his arms, and she regained her strength.

Kayde laughed at Qui.

“Nearly.” Tere wheezed, moving to let go of Charmaine slightly.

The shades which he could barely see took on a slightly familiar tone, then he could see a single figure very clearly.

The Colonel, sitting in his chair with his head bowed and his eyes closed.

“Here.” he wheezed. “Now.”

Qui pulled out of the dark path skillfully. Kayde held Nex's hand. She seemed to have some substance here. "GO."

Nex merely smiled at her. “I’ll talk to you later then Kayde…” He faded.

When Quissera came out of the Twilight, he set Charmaine down and was at Rave's side just as she was. Charmaine did not have time to ask questions, because she saw the wound.

"SAD." Kayde sat down in the dark path, and when a shade got close, she pushed them into the air and slammed them down again.

"Oh my," Charmaine said. Quissera folded his right wing while the tattered one which had been ripped in half didn't bend. He held Ravelyn's hand.

“Ah.” Heruss merely commented from the chair, unmoving. “I thought I saw you…”

"Qui," she said softly. She didn't need to say anymore. He cut his wrist with his fangs, and held it to her lips. He closed the wound on his wrist and wiped the blood away from her lips.

Charmaine worked quickly, and without emotion, or at least she did a good job not showing it. White light formed in her hand and she placed it over the wound. Runes, as if they were tattoos glowed over Ravelyn' body, but they had never been visible before. "Come on..." she whispered to herself.

"Qui..." she repeated her brother's name once more.

“The wound comes from Hell Chains.” Heruss idly remarked as again he had not moved.

"Oh?" Quissera said. "Move aside Charmaine...." Charmaine put a hand around her brother's waist affectionately to support him as he placed both of his hands onto the wound. "Where are you..." he said as small electrical sparks travelled from his hands to his wounds..."Ah...there..."

"MINE" the voice yelled as Kayde passed through the table taking with her a small orange light and playing with it as if it was a ball. Qui was not happy, but he backed away and let Charmaine take over again.

The wounds closed under her touch, and the runes faded.

Ravelyn shot awake, and sat up, stretching her wings for they ached. She looked at Charmaine greatfully, who hugged her, and over her shoulder she could see Qui and Kayde agruing over something. Qui was speaking in hushed whispers while Kayde was shouting each response.

"TOOOOO SLOW!" she commented and slipped the small orange orb into her mouth. She then disappeared and reappeared next to Nex. Qui looked at his mother, and bowed his head.

"Oh my..." she said shaking her head lightly in the same manner Charmaine had. Her daughter had gotten it from her.

Nex merely grinned and looked at Kayde.

Heruss looked across to Rave. “Better now, daughter?” He remarked casually.

"WHAT?!" Qui nearly dropped to the floor.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Kayde said

Charmaine merely accepted it with a nod.

“Not quite Kayde, thank you…” he said with a sigh. “So I guess these are my Grandchildren?” he quirked a slight smile at her.

Tere merely grinned and winked at Rave. “I thought bringing the whole family along for a reuinion was a good idea.”

"Thank you for coming," Ravelyn said. "I will explain later. Qui, please go somewhere...find something to occupy your time. I appreciate yout mana vex...thank you. Charmaine, the healing. Rest now, I know you have had a long journey. Kayde...do you like Nex?"

"LIES!" Kayde vanished.

Nex merely grinned, then turned to Rave “By your leave may I follow her?”

Ravelyn chuckled knowingly, and looked at Heruss. "Yes...these are my children."

Quissera accepted the order without question and looked directly at Sanders.

"By all means," Ravelyn said in return to Nex.

Nex merely grinned and vanished himself.

Sanders, who had been guarding the Colonel and Rave reddened slightly, she looked flustered despite the thin desert-clothing and the cool air conditioning of the room. “Uh, I can volunteer to give Quissera a tour of the ship…” she trailed off.

Heruss merely nodded and she left with Qui, her hand first around the small of Qui’s back before going lower as they rounded the corner.

Ravelyn smacked her forehead.

“That boy of yours would probably die of frustration if he didn’t go with Sanders. And I know Sanders would probably die of frustration also if she was kept here on this ship any longer Rave…” Tere remarked quirking a smile.

"I can't stop him," she said shaking her head. "The only woman he ever actually loved was one he took up as an apprentice; Katerina. She, however, betrayed him and broke his heart. Despite his apperance, he is a very skilled magic user, I would say even more so then with weapons."

"I can't stop him," she said shaking her head. "The only woman he ever actually loved was one he took up as an apprentice; Katerina. She, however, betrayed him and broke his heart. Despite his apperance, he is a very skilled magic user, I would say even more so then with weapons."

She turned toward Tere, and unexpectedly hugged him. Thank you...[//i]

[I] That’s alright Rave. It was silly of me to have left you in the middle of all that when you were injured. I was the only one who could go and do it so I did it for you, for us. He held her close.

I told you to do it..

And I shouldn’t have gone. I could see you were hurt, I should have been more decisive and got you back from there.

I'm fine now… ..."Your brother, was the one who did this."

Tere merely pulled back from her. “He’s dead.” he said simply, a confused look in his eyes.

"No no no...he's not and he's working for Franz."

“He’s dead. I saw him die. You have to be wrong.” he replied.

"Are you saying I'm lying?" she questioned him.

“I.” He replied dumbfounded. “You have to be wrong. He’s dead. I saw him die and he is dead. That’s it! That is the end of it.” He let go of her and walked out of the room without so much as another word.

Ravelyn didn't follow. She looked at Heruss, and offered her wrist.

At that moment, Kayde materialized again. "FLOWERS!"

“There aren’t any in here Kayde.” Heruss merely remarked.

Nex appeared at the door holding a bouquet of roses. “How about these?” he said with a grin before vanishing again.

"STOP! RAGE!!!!" she vanished to chase after Nex.

"Please," Ravelyn implored Heruss. "Take it from my memory...I don't know what to tell him other than his brother just tried to kill me...."

Heruss merely looked at Rave’s wrist and shook his head. “I already know. I’ve known for about 50 years that he was operating for Franz. I think he’s the main mover behind the Anno Domini.”

She dropped her wrist back to her side. "And you didn't bother to tell Tere? How was he supposed to react when he came face to face with his brother? Not be prepared? DIE?"
“He didn’t need to know. And the likelihood of a Anno Domini General on the battlefield anywhere near him was remote.” he said quietly.

"If I hadn't sent him to help other people he would have been face to face with his brother today...he needs to know, and he won't listen to me it would seem."

“Ontop of that he won’t believe any of us.” Heruss carried on. “He saw his brother die and it caused him to be a gibbering wreck for the better part of 70 years.”

"Can you call him back in here?"

Heruss shook his head. “I expect he’ll be on the viewing deck. It’s where he always went on the old Hatherthwaite’s when he needed to think by himself for a moment.”

"I'll give him a moment, and then he needs to know."
Midlonia
12-02-2008, 01:04
Nex merely chuckled as he moved around the void holding the roses and looking for Kayde.

“Where are you then?” he chuckled as he moved past an essence with another deep chuckle.

"HERE!" she said appearing behind him. In the void, she was not see through. She was whole here, with large leathery wings and two small horns.

“My lady,” he bowed. “I offer you these.” he held up the roses which had turned black since he had arrived in the Void.

She took them into her hands. "TOOK LONG enough..."

He grabbed one of her hands and kissed it gently. “My apologies…”

"Accepted," she said, now in a normal voice.

“Forgive me for asking Kayde. But why do you normally talk…loudly?”

"My essence was what you saw. I can't leave the void fully. I can only communicate a few words...and I have no control over the volume of my voice."

“I see. I must say you have a lovely voice all the same though.” he smiled.

"So you worship my mother?" she questioned.

“Sort of. She’s not as big as Him upstairs, but… well, she’s up there. She controls all of death and Chaos, how can I not treat her with reverance?” Nex leant on his scythe and shrugged.

"Now you worship me!" She pointed at Nex.

“I’d need convincing of that first I think…” he said with a grin.

"BOW!" the thundering voice came back and she jumped on Nex's back with one arm around his neck.

Nex grabbed her and threw her around so she was held in front of him, one arm still around his neck. “Make me.” he grinned.

"RAGE!" they floated further down into nothingness, falling through what was the temporary ground into more nothingness. The density around him seemed to compress and tighten.

Nex pulled her close to him. “Still not making me.” he grinned.

She bent her head and poked him with her spiraled horns in the chest.

The horns went in causing him to grunt, even though they went between skeletal ribs. “Still not making me worship you, Kayde.” he hissed.

Her wings spanned out ward, and one of her green eyes glowed red. She lifted him up , and essences gathered in one of her hands. She shoved it into him. "LIVE."

He was thrown back by the essence before grabbing her and shoving her against the ground again. “Can’t try to bring back that which was never alive.” he grinned

A bunny poked it's head out of his chest and hopped around, or hovered rather. "Bunny! ^^" She looked at him. "WORSHIP!”
“…that’s different. Ok. I worship you. Oh Kayde, making of bunnies…” Nex merely laughed.

"ACCEPted," she smiled with a childish grin."Do you like my home?" she questioned him.

“It’s very nice. Very versatile. I like it a lot.” Nex nodded.

She beamed. "It's quiet, and I don't get a lot of visitors. Normally just remnants of destroyed souls. They don't even talk!"

“Shame.” Nex sighed. “So you’ve not had company for a long time?” he asked tilting his head to one side.

"Not for twenty years," she said, sitting down somewhere, and a throne appeared beneath her. It was silver and green.

“Wow. But you don’t look like you’ve been here for 20 years, you look…stunning.”

She beamed. "I'm 41!"

“What? You don’t look a day over.. 18! I’m…. what is it by any kind of years…?” He thought for a moment before deciding on “Just old.” he chuckled.

The bunny hopped over to her, and she took a wisp of essence and fed it to it. When it opened it's mouth there were very jagged sharp teeth.

"Yes, I was turned by Ravelyn at eighteen...well seventeen and a half," she said and bent form her sitting position to pet the rabbit.

“And you’re just 41? Wow. Still young then, in relative terms to most of the Vampires I know…”

"Yes," she said in agreement. "I'm the youngest Shentavo."

“Nice.” he paused for a moment, evidently mulling the question over. “How did you get stuck here?” has asked simply.

"The chamber of Faythe was opened. I came here to destroy Daja once and for all, for he was sealed here. When I got here, and destroyed him, I came into being of who I was, and had to take my throne here. Fate can sometimes be cruel."

“Very.” Nex replied with a nod and a sigh. “At least I can come here and talk to you and we could do… things I guess.”

"Like what?" she questioned with keen interest.

Nex leaned close to her. “I don’t know. What would you enjoy?”

The bunny latched it's teeth around Nex's hand and began nibbling playfully. It was quite disappointed it had not found a carrot.

“Cute.” he said shaking it off and grabbing hold of Kayde’s hand. “What can we do here?”

"Hmmm...anything you want really. But I don't have very much to work with."

“Shame you aren’t solid in any other realm.” he sighed. “How about a dance?” he said gently pulling on her hand.
"I could be...you'd just have to open the chamber of Fayth...but that releases all of this back into that realm, which wouldn't be good." She took his hand and smiled. "Ok"

He took her in his arms, placing a hand in the small of her back and began to dance with her slowly. “I may be able to get some help from upstairs though.” he twirled her gently before pulling her in close again.

"Really?" her eyes lit up. "You'd do that for me?"

“I can’t have some lovely beauty like you trapped in here doing nothing can I? No no.” He twirled her again before lifting her. “Not at all.”

She grinned. "The Shentavo family has always been renouned for four things; their beauty, their courage, their pride, and their suffering."

He pulled her close up to her, and kissed her cheek gently. “I think I may be able to pull that for you, maybe even get you the ability to shift between the realms like I can.” he smiled as he twirled her again.

"Ooohhh that would be fun," she said with a sweet innocent smile. "But...would you go with me? I've spent so long in the twilight and the void, I don't really know what it is like anywhere else. Time here passes so quickly."

“Of course. I would accompany you my lady.” he smiled. “Mind you’d have to not shout when there.” he chuckled.

"...a little bit?"

"Sometimes I just can't help it," she pondered, "It might take a bit getting used to." She rested her cheek on his shoulder.

Nex swayed gently, his arms wrapping around her waist. “Then I’ll be there to help.” he smiled. “But I still have my duties elsewhere. So you may be the one accompanying me.”

"Okay," she agreed without question, and silence passed between them. Then she spoke. "What do you think of mother?"

“She’s an unusual woman. Has to be said. Brilliant, great, but troubled.” he leant his head against her’s “Very troubled.”

"Yes," she agreed. "I want to be like her in so many ways. We all look up to her, even Qui. I have always gotten a sense of sadness, even when I saw her today. I don't think anyone really could understand what she's gone through. I've heard about it but...I think only Qui understands."

"He was her first born...natural born with her sire. Did you know that?"

“No, I didn’t.” he shook his head. “Wait, with her sire? Isn’t that sort of… incestuous?”

"Not quite," she said tilting her head slightly. "Many vampires have relationships with their sires that are romantic. Sometimes they can fufil both roles as a parent and as a lover."

“Ooohhhh….” Nex nodded.

"For example, Charmaine turned her lover Mathias from DFD into a vampire to save his life. I don't see anything strange about their relationship."

“I get it. I guess.”

"You guess?"

“I’m not a Vampire, so I don’t really know how any of it works. I’m a Grimm. So… I only deal with the deaths.”

"Oh I see," she said in observance.

He gently took her face in his hands and kissed her. “I’ll go see if I can ask for you to come out of the Void and move around more if you want. Right now.”

He faded rapidly from view for several minutes. Then several more. Kayde was alone again.

"But...who will control the void here if I am gone?" she said into the nothingness.

She sat on her throne and pet the rabbit, hoping Nex would return and didn't run off because he didn't like her.

-----------------------------


Qui was smoking a cigarette as he often did. It was a bit cliche after sex, of course, however if he wasn't smoking, fighting, or studying, he was having sex. It didn't matter who the woman one. He had lost all care, however he was rather picky about physique. He had every reason to be; there was a very large percentage of females who would kill to spend the night with him back in his own nation.

Many of his escapades had remained quiet, however. He certainly knew how to charm, and he would never tarnish the families name. Then again, sexuality in his nation was very much open.

He sat up in bed. His shirt, which had already been unbuttoned when he arrived in this place, was on the floor. One wing was folded behind his back, while the torn one was outward. The full wing was pierced in several places with metal rings, as was his ear. He had no tattoos, but he did have scars running across his chest and right arm from many battles. He rarely wasted energy healing.

Sanders stirred gently next to him. She had apparently dropped asleep afterwards. Quite rare for such a woman from the desert, usually lithe and high of energy, she opened her eyes and sat up, pulling some of the bed sheet up with her, covering her modesty. She didn’t speak.

"So what's your real name, kitten," he said nonchalantly to Sanders who was at his left as he took another drag of his cigarette. His fangs were long, and the double set made quite the display. His one ice blue eye and one red flicked to her. All this time he had never asked her name.

“Danielle.” she replied simply. “Danielle Sanders, an old Midlonian name I am proud to carry.”

"Danielle," he said in the same thick accent that Ravelyn head. "In my language it would be Daena."

“Sounds nice.” she replied. “Which language is that?”

"Ethereal," he said in return, and finished his cigarette, he put an arm around her. "Mother's soul comes from the light realm, mine from the dark, but we were both of the same...breeding, as it were."

She nuzzled into him warmly, one of her own hands grabbing his waist and rubbing. “I see. So you’re both the same, yet different sides of the same coin so to speak?”

"Ah, not quite. Her opposite would be Charmaine even though she comes from the light realm. Mine is Kayde, even though she comes from the darkness."

“Different.” she trailed off. “I always liked men with a dark side to them.” she chuckled as she kissed and bit his shoulder.

You have no idea, he chuckled to himself. She watched him bite his shoulder. "So what are you...good or evil?"

“I don’t know.” she sighed. “Life is never that clear cut in my opinion. Always different shades. But I guess I do more good than bad.” she nodded.

"Never that clear cut, yes," he agreed with her there and ran one hand through her hair. "I also suppose I do more good than bad but normally I do it for selfish reasons. I'm a strong believer in...ah, natural selection."

“So am I.” she grinned. “Only way to survive in the desert against the critters that are two hundred times the size of you.”

He smirked. "What would you classify yourself as, a mage, an adept, ect.?" Ah, how romantic!

“Human.” she replied with a chuckle. “Adept at blade and rifle. Quite scarily. Oh, and lovemaking.” She grinned and bit his shoulder harder.

He didn't react to the biting apart from glancing at her. "You'd be more effective if you had fangs..." he played with her hair.

“Probably.” She commented. “I know you are.” she giggled as she rubbed just above her chest where he had grazed her.

He raised his brow. "You don't know how long it took me to learn how to...work around these..." he flashed his fangs momentarily. "Good thing you are not the first woman I've been with since I got them three millenia ago."

“Mmm, fair enough.” she commented “Mind, you’re not the first man I’ve been with either.”

"I know," he said pleasantly. "I knew that the moment I saw you. I am quite good at hearing surface thoughts..."

“And what were mine saying?” she said as she traced a scar with her finger.

"The first thing you noticed was my scars, then you looked at my jeans, then you looked in my eyes. The rest ended up happening."

She grinned widely. “Pretty much.”

“So…” she said lying back down. “What do you want to do?”

"Have another cigarette," he said honestly, and lit another one. It wasn't like they were going to kill him. Nothing about her suprised him. She was young, and had seen war before of course. She could handle herself, but she was just as any other soldier. At least the sex had been good. "It's up to you what we do now. Until Charmaine is awake there is nothing else I'm obliged to do."

“Ah well…” she said as she pulled him back down onto the bed. “In that case…”
Midlonia
12-02-2008, 21:23
Tere Leant on the railing looking through the large glass portal out onto the beach from the Hathertwaite, the beach was calm and quiet, or at least seemed so from the thick armoured glass. He stood there, face frowned in thought at the whole situation. About everything.

"You are going to have to accept it," a female voice came from behind him; soothing and familiar, but quite frank. "I am not the kind of person who forgets who they've been tortured by..."

"Long blond hair, ugly round helmet, a large scar over his eye..."

“Somebody who’s been made in his image then.” He sighed as he shook his head. “He cannot be my brother because he’s dead. I buried him. I saw him die.”

"Okay...well then, when your brother look a like as you'd like to believe he is comes by, are you going to be able to kill him?"

He merely remained silent. “Show me.” he said simply.

She offered him her wrist.

He took it and bit her, and he saw.

“It….can’t be.” He said simply. Still not quite believing. “But… No. No I will kill this imposter.” He said with a finality.

"It's...not an imposter," she sighed, and looked at him seriously. "You are failing me, Terefedel."

“Then…” he paused for a moment. Then his own skin burst into warmth, a new radiance emanated from him as he finally made a decision. “Then I will kill the traitor.”

"Good," she said, and turned away from him. "Remember your words when the time comes for it."

“I shall, for him hurting you. For his traitorous acts. For it all. For betraying me.”

"We'll see," she said softly, and passed through the door to go back inside, and leave him to think over his decision.

He sighed and looked back out of the window again. After a few minutes he nodded and followed Rave out the door, looking for her.

-------------------------

“Ok, so they seem to be congregating on the cathedral here…” Heruss said pointing to the map, his finger poking the 3 dimensional model of the building. “But why?” He muttered and shook his head in frustration.

“Odin always did like to desecrate holy sites. Bastard did it to the Sister’s Chap over here on Fleet Street.” A Captain of the 84th said, pointing just above a smaller building which rotated as he did so. “Could be trying to go for the big prize. I got a company of men in the Cathedral grounds wi’ some support naah from the 56th Heavy foot.”

“That should be enough to keep them at bay.” Heruss nodded. “But why? You’re not facing Odin’s fanatics any more, they seem to still be trying to bring down the power grid here.” Heruss pointed again and the area on the table went fuzzy. “Blasted thing.” he muttered under his breathe.

“Contacted any of your mates at the D.O.W? They might know something.” The Captain replied with a shrug.

“They don’t know. I have my own men frantically searching archives for references to the Cathedral of The Faithful now.”

Wrexx what do you know about it? Ravelyn asked him as she leaned against the wall and listened.

Not much. the voice replied. Has significance either way. Might be something of Franz’ in there. Wouldn’t make any mention of Franz in front of the Captain though, he won’t believe you for a second regardless of how scary you try to be. Say something about Holy Relics.

"Holy relic...of some sort," she said to Heruss, or seemed to for she was only looking at him. "According to Wrexx..."

“That’d make sense I suppose.” the Captain replied nodding as he did so. “He’s been trying to get at all sorts ‘as Odin’s followers over t’years.” He chewed some tobacco in his mouth in thought.

I quite like holy relics... she said silently to wrexx.

Quite like the Chathedral of Dal-el-Hah, ur, the Holy Ones then. Wrexx replied Full of all sorts, holy crosses, jewels, swords… Once rumoured to hold the Spear too, the spear. Not all the copies that you see kicking about…

Anything you know about the captian that I could say to piss him off with? Ravelyn beamed.

Well. Look at him. He’s chewing Tobacco, meaning that somebody leant on him to stop smoking. His wife, perhaps…. Wrexx trailed off.

"How's the wife, captain?" she questioned casually, her crimson eyes looking at his lips then his eyes.

The Captain’s eye twitched suddenly. A nervous tick perhaps? “Fine.” he said through gritted teeth, shooting a look at Rave.

She took out a cigarette from her own stash. Unfortunately it wasn't one of Nex's. She lit it with a quick spark of fire from her hand, and inhaled.

He sighed in exacerbation at Rave as she blew smoke in his general direction. Heruss merely continued staring at the map, not bothered by the little exchange going on.

“Can you not do that?” the Captain chewed. “I’m trying to give up.” he added glumly.

"I understand that," she said in return. "I'm trying to continue." Her eyes flashed.

"Control your men better Colonel.” the Captain snapped to Heruss.

“I have no interest in what she does, Captain.” Heruss replied idly as he looked at the map again, flagging up enemy and friendly units and moving them back and forth on the table.

The Captain was about to sternly reply to Rave when Tere came in.

“You knew didn’t you?” He said simply to Heruss.

“Captain, you’re dismissed.” Heruss merely said. The Captain, mouth open, looked around him, then muttered something about the “Ruddy D.O.W” and left.

Ravelyn very much wanted to hear his answer, but she decided it best to stay and attempt to control whatever happened before her.

“Yes.” The Colonel replied quietly, straightening up.

The blur of a fist hit him fully in the face, knocking him to the floor. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” Tere yelled at him.

"Tere," Ravelyn said, and pulled his arms behind his back, holding with all her strength. "NOT a good way to channel anger..."

“Get off of me!” he snarled at her, his fangs snapping and bared. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me? Huh? Some kind of fucking hold over me? So I‘d always be your fucking lapdog to run around and look to you as the brother while all the time he was still fucking alive?”

Heruss got back up and wiped his nose, it was bleeding a little. “Let him go.” He said to Rave.

"No..." she said digging her nails into Tere's arms. "If he wants to hurt you he has to hurt me first..."

“My dear I have fought many things harder and worse than him.” Heruss replied idly. Quietly. “Let him go. I order you.”

Charmaine watched idly in the corner, not daring to move. She was an obediant girl, that was to be sure, and the empire's new empress. Ravelyn held. "I don't want you to fight!" she said with exasperation. "I don't care if you can or can't take him. We don't need internal conflicts especially when Franz acension is right around the corner. We don't need this when I'm going to die."

Charmaine's eyes flicked up to her mother and she watched as she released Tere. She watched with interest, unstirred by the comment.

Tere launched himself over the table at Heruss. But stopped in mid-air. There was a loud ticking in the room.

“I do not appreciate insubordination. Terefedel.” Heruss replied calmly, looking up at him. “I do not appreciate being hit at. I do not appreciate being yelled at and what I keep from my subordinates is entirely my bloody business!”

Quissera walked into the room, clearly at the wrong time. He had left his shirt behind somewhere, or rather couldn't find it. He walked to his sister, with a nod to his mother. He ignored the situation. As far as he was concerned, the only people who mattered were family. He took Charmaine by the arm. "Time to go..."

Ravelyn approved of the leave with her glance, through which silent words passed. She did not approve, however, of the conflict between Heruss and Tere. Apparently Tere's own thirst for revenge was a lot more important than her well being.

“Ontop of all of this, aren’t you forgetting someone you selfish brat?” Heruss snapped at Tere.

“My life has been a lie.” Tere replied slowly. “So why should I think of anybody else? I do that I’ve done that and look where it landed me! Under a liar.”

Ravelyn was appalled. Her aura; hot with anger, clearly pushed Tere as she walked, seemingly calm out of the room.

Quissera grinned to himself, then he and Charmaine dissappeared into the twilight.
“You’re a moron.” Heruss replied icily. “Get out of my sight.” With that he turned and left. Tere crashing face first into the holographic table moments later.

Tere simply wiped his face, got up and left the room. He stopped by his quarters, took his Katana and blade-pistol and left.

Ravelyn had gone to her quarters, took off her clothes which were still bloody from the battle, and stepped into the shower. As the cold water hit her, steam rose from her skin. The cold water attempted to ease her mind, but it was to no avail. She was decided; she was leaving.

Tere moved down the platform of the ship onto the beach and walked steadily into the city, there were no fights the way he went. No gunfire. No Anno-Domini, no-one and nothing. The city was desolate.

Heruss had gone to his own quarters. He had thrown down his coat and had sat back into a high-backed leather chair. His white shirt was neat and uncreased. He took out his pipe, lit it and began puffing it furiously.

Ravelyn turned the water off, and stepped out of the shower, dried off with a white towel, wrapped it around her mid section and began rumaging through her things.

You should really go after him. Wrexx piped up.

Who… she asked.

Tere, of course. Wrexx sighed. He was mad at Heruss and the way his life has been lived for the better part of 200 years. You didn’t come into it much because a lot of his life has been under a lie.

Not my concern… she said as she pulled out a pair of dark cargo pants and a white tank top.

Really… Wrexx replied sarcastically. You honestly saying to me that you don’t give a damn at all? It’s “not your concern” in the grand scheme of things? You do realise Franz will probably turn your land to ash to get to you? You need Terefedel for the fear factor alone, and for knowledge on how to beat Franz. That and your feelings for him. Remember he’s blinded by a 200 year rage at pretty much everything that’s happened so far. If anybody could drag him back from his rather destructive path, it’s you.

If he's that idiotic to be so blinded, I do not want to be with him. She said, pulling on her pants and shirt over her head. She took the pistol from the side drawer they had given her, and put it into a satchel before slipping that on the belt around her waist.

Even if I do love him, love is never enough

And if he blames himself for what happened to you? I think he blames himself and Heruss. Him for being so foolish as to leave you alone and wounded in the battlefield and Heruss for not telling him, who has fought unswervingly alongside Heruss for several centuries, of such a threat that can seriously harm his lover.

Then he is a fool. She said, and walked of the room, and towards Heruss' quarters, then stopped herself. She asked a passerby if he knew where the captain was. She had to apologize to him for earlier. She was directed in the right direction. She knocked on the door.

“Enter.” came the voice, and a spit and a clang of a bucket.

Ravelyn opened the door and shut it behind her. She said nothing, but merely stared at him.
“Oh…” the Captain sighed and looked up from an old leather bound book. “Yes?”

She removed the pistol from her satchel far too quickly for his eye to catch. Then it was fired, piercing him straight through the skull. She walked over to the window, not even looking at what she had done. She took the pin she had been given and placed it on the table. She would forever be Heruss' daughter, but she would not be his soldier.

Alarms started to go off immediately. “Unauthorized weapons discharge, unauthorized weapons discharge.” the voice began. “Quarters CE12.”

Heruss had leapt from his chair when he heard the shot and had burst into the room just as Rave left the window. He saw the pin on the table, and the dead Captain. “So…” he sighed. “Overseer!” Heruss snapped.

“Yes Commander…” the voice replied.

“Entrap her. Nullifier level 5.” Heruss replied, his voice wavering slightly as he said it.

“Confirm coding.”

“HE11F1R3.” Heruss rattled off, the coding for Hellfire. A basic coding system for a system utilized on the Hathertwaite to stop all magical attacks upon the vessel, and to stop anything leaving afterwards.

A mouting on the very top of the Hatherthwaite turned slowly towards Ravelyn. Runes marked along the side and fired.

Kayde appeared, wrapping herself around Ravelyn. In seconds they vanished into the twilight.
Midlonia
12-02-2008, 22:48
In the twilight, Ravelyn fought back tears. Kayde held onto her with innocent and ignorant arms. Ravelyn stroked the young girls transparent hair. "What did you do?" Kayde questioned her mother.

"Something that needed to be done," Ravelyn said, her voice faltering slightly. "Humans will never be able to understand. Heruss, won't have an issue now going against me. He has no choice."

"I thought you liked Heruss," Kayde said, not fully understanding as she kept the shades off at a distance.

"I do," Ravelyn said softly. "Love him as a father. But what father can go againt his daughter or do anything against her if she doesn't do something wrong. The captain...because...I killed him because of a stitch in fate. If he lives, so will I."

"You want to die?" Kayde said. "But you'll return to us in one hundred years, right?"

"Yes," she sighed heavily. "But it's something I need to do. Inevitably, all threads of fate now point towards my death. If Tere had even thought about that rather than what has already happened, he wouldn't have left. Anyway...I can't stay here for too long. I'm growing cold...."

"You really think Heruss will go against you?" she questioned as she held Ravelyn tighter.

"Without a doubt," she said in return. "That's why I respect him, and am able to love him."

"This where you wanted to go?" Kayde questioned, as they were behind a statue, in a crevice on the top of a large stone building.

"Yes," she said in return. "Stand by...please."

An enormous Three spired Cathedral. Adorned in many different types of stones. Yet it all kept a consistent look of the Gothic Era. It towered above many of the buildings near by, but was simply dwarfed by the skyscrapers and the grave-tower in the far distance. Below them all hell had broken loose. Gunfire from every red coated man down in the cathedral grounds and the large man-shaped battle suits all firing in different directions.

And so, Ravelyn began the purification. Her voice turned the heads of good and evil; soulless and soulful. She let everything she had out in those words, for she was alone. Convinced that was the only way she was meant to be. She had no one now, and with even her father against her, (for her children supported even her decision with her life), she was able to risk her life and hers alone. She was was able to die if they killed her, and not have anyone else in the process. In this feeling, the sensation, she found her strength. Her aura stretched over the cathedral; white blinding for those who could see it.

Девка по саду ходила,
Да по зеленому да гуляла,
Ой-ли, о-ли, ой-ли, о-ли,
Ой-лели да ой-ли о-ль.
По зеленому да гуляла,
С ноги на ногу ступала,
Ой-ли, о-ли, ой-ли, о-ли,
Ой-лели да ой-ли о-ль.
С ноги на ногу ступала,
Да на камушек наступила,
Ой-ли, о-ли, ой-ли, о-ли,
Ой-лели да ой-ли о-ль.
Ой-ли, о-ли, ой-ли, о-ли,


За кого ты хотела.
Ой, Бог тебе дал, Александровна,
За кого пожелала,
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели,
За кого пожелала.
Мимо груши, мимо яблоньки
Дорожка лежала,
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели,
Дорожка лежала.
Только ходят, только ездят
Купцы да бояре,
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели,
Купцы да бояре.


The Anno Domini were stopped, unable to proceed further than they already were. It didn’t stop them shooting at the men underneath though. An explosion rocked the base of the Cathedral. Through the smoke and ash kicked up by it was a single darkly clad figure. Who immediately walked inside.

"Got you..." she said under her breath, and followed after the figure.

It was Terefedel. He walked slowly along the centre of the dark wooden pews his shoes clicking off of the chequered stone tiles of the floor.. He bowed at the altar then called out. “I know you’re here Garu. I can smell you, I have a score to settle with you brother. A rather large score for doing what you did to the woman I love!”

Pretty big speech for someone who doesn't care if I live or die… she sent to him silently.

“Awwww.” The voice echoed around the cadaverous innards of the cathedral. “How cute.”

I do care. Why do you think I am here? I have to protect you. I can’t fail you.

"I'm not here to play games!" she yelled, and for a moment, a bright light flashed throughout the cathedral. "You dessecrate holy ground, that which...I cannot allow."

And you can't protect me Tere...I've killed one of your men...I was meant to be alone. Back off.

No. He replied. I can and will protect you.

The voice chuckled some more. “Really? Holy grounds? This place? Somebody doesn’t know their history too well. After all, this desecration is built on desecration. This site was once used for killing witches. Well, the underside was. They tried to counter the bad vibes by filling the under croft with holy treasures. Little realising they placed in it, of all places, the Spear of Longinus.”

The figure stepped out from behind the Altar, a long wooden spear jutting out from a holder on his back. The bowl helmet was gone and just the uniform remained. “This.” he chuckled taking the spear and twirling it. It hummed and sang as he did so. “Hello Brother. Hello Seraphim!” he yelled to the back of the Cathedral.

"Holy ground...indeed," she said with a smile. "Well, blessed spears and all I'm more of a scythe girl myself," she summoned the adamantine scythe with Bob's skull on the end of the hilt. The blade curved wickedly. "You will not be able to touch it!"

“That so? Are you aware of what this spear did?” Garu replied with a chuckle as he walked down the steps of the altar and into the pews proper stopping and putting the end down with a clank.

She sang, continuing her song, she had not finished. It grew hot in his hand. She didn't dare break the song for the world, which limited what she could do. She twirled her scythe.

“Thanks for warming it up for me.” he replied with another low deep laugh. “Like I said, are you aware of what this spear did?”

"Fully aware. I was never human...I have always been a messanger. Enough talk...I sugget you hand it over..." her voice was thick with blood. She still took no notice of Tere, or chose not to.

“Nah.” Garu replied with a chuckle. “Take it if you want.”

"Throw it over here," she winked, and sheiled herself from one side with her wing as she approached him.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t you hear? I said TAKE it.” He lashed out with the spear, it sang and moaned as it whirled down, aiming for her shoulder.

She took the hit fully, and the spear went through her shoulder, but it was just that, a spear. It hurt like a bitch, and her momentum had pushed her through it, and now it's blade was thoroughly hooked behind her back. She gripped the spear. "Fine...I came over here...satisfied?"

“Very.” He grinned. The floor began to glow. There were runes and a pentagram drawn in it in Chalk and blood. It was a circle of some form. Of summoning, entrapment of something. It didn’t matter. She was now fully in it and with the spear through her shoulder. “Two birds one stone” Garu laughed.

"Maybe in another hundred years..." she smirked.

“And If I were to kick this pedastal of Holy Water over?” Tere yelled to Garu his foot was against the christening basin at the far end of the church.

“No!” Garu yelled as Tere cracked the basin and threw it into the pews. The holy water hissed and bubbled as it washed the pentagram away, the circle began to break and the glow faded.

As the water hit Ravelyn's skin, it glowed. She kicked Garu with the spear still in her shoulder straight in the face.

Garu grunted and fell back, hitting the floor and sliding along towards the altar where Tere was, he held out his sword and rammed it through Garu’s chest and into the stone floor underneath.

He then kicked Garu a few times in the ribs. “Never. Touch. The. Woman. I. Love. Again!” he yelled at him.

“That won’t kill me” he cackled.

“No, but it made me feel better your traitor.” Tere spat.

Ravelyn pulled the spear out of her shoulder with a grunt, and held it in her hand. "But I bet this will..." It felt warm in her hand. She felt something being lifted from her shoulders. She almost felt as if she was about to slip into the light again, her eyes flickered amber; a color they used to be. She walked towards them.

Garu laughed again. “You think that’s the real spear?” He laughed as a portal opened to the side of the altar. “I’m a distraction dear.”

He was right. The spear she held was far too ornate. It had a silver handle and a jewel at the base of the spear itself.

The radioman, his own left hand man appeared carrying a plain spear. A simple staff with a simple base and tip.

“Thank. You.” The radioman said in a flat voice as he ran through the portal which closed behind him.

"I knew it was here somewhere. I feel ...starting to feel like my old self again..." she looked at the fleeing man. She walked over to Garu and slammed it through his chest along with Tere's sword.

Garu let out a hiss and stopped moving. His body didn’t move and something crackled deep within him. He was dead.

Ravelyn was on top of him in an instance, consuming the essence that he had left. He wasn't marked, but she really didn't care. Her death was inevitable. What was a few more lashes after she died?

Tere breathed a sigh of relief. “I did that for you, you know.” he said to her, looking at her as she consumed his brother’s essence, he had no feelings for him now.

"It's worthless Tere," she said, standing up as if she had come off of a high. "I can't go back there, with you. .I can't go with you. I told you I've killed someone, albeit his death was necessary...but I can't go back. You should have done it for yourself." The essence she consumed healed her shoulder.

"I'm going after Franz alone," she said in resolution. "Go back, help Heruss...but don't try to help."

"If you would have just not let your rage get the best of you, we'd still be there together right now. And the captain would have been killed in the next battle."

“It isn’t your fight, Azreal.” A voice boomed from the far end of the Cathedral.

Kayde she commanded, and her daughter was at her side, wrapping her arms around her mother. "My destiny is in my own death. I'm not having anyone else be a part of it...I won't kill him, perhaps I'll just wound him...who knows...but I've done what I've been told." Kayde's tail wrapped around one of her chains.

"Maybe this will be the last time I have to die."

"Because it was apparenlty meaningless to both of you," she yelled, now almost in tears, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry.

"You didn't even knock on my door..." she said.

"and you..." she said looking at Tere. "Your brother, long dead as you presumed, came over the present. You valued your rage more than your present."

“So you run again? Then you will be treated like an asset rather than as an individual.” Heruss boomed again from the far end of the Cathedral’s gigantic doors. He was a small figure lit by the sunlight that had now broken over the island, his trench coat waving in the wind. Because he was in shadow nobody could see he was openly weeping.

Chains and ropes and some kind of silk suddenly hurled themselves at her, snatching at her limbs and her arms, her throat and finally her eyes and mouth. The last thing she saw were men, around a dozen or more in all appearing from thin air. Long cloaks hanging down from them, wearing large helmets covered in runes that glowed, all holding a weapon of some kind that also glowed deeply, from each came some form of restricting bound.

Kayde vanished, taking what she saw back with her; back to the void. Nex wasn't there. Back to the palace, where Charmaine was alone in the room, on her throne, discussing a matter with some diplomat. Kayde, quite exhausted, knelt before the empress.

"What is it..." Charmaine asked, alarmed. She didn't see Kayde that often.

As Kayde relayed all that happened, Charmaine took it calmly, nodding. "Get Quissera in here..."

In the moments of solidarity, Charmaine ran her hands through her hair, weighing on a very tough decision. Quissera walked in the room now with a new shirt on and different pants. He had been working out as the tape around his knuckles suggested. Charmaine rose from her throne. "Prepare for war, and I will prepare the people."

"What will you tell them it's over?" Quissera asked.

"A group tries to unseal a chamber of fayth, and with them they have bound a key...and destruction lies ahead."

"Very well," he said, and turned on his heel out the door.

Charmaine wept.
Midlonia
13-02-2008, 00:39
Nex appeared in the void. “Kayde?” He looked around the emptyness trying to find her. “Kayde? I had a talk with Him upstairs. He says he can give you a power to project yourself solidly in all realms and be able to keep control of this place! Kayde?”

Kayde appeared. "Nex," she cried, and threw her arms around him.

He held her close to him. “What’s wrong Kayde? What’s wrong?”

She relayed to him what had happened.

"Help her..." Kayde said, tears, which he rarely saw the girl sad at all, only angry or terribly happy.

Nex looked horrified. “He wouldn’t… No. Not unless his hand was forced by those further up the chain than him…”

"HE DID HE DID!" she cried hugging Nex tighter as she cried into his shoulder.

“I.. Don’t know how.” He replied shaking is head and holding her close to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “I really don’t. They know what they’re doing there. If they want her kept out of the way they’ll do so. They’ll stop anybody and anything from getting to her if they wanted.”

"HELP HER," she cried.

Nex shushed her crying. “I can’t help her. I’m not allowed to meddle with those kinds of affairs, they require much higher contacts there than I have.” Nex sighed and shook his head again, trying to work out what to do.

"With Heruss...doing this...you think she'll ever be able to recover? She needs us. She us around her or she's going to lose her sanity again. They are going to destroy her so badly that she's not going to be able to look at Franz with any defiance what so ever...or anyone else for that matter. She feels Tere and Heruss abandoned her. Now Heruss binds her...she's not going to recover...she's not going to recover."

Kayde let out a terrible cry, and in her grief, vanished.

“Kayde!” He yelled, then sighed and vanished himself.

-----------------

Blackness. That was all she could see. Blackness.

“I don’t like traitors.” The voice said to her. It was as though it were floating.

The bounds around her face vanished. She was still in a black room. All she could see was a soul glowing. “I really don’t like murderers either.”

"Some deaths are necessary for threads of fate to be recoursed, when an individual shifts them."

“And you decided it was in your remit to shift those threads?”

"It is in my job description, to be done when necessary. Yes."

“Not here it isn’t. This land is different and you know it. The laws are not yours to define or carry out.”

"Not all," she said definatively. "But one...yes. It is." She paused. "What do you want from me?"

“Seeing as you evidently cannot be used as an individual for our benefit…. Well.” The voice trailed off for a moment. “You’ll simply be used as an asset. You’re what Franz wants, so we’ll keep you here if we have to.”

"I'd rather die."

“Tough.”

“I’d rather see my land not destroyed.”

"Then you made a serious mistake binding me."

“Some of us have a higher authority to listen to.” the figure replied. “Even under the threat of war from your people we shall have to do what we can.” He sighed. “Especially while you’re here. Nobody can sense you here, meaning the Anno Domini will go looking for you.”

“In the end. All feelings have to be set aside for duty.”

"But we all have the decision NOT to listen," she said offended.

“Some of us are bound to do what we are told or face extinction!” The figure snapped. “The covenant with the Greater King is very specific. We have to obey him or we are destroyed.”

"Yeah...I have something like that too...oh wait..I've died before. Haven't you seen the hell I went through? Can't bare to face something like that?!" she licked her lips. "I thought you understood me. I thought you would understand why I had to do what I did. You are damning yourselves."

“I do understand you Azreal. But you do not understand me.”

She said nothing in return.

“Exactly. You don’t.” He sighed and drew a sharp breathe. “I have my duty, my duty is above all else, regardless of who you are, daughter, you betrayed me by disobeying me and then killing a man. How can I trust anything you say or do?” He sobbed. “How…”

"Heruss," she choked back her tears which clearly wasn't helping. She wanted him to hold her. "I did my duty. I did what I was supposed to do. You...you know I don't want to do this. You know I have never wanted this burden to bare, but I've had it for millenia." She cried. "Despite whatever your view may be, I've never betrayed you!"

A hand gently cupped her face. “But it felt like a betrayal. It is a betrayal to duty to kill a man. Even if you know he is going to die.” he choked back the tears and coughed.

"Yes, but in the event of his death in that preordained way you would---" she held herself back from saying anymore. To finish that sentence would get her in even more trouble; not with them, but rather with those who created her. Screw it… she said, and began to dig her own grave. "you would have been taken with it...this..all of this, would fall into oblivion. But the pieces have been moved because of it. It restored order."

She could feel the adamantine chains on her wrists constrict and cried out in pain. They could even get to her here. She waited for it; but death did not follow; only the tightness of her chains ached.

“Order has been restored here many times without you.” Heruss said with a sigh as he held her to him, hugging her in the sheer darkness of the room.

"This..." she cried, burying her head in his shoulder. "Was mine to restore...because its line ends with me."

The spires on the inside of her shackles dug into her wrists, blood dripping down to her fingertips.

“Level 6.” he whispered, the chains slacking slightly as the room hummed.

She threw her arms around him. "How could I betray you?" she asked through gasping breaths. "You sit closer to me than my pain."

“It felt it because you threw aside everything I gave to you so easily.” Heruss sighed. “Terefedel, your position in the regiment, everything…”

She supressed a cry he could hear muffled in the back of her throat. Her own chains had wrapped up her arms on their own, and had constricted. "Terefedel...needed to find his own way. He was the one who walked away from me. My position in the regiment...yes, because I don't want to command people. I just want to be with you and Tere. That's all I want. I don't want position, or power, I just want your love. That's all I ever wanted."

“I know, but I need you now.” Heruss replied. “I need you, so does Tere.”

Her chains pulled her arms behind her back, and entwined themselves together tightly. "Why do you need me?" she said with a flash of amber in her eyes, which soon faded.

“I need my daughter, and I need to know she can listen to me.”

That wasn't the answer she was looking for, and a disheartened look flashed in her eyes.

“Why...why do you need me?"

“Because I love you daughter. I need you by my side through all of this.”

She was about to say something into Heruss' ear when her consciousness was pulled from her, and because of their closeness, it took Heruss with her.

Dark, grey grass, no flowers. She was on her knees, white dress and black wings, but her hair covered her face. Her chains were around her arms all the way up. He could hear voices, whispers, some more distinctly than others.

"You have broken the treaty twice by two who were unmarked; first, the brother of your vampire; you consumed his unmarked soul. Secondly, speaking of something which you were told not to. You have served us well, but we can not overlook these transgressions."

"Guess it's time for you to make another Seraphim," Ravelyn said.

"Hardly a punishment! That's what you've wanted all along! To be free of those chains. You are loved very much, Azrael...but stick to those who are marked and do not speak of it to anyone. Do your job. If you do it well, you will be rewarded. One test waits ahead of you. We have sent you images of it. Will you be able to do it?"

"Yes," she said as the pain tore through her body from the chains. "As I am meant to."

The chains loosened, and she was pushed out of that world. She nearly collapsed ontop of Heruss had the chains not been holding her. Her own chains had unravelled themselves leaving puncture wounds across her skin, but they no longer constricted.

"They couldn't see you," she said breathlessly.

“I gathered.” he replied.

"They have control over my soul."

“How?”

"They made me."

“I see.” He replied. “Unbind her!” He barked. The chains and binds fell away, retracting into the walls and floor. Lights came on. The room was a pale white. “Come. Someone wants to see you.”

"Can you stay with me for one more moment..." she asked.

“Why?” He asked, looking at her.

She looked disappointed. "It's nothing..."

“I wasn’t really going anywhere anyway. I have to keep an eye on you. Orders high up. I don't like it, but there you go. It also seems Tere has some new... life into him. He's not afraid of me any more. Or anything really. He seems to have laid to rest many inner demons..."

"If Charmaine is preparing my nation for war...your going to have to let me communicate with them quick. My forces are...well, 50% of all funding goes to them...and..." Point was made.

“We have reports to the contrary. It seems the Anno Domini are heading there. If you have to talk to them, warn them.” Heruss sighed and shook his head. "I don't like it one bit, but that's the curse of being still far down the chain..." He took a deep breath and looked to her again. "...though now you're out they may cancel their plans against your nation."

"Lower the magic barrier and I can do it right now."

“Fine.” He looked at her, then looked up at the ceiling. “Disable Hellfire.” He barked.

The air discharged immediately.

She spoke something aloud in a slavic language which drifted into silence. A few minutes and she looked at Heruss. "Qui is unhappy, but she hadn't made the public announcement yet. Your safe."

“Are they? That’s the question…” He sighed and shook his head.

"With three of my kind, and the wars that have occured in my nation before, yes they are."

“Have they faced such an enemy as them though? If one of the major players goes with them looking for you… “

"I made those lands," she said suddenly. "We have control over the moon and stars there, the earth, the water, everything. They think they'll be able to nullify magic there? They are sorely mistaken, and nearly half of regular citizens are elemental adepts. Yes...I am sure they are safe."

She shrugged.

"..besides...my psychotic son is there. My nation is in good hands. It's not what we have to worry about right now."

Heruss nodded, and hit a panel which caused the door to hiss open.

Terefedel was waiting in the small room through the door. He was leaning against a desk. But he had changed. His hair had turned black and his uniform had stained a rusty blood red, all bar a mark, a dove shaped mark which was white.

He looked up and gave her a slight smile. “Hey.”

"What happned to you?" she questioned.

“Not sure.” he shrugged. “This happened the moment I left the church.”

“Hair changed, clothes changed, even my sword.” he pulled his blade out and leant it on the desk. It had become black, it’s edge was serrated and hollow on the inside. “I don’t know. But I like it.”

"You...look just like..." she was almost horrified. Lost, and the appearance. He looked EXACTLY like him.”

“Who?” he asked looking at her. Rather than bewilderment was a simple questioning look. No longer indecisive and nervous, but inquisitive, prepared.

"Zacharian; Michael Vaughn."

"...his darker side. That stepped into the twilight...you look just like Zacharian."

"And when his hair was blond; Michael Vaughn. Nervous; not as bold, caring..."

“I see.” Tere replied with a nod. “Does that mean I’ll be marked by you one day?” Casual. Not nerves. Casual reference to his own death.

"I don't know," she said softly.

"I'm already marked by the fates...so I...I don't think so."

“Then until then. I shall be caring, and by your side.” he said, moving to her and gently taking her into his arms. “I’m still me. But I feel… a little different now. More confident. I can be who you need, rather than what I was.”

She kissed him.

With that kiss, she ran a hand through his black hair and gripped it in one hand to pull back a bit.

Tere tilted his neck and shot a look to Heruss, who nodded and left via the other door. “There’s a cot in there.” he remarked with a casual chuckle as he put his pipe into his mouth.
Rave Shentavo
13-02-2008, 04:15
Ravelyn shot a grateful glance at Nex. She took Kayde’s hand. She would have been a senior in high school had she not have fate thrust upon her. Ravelyn couldn’t help but see this childish innocence within the girl, despite the fact most seventeen year olds lost their innocence many years prior to that age. Innocence in the sense of carnality, as well as optimism. She had been brought into a world completely different from her own when she hadn’t had enough time to learn the human world as a human, or like a human. She had always been what she was; one of the dark seraphs. She was destined to preside over that darkness; that nothingness, for eternity. How cruel it was to give her a normal life at first before she awakened!

Ravelyn had been lucky, or unlucky depending on how one looks at it, in that respect. She had never known a normal life. When she was sent to this world, she had already been given her purpose. Should she choose not to follow it there would be consequences. Perhaps it was because her job was more involved with this realm and Kayde, or Lilith (her true name as Ravelyn’s was Azrael), merely watched over the void. It was an important job, but there were more restrictions put on Ravelyn. Still, the Seraphim of Death exercised her right to chose quite frequently. She knew what she was getting herself into when she was punished, and what the technically right thing to do was.

“Would you excuse us for a moment?” She looked at Tere, then at Nex. She walked back into the room they had been in, and closed the door. Ravelyn sat in a chair while Kayde curled up on the untouched bed. She put her head in her hands and looked at her mother. “There is something you wanted to ask me…” Ravelyn pushed Kayde to ask.

“Why are you going to die? How? What did you see?” she asked with wide eyes as she quirked her head up. Her pointed tail went back and forth to either side of her.

“That is hard to explain,” her mother said, but after a while, found the means to put it into words. “I have told you when I was created, I was created to take the stray souls of the earth to the other realms, and to execute those who broke the treaty. It wasn’t something that I chose to do. That is partially a lie. I was not created specifically for that. I was the first of the seraphim created, but the only reason I am the strongest among us is because I’ve been awakened as long. When you grow older and you fully come into being, you will be of equal strength. Quissera is definitely getting up there…” She trailed off.

“Which part wasn’t true? Did you chose such a task?”

“Oh, no, no, no…Why would I ever want to do something like this. There is a pleasure I take in killing only because I do not wish to find pain there. That would make it hard to carry on. No, the part which is a lie is the fact that I was created for that. I was created for something much different.”

“What is it?” Kayde continued, getting up and kneeling in front of her mother.

Ravelyn said nothing for a long time. Silence passed between them, but Kayde waited patiently. “I was created to love.”

“To love?”

“Yes. They wanted my love to inspire a great change among humanity, but that would also tip the scales greatly.”

“So why did you become the seraphim of death? Did they change their mind?”

“No,” Ravelyn continued. “No, they didn’t change their mind. They needed to choose someone for the job. They looked at the four of us, and asked the question ‘Who among them can bare the most pain’.”

“That’s terrible!” the girl exclaimed.

“That’s what was necessary, and still is. I rebelled at first. I refused to kill seven targets; they were just kids. A week later darkness swept over the city, and millions were killed. If I had done my job, it wouldn’t have happened, but I didn’t have the power to see into the future yet. After that transgression, I was granted that foresight to see what would happen if I didn’t kill my targets. It was more of a curse than a blessing. I lived through all of it and felt their pain. My second transgression was dying; dying to a demon named Mephisto. You know of our two battles no doubt. The first time he killed me. They found it inexcusable to die, so they cursed me. If I were to die I would come back one hundred years later and continue my job including all the marks that mounted up. On top of this running a nation mind you…which is why I retired. Then I met Michael Vaughn. I’ve told you about him…”

“Yes, you have,” she agreed. “I wish I could have met him.”

“Well, he was a dark one, and he ended up getting himself into a fate line that had big plans for him. I was partially the reason for it. He was marked for me. I had to kill him. I did, two days after we were married.” Ravelyn paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “I then committed suicide.”

“What happened next?”

“I went to hell,” Ravelyn whispered. “That’s where my armor came from, and my adamantine chains. The powers gave me the armor as a gift to try to keep me from killing myself again. As if the torture wasn’t enough. The chains, however, were for an additional weapon, and an additional punishment. I can control them as I wish, but if one of the Powers wants to they can as well.”

“So why must you die?”

“Because I’ve been marked,” Ravelyn said.

“For whom?”

“For myself.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I need to make a decision that will ultimately result in my death, but bring back balance into the world around me. If I don’t die, then chaos and the darkness are inevitable.”

“Darkness isn’t that bad,” Kayde protested.

“Ah, but you are still a light being despite the fact you are a dark one. All of the angels created by the powers and higher up are light beings no matter where they are assigned.”

“I see…but you’ll be back in one hundred years right?”

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “Of course I’ll be back. I couldn’t leave you all here by yourselves. Besides, I need to keep an eye on Quissera.” Ravelyn stood up and started to walk towards the door, but Kayde stopped her.

“I have one more question,” Kayde said, stopping her. “Will they ever…will they ever let you go back to your original form?”

“No,” Ravelyn said. “Apparently because of my disposition to people I am able to bear an infinite amount of pain. They don’t understand I have no one to share it. Even Heruss does not know while he got a good look at my suffering. Some secrets I kept protected. I felt close to him, yet I couldn’t show him what I myself could almost not bare.”

“Let me bare some of your pain,” she said, and reached out her hands towards Ravelyn. They glowed violet.

Ravelyn took a step back and shook her head. “It is not for you to hold on your shoulders. I appreciate you offering, but you are young, and you are not meant to suffer in this way.”

“Are we all meant to suffer?”

“It’s the cost for our abilities some, the cost of being a servant, the cost of our jobs. Quissera will never be satisfied with any female he meets. Katarina was destined for catastrophe simply because of who he was. He is of the throne; which means he will choose who he is above love. He can’t possibly be convinced otherwise; never fully happy. Charmaine suffers for others. She is of life. She feels peoples pain and sympathizes with them. She will be a wonderful empress. You, my dear, are of the void. You were meant to suffer isolation, which I suppose is still in effect since you haven’t been punished. As long as you return to the void every day you should be all right. You must stay there for the greater part of your day.”

“Why do I suffer?”

“Because of the powers you will be given; because of what you will earn for the suffering. I know it is a lot to bare child, but I know you’ll be able to.”

“Mother…how are you meant to suffer?”

She sighed. “So many questions…” She sat back down and Kayde sat down beside her. “I have the souls that are marked which I consume within me. Whispers constantly torture me, but my soul is made to dominate over them, so I keep them in check. I am in torment for the love which I have lost; the children that I have lost, the way I was brought into vampirism, the physical tortures I’ve endured on the battlefield and off, the sadistic ways of inquisitors…as I said earlier, I was meant to suffer. Every moment of happiness I can find is sweet to me. I remember every moment I’ve ever had like that. That glimpse of perfection…”

“It’s not fair!”

“It’s my job. No one said it had to be fair, but it’s what they assigned for me to do. I would like nothing more than to be a simple mage, or even just an angelic, with a family, off somewhere in someplace…but that’s not who I am. I can never be that way. You must understand that it is my duty to die, and I must choose it above my love.”

“Why are you not of the throne then?”

“Because I don’t fully believe that. It’s just what I’m forced to accept.” With that she opened the door for Kayde and passed through. The room had been soundproofed, and they hadn’t heard. She had made sure of that before she started speaking. Someone else, however heard her. Someone whose orders it was to keep an eye on her.
Midlonia
13-02-2008, 18:11
Heruss sighed and shook his head. Born to love and yet always to be hated? It seemed to have been one of those things he may had said once about himself and his own people.

But an inspiration as well? It made very little sense. But her death did.


She was to be a part of the battle against Franz.

And Franz would walk upon the earth again, bringing death and destruction in his wake.

He turned from his hiding place and removed the collar which had been keeping his essence from showing to either of them and put his pipe in his mouth in thought. Rave was a conundrum in many many ways.

He was also troubled by the comparisons that Ravelyn had drawn with how Terefedel had changed and how she killed the last man who had done that in front of her. Could Tere now be on the same path? He didn’t seem to be turning, but his soul had changed subtly. It was beginning to turn silver. Which to Heruss was a good sign. His soul was being elevated by some outside power. But that also troubled him.

He stuffed the pipe full of tobacco and lit it as he opened the door to his quarters and sat down, he consulted a tome he had on a small side table. It was a thick leather bound one with wrought iron on the cover. Then shook his head and looked at the ceiling.
Midlonia
14-02-2008, 00:15
Kayde parted from Ravelyn with silent words. Ravelyn stood by Tere, and had folded her arms in front ot her to lean against the wall. Kayde meandered through the halls before she got to the door she was looking for. She knocked on it, and clasped her hands behind her back waiting.

“Enter” Heruss said, looking up briefly from his book before going back to reading.

Kayde entered, and closed the door behind her. She stood at the doorway, her hands still clasped behind her back. She looked at him and smiled. "Mother was right," she said cheerfully. "You do look like brother."

“Pardon?” Heruss asked looking up at her from his chair. In here was a fake fireplace with similar oak panels. It seemed to be something that comforted him.

"Sorry," she apologized for her statement. "You do look like my brother. Your aura is very beautiful."

“Oh.” Heruss chuckled. “I see.” He nodded as he put a bookmark into the page he was at and closed it. “So what can I do for you?” He asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you," she said with a sweet voice. "...If you don't have time I understand."

“I have some time at the moment. I was only reading. Have a seat if you wish.” Heruss motioned to the other chair.

She walked over to the chair and sat down, brought her legs in and wrapped her arms around them and rested her chin on her knees. She spread out her leathery wings to either side, and her emerald eyes glistened i the light of the room. Her cheeks had a rosy hue, as if she weren't a vampire at all. The spiralled horns suggested something much different.

"What do you plan to do?"

“About what?” Heruss asked.

"About Franz"

“What we’ve always had to do. Fight him. Beat him. Lock him away again.”

"A never ending cycle?" she questioned innocently

“That’s the curse we live with.” Heruss smiled wearily.

"I don't find truth in that," she said, and looked towards the floor. "What do you think of my brother?"

Heruss merely shook his head. “Quite the inquisitive one, aren’t we? Your brother is unusual.”

"Mother says that too," she said in reference to her statement about her. She smiled. "He's Daja's son but he doesn't take much after his father. I mean, he looks like him except Daja had black hair and his is white...and Qui is a bit more built than his father, but you can see his mother in his face sometimes, when he thinks certain things."

“Unusual Family, huh?” Heruss chuckled.

"It depends what you would consider usual for a family which had never been human."

“True.” Heruss nodded. “Very true.”

"Do you think it's cruel what they are making her do?" she questioned him with her large gemed eyes.

“Who? The Fates?” Heruss asked.

"Yes."

“I think the problem with your mother is that she doesn’t always see the third path in matters.” Heruss began as he tapped his hand on the book. “Sometimes you have to rebel completely. You have to seize what you have to and break free if you can.”

"The more she rebels, the deeper her bonds to them become." Kayde said, looking into her new hourglass. "If any one in this building were to be called a rebel it would be her. I do wonder though; why she isn't fighting it this time. Why she isn't fighting her death. I wish I knew what she saw would happen if she didn't die."

“She knows she’s somewhere very different. With very powerful people about her. Perhaps she is going for it because she can break the bond this time. Or maybe die completely. I can only speculate.”

"I don't think she ever wanted to die completely. For us to die completely it means that our essence is destroyed. There is no hell or heaven, just obliteration. How can you find peace when your forced to kill?"

“Then she must be relying on somebody to do something.” Heruss replied with a sigh. “Perhaps she is looking for a way to break her bond to the Fates.”

"Doubtful," Kayde said, and looked at the floor. "Are you given orders from someone or do you give orders?"

“Both.” Heruss replied with a sigh. “I can issue them at my own discretion, but I have to obey those that come from much higher up. I am given nominal independence when necessary.”

"But you don't aspire to be higher up?" she asked with a childish ignorance.

“Of course I do.” He replied. “I was a King once. I want to be that again.” He nodded.

She giggled playfully. "Well I'm Queen of the void if you want to be king I have no problem sharing the title with you."

Heruss laughed and shook his head. “I wouldn’t wish to take your title away from you.” He replied with a chuckle. “It’s yours and yours alone.”

"That's what they say," she seemed sad. "Nex said he would visit me more though."

“You can visit him too now I see.” he nodded to the jewel and opened his book to a certain page. “Seems the longer your use and wear that pendant the longer you can stay out of the void. But to be on the safe side, I’d go back at least once a day for a while.”

"Yes, that's what mother said. I should go back in about an hour or so," she sighed. "At least I have a rabbit, but I'm not sure what to name him..."

“Don’t you know what to name rabbits?” Heruss asked raising his eyebrow.

"I've never had a pet before. Also haven't really talked to anyone outside the void for twenty years..."

Heruss nodded, then looked at his bookshelf. On it was a box. “Hang on a moment.” he said as he picked it up and looked inside it. He pulled out a children’s Ladybird publisher book. My First Rabbit. It has a little bow and a card on it. “Call it a present.” Heruss said with a smile as he handed it to her.

She smiled and took the book into her arms. "Thank you," she said with a light curtsey. She looked at Heruss. "When you held her, did you get a tingling sensation within your chest?"

“What do you mean?” He asked as he tapped the book again.

"What did you think about...or do you think about anything? When you held her..."

“I just think about how much I love her as a daughter…” Heruss trailed off.

Kayde smiled. "I knew it," she said quietly. "I think...I think it's happening again, but different this time."

“Again?” Heruss asked.

"Oh Quissera should know more about than I ever would. It happened before I was born. Anyway...I need to get back to the void. Thank you for talking to me...and the book." she smiled, and slipped through the door. .

Heruss nodded and shook his head as he went back to reading his own book.
Rave Shentavo
14-02-2008, 00:45
“I can’t stand by your decision, Mother,” Quissera said, pacing about the room. He wore a dark shirt and dark jeans with a ruby amulet around his neck. As Ravelyn sat down in a chair across from him, she couldn’t help but to think that he looked like his father. “This never ending cycle has to stop. You can’t keep risking your life for the sake of other people.”

“Because I love them, I have to, or my days will grow even darker than before. If I sit here and do nothing about it, I won’t be able to live with myself,” Ravelyn explained. “If you love me, I need you to let go of all of me. Trust in my decision.”

“I’m going with you then,” he said. “If I can’t kill him, then you can have a go…”

“No!” it was shouted like an order. “None of you are to be involved. I need you in our empire. I can’t change who I am, Qui.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said with his back towards her. “So sorry I couldn’t be the one. I can’t change who I am. Why did they choose you…and not me? I’m much more suited for that kind of work.”

“If you were given this job, Quissera,” she replied with a soft voice. “You would not be able to do anything but kill. You already can’t find someone to settle down with, because you can’t find someone you consider your equal.”

“I consider you my equal,” Quissera said turning around. “If this world wasn’t so warped in ideals I would have offered you my soul to your service.”

“Is that the only reason?” she said, as if she had known all along. “If we were simply souls; entities, you would bind yourself to me as a compliment?”

“Also out of respect,” he said sullenly. “I respect you. I love you as my equal. You are the only person I have found, and will ever find that can possibly understand me…or compete with me. I have always needed that. I have always needed you. You should see yourself, Azrael. You should see yourself when you loved Vaughn, or Corothisia. I could see your aura for miles. It nearly enveloped the entire continent. As you were on the brink of happiness, of breaking free, you were forced to kill Vaughn, and Corothisia was forced to leave. It shattered you. Now you’re forming a new love with Tere, and it’s happening again.”

“What are you trying to say?” she questioned.

“What I am trying to say is that you come so close to happiness, and you are forced to destroy what you love. Your job keeps you from your true self. It is why you are in so much torment. The punishments, the things you have to go through. The things that Heruss just put you through, all add to it. They keep you down, and they keep your soul locked away within you. Have you ever noticed you keep most of your emotions to yourself, but you don’t want to?”

“I haven’t had someone to share it with,” she whispered.

“It’s not that. I’ve always been here,” he said strongly. “But you have never had that type of love with me. I know you love me mother, greatly. But the love that triggers it is when someone makes you feel loved despite the danger surrounding you. Someone who loves you for who you are and not for your powers, beauty, or your entrancing aura. I think that’s why they chose to send you. Without you, I would not be able to keep myself in check. I would not suffer as I do. But without you, the loss would be even greater.” He kissed her cheek gently. “You know our love is not incestuous, because disregarding these bodies we are equals.” He touched her cheek but dropped his hand.

“I never thought you’d be able to,” she said softly.

“To what?”

“To love, wholly…” she stood up, and wrapped her arms around him from the back. He put one hand on top of hers over his chest.

“And you know this love to be true and not a passing fancy?” he snickered, as if he was expecting uncertainty.

“Yes,” she said plainly. “It’s throughout your entire soul. And if I tell you that I love Tere you’ll step down and try to be happy for me.”

“Yes.”

“That’s what love is,” she said in response. “Love is the complete gift of the self; to put another’s happiness before your own. To respect the other, to know the other, to take responsibility for the other, and to care for the other. The desire for interpersonal fusion is the most powerful striving in man. It is the most fundamental passion; it is the force which keeps the human race together, the clan, the family, society. The failure to achieve it means insanity or destruction-self-destruction or destruction of others. If you love without calling forth love, that is, if your love as such does not produce love, if by means of an expression of life as a living person you do to make yourself a loved person then your love is impotent, a misfortune. I saw that misfortune in you, but over the many thousands of years we’ve known each other, it’s been slipping away.”

She continued. “In the other, in those with whom we interact, we continually destroy the illusion that we are autonomous. Love is the first sacrifice of the rational, utilitarian, and individualist view of relations. The soul is afraid of emptiness. When there is no positive, valuable, divine content in it, it is filled with negative, false, diabolical content. When the soul feels empty it experiences boredom, which is a terrible state. Lust and passions are generated by this boredom and emptiness. The love that I see within you fills your entire soul.” She walked to his front and kissed his cheeks. She put her arms around his neck, and he hugged her tightly, and began to cry.

She dried his tears with the gentleness of her fingertips. “This time it’s different,” he whispered, looking down at her. “This time you are the one that is marked, not the man you love. They would never sacrifice you when they could put a pawn in the Queen’s place.”

She nodded in reply, still embracing him. “I’m glad I have taught you so well. I consider you my equal, and I have for a while.” This brought upon an inner weakness in him, and he wanted to fall to his knees in front of her in what that sentence brought to him.

“They are going to destroy you for good, Ravelyn…I think you aren’t coming back.”

“That’s what I thought as well,” she sighed softly. “You will have to take care of Genesis and Kayde, promise me this.”

“As always,” he said in resolution. “But I can’t stand the thought you will go down without a fight…”

“Without a fight,” she chuckled. “I don’t know where you got that idea from, but I am most definitely going to fight.”

“Good,” he said, stopping the tears which had continued to come, though his voice didn’t waver. He hugged her again, and she whispered something in his hair which merited another squeeze. He stepped away from her and went through the doors.
Midlonia
14-02-2008, 02:21
Heruss was smoking his pipe again. His book was still on his lap and he sighed as he read it through, turning the thick gold leafed pages.

Qui reluctantly walked up to the door, and knocked twice, and only twice.

Heruss sighed. “Enter.” He said, puffing again slightly irritably.

"Is it a good book?" Qui questioned before walking through the door.

“Yes. Oddly enough.” Heruss said as he placed a the leather bookmark into it and closing it.

"What's it about," he said, sitting down in the chair across from him.

“Mythology.” Heruss replied sitting back into his chair and sucking on his pipe. “All sorts of Mythology. It’s an enchanted book in it’s own right. It shows me what interests me from mythology and such and as much information about it as possible. I heard what you said to your mother, by the way…”

"Does it matter?" Qui said after hesitating.

“She’s my daughter. Of course it matters.” Heruss replied idly.

"She's a fellow seraphic. We are kindred spirits. You couldn't possibly understand," he said with a scoff.

“Is that so?” Heruss replied icily. “Despite the fact that I probably know more about her before she was born that you ever will?”

"Impossible," he said. "We came from the same place. We are the same creature."

He shifted his black wings behind his back; the one that had been severed in half some time ago was slightly bent.

“You‘re hardly the same creature are you though?”

"Different jobs," he said blandly.

“I see.” Heruss looked up at the ceiling then leant forward. “So why have you sought me out?”

"It was a suggestion, rather," he said, knowing that Heruss would be smart enough to get it. He was doing it because of Ravelyn. "I have no doubt you know where her destiny lies. I'm here because we have to get along."

Heruss cocked a grin. “Get along? As what? Your Grandfather?” He snorted with laughter.

"I'd rather not," he said in return, showing clear distaste. "As beings I guess. She doesn't expect me to treat you as a father. You aren't my father."

“In all honesty Qui, your presence isn’t necessary. Ravelyn’s is. She’s the key to all of this. We don’t have to get along, we don’t have to speak. I personally feel discomforted around you, who’s soul is a vortex.” Heruss sighed and tapped his pipe out into an ash tray before immediately refilling it.

"Oh?" he chuckled. "Perhaps you should look closer." There was a defiance in his tone. "My prescence isn't needed by you no, Azrael has made clear that she doesn't want any of her children around this battle, and when I am through here I will return to the nation and escort Charmaine." He stared at him. "The reason we will never get along is because our souls conflict, that much as true. Souls of the throne have always been in constant conflict with each other. But you must understand, I'm not doing this for you or for me or for my nation, I'm doing it because of her . She wants one of us to be with you and Tere after she is gone. Genesis is the empress of our nation and Kayde must remain in the void. I'm trying to get along with you, it's not something I do often, or ever for that matter, so take it for what it's worth."

“She seems convinced of her death, which is troubling. I do not think Terefedel will appreciate one of you staying around. Also, somebody will have to take her place I beleive.” Heruss replied with a sigh. “You realise it is man’s nature to rebel in any way against their masters, their creators, correct?”

"Better than you would ever know," he said firmly.

“Yet, in similarity to that. Human nature and Seraphic nature coincide. Your mother is the rebellious sort. I feel she is strong enough to find intervention on whatever path she may take. She is a being of destiny, of… love regardless of what she does. Or what may happen to her, I have a feeling she will die at the end of this, but also she will be reborn.”

"You realize the ownership of our souls is not our own. We possess them now, but they can be taken and destroyed. We are not under your creators the same way that you are."

“However such a link or ownership can be broken. Any link is just that. A link. In order to have control over something you have to have a link to it. Such things can be severed by the creatures that were forged to rebel, regardless of creator, even if it takes centuries.” Heruss replied.

"One thing I don't understand is why the powers would mark her for herself, when they've been trying desperately to keep her alive. As far as ownership goes, since our creation none of us have been let go. I don't think that is really an option. We can't deny who we are."

“No, this is true. You cannot. But you can change how your actions effect all, and by consequence, effect yourself. Our experiences change us after all… they make us stronger or they make us weaker.”

"This just doesn't make sense to me," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I don't know why she would give all this up. She has what she has to do of course, and that isn't pleasant. What she endures isn't pleasant, but the connections she forms with people; the love she has. It's so hard to find a reason why she would give it up. If she had promise of release, I don't think she would take it over that."

“Perhaps she finally wants to be free to do as she pleases. If it comes between freedom or death which would you choose?”

"I think the choices are death and the burden of life," he countered.

“That’s your view. But is it hers? Love is an act of freedom as well as of compromise, to love, to truly be able to love you have to be free. That is my thought on the matter.”

"This is true," he said. "Glad your catching on. It's what tortures her the most. But her freedom means destruction, and when your essence is destroyed you can't love."

“Then perhaps I need to step on some leaves…” Heruss murmured quietly.

"You are the type of person who goes out of your way to step on a crunchy leaf, aren't you?"

“I like the sound it makes.” Heruss grinned.

"Annoys the hell out of me," he laughed.
Heruss nodded and chuckled. “Then I shall step on it when you’re not around.” he countered.

Qui nodded. "Good...good." He trailed off lost in his thoughts. He had been one of Vaughn's favorites too, thouhg he couldn't feel any sort of connection to Terefedel. It just happen to strike his mind. Vaughn had given him the ability to go in and out of the dark path as he pleased. "If you worry about Tere dying...I don't think it will happen."

“I’m not.” Heruss replied. “He’s too much of an annoyance to me to die. Besides, if Rave is going to die, then he has no worry. What does worry me though is the comparisons she’s drawing. This land is not like anywhere she has been before, and the same for it’s people.”

“His physical change also has worried me. I don’t know how it happened and this book isn’t giving me any definitive answers.”

"He's responding to her," Quissera stated.

“How so?”

"Let me see if I can explain it. Before Ravelyn met Vaughn...I'm sure you've caught glimpses of that. Anyway, Vaughn already had his two forms. Michael Vaughn, and Zacharian. Michael Vaughn pushed her away. He didn't want her to get involved with his issues. He was a very dangerous man, and didn't want to hurt her. He loved her. She, however, loved him. As anyone knows Ravelyn, you can't say no to her. So the more she was with him, the more trouble and threats befell them. The more and more Zacharian became ever more present. Zacharian was a risktaker, and accepted her by his side as his equal to fight. He didn't push her away, which is what she wanted. She started to open up, little by little she started to become happy. That was when Vaughn was marked, and her love was shattered."

"What is happening to Tere, I believe," he continued. "Is that the more time he spends with her, the more he'll become more like the person she needs him to be. Not different from his self, but different qualities are stressed. Regardless, you will have a better soldier. I don't think the change is a bad thing, but it may be bad for her. The deeper he goes into this, the deeper her love will become. If the powers sense that she has reached a dangerous level; dangerous enough to take her true form, they'll--- kill her?” . He leaned forward a bit. "They'll kill her..." he repeated. "Do they already anticipate that?" he questioned Heruss.

“Her true form? You mean she’d ascend again?” Heruss remarked and pondered in thought for a moment. “So it seems it will be he who will be shattered if she dies.” Heruss replied with a sigh. “So a reverse of the situation on that front. But the blade and the uniform change is what concerns me. Are you aware of our flag, Qui?”

"I have no knowledge of this nation, it is not my realm to control."

"Her true form...her true form..." he repeated to himself, though it was completely audible. "If she ever reaches her true form, which is impossible, she would need someone to match her in every respect...in power as well."

Heruss nodded to the flag sitting proudly above the fake fireplace, it was a dove on a dark red background. “That is the Bird of Peace soaked in blood. When the Kingdome of Midlownya first rose and began the War of Unity the flag was white. It was an unusual colour to have on such a flag I know, many thought it a surrender. They were soon mistaken.” He grinned grimly. “When the war was over it was said that the original had become stained with the blood of King Godwin’s enemies. All bar one part, which looked like a dove bearing an olive branch. It was seen as a sign of hope and became our symbol. Tere’s uniform is now like that flag. From what I know it may mean he too is ascending. Something is elevating him, and rapidly. Have you not noticed his change in colour of his soul?”

“He is not only becoming that which Rave wants and needs, he is becoming the embodiment of our nation.”

"I haven't cared to look at him," Qui said, which brought back the reality that the fact the two were technically competitors.

"What color is his soul?"

“It used to be blue. Now it is turning Silver, Vampirically speaking he is equalizing with Ravelyn. However he is not the same as Azreal.”

"Do you know what the color of her soul is truly?" he said with a transcendent smile on his face, as if he were half dreaming.

“I do not, no.” Heruss replied with a shake of his head.

"It's white," he said in a whisper. "That doesn't describe it enough. It's the softest thing you will ever see. It curves around you and takes you over. You are content simply to be. Absolute beauty."

"And mine? Do you know what mine truly is?" he smiled.

Heruss nodded. “Mind, Blue slowly turning white results in the colour silver… at a guess, black.”

"Gold," he said with a raised brow, looking intently at Heruss and folding his hands.

“Ah, so we are both of the Throne then… I see.”

"Indeed," he said. "That is my domain."

“Am I meant to treat you with sudden reverence?” Heruss replied.

"Nope," Qui said, laughing. "It doesn't work like that. Hmmn..." he trailed off in thought, then stood. "I must go. We should talk again sometime. I hear my sister calling me."

“Very well.” He nodded. “But try to warn your mother for me. She doesn’t realise what gravity she faces long before then. Franz has no soul.”

"I think she realizes exactly what she faces," Quissera said in honesty. "I don't think she would accept her fate if she didn't know what exactly what was going to happen, and what the consequences of her death would mean. You should have more faith in her, even though her sanity slips some times. She is in her controlled state at the moment. You should talk to her." With that, he disappeared.
Rave Shentavo
15-02-2008, 14:41
Charmaine looked at her mother with severe reverence. Being one of life, it was hard not to respect death. Being a Shentavo, it was hard not to respect Ravelyn. The two said nothing for a while, then Charmaine rose from her chair and hugged her mother who had been pacing. She cried. Ravelyn embraced her as she would a child; however the two were of the same size. “You can do this without me,” she said to Charmaine. “That’s why I chose you for the task. You are a very diplomatic person. I know you will be able to handle it.”

“You were empress for so long,” she said in return. “You were the head of our family for so long.”

“Qui will take over as head when I’m gone, but you will be empress. You’ve already served ten years, and done a wonderful job. You’ve gained their trust, and they were happy to accept you because we both are of the same blood.”

Charmaine remained quiet, and calmed herself. Something was bothering her other than the fact that she could no longer rely on Ravelyn for guidance. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again. “Tell me what you saw.”

“When?” her mother responded.

“Tell me what you saw after your death.”

“Nothing,” Ravelyn said calmly. Charmaine was outraged.

“You saw NOTHING? And yet still you want to go through with it?!”

“I saw what would happen if I lived, Charmaine,” she replied, and folded her hands. “That…what I had seen, is far worse than anything that could happen after my death. This I can’t allow. I believe this is the decision I have to make.”

“But you aren’t even sure if any good would come of it!”

“I always have hope.”

“Hope is not enough!” she said, flushing with color.

“I have taught you to be the rational one Charmaine. Always level headed. Trust in my decision. Speak with Heruss.”

“Why have you sent us to speak with him? Quissera told me Kayde saw him too…”

“Because maybe he’ll see something I can’t in each of you, answers to this. Our family, Charmaine, is connected by bonds far stronger than blood or any shared vampirism that runs through our veins.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh, well maybe I just lost my sanity for a moment,” she said, and dismissed her daughter before lying down on the bed, and falling asleep.
Midlonia
15-02-2008, 18:25
The cane tapped Minerva in her chair. She stirred. “Hrmn. Go away…” she hissed.

The can tapped again. “Wakey wakey.” The voice growled. “Wakey wakey, Blossom.”

Minvera’s eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright. “How did yo-” she began, but was cut off by the figure sitting opposite her. “Lo-Lo-Lord… Malkren?”

The large rotund figure sat in the chair opposite her, the cane that had been poking her was now stabbing at the embers of the fireplace. He was a large man, with a giant stomach and ornate clothes. He wore white pantaloons and a purple coat with a fur lining. With a tut from his large bulbous nose and a snort at the fire it burst back into flames, glowing greenly.

“Seems somebody has fallen far from their rightful station. You are failing me here Minerva.” Malkren replied. “Especially when you still owe me severely for helping you after the war…” He sniffed idly as he took some snuff from an ornate brass box.

“I. My lord…” She replied, bowing her head. “I have great knowledge of this place now though.” She replied.

“Yet apparently not enough for our initial group to do remotely as much damage as we’d hope. Not even a significant number of deaths.” Malkren replied with a sigh.

“Lord, to be fair, I was not informed of the time of the attack to distract them…”

“No, instead you were not vigilant of the tremors that caused their arrival.” Malkren replied icily. “Instead you were too busy pleasing yourself.”

“My Lord, you know that it is a terrible side-effect that I cannot control…”

“Oh I’m sure it is…” replied a voice behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder with some force. “You certainly seemed to have that side-effect back when you knew me though….”

“Garufedel?” Minerva jumped.

“Mmmhm.” Garu replied as he moved around and leant his foot on a coffee table, kicking the books over as he did so. “How you doing Minerva?” He chuckled.

“Badly.” She growled. “But you already know this. Look at this mark!” She said looking at the puncture wounds left by Ravelyn. “Seraphic bitch…”

Garu ripped the hole more, exposing her modesty to the world. “Huh, nice lovebite.” he remarked sarcastically. “I could have given you a better one, more enjoyable too.” he smirked.

“You would.” she smiled.

Lord Harken coughed and cleared his throat. “Need I remind you both of your mission?” he stated blandly.

“Of course not, it’s why we’re here now, isn’t it?” Garufedel remarked at Harken.

“His sword?” Minerva remarked. “You’ve come for his sword now?” She looked aghast.

“The timetable is stepping up, Blossom.” Malkren replied with a golden toothed smile.

“So where is it then? Ain’t in here.” Garu remarked sneering at the now ransacked office.

“It’s down in the armoury. The Quatermaster keeps it under a wrap of some sort guarded by those bloody stupid orbs of his” Minerva said, sniffing. “If we get that, can I leave with you?” she asked to Malkren.

“Yes.” he replied with an irritated sigh.

“Then we go.” Minerva said, getting up gingerly, kicking over more books and noting the split in half desk out side of Heruss’ office. “Went to work here, huh?” she remarked with a sigh as the doors swung shut.

They headed down the practically empty corridors, killing as they went. Only unsired humans and a few vampires had remained behind and were unprepared for the fury of Garufedel’s sword within their own keep.

Rapidly they descended the stairs to the Vaults, past the quarter masters door and further deeper down into the hill on which the castle stood.

The vaults were immense. Hundreds upon hundreds of steel doors all in various states of repair, either rusted solid or opening freely. The three figures were only interested in the rusted solid ones.

“I don’t know precisely which vault it is.” Minerva said as she looked at a large book on a pedestal. “And there’s no reference to the sword in here.”

“Don’t worry about that, child.” Malkren replied with a smile. “We shall find it.”

He spread some dust onto the stone floor and ran his cane through it, before suddenly grabbing Minvera and snapping her neck. “But I needed a sacrifice to do so.” He said quietly as she fell to the floor in a state of shock.

The world around them changed into a golden hue. Heruss was there, overseeing a large cardboard box being carried by two Vampires, Terefedel and another.

“Follow them Garu.” Malkren hissed. “While I deal with sleeping beauty.”

Garu nodded and moved after the golden tinted figures as Malkren span his cane a few times before touching the back of Minvera’s neck.

She gasped and let out a slight cry of pain. “You could have warned me!” She hissed at him, hatred burning in her eyes.

“You shouldn’t have failed me earlier.” Malkren replied simply. “Consider it suitable punishment.”

“God I hate death.” She said cracking out her neck again and getting up. “It’s so… dark and empty.”

“That’s because you broke several covenants when you came back. Your deal with Our Lord means your soul is his, and his alone.” Malkren replied with a curt nod. “As it is to us all.”

“And what bit of history did you choose to terrorize the surface with while we do this?” Minerva shot back, ignoring the comments by Malkren.

“Oh, I decided to do the Vampire war of 1073 I expect a good few insanity cases and even some turning feral as a result of it.” he chuckled.

Minvera merely nodded and carried on walking. The edges of the golden hue began to go hazy. “Seems time is running out though.”

“Here? Yes. Up above it’ll last the better part of an hour.”
“I see.”

The world snapped back into it’s normal colours.

They rounded a corner and found Garufedel staring at a door, grinning.

“Well?” Malkren asked him.

“Never guess what else is in with the sword I bet….” Garu continued grinning.

“No…”

“Yes. His uniform is in there…”

“Excellent.” Malkren grinned as he melted the door.
Midlonia
16-02-2008, 00:36
Charmaine knocked on the door of Heruss' study, knowing full well two had come before her. She hoped she wasn't interrupting anything.

She wasn’t this time. Heruss had placed the book aside and had poured himself a cup of hot tea. The teapot was of a brown clay with a small model of a teapot for the handle of the lid. “Enter.” he said as he took a sip.

“Would you like a cup Charmaine?” He asked before she had even entered the room.

"I can't drink that," she said with an apologetic nod. "Thank you." She sat down across from him with her delicate hands folded on her lap. Her long white hair fell over her shoulders in light waves, and her violet eyes encompassed the entire room. Something about her was similar to her mother, though she had always been that way.

Heruss merely nodded “I see.” he took another sip and settled far back into his chair, resting the teacup on the arm of his chair. “So, why has she sent all three of you to me, hmm?”

"I'm afraid that's my mother's question to answer," she said in return. "I honestly don't know apart from what she told me."

“And what did she tell you?” He asked, apparently closing his eyes and tilting his head down as if asleep.

"That perhaps you might see something she didn't."

“I see. I honestly don’t know how she could mean that…” he trailed off. “There’s always far too much on my mind at the moment with everything going on around us. Perhaps I’m meant to see something in each of you.”

"I don't think that's it," Charmaine replied. "I think she wants you to see something she's missed about herself. I honestly don't think she likes where she is being taken."

“Hrm. She wants me to intervene?” Heruss asked, looking up slowly at Charmaine.

"I'm not sure," Charmaine said in return. "I think you should go talk to her."

“Perhaps. I still don’t know why she’d….” Heruss trailed off as though something had suddenly come to him. He picked up the leather book and flicked through the pages, then a few more before he rested on a single page and tapped it.

"Found something?" Charmaine asked.

“Maybe, but it would require all of you.” Heruss remarked. “It…could…” he sighed, mulling it over for a moment or two. “It could potentially free your mother.”

"What are you suggesting," Charmaine inquired, looking rather uninterested. Apparently attempts had been made before.

“Well, no, not free per se. But, she could be limited from being stuck with her creators for a century. I’m not sure. I guess all I could do is go and ask her.”

"Perhaps that is the best decision," Charmaine said in return. "As much as she's pushing us away it's for our own good." She stood up and walked towards the door. "I think what she needs is a strong link to this world. If you keep visiting her, perhaps one will form between you. The one you have now is not strong enough." She paused. "Loki!" she called out, and Qui appeared around her, wrapped his arms around her, and with one quick glance at Heruss, they disappeared.
Heruss nodded as she left, then got up and went down the corridor. He glanced out of the window, the Hathertwaite was in flight again, heading home, light white clouds were skimming by and one of the support ships was coasting silently alongside, a pair of black coloured fighters shot past and he sighed. Home. Where he could recoup, rethink and rest.

He knocked on Tere and Rave’s door and waited for a moment before entering.

Ravelyn didn't answer, she was curled up on the bed without a cover, deep in sleep with her hair spreading out in all directions over the bed. She looked so normal; precious, and then one notitced the large black wings folded partially at her back and the pale palor of her flawless skin.

Herus simply looked at her, and sat gently down on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair gently as he thought.

“I’d probably let her rest a short while before you talk to her.” Tere said quietly from the door.

“What does she want, why did she send her children to me?” Heruss whispered quietly.

“For you to listen to them.” Tere replied.

“But why?” Heruss asked with a sigh.

“Because she needs you to have a relationship with them. She’ll be gone for a century for her crimes, she wants to come back here specifically. Because of me, because of you. Because you’re her father.”

“And you’ve suddenly accepted all of this?” Heruss asked, looking up to Tere for the first time.

“I have to, fate is hard to change. It’s a floor of leaves after all.” Tere replied with a slight smile.

"I like to step on the crunchy leaves," Ravelyn smiled with her eyes still closed.

Heruss smiled. “And how long have you been listening?” He asked.

"Since -'floor of leaves' and then I started thinking about stepping on a crunchy leaf," She shifted her position, took a breath and remained curled up on the bed like a cat.

“I see.” Heruss nodded. “Terefedel?”

Terefedel bowed. “In Darkness and in Light. Asopher, you have a lot on your mind, I know how personal the whole Franz situation is to you, to all of us. Sometimes you have to try to phase all of it out and focus on a single clear thing.” And with that, he left.

Ravelyn suddently hugged Heruss, almost knocking him over. "Asopher...Azichka..." She said, turning the name into a diminuative. She was still half asleep.

Heruss hugged her, surprised by the sudden action. “Yes?” He said, slightly hesitantly. One thing he was never any good at was overall emotions. He could be cold, clinical and ruthless, he was a thinker, a philosopher and a theorist he had landed Kristian more out of blind luck, and now? He was having to deal with complex emotional situations that were quite alien to him.

"Let your guard down."

Heruss looked at her. “My guard?” He thought for a moment, then began to lower some of the barriers he held up to protect himself from attack by the Annon Domini’s top level personel and other paranormal threats. It was how he was able to see souls and even look into the Twilight Realm when he needed to. By the time he did he could feel the raw energy bleeding off of him, it being unused it simply drifted away and into the room.

As Ravelyn hugged him; he felt it...that tingling sensation. Her aura over came him filling him with something foreign to him. "How do you feel..."

He frowned again. “Happy, and worried…” he said looking into her eyes. “Happy and worried, and… love.”

"When I let go, don't lose them, allright?" she said with her eyes half closed as she leaned against him.

Heruss nodded and held her close to him.

"Promise me this," she continued. "Because without it, we can't win this."

“I promise.” He said quietly. “I promise.”

"I can't tell you what's going to happen, Heruss. I wish I could but I am forbidden to. I can, however, help you make the right decisions, but some of them will be up to you. I'm going to tell you right now," she said as she whispered into his ear. "You are going to have to break some rules. Don't be unerved by them when the time comes for it, be comforted in that fate has been kind." With that she broke away and his barriers immediately went back up.

“I see.” He said getting up. “Then I know I have to do something, for you. For all of us….” He trailed off and left the room.

A moment or two later Terefedel came back into the room, but stood at the door. “You know what he’s trying to do, don’t you?” he asked quietly.

"No," Ravelyn said shaking her head. "I know he is supposed to go against the grain though."

“I guess.” Tere said as he sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “He’s trying to find a way of talking to your creators. What he’ll do after that I honestly don’t know.”

"Mnnn," she murmured in return. "I was talking about going against the forced grain of those higher up than him."

“Oh you don’t realise that is a hefty part of it? He’s bound by orders and a covenant not to communicate with ‘higher or supernatural or paranomal beings’ without clearing it with the church.”

"Ah, I see," she said. "Perhaps that is what he is meant to do." She held her hands out for Tere.

Tere took them and held them, stroking them gently. “He’s stepping on the leaves and he won’t stop, even if they find out. He‘s doing it for us. For you.”

She nodded. "Yes...then this is going towards the right direction."

“But you can’t tell us.” Tere smiled gently. “Clues would be nice.”

"I can't," she said, shaking her head. "I can't. I'm sorry."

“I know.” Tere shook his head. “I know. I don’t want to see your hurt any more unnecessarily until it’s time.”

She chuckled. "Pain finds me," shes kissed him lightly. "When this is over...when this is all over, hopefully everything has gone how it should have."

Tere brought a hand up to her face and cupped it gently. “I’ll wait for you, whatever happens. I’ll wait.”

She didn't say anything, nor reacted other than looking down and hugging him.

He ran his hand around the back of her head and held her.

“If anything happens to me…” He said haltingly… “If anything happens to me. I will come back too. I’ll find a way.”

"Stay where you are happy," she said in return.

“Then that’s right by your side.” he kissed her cheek gently.
Midlonia
16-02-2008, 21:27
“There has been another vault breech, Colonel. 4 casualties, all unsired.” a bandaged figure said over the screen.

“What happened.” Heruss stiffed noticeably.

“Vault 101.” The figure replied simply.

Heruss swore and smashed his fist into the glass keyboard, cracking it and nearly breaking it in two.

“We may need to take a detour.” Heruss snapped suddenly. “Two, in fact. I will contact you again soon.” He clicked the screen off, took a deep breath, then turned back.

“101...” his hissed. “One Oh Fucking One.”

Terefedel nodded. “Seems our security is worse than useless then.” he remarked with a sigh before he shook his head. “Poor unsired’s though. Didn’t stand a chance.”

“I’m going to have to report it to Arch Bishop Felsworth though.”

“Uh boy…” Tere shook his head. “He won’t like this one bit you know. He’s wary of us at the best of times…”

"Let me talk to him," Ravelyn said, popping out from behind the doorway. She had such the way of eavesdropping.

“You?” Heruss said with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think so. He was the one who ordered me to capture you in the first place.”

"Yes, I realize," she said in return. "But there is something else you need to do, hmmm?"

“A fair many… I have four letters to write and then somebody else to talk to…” He gave her and Tere a knowing look.

Ravelyn shook her head disapprovingly. He was putting too much on himself, and his path was a straight one. But ah! There were so many deterrents in his way. "Make Tere write the letters, and tend to the more important matter at hand. Hell I'll make Tere do it," She grabbed his ear her nail digging in. She smiled playfully.

“Ow ow ow!” Tere said mockingly. “Alright, I’ll do it!” He grinned, the pain apparently less of a bother to him also now. “Ravelyn is right though, I’ll do the letters, allow her to talk to the Archbishop and go do what you have to do.”

“Fine. Tere. Get in contact with the Arch Bishop.” Heruss said nodding as he began to leave. "I shall be in one of the cargo bays. The runes are quite large to draw out..."

"Heruss," Ravelyn called out after him, still standing by Tere.

“Yes?” He said, turning.

Tere moved over to the cracked console and tapped a few buttons

"Be careful," she said, and then turned from him.

He checked his watch, and then kissed a large ankh that he had hung around his neck. “I’ll try to be.”

Tere sighed and stood upright, looking at the screen, an aged, greyed and balding figure appeared a few seconds later wearing Bishopric robes, he had small watery green eyes and a small, yet pointed nose, his adams apple stuck out of his throat quite prominently and his thin lips were pursed together in thought.

Around his neck was the All Seeing Eye superimposed over a cross. Archbishop Felsworth. Second only to the Archbishop of Derby himself.

Ravelyn turned towards the console with a stunning flash of her eyes. Much in contrast to the man before her, she possessed a youthful, timeless beauty. Her hair fell over her shoulders and dark waves. Unlike his, her lips were full and soft. Her wings were bent slightly in a false respect. She felt no respect for this man but that was clearly hidden.

“I was expecting a report from Colonel Asopher Heruss.” The Archbishop merely remarked. “Major Terefedel Jelthan. Please fill in the report yourself.”

“I wish to allow Ravelyn Shentavo of the Three United Empires to fill the report in my stead. Both myself and Colonel Asopher Heruss are both unable to comply with filling in our reports to you due to the latest incident as Asset number 83376, Shentavo Ravelyn, Species Seraphim-Vampire Crossbreed is to do for you. In Darkness and in Light, Archbishop.” Tere bowed and left.

"There was an infiltration of Vault 101, four casualties," she started off, refraining from provoking the man which is what she would have normally had done. She only didn't provoke him for Heruss' sake. It was very hard to keep her lips closed. She wanted to take him off his throne and degrade him down for what he was actually worth. Hiding behind a television screen from her. Ha! Such strength!

“This incompetence is trying my patience…” The Archbishop hissed, his face flushing red with anger. “First Vault 13 and His monocle and watch, and now His sword and Uniform from Vault 101! What kind of Operation does Heruss think he is running? Inform him that I will be sending the Holy Ordained to remove the remaining artefacts from his supposed keeping immediately. He knows the cost and I begin to suspect he wants this Vampire Demon to walk back amongst us again so he can regain his title!” The Archbishop’s voice had steadily increased in volume, his own distaste at using the word “Vampire” evident that he had little tolerance for the Vampire Colony to the North of the Country and that he saw them mostly as a burden with too much freedom rather than the asset they were.

She opened up her wings behind her, and now she filled the entire screen. "Heruss of all people would never want an evil like that upon this land." From your high and mighty chair behind this screen, you draw uneducated conclusions.

“Lord knows he’s tried it before.” The Archbishop sneered. “During the Second Moonstone War he knew what a victory there would grant him his own freedom. So he worked with that monster for seven long years. Then suddenly, when defeat was near to us he decided to have a change of heart, hoping that some fabled destruction that Harringott was trying to make would some how give him the same reverence. I see right through him unlike your evident naivety.”

"People change," Ravelyn said, hardly unnerved. "Some get purpose, while others realize where they should have been all along. Sir, I believe you see through Heruss as much as you can see through a carton of milk."

“Oh? And you think he’s let you out of confinement under some assumption of him caring for you because you’re his “daughter” ? You’re an asset to him or did you not notice his lack of emotion towards anything? You know nothing of his own past bar some ancient mythical title that is promised to him should he manage to slay this demon once and for all. Something he consistently fails to do because he himself wants the same power.”

"Maybe it is because I'm the Seraphic of all Death and Chaos that I have no thirst for any more power than I am already cursed with," she dramatically paused as her eyes started to dance, and her cheeks flushed. She was a divine image. "Sit on your chair and judge without the right, of those whose worth is inestimably more then thine own. You will not be at the front of the field raising your sword against the evil that comes, so do not mock or torment those who are brave enough to do so where you cannot."

“I have fought evil before, Seraphim.” He replied icily. “I fight it from here because I have better resources to command a battle against evil and I am ordained by God.”

"Ordained by God? A god, not with you anymore, that I can clearly see," the seraphim said as she stared through his soul. "And I have fought evil long before you were ever created, so do not tell me you are too old or two weak. My years out number yours greatly."

“Yet a weapon I designed managed to hold you.” He smiled inanely. “I still fight, but my war is very different to yours, Seraphim, our wars are.”

"Managed to hold me?" she snickered, then started to laugh openly. "My soul was never bound there. That, is all that matters. My body means nothing."

“Oh I think you’d find it can do more than just your body next time. Seems Heruss was being kind.”

"Your threats don't worry me," she shook her head. "My body...has insurance." She grinned.

“Your creators.” He replied. “Can be isolated too, although only temporarily if the system is not fully utilized.”

"My creators will forever be connected with me, and regrettably so," she said softly. "Your own ignorance of what I am blinds you to what you think the limits really are."

“And precisely what do you think Heruss is going to do when he “talks” to them?” The Archbishop replied as the pendant he was wearing winked.

"He would be quite the fool if he ever attempted something like that," she lied.

Ravelyn's barriers strengthened ten fold as the angel cast her strength on them without flinching. My my my...what a pretty pendant you have. she thought silently.

“Oh really?” He picked up a clipboard from off camera. “Then why has he removed such a weapon from the vaults?”

"Heruss? Impossible...I've been with him the entire time," she picked up her own clipboard out of no where and looked at the pages on it. "Maybe we should compare clipboards..."

“Oh, he’s signing it now.” The Archbishop said, holding it up to the screen. On it the writing was slowly coming through as though an invisible pen were flowing over it, it was clearly Heruss‘ signature. “Quite a special one too. It’s called a D-Mat gun, it obliterates everything and anything from whichever dimension it is presently in.”

Her eyes widened. If he killed her creaters...the seraphim would perish as well. She looked alarm. "No no no no no...he can't do that."

"WHAT THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?!"

The Archbishop grinned “Ah, so it seems somebody realises what he’s really capable o-” He looked at the clipboard again. “And he’s signing another item out..”
"What is it..." she asked in almost a whisper.

“Huh. So rather than destroy the realm and thus stop Him from being able to ascend…. Oh very interesting, very interesting indeed.” The archbishop tapped the clipboard and smiled. “I’m afraid I am…. Busy.” And with that he was gone.

"BASTARD!" she yelled, and tore off down the corriders to where Heruss said he would be. Please....don't do this father…

The portal crackled and snapped as it opened. Heruss was carrying a large long obsidian weapon that rested heavily on his shoulder and had to be attached via a clamp to himself. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, making sure the bag he was carrying was in his other hand.


Heruss appeared in a dark realm. The flowers which grew in the grey grass were also monotone; like the twilight but there was no wind, no coldness, just nothingness...and flowers. All these flowers!

The dark space was the same as he had seen before with Ravelyn. The grey grass that seemed to stretch forever. He heard whispering voices around him and turned to see the portal close.

“Creators of the Seraphim!” He called out. “I wish to speak with you!”

"We've been expecting you, Heruss," said a female voice which reverberated as she spoke. "Azrael has done well to bring you here, yes...but she wasn't supposed to ask for that, no no."

“That is because I am here for that matter of my own volition.” he replied sternly and evenly.

There was a laugh from a male voice layered with another female's simultaneously. "And what could you possibly desire."

“Help.” He replied simply. “And for her to not have to suffer so much for the good she does.”

"I'm afraid she has to suffer," Another said. Just how many were there? Or were they all the same? "She's been lead to believe she does what she does from orders, but most of her decisions come from her heart for the greater good. This allows her to influence more people then she will ever recognize, and not recognize it fully. She must suffer for the amount of power we are giving her. She must suffer for her kin; and for all of humanity. She suffers for you, and even for those under you she has not even laid eyes on. There must be balance in the world. It must be maintained."

"Help, on the other hand," the female chimed in. "What do you request?"

“Yet my realm is not under her remit, ours is under a different God and different rules and laws. She does not need to suffer while there.” he replied. “My help is in the form of finding my enemies. They grow stronger and better every day and I cannot contact my own creators so easily as you.”

"She suffers for ALL of creation," the female voice repeated in the same tone, "Regardless of where."

There was a pause.

"Understand that Azrael is our most prized creation. Her soul bears so much, we have yet to see an end at what she can do." Another pause. "We will give you the help you seek, and you will find your enemies through her. Your enemies are her own at the moment. We have seen their intentions of harming her, and it is not her time to die. We will decide when the time comes."

“I am not a big beleiver in somebody controlling fate in such a way like she is little more than a puppet, you give her so much yet have the ability to simply destroy her…” Heruss whispered.

“Why should you decide such a thing, what gives you the right?” He asked louder.

"What gives us the right?" there was laughter. "We made her. She is not Human, Heruss. She is an angel. Angelic beings have never had complete free will. That is something gifted to humanity by the creater; free will and intellect. We give her so much because she asks for it. We let her have a family, let her have lovers, let her pretend she has choices like the lesser beings. She is not in the same classifcation as you are. You cannot understand that while she is very precious, she is in her own way. She cannot live as a human, Heruss. You must understand this."

“She isn’t human, I know this. But she is also a Vampire as well as a Seraphim, an event you had neither apparently seen, nor intervened in.” He replied.

"Vampirism is simply part of her suffering," they replied. "For her, being a vampire simply means she cannot eat food, and can only drink blood. Another sacrifice was neccessary. She suffers for humanity; the brutality of how she was sired. How many women go through that? And men? She suffers because it is her job. She deals with the chaos created by humanity and retores order, and takes care of the dead who linger behind. As far as we are concerned, she is no vampire. Her soul did not change in the slightest. What changed her soul; what changed her wings, has always been her deep pain and sorrow. And yet even now you still give her more."

“Those are events beyond my control.” He replied. “And beyond yours and even the Creator’s. I am also trying to give her happiness as best as possible with that sorrow. She does have a choice, all beings have a choice as to wether to listen to their masters or not. Even if created by you, she still has her choices. Your difference is you torment her when she makes a choice that you somehow deem to be wrong.”

"Think of it as repentance," the male said, and an image appeared before him. Ravelyn had hit the door so hard her knuckles were stained with blood as tears streamed down her face. She was calling Heruss name. "She's begging you not to try and destroy us," the male continued.

“I know. So here is my deal.” He replied as the weapon on his shoulder hummed into life, various runes glowing a gentle almost relaxing green as they did so. “Give her more freedom of choice and will for this fight. She is a responsible creature who has been your loyal servant for a very long time, surely such loyalty should be repayed even if only in a small amount. Remind her when she strays far from the path, but I mean far from the path, doing a deal with the devil kind of far.”

"We cannot do this," some replied in unison. "If you so much as motion to set that off...she'll die. Do you not see she is scared for her own life, not our being."

“I am more than aware of that. Ideally I need her, I also know that He needs her also. I may have to do what I deem as ultimately necessary and destroy her for the good of all of us. You realise if He gets hold of her, her blood, her power you will be the ones that will die regardless, And Lo! The Creators were struck asunder by the Man Who Would be God and with it cometh the keys to Heaven… If, however, she were allowed more Freedom she may be able to find her own way, as opposed to yours, which while benevolent, lacks the necessary tactile touch, she needs discretion on her side.”

"She is in pain because she can't tell you what she is supposed to do," they said. "And neither will we. Trust the seraphic, or your deaths are inevitable."

Ravelyn was still screaming his name. She was in torment, tears flowing freely.

“Then what is Terefedel’s role in all of this?” He asked. “Why is his soul changing, why is he physically changing. I will not abide by other worldly powers meddling in my realm, it is not your right to do so. You can tell me that at the very least.”

"You already know the answer," they replied. "And we don't want her to hurt herself any more than she already has." They meant Ravelyn by that comment, whose visage still shown amongst the flowers in the ground. She was still working at the door screaming his name.

"And in parting, that creation of yours is clever, but understand should you bind her again we will rip the soul from her body and make a new one for her, and we will insure you never meet. Do not attempt to toy with her. Your superiors are as superior to you as worms beneath your feet. Do not make the mistake again."

“And be aware, if that happened I will return here, I regard her as my daughter, even if it is a fabrication by yourself.” He replied.

"You will not be able to return here, Heruss of the Throne," there was no laughter. Then, the colour returned to the world as Heruss was sent out of the Realm of the Watchers.

He breathed deeply, his breath coming raggedly as he did so. The gun on his arm hissed as steam escaped and it cooled down, the bag, still by his side was filled with various things, facts and figures and passages from a book that he had quoted to the Watchers, he counted on them being as benevolent as they seemed to be with Rave in the vain hope that they may seriously wake up to the serious threat that was befalling them if Rave managed to fail.

And do not speak a word of anything discussed to our dear Azrael...or her essence is destroyed… was their parting words, and the connection was broken. Ravelyn screamed for Heruss on the otherside of the door and had slumped down . The door was very severely damaged just from her physical attacks, but the seal Heruss had made she was unfamiliar with and couldn't open.

Heruss moved slowly over to the door and wiped off a bit of the blood he had used to make the incantation on it, he opened it slowly, stepped past Rave and walked past her without saying a word.

"Heruss!" she cried after him. He didn't even look at her. "Father!"

He carried on walking as a single tear rolled down his cheek, he dropped the bag off at the vault on the ship and pressed a button on his shoulder which undid the weapon, which he then set down on a shelf again with some reverence. He bowed to it. An unusual thing to do to such a machine, then walked quietly on again.

"Heruss," she said, sobbing, and following after him. "Look at me..."

“I don’t think I can right now Ravelyn. I’m sorry.” He said quietly.

"What did they say to you!?" she asked. "Please..." she was behind him, her hands resting softly on his shoulders, reaching up from her height.

He took her hand and gently brushed it off of his shoulder. “I cannot say, and if I look at you I will think you are Human again, and I will tell you and then terrible things will happen. I am sorry Rave,” he broke into a run. “I am sorry.”

Tere moved into the corridor as he walked round the corner and was promptly shoved by Heruss as he moved past, striking his shoulder as he did so. Tere looked bewildered before seeing Rave behind him. He moved to her and stopped her gently placing his hands on her shoulders. “Ravelyn, what’s going on?” he said quietly.

She bolted after Heruss. "What do you mean by that!?" she cried. "Why can't you look at me!?"

Tere grabbed hold of her tightly. “Ravelyn! What’s going on?” he asked firmer.

"HERUSS!" she sobbed, and fought to get out of Tere's grip. After a minute she broke down, and her muscles relaxed. She fell into Tere's arms. "He...he won't even look at me. He won't even touch me."

Tere rubbed his hands gently up her back as he held her and hushed her comfortingly and kissed the top of her head. “Something is wrong, very wrong.” He said to her quietly.

"He, he won't even look at me..." she said quietly burying her head into Tere's chest. "He doesn't think of me as a person anymore..."

He held her closer to him and kissed her head again. “It has to be something the Watchers said to him.”

"Heruss!" she cried out again, nearly screamed, and squirmed in Tere's grip.

“Azreal, stop it!” He shouted at her suddenly, then when she continued to squirm, then he picked her up, pushed her into their quarters and pushed the door shut, locking it as he did so.

She launched herself at the door and hit it hard, but it did not happen. "Why won't you look at me!" she fell to her knees, and sobbed.

Tere walked down the corridor and kicked open the door to Heruss’ room. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he yelled at him.

Heruss was sitting in his chair, a vacant look in his eyes, a far off stare.

Tere hesitated for a moment. Then sat down opposite him. “What happened?”

“She’s not human.” he replied emptily. “How can I talk to a creature which has false emotions, a false soul, all controlled by beings far above with no tangible freedom?”

“Because we are.” Tere replied with a sigh and a frown. “You seem to be misunderstanding what they said.

“And how do you know?” Heruss replied icily.

“I just….do.” Tere said with a shrug. “I just do.”

“She said to me once that Human’s have angelic qualities.”

“So? She has no free will. She has no choice.”

“There are always choices, sometimes they’re just not palatable. We don’t have a choice do we? What we do day in day out. We look towards our own liberation from servitude when the only other option is death.” Tere replied. “We’re in the same boat as her.”

“I can’t talk to her now.” he said coldly. “I can’t. If I do, I will tell her everything and it will kill her.”

“Then I’ll tell her, the watchers can deal with me instead if that‘s the case.”

Heruss then told Terefedel of what had happened in the Watchers Realm, afterwards he remained very quiet. They both did.

“I see…” Tere stood up. “Fine.” He nodded and left the room.

Tere opened the door to their quarters and looked inside. “Ravelyn?”

She was sitting at the far end of the room on the floor, with her arms around her knees and her eyes cast downward. "Don't forget it I said to him...the love that he felt. I said don't forget it. I said be careful..."

He sat down next to her and placed an arm around her shoulder, the room was cast in dark shadow as the door closed, they were alone together in the dark. “Ravelyn…” he said looking at her. “Look at me.”

She looked at him, her crimson eyes blurry from tears. "Why has he forsaken me?"

“From what he’s told me he hasn’t. He loves you an awful lot Ravelyn, he’s scared that that love will overwhelm him and he’ll tell you everything that happened. That he’ll kill you with his love and his need to tell you because of it.” He moved closer to her and rested his forehead on hers, looking into her eyes. “Do you understand?”

"I don't care if he doesn't tell me anything. I just want him to look at me," she said in return, hugging Tere. "I just want him to look me in the eyes."

“He can’t. Not right now.” He said, gently shaking his head gently against hers. “He needs to think for a minute. It was very emotional for him, even if he didn’t show it.”

She leaned against Tere and cried.
Midlonia
17-02-2008, 02:00
Heruss stepped off of the Hathertwaite and down onto the castle itself. He sighed and shook his neck out and moved away from the ship as Tere and Rave followed him down. Kristian moved after him with a look of concern on his face, he simply gave Rave that same look and followed after Heruss quickly.

Minvera was standing ontop of the keep and leant against the railings. “Have fun?” She asked. Rather than cover up the bite mark she had altered her uniform to show it off instead. Her uniform now barely covered her cleavage rather than the previously where she had the same as everyone else.

As she passed Minerva, Ravelyn cursed at her under her breath. "Whore." She didn't even look at Minerva, the same that Heruss would not look at Ravelyn, except Ravelyn had severe contempt for women like, especially Minerva.

“Oh I know.” She grinned widely with a twinkle in her eyes. “And I am adored more because of it” she giggled and moved away, swaying her hips, exaggerating her moves and causing some of the offloading soldiers to stop and stare, she winked and then called out “I’ll be with Company A tonight boys.” she got a wolf whistle before leaving.

She looked at Tere. Allow me to silence her…

“Sorely tempting,” he whispered. “But I think Company A will be severely disappointed.”

"I want to rough her up a bit...may I?" she asked again, aloud.

“She might like it, she’s wearing that bite of yours like a badge of honour. We can go to the training room and you can take it out on me if you wish.”

"No...her," she insisted. "I feel...like I need to...only her."

“Alright.” He nodded. “But not too hard to leave her with any more permanent marks.” Tere nodded.

Ravelyn, filled with an unexplainable urge, turned on her heal, and as Minerva was walking away, she gripped the Sargeant's hair, turned her around and drove her knee to Minerva's face skillfully before retracting it and punching Minerva in the face, and knocking her back to the ground.

"Fraternization...is unacceptable," Ravelyn said coldly. "You give women a bad name. If you want to be treated like dirt, I will treat you as such."

Why do I hate her so much...why...before I even felt sorry for her. Now, I feel like she has to be detroyed. she said to herself. She didn't move, and stood her ground. Her muscles still tense, she was ready to strike again.

“Good, because I like it.” She leapt at Rave and bit her, he own knee crashing into her stomach as she did so, forcing them down onto the ground.

Rave was filled with some force unknown to her. Her wings as well as the rest of her body ignited in hellfire. It did not burn her, but it certainly burned Minerva; specifically directed at the side of her face. With her suprise and pain, Ravelyn easily threw the woman off of her. Her scythe appeared in her hand. "What happened while I was gone Minerva?" she questioned sternly, unable to put information together which she didn't have.

She batted the side of her face, apparently unharmed by the flames. “Nothing.” She replied in a sing-song voice as she drew her own sword. “But this bite, oooh it made me feel so good.”

"That so?" Ravelyn said, and slipped into her enochial tongue. She held her hand outward, and the slavic words passed like a hot knife through the air. Minerva felt the stinging sensation as blood was being pulled through her veins, right through her skin! Ravelyn seemed suprised in short, but kept the concentration. About a half pint of blood was returned to it's rightful owner.

Ravelyn lashed out with hellfire again, this time the fire burned the right side of her face before Ravelyn retracted it. She twirled her scythe in her hand. "Not too strong without it, are we?"

She touched the burn to her face gently, winced. Then grinned at her. “Or perhaps I am.” She said with a grin as he face slowly melded back to the way it was.

Ravelyn rushed at her with the scythe, leapt as Minerva brought her sword up and countered it with the adamantine chain around her left wrist. She landed behind Minerva and took the arm holding the sword clean off with a sweep of her scythe, then pushed on the back of her knee to bring her down. "Don't you dare raise your sword against him."

Surprisingly she didn’t cry out. She couldn’t feel pain apparently, only pleasure. She moaned as she looked at the stump of her arm and fell onto her face, writhing as she did so.

“Medic!” Heruss shouted as he looked at Ravelyn, apparently stupefied and even mystified by what had happened.

Tere merely stared from afar. He moved over to Rave and took her arm. “I said no permanent marks, you took her fucking arm off! What the heck has gotten into you?”

"The rage which filled me when I saw her," Ravelyn said as they were walking away. "Something came over me which was not my own..."

“We’re going back to my home and staying there for a few days I think. There’s something wrong with you.”

A pair of medics ran past with Minerva on a stretcher, she was still moaning and gave Rave a look and a grin, she whispered “Thank you.” as the Medics turned the corner.

"Something wrong with me," she said, shaking Tere's grip off of her. "What is that supposed to mean?

“I could feel it Rave, that wasn’t something you’d normally do, not that far.” Tere shook his head.

"There is nothing wrong with me. There is something wrong with her! Didn't you see? She used to be frightened of me, now she begs for abuse."

“We can cross that bridge when we get to it, that isn’t your concern. What is, is the way you went too far.” Tere said with a curt nod.

"Can't you see that it wasn't my fault!"

“Yes I can, and that’s why we have to get you away.” he whispered.

She turned in the opposite direction of him, and headed away from him. "It's nothing wrong with me...it's her, and I want answers..." she said in return, barking at him as she stalked off to where they were carrying Minerva.

Heruss stepped in front of her. “That’s far enough.” he said quietly.

"Finally speaking to me?" she said with a flush of anger. It was the first time since he had left her that he had even said a word to her. "She raises her sword against you and yet you do nothing?! Out of my way."

“Azreal.” He said quietly. “What you don’t seem to realise was the sword was raised against you not me.”

"I saw her...she had her sword and she was looking at you. I'm not crazy! Right, Tere?" she looked at him for support

“I’m afraid not, Ravelyn.” He replied, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. “She was looking at you and was about to strike when you flipped out and took her arm off, yes there‘s something wrong with her, but there‘s also something wrong with you.”

"No there isn't," she looked desperately at Tere, then at Heruss. "How can you not believe me?!"

She felt betrayed, especially when she did it for her father. How could he punish her like this! For saving his life! She felt betrayed by Tere. Why was he lying? Was this all a trap of some kind?

“Because it’s not what happened Ravelyn.” Tere said quietly.

Heruss nodded. “Something inside you made you attack her the way you did. I know why but I can’t tell you properly, the Watchers forbade me.”

"So you KNOW nothing is wrong with me then," she said, clearly distraught. "Or did you ask them to drive me insane so you wouldn't have to deal with me anymore?"

“No.” he shook his head. “I don’t know how much I can tell you…” he said lowered his voice some more. “You can.. sense Anno Domini.” he said simply.

Nothing happened. "Look at me Asopher Heruss of the Throne!" she ordered.

He looked up and looked her in the eyes. “I broke the rules, I had to.”

"Broke what rules?" she questioned, starting back into her own eyes with her glistening crimson ones.

“They forbade me from telling you what we discussed.” Heruss said. “I didn’t know what to do, but I bargained with them to give you the ability to sense members of the Anno Domini, after Garufedel’s Pin broke and he didn’t die I knew that some of them must be infiltrators.”

"Fool," Ravelyn said. "They can't bind one of your kind to contract! Is that why you didn't even look at me when you were done? Why you left me?"

“It’s by your contract it’s bound.” Heruss said. “They would destroy you if I told you what we discussed.”

"Can't you see they only did it to torture me?" she said in her angst. "Why would they destroy me when they've found another way to hurt me?"

Heruss’s eyebrow twitched. “If I could stop you from dying if I destroyed them….” he hissed and took a deep breath and composed himself. “You should leave here, I can’t have you killing her if we have a live link to the Anno Domini. Go with Terefedel and stay at his home for a few days, rest, you both need it.”

"I need you," she said softly.

“I have to talk to Minerva, I’ll come over soon. But go with Tere now.”

Tere started to pull her away, but she broke his grip and unexpectedly hugged Heruss.

Heruss held her close. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” he said quietly in her ear and kissed her cheek.

"You never needed to tell me the deal you made," she whispered. "All I needed to hear was that you were still here for me." She broke away and went with Tere, and did not turn around.

The car hissed as it pulled up on the shingle driveway. Tere had driven and cut the engine off. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he opened the door for Ravelyn. “I might cut this a bit shorter.” he said in regards to his hair. “It doesn’t feel like me much any more.”

"Shorter and spikes," she said as she looked out of the window.

“Mmhm, that’s what I was thinking.” he said with a sigh and a yawn. “I’m going to go get changed. I’ve had this uniform on too long.”

"Can we go shopping?" she questioned as her gaze shifted from the landscape to him.

“Sure.” He said. “Let me get changed into something a bit less military and we’ll go.”

Nice pad. A voice commented.

Tere was ascending the stairs, turned “What did you say?”

Go away, Wrexx I'm not in the mood, she commented as both of them stepped out of the car.

Pfft, mean. Wrexx hissed.

“What’s mean?” Tere said, looking at Ravelyn, puzzled.

"What's what mean?"

“I thought you… never mind. It must be me, I’m tired.” Tere shook his head and opened the door before jogging up the stairs to his bedroom.

So, why not in the mood? Wrexx asked again.

Because I just want to be left alone for a while, she said in return.

Fine

Thank you she waited for Tere to open the door.

Tere came back down, he had changed out of his uniform into a black T-Shirt and pants, his hair had been tied back into a ponytail, he smiled. “Ready?”

"Yes," she said, and kissed him, pushing him up against the door.

He grabbed hold of her and pulled her close to him, his grip getting tight around her waist as he did so. “I meant to go shopping.” He chuckled.

She laughed, but didn't pay attention.
Still holding her tightly by the waist he pulled her back outside. “So, what kind of shopping do you want to do?” He asked as he kissed her neck.


“So let me guess.” Heruss said quietly. “Second Moonstone War, when the top of the Spire got damaged, you made a deal with Malkren to live.”

“Yes.” Minvera replied.

“And it’s been you who’s let them know about the security here.”

“Yes.”

“And now they have the first parts of Him.”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to say anything else?”

“Yes. I want to help you.”

Heruss looked at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“I see, so, basically I should trust anything said by a traitor and a murderer.”

“They were soldiers, they died in battl-”

“A traitor and a murderer.” repeated Heruss as he sat down in a chair opposite her bed. “You’re also dead.” he replied sarcastically.

“Yet here I am.” She hissed quietly and moaned again as her arm was stitched back on by a nurse. “And I can be put back together again! What a good soldier I am.”

“You’re pathetic.” Heruss remarked as he stood up again.

“Malkren is invading the United Empires.” She hissed.

“We know that, you’re useless to me evidently.”

“I know how the summoning works!” she pleaded desperately.

“Useless, lock her up and bind her when you do.” Heruss said to the Nurse as he left.

Ravelyn and Tere had spent the afternoon shopping for clothes for her, and much to Tere's dismay she had none of their specific currency, so everything went on his tab. She had far more than enough to cover it all anyway. Money was never something she had to worry about, and from her expensive tastes Tere could assume as much.

“Well that’s me wiped out for the next three months.” he muttered with a grin as he carried numerous bags with him.

She grinned. "I have enough gold and gemstones to last three millenia."

“Ah, well, in that case how about we both retire to the Gold Coast in Montmarte?”

"I was trying to retire when I got pulled into all of this," she lightly pushed him.

“Ah well. I don’t think Retirement is for folks like us.” he grinned as he tried to open the car’s trunk.

When they got back to Tere's house she had taken the bags into the bedroom, and shut the door behind her. It locked with a click.

“I’ll wait out here then.” Tere chuckled as he leant against the door. “Put them into the walk-in wardrobe if you want.”


"Nahhhh. I'll do that later," she said as the rummaging through bags was heard. She opened the dor and came out in a read dress with a black bow around the middle that matched her hair, and black heel.

Tere whistled. “Very nice.” He nodded in approval.

"Much better than military uniforms in my opinion," she said in return then kissed him.

“Definitely better.” he murmured as he kissed her deeply.

Somebody hammered at the front door down below. The hammering was hard and loud.

Trouble Wrexx said quietly.

She took off her heals and summoned her scythe. "Tere...." she said in but a whisper. "I feel it; the rage I felt before."

“Then that must mean…” he never finished the sentence, the doors exploded, men ran in and began shooting up the foyer randomly. A voice boomed out in the midst of it all. “Search this place top to bottom! It’s here somewhere.”

“Malkren?” Terefedel hissed. As he pushed himself and Rave into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of Blade Pistols.

Heruss, they are here... she sent out the call to her father, then looked at Tere. "What are they after?"

“I’m not sure. I remember Heruss leaving a cigar box here once but….” he trailed off. “It was his, oh Christ. They have to collect every personal item of His in order to bring him back, which means they need to…” he leapt out of the door and fired the pistols down the stairs in both hands, “Get the Cigar box.”

"Yes, sir," she said, turning into mist and materializing in front of it before taking it into her arms, and rotating her scythe in one hand. They hadn't seen her, which was good. Everyone was focused on Tere.

He fired again as she reappeared beside him. “I liked the sir part, remind me to get you to use it more often.” he grinned as a bullet nicked his cheek, causing a welt of blood to form.

She jumped in front of him, her wings spreading out with thick adamantine plating, keeping him safe from harm as she held the cigar box between them and licked the blood off of his cheek in one swift motion. She then turned sideways, still sheilding him and hellfire spread rapidly down the stairs as he was open to shoot on the other side once more.

He grinned and placed an arm around her waist with one arm and fired with the other as a pair of cloth coloured figures howled in pain as they were set alight by Rave’s hellfire and then shot by him.
“I think I’m enjoying myself here.” He grinned as another pair came up the stairs firing.

“That so?” Called a voice from the bottom of the stairs, the smoke from the small fires the hellfire had caused obscuring the figure, but the voice was familiar.

It came charging up the stairs, it was Garufedel. He sword held high as he slashed down at Terefedel’s outstretched arm.

We have to get this to Heruss safely she whispered in his ear. Twilight...now.

Garufedel’s sword hit the stairs. He stared at the spot for a moment where they had been before sneering. “Oh that’s how it is, eh?” He held his sword at an angle and moved it back and forth over where they’d been. He then thrust it hard and it vanished from reality. He tore at it and a hole opened to the Twilight. He grinned and stepped through, it sealing behind him.

Qui… She called out to her son, knowning Tere would find it very hard to keep her alive as well as get there by himself. She jumped from Tere and held the box in her hand. She broke out into a run, Tere by her side.

“You think running will help you?” Garu said with a loud laugh. “Incompetence! You can’t even kill me right Seraphim, what makes you think a pathetic weakling like you will take on GOD?” He appeared in front of them and slashed at Tere, who blocked it with his two blade pistols, a series of blows followed between them in which Garu gained the upper hand, kicking Tere hard in the chest, he stumbled backwards.

Qui appeared behind her and held his mother in his arms. "Now who the fuck are you," he questioned Garu.

“Disciple of God and your worst nightmare Son.” he spat as he turned to Qui, ignoring Terefedel for a moment. Tere rallied and tried to hit him with the edge of a pistol, but Garu simply blocked the move with a rapid series of twists from his sword, he seemed to have been strengthened while in the Twilight.

"Tere get Ravelyn to Heruss safely," he barked at Tere. He was trusting the life of the woman he loved with Tere, and that was saying a lot. "I don't think you quite understand, just with whom you are speaking." His wings fanned out much like his mothers, though one had been torn in half. His white hair fell over his left eye covering the red color while his arctic ice blue eye consumed the entire scene.

“Oooh, pretty. I suppose a pretty boy like you would be into such colours.” Garu laughed as he span his sword a few times, it seemed to draw in darker parts of the twilight, sucking into it. “Lets see whatcha got then shall we half-wing?” He leapt at Qui, his blade cutting and hissing as he brought it down to bear.

"Let's see if you have the gall to take out a king," Qui said, and remained motionless as Garu approached him. The sword came down, and Quissera dodged skillfully, sending a powerful punch into Garu's stomach. Lightning twitched at Quissera's fingertips. Quissera was very, very strong. Still, he backed away. He was toying with Garu. "Get her safely back now," he ordered again to Tere. "Or I'll kill you all.”

Tere grabbed Ravelyn’s arm and ran. He hadn’t noticed it but his clothing had changed ever so subtly, his black shirt had turned grey while in the Twilight and had grown a lot longer, it was almost like it was becoming a cloak, but he didn‘t have time to worry about that. He had to run, he had to get Rave to safety.

Garu simply grunted and took the hit. “Oh very nice. Another King? Killed a few like you before!” he yelled as he swung his sword hard down, a bolt of the darkest twilight hurtling towards Qui, he followed behind it rapidly, his sword raised.

"Follow me," Quissera said, unimpressed. "If you dare." His imaged faded as he dropped to higher and higher levels of twilight. He reached the twelfth level with ease. There was nothing here; no buildings no people, no shades. It was simply dark and cold. In the twilight, Qui's aura glowed a bright golden color, but it churned like a vortex. He felt Garu coming through and lighting struck it's target. "I'm not like any of the kings you have killed before."

“Really?” Garu called as he leant his sword on the ground. “Then I‘m not like any pleb you‘ve fought before!” He raised his sword and yelled. The lightning which had hit him during the fight further down suddenly thundered back at Qui, leaping across the gap between them and hitting the Seraphim with a hefty force.

He absorbed it. "Did you know I used to teach manavex back at the university," the lightning crackled within his fingertips. Quissera sighed heavily, and in his hand formed a very large broadsword.

“Did you know I don’t,” he leapt across to him and crossed swords almost immediately, “care?”

"Fully aware," he said, crossing his sword with Garu's. "And I am sure you don't care that I won't let you hurt the woman I love, hmmmn?"

Another vicious lash of lightning. A draining sensation tickled Garu's skin. At the highest levels of twilight, not even he could remain forever.

“Sometimes to get the right parts of God’s plans you have to hurt some people.” Garu grunted as he then traded a furious sets of parries and thrusts with Qui. “She’s a vital part and she has one of His artefacts, therefore I want it and I want her.” he gasped once.

"God, huh?" Quissera roared with laughter. "Here, there is no God!" He growled, flashing his fangs and barelling into Garu with psychotic eyes. "WE CAN"T ALWAYS GET WHAT WE WANT!" He yelled in a rough voice crazed with madness.

“Awww, boo hoo, somebody got their incest troubles?” Garu laughed as he kicked Qui in the stomach and traded another series of blows. “Your kind disgusts me, lusting after your own mother.” he spat as his eyes glinted with malice and he smacked Qui again with the blunt side of his sword.

Tere pulled Ravelyn’s arm again “Come on, we’re almost there!” He shouted, he could see the figure of the Colonel up ahead, once again head bowed as if in reverence. Again his clothing was changing, the shirt had become a rusty red cloak, it had chains holding parts of it closed and others as decoration, all held together by dove shaped clasps, his pistols were in a pair of holsters he swore he hadn’t put on.

"Your kind disgusts me too," Quissera said, unaffected by those words. He had already come to terms with it after speaking with Heruss. "Only a pawn; disposable, and worthless." Shadows trailed from Qui's cut on his face, not blood. He laughed madly as the draining sensation intensified on Garu. "Here...let me help distract the twilight so this can last a bit longer..." He cut Garu's arm deeply, and the blood began to be sucked from it by an unssen force.

"Heruss!" Ravelyn yelled with the cigar box in her slender hands.

“Oh very nice.” Garu replied. “But what’s happen if I did this?” He pulled out a knife and cut the symbol of the Anno Domini into his cheek deeply. “Lord I make this mark upon me, for I art thy loyal and great servant, guide me now in this time of need, for thy greatness surpasses all others.”

Some of the Twilight was sucked back into him, small parts of it at first then slightly larger parts. “Your realm seems to be surpassed by my God.” he grinned as his body glowed faintly.

“Now Ravelyn.” Heruss whispered to her, he hadn’t moved at all from his sitting position. Tere dropped them out of the Twilight and they were both in Heruss’ study.

Tere merely breathed a sigh of releif, then began to look himself over. His clothing had become strangely ornate, it was a black cloak like a Trenchcoat with rusty red Metalic design imposed on it, it moved gently as he did. His arms had become covered by the same Material. In one hand he held a black sword with a rugged, partially broken purple edge. The clasps holding the metal work together were in the shape of the Dove holding an olive branch. He merely looked bewildered and looked at Ravelyn and Heruss.

Qui snickered. "Are you so sure?" Quissera ran his broadsword clean through Garu's symbol which he had carved into his face. He had never even seen it coming. "I told you, there are no gods in here. I am the Twilight."

He drove his broadsword out in a swift movement, and cleaned it with a flick of his wrist. He reached out his hand towards Garu. "Better withdraw to the upper levels before I consume you...tsk tsk tsk..."

Ravelyn brought the cigar box to Heruss. "They came looking for this..."

“The box? Thank goodness you managed to bring this back safely...” Heruss said taking it into his hands. “I will keep this on me, I think. The vaults aren’t safe any more.”

“If there are no Gods…” a voice came behind Qui as a sword was thrust heavily through his stomach, it had four blades of varying length to it, it was covered in runes and glowed gently, it‘s name in both Angelic and English Soul Reaper. “Then what am I?” Hissed the voice next to Qui’s ear.

"Nothingness," Qui said, his form disappearing and reforming a ways off. "Your laws...do not apply here. And I believe...it's time for you to die."

“How can I die? I’m already dead you naïve fool.” The voice came again, Garufedel had already disappeared. “So, which laws apply then? The ones you make?”

"If you consider yourself dead, then I am dead as well," Quissera said grimly, following after Garu as he withdrew to the upper levels of twillight. "Twilight; is something created by my creators; not yours. I was the one put in charge. I suggest you leave and go back to where ever you came from, before I send your essence to the void."

“Your creators are past their prime.” The voice spat again as, in the distance, stone walls began to form, then a floor. “It’s time for a new ascension I believe.” The figure began to materialize, it was a short figure wearing a monocle, a peaked cap and a simple grey military uniform, carrying the four bladed sword on his shoulder. “I also think it’s time I made the rules, don’t you?”

"No," Quissera shook his head, and a large explosion went off throughout the twilight.

"Oops!" there was a childish laugher as a form appeared. "Ah, why you have to go and pick on big brother like that? Can't you see he is already half mad?"

The figure merely held up his hand, the explosion being drawn into one point and absorbed. A clacking sound thundered throughout the twilight as it happened. The pocket watch span and sang as Franz twirled it a couple of times before throwing it up into the air and it landed into his pocket. “He’s half Mad, I’m all mad child. I make the rules now. Not him, nor his petty creators.”

"Tsk tsk tsk..." she said, as she wagged her finger at Franz, completely unfraid. She took her brothers hand, and spun the pendent around her neck. "You are lucky we promised not to interfere. Come on, big brother."

"I'm going to tear the son of bitch to pieces," he was growling as he was torn out from the twilight and vanished at the whim of Kayde.

Franz replied as they flickered out of existence. “You know, I believe I said I was the one making the rules here, not you.” He then vanished, taking the stone walls and floor with him.
Midlonia
17-02-2008, 03:20
“So, why am I dressed like this? First my normal uniform and now this? I like it and all, but that was a perfectly good shirt and pants…” Terefedel remarked as he looked at his clothing again in a mirror.

“You know what. I’m not sure either.” Heruss replied. “I think it’s about time you went to the Library of All.”

“But what about Ravelyn? Is she going also?” Tere asked as he turned around and clinked.

Heruss looked to her. “Do you wish to go, daughter?”

"I've never heard of the place," she stated.

“It’s, well, the Library of All.” Tere chuckled. “Basically it’s the place where every book ever written is stored and every thought, every idea and every action is written and stored.”

"Why was I not told of it before?" she questioned.

“We mentioned it in passing, largely because the Librarian would have a field day with you, he’d probably start out trying to catch you in a butterfly net.” Tere shook his head. “Officially the last true Midlonian Mage, he even wears a badge saying it.”

"A butterfly net?" she chuckeld at the image. "Imagine trying to catch me in a butterfly net.”

“Yes, but it varies in size dependant on the prey,” Tere looked at Heruss. “Remember the size of it when he tried to catch that enchanted Mothicka?”

Heruss rolled his eyes and groaned. “Don’t remind me, he spent two and a half weeks running after that thing, and every time it came across a small village to eat it grew twice in size. By the time he caught it he was running around with a net the size of a small town.”

"Wait...you are actually serious?" she raised her brow.

Tere chuckled “Oh yes, good times, we always go to the Library on April Fools Day and he comes here at Christmas, he’s a great laugh but a but, well.” He put a finger to one temple and span it clockwise a few times. “He might not be as fun as he usually is as the situation is a lot more serious.”

“Which means you may be dealing with his nigh-insane side.”

“Still! Be different to the Libraries you may have been to before…” Tere chipped in. “Shall we go now?”

"Okay," she said, snapped her fingers, and her wings receeded into her back forming tattoos on her pale skin. The two looked with wide eyes at her. "Heh"

“I’ll take that as a fair surprise, we withheld the Library from you, so… yeah we’ll call that even.” Heruss replied with a shake of his head and a lop sided grin.

“You know, scarily I think I prefer you with the wings…” Tere said quietly.

Heruss nodded and moved to a small wooden door that hadn’t previously been there, he opened it and it revealed what could only be described as a long, cloth like tunnel. “Good job you did that anyway Rave. I think you should go first.” There was a faint smile on his face.

"Uh...why Heruss?" she asked inquisitively as her crimson eyes sparkled. She took a hesitant step forward.
“Because it’s always worth a slight chuckle to see people’s faces the first time they go.” he replied as the cloth tunnel twisted, turned downwards and sent Rave thundering down like a slide.

She closed her eyes. She hated slides. And ferris wheels, though that was another story.

Tere and Heruss followed her soon after.

The slide span and twisted and turned, even apparently looping at one point. She could see a bright light at the end. Rave shot out of the slide and realised it was a few feet in the air, but she was caught by a pair of strong arms. “I gotcha, I gotcha.” Terefedel said with a grin as he twirled her gently.

She yelped as Tere caught her and clung to him. "My head is spinning..."

“It’s ok, that’ll pass, it’s the journey of shifting dimensions without realising it that does that the most.” He gently set her down and held onto her shoulder just in case.

She blinked several times before her eyes turned a hazel color. She was looking more like a vampire than an angel at the moment, which was what she was going for. "So where is this crazy librarian?"

Bookshelves upon bookshelves upon bookshelf dominated the giant round room, above them and below them were apparently endless levels of books on shelves, around them on pedestals were books open with quills scratching away back and forth documenting everything and anything, from births, car crashes, robberies to a young couple loosing their virginity, absolutely everything was being documented.

“You blithering blasted book!” came a scratchy old voice. “Get back here!”

Ravelyn hid behind Tere.

The Librarian was, a strangely dressed gentleman who looked more like he had walked out of a children’s show than an ancient mage of vast knowledge. His cloak was a light green covered in letters in copperplate writing, he wore a floppy “dunces” cap with more lettering on it and his beard was flung over one shoulder to stop him tripping over it. He was chasing a book floating several feet in front of him. He was running with a butterfly net.

"You really weren't kidding about the net," Ravelyn said from behind Terefedel.

“Toldcha.” Tere said with a grin as he grabbed the book, only to find himself captured in the butterfly net. “Hello Librarian.” he said simply.

“Hello! Who might you be?” he said, looking at the figure in the net. “You sound like Terefedel, yet look absolutely nothing like him.

"...a vampire," she said with almost no accent whatsoever. It was the best she could do at least.

"Katya..." she said in return. Both looked at her strangely. It had been Coro's nickname for her so technically she wasn't lying...much.

“Huh?” The figure looked at her, then at Terefedel in the net. “I meant him, not you dear,” he looked at Heruss “What do you teach these kids these days?”

Ravelyn sighed lightly with releave, and hugged Tere. "It's Terefedel."
She poked the butterfly net. "Let me out would you, please?"

“It is me, Terefedel you forgetful old sod!” Tere replied as the net was lifted off of him and apparently shunk enough to fit in the Librarian’s pocket. “I believe you were after this?” He held the book out to him.

“Yes! Yes!” The Librarian said eagerly. “Now then.” he flipped the book open to the last written page and read it. “Ah ha! So I did put that tin of SPAM behind the peas in the pantry! I knew it! I knew it! Now then…” A quill floated down out of nowhere and began to scribble violently in the book. “Oh, document this later! Shoo! Shoo!” he said to the quill, which went rigid, apparently huffed at the Librarian, then floated away again.

“So, why are you here Katya, Heruss and errr, errr,” he snapped his fingers a few times “Taryfeathers?” He said finally.

Tere merely sighed. “We’ve come to look at the Book of Fate.” Tere said.

“Which one?” The Librarian said with a grin as they suddenly moved to a small alcove filled with large books with apparently wrought iron covers.

"Ooooh! That one," she pointed at one of the books.

“Right, lets see.” Tere grabbed it and attempted to slide the book out of the shelf, but it was very thick and heavy.

After a few moments of this The Librarian tutted and sniffed. “Useless weak children these days Tasslefluff!” he picked the book up with ease and setting it down onto a reading desk, apparently not noticing the fact the table was groaning and cracking under the weight. He then got a set of keys out. “Lets see now, eeer, this one? No that’s the Fridge, the car, the back door, the front door, the side door, the bedroom, the bathroom… eerrr, AH! Fate!” he held up an F shaped Key and inserted it into the lock. It clicked and the book opened, falling to a page in which a figure similar to Terefedel had been drawn, well, his clothes were similar anyway.

"What's it say about his love life..." she grinned.

“Don’t know, read it yourself. I’m off to find that Spam.” The Librarian twittered as he vanished.

Terefedel grinned at her also and turned to the page about Love life. He read it, then turned slightly crimson before turning away.

Ravelyn beamed. "Ter--aaaaayyyyyyyy," she drew out his name and jumped on his back, and then kissing his cheek with a laugh.

He held onto her legs and laughed. “So you read it then?”

"MMmhmmmm...."

"Hey I wonder if I'm in one of these books...."

Heruss merely shook his head and chuckled before flicking a page or two, revealing Ravelyn, apparently locked in battle with a figure in shadow.

She jumped off Tere's back and walked over, looking at the books. She drew in a breath, flipped the page, and reached the bottom before Heruss was able to. She closed the book tightly. "Shouldn't we do what we came here for?" she asked in a quiet voice.
“This was what we were here to do in part.” Heruss replied with a sigh, he had seen some of it.
“We’re looking for answers about ourselves here and with the latest chapter being written.”

The Librarian came crashing back into the room, he was being pelted with tins of food. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” He cried as he dropped and kicked a can of baked beans back in the same direction. “Annoyed some of the quills again…”

"I think I know all I need to know about myself, thank you," she said quietly, and walked away from the two, then caught the librarian's eye. "What?"

“I’ve seen you somewhere before…” he said as he tucked into his now dented can of SPAM.

"I don't think so," she blinked her hazel eyes twice. "Must be mistaken..."

“Hrmmm, no, definitely seen you before.” he moved quickly over to the book and opened it, flicking his way through it before coming across another picture of Rave. “Oooh yes, here….we…are…” he trailed off as he apparently read and re-read the page, before straightening up and rummaging in his pocket, his eyes were as though he became possessed. “I must… study you…”

She yelped. "TEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" she said, and got behind him, her eyes shifting back to their crimson color and wings unfolding from her back.

“I’m afraid I cannot really get in-” he was thrown aside and pinned to the wall by a dozen red Quills. “VOLVED! Run Ravelyn!” Tere shouted “Run!”

She lifted off into the air, and bolted through the book cases. "HERUSS!" she cried.

Heruss had been pinned to the wall by a book. “Can’t help Rave, I’m sorry!”

The librarian ran after her, the fact he was doing so through the sky didn’t seem to inhibit him at all, his eyes had glazed over entirely and he was muttering “Study, study, study, study.” over and over again like a railway locomotive.

"DARK PATH TERE..." she yelled as she narrowly avoided the librarian. Adamantine armor formed around her, as well as her scythe. "DONT MAKE ME KILL HIM...."

A book smacked the Librarian hard on the head. He muttered “Tweet!” before slumping in the sky. The person who had done the hitting was a young Vampire hovering on a wide metal plate of some sort. “Sorry, he gets like that when he needs to take a look at people.”

Ravelyn nearly knocked the figure over in a hug.

“Ack! Careful careful!” The figure cried as the plate whined and turned with her.

"Thank you," she said, leaping down and having no trouble especially with her metal plated wings. She walked over to Tere and Heruss and began pulling the quills out.

“Thanks.” Tere said with a sigh. “Thanks also, squirt” he said to the young female Vampire who stepped off the plate with a nod.

“Serves your right.” The female replied as she pushed her thin rimless spectacles up onto her freckled nose. “You could have warned her.”

“We did!” Heruss and Tere shouted back to her.

"He noticed me anyway!" Ravelyn said in her defense. "There was nothing more that I could do." Her accent had returned thickly.

“Threatening to kill him just makes him want to study you more. He’s been trying to find out why some people are annoyed by him for centuries.” The young female, apparently called “squirt” replied.

"They didn't tell me that," Ravelyn replied. "But I really would have killed him. A butterfly net? I mean...come on, really..."

“Yeah, folks don’t realise that it’s true form is his staff.” Squirt replied with a shrug as she kicked the metal disk which span so she caught it. “He can gain knowledge out of that and he gets it transferred into a book of his. Unfortunately it means his memory is a bit bad.”

“Still! Welcome to the Library of All anyway, I’m Savina, or Squirt” She replied with a grin.

"I see," she said in return. "Ravelyn Shentavo."

“Nice to meet you.” She said “So… want to see some of the books?”
Midlonia
17-02-2008, 20:01
The Disc hovered up before flickering, a picture of a female wearing a Red Dress appeared and bowed slightly. “Savina, there is a relevant book relating to Franz on the 15th level pertaining Re-summoning procedures.”

“Thank you Connie Dash X-231.” Savina replied. As she looked to the other three. “This might be the key we were looking for Colonel.”

“I see.” Heruss nodded. “Go find it quickly please.”

“Yes sir.” She replied as the disc lowered again and she stepped on it.

“We’re still not sure how he comes back, or who helps him each time. We need to know.” Heruss sighed.

“We know it involves all his old things and it involves destroying them. How they make Anno Domini also it another issue.” Tere chimed in. “And how to detect them, but I think you’ve solved that problem…”

Ravelyn sighed softly. Another thing for her to have to deal with.

“Seems to me that you’re definitely in this for the long haul Ravelyn, I’m sorry.” Heruss replied with a shrug. “What I want to know is, what did that page say in the Book of Fate?”

"It's not of your concern," she said in reply. "It showed everything for me going as planned."

“I see.” Heruss replied casually with a curt nod.

Tere wrapped an arm around Rave’s waist. “Then everything will go as planned for us too.” he smiled. “We don’t need to worry about what happens at that moment, just what happens afterwards.”

“Even though we sort of do,” Heruss remarked “It’s necessary for our overall plans.”

“The smaller picture needs looking at to make the big picture clear, Asopher.” Tere said, quoting an old Midlonian saying.

“Yet both pictures have blurred edges.” he replied. “I just hope that we finally get some clues to this.”

"Just let me face off againt Franz and you'll be fine," she said specifically to Heruss.

“Fine.” He said with a sigh. “But not until I get my pound of flesh against him first.”

“Me too.” Tere grinned. “We’re integral to the sealing procedure after all, Clodius too...”

"No... I will go first."

“Fine.” Heruss said, shaking his head.

Savina reappeared holding a black book. “I’m afraid most of the pages are damaged in this one also, sir.” she sighed.

“Dammit all!” Heruss snapped and turned away in thought. “How damaged?”

“The pages are torn out and… apparently eaten in places.”

"Eaten by whom?" Ravelyn inquired.

“I don’t know.” Savina replied with a sigh. “By the teeth marks some sort of creature.”

Tere took hold of the book and opened it. She was right, the pages had been torn out and shredded. “Hang on,” Tere said as he peered at a page closer. “It mentions Lord Malkren.”

“What? When was this book written?” Heruss said striding over to Tere and looking at it also.

“1732.” He replied, finding a rare undamaged page.

“So he’s… at least 500? But he’s not a Vampire…” Heruss trailed off, a frown on his face again.

“So what the hell does that make him?” Tere replied with a sigh. “The only person to live that long is the Librarian, and that’s only because he’s technically outside of time.”

“Heavily enchanted?” Heruss suggested after a moment. “Odin is an example of such enchantment…”

“Yes, but he dies and is brought back by cultists.” Tere shot back. “How can he live for so long?”

“Savina, can you find anything at all on Lord Malkren?” Heruss asked as the figure on the disc floated away again.

“So, this is an interesting development, if he’s underneath Franz as we thought, then why would he be the one constantly around bringing him back? Surely there’s major gains for him, but I don’t remember anything about any kind of Malkren back in the War…” Tere scratched his chin. “Do you know anything about how to make a seemingly normal human being last several hundred years, Rave?”

"Enochials can keep them alive, but I highly doubt an angel is involved."

“Anything else? Demons perhaps?”

"Possibly," she said. "But its rare for demons to possess the gift to sustain life. It is more common for them to wish to destroy it.

“Hrm, then we may be dealing with a rare demon on top of all of this, great…”

“Bit like the Demonette back in 2006? Remember that? On the 6th of June?” Heruss said with a slight smile.

“Oh, yeesh, that wasn’t fun to clear up afterwards…” Tere trailed off and looked at the book again.

"On top of which demons really, really, really dislike me," she sighed.

"I am quite sure they can sense angelics as much as we can sense them."

“Great! Can’t we just put you in storage, or shall I ask Q to make you a dress with a large target painted on it?” Tere quipped with a chuckle.

She slapped Tere upside the head.

“Ow!” He said as he rubbed his face with a grin. “I deserved that.”

“Yes, yes you did.” Heruss remarked. “So, what oh what do we need to go look at to find out what we may be dealing with?”

“The Big book oh Beasties?” Tere asked. “That might have something in there…”

"Look in my book of fate," Ravelyn said calmly. "The middle, not near the end. If its a demon we are dealing with, eventually one of us will find the other. A demon is an affront to my creators."

“Ok, I suppose that’d be best…” Tere said as he moved back into the Alcove they were in previously, the book was still there, yet it was open.

"I closed that," she said softly.

“I know you did.” Tere said quietly. “So what…” A shadow thundered behind them between the bookshelves, causing both Rave and Tere to turn. Heruss has stayed outside the alcove, waiting for Savina to come back with anything regarding Malkren, he turned and looked at them as the door suddenly slammed shut and disappeared, leaving them in the dark.

A light ignited in Ravelyn's hand, brightening the room. "Did you look Tere.." she asked a bit angry and alarmed.

“At what?” He asked, looking around him at the bookshelves as hissing and whispering began to echo around them.

"The last part..."

“No, I was with you, wasn’t I? I know you going to die Rave, you’ve said so yourself. I don’t really think I want to know where or when because of what I read on the page with me.” He looked at her in her eyes. “Even if I stamp on all the leaves nothing is changing that!” A shadow then wrapped itself around Tere’s waist and pulled him deep into the darkness with a surprised cry.

"TERE!" she screamed, and reached for him.

There were a few shouts and screams in the darkness, then a light came on with a dull thunk, then more lights. Ravelyn was not in the same room she was in previously, instead she was amongst numerous bookshelves that stretched on seemingly the same in either direction. “Rave!” came a shout in one direction, then another and another. It was Tere’s voice.

"If this isn't a trap if I'd ever seen one," she whispered to herself, turned immediately towards the voice and started running.

“Rave!” The voice shouted again, but from behind her, followed by a crashing sound. There was a book on the self entitled “The Big Book of Beasties - A study on the rare creatures of the Mainland Dominion.” By F.R Malthorpe. She payed no attention to it, it was a book slightly larger than the others.

"Aw fuck," she cursed, and turned on her heals. She picked up the book, swung it open, and summoned her scythe.

The book vanished from her hands. It was back on the shelf, but further down. Tere’s voice screamed from above as his body came hurtling down apparently without a head and landed in front of her.

"Whoa," she said and blinked several times.

The shadows merged amongst themselves and grabbed the body, dancing it like a grim puppet, it knocked the book off of the shelf and caused it to open. When she looked at it she fell through it, and apparently into a large desert area.

She stretched her wings outward as she sun hit her body. She was unsure if this was in her mind or reality, and there was no way to truly know until either she woke up or got out of this place.

“Ravelyn! Is that you?” Tere shouted as he came over a sand dune, he was fine, his sword was out and glowing in the sunlight. His clothing was a blood red in places from a slight cut on his shoulder, and blood that blatantly wasn’t his.

"Yes," she said, walking to him at a quick pace. "What the hell is going on?"

“I’m not totally sure.” He said with a shake of his head. “I think that creature was something to do with the Anno Domini though. Might be what’s been tearing out the pages. “I think I know where the heck we are though…” he said as he turned and looked behind him. Burnt out wrecks, hundreds of them littered the desert floor some half buried, some nearly totally buried with just the tops of turrets sticking out of the ground. “We’re in… Pioneer Valley…” A gigantic structure was sat in the distance, it too was partially buried in the sand. “That’s a Goliath!” He said, pointing, “It might provide us some shelter for a while.”

"What is a goliath?" she questioned, and grabbed his hand in hers.

“A giant fighting machine.” he said as he took her hand gently, but firmly into his as they walked. “They saw their heaviest usage during the Second Moonstone War, we’re on the place called Mainland, we’re basically in the Commonwealth of Freethinkers. Thousands of miles away from where we were…”

"We are in a book, Tere," she said in return. "I'm pretty sure we are right where we were before."

“Let me guess? The Big Book of Beasties?” He asked her suddenly.

"Indeed," she said in return.

“He studied all over the place,” Tere said as they continued walking past the rusting and dead hulks. “Mainly here because of the paranoid and dangerous wildlife. I’ve read that book, he wrote it back in the 1800’s before the First Moonstone War, the gigantic battle took place here during the Second Moonstone War, I should know,” he looked at her, “I was here. No, his diagrams and pictures didn‘t have all of,” he kicked a bolt and it rang against the metal of a rust covered tank, “this.”

Something screeched in the sky above them, causing Tere to look up. “Or… maybe we are…”

Above them was the world they had dropped through, looking down on them from far above was a sniffing snarling grey coloured creature. It largely seemed to be made from Scar Tissue and kept flickering in and out of sight as it sniffed the book. It snapped it’s jaws a few times and batted the book, causing the whole world to shake.

"Pleasant little thing," she remarked as she wrapped her arms around Tere.

“It’s a NightGale. How the hell did one of those things survive? We obliterated all of them centuries ago.” He shook his head as he placed his hands on Rave’s arms.

"I'm assuming ressurection. Someone got access the the library and placed it in here to get rid of all the evidence or helpful information. That is why the book was chewed.I would say Minerva, but I believe she is too dense for that. What would you classify a NightGale as?”

“A Vampiric Pest deigned only for oblivion” he replied. “It’s another part of our contract we’re all too happy to oblige, we either integrate vampires and order them into a decent society for the safety of innocent human beings, or we destroy them to the last of their kin, regardless of where they flee.”

"Hmmn," she said. "Well how do we get out of here?"

“I’m not at all sure.” He sighed and leant back into her slightly. “If we go up there, that thing will tear us apart again…”
"So we just wait?"

“Seems like the thing to do for now, so long as it doesn’t try to eat this book or anything…” Tere said quietly. “…I shouldn’t have said that should I?”

It seemed not, it tore at the page, sending a chunk of the desert floating away, it then snarled and threw the book around, it bashed off of a couple of shelves sending both of them tumbling before settling again. The NightGale had apparently bounded away.

“Ok, so I shouldn’t say things like that out loud again…” Tere said as he got back up and dusted some sand off of him. The edges of the page were ragged, and it seemed they could step back out into the real world. “Though it seems the NightGale has given us a way out.” he pointed to the edge of the page.

"Shall we then?" she said softly, and walked with Tere towards the edge.

“Yep, I think we shall.” he said as he grabbed her hand and jumped.

They landed back in the same room with half a ton of sand leaking around them, filling up the alcove filled with random books on creatures and monsters, there was even a book on “Vampyres of the Midlowlands.” By an F. Haringott slowly being eaten by the sand.

"The librarian is going to kill us," she said softly. "Come on...lets get back to Heruss."

“I think he’ll be after us both with the butterfly net…” Tere remarked quietly as he dusted himself down.

She started to walk off then sudddently she reached down and picked up the book. "This book is by Franz."

“Huh?” Tere said as he placed his hand on Rave’s shoulder. “It is?”

She nodded her head in response.

“Huh, I never knew he published too…” he looked over her shoulder and peered at it. “Does it say when it was published?”

"For some reason I don't want to open this book in here given what has been going on..."

“Good point…” Tere said. “Ok, we’ll take it outside and open it…” he looked up, then around. “If… there was a door.”

"Dark path?" she questioned with her hand in his. The twilight was providing a very useful tool for him.

“Yes. I think so too.” He said as he wrapped his arms gently around her neck and held her close, the world around them thundered and changed to the darkness, the bookshelves it seemed, held the darkest Twilight, and the wall in front of them was pitch black. “…or not.”

"Go deeper into the twilight and boundaries will disappear. I don't know how long I can stay there though for."

“That’s what worries me.” He said as he rested his cheek against her neck and they went higher. “It’s fainter here, but still strong, higher or should we risk it?” He whispered to her.

"We don't really have another choice," she said, and gripped him tightly. We need to go to a higher level."

Tere took a sharp breathe and they went further into the Twilight, his grip on Ravelyn getting tighter and tighter. The barrier in front of them was still hazy. “This is just ridiculous… How are you holding up?” Tere hissed.

"I'm fine...just hurry..."

He took a deeper breathe and they moved again even deeper, Ravelyn was beginning to suffer. With a mutter he simply grabbed her and lifted her up and ran at the barrier that had dimmed significantly. He shouted something out loudly and part of the barrier disappeared completely. They tumbled through before thundering back down into reality. The Librarian was standing behind them peering into the room they had just been trapped in. “Where did all this sand come from?” He snapped into the room.

Ravelyn collaped in Tere's arms, completely unconscious.

Tere simply clung onto her hard and breathed a sigh of relief, they were fine, they were through, he cradled her head gently in his arms. “We’re fine.” he whispered to her. “We’re fine…”

She stirred in his arms but didn't wake up, and the book was still within her hands.

“I’m taking her home, now.” Tere whispered and left the Library via another door, it led back into the still ruined foyer of his own home, parts of it still smoked and the doors had been hastily placed back on to do little more than keep out the draught.

He laid her down on the bed in the bedchamber, and kissed her forehead, gently taking the book out of her hands and placing it on the bedside table. He took the cloak off of himself and threw it on the floor next to the clothes Ravelyn had bought earlier. He then lay down next to her and held her in his arms, keeping an eye on her.
Midlonia
17-02-2008, 21:31
Tere was still holding Ravelyn, cradling her in his arms giving her security when he heard someone come up the stairs. He raised a pistol to the door as he looked.

It was Heruss, wearing his greatcoat and peaked hat. “It’s me.” he said simply.

Tere lowered it back down onto the bed and rested his cheek against her’s “She’s still out cold.” he whispered.

“What happened?” Heruss asked as he sat down on a chair in the corner.

“I had to drag her through a barrier in the twilight, there wasn’t much time left.”

“I understand that, what I meant was what happened to you both? You were 12 levels below me when you came back into existence, 12!”

“A NightGale got us, and then something managed to lock us into ‘The Big Book of Beasties’”

“What?” Heruss said sitting up. “A NightGale? But we killed those years ago…”

“It seems it extends to anything we’ve killed too.” Tere said as he kissed Rave’s cheek.

“I see….” Heruss said as he leant on his hand and thought. “Why a NightGale? Those things were a push over…”

“In the Day Time. It turns out they’re good creatures of shadow too, they can manipulate things and they don’t have the same sense towards Rave as human Anno Domini do.”

“Right.. So now we have every last destroyed army in history plus whatever we killed in between after us.” Heruss sighed.

"Welcome to my life," Ravelyn said, cuddling against Tere.

“Hey.” Tere said as he kissed her cheek a couple of times. “You feeling better now?”

"Mmmhmmm," she murmered and pulled the blanket over her shoulder. "I don't know how deep you went but it knocked me out."

“I’m not sure either.” He replied as he squeezed her waist. “All I know is I got us out of there and we're safe now.”

She opened her eyes. "Did you get the book?"

“It’s on the bedside table still, it‘s safe.” Tere said.

"Have you ever heard of such a book being writen?

“No, but then that places contains every book ever written, for you to have found by chance is a little… odd.” Heruss said from across the room.

"People have three different ideas what govern life; reason, passion, or chance. Which this came from I do not know," she looked at Heruss. "We have to open it."

“Yes, we do…” Heruss said with a sigh as he got out of the chair. “After what happened earlier I suggest you prepare yourselves before I do, though.”

Ravelyn sunk her fangs into Tere's thigh which was the closest part of him to her mouth.

Tere cried out quietly. “A bit of warning would have been nice.” he said to her quietly.

She pulled away with blood on her lips. "I did warn you," she said in return. "You felt the bite." She grinned.

Tere slapped her stomach with his hand, a sharp sting before he got out of the bed and put his cloak back on.

"Ow," she pretended to pout, got up and wrapped her arms around him.

He placed his hands on her, before suddenly turning and biting her neck.

"Son of a bi---" she was cut off by his strong grip around her, and relaxed in his arms.

He held her there for a while, then gently pulled away, licking the wound closed, then kissing her neck. “Well, I did warn you.” he said with a grin.

The energy between them increased dramatically in that instance, and they were inseparable.

“I love you.” Tere mouthed to her, looking deep into her eyes. As Heruss was apparently studying the book closely.

She smiled. "I love you too."

Heruss cleared his throat. “You pair of lovebirds quite done?” he said with a quirked eyebrow.

Ravelyn opened her mouth as if to say something.

Tere’s hand closed around her mouth. “I think we’re ready. Standing to attention.” he snorted with laughter.

Tere then pulled her close to him and grinned.

Heruss sighed and opened the book.

Nothing happened.

“Huh…” Tere said looking at it. “Well, that was mildly disappointing…”

Ravelyn looked at Tere, shrugged, and started to make out with him again.

Tere merely shrugged and went back to kissing Ravelyn passionately, before the room around them changed dramatically. They were standing somewhere in an inn of some form, it was empty aside from the barman who was peering into a clay tankard, and a hooded figure sitting at a table scribbling away with a large quill on pieces of parchment.

“Greetings fellow travellers! I write this book in the period of 1063!” A voice said from nowhere.

"Can I have your autograph?" Ravelyn questioned, and she felt the same hatred pass over her once again as it had with Minerva.

“I have come far and wide from the Kingdome of Midlownya in the far East to here, this desertene land and great kingdom of Porphyria.” The voice carried on, seemingly oblivious.

“I think this is an echo…” Heruss said as Tere held tightly onto Ravelyn’s waist.

"I see," she said, and relished in Tere's closeness. What had gotten into her?

“It’s alright Rave, just take a deep breathe and stay in my arms, we’ll be fine.” Tere whispered to her as he tilted her head up and kissed her.

“I seek out here a rare case of a creature known as a Vampyre, I know not of how this creature operates properly, but it seems to be in human form and utilizes bites for it’s weaponry. I believe my journey will take a long while and be greatly educational. Yet. I feel drawn to these creatures as though it is very natural…”

“So this is before? This is his origin?” Heruss whispered.

“I seek these creatures for study to aid in my paymasters interest in them, Lord Malkren of the Midlownyan lands. He seeks these creatures for his own purpose and I merely seek them out of my own curiosity. I am after all, a studyier of beasts and man alike.”

Heruss turned a hand full of pages in the book, skipping many passages.

“Yet,” the scene changed to one of a market place where the sands whipped up in a gentle breeze, “My own questions about such creatures merely seem to inspire terror and chaos wherever I go.” the cloaked figure was slapped. “Wherever I go they seem to be not there.”

He looked at the book and did so again.

The scene changed again, this time at night. “Wherever I go I seem to never find them,” he was walking along a road up a mountain side in another town. “They seem to be truly elusive, and yet I still seek them hard. I cannot give up when I can… feel them, as though I can feel their power, their allure…”

All this time they had not moved, they merely floated and followed him as he walked and continued walking.

“This castle in the city of Porphyria is a magnificent place, it sits high above the twinkling sparkling magic-lit city nestly below it in close embrace, hailing it and revering it and at last I have managed to get an audience with the King of Porphyria to find out about the Vampyre.”

Heruss looked at the book again, then turned a page half way. The scene in front of them froze and half changed. It showed a throne room and the cloaked figure still standing there.

“Yet….” the voice said and stopped.

Heruss didn’t turn the page and merely looked at the scene in front of them. “That’s…. Father?” he whispered as he looked at the figure sitting in the throne, it was a person who looked very similar to Heruss in every respect, except he wore long flowing regal robes and wore a crown. Made of bone.

He turned the page, the voice continued.

“…there is something about this King that evokes something in me. Something primal, something that tells me to relax and let down all guards, despite him being perhaps the most bloody of the Kings of the Midlands.” The figure dropped the book and his quill and moved forward slowly. The figure in the throne rose and grabbed hold of the figure, sinking his fangs into the man’s neck. The man was short, had a pointed nose, yet no scar and no monacle.

His own fangs formed, he hissed and went limp in the figure’s hands, he lay him down and left him there as he went through a door at the back of the chamber.

“I see now, what this allure was.” the figure continued as the scene changed to a terrified woman running down a street. “This feeling of power,” she fell, “this feeling of being able to bend my will to others.” The figure, now wearing a long black cloak leapt on her, her scream pierced the scene before she started moaning and went limp. “This entire way of life is so liberating, so empowering…”

The same woman was dancing with Franz now at a ball, each were looking into each other’s eyes, and at men and women at the party before the scene changed to the same two grabbing and ripping the throats out of various terrified guests.

“I am like a GOD and I can never loose….”

The scene ended with Franz standing atop a mountain. “I am held to none. All are held to me. By me.”

"Quite wrong," Ravelyn whispered through her lips.

“This doesn’t explain why he became so powerful though, this merely shows his twisting….” Heruss said.

“He was always after power though, he feeds on it.” Tere said as the room turned back to normal and he turned Ravelyn around, and kissed her deeply.

"So that's it..." she said softly.

“What is?” Tere said looking at her.

"Nothing..." she said softly in return, and looked at Heruss. "What was the point of that book?"

“I don’t know.” Heruss said putting it down. “I honestly don’t. It seems he was employed by Malkren to study my kin, and instead he was turned.”

He shook his head and moved to the door. “I’ll have to look into this some more. Especially Malkren.” he sighed and left, closing the bedroom door firmly behind him.

Tere Kissed Ravelyn and wrapped his arms tighter around her back, pulling her as close to him as possible.
Midlonia
18-02-2008, 01:29
Nex sighed and drew on a joint as he leant against the void. He was waiting and peering down at the small rabbit which was hopping around.

"Nexxx...is that you?" Kayde called out.

“Yep!” Nex said as he stood up. “I’m here.”

The rabbit was suddenly engulfed in a ball of lightning and fried to a crisp. Qui apparently was there as well. Kayde shot a nasty look at her brother, and then walked over to Nex.

Nex simply moved the rabbit to the side with his foot, his face grimmaced. “Hey.” he said as Kayde came over.

"I'm going back to the Twilight," Quissera said. His sister protested.

"No way...it's dangerous."

"It's my fucking domain," he said dully. "I was about to rip them from it, if you did not notice.."

Kayde sighed. "You and your twilight. And here I was thinking that I was doing the right thing in keeping you from not being involved."

"Don't question your elders," he said, and vanished from the void.

“Hey, woah woah woah,” Nex formed his hands into a T “Why has his twilight suddenly got more dangerous?”

"Well, Garu and some other guy entered it. Qui almost obliterated everything in the twilight, which included people in the lowest levels who were traveling that they couldn't see. It would have been another mass murder at Qui's hands."

“Another mass mur-” Nex started. “…right I see.”

"Quissera has killed more people than Ravelyn. And he doesn't get marks to eliminate..."

“And I bet he isn’t punished either…” Nex muttered.

"Not in the slightest bit. If he kills them in the twilight, it is fair game. Mind you, he dragged many into the twilight to kill them as well. He suffers in his own way though."

“Oh? How so?” Nex said as he got up and offered a joint to Kayde out of impulse.

She declined the offer politely, then continued. "He's in love with Ravelyn."

“Ooooh, right. I see.” Nex said nodding. “So he basically wants to do his Sire… even though he’s biologically the same as her. Odd.”

"Well, you have to remember, we don't really have a sex, just an earthly body here. We were all created by the same creator much like humans. In our eyes it isn't incest. We aren't humans. Doesn't make a difference where the body comes from, just the soul. Beleive it or not, before we were sent to earth their souls merged on more than several occasions. I guess we don't find it strange, but he’s just admitted that he felt for her in the earthly sense as well."


“Ah, ok, kind of hard to get I guess. I ascended into this job after all.” Nex said with a shrug.
"Mmnn. Sad thing is that no one would understand, consider it incest, and the pride of our family would be at stake in the eyes of the nation. I think though, if Qui ever had her, he wouldn't care. Imagine what the union of two seraphim would be like! Perhaps that is why the Powers kept them separated by birth."

“Perhaps, seems to me like more torture for them both though.” Nex said nodding, “Though Ravelyn is with Tere now. Mind, that’s a strange union in itself, a Vampire and a Vampiric-Seraphim…”

"Corothisia was a vampire," she leaned against Nex. "Vaughn was half-vampire...we've seen it before."

Nex wrapped his arms around Kayde. “And you?” He asked.

"And me what?"

“Who have you been with?” Nex asked.

"Heh..." she blushed. "No one."

“Really? Nobody at all?” Nex asked, surprised.

"Well I don't get out much," she said in return. "I mean, Charmaine has only been with one person, Ravelyn with three, and I mean as long as she has lived! I think Quissera is the only permiscuous one out of all of us, but he's that way because he can't be happy with anyone but Azrael."

“Ah, good point.” Nex said nodding, “Well, how about a date?” He asked with a grin.

"Me?"

“Sure! I know a good place to eat if you fancy it, not very glamorous but it‘s nice…”

"I'd love to, except well," her expression darkened. "I can't eat."

“Why not?” He asked, looking at her.

"Because I'm a Shentavo," she said plainly. "We can't eat food."

“Why is that anyway?” Nex asked as he scratched his chin.

"...we are vampires."

“Yeah, and? Tere and Heruss are vampires and they can eat! Ok, only special Vampiric food, but still…”

"When you are turned into a vampire, you are bitten, and drained of almost all your blood by your sire. Then, your sire cuts themselves, or makes a wound, and makes you drink their blood to refill what you have lost. Then, the cells start to attack the living ones in your body. Your heart stops, and essentially your body dies. How are we supposed to process food? The only thing that is able to circulate through our bodies is blood. That is what we thrive on. Our vampiric race stems from the first to walk upon this earth. I don't believe any of us consider Tere or Heruss one hundred percent vampires."

“Fair enough…” Nex thought again. “How about a drink then? How long has it been since you last drank some blood?”

"A few hours ago, from Qui."

Nex sighed “You seem to be making this difficult…” he grinned again. “How about a trip?”
"I don't mean to, I'm just being honest!" she said, then paused. "All right. Where do you want to go?"

He smiled and hugged her, and the world dropped away. “This seems like a good place to start!” he laughed as they were perched on top of a mountain, below them pretty much the whole of the country of Midlonia could be seen. White clouds drifted lazily along, and planes thundered and whined across the landscape.

"Reminds me of home," she said quietly. "Bright and airy, feel like you could fall forever."

“We can jump if you want.” he smiled. “Be fun to do.”

"You have wings?" she questioned, wide eyed.

“Nope! But I am the one who administers death here, not as if I can die, is it?”

She hesitantly put her arms aroud him. "Just hold on to me," she said in return, looking up at him. She wasn't sure what form of his she liked better.

He put his scythe back onto his back and smiled. “Don’t worry,” he said as he gripped her tightly around her waist. “I won’t let you go.” And with that, he picked her up and jumped.

The air rushed around them as they fell. “The view still looks great!” he shouted as they flew downward towards the earth. “Plus you can see more and more the closer you get!”

She fanned her demonic wings outward. They were transuscent in the sunlight; a vision. She gripped him tightly as she slowed the fall so that they were drifting. She was suprisingly strong for such a small girl.

“Wow!” Nex commented as they drifted slowly. “That’s kinda cool, you’re stronger than you look…”

She grinned. "Ravelyn's wings are a lot stronger."

“Uh-huh.” He nodded and looked down below him. “Seems we’re going quite far too.”

An aircraft shot past them, it was a triangular shaped craft and it hissed and roared as it thundered past, causing them both to spin as they were buffeted by the wind.

She closed her wings around him instinctively.

They fell again, Nex whooped and cheered as they fell far again as a cloud rushed up through them and past them, rain coming down with them as they passed through it.

She clung to him tightly, feeling the rain falling upon them. One of her spiraled horns nicked his chest.

He gripped his teeth as a welt of blood dripped out and upward from his chest.

“Ok, that hurt a teensy bit.” he said

"Sorrrryyy..." she apologized.

“Could do with that closing,” he said as they continued to fall.

Kayde bent her head and with a bit of hesitation, closed the wound with her lips.

“Thanks.” he said as he then tilted Kayde’s head up and gently kissed her on the lips.
Kayde blushed profusely and lost track of where she was as she opened her emerald eyes and looked into his.

He smiled. “You like?” he said gently, never mind they were still falling fast towards the ground.

She blushed and kissed him again

Nex ran a hand up the back of her head and continued kissing her as they smashed into the ground, burying down into the soft ground.

Nex broke the kiss and looked past Kayde’s head. “Hrm. I think we need to climb out.” He said with a chuckle.

She was breathless, against him, and a weakness had over come her. She wasn't sure she could climb out

Nex gently lifted Kayde off of him. “Kayde, you ok?” he whispered, looking at her with some concern.

"Yeah," she said in a quiet voice. "Never better..."

He gently climbed out of the hole they had made and offered his hand down to Kayde. “Come on.” he said with a gentle smile. “You sure you’re ok?”

"Yeah," she said smiling, and reached up and grabbed his hand. She started to climb up but lost her footing, and pulled Nex back down with her.

Nex’s face was an inch away from her, he was lying on top of her, his legs sort of entwined with hers. He took a short breathe. “Uhm.” He managed simply and had himself blushed slightly.

She blushed. "Sorry..."

“Ih, uh, hurm.” He managed simply. “Sorry, sort of… compromising position…”

That comment made her blush even more.

He slowly, and even a little reluctantly, got up again from her and sat back in the hole, blushing still. “I, uh, sorry, it’s been so long since I was with anybody…I‘ll, uh, help you out.”

He climbed back out of the hole again and offered both hands this time.

She took both of his hands, and used her wings to help get her out as well. She leaned against him.

Nex held her close and rested his chin on her head. “So,” he said as he looked quickly over his shoulder at the lake behind him. “Ever been swimming?”

----------------

Later, on the Hathertwaite after Qui spoke to Heruss

Sanders sighed and leant on the railing, chewing some gum. She wasn’t bothered. Nope. Not at all.

Not. Bothered. At. All. She thought as the railing bar bent slightly under her grip.

She took a deep breathe and turned from the railing, she was still on the Hathertwaite, she wanted to be off of it, but still. Needs must, she thought as she moved back down the corridors.

She sighed as she entered her quarters and threw off her thin shirt, hitting the door to the bathroom as she did so.

After she had finished showering she decided to forsake the shirt and just leave the towel draped around her, covering her modesty as she moved back out into the corridor.

Quissera had come to check on Ravelyn one last time. After what happened in the Twilight, he was worried about her. What if they never come back here at all. He wore baggy light blue jeans with a button down white dress shirt that was open as usual. He had the nation's cross around hi neck as well as rings on his finger. He was in the middle of lighting a cigarette when he literally walked right into Sanders. There were many thing on his mind.

Sanders fell over, the towel not moving at all from her chest thankfully keeping her modesty away. “Hey!” she yelled at Qui before realising it was him “Oh, right, hi Qui.” she said, looking up at him.

"Sorry," he said and offered her his hand.

She took it and checked herself for any cuts or bruises. “You ok?” She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't I be asking that question?" he asked her.

“Dunno, you have a far off look in your eye, seems like I’m not the one with so many troubles.”

"Don't worry about it," he said and turned from her to walk off, smoking his cigarette

“uh-huh.” she says walking alongside him. “Even though if it’s something to do with the Colonel or Ravelyn I have to worry.”

"It has nothing to do with business, don't worry about it..." he said, brushing the comment aside.

“So, something to do with you then.” she said with a sigh as she ran a hand through her wet hair. “Seems to be eating you quite a bit, Qui…”

"It's my own problem," he said a bit more coldly. He just had to get out of here, away from here. But he had to make sure Ravelyn was allright first. Where the hell was she?

“Sometimes keeping your problems to yourself makes the situation worse, any creature is blinkered, regardless of what race or being they are.” Sanders said as they both turned a corner.

"That's enough," he said sharply. "Stop trying to pry."

She shrugged. “If you want, though it seems to me you have issues you refuse to talk about.”

"No kidding," he said in a half scoff and lit another cigarette. He turned down another corridor.

Heruss rounded a corner, the same book still in his hands, he bumped into Qui without realising it, he looked up “Oh, hello again…”

The book fell, and Qui picked it up. "What is this..." he said, ran his fingertips over the panel bordering each page. "Did she translate this already?" he questioned.

“Hrm? Yes. She did.”

"Oh," he said abruptly. He spoke in a softer voice. "She allright? Tere didn't fuck up, did he?"

“No, Tere is fine.” Heruss remarked, glancing to Sanders for a moment. “He performed admirably, apparently had to take her to a high level of twilight later on in a library, but still.”

"How deep into the twilight?" he asked with concern.

“From what he told me? Fourth else Fifth level. Quite impressive considering he hasn’t had the ability long.”

"He's insane," he said curtly. "Where is she?"

“Resting and safe.” Heruss replied icily. “There were no adverse effects to her well being during that time at all.”

He took Heruss' tone badly. He had tried to get along with Heruss, and though he had. Qui turned on his heal and walked in the direction he came from. "I fight Garu and Franz...and she doesn't even think about me."

“To be honest she had her mind on many other things.” Heruss shouted after Qui.

Sanders merely looked between the two, before following Qui. “You fought Garufedel? He’s dead though. Tere and Rave killed him.”

Quissera laughed openly at her.

"I'm sure...when I took over so that she could get away..."

“What did you say about Franz?” Yelled Heruss suddenly, the words of what Qui was saying suddenly sinking in.

Qui turned around much to Sander's dismay as he obstructed her path. "I fought him. And Garufedel...for her." He threw his cigarette down and stamped it out in one blow. He looked at Sanders. "And just leave me alone." He touched the cross around his neck as he turned back down the corrider he came from.

Sanders stopped for a moment, then frowned and pressed on after him. “So that’s your answer is it? Run away, yell at people then run?” She tutted at him “Seems to be somebody is a coward in their own special way for all their bravery and spirit.”

Heruss followed a few steps behind, still flicking through the book.

He whirled around and was two seconds from punching Sanders in the face. He stopped himself. She was only human. He felt a pang of pity, and his muscles relaxed. "I'm not running from anything. I'm leaving because there is nothing else for me to do here."

“Ah, I see,” she nodded. “I see indeed. Aside from me it seems, you‘re still walking when I am talking.”

"What do you want from me?"

“To tell me what your problems are, because you evidently seem troubled by them, even a mere mortal like me can understand basic emotional problems. That seems to be your problem, no will to just… talk.”

"Indeed, I don't want to talk," he said in return, getting frustrated. "You cannot help me, Danielle," he said it in her language, not his own, which was dissociating.

“Ever tried?” She snapped back.

"For God's sake why can you not just leave me alone! We spent one night together, that's it. End of story. Let me rest in peace."

“You think it’s about that?” She looked at him with a lop sided grin. “Oh sheesh Qui, how many lovers do you think I have had? You‘re not the only one and you‘re not the best.” she snickered. “I’m being an annoyance because you’re a seething mass about ready to explode against anyone and you should talk about it.”

And that shot to his ego he couldn't take. "Goodbye Danielle."

“Run away little boy, run away.” she smirked some more. “Such a fragile thing ego’s. Imagine if one of the Anno Domini just hurled insults at you. You’d probably be a blubbering wreck.”

He vanished into the twilight, and appeared in Ravelyn's room. She was alone, and asleep once more. He sat down on the edge of her bed. "She could never understand what torments me so greatly...that it is you." He brushed the hair away from her face, bent down and kissed her forehead. He took the cross off of his neck, undoing the chain with a sharp tug. He opened up one of her hands and placed the cross in it. "Sweet dreams, Azrael," he said, kissing her forehead once more before engulfing himself into the deepest layers of twilight.

Heruss pushed the door open and shook his head. The cross in her hand meant something significant, he didn’t know what. But it did.

“What does that mean, Qui.” he murmured to himself. “What does that mean…”

"Heruss?" she questioned as she woke up to the sound of his voice. She looked down at the cross in her hand, and was caught in a daze for several seconds. Her hands shook slightly as she clasped it around her neck.

“What does it mean, Ravelyn?” Heruss asked as he remained at the Door.

"What does what mean?" she asked.

“The Cross, Qui was wearing it and now you…”

"I realize. It has always been his cross..." she said softly.

“So why did he give it to you?” He whispered.

"It's not something for us to discuss," she said in return, her voice wavering.

“Isn’t it? Why not?”

"You let her say all those things to him," Ravelyn said softly.

“She’s not really mine to control. Or order when not on a mission.” Heruss replied.

"She was cruel, to someone who saved both Tere and myself."

He shrugged. “That’s just her way, direct, to the point and speaks her mind.”

"He didn't deserve it."

“True.” he replied simply.

She got up from the bed. She was wearing a cotton white dress, and the only jewelry she had on was that cross. She walked across the room, and out the door past Heruss.
Midlonia
18-02-2008, 03:37
Qui threw the keys of his car on the table of his home. It was near the ocean, and the waves crashed up amongst the rocks below. The home was made with stone, well furnished with antiques and many, many books. Despite his physical appearance, he was incredibly intelligent, and was perhaps a better magic user than a swordsman sometimes. He took off his shoes, and opened the back door to the garden.


It was a circular garden with white flowers amidst sweet grass. There were white rose bushes against the stone wall that lined the garden till the line of the plunging cliff leading to the ocean. There was a statue in the middle of the garden, though it was closer to the ocean then to the house. It was the cross in the same shape he had given Ravelyn. He walked over to it barefoot with his hands empty. He knelt down in front of the cross, and after a few minutes, he started crying. He tried to keep it in, and did a good job of resisting its allure.

The door opened behind him and he turned around. With wide eyes he saw Ravelyn standing there. He stumbled to his feet. She looked at him with a hint of sadness and happiness. She took a few steps forward, and he saw the cross around her neck. She suddenly ran forward and threw her arms around him. He hugged her and spun her around once, crying softly. He set her down and she looked up at him.

He didn’t know what to do other than turn away and try to stalk off back into the house.

She grabbed his arm and stopped him, forcing him to turn back towards her. She kissed him. He kissed her back wrapping his arms around her and crying at the same time. A few tears fell from her own eyes. She pushed him gently to the ground, and broke the kiss. He hugged her tightly, doing nothing more but being content in simply being there with her. She rested her head on his chest.

“I love you, Azrael.” He said in nothing but a whisper, running one hand through her hair and holding her close as they lay there amongst the flowers. They were the same type of flowers that had been in the realm of her creators.

“I love you too, Loki,” she replied, and ran her fingertips over his cheek. He knew she meant it. “I always have and will.”

“If I would have known all this time that you had, if it hadn’t been for the Powers I would have---“

“I know,” she said, cutting him off. “I don’t want you to suffer, Loki. There is someone out there who can ease your pain now. I’ve felt of their creation. Be free…” She said to her son brushing his white hair out of his eyes.

“I always will, Azrael, love you,” he said softly. "Good luck to you, on your thread of fate. I will see you again, at the end of it all." He kissed her cheek, and she vanished from sight. He slowly fell asleep in the field of flowers.

Ravelyn opened her eyes on the deck of the Hathertwaite, looking out to the fields below. Real tears had flowed from her eyes and she wiped them away, letting the breeze dry the remnants.

A hand gently placed itself on her shoulder. “Is Qui going to be ok?” Tere said quietly.

"Yes," she said softly. "And no."

Tere gently moved behind Rave and held her. “I see.” he said as he leant his head against hers. “You love him too though, right? It’s still mutual in a way, because your essences intertwined before you were bound by your bodies here.”

"Yes," she said quietly. "the Powers sepated us for eternity. We knew long ago it was impossible for us to be together, not just because of the standards of the society created by humanity. We are forbidden to be together. I can fall in love with another, but he cannot."

“So you are with me and he forever pines for you.” He sighed and kissed Rave’s head. “Perhaps you should be with him, once. Allow him that memory perhaps.”

"We can't," she said, stifiling the sobs in her throat. "It would mean his death." She turned to Tere, and hugged him strongly.

Tere held her, a single tear running down his cheek as he placed his arms in a loop around the small of her back.

She hugged him tightly, and cried into his chest.

Sanders was standing just inside the bay. “I… I’m sorry.” she whispered to the couple as she stood up. “I… didn’t know.”

"You... don't owe me the apology," Ravelyn said with her back towards Sanders, and she did not turn around.

“You’re right. I don’t. I owe it to Qui, but I can’t reach him…”

"Maybe that is for the best," Ravelyn said turning around, her crimson eyes engulfing the girl. She wasn't angry, but disapproving. He had never needed any more pain then he already had to deal with.

“Maybe…” Sanders said, her eyes downcast. “I still want to apologise.”

"I can't take you there," Ravelyn said softly.

“I could though…” Tere said quietly.

Ravelyn nodded to Tere.

She slipped a platinum and emerald ring off of her finger, and gave it to Tere. She nodded, biting her lip slightly, and turned away from the two.

Tere held his hand out to Sanders.

Sanders looked at him, then Ravelyn, and took his hand.

Suddenly the world around them changed into shadows. “What… what is this?”

“The twilight.” Tere said simply. “Don’t let go of my hand or you’ll be consumed by it.”

Sanders merely nodded as they walked along. Eventually he saw flowers and brought her out of the Twilight.

“Hello Qui.” Sanders said softly.

Qui shot up from his sleep amongst the flower and was confused for a split second before her got up. "What the hell are you doing here..." he said coldly, but in no more than a whisper. This was his home.

“I… I’m sorry.” She said, shaking a little. “I just wanted to see you, to apologise for what I said to you, I didn’t realise, it was… wrong of me to say those things. I just wanted to say how sorry I am.”

"Forget about it..." he said, standing up completely. He was a good amount taller than her.

“I couldn’t, not after hearing Terefedel and Ravelyn talking, I… felt so bad.”

"I don't need your pity," he said, turning back into ice again. He stood by the cross, and looked across the garden at her.

“It’s not pity.” She said quietly. “It’s, feeling bad about insulting someone without knowing all the facts.”

Terefedel had leant against a wall in the garden and merely looked down at the flowers.

"Well now you know," he said. "Please leave me."

“I know how you feel…” she said quietly, “Forever wanting someone and yet never getting them because of circumstance. It’s the story of my life.”

"Except I have an eternity of it, and you get to go to heaven," he whispered quietly. "Please just leave me in peace." He still felt the warmth of her lips upon his.

“I don’t know if I want to…” she replied quietly. “I’ve always thought about joining the Dark Angels to live forever in the hope that I may come across that person.”

"Then do it," he said, and began to light up a cigarette.

“Bite me then.” she said.

"What?" he said, looking up to her.

“I want you to do it.” she said, her voice steady.

"You don't know what you are asking for," Quissera said, shaking his head. "Shentavo are a different breed than what your used to. I'm not ready to sire another."

“I think I do.” She replied. “I… want to shoulder some of your pain, to feel it, to understand.”

"I'm not the one to do it," he said softly. "And it's not just my decision; its one of my entire family."

“So get their approval.” she hissed quietly.

He pushed her away. "Leave me."

“Fine.” She said, and moved away to near to Terefedel.

“Quite finished?” Tere asked, looking her up and down.

“Yes.” she said quietly.

“Good. That was beginning to get embarrassing.” he snapped at her. “Qui.”

Quissera's eyes flashed towards Terefedel. He understood Sanders wouldn't be able to get there without him. What did he want? "Tere..." he said in the same tone.

“I know what happened between you and Azreal.” he said, using her true name boldly where he had before used it hesitantly. “I brought her here to apologize, I didn’t expect her to turn it into such a spectacle.”

"Understandable," he said openly. "You have something for me..." he trailed off. He was as good as sensing thoughts as the counterpart which stood before him.

“I do.” he said, his voice softening. He held his hand out to him.

He took a few steps forward towards Tere, his crisp white shirt blown open from the ocean breeze. His white hair was also swayed, but it wasn't long enough to be any sort of bother. He took the emerald ring from Tere's hand. A tear fell on the major's hand, and he turned away from him. "If you hurt her in any way shape or form...I believe the rest goes without saying," he whispered as he gripped the ring tightly.

Tere did something unexpected. He placed a hand on Qui’s shoulder and leant close to him. “She will always love you more than me, Qui. But she knows she is forbidden from loving you the way she wants to. I won‘t hurt her because I love her. Look after her when she dies though, ok?” With that he turned, took Sanders’ hand and vanished into the Twilight.

Quissera looked at the ring in his hand, and walked inside of his house. He went upstairs to his bedroom, opened a small box. It was a small platinum chain that rested inside. He picked it up and slid the ring on it, then clasped it around his neck. I will see you at the end, Terefedel… he communicated, even through the Twilight. ...and thank you.

In Darkness and in Light. Quisserra. Good luck.

Tere and Sanders re-appeared in the Hathertwaite’s viewing platform. Sanders moved out of the room immediately, tears streaming down her face. Tere took Ravelyn in his arms and kissed her.

"What happened?" she asked, kissing Tere back but not failing to notice Sanders' tears.

“She asked to become a Vampire, and to get Qui to do it.” Tere said quietly. “I think she’s smitten with Qui because she sees something of herself in him.”

"Qui can't make anyone a vampire without the family's consent. Being of our blood isn't the same as what she's been around. She wouldn't even be able to eat food."

"It's a terrible time for him to be asked," she sighed heavily. "He had his own path of fate he began today. He can't turn back."

“I don’t think she cares about that.” Tere replied. “She just wants to be like him so he’ll talk to her more.”

“I know, I know. It all leads to the end.”

She held him tightly, and closed her eyes as she rested on his chest.

“I’m going to be gone a short while.” Tere said. “There’s something I need to ask the Librarian, talk to Sanders, please?”

"In a bit," Ravelyn said, curling up on top of Tere. "The girl needs to calm down first." With that, the angel fell asleep.

He sighed and gently put Ravelyn onto the bed properly. He got up and moved over to a wooden door and opened it, before jumping through it.

He placed the book onto the table which groaned again under protest and opened the book. A white haired one winged angel stared back at him. It was Qui.

“So, what is your purpose, void angel…” he said with a sigh. “What are you going to do to Ravelyn?”

He began to read.

There was a picture of a seraphim on a throne surrounded by total darkness. Figures shifted in and out of the darkness. Underneath it read. "Quissera, or 'Loki' in the higher realms presides over the Twilight. He was created too keep it in balance, and gains strength from those who fade into the twilight. He had no control to stop the twilight from taking someone, but can inflict it's wrath upon others who enter. He is most famous for dragging people into the twilight to kill him, for he is not bound by any rule there. Part of this excessive freedom comes from his suffering from being separated from his counterpart; Azrael, in several different ways.

“Hrm.” He turned the page. “So..” He sighed and looked through his past, his past abilities, his relationships, anything to do with him as a person.

Halfway down the page it read, "A good century after his birth, Quissera took it upon himself to kill his father; Daja Desuray. While Azrael often claimed to have done it to save Loki from having to deal with Daja's other kin, Loki was the soul destroyer of one of the first vampires of creation.' Further down the page--- "Quissera's strength's lie within his broadsword and superior manavex abilities. He is able to adapt to any type of magic and absorb it. Within his realm of Twilight he can return the amount spend with exponential power. He does, however, have superior control over lighting and the storms, which had been rumoured to come from his inner turmoil.

A few pages more ahead. "---seeking comfort in others, but never able to find it."

"There comes a point in time where he will strip himself of his cross Divine and give Divine to Azrael. As she wears the cross it is a symbol of what he will bear for the sake of his love. She chooses to wear it at his request as he had contrived to bare the burden of her charge."

He flicked the page over, feeling he was close to an answer now, his breathe had quickened….

At the bottom of the page lay his answer. "---and upon the death of Azrael, he takes upon her cross to bare as well as his own, and becomes of both the Throne and of Death."

“So what does she become…” he whispered. He was tempted to look in her book also.

Tere sighed, and went back to the door and opened it back out into their quarters, he closed the door and lay on the bed beside Ravelyn, turned over, and placed his arms around her.

She snuggled into his arms. "Where'd you go?" she murmured.

“Just to double check my fate, re-read the happy ending.” he muttered back.

She smiled, and felt his cool touch along her back. "...glad your back now." she said softly.

“I’m glad to be back with you.” he whispered as he kissed her neck gently.

"I'm glad your here," she responded, turned around and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around him. I'm glad you understand me…

Heruss coughed lightly as he looked down at the book and smiled. Rather than any writing it showed a window, the two of them in the bed gently whispering to each other like lovers do at night. He felt some arms wrap around him and somebody kiss his cheek. “Don’t they make a cute couple?” Kristian said with a sigh. “Like us when we first met.”

“I think I understand them both a bit better now…” Heruss said as he looked up and kissed Kristian.

“How so?” He asked as he nuzzled Heruss’ neck.

“They’re both on their own paths, which bisect. From what I can tell they’ll bisect for a long while, I’m just worried about the uncertainty that Rave’s death will bring.”

Kristian sighed. “A century… How will Terefedel react?”

“I don’t know, that’s what worries me, he’s vowed to be by her side wherever she goes, that may mean in her death also.”
Rave Shentavo
18-02-2008, 14:20
Quissera sharpened his broadsword by hand as the pot boiled. He had sharpened the blade for so long that the blade was as sharp as a scalpel. He set it down, took a needle, and dipped it into the pot. He sat down next to it on a chair, and with the black liquid on the tip of the pin, he began the outline of something on his hand. It was a painstaking process not having a machine, but it had to be done this way. He wanted to do it this way anyway. He hummed a song under his breath, and even at that he had a good voice. It was quite surprising for one would not think of him as one to sing, but his voice was angelic nonetheless. When he was done with the cross on his hand, he wrapped it in white linen and tied it off so it would heal.

He touched the ring that hung around his neck. It was all the conviction he needed to continue with his preparations.

Ravelyn had woken up before Tere, and slipped from bed. She turned on the shower and stepped in. She felt the hot water hit her back and run through her feathers. She leant her head back and closed her eyes letting the warmth consume her. She wanted to cry but she was far too strong a woman to cry again. It would be a dishonor. She hadn’t taken the cross off even when she went into the shower, and it felt warm on her skin. Her aura; a white cloud with silver wisps weaving in and out of it. Her hair had gotten quite long and now hit the small of her back. She contemplated cutting it a bit, but decided against it. She let her self get lost in the sensation of the hot water rolling over her skin.

Quissera started on his other hand when he felt a few droplets of warm water trickle down his chest from where the cross used to hand which was now replaced with the ring. He wiped the small droplets away, and continued without any change in facial expression.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her midsection. She dried her hair and rummaged through her things which were mixed in with Tere’s. She put on her DA uniform which had been washed of all the blood, finally. She laced up the boots, then put her trench coat on and stretched her wings out behind her which released the clinging droplets of water from her feathers. She walked back to Tere who was still sleeping. She sat bedside to him, simply watching him sleep.
Midlonia
19-02-2008, 00:16
“So, why we heading to The Commonwealth now of all times?” Kristian said as he turned over and looked up at Heruss, who was standing looking out of the viewing port of their quarters wearing nothing but boxer shorts, various scars marred his body, as they did Kristians. Both had fought enemies for a long time and it had taken their toll.

“I need to speak with Clodius.” Heruss said simply. “He needs to be made aware of what’s going on, and why we’re going wrong. I expect it will anger him greatly.”

Kristian ran a hand through his hair and sat up, pulling the covers with him. “He’d probably eat you given half the chance…”

Heruss merely looked over his shoulder at Kristian and gave him a lop sided grin. His eyes however were troubled.

Kristian sighed, got up, using the thin bed sheet as a cloak and stood behind Heruss, wrapping his arms around him as he did so. “You should really try to show a little more emotion at times Asopher, more like when you’re with me.”

Heruss sighed and leant back into Kristian’s arms. “I can’t, it’s not proper. I have to be a leader and they can’t be seen to be troubled.”

“So I have to be the emotional façade?” Kristian replied glumly, gently biting Heruss shoulder, before moving up to his neck and sinking his fangs in properly.

Heruss simply gave out a little cry as he closed his eyes.

“Should warn me of that…” he said quietly as he turned around to Kristian and suddenly bit him also, shoving him down onto the bed while he did so. Kristian gave out a moan and a giggle.

The door knocked hard, sighing with frustration and kissing the wound shut he got up off of Kristian and went to the door. “Yes?” He said wearily.

“Sorry sir, wakeup call and your breakfast.” The unsired at the door said.

“Fine, wheel it in.” Heruss said with a sigh.

The unsired wheeled the small cart in, on it was blood sausage, eggs, a pot of steaming tea and various other bits and pieces, he bowed and left.

“Well…” Kristian said as he got out of bed and drew the cart closer. “There’s no rest for the wicked, and there’s no reason to not show a sliver of emotion every so often.”

Heruss merely sighed and sat down on the bed with him and started tucking into breakfast.

--------------

“I thought I was the one that stayed up looking at you sleep.” Tere murmured as he opened his eyes a little, looking up at Ravelyn sitting above him.

"What?" she asked suprised. She sighed softly, more to get air in her chest then comment on a specific thing or annoyance. "Did you sleep well?"

“Like the grave.” Tere said, stretching and rubbing his hand up one of Rave’s arms. “We must be about there by now too…”

"About where?" she asked.

“The Commonwealth.” He said, sitting up gently and looking towards the wall furthest away from them. “Open!” he commanded levelly. Part of the wall slid away revealing a window, below them was the city of Navarre…

The city of Navarre stretched out below, massive and unending, from one mountainous horizon to the other. A city of two billion souls spread over an area that could have swallowed the mother country whole. Gothic and gargantuan in equal measure, soaring modern glass and steel skyscrapers rose amidst traditional old Midlonian brick and parks the size of small towns, cascading over the levels at the foot of the mountains to the shores of the Basin, the busiest sealane in the world. Once the jewel of an expansive empire, beneath the hot and unyielding sun it was a sea of bronze and gold to the airborne viewer, futuristic grav craft and airships intermingling with more traditional aircraft that flew around them as the Hatherwaite flew in.

The Hathertwaite began to descend steadily, clouds and other craft flicking past the window as they got lower and lower in altitude. Tere had gotten out of the bed and was putting his cloak and boots on. “Impressive, huh?” He said to Rave quietly.

"Very," she said. She had already been dressed, and took the time to tend to her wings as she looked out through the window.

There was a sharp couple of taps at the door and it opened. Heruss was standing there, as ever in his greatcoat and peaked cap, his sword was slung over his back. “Nearly ready?” he asked, looking at them both.

“Nearly..” Tere said as the chains clinked as he pulled the top of the rusty-red robes over his head. His sword appeared on his back, causing him to jump a little startled before looking over his shoulder. “Urhm… right, ok. So random change of clothes and now apparently I can summon my sword…”

Two aerospace fighters of the Freestian Aerospace Force soared past at a distance, wrapping their contrails around the huge ship. Below, the massive quays and drydocks of the Navarre Naval Base strectched out beneath them, gravity powered space frigates alongside their traditional steel sisters at the quayside. A series of short telemetry bursts let the Hatherthwaite see its intended landing spot.

“You know what? That doesn’t actually bother me any more, I think my own life has taken enough of a shift to not phase me any more…”

The ship stopped and touched down with a heavy “thunk” Freestian Personnel moved around the craft, still antlike despite the Hathertwaite landing.

“There once was a time when we could go right up to the Spire without all of this nonsense…” Heruss remarked idly.

“Yes, and then we set the docklands alight.” Tere finished with a slight grin. “So, ready to go see Clodius, Ravelyn?”

"Oh, I quite liked him last time we met," she said somewhat to herself. Her hair hadn't dried yet however. She used a bit of 'heat', to evaporate the droplets that still clung to each strand. She folded her wings behind her back.

“Yes, well, this is pretty much his home.” Tere said as he stretched his neck a little. “This visit is a tiny bit unexpected however, so he’ll probably be a little edgy…”
Several Royal Navy VTOL rigs sat on the same platform, ready for the disembarking guests with prim and proper, eager-to-salute officers manning them. They welcomed their guests aboard with polite haste. The nature of the call in advance of them rather ensuring speed was of vital importance.

Only one shuttle was really needed as the party of four descended from the ship, the rest of the vampires and assorted personnel were busy sorting out still some repairs to the ship that hadn’t been seen to since the Anno Domini attack earlier on.

The craft soon departed, the interior, clean but obviously designed with functionality over form meant a smooth but noisy ride for the Midlonians as the shuttle rose, its massive turbines fighting and winning against gravity as it soared over the base and towards Navarrok.

“Always hated these things.” Kristian yelled to Heruss who merely nodded. Kristian gave a grin to Rave and Tere.

Ravelyn had long since blocked out the noice with the multiple whispers in her head. She leaned against Tere.

The craft, though fast, still took a while to complete its journey, relative to the size of the city itself. The few viewports showed the passing scenery, the Whitestone mountains in the distance a mere purple haze, and waves of red and silver filled the intermittent space. Only after a good half hour did the craft suddenly slow and begin to loose altitude, the engine mountings switching again as the transport moved into land.

As the engines whined down Heruss muttered “Finally” before rather impatiently got up and moved towards the back of the craft, waiting for it to open.

The ramp dropped, and the sunlight flooded the scene for a moment as eyes adjusted. The party was lead out by the crew, almost without word, into the open.

Tere took a deep breath at the scents that filled the air. They were in the gardens of the Spire. “Wow,” he said as his eyes finally adjusted. “Looks nicer than last time.”

The gardens stretched for literal miles, filled with statues and monuments and fountains, all crafted in the spartan style much favoured here. The Spire itself soared before them, massive, unyielding, ancient, its tip high enough to penetrate the clouds far above. The pinnacle topped a mile and a half straight up. Before it sat the statue of the Guardian, a massive draconic figure.

Ravelyn smiled as the sunlight hit her. For a moment, it made her forget everything. She wanted to curl up in it, then remembered why they were here. Just why were they here? She looked at Tere, then to Heruss. She supposed anywhere besides Tere's nation would be safer for her. But was it her they wanted to protect?

And in front of them stood their welcoming commitee. Just a person, flanked by two black statues of two huge dragon like figures that glittered in the sunlight. It was Celiana, the Priestess of the Reverence, smiling with her staff, memories of their previous encounters less bitter than the experiences themselves would suggest. Her ivory hair flicked in the wind softly, her staff glowed brightly with unnatural light.

"Welcome, Heruss, Terefedel, its been a while. And your companion, Miss Shentavo I believe? Welcome to the Spire."

Heruss got onto one knee and bowed his head, Tere and Kristian following suit soon after. “Priestess, thank you for allowing me an audience at such a short notice, and yes. It has been a century or more since our last encounter.” Heruss said.

Ravelyn nodded in recognition of her name, and shifted her black wings behind her silently. She needed to get used to the climate here, certainly, and more so sort out the sound which rushed through her mind.

"It is no problem. We all suffered at his hand. Come with me. Clodius is inside." She turned, her light robes swishing as she did so. The statues...followed. Massive yet graceful, the huge creatures turned and followed with a wide stance, their massive halbreds in their hands held high. Black onyx armour glistened in the harsh sunlight, and membranic wings that could embarrass a fighter jet lay folded against their bodies. Their footsteps echoed, and bent down their forms echoed the massive statue of the Guardian that now sat straight above them, providing welcome shade.

Terefedel didn’t seem to be too bothered by the much warmer, almost tropical climate they were in, he looked to Ravelyn. “You ok?” He asked.

"Mmmhmm," she murmuered. In actuality, she liked this climate a lot better. She slipped her hand into Tere's. The sunlight hit her cross around her neck and the platinum gleamed.

The party walked beyond the statue slowly, and came to the open main doors of the Spire. Another massive set of stone walls and buttress guarded by stone gargoyles the size of houses occupied the area, and inside was similar as they passed the threshold. Light poured in from god-knows-where as they walked the corridor into the Hall of the Ancients itself.
Midlonia
19-02-2008, 01:38
"I remember quite well time you came here with less than honourable intentions." Celiana said, slowly, as they entered.

“I also remember we made a bit of a mess too.” Tere said quietly.

“I do apologise for it. Had I known earlier of His intentions…” Heruss began.

"Time heals." She said, without bitterness, her words framed by the footsteps of the armoured giants. They came to a halt before another of the reptilian monstrosities. Bigger this time, a dull brown scaled colour, armoured lightly to his black clad fellows. It spoke slowly through teeth the size of bayonets.

"Welcome to my home." Clodius said, his huge blue eyes looking down from twice the Midlonian's height.

Ravelyn blinked several times.

"I take it Tere did not tell you what to expect."

“Whups…” Tere whispered.

“Hail to you, Warlord Clodius.” Heruss said with a slight bow.

"I welcome you back, in my capacity as Lord of Navarrok and the leader of my people I welcome all three of you to the Spire of Navarrok, the spiritual home of my people."

"Showy." Grinned Celiana next to him, her fangs glistening.

They really don't tell me anything… she said silently.

"It can be offputting..." The giant draconic said, stretching his wings out to their general span, fifty feet from one tip to the other.

Ravelyn looked at Celiana and smiled, flashing her own double set of fangs.

Sorry, sorry Tere said back to her. It, well. Things with Qui and this kind of slipped my mind. Heruss thinks there’s something of His here, so we’re here to find it.

"Not really," she said hesitantly. "About one thousand years ago I was involved with a draconic..."

Clodius chuckled, a rather guttural sound that caused his teeth to clatter and his wings to fan. "A brave one I see. I'm sure Tere will entertain you sometime with stories from our mutual past...nonetheless. There are urgent matters afoot. You wanted to see me urgently Heruss. I assume Franz is still looking to come back?"

“The situation is grave.” Heruss replied, nodding somberly. “I don’t know if I can share all the details here with your kin though…” he trailed off, looking around at the other Vampires.

"Celiana was Franz's prisoner for eight years, my Titans are my most loyal soldiers. I would trust them to die a thousand times over than even entertain the slightest whispers of doubt." Clodius turned said slowly, as if almost offended.

“My apologies, but these things may even test their beliefs, aside from the Priestess, obviously.” Heruss bowed his head again.

"Please, Clodius," Ravelyn said in her sweet voice. She looked up to him with her scarlet eyes. There was more feeling in her appearance than her words, as was most often the case.

Clodius sighed, a long deep breathe. "Fine." He looked up at the black guards. "Go, for the moment, take no insult. I shall inform when things are set." The Titans gave no acknowledgement save to turn and walk slowly away, their heavy footsteps clanging against the marble floor.

“Thank you, Clodius, I know that was a hard thing for you to do…” Heruss said quietly.

"Hard is an understatement. This better be good." All traces of friendliness had dissappeared from his voice. "Well?"

“Franz will not need our armies to do his fighting for him this time, it appears.” Heruss began. “He has formed his own, he has also appeared to several of us, apparently strong each time with no corporeal body. And… His uniform and sword are gone.”

"What?" Clodius raised on his huge hind legs, his head soaring above them. "What the hell...I thought you were guarding the artifacts..."

“We were, but they have found stronger ways to induce time shifting, when they do so the vaults containing his artefacts are found and they simply break in using powerful magic, the barriers I put in there are apparently, useless.” He sighed in frustration. “We’re loosing.”

"Losing..." Clodius let out a roar that echoed across the hall. Hands the size of children's sleds gripped his long face. "The time shifting...."

"So now..." He continued after a silent moment. "What is he doing? And what do you mean he has an army without you?"

“His army. Is of the undead.” His voice had lowered to a whisper, despite Clodius’ roar. “Not like I, or Tere, but of all the dead from all the wars he has caused, from all the creatures we have killed when He walked the earth last. He doesn‘t need us, or the House of Svard, he has his own to use as he sees fit.”

"....Oh." He said. "You know what," he paused, "I believe you. You've just said something absolutely insane and unbelievable to me, and I believe it." He started to pace, his tail swooping above the Midlonian party's head as he turned. Celiana just looked away, her grip on the staff tightening.

"Wait...everyone he killed?"

“No. Not personally. Everyone killed during his wars. And before that. We have all encountered various mages from long before the Cataclysm that caused magic to dissipate from our lands.”

Clodius just stared over his shoulder. His foot claws gripped into the stone beneath, slicing the marble like butter. "Heruss. Let me explain something. 24 million people died in the last war alone. If he is able to manipulate those sorts of numbers we're talking an all out conflict here."

“Yes. It will be. Infact, so far as we can tell, it already is. He has so far commanded forces that have attacked Porphyria, The Hathertwaite, and the Midlonian-run island of Pushan. All with decent sized forces. He also has at his disposal at least one NightGale in the Library of all, destroying whatever information relating to Him it can find.”

"Well I am glad to see you keeping on top of things..." He said without any tone in his voice whatsoever. "So have you got any plan formed or?"

“They can attack anywhere at any time, Clodius, how can you prepare for that? I have warned the Supreme Commander several times of this coming threat but he is a highly busy man and doesn’t believe in Ghost Stories.” Heruss replied, levelly.

A cackling laugh echoed around the Spire before suddenly cutting off.

“Even now He can watch us…”

Clodius dropped to all fours, his massive head lurching from direction to another. Celiana gripped her staff, the light now almost washing her arms in flame. The Titans turned from their sentry position, theuir armoured forms gripping their halbreds as they closed back on the group. And through it Clodius yelled. "Where the hell..."

Tere frowned, then drew his sword and vanished in front of them all. He appeared a few seconds later further along the hall with a writhing screaming figure on the end of the sword, it buried right through him, with a scream he rammed it into a column, pinning the figure in place. He took gasping breathes. “Bastard. Using. Twilight.”

"Next time take me with you," she growled at him. "You know what happened last time we went into the twilight. You aren't facing that alone." Her cross shimmered in the light that sifted in through the window.

“I’m sorry.” Tere said as he took another breathe “I just did it on impulse.”

"Yes," she said firmly. "I know. Next time you have to think enough to not go to the twilight by yourself."

"Randomly stabbing things in the chest?" He turned his head at the writhing figure. "What,....who is that?"
"It's Anno Domini," Ravelyn said softly. "Work for Franz...long story. But they are not our allies..."

"Well...no shit Rave my dear....unless your boyfriend is the very jealous type..."

A portal suddenly burst into brilliant purple light behind Ravelyn, a figure leapt out of it and grabbed hold of her. “Got you key!” The figure yelled into her ear.

She summoned her armor instinctively. Adamantine metal wrapped up her figure, up to her thigh, stopping at her hips. Gauntlets around the chains which hung from her wrists formed, and the metal shards spread out throughout the feathers of her wings, pushing backwards and cutting the figure behind her. She reached behind her and summoned her scythe directly across the attacker's body, slicing halfway through the pawn. She turned and jumped on top of him, igniting him in a green flame. With a quick movement of her scythe, the pin broke, and the man was reduced to smoldering remains upon the ground.

She took in a breath.

"They know I'm here as well it seems," she said a bit shaken. She hadn't even sensed the AD.

"Smooth." The armoured reptilian giant swung his head, scanning the room over and over. "Celiana?" He called, but the humanform vampire seemed almost gone, her eyes closed, her staff burning.

“Priestess!” Heruss said sharply as more portals began to open in the hall. “Oh christ, Clodius! Get your brothers ready!”

She looked at Clodius. Her ethereal wings paralleled her physical ones in red wisps of light. Ravelyn walked over to Tere and grabbed him by the ear. "Don't do it again..." she said, and continued. "Hear me?"

The warning was as redundant as it could be, the massive titans already reacting. The first out of the portal only having the chance to look up as one of the guards brought his massive armoured foot down upon him, smashing the helpless figure into paste against the floor.

"Destroy their badges..." Ravelyn called out as she just nicked one of them with her scythe, but the badge broke, and the figure fell.

“Look, it was a spur of the moment thing!” Tere said as he took out the sword from the figure, then promptly stabbed him back into the wall with a blade pistol. “I thought that I could do it quickly and there’d be no harm.” He smashed a swordsman in the face before ramming is sword through the pin.

Obviously the figure's badge had been pulverised, but the advice was heeded even as Clodius joined the fray. His first opponent was picked up on his talons and thrown against the opposing thwall so hard the stone indented, and the badge pulverised with the body. His tail lashed out, a spiked abomination on its end impaling and slashing through the attackers, clipping and smashing.

Heruss and Kristian had leapt into battle almost in tandem, both had their swords out and were fighting back to back. Both grabbing the other when jumping to kick back other attackers when they were already dealing with one combatent. “Been a while since we actually had proper fun together!” Kristian remarked as he clipped a pin, shattering it.

"You can't go into the twilight alone!" she growled back as she used her wings to lift her up in the air and sent a rain of hellfire down upon three, breaking their pins as well as liquifying one of their weapons. "It's dangerous without Qui watching it anymore..."
“How is that any more dangerous to what it was like earlier?” Tere said as he pulled out another blade pistol and shot a pair of figures in the chest, knocking them back. “It’s the same realm!”

More were flooding in, several people in blue cloaks had appeared carrying staffs themselves, lashing out at various Titans with fire and lightning.

Clodius almost seemed to be enjoying himself as he drew his massive scimitar, the weapon longer than Tere was tall and weighed the same as a man. The blade flicked with sheer brutality, no fancy blocks or parries as the sheer bulk of the blade passed through the ranks of the AD with little effort. One of the black titans roared as a lucky blade found its way through, but the hapless opponent found himself thrown into the air within the massive jaws of the fighter, the badge crushed along with the feeble body.

"He's not watching over it. It allows for more shades to enter, as well as other people. Last time we were there Garu was able to break through. DO NOT DO IT AGAIN. YOU HEAR?" She said as she shifted in front of him, decapitating his opponent before slicing the pin in two.

Celiana opened her eyes as the mages appeared. "No." She said in a whisper. Flames swirled around her as she walked, covering anything close to her in unbearable heat. Flames shot out against the mages with terrifying power behind them, weaving between friends and incinerating foes.

“And? It means it’s the same danger with or without him!” Tere said as he traded a series of blows with a gas mask wearing vampire.

She looked at the individuals in blue hoods. Looks like they are for me... she said, and leapt in the air, above all of them with her wings spread out entirely. "Hey priestess," Ravelyn yelled to her. "Got a light..." She held out her scythe as she began to draw the hellfire up within her.

"It means its even more. For God's sake listen to me!"

Celiana looked up. "Always." Clodius meanwhile reached the side of his wounded brother, protecting the limp vampire as they both tore into the sword heavy foes. Then something made him almost stop, the sight of rising pale, hulking humanoids....Freestian ghouls. "Holy..." He muttered, the figure grapsing the edge of his blade before the huge draconic raised his arm back and tore the figure in two,

Ravelyn smiled as Celiana's fire struck upon her scythe. It travelled up her body, and ignited her ethereal wings which beat in sync with her physical ones. She spun her scythe and drew the broken soul up from one of the bodies below. "Burn..." she muttered as the essence ignited in hellfire, and spread out to the blue robed figures.The fire intensified upon impact...and Azrael's instincts started to take over.

“Considering the situation we’re in now, and the fact that I’ve been fighting unknown threats my entire existence.” Tere said as he traded another series of blows with the same gas masked figure. “Do you honestly think I am completely unable to do things myself even if they are dangerous?”

What had started out with a single figure was now turning into a massed attack, figures from all eras were appearing in groups, men from the First Moonstone war, the second, right down to the fairly recent and disastrous “War of Reclimation.” Heavy machine gun teams were appearing, firing bursts at the titans before being crushed.

"Yes," she shouted back. "You forget your dating the seraphic of death, and because of that...more danger for you. " sheilded herself with her wings to stop the bullets from reaching her body.

"Damn it!" Clodius roared as a spear entered his side, snapping against the fused plate beneath the skin. "Get outside. Harrendis!" He called, the fit Titan turning momentarily in a flurry. "Get outside, get the yeomanry and Sisters here now!" The titan nodded, bullets pinging off the thick plate that protected his body, round holes flicking through the wings though, stinging without real damage.

On it sir!" He roared back, turning with impressive agility for such a creature and powering for the door with the literal force of a locomotive,

“I’ve already been living with death all my life Ravelyn,” He said as he turned from the gas masked figure to look at her standing next to her, “How do you-”

“Hrm!” The gas masked figure said, getting their attention as he waved his hand, then pulled his gasmask off. “Sorry, but shall I go wait over there while you two sort out your relationship issues?”

They both looked at each other, then at him, and promptly both their weapons tore him in two, lengthways.

Another portal expanded, far bigger this time. Something dark, pale, and giant dropped through. Clodius and Celiana recoiled in horror at what emerged.

"Its been a while, Clo." Tyras muttered as he rose, his massive armoured form scratched and aged.

Something pierced through her stomach. She looked down and saw the end of a dagger and the crimson. Ravelyn cried out, and turned, ripping the dagger farther through her before she could break the pin. She took out the dagger, jumped on top of Tere, and bit him.

Tere fell to the ground as Ravelyn fell ontop of him, sinking her fangs further into his neck. “Dammit Azreal!” he yelled. “Warn me next time you’re going to do that!”

The wound in her stomach closed as she slivered off of him. "I gave you a warning..." she murmured, and looked at the creature which had arrived. Oh more presents for us! "You felt the bite..."

The Domini draconi rose to his full height, pale and broken and yet terrifying still, his sabre burning anew in his hand. "Still the coward..." He smacked some of his humanoid comrades away as he charged at his former companion. Clodius couldn't bring himself to raise his sword against him. "My brother..."

"Clodius, not your brother. Time to catch you up; I devour souls for a living, and, in short, he has none..." she said, bringing herself next to him, though a bit further back. She waved at Tyras with her free hand. "Hello dear."

A blue Blur shot past the frozen Clodius, his sword glowing a gentle golden colour. With a steadily rising yell Heruss leapt at Tyrus.

Tyras merely glanced up at Heruss as the blade sank in. "Really now...did you expect that to work?"

The Domini vampire merely cranked his shoulder, the plate snapping the blade in two and letting the hilt fall out and hit the ground. "Pity. I expected to have to try."

"You know it's rude not to introduce yourself," she continued, looking a bit forlorn and still staring at the figure.

Tyras looked up. "Ah yes. I was told about you. In good time my dear."

Heruss’ face drained of colour completely, he leapt away as a giant clawing set of talons came for him. “Quethenia…” he whispered quietly.

"Good things I hope," she smiled. She looked at Heruss. "Father..." she said softly, summoned a broadsword within her hand. She threw it to him. It was Quissera's sword.

He caught it and swung it a few times and it sang, oh the note it made as the glided through the air, he promptly used it to cleave a suited knight in two. “Good sword…”

Tere walked slowly into Tyras’ sight. His cloak clinking slightly and the white dove clasps gleaming. His sword, now glowing faintly purple. “Hello Tyras. Again.”

Ravelyn was quite upset that he had shown no manners in introduction, and in her anger, she proceeded to hack through anything which got in a general radius of her. "Is it me or is this Tyras fellow kind of boring?" she asked specifically to Heruss.

“He used to be more, talkative,” he killed another anno domini soldier “when I knew him.” Heruss said.

Tyras seemed to forgot momentarily everything else, and the roar he let out as Tere came into sight was absolutely horrific, like the devil himself arose within him. "YOU" The word was spoken with such power the bodies around him trembled. "YOU WILL PAY YOU LITTLE SLAVER BASTARD"

The huge vampire ate up the distance in a heartbeat, blade flying right at Tere with the power of a cannon shot.

"Yeah, they don't make them like they used to," she winked at Heruss, then screamed Tere's name in half in warning, half in horror.

“How’s my brother…” he said quietly, swinging his sword back and forth a couple of times. “I’m sure you and Franz get on a treat.” he then leapt upwards impossibly high, dodging the incoming attack, raking his sword down the armour plating of Tyras’ body and dodging the tail with feline grace as it whipped at him.

Clodius arghed as something penetrated his armour again, another Ghoul that was slammed away on Clo's gauntlets, now bloody and dusty in equal measure. Tyras meanwhile roared again as he saw the Midlonian dodge. But he had learnt. His other arm other arm slashed out, all limbs combining ina flurry of blades and fury.

Ravelyn sliced the ghoul in two, and slapped Clodius upside the head. "Wake the fuck up, Clodius," she growled. "The draconic I knew was a lot better on the field then what you are displaying right now," she said as she deflected another blow. "It's ...not...your...brother."

Clodius just growled at Azrael. "Thanks..." He turned again, but path anew was blocked by new attackers that soon fell to his claws and teeth, only to be replaced by two for every fallen enemy. The gap betwene him and tyras increased...

Tere blocked several of them, before being hit and sent flying, he scraped along the floor before coming to rest against the wall. He leapt up again almost immediately. “You’re not the only one who’s strengthened since we last met!”

“Oh, but how it is….” came a voice as it leapt down at her from the ceiling, brown-blonde hair, and a bloodied mark of the Anno Domini carved into his face. “It’s still very much us.” he hissed as he kicked Ravelyn. “And we keep coming back and back from the shadows every time.”

Tyras meanwhile merely snarled, and charged, bringing his wings up to prevent much of Tere's range of movement. He back the Midlonian against the wall, slowly but surely, using brute power that cause many nearby fallen to be pulverised in the vampire's hatred for Terefedel.


She was knocked back. She gripped the cross around her neck, spitting out some blood. "You aren't welcome here," she growled, and electricity flowed through her body. One of her eyes turned an ice blue. Her voice was taken over. Ah...so we meet again, Garufedel. the voice was deeper, male. Did you enjoy the stay in my realm?

The scythe disappeared. Heruss... his voice flowed throughout Heruss' mind. My sword, please.

Heruss grabbed out a blade pistol, then threw the broadsword back to Ravelyn. He shot another man charging him with a sword and grabbed a Longsword with one hand as the screaming figure fell.

“Oh very much so, LOKI.” he spat. “He enjoyed it to, the power he could draw from that, oh… he said it was like tasting souls.”

He gripped the broadsword mid air, and spun it with the skill of a swordsman who had trained for millenia. Ravelyn certainly could do nothing like that with a sword. "I think you are just bitter you lost. Come on, let's see what you got..."

“Really? That a proper challenge LOKI?”

Terefedel was being forced back against the wall. “I can never loose against you Tyras” he yelled as he found himself against the wall, in desperation he raised both hands as the snarling creature began to open it’s jaws, it’s cleaver sweeping down at him. “NO!” He screamed as his hand suddenly glowed dark purple, a bolt thundered out of his arm, knocking Tyras back, giving him the momentary reprieve to duck under Tyras and run back into the open.

Tyras snarled, his face burnt, the pain nothing but the distraction knocking him off all the same. He coiled round, jaws snapping at Tere's legs. Claws and tail span round again at the fleet target. "Oh, you will lose. And I get the pleasure of showing you broken body to all your comp....ARGH." Tyras snarled as Clodius stepped through the smoke, his own jaws biting through the plate around Tyras' tail. The Domini turned and swiped Clodius across the face, causing the vampire to fall back with dark crimson fluid flowing from gaps int he three inch thick plating.

"Yes, we all know my name is Loki...Come take my soul from me, if you can..." Ravelyn said, and fell through her shadow into the 12th level of twilight.

In the deepest level of twilight, Quissera took on the appearance of himself, leaving body behind. White hair fell over his red eye, and he gripped his broadsword. A ring hung from a platinum chain around his neck, and he was in his own clothes. Lighting roared around him like a ...vortex.

Garu followed him, once again they were standing on that same, cloudy, empty plane of existence, this time though, the mark in Garu’s cheek was glowing fiercely, and his hair had drained in colour to a silvery grey, his own clothing had also changed from that old fashioned military uniform, to the black leather armour of the Dark Angels.

"I will not let you hurt her," Quissera said plainly.

“You won’t have a choice in the matter, only God will.”

"Here..." he laughed. "Here....there is no God." With that, he launched out at Garu with tendrils of lighting in full force.

“GOD IS EVERYWHERE!” Garu yelled as his mark glowed brightly, diving at Qui with his sword mimicking Qui, lightning crackling and sparking up and down the sword.

Quissera's expression didn't change as he threw himself fully onto the sword, and when he got to the hilt, he brought his own down directly upon Garu's left shoulder. "And He left me in charge of this realm...my jurisdiction is all that matters..." the twilight pressed upon Garu's chest.

“And the new Lord has deemed that your jurisdiction is revoked!” He hissed as the mark glowed again, the twilight apparently shying away from him slightly. “And I feel no pain.” He hissed as the sword glowed brightly, elements of the light realm hitting into Qui’s chest. “Call it MAD, mutually assured death!”

Qui closed his eyes, and opened them again when nothing happened. The emerald ring around his neck shone brightly. "Funny, nor do I...and personally, I have always been mad ..." He pulled the sword out from him, and sliced horizontally right for Garu's midsection.

The welt opened across his middle, the uniform ripping. He coughed, then looked up at him. “You said so yourself, the normal rules don’t apply here, and they do not apply to God’s plans!”

"My rules apply,' Qui said in a deep voice. The twilight huddled around Quissera, caressing him. "Feast...." he said, and the twilight burst from his being, forming shades and streaming in a tumultuous storm into Garu and bring his blade around following. "I won't let you lay a hand on her..." he growled under his breath as he shot another blow at Garu. "I won't let you even look at her."

“Argh!” He screamed. “So.” He raised his sword slowly. “Do.” It began to glow brightly. “HIS!” the twilight dispersed around him, cuts and marks covering Garu, black blood flowing slowly like tar from them.

“Oh but I shall, Loki.” he shouted as he slashed at him a few times, attempting to strike the ring. “I shall look upon her dead form and drink from her veins! I shall be of the new Seraphim to rule the realms and you will be turned to dust!”

"Funny...you dellusional vampire. You cannot simply become an angelic. You are created as one, just as much as we can never be human. So dellusional, almost funnny..." he snickered. He was trying to hit the ring, and Qui noticed this. He wouldn't for anything in the world let him do it. Just as his sword got closed, he vanished and materialized behind Garu, and rammed his broadsword at an angle downwards towards his own. "You are not worth the ground she walks on...."

“Yet all I need is her blood to become like her, you foolish, arrogant Seraphim! Our people are not like yours, we can be greater than you, we can be Gods and we can make the rules! We even have the power to destroy your creators at our very finger tips, and I can secure this realm with an Eye of Twilight!”

More tar-like blood was flowing from him now, though he seemed unphased by it, he switched tactics to more defending himself when trading blows than trying to actively get at the ring.

"You think her blood is what will save you from oblivion?" he laughed, and the pressure of the twilight increased on Garu. "I hate to tell you, no no, I would love to tell you, it isn't her blood that makes you strong..." It's her love… he thought to himself as he struck a powerful blow across Garu's face.

He grinned, blood now streaming down his face. “You think her love isn’t in her blood?” he spat. “You can kill me now if you wish, but I will be back for you every time.” He spat in his face.

"Good," he growled with blood smeared across his face. He had received several cuts, but Garu had spend too much time trying to seek out that ring. "Because I'm enjoying this..."Rule number one...don't go to the deepest level of twilight with it's king… he whispered silently, and violently ripped Garu from the twilight, sending him soaring up through the levels regardless of what boundaries lay in his way. Quissera followed, and when he reached the natural realm, Ravelyn's essence took over, and her appearance returned to normal. She placed the broadsword upon her back, and summoned her scythe. She looked around through the various AD.

Quissera looked through his mirror and watched as the scene unfolded. There were several wounds upon his body he had started to tend to, and he was drenched in sweat. "I won't let you harm her..." he repeated softly, and his mucles tensed.

But I’ll still have her after He‘s done… a voice whispered as it faded.

"I don't think that will happen either," Ravelyn said softly to the voice which she had heard. She leaned up against the wall. I don't think any one will have me… she took a minute to rest. Very few AD were approaching her now, and Tere was locked with Tyrus. From the cross on her neck were a few droplets of blood.
Midlonia
20-02-2008, 02:40
Tere turned after entering the larger area of the hall in the Spire, seeing Clodius stagger away, blood streaming from his face he ran back to Tyras. “What is it with you people that can’t stay dead!” he yelled as he sword stabbed a couple of times through the armour plating before scraping along the armour again as he leapt to the side, avoiding a swipe from Tyras’ own weapon.

“It sickens me that such a noble creature I fought not conspires against his own kin, his own brother!” he yelled as he scraped his sword along the armour again as he ran up Tyras’ back.

Tyras merely shrugged, and turned, long and lazy but powerful beyond measure, strength beyond comprehension that let his blades splash throught the stone like water. Every blow Tere landed did little save scratch the alreayd mangled plate.

But Tere was looking for the badges, the mark that was binding Tyras to continued existence here. With another blow he stabbed down at his Tail before diving aside as masonry smashed down onto them both.

"My kin abandoned me long ago, Slaver. You too will know that pain soon enough."

The huge vampire merely roared, weaving, whatever mark well hidden, twisting the massive body around so that the smaller Midlonian had to fight many battles as his opponent closed around him.

“You kin didn’t abandon you, your arrogance blinded you to the overwhelming odds against you, then ran to fight another day, and a day after that, and a day after that!”

Tere leapt and twisted again, this time running underneath Tyras, dodging the beast’s striking hulk and legs as he ran towards the neck.

"Your pitiful breed liked to talk the talk, Tere, I remember well, but when the time came..." The huge fists, each the size of a trashcan, smacked into the crowd, covering both in a volumous dust cloud. "..all you did was hide behind human corpses. You are, and always will be...nothing" He almost whispered through the haze as his tail wiped out, its length allowing its razor sharp peak to cross Tererefedel's chest.

He was sent flying, blood leaking freely from the wound caused by the gash, he rolled through the dust cloud and came to a rest near to some corpses. He sword clanged and skidded next to him. He barely stirred.

Tyras rose in triumph, massive form rising through the smoke, which cleared as he beat his draconic wings down. He moved forward, broken scimitar in hand raised.

"I have waited so long...so long..."

The problem is Tyras. Tere coughed up some blood as he rose slowly. “Is that we talk, to distract.” his arm glowed a deep purple. “We talk to deny you any idea of what we’re really doing.”

His hand rose and a crackling ball of purple hazy energy sat in his hand as he swayed ever so slightly. He leapt at Tyras and rammed his arm outwards as he did so, the ball, fizzling and crackling with energy was sent flying, hitting Tyras in the chest with an enormous force.

Tyras roared like an earthquake, his torso engulfed in flame as his body was thrust back, his massive form catapulted across the floor, the ground cracking and splintering as he landed awkward, his chest smoked and smarted from the blast of energy.

"Ouch," Ravelyn said softly as she watched on. Who was she to interfere? She needed a bit of a rest anyway, and get her bearings straight once more.

Tere was gasping for breathe now as he walked, no, staggered over to the fallen Tyrus. “You were. Always. Blinded by your rage. Tyrus. It’s what makes you. Weak. It’s why. Your kin. Are so strong.” he gasped again and had to lean on his sword for a moment.

"Man up, Tere," she yelled at him, observing the hesitation. She was still giving him hell.

“Shut up.” he snapped at Ravelyn before looking at Tyrus. “You, will. Fail.” he said as he raised his hand again, the same energy crackling and glowing before he flung it at him, and stabbing down at an engraved mark on his body, a tattoo of the Anno Domini’s badge.

Tyras stirred slowly, pititfully slowly, his mouth moved softly. "Not..yet." His eyes opened anew, black beyond colour, his head and body snapped around as the energy hit him...

...and he was gone in a wash of blue that seemed to sink the room in with him.

"Not. Yet."

Tere smiled, turned, raised his sword in front of his face. Then collapsed into a slowly widening pool of his own blood.

Ravelyn dropped to his side. She cursed under her breath and opened a rather large gash on her own neck with her own scythe which then disappeared. She lifted Tere up a bit to set his lips upon the wound. With one hand behind his head, she pressed him to her.

He drank, slowly, in and out of consciousness. “Thank you, my love…” he whispered before falling unconscious completely and went limp in her arms.

She looked down at him, lifted him up and carried him in her arms to the side of the room. It was a great amount of strength for someone her size. She looked to Heruss and made sure that he was all right. "Please step away from the corpses..." she said to every remaining person in the room.

"If you two are finished..." Clodius muttered, coming up behind them, Priestess behind tending to the injured Titan whilst the room slowly began to fill with new arrivals, Ghoul Yeoman and more of the giant draconics, female Sisters of the Spire, there barely distinguishable from the males.

Heruss was swinging the longsword he had picked up back and forth and looking at it. “This is.. The an ancient sword of Porphyria.” he muttered as he placed it carefully through the loops on his uniform. He then looked the the wounded Clodius. “You see what we face?” he asked clearly.

"Clearly..." he muttered, grimacing as he pulled two similar weapons from the muscle of his forearm. "What the hell is going on?"

"Father," She said towards Heruss, a bit agitated as she resummoned her scythe.

"Well, step away and Ravelyn will show you in part..."

Clodius sighed, and acknowledged the instruction. He stepped to the side, ordering through a series of roars to his subordinates the same. "So...show."

Ravelyn nodded towards Heruss, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her wings fanned out to either side, and she began to sing. The eerie song crept through the entire building; carried swiftly by her angelic voice. The souls which rose from the corpses, even the remnants, were visable to all. She didn't know how, or why, but she felt the strength in her churn as she started to manipulate

“Remember how He always sought out items of power?” Heruss said to Clodius, quietly, yet clearly above the sound of Ravelyn doing her work.

"How could any of forget." Celiana offered, stepping forward, dishevelled, staring along witht he rest of the vampires at Rave's ritual.

She inhaled as she felt them become a part of her, and new whispers start. She exhaled steadily in a quiver, as she felt the power ricochete through her body.

“She’s the final piece we believe.” Heruss said pointing to Ravelyn. “She is a Seraphim as well as a Vampire. She has Angelic blood. Holy blood. Godly blood.”

She checked a body to the side whose essence was no longer in tact, and with her gentle words and entrancing voice, the bits of essence slipped through her skin and found a place within her soul. The song continued.

The song died as the souls were sent, and she turned back to Heruss and Clodius, her amber eyes glowing slightly before returning to their natural crimson.

"Oh..." Clodius did a working impression of bemusement for acreature lacking the neecessary facial muscles. "Angelic huh? Don't see much of that about...the final piece to become a god?"

“Here’s the worst part.” Heruss said, looking between Celia and Clodius. “She’s the Seraphim of Death… and Chaos.”

"Azrael," Ravelyn said, cutting in with a calm expression. "Pleasure to meet you again, Clodius."

"Oh, brilliant." Clodius sighed and turned, his tail sweeping behind him. "Just fan-fucking-tastic." He turned back as Ravelyn addressed him. "And a pleasure as always to see you. You make exciting company as always."

"Not scared I'm going to eat your soul?" she questioned, hiding the smirk which would have slipped across her face as she gently poked one of his scales.

"I lost mine long ago, my dear. Excuse me a moment." Roaring slightly he removed with impressive swiftness the heavy plating that adorned his body, now bloody and dusty again, the silvered metal scuffed and scratched. He moved, now almost unadorned, over to his left, and without a whisper transformed.

In seconds, wings had descended, tail coiled, and where once a mighty stood now sat, hunched and kneeled, the nude, scarred and bloodied figure of a muscular human, who rose, back to the Midlonians, seemingly unfazed, bleeding yet proud and resolute.

Heruss nodded to Clodius as he removed his great coat and threw it to him.

It was a joke… she thought to herself, and walked back over to Tere. A small jolt of electricity formed in her hand as she attempted to shock him awake. She looked back at Clodius. Vaughn had been a draconic as well. Something about Clodius reminded her of him. She continued to very gently shock Tere.

"You know," Clodius said, turning to her. "Bed rest might work just as well. And stop staring, you'll give poor Tere nightmares."
"Nothing I haven't seen before," she waved him away. "You are all so strange in what you consider souls. You say you lost yours, yet I see you there. Or perhaps I'm the one who is confused...anyway," she said, and lifted Tere up halfway leaning him against the wall. You can't be serious I'm going to have to carry him all the way to somewhere… She looked at Heruss.

Tere gasped as he woke, his eyes were purple in colour as he looked up to Ravelyn they faded softly back to blue. “God that hurt…” he whispered feebly.

Heruss merely whispered to Clodius. “She may be Seraphim but she acts so…. Human.”

Kristian had appeared, offering Clodius his own blue greatcoat, he was discreetly checking Clodius out behind Heruss’ back.

Ravelyn set Tere down as he woke up. "About time," she whispered softly as he now stood a head taller than her.

Clodius accepted the cover without hesitation. "I'm sure." He smiled, and laughed, genuinely. "Come now, lets head back to mine. Hope you don't mind raw meat, but believe me I need to eat well tonight."

---------------------------------------------

Tere held out his arm as he summoned his sword back into his hand and placed it onto his back. He then padded both sides of his trousers as he looked for his second pistol, found it stuck in the Anno Domini he had pinned against the pillar at the start of the battle, he was now dead. His pin having been shot off. He pulled it out and watched the body slump to the floor before replacing it. “Thank you, Ravelyn.” he said to her with a smile.

"What did I do?" she asked with an oblivious expression.

"I was fading I think." he said as he looked at her. "Tyras was trying to draw me in."

"You refering to me shouting at you?" she asked softly.

He smiled and nudged her playfully. “Your blood, I seem to be gaining a few other little powers similar to yours, I can heal quicker from drinking, and I could cast those… what the heck were those things anyway?”

"I don't know what you were casting, but it certainly was not mine."

“Hrm, must be something wrong with me then…”

"Who knows," she said shrugging. "The whole world seems to be crazy."

“I need some sunlight.” Tere said suddenly. “Some fresh air.”

"Okay, okay..." she said gently, helped him over to the window, and pushed him out. "AS LONG AS YOU NEVER GO INTO THE TWILIGHT WITHOUT ME AGAIN!"

She jumped out after him.

Tere fell onto the ground that was near to the window, they weren’t high up after all.

“That hurt a bit.” Tere said, face down in some grass, his arm pointing upwards.

She pulled him up by his ear. "Understand?"

Tere grabbed her leg and pulled, throwing her off balance.

She hit the ground with a thud. "Ow..."

Tere simply grinned. “Even though I’ve proved I can look after myself?”

"Yes."

“Uh-huh.” Tere said as he vanished, then re-appeared by a statue nearby.

"TERE!" she yelled at him. "Why do you torment me so?!"

“Because you worry too much!” Tere replied as he walked back over to her. “The danger isn’t as significant there as it is in here.”

She summoned her scythe. "I'm going to kill you...then I'll never have to worry... She chased after him.

Tere balked, then drew his own sword. “I could delay his ascension for a century by killing you, then I don’t have to worry so much about your death! And use the Twilight at my leisure!"

She shrieked. "YOU WOULDN'T DARE!"

Their weapons clashed, sparks flying in the sunlight. “I might! You won’t yell at me so much and I can nip in and out of the Twilight whenever I wish!” He leapt away from her, almost playfully.

"Before Loki ripped off your access from it..." she growled, and spun her scythe skillfully cutting a piece of his hair.

Tere stopped and patted his hair. “HEY!” he yelled at her as he looked at the fallen locks. He responded by cutting off a small circular chunk of her faux-leather uniform, on the leg before darting back among the statues.

The sentries looked bemused at the couple fighting. One moved to intervene before being waved down by his superior and pointed to go back to manning his post.

"Get back here," she yelled at him, dove into the air, and shot an actual burst of hellfire at him.

He yelped as it licked his arm. “No!” he called back. “You’ll have to catch me first!”

"Then you'll be running a long time," she called after him as she lit a cigarette and leaned up against a wall and began to smoke.

Tere sighed and appeared in front of her, jumping down out of the sky. “Sorry.” he said to her simply. “How do you feel?”

"Like I want to kill you right now. You don't even see the danger and play with that realm like it's a toy. It can bite back you know..." she took another drag. "And you just make me worry about you even more..."

Tere leant against the wall also. “I’m sorry, Ravelyn. I guess I am on a slight power high.” he sighed and tapped out his own cigarette from a small silver case. “I mean.. look at me now, consider what I was like before…”

"Don't become power oriented..." she said. "It might be a great feeling, but all of it can be taken away in an instant. I was greater before I came to this world. I have never reached the same level since."

“I see…” Tere paused, letting the air rush through the gardens “What was it like there, in the light realm?”

"I was at peace," she said simply. "Happy."

“And now?” He asked, looking at her with concern as one of his eyes hazed purple again for a moment before he blinked it away.

"You really think I can be fully happy when I have what I do within me; while I wear these chains," she said raising her wrists.

“No…” Tere sighed as he leant back against the wall and looked up at the sky. “Though if there was a way to shoulder your pain Azreal. I’d do it for you, to make you gain more happiness by taking away the sorrow.”

"Comes with the job description," she said cynnically, and then sighed. "I need to rest."

Tere simply nodded as his eyes went purple again. “I think I do too.” he said, suddenly a little hollow in his voice.

He suddenly grabbed hold of Ravelyn for support as he cried out in pain and sank to his knees, both eyes glowing purple now as he doubled over.

She dropped her cigarette and held on to him. "What's wrong," she asked, suprised and slightly alarmed.

He cried out again “The pain, oh God, make it stop!”

She saw his suffering, and her heart ached. She wrapped her arms around him, kneeling on the ground with him. She held him tightly to her, resting his head against her shoulder. In a sudden moment, the pain lifted from him like a phantom, and a dull ache remained through his body. Flowers; white flowers, and the smell of a rose garden. She gripped his shoulder tightly.

He took a deep breath and leant against her. He was shaking from shock. “Thank-thank you.”

Then the world’s colours began to merge and fray, flowers and grass danced and changed colours before settling on a perennial grey. Everything around them had stopped moving completely.

Ravelyn nearly choked. "You can't bring me here," she said softly. "Not now...bring us back..." she said, as a white light shone brightly from her chest.

The world changed again, this time though, everything was whiter. Different shades dropped intermittently with black and very little shades of grey, they were no longer in the same place again. They were in a rose garden of some form in a large castle in a courtyard.

"Tere..." she said softly. "Please...take me back to that realm..." she grew tired.

Sounds echoed around them, shouts of men and beast snarling and snorting. Explosions, rupturing of stone being cast down.

Terefedel got up slowly. “This wasn’t me.” he said as his hissed and grabbed his chest, leaning against a wall.

She did not get up, she lay amongst the roses in a half daze.
“Azreal.” a voice called to her softly as Tere went through an archway. “Azreal…” She felt her energy ebbing back into her in a slow trickle at first, then faster, then a sudden rush, all pouring back into her.

“Azreal!” the voice yelled at her.

She stood up groggily. "Tere..." she called out, and looked at the roses round her.

They were the things speaking to her softly. “Azreal, come.” they then all closed their petals and turned towards the archway.

"What is this," she asked as she passed through the archway.

“What you seek here in these lands. And for you both to understand what is happening.” a stone Gargoyle said to her before turning back to it’s ornate position holding a bowl of water out.

"I seek nothing," she said in return.

“Oh, but you do Azreal, you do…” A tree cracked into a slight grin, before freezing back as it was, naturally hanging over a small stone bench.

"And what do I seek," she asked, leaning against the wall for support.

“The as that thy enemy seeks.” the voice echoed from one of the stones.

Tere was leaning hard against a the crenulations of the wall in front of him, looking out below him.

"I seek it," she says, "But I don't want it for myself."

Dark purple bolts flashed out above them, sailing down onto the sand below, creatures and machines clashed heavily below, crackling and seething energy, explosions and the sheer charge of magic below them evident.

“This I know, hence why I show this to thee.” the voice continued as though next to them both.

Tere’s hand sought out Ravelyn’s, he took her hand in his and squeezed it.

"Why this destruction? Why does their kind seek to destroy...Destroy everything..." she asked slipping into a daze.

“This battle is long lost to the passages and ravages of time.” The voice said as a body slowly materialized next to them, ornate silver armour with a large Dove symbol in the middle, and leaves wrapping around it comfortingly. He wore a similarly designed helmet, but in it shone out two purple eyes. “None of even his kin,” he said, pointing to Terefedel, “know of this fight, it was obliterated from history and from people‘s minds.”

"Why the destruction?" she asked softly. "Why did it start?"

“Wh-Why….” Tere said quietly.

“Because of the scale, the ferocity.” The castle suddenly shook as a tower fell from it, down onto the ground below. “Because of the terror both sides waged. All stemming from a simple misunderstanding.”

"Because humanity's mind is finite," she said softly.

“War is never ending, only man is finite.” the figure echoed. “Here in this land that would become “main land.” did this battle take place, perhaps the last of the battles. We know not.”

Another part of the wall of the castle tumbled, it being hit from something high above them. It’s response was to fire more purple bolts to the skies. Something sparked like a star far above.

The castle finally shuddered and tilted downwards, but the figures on the top didn’t need to lean or move with the force, it apparently not doing anything. "We know that they lost."

The castle smashed into the sand, and the figures were suddenly transported away from it. “We also know this ancient artefact survived.” He said as he pointed again. “This Eye of Twilight holds great and ancient power not known to us. We know that it’s destruction drew nearly all magicka from our nation, save a very few in which it lay dormant.”

The eye, a giant glass-like orb pulsed and glowed different colours, despite crashing into the ground and sitting at an angle it remained in it’s cradle, the book remained on it’s pedestal near to it.

“Should thy enemies gain this eye. Great woe will befall us all.” The figure went on. “Should thy gain this eye, Greatness shall be bestowed on you, a new generation of Mages shalt be born unto you.”

"Where can I find this eye," Ravelyn asked silently.

“In the valley to the west of the City of Navarok.” the figure said. “The valley of the dead iron steeds.”

“Pioneer.” Tere said quietly. “Lord Helmand…”

“You recognise me?” the figure said, looking down on Terefedel.

“Grandfather.” Terefedel said quietly.

The figure apparently stopped, and knelt. “Joffre?”

“Yes, Grandfather. Memories locked from me, memories I locked from me. Open upon your return…”

“Then time is shorter than I had feared…” Helmand said as he stood up again.

“Very, the Anno Domini grow strong… again.”

“Malkren…” Helmand hissed as he stood fully. “Grandson.

"So this is your grandfather," Ravelyn said softly, looking at the man.

“Grandfather. Lady Ravelyn Shentavo, or Azreal. Seraphim of Death and Chaos. Ravelyn, Lord Helmand.”

“My apologies for not introducing myself sooner Mi’lady.” Helmand knelt and bowed. “I am Lord Helmand, Silver Knight of His Greater Majesty King Godwin of all Greater Midlownya. I serve him and him alone, even in death.”

"You are the only family member I've met of his who hasn't tried to kill me," she said quietly.

“He’s the only family member properly dead.” Terefedel said as he coughed.

Helmand merely smiled at his Grandson. “Unlike his malicious, traitorous brother I have not been tempted by evil, even if I do disapprove of my Grandson‘s path of Twilight.”

"My fault," she said, again quietly. "My apologies."

“It matters not now, so long as he makes the decision of light when it matters the most.” Helmand removed his helmet now, his features strikingly like Terefedel’s, though his hair was silver with traces and streaks of black.

“You must take this eye into safety. Then, Joffre, you must use it. Make new mages. They must be trained by any previous mage you can get, they have to become ready for the final battle against the puerile evil that waits.”

The valley around them changed, the castle vanishing into the sand in rapid time, before armoured machines slugged it out in fast motion, then sand covered them, men came and dragged many of them away, then more arrived and time began to slow, these men began digging, excavating, uncovering a ruined entrance to the castle. “Even now, they draw close to it Joffre, you must be swift. Thy enemy has already been against you this day, they shall be again.”

The sky suddenly darkened, turning black. “You must go, quickly! I must conceal this vision before the darkness finds it! Azreal, look after my Grandson, you are both keys to this event.”

And with that, he vanished, taking the whole scene with him.
Rave Shentavo
20-02-2008, 14:37
Quissera cleaned his wounds and took a small crimson stone out of his pocket. He bit into it, and blood hit his lips. The bloodstone had been Ravelyn’s a while ago, but since she hadn’t returned, he had taken it so that he wouldn’t have to feed. If she ever asked for it back he would gladly give it to her, but he also knew she had been drinking actual blood instead of from her bloodstone. He now had crosses on both of his hands permanently engrained by a needle dripping with black ink. So does this mean I’m light or dark? he questioned himself as he walked back out into the garden and rested against the statue in the center. Or does it even matter? Did they just choose a light being for dark deeds? He slipped the bloodstone into his pocket.

“Why are you here?” he asked, and turned around to face the white haired figure; his sister. He stood up. She was wearing robes with the emblem of the nation on the back. Her make up was very plain but she was stunning.

“I felt a great change in both of you,” she said, and he clearly got who she was talking about. “So you’ve decided to do it?” she gave him a half smile. “For someone as cruel as you, as dark many of your deeds, I wasn’t sure if you would ever even going to consider it. Now, however, I remember what it was like before we came here. It was a lot nicer, was it not?”

“It was,” he said in agreement, but was unsure of why she was questioning him. He changed the topic. “I will be taking over as the head of the family.”

“It is only right that the strongest of us will become our Night Mother or Father,” she said in return.

“Why did you come here, Gene?” he questioned.

“Gene?” she blinked. “I thought that was it. Do I really remind you so much of her?” He shifted and lit up a cigarette. “Oh stop that,” she remarked and slapped the cigarette out of his hand. “You and Azrael both do that whenever something is bothering you. You should know by now it doesn’t help.”

“Yes,” he said in reply. “You remind me of Genesis. After father killed her, I don’t think I could ever be reconciled with him. At the end of it all, however, I think I forgave him.”

“You still think of Vaughn as your father?” she questioned. “I find it so hard to fathom for how long you’ve let her find comfort in other partners. The Loki I know would tear anyone down in his path who stood in his way, go against the Powers themselves if it meant he could be with her. You remember how it was, with the flowers---“

“Enough,” he said sharply, and cut her off. “Clearly you underestimate my love for her, or mistake it for lust. I have very little lust for her body, but very much for her soul. You should also consider that anything I could possibly do against the Powers they would immediately turn against Ravelyn. I cannot stand to see her suffer.”

“But it’s her job—“

“Fuck her job,” Quissera said, electricity running over his shoulder then vanishing.

“That’s more of the Loki I remember,” Charmaine replied with a half-hearted smile. “How do you think the Powers will take it…what you are doing?”

“I’m sure they’ve expected it for a while now. With her…death unavoidable no matter how you cut the cards, it will be easier for me to relieve the pain in her spirit. They aren’t planning to resurrect her, you know.”

“What did you say?” Charmaine asked in a whisper.

“You think they would bring her back? After she’s finally doing what she’s told? No, they were able to calculate the odds of her being dragged into this war, and how she would shift it to save the world from destruction in her sacrifice. Why would they need her any longer? They will probably create another seraph not quite so unruly, send the soul to this realm and have them start all over again.”

“So her essence is going to be destroyed?” Genesis asked.

“Not if I can help it,” Quissera mumbled, then looked directly at his sister. “Not if you give me your gift as well…”

“LOKI!” she exclaimed. “What the hell are you planning? Even with my gift, you can’t bring back the dead!”

“No, but I’m working it out,” he said. “It’s my only choice.”

“And the Powers aren’t stopping any of this?”

“If they tried to stop me, they’d be two seraphim down. It takes a long time to create another…the world would be in chaos with only two. They wouldn’t dare stop me from doing as I will, and they never have done much except in terms of Azrael.”

She paused, then hesitantly nodded her head. “What gift would you like?”
Midlonia
21-02-2008, 01:30
“Archbishop.” The voice said quietly from behind the figure, who was pouring over a bible.

“Yes my child?” Archbishop Felsworth turned from the book and looked at the man behind him. He was in a drab grey uniform, daubed in crosses and various holy symbols, his face was covered.

“I bring news, The dark ones have gone to The Commonwealth.” The figure spoke.

Felsworth frowned. “I gave no such authorization.” he hissed.

“This I understand your holiness. What will you have us do?”

The Archbishop sighed and thought for a moment. “Have you recovered the artefacts from their vaults?” He asked scratching his chin.

“Yes your Holiness.” The figure replied. “We are placing them into our own vault now and doubling the guard and all protection left.”

“What was left?” He asked as he turned back to the book and closed it with gentle reverence.

“Not much, only some personal effects, a pistol, a cap, a few badges and medals and a diary of some form, though we cannot open it.” the voice scratched in reply.

“A Diary? Bring it to me immediately.” Felsworth said suddenly.

“Yes, your Holiness.” the Anointed One bowed and left the room.

Felsworth sighed and sat back, his face in a nigh-permanent scowl. “A Diary….” he said quietly.

--------------------------------

Tere opened his eyes, one was purple, the other blue, but his vision was blurred. The light from a window shining in. He was in a bed, a large bed. He could feel Ravelyn next to him. He sat up and saw Heruss and Clodius in his human form standing on the balcony, talking quietly in hushed voices.

Ravelyn looked at Tere then turned away. Those eyes reminded her of Qui, for one of his was an ice blue, and the other crimson yet. She pulled the blankets over her, stealing them from Tere completely.

Tere rubbed his eye hard, and it faded back to blue in colour. He looked at Ravelyn as she stole the sizable bed sheet.

“It’s these kinds of events we have to be wary of. This really isn’t the first time we’ve found them like this, well, her anyway. Visions, different dimensions,” Heruss sighed as he leant on the railing. “We’re dealing with all those odd isolated cases we have records of on a massive and regular scale Clodius.”

Clodius bowed his head momentarily, inwardly sighing, still slightly shaken from his earlier encounter with the ghosts of the past. "I remember you saying Heruss. So, the question is, what is it leading and how do we stop it before it gets there?" He turned his back to the balcony, the view over the first level magnificent but uncomforting now.

“In essence? It’s leading towards His return. After that? Well… what does a God do with an army but go on a crusade?”

"I've never known you so defeatist. How close is he to succeeding?" Clodius now wore the uniform he had been clad in back in Menelmacar, though worn loosely, the tunic unbuttoned over a black shirt beneath.

“Close.” Heruss replied with a sigh as he placed a hand against his forehead. “So far as I have now been told by… greater powers,” he looked skyward to a small white dove which flapped in the breeze, “that he will return no matter what we do, but there are two outcomes to the end when he does.”

"Reassuring..." Clodius muttered, peering up at the architecture of the Palace. "Higher powers? Miss Shentavo's kin?"

Ravelyn had tried to fall back asleep, but became agitated at the blanket around her. She turned and fell off the bed with a thud, rolled halfway across the floor, then stumbled up. She had an amazing headache. "My masters really..." she said as the words seemed louder to her then they should have been. She walked over to Clodius and Heruss at the window, and leaned her head against Clodius' shoulder. "I don't know what is with the air pressure, but I believe it did something to my brain. I feel like I have a hang over..."

"We're pretty high..." Clodius offered, unsure about moving with the woman's head against his arm. "Your masters, celestial I presume." He gave a shrug, a spectacularly powerful movement giving the muscle mass that moved. "You say its inevitable he returns. I do not care. I assume you are here to more than just brief me"

“We’ve found a way of detecting major energy movements in the voids and Twilight which they use.” Heruss said, straightening up. “There’s a large body already here, waiting while smaller groups search.”

She lifted her head and leaned on the railing of the balcony. As the sunlight hit her she started to feel a lot better. The sunlight caught the red in her hair. It was a beautiful view. She leaned over the railing, looking at the sights below. "Spectacular...."

Tere had gotten up and staggered over, he leant over the railing next to Ravelyn. “Wow, the view sure has changed a lot…” he said quietly.

"Where?" Clodius said without a pause. He leaned next to Rave, perhaps trying to take comfort in the spectacle. Before them Navarrok spread out, the Spire and the ancient fortress still stood, surrounded by gardens that seemed to be endemic around here. "You know where next?"

"Why were your eyes like that, Tere?" she whispered softly.

“I’ve… reawakened. Terefedel Jelthan’s story starts 500 years ago, but Joffre Helmand’s starts about half a century before that, I am… the last of the House of Helmand, the last Grand Mage of Midlonia, when I became a Vampire most of my memories of being Joffre were locked away, and my eyes changed in colour by a fairly hefty charm.” He whispered to her. “But Grandfather… he’s managed to re-awaken me.”

Ravelyn didn't seem the least bit phased by it. What had the Powers said to her? "What I would not give for a shot of vodka right now," she mused.

With two of the men to either side, she felt the cold on one side of her and warmth on the other. It made her smile as she seemed to take in all the sunlight the sun had to offer. "Tere would remember better then I would," she said quietly. "I did not recognize the name of the place we were sent to."




“The Valley of the dead Iron Steeds…” Tere said, looking up at Clodius. “To the West of Navarok. An ancient battle happened there between Laputians and some sort of Dragons and other creatures. Great and fierce.”

"Come inside." Clodius grinned, for the first time a little while. "Believe me, this is Navarre, there aint nothing you cannot find in this place."

She looked downwards with a bit of sadness. "I have not been able to eat or drink anything but blood since a few months after my arrival in this realm, and before that I ate very little..." Was given * was more like it. She looked up at Clodius. "But a shower would be amazing..."

"Of course, follow me my lady." He broke step, as if glad to be able to show his place a little more. He led them in through the chamber an dback into the corridors, marble, spartan affairs, crafted with extraordinary precison by Freestian and Midlonian engineers three centuries before.

Statues and plinths lined the gaps, and open archways replaced windows and doors. Trophies from seemingly impossible desert and jungle beasts lined the walls, alongside weapons and armour from ages past. Drapes, scarlet and gold, Clodius' clann colours, were dominant, but the overall effect was light and airy.

"Crimson and gold..." she trailed off with a smile. "The colours of my kingdom." She looked around with interest. If she wanted to stop and look at something, she did.

Tere simply tagged along behind Clodius and Ravelyn. Looking at the décor also. “You really haven’t changed the place much since I was here last…” he commented, looking about.


Clodius lead them further inside, where the sunlight, now golden late morning, filtered in through mirrors and portals. Moving down some steps into what appeared to be an underground grove, given natural, flurescent purple and blue crystal rock appeared to sprout from the floor. "An old feature, apparently the old Governors were very debauched."

They descended a little further, and came across the 'bathroom', a lake the size of a football pitch with stalagmites and outcrops of the same rock, which lite the blue, steaming water in incandesence. "All natural, hot spring, were gonna turn it into a spa, now just one of my perks." He grinned. "Hope its okay."

“Now that I did not see last time I was here.” he said taking it in with awe.

"Perfectly okay," she said in return, and turned to face Clodius. "There isn't any where I'd be able to find a dress or something here...in a size 4?"

"We can go into Commerce later if you need anything. And I mean anything. Hope you two are alright with this..." He spread his arms out around the place. "Water's meant to be very rejuvenating."

"It's great," she said with a smile, a bit of her fangs showing. She looked from Tere to Clodius. "So, I kind of need to take off my armor to enjoy this.." she said.

Tere nodded and turned around and looked at the stalagtites and whistled.

She slapped Tere upside the head before recalling her armor. She slipped into the water, and her dark hair smoothed down her back.

“Ow!” He said as he turned, removed his boxers and stepped into the water also. “What was that for?” he asked, looking over to her.

"For pretending you wouldn't look," she said. She had caught his eye. She fell underneath the water, and washed off the blood still staining her skin. I'm going to need to find clothes somewhere...unless I can go to that place with armor on, she thought to herself. Then resurfaced. She spread her wings outward, the water forming small beads upon the feathers.

“I bet Clodius caught a peek.” Tere grinned and looked over to the Vampire. “Not joining us?” he asked.

Clodius shrugged, and turned, quite happily espying them both. He quickly disrobed in a militarist fashion, and descended into the water, bulkier but shorter than Tere, and descended the stone steps, letting out a roar indicating the satisfaction of being warm water that only a reptilian could know.

Tere simply grinned and leant back a little on his back in the water, allowing it to wash around him. “This is very nice.” he said simply.

Ravelyn giggled at his roar. It remnided her of past memories.

"Indeed..." Clodius closed his eyes and knelt so the water came up to his neck. "Absolute gem when they dug repairing your mess. Thought it was all just quartz," He closed his eyes, taking a deep gulp of the warm air. "Apparently the Carrasians are chock full of these things."

“Hey, so we did do a couple of good deeds then.” he smiled as he sank into the water himself, relishing in it, causing his own skin to warm considerably.

Ravelyn touched the rocky edge, and from it grew a cream colored rose which bloomed, turned away from the two, the rose tattoo along her back was clearly visable as she shifted her wings. "Destruction can sometimes bring about life..."

"I saw what you left in the toilets man. I think that counted as new life." Clodius grinned. "But yeah, from the ashes the phoenix arose. Relax, Rave, we may not get many opportunites to from now on."

"I am totally relaxed," she said in return, so not convincingly.

Clodius moved next to her, and rose back to his full height so his chest rose clear of the water again. "Here, this might help." A little knowledge of how wings connected to shoulders let his fingers drift over her shoulders, massaging the mineral rich warm water into the soft skin. "This drives the concubines wild, be careful"

She did not know she ever had muscles there or that she could ever reach them. "Careful of what?" her voice was a bit lower. He was very, very good at that. She closed her eyes. If her heart could beat it would break her chest.

Tere merely smiled at Clodius massaging Ravelyn. “Good job I’m not the jealous type.” he laughed as he rested in the water again.

Clodius moved lower, along her upper arms and then down her back, almost scratching at first before pressing the skin in just the right places. "Watch and learn Tere. And, honestly, I'm glad to see your the good sportsman type." He winked.

“Eh, I don’t think Ravelyn minds at all.” He chuckled as he swam over and rested, watching his technique.

She felt his nails go over her back momentarily, and let a soft sound escape her lips. Tere knew it well; how much she enjoyed pain. She took in a shallow breath.

“Should massage a little harder though, Clodius.” Tere remarked, winking.

"Oh really." Clodius grinned slightly. "In a moment." He let his head drop slightly and began to nibble at her neck with his own fangs.

A gasp, another breath, her eyes half-closed. A thin trickle of blood flowed over her shoulder; mixing with the droplets of water along her body. She could feel both of their auras amidst the air. Her muscles relaxed as she put a hand behind his head and pushed his mouth against her neck.

Tere moved over to Ravelyn quickly, close to her and licked along her shoulder, letting out a little sigh of satisfaction as he took up the drops of blood. “Mmm, delicious.” he said quietly as he pressed his lips to hers, placing a hand on her leg and sunk his nails into it a little.

She shuddered and let a curse slip through her lips in a soft whisper.

--------------------

Clodius stirred back in his bed, rising barely covered between two other sleeping covered lumps, a palm raised against his head.

Tere simply yawned and turned, before an eye cracked open. It was morning again in Navarre. He hissed a little and the sunlight, before his eye focused properly. “Mnrh.” he managed as he saw Clodius block the sunlight.

The huge Freestian winced slightly as his finger traced the bite marks on his arm, and tried to figure out where the restraint around his wrist came from. He didn't remember having one like that lying around. "Morning Tere." He muttered as he cracked his neck as he stretched.

“Morning.” He replied as he himself moved gently and got out of the bed. “Sorry,” he said nodding to the restraint. “One of mine.”

The blanket was singed at the top, and Miss Ravelyn turned, and took all the blanket with her, wrapping it around herself subconsciously.

Tere stretched, his back cracking in several places and his neck went with it also. “That’s better.”

Clodius peered, and shrugged, and rose quickly off the side of the mattress, which as the light began to reveal was a damn sight bigger than most beds, being roughly circular in shape and quite low to the floor. The sheets were light, warm nights were the norm here, and a fresh breeze blew as Clo made his way to the balcony of his chamber. "You need breakfast?" he called back.

“I’m good…” Tere trailed off. “You know I don’t think I’ve eaten any solids for a while…”

Ravelyn stirred and made a light groaning noise. There were light bruises still in various spots around her body, as well as many bitemarks. "You get used to it," she murmured, waking up slightly.

“Morning Ravelyn.” Tere smiled, looking over to her before moving to the Balcony also. “Wow, the view really is better in the morning…”

She murmured some type of response, kissed Tere, and stood up. She pulled on Tere's shirt, ripped the back for her wings. He would have to survive, but she was sure he had become used to it by now. It was long enough for it to be a short dress on her, though the sleeves were a little long.

“Good job that was a spare…” he commented, glancing at his cloak and trousers which were still, mercifully intact.

There was a sudden gush of wind and a roar on the balcony, and once more Clodius stood in his original form, massive talons, legs and tail all that was visible behind the drapes.

Tere simply looked at Clodius with a grin. “Showoff.” he muttered.

"Morning, Clodius," Ravelyn called out to him with a smile, contempleted crawling back in to bed, but decided rather to head out towards the balcony.

"Morning again." Clodius smiled, a quite terrifying effect considering the row of razor edged teeth protruding from his lips. "How are we today?"

"Mmmn," she said stretching her arms over her head. For the first time in a while her muscles were actually still sore. She looked him straight in the eyes with her scarlet orbs. So much like Vaughn. "Quite well," she smiled.

Clodius rose to his full height again, 16 feet between crest and sole. He swept his wings back again, stretching them far out to their maximum span. The species always had to this to get the blood flowing after transformation, a quite spectacular display.

Tere stood just to the side of the door, his face angled up, catching the sun. “We apparently have a day off.” he said with a smile. “I found a note here by the door from the Priestess and the Colonel.” he smiled. “Though you’re the person in charge she demands you take a day off to recuperate from ‘your valiant battle.’”

She spread out her own wings which were quite large for someone he size. "What did Heruss say?" she said turning towards Tere. The only thing remaining of her she had on was the cross around her neck save for Tere's shirt.

“That he and Kristian will be as ‘busy as you were last night and will be able unable to order you about.’” He grinned.

“Hey, I don’t know. Not one of us were exactly paying much attention to anybody else, were we?” he grinned up at Clodius.

Clodius blinks, looks up at the sun through his blacklids, then shakes his head. "Its later than I thought,"he smiled, "probably research, stills lot of stuff we haven't had a chance to go through fully." He smiled again, foot long sabres shining in the light. "Anyway, I'm go for a morning flight, mind if I leave the place to you two for an hour?"

“Fine by me.” he nodded.

"Have fun mate. Catch you later." And with that, he soared into the sky.

“Hey,” Tere said to Ravelyn as he kissed her again, taking her into her arms.

"Hi," She said with a smile and fell back into his arms.

“So, what you want to do? Wait for Clodius?” His arms wrapped around her with a tight firm grip.

She chuckled and leaned back against him. "You are very crafty Tere..."

“Oh, and how am I then?” he grinned, kissing her cheek and neck gently.

"You egged him on," she said shooting him a knowing grin. "You knew I wouldn't last long against that." She kissed him softly.

“Well.” he chuckled as he pressed his lips against hers, and gently stroked her stomach with his hands. “We all enjoyed ourselves, didn’t we?”

"Very much so," she said softly. "Can we go shopping now?"

“Yes we can. I can call us a car from the embassy nearby, or we can take the Twilight together…” he trailed off, looking at her.

"Whichever you prefer," she said, and kissed him softly. "But I need clothes...."

“I need a new shirt also.” he chuckled. “Plus I should really change too, I’d be arrested for indecent exposure..” he moved over to the pile of clothes that were his, and found a dress neatly laid out on the floor also, it was black with a low-cut open back. “Huh, seems you have something to wear better than my shirt.” he said as he picked it up and held it up. “This do?”

"Where'd you get that?" she questioned him.

“I don’t know.” he frowned. “It was here on the floor.” a small note swung from it back and forth that Tere hadn’t noticed.

Ravelyn took the note into her hands. It read; "To my darling daughter, sleeping soundly between two fine figures of men. I trust you enjoyed yourself? Here is a dress for you to wear. ~Love, Father." She smiled, and unbuttoned Tere's shirt. She was practically glowing.

“What did it say?” he said as he broke it off the satin clasp holding it on. He grinned. “I think he may have heard you… several times.”

"I wouldn't be surprised," she remarked as she slipped on the dress. It fit her perfectly. She grinned.

“Looks good. Though I think me and Clo would say you looked better without it.” He nodded with a grin.

“So, shall we go? I know a really nice jewelery quarter we could visit…” he looped his arm through hers and smiled.
Rave Shentavo
21-02-2008, 14:28
Quissera watched the scene through his mirror. He saw them together, and did not turn away. He did not watch with jealousy, but with a deep sorrow. He would be able to accept the fact that she would be with another man, even both Tere and Clodius. He didn’t mind it, but the fact of the matter was that he was not with her right now. Lust, which consumed most of the other women he had slept with, did not come into play with Ravelyn. He would be completely content just laying by her side and feeling the touch of her lips against his. It also didn’t bother him that she hadn’t known Clodius that long. He knew her true form; knew what she was capable of. He knew her love was infinite. What good an infinite love would do for this realm! He ran his fingertips over her ring which hung around his neck. He knew she held a place for him close to her heart, and that was enough for him.

He would, however, have to talk to Clodius at some point after this encounter. Qui had an unnatural affinity towards the draconic, and perhaps it was because of how close Qui and Vaughn had been. He looked down at Charmaine, who was asleep, and then the scalpel in his other hand. It was time to go to work. He ran the blade over the pale skin of her chest, and carefully pulled the skin back a bit. He made an incision skillfully through the muscle. There was a small gemstone, it would seem, underneath the muscle. He placed his hand over the wound, and the gemstone zipped into his hand. He then proceeded to close the wound, which healed over quickly. He washed the gemstone off; it was a brilliant emerald in color. He set it on the dresser, waved his hand, and Charmaine began to stir.

“I got it,” he said softly to her, then urged her to rest.
Midlonia
21-02-2008, 20:30
The world was still a haze around them “Better go somewhere quiet like an alley.” Tere said to Rave as he looked at her. They hadn’t been long in the twilight, but had managed to travel quite far, his own ability to use the different realm apparently now helped Ravelyn not feel so drained after such a distance covered. They found a quiet alleyway and thundered back into reality.

They had landed in a small old part of the city, all narrow brick lined streets and alleyways filled with shops, largely jewellers and some independent tailors and clothstores as well as various “specialist” shops catering to old books, models, electronics and various other assorted things.

“So, where first?” he said smiling, the sun was shining brightly and thanks to the narrow streets, there was a gentle, constant cooling breeze.

"To the sparkly objects," she said with that impish smile females get at the sight of precious gems and diamonds.

Tere simply chuckled and pulled Ravelyn in the direction of a small Jewllers. Smythe Jewellers, no stone too precious that it cannot be mined, no gem too dull that cannot be polished more! the sign said. A figure seated behind the counter was fairly young for the shape and state the shop was in, and his attire of a leathery smoking jacket made him blend right in.

The young man looked up from studying a large diamond which he was apparently valuing, and smiled, poking a fang out of one corner of his mouth. “Hello Terefedel. Not seen you in a long while, actually…not since the war. How are you?”

“I’m fine Smythe, I found out you had set a shop up here in the quarter so I came with Miss Shentavo to see what you have on offer.” Tere smiled back.

Ravelyn entered the store and immediately went to the display of diamonds near the counter. The woman certainly knew what she wanted, and had rather expensive tastes. She was used to being treated like royalty as former Empress of her nation. She got everything she wanted. Diamonds, specificially, she loved, and rubies, but only the dark rich ones, not the ones that looked pinkish.

“Ah, mi’lady has excellent taste I see…” Smythe chuckled as he placed the diamond into a draw and locked it. “These here are a mixture of various Colonial jewelery pieces. Back when The Commonwealth was still the Mainland Dominion. Some exquisite work, don’t you agree?”

'Exquisite, yes," she said trailing off. "My nation is famous for their diamonds." She grinned. "We have quite the mines, and because of how the earth was created we have smoky diamonds, and they glitter iridescently in the sunlight."

“Now those I’d love to work with…” Smythe trailed off and looked up at the ceiling thinking. “Yes, Sun diamonds I’d call them, they’d be brilliant here. It’s practically summer all year around.”

She finally settled her eyes on a victorian style diamond choker (http://www.glamforless.com/victorian-necklace1.jpg). "That," she said to Tere. "Would be perfect."

Tere leant over Ravelyn and took a look at the diamond choker. “Wow, that’s quite nice…” he said nodding at it for Smythe to take it from the case. Smythe seemed delighted and immediately brought it out. “Very rare this, last one I have in fact. They’re antiques, some of the last to be made before the First Moonstone War. Absolute Master craftsmanship.” he held it with gentle reverence, then held it out to Ravelyn. “Would madam like to try it on?” he smiled.

Ravelyn nodded, as she folded her wings behind her, and lifted up her long dark hair revealing the rose tattoo. He clasped it around her neck. It fit beautifully, and with the dress it was absolutely stunning.

Tere whistled his approval. “Wow, that does look really good on you…” he said.

Smythe seemed delighted. “Ah, now that is simply perfection!”

“So,” Tere said, turning back to Smythe. “How much?”

“12,000 Mintels.” He replied simply.

Tere coughed. “How much?”

“12,000. It’s an antique and the last I have!”

Ravelyn chuckled. "Not used to dating royalty are you?" she teased him.

“Afraid not.” he smiled wistfully.

“Mind, I could take alternative payments…” Smythe said scratching his chin. “Some of those diamonds you mentioned would be great for this years summer range…”

"Sure," she said in return. "Can I use your phone?" she questioned.

He picked up a normal looking, but wireless Telephone and placed it on the counter. “Certainly.” He smiled.

She dialed the number, and there was a female voice on the otherside. She spoke in her native tongue, which neither of them could understand. "да. да, сейчас....пожалуйста... может быть пятьсот...да, пожалуйста..."

She hung up the phone. "минутичку--" she stopped herself and reverted back to common language. "It will be only a minute."

Tere merely took a discreet look at some rings in another counter and smiled while she was on the telephone, before He himself chose a skull ring with a pair of Sapphire eyes for himself to wear. He merely checked out some other kinds of rings with a relaxed eye.

And indeed, within thirty seconds a young girl appeared before them, out of breath. She had red hair and a beautiful face. Her bright grey eyes shone as she handed over a medium sizd black silk bag. She bowed in the customary way those in her nation did, as if showing respect to a goddess. "Спасибо большое...." Ravelyn said, and put her hand on the side of the young girl's face.

"пожалуйста!" she said enthusiastically, bowing again, and again until Ravelyn stopped her. "Such signs of respect and I am no longer your empress," she smiled widely. The young girl was apparently excited to meet her.

"Yes, but I'll never forget," she grinned, and with one last bow she vanished from sight. Ravelyn took a moment to smile to herself. She became a bit homesick, and turned to the store owner. She gave thim the bag. "I believe this should be more than adequate..." a devilish smile played upon her face. "They are all above 99% in purity..."

"Our mages have special ways of removing them from the ground which does not scratch them, and if there is an impurity, it can be reshaped at their hands."


Smythe tipped one out and held it up into the sunlight, it sparkled and danced in his hand. “Oh my…” he said with a look of awe on his face. “My dear, these are more beautiful then I imagined, please, consider that necklace as a gift.”

She smiled. "Fortified with a special enduced bond stability, you'll also find them harder to damage when working with them," she smiled. "Leading chemist on that is Sun Semionovna..."

He nodded and took in every word as he continued to study the diamond. “This will make me the talk of the quarter!” He smiled “I can see these becoming popular with engagement rings…” he pondered as he took out his Jewelers glass and took a closer look. “I mean, there’s next to no flaws on them, I have to get so close to them to see even the remotest blemish!”

"How much is a mintel to a crystal?" she asked Tere. She smiled, then continued to to look around the shop. She found another item of interest; a bracelet that wound up the wrist with a similar victorian pattern to match the necklace, except it was in the shape of a snake. She still had the necklace on and the cross she had been wearing hung just below it. They somehow complimented eachother.

“At the moment?” Tere shrugged. “Probably pushing 100-200.”

"Ah," she said with a satisfied smile and a bit of grandocity. "Just making sure I have given enough in turn."

“I have to get used to this, I take it?” Tere smiled as he gently put an arm around Rave’s waist. “Anything else you like the look of then?”

"Very much used to it," she said in return. "I have very expensive tastes..." She pointed to the braclet of the snake with the ruby eyes which matched her own.

“Hrm.” Tere said as he picked it up himself and slipped it onto her arm. “That goes very well with you, I think, not too bad a price either... only, 2,000.”

"Price isn't an issue," she whispered, completely enthralled with the gemstones.

“True. Not for you.” He nodded as he traced his finger around it. “Definitely suits you.”

"Reminds me of Jean-Claude..."

“Who’s he?” Tere said, tilting his head to look at Ravelyn, instead of the bracelet.

"My twenty foot albino python," she commented.

“Ah, right. Nice family pet I take it?” he smiled.

"Well he's nice to me..." she trailed off, and looked back at the shopkeeper.

He’d finally put the diamonds away next to a workbench behind him. “Found something else you like?” Smythe smiled.

"Indeed," she showed him the bracelet.

“Aaah, another very nice artifact. I’m afraid I can’t really tell you much about that one, all I know is it came from the Valley of the dead Iron steeds, one of the archaeological sites out there.” He nodded and rang up the till, Tere handed him his card.
Midlonia
22-02-2008, 02:38
After paying for the bracelet They headed further down the narrow streets, stopping to look in some of the stores, there was a small clothes store specializing in rapid tailor making. Tere nodded to it. “How about here?” he asked.

"Looks good to me," she said in return, and entered the store.

Inside were various examples of dresses and rolls of material stacked high. Behind the counter was a womanly looking old woman with frizzy grey hair. She wore a large pair of spectacles and was flicking through a fashion magazine of some form. She merely looked up, smiled, then went back to reading her magazine.

Tere broke away from Rave to look at the men swear area, checking out various well made shirts with spun cotton from the Islands of DPUO. Fine cotton shirts and underwear were piled out in various sizes and styles.

On the other side of the small shop was the women’s wear, various coloured dresses including a deep red one that sparkled lightly under the decent lights in the shop.

Tere had picked a few shirts, then grabbed a few more and caused the shop keeper to raise her eyebrow at his request to make them open backed before he pointed to Ravelyn and she nodded with a knowing smile.

Ravelyn looked through the dresses, waiting for Tere to finally make up his mind. He thought the open backed shirts would help him? Ha, she would find ways of getting to his other ones until he simply stopped wearing them. She picked up a dark crimson dress. It was strapless and had a low back with a large slit up the right side. There was intricate detail in the pattern of the threading, and while part of it looked simple, the details looked stunning, and on her...


Tere moved over to her with the shirts in bags. “You like it?” he asked, looking at the dress also.

"Mmmmhmmm," she said in return, and then looked to Tere. He couldn't deny her

Tere simply kissed her on the cheek and took the dress back to the counter and paid for it.

“Don’t even think about getting at my other shirts. I’m not going to run around bare chested for you.” he grinned at her as they left the shop and walked back into the street. “Well, not all the time anyway…” he added with a grin and a wink.

"That's what you think," she replied with a smile. "See how long they stay safe...I give it a month."

“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “I’ll just find my own way of punishing you then.” He spotted another store, one selling various… kinky items. “Which I may find in here.” he chuckled as he ducked inside.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said as she stood outside the shop. She walked in and grabbed him by the wrist and started leading him outward.

He squirmed out of her grip and went inside properly. Grabbed a knife and a whip, paid for them quickly and ducked back outside, stuffing them into another bag with a grin and a chuckle.

“I think I might be able to save a shirt or two now.” he grinned at her.

The Spire of Navarrok, after Rave and Tere‘s (highly expensive) shopping trip.

Heruss was standing a balcony, he had been given a room by the Priestess. He was wearing only boxers and a shirt. He took in a deep breath of the late morning air. Kristian was still asleep in the large circular bed. Lazy sod. Heruss merely snickered to himself as he looked down on the city. It had been a while since he had last been here, last time he had taken a room here at the Spire was after the Midlonian’s victory here the better part of a century and a half ago…

“So why now…” he hissed quietly. “Why ruin everything now? What am I missing also here….”

He sighed and turned back into the room, it was similar to Clodius’ apartment, but slightly smaller and lay back down onto the bed, Kristian, still largely unconscious and sporting a number of deep bite scars on his body merely mumbled and turned over, taking the thin bed sheet with him, despite it’s size.

Tere placed the numerous bags down into Clodius’ room, apparently having not been assigned one.

“Well, I won’t be able to buy anything for another 20 years…” he grinned at Ravelyn. “Mind, did get some fun things too…”

He threw her a brown paper bag and laughed.

"What's this?" she questioned.

“A present.” he smiled. “Open it.”

She opened the bag, glared at him, but quietly accepted it with a suppressed smile.

He simply chuckled again. “Thought you’d like them…”

“So, what do you want to do now anyway? We still pretty much have the whole day to do as we wish, and I doubt Clodius will be back yet, I think I spotted him over the bay still.”

"We should check on Heruss," she said in resolution. "If he isn't still sleeping. And thank him for the dress..."

“Sure. Why not?” He said as he placed the last of the bags down in a corner where he hoped Clodius wouldn’t mind.

They left the chamber and headed down a set of hewn stone corridors with the same Spartan statues, and colour design as they had seen on their way to the hot spring yesterday. “I think he’s in here.” Tere said as he knocked on the door.

Heruss merely called from the bed. “Enter.”

Ravelyn was the first to open the door and walk through. "Good afternoon, father..."

He merely looked up from the bed, then laid his head back down. “Good Afternoon, daughter.” He said simply. “I see you’re wearing the dress. Kristian picked it out for you when we snuck into the old Jewelery Quarter last night.”

"I love it," She said, doing a full turn. "How did you know we were there last night?"

“It was a bit hard not to have heard you, to be honest.” Heruss shot back with his usual lop sided smile. “All three of you were quite loud at one point.”

Ravelyn actually blushed.

Tere had also tinted red and looked at the ground.

“So, as said, finding you wasn’t all that difficult.” He smiled. “You can come over and sit on here if you want. It’s a big bed, as I am sure you both well know…”

She sat down on the edge of the bed next to Heruss. "He started it..." she muttered.

Heruss simply held Rave’s hand. “I’m sure it’s all Tere’s fault somehow….” he chuckled as he shot a look at Tere, who had sat down next to her.

“Hey! She never said no!” Tere said with mock disgust and a stuck out tongue to Rave.

"How could I say no when you know all the right buttons to push!" she shot him a glare. "And you totally gave Clodius the upper hand in that situation."

“I still didn’t hear a lot of no’s. Mostly a lot of yeses, over and over…” he shot her a gaze back. “and over… Plus he was the one with the better massage technique.”

"And better hands too," she shot back

“Ah, so I had the better mouth then…” Tere snapped with a grin on his face a mile wide.

"How does that even make sense? He could have better hands AND mouth, God knows."

“Bah!” Tere said in mock defeat, he couldn’t really win overall, and he certainly wasn’t going to actually anger Ravelyn in that way.

"I win," she mused.

Heruss merely shook his head and stroked Rave’s hand. “So, basically you had a lot of fun then?”

"Well, both of them are still living, so I would say yes."

Heruss chuckled and sat up properly, hugging Rave as he did so. “I’m glad. Love runs deeper, so it’s good to be promiscuous on occasion.”

"That was the first time in my entire existance promiscuity ever entered into the equation," she commented. Yup, definately Tere's fault.

“Ah well, definitely tell you’re acclimatizing to our cultures then, very promiscuous but always behind closed doors.” Heruss grinned as he poked Kristian with his other hand.

"Or maybe Tere is a bad influence," she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Mrhnhhhhh.” Kristian replied to the poking.

“He’s still out, afraid to drown out your noises we had to start making our own.” he chuckled.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Sorry about that. Enochial voices tend to travel in...passion."

Tere simply leant over and kissed Ravelyn.

“Oh I don’t doubt that for a second. He always was a bad influence.” Heruss grinned, quite rare for him to do, considering his face was normally neutral, frowning, or that usual lop-sided grin.

Ravelyn suddenly leaned over and hugged Heruss. The same warmth filled him as the warmth he felt before Ravelyn sent him off to break a few rules. Don't forget it... Then, she let go, but the glow lingered. She got up, stepped over to Kristian and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for picking out the dress," she whispered.

“Welcome.” Kristian murmured as his eye cracked open before slipping back into unconsciousness.

“So, aside from thanking Kristian for the brilliant new dress, anything else?” Heruss said as he yawned and finally got out of the bed properly, but decided against getting remotely changed.

"Nothing," she said, and immediately slapped a hand over Tere's mouth.

Tere simply muffled his response and glared at Ravelyn.

“Uh-huh.” Heruss said, catching both Ravelyn and Tere’s eyes. With another chuckle he went to the balcony and stood out there. “I still love this view, even if it has changed so much since we last saw it…”

“The last time I remember it, it was mostly on fire.” Tere said as he leant on the balcony also, pulling Ravelyn along with him.

“I’m worried it’ll be on fire again though. Imagine that. A fifth battle for Navarre…” Heruss shook his head.

"I pray it won't come to that," Ravelyn whispered.

“Or I.” Heruss replied with a nod.

“Four battles… hard to believe that.” Tere said with a sigh. “Four times.” He shook his head. “That and how many battles at the Spire, including this last one?”

“Severn or eight. All to do with him.” Heruss said with a slight wolven snarl.

Ravelyn touched Heruss shoulder and his anger and disgust left.

“Thank you, Katya.” He said as he threw his head back and took another deep breathe. “I think I’ll call you that.” He nodded. “Katya, my daughter.”

She was taken a bit aback. "Why Katya?"

“I think that name suit’s the vampiric part of you best.” he said as he turned. “That and you’ve been called it before, so you‘re used to it.”

"But that was by Coro..."

“You wouldn’t like that?” he asked, looking worried. “You never said why he called you Katya anyway, and I think it suits your vampiric side better.”

"Unless you want to sleep with me, father," she said in return. "I'm afraid that invokes many intimate memories."

“Ah,” Heruss said as he realised. “Well, in that case then I shan’t.” He smiled. “I suppose Rave will have to do then.”

Tere simply raised his eyebrow at the exchange. “Hrm. Well, that would definitely be too weird for me to handle.”

"That is seconded," She said in return and started to cuddle with Tere. She sighed softly. "I'm tired..."
Tere took Rave into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Me too actually.” He nodded. “We can head back to Clodius’ room if you want.”

"Mmmnnn," she muttered. "Perhaps that would be for the best. Don't want to bother you for too long," she kissed Heruss' cheek. Ah! That warmth again. Honestly, what will become of me? I don't like reality because it's all to clear to me...what will happen? she thought to herself.

As they left Tere gently looped his arm in hers. “Ravelyn.” He said quietly. “I want to be with you forever, you know that, right?”

"Yes," she whispered. "But you know you won't be able to follow me wheverever I go 100% of the time...''

“I know.” he said as he kissed her cheek and rested his head against it. “But I… don’t know what to do. I know you’ll die. And it’ll be fairly soon. I just… don’t know what to do then.”

"Let's put it this way," she said quite blatantly. "If you die, I'll never see you again. Your soul goes to heaven or hell, and mine to neither."

He shook his head. “I’ll find a way back. I swear that much. There are always ways.”

“I don’t want to lose you, Rave. I’m determined in that.”

"Don't...die," she said sharply. "Don't be stupid."

“Then I want the same from you.” He said just as sharply back. “I don’t want you being stupid when you face up against Franz. We know how to seal him away again as we have done before, I don’t want you getting into harms way because I know,” his eyes glistened and his tone softened. “I know that I will lose you, and because it’s Him I don’t know if it will be permanent, or just a century.”

"You can't ask that of me," she was beginning to get angry. "I know what has to be done and I'm going to do it. I've seen what happens if I refuse to."

“I’m, sorry. I think it’s just me being tired.” He gently opened the door back into Clodius’ apartment. “I know I can’t ask that of you Ravelyn. I’m sorry.”

"Understand that if you die," she said as she began to unzip her dress to crawl into bed. "We are never seeing each other again.”

He threw his own shirt off and pulled his trousers off and also crawled into the large bed next to her. “I know, which is why I want to enjoy every last second with you.” He gently took her into his arms and took a deep breathe. “We might both lose each other in this.”

"Maybe," she said, leaning back on him with her anger quelched and a bit of emotion over coming her.

“Wherever either of us may go though,” he whispered into her ear. “Know that I will always love you.”

"And I you."

He kissed her neck as his arms tightened around her stomach, as though making sure she was still there and gently closed his eyes.
Rave Shentavo
22-02-2008, 14:33
Fading in endless dreams; she walked amongst the grey flowers. Essence drifted upward from the steps she took, as if it were dust. Glimpses of it floated in the air. There was a long period of silence before a figure faded into existence. She saw Qui solidify before her and take a few steps towards her. One of his feathers fell to the ground, and he clearly had a pain in his side. Seeing his agony, she rushed to him, and instantly his pain left him as her fingertips grew hot from the touch. “What did they do to you?” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

“They don’t trust you,” he said quietly.

“Me?” she asked.

“Us,” he finished. “They “know” something is going on. They are suspicious on why you would accept your death so easily. They know of your love for Tere and Heruss, and the now forming bond between Clodius. They are going to keep influencing people towards you until they are sure you are doing it for that reason.”

“Should I act like I’m rebelling?” she questioned. “You know full well I’ve been acting as if that is the case, even in my thoughts. I do care for them, though. If I die it would save things for them. I won’t be a martyr though.”

“I knew you wouldn’t,” he said softly, and wrapped his arms around him. “We have to play along with their game…”

“So we’ll fall if we must. It’s all about us,” she said embracing him.

“What about afterwards?” he commented. “What about afterwards after everything has been set into motion. They think they have gotten what they want, and then I turn the tables. Then they will come for us; to destroy us.”

“So we will run away if we must…” she said solemnly. “Are you sure that you can break your connection with them, that is what I’m worried about.”

“I’m already in the process of preparing myself.”

“You think they will go after Charmaine and Kayde when they can’t get to us?” she questioned.

“Most definitely,” he nodded his head, pulling away from her a bit. “But then they will realize that it won’t be enough to bring us back, and they will send their armies against us. We will worry about that further along. I need you to remain convinced within both your heart and soul of what is to come. I need you to trust in my abilities, so we can take advantage of the opportunity presented to us.”

“I don’t know how I can be any more convincing,” she said, exasperated. “I do want to die for them. I do want everything to come into being that I saw for my death. I want to end this war…but I also want us.”

“Listen, Azali,” he said, using a diminuative of her name. “If they hurt you; they hurt me too.”

“I know, Loki, but they don’t know. They can’t see who we are,” she whispered. “Fear is the enemy. Hold on tight, hold on to me, because this is all about us. There’s a thing that they will never be able to touch again.”

He looked at the ticking silver watch on his hand. “We have to leave now,” he said, fading into nothingness, but his voice remained. Soon, she too faded.
Midlonia
22-02-2008, 20:08
“My lord?” Garu asked, looking at Malkren who was hunched over in thought in a large obsidian chair.

“I want you to lead the attack on the dig site.” Malkren said with a nod of finality.

“I see, how many men will I be issued?” Garu asked as he placed his feet up on a small foot stool, they were in the drawing room of a large Victorian manor somewhere. But outside was all darkness.

“Enough.” spoke a voice behind him. “You should be able to do that without the need for much call for reinforcements I take it?”

“Yes.” Garu replied quietly, feeling the ice in the air, the chill and the gentle ticking of a small pocket watch.

A hand gripped the high wingback chair, but it was hazy, weak. “Good, then you shall have no problem at all, even if Asopher and his pathetic band reach the site, we’ll have already struck.”

The figure faded away. Leaving Malkren and Garu alone in the smoke-filled room.

“That’s that then.” Garu said with a sigh as he sat forward. “I suppose I’d better get going then.”

Malkren merely stuck the pipe into his mouth with little more than a sigh.

--------------------

“Easy! EASY!” The pith helmeted figure said, waving at the digger as it hissed and clanked

The driver merely looked inquisitively at the figure, who waved him over. “Look!” He said excitedly. “A door! An actual door out here!” He clapped his hands together. “That means that the sand might not have gotten into the ruin too deep! We might be able to explore it!”

“Professor Garratt, I think we should do an ultra-sound fir-” The mechanical operator began, before being hushed by the errant Proffessor, who was sweating profusely. He was working with the Freestian Historical Society on a contract from the Greater Kingdom Historical Society, exploring Pioneer Valley, “The Valley of the Dead Iron Steed” for various ruins an anomalies in the sandy valley here. They had found various useless chunks of metal so far, but this! Oh this would make him rich!

The corridors were wide and dark, but the Halogen Torch cut them away The professor had entered the structure with two orbs, one armed and one with a powerful set of lamps taking in details with a video recorder.

“This structure is incredible, but the stonework… is definitely not from the Freethinkers. If anything I’d dare say the crystalization structure is like those found in the Snowdon Range back in Midlonia, but my dating of the rock and it’s cuts place it well before the time period in which we came here and conquered it. So that is definitely intriguing.”

He moved up the corridor, literally up

“This corridor seems to either have been hewn at a very steep angle, or… no, how odd.” He trailed off again. “It, well, seems as though this entire structure had been dumped here. Right in the desert, like a child’s toy.” He sighed and shook his head as he pressed on down endless corridors, some blocked off, causing him to take another route around. The structure was silent.

Except, at times the Professor could swore he heard whispers every so often, just snatches of conversation, or a mechanical crunch, or something. He placed it down to his own jitters and shrugged, pressing on into a large circular room.

“Oh…my.” he said simply.

The room was bathed in a azure colour, then green, then blue, then bright yellow like the sun.

“I’ve never seen anything like this…” he said as he looked at the glass orb. “I honestly cannot say what this thing is. The readings from the TRX orbs are off the scale… I wonder…” he said as he slowly reached out to the pulsing glass orb.

And touched it.

The orbs registered a scream, noticed that the Professors readings had flat lined, backed up their data and sent it, then began to head for the exit.

But then something odd happened. Professor Garratt’s readings started up again. Slightly raised heart beat and pulse. But definitely alive.

The orbs, half way out of the structure, turned and headed back.

In the Professor’s place however they found a long blonde haired woman, who’s long flowing robes apparently moved with her hair, though there was no wind.

“Es tu valli?” She said, looking at the orbs. “Voyshet, valla garyee?”

The orbs simply continued hovering, and she decided to pay them no attention as she moved from the Orb room and into a second chamber, smaller here. But filled with sarcophagi Row upon row. She tutted and sighed. They seemed part of the décor, recovering a small blue crystal from her neck she held it over an obsidian block and muttered a few words into it.

The sarcophagi hissed and began to slide open, one by one. Figures rose gently and slowly. All dressed in a similar manner to her. Some yawned, stretched and simply began to get to work, crafting powerful spells that repaired damage, and began to fix systems that had been apparently dead for centuries.

In another room, large squat iron warriors, armed with swords, shields and some form of tubes on their shoulders began to glow. Red ruby orbs glinting and flickering back into life. Slowly they too rose and some began to move in slow, steady patrols that were programmed into them eons ago.

Other figures began to light fires in long since dead fireplaces, some opened smaller sarcophagi and took from them breads and meat, apparently unspoilt. Some had cracked and shifted it was true, and these were swiftly disposed of into the fires, which apparently could melt the stone, and be used for fire.

Queen Lathua sighed and looked down at the scene below her. In hazy portals above her showed her the rest of the castle and people moving about there, steadily working on their pre-determined jobs. Those little orbs kept floating near to her. She merely shrugged and left them there, they weren’t causing any harm.

“Magir, vaslu hasta jerula-” One of the orbs whined gently as it slowly tried to construct the language it was hearing, failed, overloaded and promptly shut down, shorting out.

“Hrm.” Lathua said as she kicked it away with her foot. “Gahreese novelties are strange, I wonder who’s they are”

“You Mageesty?” the figure said to her with an inquisitive look, he had shocking red hair and a powerful yellow eyed stare his face had a scar running down his cheek, and his robes were a purple colour, but they seemed to flow and change at random moments.

“Nothing Lord-Mage Harkel.” She said with a sigh. “These strange toys that were following that figure I used as a sacrifice to restart the castle, don’t seem to be able to do much but follow me.”

“Nothing but primitive toys your Mageesty,” Harkel replied. “So, what would you have us do?”

“Repair my domain, then take to the skies where we belong, contact Laputia if at all possible.” The Queen nodded.

Harkel bowed and left her, as she opened a door behind her and took a throne, which glowed a soft golden aura as she felt the power flow back into her fingers, she became as one with the castle and sighed as she felt it’s warm embrace again as the soul merged with hers.

She began issuing orders for the most immediate repairs, that to their ability to move, and their ability to protect themselves, then to work on communications and weapons systems after that, and to fashion any necessary repairs from materials found outside.

One by one. The last Sky Castle of Laputia was coming to life.
Midlonia
23-02-2008, 01:11
Tere stirred in the bed, his grip on Rave tightening slightly as he felt something…. Stir.

He cracked open an eye which was purple, before opening them fully and blinking a few times. Both his eyes had changed colour this time and he sighed and pressed a hand to his temple as he sat up slowly.

Clodius returned to his rooms, back in humanform and now clad in old fatigues and t-shirts, gasping for breathe and slugging on a water bottle. If he sweated, it wasn't showing, but his red arms in particular showed him as having just come back in from some concentrated exercise of one form another.

"Jesus!" He muttered. "I'm going to have to get one of you two neutered at this rate." He spurted out between mouthfuls of water.

"I'm rather insatiable," Ravelyn muttered, and sat up, taking the covers with her. "mmmn. Welcome back."

“And costly,” Tere muttered as he rubbed his temple slowly, his eyes closed. He then opened them again and looked at Clodius, brilliant purple eyes shining at him “So, what you been up to?”

"No shit." He grinned. "Get anything useful done, aside from exercise your pelvic muscles?" The vampire ditched the water bottle.

"Nothing of note. Some dick of a potential guard recruit needed showing how far off the mark he was. Shame really, guy had potential. Tyras clann broods are like that."

“Ah, fun. I know I have to train and sire some more recruits soon…” he sighed. “Oh the lives we lead, hrm?”

"Are relationships with sires intimate at all to you?" she asked Tere, rather surprised

"Yeah... except you don't generally have to snap the poor bastard's arms to make him stop being an arse."

She stood up and pulled on her black dress. She had slept far to much to go back to sleep. She became rather restless.


“This is more a duty than anything like that, some people treat it intimately, some treat it with a slightly arms-length approach. Me and Heruss were the same until he met Kristian, then his own attitudes changed somewhat.” He sighed and shook out his neck again. “Though in the past I’ve had my share of fun.” he smiled.

Clodius watched as much as he cared to, taking the time to ditch his own fatigues, leaving him only clad in his underwear as he began browsing through several uniform style outfits.

Tere sighed as he moved over to his own things in a hold-all “Seems we’re billeted with you, Clodius.” he grinned as he took out a black, tight fitting T-shirt and trousers, both with a golden ankh embossed on them.

"That's a shame," she remarked. "It's a very intimate thiing in my nation. I believe that intimacy makes stronger vampires."

"I don't mind," Ravelyn said in reply to Tere.

“Me either” Tere nodded.

"Billeted, like hell." He laughed "You couldn't keep the missus away is what was happening. Still, I guess being cold blooded means I appreciate the warmth." He stared at them both. "Seriously though, Heruss or Celiana got back to yo two yet?"

"I spoke with Heruss not too long ago. He's billeted with Kristian," she said. The word was not very familiar to her, and her thick accent came through as she managed to pronounce it.

“Not yet. It seems we may have all been a tad… loud last night, so Heruss and Kristian… well, how did he put it? ‘Started to make some noise of their own’. So as far as I know they’ve not done much yet. We got the day off though.”

"Went shopping," she grinned.

“And now I can’t afford anything for the next six months!” Tere said clapping his hands with a chuckle.

"Ah, Celiana sorted them out? Excellent." Clodius also smirked. "What, find a blood bar?"

“Nah, we went to the old Jewelery Quarter, went to see an old friend of mine, I think you actually fought him at one point… old Veteran named Smythe. Set up a little shop down there at long last. The amount of times he went on about it…” He scratched his chin. “I’ve heard of those bars, but I didn’t know where a good one was.”

"Catch a few later." He looked at them both. "So, any news on any way forward?"

"I know where one is," she commented, and punctured Tere's arm with her fangs.

"Yeah. Please don't try that too often. Poor bastard will need his strength more than ever."

“Ow ow!” Tere snarled.

She mumbled something to the effect of..."well so do I.."

Her bruises started to disappear and small scratched healed over. She withdrew from him, and licked the blood from her lips.


"ANYWAY..." Clodius slammed his foot lightly, lightly being relative as the floor shook like an earthquake hit it. "Aside from embarrassing rabbits do we have any ideas on how to move forward with the rest of today?"

“Well. I don’t know. You got any information on a place called “The Valley of the Dead Iron Steeds?”” Tere shrugged as one of his eyes turned blue again, blood from him being drained, also effected how he could govern his powers also.

"Well, having me around, something is likely to come our way," she said, left Tere and headed towards the window.

"Thats Pioneer ain't it?" Clodius held his chin for a moment. "Something from the second war? You wanna go and have a look?"

“From, well. I dunno. Kind of weird. The vision I had… was strange.” He shook his head. “We might be looking well before that, but I think we can start with the Second War.”

Ravelyn's eyes flashed. "We need to hurry then..." something churned within her stomach, and her tone became rather serious. She shivered.

"You don't say." Clodius shrugged. "Okay. There's something not quite right here. You say you can see whats happening clearly?"

“No. Not unless you want to start regaling in yet more possible ghost stories.” Tere shrugged as he looked at Ravelyn. "What's wrong?"

"I just have a feeling that something isn't right. The earth; the land...something changed within it. You don't feel it?" she looked at him, blinked several times, then realized whom she was speaking. His eyes had thrown her so easily off course.

“I…. Felt something.” He blinked again as he rubbed his blue eye this time, it soon washed purple, but it was pale. “I don’t know what, but… something.”

"Maybe you're just a damn sight better than you look." Clodius tried to joke, but it fell through. "But you said you saw something down there?"

There was a knocking on the door.

"Do you hear that Tere?" she asked, her eyes glazed over.

“I… not clearly.” He said, shaking his head. “Hang on,” he stepped over to her, and bit her neck. Drawing some blood from her, he kissed the wound closed as his eyes went a deep purple, and then heard it. It was a chime. A gentle, yet beautiful and eerie chiming.

Ravelyn was horrified, she turned and hit Tere in the face without realizing what she was doing, and it wasn't from the bite. The song which she had heard so clearly was shattered. It had filled her being.

Tere merely took a sharp breath at the hit, and grabbed hold of her wrists. “What’s wrong?” he said to her urgently.

"I know where to go," she said staring straight into his eyes.

There was suddenly a heavy and hard knocking on the door, it seemed urgent.

The door opened as Ravelyn eyes flashed without anyone touching it. She was angry.

It was Kristian, face red and ruddy. “Heruss.” He gasped. “Archives. Urgent.”

"Heruss," the name escaped her lips and she headed to the door, following Kristain through the building.

Clodius blinked again, blacklids sliding out as well as he took up flight with them, keeping up with heavy footfalls through the huge building. Corridors turned to sheltered walkways as they moved through the palace grounds and the huge vampiric complex within Navarrok rose, surprisingly unfriendly around them as they hurried.


Heruss merely frowned at the map as he picked up a magnifying glass with runes etched on them. He was pouring over an old map of Pioneer Valley, from the time of the Second War.

Next to him, and playing in the sky in front of him was the footage from a pair of drones out in the Pioneer Valley.

He merely glanced up at the party as they arrived and nodded to the display as he went back to the map.

Ravelyn's anger was exacerbated by the fact that Kristian had called for her so urgently which had lead her to believe something had happened in Heruss. Apart from the fact that she could easily tune into the artifacts song before, it was now shattered. Tere had not the practice in doing the same, and her anger came off her skin in heated flashes that at least Clodius might appreciate.

“It is still urgent, Ravelyn…” Heruss said as he got closer to the map with a sniff. He then grinned “YES! Got you!” He smiled as he tapped on the map a few times.

Clodius just looked from the display to Heruss and back again, trying to piece it together, the slight rise in temperature keenly felt by his hunter senses. "What is it?"

“Right, now, this is the footage from one of the digs out in Pioneer.” Heruss said, motioning to the display, apparently emanating from a small triangular box he had put on the table. “Its from what can only be described as a massive discovery, but this is what interested me…” He grabbed hold of the image, and moved his hand clockwise, the footage doubled up until the point where the Professor died.

“Effectively the Historian there was used as a blood sacrifice to bring back her. I’m not sure who she is, but I do know….” he moved the images forward again. “That she has friends.”

The hulking metal-clad knight with a large sword thumped past the view, as more and more similarly robed people were getting out of Sarcophagi and moving around.

“I also know where the heck it is.” he said as he twirled his magnifying glass in one hand, his expression still fairly neutral. “Pioneer Valley, about three or four miles from Blood and Guts Ridge.”

Ravelyn muttered something in her native tongue, but didn't seem too keen on on sharing. She lit a cigarette.

“Oh, that puts it only...what, eighty miles south of the nearest road and about 150 from the nearest town.”

“Pretty much.” Heruss nodded. Something flittered in the shadows. Sniffing the air. “From what I can tell, it was right slap bang on the ridge’s highest point. Or rather, it is the ridge.”


"The eye of the twlight?" she managed before taking another drag of the cigarette which was almost done.

“Yes, and the whole castle protecting it. The last Sky Castle… and it appears to be functional.”

A pair of shadows snuffled suddenly past them, higher up on the bookshelves, this time travelling in the opposite direction.

A book fell from one of the shelves, it’s spine cracking as it opened.

Kristian appeared in the doorway, yawning as he did so “Hey! There you guys are, was wondering where you’d gotten to.”

Clodius eyes' darted from the fallen book to Khristian, then swooped over the room. "What the..." he whispered, going suddenly tense.

The Kristian which had led them there was gone, instead there was only a whisp of drifting smoke. The real Kristian looked confused at Clodius. “What’s wrong?”

"Why do I feel like we are being manipulated," she said darkly. "Or is it just me?" The last part was bitter.

"Have always been." Clodius said matter of factly. "Just the nature of this fight, sadly."

More like my life, she said quietly, and quite grimly.

The lights suddenly cut out. Casting all of them in darkness.

The end of her cigarette glowed, and she continued smoking.

“Ok, who forgot to put some money in the meter?” Tere quipped as he shook his head. “Anybody armed? Aside from me and Ravelyn…”

"You mean pay the electric bill," she said, still a bit bitter at Tere.

"I'm a Freestian vampire, I'm more dangerous naked and restrained than most men are fully armed. Believe me..."

Then, Miss Ravelyn dropped to the ground, dragged into the darkness in a coma.

Clodius stared and rushed forward as Rave fell. "Seriously, what is going on?"

“Well, the last time everything went dark was when there were some NightG-” Heruss was abruptly cut off. As the lights began to come back on again.

Only Tere and Clodius were standing in the archives now. Clodius was still holding onto Ravelyn’s body as it suddenly turned into snakes, hundreds of them. Heruss was dead, pinned to the archive table with a hefty, thick sword, and Kristian was in various pieces around the room.

Clodius recoiled instinctively, raising up, the few remaing slithering reptiles being crushed between his fingers as he withdrew. He turned, sniffing the air, eyes scanning the darkness. He peered at Tere with a suddenly suspicious expression. "What..is going..on..."

“That actually you Clodius?” Tere said as he looked at him as suspiciously, his own sword having been summoned. “Listen. They’re called NightGales, they’re strange semi-vampiric creatures we destroyed ages ago… well, thought we destroyed. They might be working for the Anno Domini and we know there’s at least one in the Library of All.”

One of the creatures suddenly leapt out of the bookcases, screetching and snarling, it’s body a mess of burnt and blackened scar tissue and snarling fangs. Tere didn’t move, but let it come for him, it then vanished in a puff of smoke. “They try to wear you down mentally. They’re pathetic in combat except for here. And apparently really love shadows.”

Clodius shrugged, but didn't take his eyes off the Midlonian as his clothes began to tear. "You better be real, Tere." The roar echoed around the room as the giant reptilian combatform rose from the shredded remains of the fatigues.

“So had you. The last time this happened with Ravelyn by my si-” Something lashed out at him and took his head clean off. It was himself, walking out of the shadows, his sword now covered with his own blood. “-de. It’ll keep making me do random things to myself because I’m the more powerful one, magically speaking. So they’ll try to wear me down first because I can probably destroy them with a bit of magic.”

Ravelyn was standing in a field of white flowers again, but the sky was dark. She felt the chains around her wrist. They were still there, as always. She looked around and immediately cried out, “what do you want from me? I’m doing what was asked!” She turned around in a circle, and growled at the night air. She felt pressure upon her back, knew that he was behind her, turned, and the being was was gone. She heard her masters’ voices.

“A-Ah, Azrael,” the female said. “So much hatred locked up in your heart right now; for us? Do you really love him?”

“Who?” she asked.

“Tere, of course,” the voice responded.

“Yes,” Ravelyn said solidly.

“Now that that is settled,” a man continued. “Why haven’t you left yet? We gave you the signal to follow.”

“That? I lost it,” she whispered.

“How?”

“I was bitten,” she remarked nonchalantly.

“I’m afraid we can not reconnect you. That specific item was forming a strong bond with you my dear. I am afraid even we are unsure if it would ever take you up again. It feels betrayed by the disruption. You were giving it all of your attention.”

“Is that all you brought me here for?” she asked.

“No,” they replied. “Not all. Any idea what Quissera is doing?”

“Yes,” Ravelyn replied thoughtfully. “He’s going to try and prevent my death, but I’ve already calculated what I need to do to be just seconds away from his prevention. Do not worry. Let him think what he will.”

“Glad you have come around, Azrael,” they said. “Return to your realm.”

Ravelyn stirred on the ground. She didn't know where she was, or why it was so dark for several seconds. Her cigarette had singed her fingertips. "Son of a bitch," she swore silently.

Clodius nodded, the gesture impressive as his massive clawed feet dug into the ground. His eyes scanned the darkness, tail flicking through the piles of books as his fingers retracted their talons. "All I need to know is how to hurt them."

“By ignoring them at first, when they know the random visions in front of you don’t work well, they’ll try attacking directly. They’re stronger here than anywh-” He was shot, again being replaced by himself, holding a pistol. “-ere else. And this is becoming annoying, try something new you little bastards!”

“Oh, but I was becoming amused at watching yourself die over and over…” a voice cackled. A familiar voice. One dripping with arrogance.

The arrogance of a God.

Ravelyn cut her wrist with the side of one of her fangs, and placed the circle of blood around her with hushed words coming through her lips.
Clodius turned with a speed that belied his massive sized, the momentum alone causing his claws to tear into the stone floor. "No.."

The cackling, deep laughter echoed again. “Awww, what’s the matter Clodius? Afraid of seeing a GHOST?” Franz appeared in front of him, laughing, his monacle gleaming in the light. Before he moved over to Heruss’ “body” and kicked it, pulling the four bladed sword, named “Soul-Reaver” out with a sense of satisfaction. He kicked the body over, and it vanished in a puff of smoke. “Shame it’s not real….” he said, before grinning. “Not yet anyway.”

Clodius snarled and flaired his wings, tensing his heels to launch into a position to strike.
"Go to hell and stay there, Franz."

“Aww, but I prefer the scenery here. Hell is so… mundane. So’s Heaven, but then I’ll be able to craft them as I please soon. Didn’t you hear? I’m coming back.” He grinned as he took out a pocket watch and span it. “Shame I haven’t got all of me back yet though…”

"Believe me it was a pleasure at the time." Clodius grinned, a rather threatening act given the jaw of razo edged teeth becoming visible. "You expect we will let you?"


“Oh it’s not a matter about letting anymore Clodius…” he sighed with a grin of amusement. “I will be coming back as I have done so every time before hand.” Tere was killed again, this time by another copy of himself stabbing him and tearing himself bloodily in two. “Besides, I have an army this time that can go anywhere and do anything. I’ve learnt from the past. Have you?”

"I even decided to have your brother lecture you on the past mistakes, but hey. You... don't... listen." Franz frowned and listened to the archives them self. He heard... singing. Soft and gentle. So soft... so... angelic.

"You're just a ghost Franz. Just a ghost. And you words are just that, words. When it comes to flesh and steel, you lack, my friend." He smiled again, and rose to his full height. "And when the time comes, I will return the favour again."

“Just a ghost?” He smiled as he span the sword a few times. “Just…a…ghost.” he heard the singing again.

He vanished from them, and appeared in the darkness.
“Hello again, Azreal.” He said quietly.

She continued to sing, and not open her eyes, light now strongly surrounded her. She suddenly switched to common language. "If you are lost in you way deep in an awesome story, don't be in doubt and stray; cling to you lonesome folly." She opened her eyes, looked him straight in the eyes, and kept singing.

His lips twitched in minor disgust at the singing. In his opinion she was off key at times. But that might be her angelic voice shining through, or her accent. “Cute. Really.” he said as he stepped a little closer to her. “But really, Azreal. Sing all you want. I might even keep you alive for that reason.” he chuckled darkly.

"Now you're too close to the pain. Let all the rain go futher. Come back and kiss me in vain. Mother, oh do not bother," she continued singing, and over her words which her lips sang, came another voice, as if she were speaking. You will not kill me yet

“You’re right, I won’t.” He smiled. “When the time is right… though messing up your children’s plans would be amusing. And within my power. How’s the Twilight getting on do you think?” he smiled.

"Hear the chorus of pain taking you back to proper ways. It's so easy to find if you could remind me." The song continued. A-ah, humanity wishes to control everything, everything that is even beyond their grasp. You are the type of humans which make me sick. You are but an ant in a large anthill. There is always someone bigger than those who walk in this realm. Ah-free will. What the corrupt have done with such a precious gift.

“Free Will?” He chuckled “And you think your masters didn’t put that into you also? You just don’t use it under the naïve idea that they’d destroy you. Your masters are lazy, they won’t want to waste the long time putting together another Seraphim, so they punish you, and like a pathetic lap dog you obey! I am no lap dog, I am beholden to none! All are held to me!”

"Now you are lost in your way deep in an awesome story. So I will find you again, and kiss you for lonesome folly," she said looking at him distinctly.

“That’s your answer is it?” he snorted. “I’m equal to others because my vision is folly? My will and power to become a God is folly and just a story? Don’t be pathetic. I exist here. I will exist everywhere. I am not like everyone else Azreal, I have died and come back so many times, both Heaven and Hell and every time I have rebelled and come back. Ironically I am like you, but with no masters to bind me to some pathetic path of light, or dark. I will make the paths anew.”

She continued to sing and the light spread outward from her. "Make paths anew? No. Destroy paths, yes. I believe what you covet will bring about your destruction. A man had rowed to an abandoned cave. The treasure he saught was at the bottom. He reached the bottom, and pried open the chest. Beneath the water he grabbed all he could hold; including a precious golden snake. He tried to swim back up, and it was too heavy. It weighed him down, and he refused to drop the snake over the air he could have been breathing. And so he brought about his own destruction. Greed; is a terrible vice. The worst I know. With greed, you are always left wanting; never fulfilled...have you ever been fulfilled? No...you have always craved for more. At one point in your life you craved for knowledge. Power, is all you crave for now. I'm afraid, the power that you seek, may be too much for your finite mind to handle, not because of strength, but because of nature."

He simply grinned at her. “Oh, how badly they have educated you of me so far.. My my even your mighty masters don’t realise do they? I’m not like that pathetic man. I take bits at a time, slowly you get richer, you become greater, you become higher and higher, until eventually you find you have the power to lift up the whole chest and simply walk away with it under water. I take many trips, Azreal. I don’t pathetically try to grab everything at once.”

He span his pocket watch, it slowing down the creep of light considerably as it ticked loudly.

“Every time I have come back, I have won. Not in the way they think, but in power, every time I have more influence over people, more powers, more ability to do what I need to. Who’d have thought? A humble scribe and a biologist became a General of one of the World’s most Powerful military forces. I commanded millions. I will do so again, but this time. I will be their ruler, their king, their God because I don’t take all the power at once, I don’t take all the gold from the chest, but a bit at a time until there’s simply none left, and the owners of that chest wonder what’s happened to it.”

"And then the snake bites you," she grinned, and went on singing. She rose from her knees.

“Yet what if you become stronger from the venom? Hrm?” He smiled as she stood. “You certainly do have a very nice body, Azreal…” he trailed off as he looked at her. “Shame it’ll go to such waste.”

"No one is stronger than this venom," she said as she continued to sing. She was thrown off a bit by the comment of her body. She hadn't figured Franz to take much interest in carnal pleasures, but she brushed it aside. "I have no care for my body"

“Oh, there’s always someone strong enough to take the venom, Azreal. Always. How‘s Wrexx anyway?” he grinned and chuckled.

"I'm sure you would like him more then I," She smiled; and her smile was beautiful.

“Perhaps,” his own face suddenly radiated, his own wanton smile playing on his lips. “Why you, Azreal…” he said suddenly. “Why you, specifically. I could have any of the Seraphim and get the same. Why have the Watchers sent you…”

"They hate me?"

“Perhaps. Wouldn’t you want to see your tormentors destroyed? If I could keep you in existence? Hmm?”

Her chains spread out across the floor. "I love humanity," she said quietly, stopping the song, and looked up to him with eyes the color of blood. "You only seek to detroy it. Would you, too, not try to use me as a pawn? I'm afraid I will have to decline your offer. I'd rather die then be an instrument of darkness."

“Oh, you seem to misunderstand me, my dear Azreal.” he said. “I seek not the destruction of Humanity. But to simply govern it better than the supposedly benign Watchers, or the Corrupt being that deigns to call himself God. Not Humanity, but Humanity’s so-called keepers.”

"You would rule out of fear, and never out of love," she said softly. "You know nothing of love. You are the corrupt one; who would kill an angel..."

“You? An Angel?” Franz snorted. “You with the corrupted identity? The Dark powers with a corrupted soul? If anybody is corrupt in their conviction, it would be you, you without a free will, or a free choice to do as you saw what truly was right, but instead what was deemed right by some arbitrary creatures with greater powers, and that‘s all they are, creatures and nothing more.”

"Shows how much you know about me then," she remarked and continued her song.

“Your corruption comes in the form of you wanting to break free.” he said quietly.

"And my purity in realizing that I cannot," she stated.

“Yet you still try, you send your son, your true love to do your dirty work? You are worse than me.” he snorted.

"Qui?" She laughed quietly, then her laughter grew louder and more erratic. "You think I told him to do anything? Ah, my little boy, you are ill deceived."

“Oh? You don’t realise the connection you truly share? That he thinks he shares with you? He does what he thinks you want. What you‘d do if you had the freer will.”

She waved her hand. "So ill thought up, Franz," she commented.

“That so? So why hasn’t the light grown since I started on this thread? Hrm?” Franz chuckled.

She snapped her fingeres, and the light spread outwards in a flash, illuminating the entire room. She looked at him. "You will never hold any power over me."

“Really? We’ll see about that, Azreal.” he laughed darkly as he faded. “We’ll see…”
Midlonia
23-02-2008, 16:15
Heruss snapped back into reality as the NightGale screeched and fled, all three of them were singed from the bright lights. He gasped for breathe a few times, he had been fighting some sort of copy of himself.

That’s when he realised he no longer had his sword with him. He started to look around before he found it. And Kristian.

Kristian was pale and sweating, blood was dripping down along a sword. Heruss’ sword. He was also pinned up off of the floor, he was looking at Heruss with a mixture of sorrow and love.

“Kristian!” Heruss yelled suddenly as he moved over to him, looked carefully and gasped. “I-I’m sorry! The NightGales… I didn’t realise it was you! I…”

“Sssh.” Kristian said quietly. “Just help.” he said with a hiss.

Heruss carefully pulled the sword, and Kristian, off of the Bookcase. Kristian screamed in pain.

“Medic!” Heruss screamed suddenly. “Get a fucking medic in here now!”

When nobody came he cursed himself quietly, opened his coat and removed a small package from it. He kissed Kristian and gently put his hand on his forehead. “This is going to hurt, a lot.” And then pulled the sword out of him in one go.

Kristian screamed again and nearly doubled over, but Heruss held him up firmly and shoved the small package onto his wound, the gel inside began expanding and getting to work at stopping and limiting the bleeding. It was a good temporary measure and stopped him bleeding out.

Kristian had, by now, began to fall unconscious, he simply picked him up, shouted something at the small black triangle on the desk, then carried Kristian in his arms and left the archives as the others were barely coming to.

Tere groggily rubbed his head as he sat up, he had been thrown against the bookcases and coughed as he was covered in dust from some of the higher-up bookshelves. He could hear the chiming again. The beautiful music-box style chiming of the Eye. He got up, one eye groggily a deep purple, the other crystal clear blue again, and looked around.

“Heruss? Colonel?” He called out.

The triangle clicked and flickered into life, it showed Heruss carrying Kristian.

“Terefedel, Ravelyn, listen to me.” He said as he held the badly wounded Kristian. “I’ve circled the map where I think the Castle is, once I have Kristian in the Spire’s infirmary, I will try to join you however I can. But you pair will have to move swiftly. Get to the Castle however you can, use the Twilight if you have to, or commandeer one of the Freestian shuttles. Just get there and try to speak to those figures, those Laputians if you can!” He then ran from the scene and the box faded.

------------------------------------------
Sky Castle, Adarehal

“Your Magesty, there is a problem.” The voice floated, it was a sing-song voice with a gentle almost childlike curve to it.

“That being?” Queen Lathua said as she sat forward.

“There’s nobody contacting us, I cannot find any other sky castle anywhere.”

Lathua sat back and thought for a moment. “Not one? Not even an echo?”

“No, only the barest fragments.”

The air around her flickered and hazed as random images were played, a dove carrying an olive branch soaked in blood, a mage in a long flowing cloak running down a corridor not to dissimilar to the ones around the Adarehal. Tumbling masonry, then a brilliant flash and nothing.

“There have been many battles during out slumber.” She said simply. “How are the repairs coming along?”

“We now have the ability to protect ourselves. We have one large guardian pylon functional, however the outside of the castle has been significantly damaged.”

“I see. Propulsion?”

“Not yet, by two rising suns we shall be ready to move.”

“Good. I do not wish to remain in this valley of dead Iron-clad steeds. Those drakes and pointy eared creatures will one day pay for downing this mighty fortress…”

The Eye merely chimed at her.
Midlonia
23-02-2008, 18:55
Tere turned, Clodius was unconscious and there was a large pool of blood on the floor where Kristian was probably wounded. There was also a single black feather. He then realised Ravelyn wasn’t there also.

“Rave?” He called out as he looked around. “Ravelyn?” He moved away from the circular area they had all been stood in, scooping the map and triangular object into a pocket on his cloak as he did so. “Rave?” he called out again, hearing a hiss of a NightGale, still smarting. He spotted it trying to cower in a tiny shadowed corner, it’s skin was red-raw. He spat on the ground and simply shot it with a blade-pistol. “Little bastard things.”

He turned another corner and found a slightly wider area around the bookshelves. There Ravelyn was still hunched over with a circle of blood around her. “Rave!” he said as he rushed over to her.

"Remind me, next time," she murmured as he helped her up. "That I am no longer of the light realm...."

“Heh.” he said simply. “You ok?” He placed her arm around his shoulder and held her up.

"Yes," she said softly. "Franz decided to have a chat with me."

“Ah.” Tere stiffened slightly. “He had a chat with me and Clo also, what did he say to you?”

"Nothing that I was not aware of all ready," she said in return.

Tere simply nodded. “We have to go. Kristian was apparently injured and he asked us to go to the castle as rapidly as possible. He gave me a map.”

'Brilliant," she said darkly. "If you didn't bite me we would have been there by now."

“I can still hear it.” he said simply. “It fades in and out, but I can hear it.”

"It was the only thing I could hear," she growled at Tere. "Do you not understand? It would have reacted to I and I only. Now the first person who find it it could react with."

“If that footage was anything to go by it’s already reacting to the blonde haired figure, Rave. It’s all coming back to life.” Tere snapped back.

"Indeed. Have fun with that," she commented. "It is no longer my burden to bare," she said ironically, and headed towards the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tere said as she moved away.

"Healing Kristian," she said as she walked through the door. "Then I don't know...out?"

Tere followed her. “Look, Heruss said for us to go find the castle, listen!” He took he triangle out and played the message again.

I don't know if I can be around you right now.

“Why?”

Because you may have ruined everything. Everything has a certain timeline it has to follow. You have royally fucked mine up

“I…. You know what? Fine. I’ll just go myself, do whatever the hell your masters tell you to Rave.” With that he turned on his heel and walked away, vanishing into the Twilight as he did so.

That last comment stung. "Have it your way," she said outloud even though she knew he could not hear it, and proceeded to walk down the corridor.

A tear rolled down Tere’s cheek as he walked amongst the shadows, he considered turning back a couple of times, but decided against it. Rave was Rave, and if he’d messed something up, there was little he could do. Instead he heard the chiming fade in again, and pressed on.

Heruss merely sighed as he leant against the surgery door, pacing back and forth several times. He had rushed him into here much to the bewilderment of the medical staff, who weren’t brilliantly prepared to handle a human injury. They instead chose to stabilize him as best they could, while medical staff from the Hathertwaite were called.

Ravelyn walked past her father, without so much as looking at him, and walked into the surgery room, much to the bewilderment of the medical staff. She couldn't have bared to look at Heruss. Her skin seemed to be glowing. "May I?" she asked breathlessly. She looked at the wound on his chest, and set to work. She placed her hands over the wound. The light was still in her from fending off Franz' image. The plastic material was removed that had been used to prevent hemoraging. Light seeped over the wound, repairing it internally before closing the skin over it. The tendrils of light slipped over the edges of the table and spilled over. It started to fill the entire room, and the crimson started to fade from her eyes; her eyes a bright amber color. She said something in her own language.

Then, in an instant, the light vanished. Kristian was healed. Ravelyn doubled over and coughed, a bit of blood fanning onto the floor. She clutched her stomach were blood had seemed through the black dress that Kristian had picked out for her. Her eyes returned to crimson, and she leaned on the wall for support.

Unlike Charmaine, who could heal others suffering, Ravelyn was only able to take it onto herself.

The staff moved over to her instead, trying to get her onto the table instead of Kristian, mind there was enough room, it was designed for wounded combat-form Vampires after all. Heruss had come into the surgical room and stared. He then moved over to Ravelyn as she was put down on the table and offered her his arm.

She touched his arm gently. The light magic had once again drained her, and her skin had grown cold. The wound was where Kristian's had been, however it wasn't at bad. It didn't change the fact it hurt like a bitch. She looked over at Heruss. "Sorry..."

“Don’t be.” He said. “Now, bite it. It’ll help.” Heruss placed his arm gently near her mouth.

She hesitantly bit into his arm, but only taking a minimal amount. She pulled away, as if she had lost her appetite.

“It’ll help a little.” he said quietly to her, and kissed her forehead. “Where’s Tere?”

"Headed to the castle."

“On his own? I asked for you both to go…” Heruss said, suddenly alarmed.

"Long story," she commented.

“You had another falling out…” he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ravelyn….”

"He can't understand how delicate things are."

“He doesn’t have the power to do so.” Heruss replied with a sigh. “You should understand that by now, surely.”

"I don't know what to do to make him understand."

He shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell him what was wrong? Why didn’t you try to stop him? That place is incredibly dangerous and it could kill him.”

"I did tell him, and he didn't understand."

“What did you say? Did you tell him he’d messed everything up without actually telling him what or something?” Heruss replied.

"Everything pretty much covers it," she said.

“See, that’s the problem. If you don’t tell him why he’s messed up he’ll just shrug and run away. Sometimes cryptic answers don’t work, you need to explain to him. Even when angry.”

"He knows WHY he's messed up, and he still didn't even say, 'sorry', how do I fix this?"

“Does he really? Did you tell him? I think all he knows is he’s messed up. He’s as angry at himself as he is at you for not helping him avoid those mistakes in the future.”

"Yes, I told him."

“Then something else must be driving him.” Heruss said with a sigh. “In that case…” He turned and sat down, bowing his head in thought for a moment, and took a few deep breathes before murmuring something in a tongue none of them understood.

Tere appeared outside the surgery room and opened the doors suddenly. “Ravelyn’s hurt?” he said, his eyes wide with fear, but again, they were different colours. He looked at her and moved over to her, hesitantly stopping himself from taking her hand. “I… Sorry for earlier.” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t have run off like that…”

"Stop fawning over me like I'm a helpless kitten," she said to him in his initial reaction.

"Do you want to fix this or not?"

“Well, yes.” he said simply.

"How high is your pain tolerance?"

“Fairly…” he said, slightly wary. “Why?”

"Do you want to fix this, or not?" she repeated.

“Yes!” he snapped at her. “Yes I do want to fix this.”

"Then no more questions," she said, then looked at Heruss. "Can you support me?"

Heruss got up, “Yes…” he said as he moved over to Ravelyn and gently propped her up.

With Heruss help she had managed to get off the table. The wound was slowly closing still, but the bandages did a good job of keeping everything intact. She pushed Tere a bit, with suprising force from a woman injured, onto the table. There were restraints on either side, and she quickly latched his arms down. "Close your eyes."

Tere looked up to her with his blue and purple eyes. “I’m sorry for biting you earlier too.” he said as he closed his eyes and prepared himself.

"Well if you didn't bite me we wouldn’t' be in this mess right now," she commented.

She passed her hands over his chest up to his temples. "Return to me," she said in her native tongue, and closed her own eyes as well. She tore through Tere's mind, causing his muscles to tense significantly. It was a strong burning pain as she frantically saught the glowign orange orb which she saw ahead of her. It slowed and recalled to her, and a flash of light transfered between the too. She opened her eyes.

Tere screamed out in a dozen different languages, including her land’s native tongue as the light was changed between them. He gasped for breath as his eyes opened again, still different colours he looked up at her, sweat beads on his brow.

Ravelyn's thoughts were drowned out with the song of the eye, and her head spun momentarily as her senses attuned to it. Somewhere, in someone else's hand, it went temporarily inactive. Ravelyn hurridly unstrapped Tere. "We need to go and we need to go now," she grabbed his wrist, and her skin was hot to the touch.

He stood up with her, her touch suddenly warming him and causing his own senses to cascade back into form. “Ok, why the sudden rush? Are they really that far along?” he asked, blinking as he looked at her.

"No," she said. "But we were supposed to be there already. I'd like to catch up to my own timeline."

“Right,” he nodded, looped his arm into hers, then vanished with her into the greyed out realm that was the Twilight. “Then we’d better go deeper and hurry.” He said as they suddenly went downwards, the images themselves going grey, shapeless and instead simply different levels of dark shades of grey.

"Hurry," she whispered as she held onto him.

He tightened his grip “I think I’m getting the hang of it better now.” He said as he looked at her, perhaps his eyes really were throwing her. Here his black hair went a darker grey, he almost looked a tiny bit like Qui. “We should be ok, but we’re going to have to run.” he nodded as he broke out into a slight sprint, dragging Rave with him until she matched his speed. They could both see The eye now. It was a definite glass orb, shining and pulsing in different colours, blurred figured moved back and forth across it. However as they got closer, thick, almost black twilight descended around it. They both had to stop. “We’ll have to come out here and continue in the Natural Realm.” Tere sighed, exacerbated. They were so close…

"They won't be able to use it as long as I'm alive...we have time now," she said softly. "But quickly...get us out of here."

They thundered out of the Twilight, as through wind were whipping around them. They were in a corridor, that was slowly lighting again from various smaller orbs on the wall, a pale, yellow glow which caused the corridor to sparkle.

“Hetela Jan?” a voice called from the far end.

“Jevala jan tarey!” another called.

Tere grabbed Rave and dragged her down a darkened corridor as the two figures met where the corridors bisected. Tere tightened his grip on Ravelyn to warn her against any action.

“Estu miley var?” One said, pointing to the corridor they were hiding down.
The other, a pale, bald figure in long purple robes merely looked at a tablet. “Naj, demali veli tar.” and shook his head.

Who are they? she asked Tere silently.

Laputians he replied silently. Ancient enemies of the Porphyrians and Midlowlanders, very very powerful mages, the Snowdon Mountain range which runs along the middle of Midlonia’s Grand Island today? They made it.

I made my lands, she responded. So how are we going to get past them?

We just wait. From what I can understand of them, they’re repairing the lighting. The guy in purple is from the leadership class, generals. Grand mages, project leaders, that sort of thing. The guy in blue is a general mageneer. He repairs things.

The two figures moved away as they consulted the tablet again, picking further down the same corridor to repair.

Ok, now we go Tere said as he pulled Rave up with him and silently moved along the corridor.

She followed him quietly, though the sound got louder within her mind, and her fingertips vibrated with the call. We are close

Then we need to be extra careful he replied. The closer we get the more aware the eye is going to be, so will the controller. I’m struggling to remember how these castles work properly again… it’s been the better part of 500 years since I last saw inside one, after all.

They turned into a large room, it was empty, in the middle was a flat set of stones which raised up slightly to a small plinth, which was also empty, light shone down from a single, still slightly weak orb high up in the roof. To one side was a radio set out of the 1940’s. The Second Moonstone War Era, along with a few other bits and pieces, telescopic sights, a rusted up revolver and assorted tat, most of it broken before it apparently was put here, if the dust on them were anything to go by, which was only smeared at the edges from grubbing fingers recently picking them up and cleaning them away.

The closer we get, she said to him, squeezing his arm. The more I will feel this pull, she said in return.

“Voyshet davela?” A pair of voices said in unison, one feminine, one slightly childlike echoing from nowhere around them. “Dalaka masula daveroj?”

Tere tensed. “I think they found us…”

The stone lintel of the doorway behind them slid shut, blocking their way out, then the light went out. “Why do they always trap us in the dark?” he muttered. “Is it some requirement these days?”

A figure appeared before them, a beautiful woman with blonde hair and deep purple robes that flowed, her skin was shockingly white and she regarded them with a pair of pale yellow eyes.

“Voyshet davela? Gerah!” She asked, apparently impatient. Either side of her, a pair of hulking armoured behemoths had appeared, brandishing swords which glowed gently, casting an eerie pale blue glow.

Ravelyn stood, and folded her wings behind her. "Ti govorish kak ya?"

“You speak my language?” the figure replied. Still in her own tongue.

"Yes," Ravelyn replied fluidly. "It's one of the ancient languages, very similar to my own, just different core sounds."

“I see, so, my initial question still stands. Who are you, and what are you doing here in my realm?”

"My name?" Ravelyn returned. "Ravelyn. I am the eye's keeper." Her eyes glowd red, and her ethereal wings appeared next to the physical ones in a scarlet light. "It sings my song, through which it had awakened me to it's own reawakening. I'm afraid that if you wish to use it, you need me to control it."

“My keeper?” The childlike voice now spoke, another figure appearing besides the woman. “My keeper are the Laputians.” It replied nonchalantly.

“You seem to not understand who I am, Ravelyn.” the woman bowed. “I am Queen Lathua Twilit. I have always been able to control my Adarehal, and will continue to do so. I already am as this castle is slowly coming back to life.

"Adarehal?" Ravelyn half smiled. "I am sorry, but I believe Adarehal is no longer with you."

Wake up, Wrexxie...
Midlonia
23-02-2008, 21:13
Castle Adarel Hetera

“Adarel Hetera!” Lathua said suddenly. “Lights!”

The room bathed in a bright white light, the room becoming awash with it, chasing away all shadows. Around the two Mechanical behemoths standing next to her shivering avatar were a dozen or more. Flowers bloomed and water began to flow into a small channel cut around the edge of the room, nourishing the black, white and red roses.

"Beautiful."

“Thank you!” the child-like figure replied again. “I can do more! But I need repairing some.” It sighed and yawned.

“As you can see, my dear. This eye is under my control, and it’s powers are awakening. Thank you Hetera, the flowers are lovely.”

Oh, so now you want to talk to me? Wrexx muttered as he appeared to Ravelyn’s mind, he was wearing blue robes.

Yup...you are part of this...aren't you? she asked knowingly.

Ravelyn started singing the song within her head in a beautiful enochial voice, softly, singing only a few lines, and observing the reaction of the Queen.

Well, I know enough about them. I led quite a few raids on them bringing them down in the Unification War after all…

Lathua smiled, and joined her in a similar voice. They began to sing a gentle duet, causing the avatar and Tere to look on in wonder.

Ravelyn smiled, her voice beginning to grow stronger as the song in her head reverberated.

Any suggestions on what to do?

Well. Two options, gain her confidence, which you seem to be slowly doing, or destroy the Eye. It’ll kill all of them off. They’re all sort of bound to it, it’s why we always attacked the Eye’s when we fought them. Mind, it also meant that many tried to take control of the Eye’s to control them…

Then why do I hear this song.

They used to call the Laputians the Angels without wings. True breeds were regarded as Magir-Seraphim, chosen by God. Half-breeds were simply called Angelics. Maybe it’s because it’s found a kin in your. Perhaps that’s why the Watchers sent you here.

"You are my kin..." she said out loud wide eyed. "I'm...you call me a Magirseraphim."

She smiled. “Ah, so people do still know of us…” she nodded. “That is good, the rest of what has happened is what worries me, we cannot contact any of our own kin back home…”

“…I am also glad that there are still others, though I see you have wings.”

"I can still contact them..." she almost cringed when she said it. "Perhaps that is why they sent me here."

"I am a full seraph," Ravelyn replied. "Which is why I still have connections between this world and my creators."

“You can contact my kin?” She said as she stepped forward, one of the hulking goliaths moving with her, before stopping when she held up her hand. “How? All of our abilities to raise any other Magir-seraphim and Angelics have so far failed…”

"Because I'm a full seraph. I...have control over my kin because I was the first sent here...."

“You’re the first?” Lathua said, looking at her for a moment. “The first…” she said quietly.

"Yes," Ravelyn said. "My angelic name is Azrael."

“Azreal…” she said, as if still not quite believing it. “Then, I…welcome you. Home.”

Ravelyn, herself, was not really believing it. "Home?" She looked around, the familiar flowers around the ground. "Home..."

A single white flower bloomed, it was in a stone circle, kept away from the others, on a small raised dias itself. Lathua gasped as she looked at it.

“That’s…” she trailed off. And just bowed to Ravelyn. The armoured behemoths behind mimicked her, their large swords implanting softly into the ground as the got on one knee.

Ravelyn turned and looked at the flower. A tear fell from her left eye. Home…

“Your Magesty.” Tere said quietly. “The Anno Domini come.”

She stood, and looked at Terefedel. “And you are?”

He bowed. “I, am Lord Helmand the 12th, of the Midlownyan peoples, and the Porphyran Kingdome. I am afraid much has happened since you came here a long time ago, many of the Angelics are… gone. Destroyed in a war of unification that saw their end over 700 years past, along with much of magic in these lands. However, the Anno Domini still come, they seek the Eye and the power from it.”

“I see. Who killed my kin?”

“The Midlowlanders did. They conquered all.”

Lathua nodded. “I see. Then I will have to conceed defeat, and work with the victors.” she sighed, a tear rolling from her own eye. “So that is why we couldn’t contact any of them…”

“I am sorry. I was there when Laputia fell. It went nobly, and in fierce battle.”

“Then I am glad.” she smiled. “But how is the army of Hell still alive? We destroyed them countless centuries ago…”

"Franz has returned, or is trying to ascend. He is controlling them," Ravelyn said grimly.

“I am afraid I know not of this Franz…” she said, looking to Ravelyn slightly puzzled.

“Malkren.” Tere said quietly. Lathua tensed suddenly.

“Malkren…” she hissed. “I see.”


The Spire

The hulking figure awoke, books tumbling from his form, snorting short deep breathes as the massive warform of Clodius Maxilimus rose awkwardly, legs the size of literal tree trunks splaying slowly as the jaws hung loosely in his still dazed stance. The draconic shook his head again, spitting blood on the ground as he finally came to.

"What the hell?"

“Finally awake?” Heruss said quietly as he scanned another book, and simply threw it aside into another pile.

"How lo...." The question halted. "Where's Tere got to? And Rave?"

He peered round, eyes penetrating the darkness, but everything seemed to be back to normal.

"What the hell happened? I remember Franz..."

“And I accidentally managed to ram my sword through Kristian’s Stomach.” Heruss replied dryly as he flicked through yet another book. “Not the flesh one either.” Heruss shot him a look. “The NightGale are also gone. Tere killed one and I finished off the other two.” he pointed to a set of charred corpses, all bled a little, thick, tar like blood.

"Well I am genuinely embarrassed to have missed it." Clo muttered, retracting his claws as he looked across the room. "Made a mess. Where did Tere and Rave end up, anyway?"

“As far as I know, they’re trying to get in contact with, or take control of, the Sky Castle.” he sighed as he threw yet another book over his shoulder and grabbed another. “We may need to move forces ourselves, we’ll need to deploy forces at the site, or with the castle if it becomes functional again.”

"Hold on a second..." Clodius expression turned sour. "This thing is operational?"

“In theory.” Heruss looked up. “If the eye wasn’t damaged, as it apparently wasn’t. Then conceivably that can get it working again, flying, shooting, making cookies, whatever the hell this thing can do.”

"Do we know if its in friendly hands? Looking at what it did to the historical team..."

“No, we don’t. In fact the people inside it were Laputans, who used to be rather hostile to both Midlownyans and Porphyrans. It’s why the Midlownyans destroyed all of them, after all. Though why one is here I’ll never know…” He shrugged and picked up yet another book. “However it’s destroyable everything is eventually.”

"Thats all I need to know." He turned and walked towards the entrance, past countless rows of books. "Time heals, right?”

“So they say.” Heruss remarked as he held open the final book in a pile “Wait!” He cried out.

"What?" He turned his head but kept on walking.

“Did you know the Islanders apparently fought against somebody here long ago?” he asked, as his finger traced over the archaic writing in the book. “Star Gods…”

"Star gods?" He raised a curious glance. "Hang on...." He stopped, as if something had slapped a wall in front of him. "Here? In the Commonwealth?"

“If this book is genuine, it’d explain what the hell this thing is doing here…” he said as he traced his fingers along the words again.

“Just references always to the fight of Angels and Star Gods.” Heruss sighed as he read another page.

Clodius shook his head. "Ancient legends matter not. I have a country to protect Heruss. This must be ended before it stops."

“Then we have to secure that castle, if the Anno Domini get it…” he trailed off before sighing. “Our bombing of Navarre would look like a scratch.”

"Its a risk we cannot afford to take. Heruss, I'm glad you agree with me." He placed a friendly arm the size of the Midlonian's torso around Heruss shoulder. "Thank you.”

“I can have the Hathertwaite and her escorts ready to go in an hour, if you wish to use them.” Heruss said, looking at Clodius.

"Maybe, maybe..." Clodius sighed outwards. "Forgive me once more, my friend." He withdrew one finger, and flipped in his palm to the side of Heruss' head with enough force to knock the vampire out. ""Forgive me."

Heruss simply groaned and fell unconscious, the book slipping out of his hands and hitting the floor, shattering, sending pages fluttering everywhere.

Clodius gulped slightly as he laid the body out on the floor as gently as he could. He turned, not looking back, exiting the library and ordering the door barred behind him. "Time heals," he reassured himself.

Castle Adarel Hetera

“We’re about ready to place ourselves back where we belong, under clear open sky.” Lathua sighed and smiled. “After so long an Angelic fortress will rise again.”

"The Anno Domini wish to control this castle," Ravelyn said. "What we need to direct instead of rebuilding is in its defenses. Time is of the essence."

“Once we have flight again we can defend ourselves properly. We already have one of the main pylons back. We need the other three towers to do that, and in order to do that we have to rebuild and begin to fly again. Once we can, we can repair everything else rapidly.” Lathua nodded.

"Where is the eye?"

“Behind my throne room.” she said quietly, leading her through the circular garden, then into the hexagonal throne room, before finally into a large purely circular room. The gigantic glass orb sat in it’s three pronged cradle glowed silver, then white as they entered.

"We have to protect it at all costs," Ravelyn said. "This is what they are after..." She stepped towards it, then looked back. "May I?"

“It is technically yours, Azreal. It’s why it glowed the colour of your soul…” Lathua bowed.

Ravelyn was startled. White? she thought to herself, and trailed off. She walked to the eye, and picked it up into her hands. She could not let such a thing be destroyed, nor fall into the wrong hands. She brought it inwards towards her chest. It glowed softly with a white haze around it. Soon, the eye turned into a bright light. It sifted through her chest and the glow faded. She felt a warmth spread through her; hot and comfortable. "Now, to get the three pylons up..." she said, her voice reverberating with something else; songlike as if a chime.

“To do that we need to take flight, two of them are underneath the castle.” Lathua said, staring at Azreal as she had absorbed the light.

"Very well," she said, she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Raising her hands slightly, the castle began to rise.

The ground shuddered, a millennia’s worth of sand sliding off, revealing bright, sparkling yet dark stonework glistened as it finally saw sunlight again. As it rose, trees suddenly grew again, small gardens which had been hidden for a millennia began to grow, fountains flowed, trees bloomed an aqueduct burst into sudden life with sparkling water and the one pylon glowed a soft golden colour.

It was alive.

Ravelyn herself had connected herself with the castle; she felt the glow within her and gained a sense of momentary euphoria.

It was reflected in the Lathua next to her, who also seemed to glow. A tear fell from her eye. “Thank you.” she said quietly.

"This is my home now too," Ravelyn said quietly. "Right?" She turned to Lathua with a smile, and shared the deep hapiness. A home, which she had never really had. She could have stayed there forever, and had already started thinking about doing so.

“Yes it is, Empress of Laputia.” She replied with eyes shining with tears of happiness, she burst into tears and grabbed Ravelyn, hugging her tightly.

Ravelyn smiled and hugged her back. The feeling that arose within her was sheer happiness.

Tere carried a chest into the room, it was obsidian in colour and studded with diamonds. “I think this is now yours, Empress Azreal.” Tere said with a slight bow as he handed her a key.

Why is Tere bowing to me? she thought silently, looked at him peculiarly, and opened the chest.

She also wasn't used to hearing her real name used so often. She looked in the chest, and was almost taken a back. A high improvement to the slightly bloodstained dress she wore; a cream-colored dress with golden embroidery, a robe which went over with the emblem of angelic wings upon the entire back; quite beautiful, but she could not wear the robe. There was a golden circlet with pearls that rested at the tip of the edges of the intricate design; and a ring. She slipped into the dress which seemed to mold to her figure, and folded the other one she had been wearing. She placed the ring on and felt the reverberation of it's light throughout her form. She took the circlet in her hand, and looked at it. She spread her dark wings outward.

Tere smiled and stepped towards her. “You look incredible.” He said simply, and kissed her gently on the lips.

She placed the circlet around her head. Such magic which was imbued within these items! She felt revitalized. With this feeling, the repairs increased in rate. "Thank you," she smiled, then turned back to Lathua and smiled. "The Anno Domini won't be able to get the eye without killing me first. The castle is safe from being taken over, but attack is still possible, unless they realize it is too late."


Navarre

Clodius stared across at Farahind, the ghoul female reclining sleepily as she steepled her fingers and looked at him over the desk between them. Flourescent, sterile lamps hovered above them. "Your call, Clodius, you have my faith to know what you are doing."

Clodius nodded. "Thank you Sarah. How long then?"

The pair walked in, both without uniform and the ghoul only in a robe above her evening wear. Around them the huge semispherical structure of the Joint Command Centre, a mile below Navarre, hums and whirred with mechanical grating and electrical whine. Banks of monitors supported the emergency lighting in bathing the place in an unearthly glow. In the centre, a huge holographic map of the Commonwealth rose from the floor, detailing every city, town, military unit and a million things of interest aside.

Red lines criss-crossed across the surface, near and yet given the scale hundreds of miles above the projected surface. Above the Pioneer Valley two lines intersected, and two labelled dots slowly converged on the position.

"Thirteen minutes, give or take a second." Sarah finally answered. "You certain Clodius?" She asked plainly as the image closed in, revealing in real time the slow uncovering of the sky castle, something that caused both of them to pause for the briefest of seconds.

"I am."

Hundreds of miles, on the far edge of the atmosphere, two massive satellites, big enough to incorporate cities and dwarf the largest ships ever concieved, magnificent space defence stations of the Commonwealth sailed serenely through the endless void of space, eternally vigilant against all foes. The instructions their crew recieved, therefore, caused some consternation. But insurmmountable proffessionals to the last each station slowly rotated around their cores, their huge missile and railgun arrays pointed now from the heavens towards the Earth. Safeties disengaged, and enough firepower to wipe out nations several times over came alive.

Multiple officers dotted the consoles around, checking the data that flooded into the arena sized shelter.

"Orion in engagement zone in t-minues ten minutes, Atlas in t-minus eleven and counting. All systems, both stations are reporting locked on and operational."

Sarah nodded. "Ensure the feeds remain live. I do not want them to know we're coming." Clodius merely looked down.


Castle Adarel Hetera

Ravelyn walked through the double doors, glancing at the flower as she passed. She wanted to see the outside; wanted to see her new kingdom; her home, for once, with ones from her own kind. It was strange for them to think of her as their empress, when they were the ones with free will. Her breath was taken away as she walked outside; and she was rendered speechless.

Did you give this to me...did you lead me here to give me something I could definatively fight for?
she asked seemingly no one, but directed it towards her creators; the Powers. Well fine, you win. I will die for this.

Terefedel gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He was wearing a black pair of robes with a golden cord. “Apparently the Empress’ consort wears this.” He chuckled.

She turned towards him, and chuckled. On the back was the emblem of the golden wings. She nodded in approval, smiling genuinely for the frist time in a long time. She walked outside along the edge, and through the middle, along the streams, and through flowers. She watched as fountains were rebuilding themselves and life was spreading throughout the floating kindgom.

“From Death, comes life.” Tere said quietly, as he followed her a couple of paces behind. It was strange to think that this was really a craft of war, it was so serene, so peaceful…

She smiled. "Yes, and now in the hands of someone not power hungry...I'm sure more life will come." She was hungry, however, but indeed not for power; for compassion.

She felt the eye of the twilight within her spread a peculiar sensation across her whole body. She turned to Tere. "Can you see how far we are progressed? While I can sense it, this is all new to me. I don't know what is operational and what isn't."

"Oh," she said, calling back. "Call Heruss...let him know of the recent happenings."

Tere nodded and picked out a communicator from his robes, he clicked it and held it up.

“Terefedel!” Heruss gasped as he appeared on the screen, clambering over a table.

“Colonel! We’ve taken control of the castle.” He smiled. “We’re apparently now it’s rulers or something. It’s rebuilding, it’s incredi-”

“No time!” Heruss barked, cutting him off. “Clodius is going to destroy it! He knocked me out and I’ve only just come to. He can’t allow the castle to exist! If it fell into enemy hands…”

“It can’t, Ravelyn now holds the eye in her, they’d have to kill her first.”

“Clodius doesn’t know this!” He barked again. “I can’t find him, he’s not here! I don’t know where he might have gone either, prepare yourselves either way!”

Tere’s face drained of colour and he ran after Azreal.
Midlonia
23-02-2008, 22:58
Navarre

"Orion is eight minutes away. She's opening her hatches. Initial volley set for one hundred-fifty megatons clean burn." Sarah nodded and breathed deeply.

"You still believe this is worth it?" Clodius nodded sullenly.

"I made a vow to protect this land and its people against all threats. I can live with it, I've had to before."

Castle Adarel Hetera

“Azreal! Azreal!” Tere shouted frantically, she had wandered of and he was now frantically searching for her. He ran along the battlements where a pair of blue-robed men were steadily winching a small pair of concentric spinning disks into place. “Have you seen the Empress?” He shouted at them urgently. The two men pointed further up to a similar position where a pair of concentric circles turned slowly. A blue light in the hollow centre glowing gently.

Ravelyn turned to see Tere running towards her. She smiled until she noticed his expression. "What?"

“Clodius! It’s Clodius! He’s not going to allow this castle to stay here, he’s going to destroy it! He knocked out Heruss and is now nowhere to be found!” He gasped and said to her rapidly.

Above them, far above the clouds, two distant stars slowly drifted into view far above. Even on the surface the huge battlestations were visible and menacing.

"What!?" she said alarmed. With no way to get in touch with Heruss, she had to prepare them if they did not stop. The eye within her sensed this, and a surge of magic welled up within her. She cast a white light that soared upwards into the sky and poured outwards, spreading over the land. Apparently it was taken a lot out of her.

The two turrets the blue robed mages had installed began to spin and glow, they were channelers, they helped boost and enforce the spell she had cast, it eased the power she was using considerably as a the robed mages stood next to the turrets and began to sing to them.

Девка по саду ходила,
Да по зеленому да гуляла,
Ой-ли, о-ли, ой-ли, о-ли,
Ой-лели да ой-ли о-ль.
По зеленому да гуляла,
С ноги на ногу ступала,
Ой-ли, о-ли, ой-ли, о-ли,
Ой-лели да ой-ли о-ль.
С ноги на ногу ступала,
Да на камушек наступила,
Ой-ли, о-ли, ой-ли, о-ли,
Ой-лели да ой-ли о-ль.
Через садик, через вишенье,
Перепелка летела,
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели
Перепелка летела.
Ой, Бог тебе дал, Пелагеюшка,
За кого ты хотела.
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели,
За кого ты хотела.
Ой, Бог тебе дал, Александровна,
За кого пожелала,
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели,
За кого пожелала.
Мимо груши, мимо яблоньки
Дорожка лежала,
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели,
Дорожка лежала.
Только ходят, только ездят
Купцы да бояре,
Ой, лели, о-ли-оли-лели,
Купцы да бояре.


Navarre

"Five minutes till Orion engagement." The young lieutenent called. Meanwhile the displayed showed the light eminating from the rising structure.

"Return fire?" Sarah barked, growing concerned.

"Negative. Power surge, unreadable on the spectro, ma'am." Sarah looked to Clodius. "What the?"

Castle Adarel Hetera

She lifted off into the ground, and headed upwards. "Warn Lathua---" she was cut of by that song; that song she had known so well, and had sung her entire life; the one of protection. They too, sang those words. It gave her a surge of energy as she travelled upwards over her kingdom. A white light glowed in her hand, but nothing more than that.

Tere nodded and ran to find Lathua. Who herself was moving to the main pylon and was singing gently to it. He told her of what was happening and merely nodded, continuing on her way.

They destroy this place… Ravelyn thought silently. It might very well drag me with it...and that would be rather...disasterous.

She watched as they approached. She would not allow them to destroy these lands, even if that ment destroying those who came for the small piece of heaven she had found comfort in calling home. The light in her hand grew larger. The mages below her were more powerful then she had thought, and the song carried with it threads from them siphoning into her. The eye of the twilight sung loudly within her mind.

Dozens of mages had now joined in, Tere had approached the main pylon himself and began to sing into it, he felt his eyes haze as they turned purple and he sung louder to the pylon, to Ravelyn, to everyone around him.

Navarre

Clodius wondered for the briefest of moments. "A shield...." he muttered slowly.

"Advanced, certainly," he continued as the screen closed in once more. He stared at the highest resolution. "But as I said once long ago, whatever the cost."

"Orion, two minutes. Atlas is prepped, three minutes. Hatches open, physics packages set. Orion is firing first volley."

High above Pioneer Valley

Twelve bright stars descended from the Orion, hurtling down towards earth, glowing red as they passed through the atmosphere at hypersonic speed.

"Sixty seconds!"

The light had almost encompassed her completely. What have you done Clodius… she sent to him, but not even knowing where he was to pinpoint him. The song reverberated in her mind. The light engulfed her completely, and suddenly, it spread out to her ethereal wings. The wisps of energy turned to white, and exteneded outward far past her figure, supporting her as almost a levitation like state. They glowed brightly in almost blinding light. "Slow..." she whispered in her native tongue, and sent out a charged pulse out towards the approaching figures; not harming them, but causing greater friction causing a noticible delay as she began to charge her next defence...and then she would have to attack should they come closer.

She realized why the Powers had given her this. It was something she had to protect; something unchanging, and something they knew she couldn't let Franz destroy. They had manipulated her, yet again, but it was for the greater good. She had to accept it; both gift and curse.

The missiles slowed only negliably as their atomic power plants powered up against the resistence. Gunners aboard the Orion noted the deviancy, and began the final countdown for the primary rail gun battery.

But something else changed two, and predator eyes peered at the image of the sky castle in the JCC.

"Sarah..." Clodius whispered.


This wasn't her own magic; but theirs combined with hers, and that of the eye.

Ravelyn prepared herself, and spread her own shield across the direction of attack in addition to the one behind her. She was not protected by the shield she had placed over his kingdom. "You impulsive dragon, Clodius," she yelled out in desperation. "I'm going to have to seriously bash your head in for this..." and her voice travelled father than she expected, it was infused richly with magic.

Clodius span his head around.

"STOP THE ATTACK, NOW!" He roared. Sarah and the rest of the command staff just stared at him.

"Belay that order." She stared at Clodius. "What the hell?"

"Sarah...please..." The ghoul looked at him with a shocked and annoyed expression.

"Thirty seconds!"

"Disengage." She whispered. "Destroy them."

Across the sky massive white burst erupted over the atmosphere, shorting electrical circuits up to the very southern edge of Navarre itself as the EMP blast hit. The huge blinding spheres covered the sky above the valley, making even the powerful yellow sun seem insignificant. Exposed skin reddened and burnt on the ground even this far below, and the dull blast waves still rocked the entire area.

Tere felt the castle shudder, and part of a wall crumbled before being attended to by a pair of mages. The Angelics around him redoubled their singing.

Ravelyn took the impact, the shields and energy keeping her from being severely hurt, as she was higher up than the rest of the castle, but the energy was being focused to her. She relaxed a bit after it was over. She yelled out towards the vessels. "CLODIUS!" Her voice bellowed through the sky, and her expression, clearly not happy

Clodius heard her. Through the time and space and sheer bloody rock between them he heard her.

But it wasn't that that made his face fall as Sarah pointed to the display anew.

"Clodius, what are those?" She said, pointing to a series of rapidly opening blue portals...

The portals opened, swirling and sparkling as they did so. Thundering from them came aircraft of all shapes, sizes and ages. Propeller craft, bombers, transport planes, fighters, jet aircraft. All sorts.

Ravelyn turned. She dropped back down to the earth. It was time for the new empress to do her job. With a pulse from her hand the singing stopped. The time for powering for defense was over. They had an attack to worry about. Luckily, the shields she had put up had not been very damaged.

The amplifiers along the battlements changed and turned red. The Mages around them began to sing aggressively. Thundering, seething balls of energy, sparkling and lashing out in red and purple began to fling themselves at the oncoming craft, chasing those that tried to run.

She summoned her adamantine armour, and strangely, the embroidered dress responded by shortening to her upper thigh and adjusting in places. Convenient, she thought to herself.

Some of the craft managed to avoid the lightening, a pair landed in a large gardens-like area

From them jumped some mages, who immediately began to scribe into the grass using blood. Portals opened and a machine gun bunker appeared in it’s place, along with rusting artillery pieces and other bits and pieces which rapidly destroyed the defences on one side, where they were concentrating on the larger numbers of aircraft.

Soon, that area was clear for Anno Domini to land and disgorge their cargo.

Stepping onto the grass and taking in a deep breathe, Garufedel smiled. “Oh Ho! So this is the last famous Laputian Sky Castle?” he said looking around. “Not much.” he sniffed.

“Simple. Inelegent.” Replied his radioman, dipping his bowl helmet.

“Right! Lets press on, shall we? Attack the doors!” he yelled.

Realisation hit Clodius soon enough. He called to one of the ghoul sentry's to go and collect Heruss. He would apologise later, but now he had to be pragmatic. He recognised the portals, or their smaller cousins, and he turned quickly to Sarah.
"Can we reaim the stations?"

Ravelyn knew that voice. Ravelyn vanished for a moment, and appeared behind Garu. She jammed the end of her scythe into the back of Garufedel's unprotected head, and with a flash of light, she sliced down his back. "Not if I can help it, uncivilized fuck..."

Garu simply stumbled forwards, before drawing deep in the air, his back healing almost immediately. “Oh my, the air is so… pure, wouldn’t you say?” he grinned as he drew his sword. “Hello Seraphim.”

"Be gone from my sight," she growled, seething with an unfamiliar sensation. She reached out with her chains, wrapping one around Garu's wrist. "You won't defile this place...I'll kill you first..."

“Really? You’ve failed so far!” he yelled at her as he drew his sword and lashed at the chain. Around them, avoiding them carefully some of the Anno Domini were moving to attack the gates, they had with them a vehicle with a battering ram like appendage and were driving it heavily into the doors, which cracked, then they opened slowly. The Domini cheered and began to move on the doors. Only to stop and recoil in horror.

"Maybe...so far. But things change," she growled and attacked him agressively, pushing him backwards with quick flashes of light and whips of her chains.

He laughed as he smashed a couple aside, then winced as a couple of chains cut his skin.

At the door, the Iron clad behemoths had arrived, their large swords swinging violently, smashing aside Domini and flinging them into the abiss below with ease and abadon. The rifle fire that was coming against them apparently doing nothing to slow them down, somebody landed a lucky blow and the ironclad’s helmet was flung off, revealing a large, dragon like head underneath. It snarled, it’s face now uncovered and snort sticking out and simply ate the Domini who had landed the blow whole. It then roared, an echoing sound that caused the other Domini to freeze, then flee, some simply leaping to their doom off of the sides of the castle and it’s chunk of terra firma.


Navarre

Heruss was, to say the least, fuming. He was also shouting. Rather loudly by all accounts.

“You think that you can run this whole fucking war on your own Clodius? I told you they had gone to gain control of the castle, they did it, and rather than ask me to get in contact with them you did this?” he motioned violently at the screen. “You’re very very lucky I’m not calling for your head because of this! I’ve ordered the Hathertwaite, and her escorts Thunderchild and Angelica to head for the castle at full speed.”

"Unlikely", Sarah made a sort of retiring gesture. "They've already passed out of their primary arcs. They don't get long." She looked up at him as Heruss entered.

Clodius recoiled away. "Remember what I said Heruss. All prices are acceptable." He looked back, finally, eyes hardened but stil reflecting a little sadness.

“Not when the price is victory you blithering reptilian idiot!” he snapped back. “You ever knock me out under the pretence of our friendship again and I’ll cut you in two!”

"Job at hand needs finishing." Clodius said coldly. "Deal with it."

“I am dealing with it.” he snapped irritably back before pointing to a man at a console next to him “You, patch me into the Hathertwaite under frequency 366-h311.”

"I'm just do the readouts on northern defence air stations sir. That guy over there can help you." 'That guy' had already doen so though, putting the audio link on the conference speaker.

“Captain.” Heruss said, his tone calmer now. “I want you to head to Pioneer as fast as you can, the second you leave city air limits I want you going as fast as possible, understood? Full speed ahead. I want you there yesterday, understood?”

The ‘Captain’ an apparently cool electronic voice replied with a simple “Yes sir, estimated TOA is 1 hour 25.”

"Won't they need help sooner?" Sarah asked, assertive as only a ghoul could be. "Those portals are increasing in frequency."

“They can take care of themselves until then, I am sure. If the rumours and legends are even half true…”

A bright red light lashed across the scene and a portal collapsed.

“…they can take care of themselves until then.”

Sarah bristled slightly. "Just remember who's country you are in, Heruss, and how you choose to speak to me." She looked angry, sharp and nasty as her voice rose. "You creating a new goddamn kingdom out of our soveriegn territory, you know."

“No Prime Minister Farahind. I’m recovering a very important artefact.” Heruss replied very levelly and simply.

Sarah shook her head. "Heruss. Let me explain something, and I will only say it once. This is the Commonwealth. You are our honoured guests and we know the fight as well as you do, but dear god do not presume for a moment this is the Kingdom and that you have any power beyond that which we give you."

“Perhaps you should have considered that before the Warlord decided to assault me.” Heruss said, turning back to her.

"Clodius knows where his duty lies. Question is, do you? To the Midlonians or to your sires?"

“Mine lies in protecting us all, Sarah.” Heruss sighed. “My allegiances come to neither in this case aside from Humanity.”

"Does it?" She turned away and looked at the display of the battle. "Let me make one thing clear. Everything you do here in these borders you clear with me, understand?"

“Understood.” He replied, grudgingly.

Sky Castle

Garu swore violently as he smashed aside another chain. “Damn you to heaven!” he spat as he was lashed again. Around him, the hulking behemoths continued to smash aside Domini.

The unhelmeted one roared again as it simply snapped up a pair of Domini in a set of nasty double fangs, chewing noisily, it was shot by the machine gun bunker, causing it to roar as it was blinded, it went into a rage, charging blindly across the gardens, smashing over friend and foe alike, before colliding with an aircraft that was trying to land, tumbling they both barrelled over the side, the Behemoth roaring defiantly as it went.

"Destroy the portals," Ravelyn called out, and across the entire kingdom her voice was heard. She continued her attack on Garu, growing more agressive by the second an causing his movements to be eratic. White light emitted from her right hand as hot as a sword to slice down his chest as her left hand viciously weilded her chain, but not the scythe. "You will not defile my kingdom, Garu.."

Tere darted past them both, his sword drawn, he collided with the radio man who dueled him with his rifle, Tere hacked the weapon in two, causing the Domini to squeal and flee.

“You kingdom is the dead one.” Garu spat back as his chest was gouged open.

"Oh?" with that remark the light which glowed in her hands shot through him as if one hundred small spires had been triggered.

Garu screamed, his body shrivelled and burned at the light, then a portal opened around him and he vanished, taking the Anno Domini with him.

"CLODIUS!" Ravelyn bellowed as they disappeared.

Tere came over to Ravelyn, his sword flecked with blood, but interestingly, neither of them had any blood on their clothing. "You can talk to him without shouting you know." he winced.

“Lathua told me, you have to imagine you’re talking to the person, and you should be able to see them, we should all be able to see them, something about Astral projection or something.” He grabbed hold of Ravelyn’s hand. “Try it, I‘ll help.”

She recalled her armor and the dress reformed. "But I am not trying to talk with him, I am trying to yell at him, and that requires a raised volume."

"No no no," she said. "I want him here...." she pointed to the ground. "Right in front of me."

“Well, it’ll be like he’s in front of us, like when Lathua first appeared.”

She looked at Tere and grabbed his ear, tugging on it.

“Ow! Alright, you want me to use the Twilight for us to get to him?”

"Oh, yes," she commented. Then looked to one of the mages. "Start repairs, I will return."

“Yes, empress.” the mage bowed as they vanished into the cloudy grey mists of the Twilight.
Midlonia
23-02-2008, 23:49
Navarre

Tere and Ravelyn appeared in the command centre, Tere reluctantly let go of Ravelyn’s hand and stood next to Heruss. “Prepare for fireworks…” he murmured quietly.

Twenty odd ghouls raised their rifles in one single motion at the new arrivals, not dropping them until Clo did a calming signal with his hand.

"Rave, Tere."

"Clodius!" she yelled, and grabbed him by the ear, much as she would her boyfriend; though the two had recently become lovers. Oh, boy. "What are you trying to do kill me?" She growled. "They are my KIN my FAMILY. That place is now my HOME. You were going to destroy my HOME!"

Clodius looked cold, quiet. "I have no regrets, Miss Shentavo. I did not make the decision lightly." He finally cracked a little, bowing his head. "I promised all my kin I would never let Franz rise again, and that I would do everything I could to stop it. Everything bar victory itself is worth the cost."


"Did you not have enough faith in me? You didn't even call..."

"Time is short. Every opportunity must be taken. Nothing is inevitable if we can react soon enough. I am sorry for the mistake, but I will not apologise for the decision in the conext of what happened."

"And if it went through," she whispered. "If it had went through, and the eye which I now hold inside of me were to be destroyed, certain events that need to occur for Franz to be eliminated would have not come into play." She released his ear and her expression softened towards him. She ran her hand down the side of his face. "You made the decision alone. Realize you don't have to bear that burden all by yourself."

Clodius turned away. Sarah and the rest of the staff looked on them. "United we stand." He said. He put his own strong hand on top of Rave's. "Is your home safe for now?"

"So long as I have the eye it will be safe," A small light formed within her right hand, "The A.D....disappeared, when I harmed Garu...I harmed him with... light."

“Wait.” Heruss said raising his hand “The Eye of Twilight is in you? As in inside?”

"Yes...as inside me," she turned to Heruss. "It recognized me as it's heir."

“It’s heir? But then, that’d mean….” Heruss simply stammered, frowned then looked at Ravelyn in disbelief.

"Mean what?" she remarked, settling to Clodius' side in the comfort that he understood, and that he was simply there.

“Well, that.. You’d be the last Empress of the Laputian Kingdome, or rather, the first in about 600 years.” Heruss said as Tere moved past him and he took Ravelyn’s hand gently into his with a smile.

Tere held her left hand as Clodius held her right. "Yes."

Clodius let her come near, and smiled a cracked smile, letting Rave lean in close. "We're talking pre dominion time now, aren't we? He shook his head.
“Pre Midlonia, back in the era of the 6 kingdomes.” Heruss said quietly, nodding.

"Well this just gets more and more fascinating." Clodius grinned. "So, where are you planning to park that castle? Can't stay out there on its own..."

"I dunno," she said pondering where. "I quite like it floating... on the groud it would lose so much."

“By rights the castle shouldn’t land again, unless we want to spark off new tensions between the castle and the Commonwealth.” Terefedel said. “Wherever the castle lands it considers the area around it as it’s claimed territory. At least, from what I remember.”

"Well, lets at least get it moved somewhere it can be protected...gonna be giving people nightmares." Sarah coughed, loudly. "Yes dear?"

The ghoul crossed her arms. "I would like to ask, are you planning in setting up shop here permanently?"

"Not sure," Ravelyn said. "It all depends if I somehow manage to come out of this alive...or can pass on my throne." She looked at Clodius. "Any idea where I can house my floating island?" She grinned.

"Well," he said leading back to the display, "we have about a hundred million square miles to play with. Warm, cold, tropical?"

"Warm," she expressed her opinion.

"Well that narrows it down..." he laughed, "lets see, good communications line, nowhere you get run off from testing...nothing too out the way but still..."

Close enough so I can spend the night once and a while? she sent silently to the draconic.

A ghost of a smile played on Tere’s lips as he glanced at the other two.

The corner of her lips drew into a sly smile. How her anger had been forgotten so quickly!

"You don't seem to have too many problems getting around..." he smiled, warm and friendly, and with the slightest air of mischief.

“I certainly don’t mind chauffeuring her around…” Tere muttered quietly.

Clodius just shook his head. Sarah yawned and patted her robe down again. "Well," she said, "if you ask me at least move it into the Middle Sea for now, protected enough."

She looked to Clodius for approval.

Clodius shrugged. "Best idea for now. Hardly as if it has to be permanent." He turned back to Sarah. "I'll leave the public announcement to you."

Ravelyn nodded. She would give the order after everything had settled. She gripped Tere's hand tightly and leant down to Clodius. "I do believe, however, you owe me an apology," she whispered quietly.

“I think you should take a look at what you nearly destroyed, Clodius.” Tere remarked casually as his own grip on Rave’s hand tightened significantly.

"I will sometime soon." He smiled at them both. "And, I am sorry. All I will say is in the same position what would you have done? I am loyal to my nation alone, but I do see my error now."

"Shame," she continued. "I was looking forward to the apology," she said in the same tone, and saw the registration finally fill his eyes.

“Could come now,” Tere said nonchalantly. “Won’t take long to get there.”

"You know what. Sounds nice right now."

“Ah, well, in that case…”

Tere moved over, grabbed Clodius’ arm and they all vanished from the command centre.

Sarah blinked hard, and Heruss merely shrugged. “I’ll still have the Hathertwaite and her escourts bring the castle to the Middle Sea, that saves on your resources.”
Rave Shentavo
24-02-2008, 17:33
They arrived outside as night had begun to fall. Laputia (http://www.nilsmaier.de/assets/images/Laputa.jpg) was lit with glowing blue and orange lights. They were delicate wisps of energy that illuminated the stone walk ways. They vanished and came about again, as if fireflies inhabited this place. The earth had grown and trees swayed within a gentle breeze as the kingdom moved towards another location. The three were greeted with a special reverence, though more so Rave than the other two. She took to it naturally, and ruling her own empire for thousands of years had definitely helped. Though she did feel it was strange that the Powers would give her all of this. Something to fight for yes, but something to give up? She didn’t understand it at the moment.

Apparently she was the heir to the throne which had been uninhabited for 600 years. Surely it wasn’t through blood, but rather of nature. She silently wondered if Kayde or Charmaine had come along, would the reaction have been the same? Or had it just been meant for her? She could hear the water traveling through small streams and pooling into fountains. The statues had been reconstructed, and the kingdom looked almost to one hundred percent of what it had been.
Midlonia
24-02-2008, 22:54
Tere simply stretched and yawned, looking out at the cooling night air and the desert below them. “Wow, this place really has come back to life fast…” he said as he looked around at the lush green grass in stark contrast to the rest of the scenery around them, which was largely sand and sparse hills.

Clodius felt his feet sink into the grass as he watched the surrounding landscape, turning his attention across the castle and its radiant grounds as the huge floating...well...city manouvered its way through the lower peaks of the Carrassian mountains.

"To think we never found this...then again, if you wanted to hide something it would be here."

A pair of blue robed mages were arguing, one brandishing a tablet and poking it, while the other snapped his fingers and stamped his feet, the irate mage‘s robe was green-ish blue, while the other was a darker, more “pure” Blue.



“Vastel? Vaslet? Noj! Garushet volla geer!” One said as he stamped his foot again.

“Vastel garushet defenal gru!” The other replied tapping the tablet again and pointing to a small shallow pond, it was triangular in shape and raised slightly, only a small stone in height.

The green robed mage huffed and stomped away, the blue robe merely shrugged, span his hands in the air and a guardian pylon appeared, it’s concentric disks spinning slowly. He sighed as his sandals were soaked by the displaced water, before looking down the tablet and moved away, bowing to Ravelyn as they walked past.

"I don't really know much about it," Ravelyn said. "Some empress I am, eh?" They passed through corriders into the circular room with the light realm flower in the center. Ravelyn looked at it, and her heart ached slightly.

Clodius opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it. He looked at the flower, small and delicate, and moved slightly towards it.

Ravelyn turned to Clodius as he stopped and followed his gaze. "Beautiful isn't it?" she said quietly.

"Very." He said. "Seems so fragile though." He leant his hands forward, not to touch, but to feel on his skin the air around the flower.

"It's from my realm," she said, placing a hand on his chest easing his desire to touch, or so she thought. "Yes, delicate..."

Clodius moved his hand back, placing the finger's around Rave's own, strong muscle against the soft seraphic flesh. He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry," he said, genuinely, quiet, for so powerful a figure an extremely humbling act. "To have come so close."

Ravelyn took the familiar tone with a slight flush to her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something, but could not find the words.

“Time heals.” Tere said quietly as he picked a rose head from the garden, it grew back almost immediately and he presented it to Rave.

She took it in her free hand, and looked at the soft petals. The entire castle carried the scent of a rose garden.

Clodius turned away and let his hand dropped. The first chill of the mountain air passed through the room, and on the horizon snowcapped peaks began to jut out of the grey and brown foothills.

“Empress, you have returned?” Lathua said as she quietly stepped into the covered garden, her blonde hair shining and her robes, once again flowing, continuing despite the dying of the wind.

"I said I would," Ravelyn said, turning towards Lathua with a smile.

“I am glad you did.” She smiled and bowed to her. “I take it the repairs and decorations are to your satisfaction?”

"Very nice," Ravelyn said with a smile then introduced Clodius to Lathua.

Clodius looked up at the new woman curiously, sniffing the air in an almost rude fashion before manners took over. "I must admit to be uninformed. I hope I am not intruding."

“Not at all.” Lathua bowed to Clodius. “Any guest of the Empress is a guest of honour. I am Queen Lathua, formerly of the Sky Castle Adarel Hetera before it had the honour of becoming Laputia.”

"Oh." He said, somewhat blandly given the circumstances, but recent events still had to fully play through his mind. "Allow me to introduce myself, Sir Clodius Maxilimus, Lord of Navarrok, the....well, not ruler of the lands surrounding but, I guess representative of him."

“An honour to meet you Warlord.” She was now speaking English, apparently having learnt it in the short time between Ravelyn leaving and arriving again.

“I too am now a representitive of this land currently above yours.” she smiled.

"Mmmn," Ravelyn said, agreeing. "Now that this kingdom is becoming fully operational, it would be in your best interests to keep a good relation with the empress. Or am I mistaken?" She walked a bit away from Clodius, with the rose still in her hand. She looked back to Tere and Clodius

Tere smiled at her, then simply looked to Clodius.

"I will endeavour to keep relations with the world newest state as optimal as possible." He said plainly. "Of course, I suppose we will need to sort out territory, especially if you wish to have a permenant home for this impressive place."

“Our home is really back in the Valley of dreams.” Lathua said quietly. “Back at the Grand Island.”

"Home is where you make it," Ravelyn said quietly, took a few steps forward and took Clodius' hand and Tere's in her own.

Lathua bowed. “I shall show your guests to your wing.” She said.

"Can you show me as well?" a smile from the corner of her lips.

“Of course, Empress.” Lathua said with a sly smile as she led them from the covered garden.

Clodius nodded as he followed. "By and large we do have territory to spare, and we would be willing to offer you internal sea space, something I believe the Kingdom could potentially have trouble with given how crowded it is," He stopped and offered an apologetic glance to Tere.

"Again, depends I suppose on what you wish to do and what your plans are for the place.”

Tere shrugged. “We’re hoping the Genesis project will yield a suitable result to solve our overcrowding problem, but I consider myself more a Laputian now.” he glanced down at the robes he still wore, black with a gold band. “As the Empress’ consort…”

"Congratulations!" Clodius grinned, "you two were quick though. I assume your thinking of returning to the Kingdom eventually with this place?"

“Ack! Ceremonial! They put this on me!” Tere said, shooting Cloudius a look. “Technically you’re one too.”

With this response Ravelyn smiled with satisfaction, and flashed this stunning smile at Clodius.

"Wait, what?" He blinked. "When did..." He looked at Rave, then back to Tere, then to Lathua, then to Rave again. "Would the Empress care to explain?"

“I am afraid anybody who has made love to the Empress must wear those robes.” Lathua said as they rounded another corner, and headed up a spiral stair case. “It’s an honour to have been chosen that way.”

"Indeed," Ravelyn said in return, and couldn't supress the wide grin that spread across her mischevious face.

"You are the only two males left alive," she commented, half laughing.

"Oh." Was all he could say. "Well, great I suppose. It was an honour, I do have to say." He smiled. "Hang on, this isn't a harem thing is it?"

“An Empress should have plenty of suitable sources to choose from if she wishes for heirs…” Lathua said. “Though yes, it pretty much is as historically they have taken lovers from both sides…” she trailed off, her face tinting red as she arrived at a pair of gently glowing doors.

Ravelyn's eyes widened. "I am so not giving birth again. I'd rather be crucified."

“So… have it for the fun.” Lathua said with a chuckle as she threw open the doors. The rooms were plain, there was nothing in them. “I am afraid we didn’t know how you’d want your suite to be, so you shall have to think up of the décor yourself. I shall assist you.”

"What I don't get though," he carried on, "is, how this place ended up here?"

"Is there a spell to make men stop asking questions?" she asked Lathua off to the side.

“Ah….” Lathua said as she turned to him, her hair sparkling gently in the light. “A war against Gods, which we lost…” She sighed and placed a hand against her face, smiling wistfully. “We went to war with Gods, thinking we were on par with them, we fought for years. We came here, on the offensive and lost….”

"Here on the offensive?" He asked, looking more and more puzzled, "there was nothing here save our scattered tribes..."

“And the Gods, I remember them well.” she said with a smile. “But that was so long ago, and so much has happened since then it really matters not.…”

Ravelyn had already grabbed Tere, and had started kissing him as if no one else were in the room. She spread her wings outward.

Clodius blinked. "There are no gods here and never have been...." He turned away. "And, no offence Rave, but the Empress might need to learn some discipline with decorum."

"Ah, my apologies," she said, she bowed to Clodius, then turned to Lathua, and kissed her delicately upon the lips.

Lathua went deep crimson, before grabbing Ravelyn by the waist and pulling her to her, kissing her hungrily before breaking. “My apologies Empress.” she stammered, her face crimson. “It has been so long since I have felt the pleasure of flesh…”

Ravelyn laughed. "Quite all right," she waved her hand. "Quite all right..." she looked at Clodius. "You see, Clodius. With angelics, is it really something to be ashamed about? It's normal. Since we are bound to corperal bodies, to show affection similar to how we would without them."

Ravelyn smiled. She was enjoying this; everything: Tere's steady presence, Lathua's politeness and admiration for her empress, and Clodius uncomfortableness, yet pleasant presence.

Tere moved around Clodius smiling, he wrapped his arms around Lathua and began to kiss her neck gently. Lathua blushed at the feeling and went limp in his arms, falling back into Tere’s embrace, he turned her head to his and kissed her.

Clodius shook his head. "Well, I guess now is as good a time or any. However, Empress, there is one thing I need to say..."

"Feel free," She said softly, turning from watching the two.

Tere was now making out passionately with Lathua, her hair flowed and sparkled more, with gentle hands Tere picked at the tie around her robe, freeing it and putting his hands against her. She took a sharp breathe. “So long…” she whispered again.

She jumped on top of him. She felt his arms around her. The one true child she had since she had been inflicted with vampirism with Vaughn; a draconic. He felt so similar; even in his attitudes towards certain things. She kissed him greedily. I don't believe I am… she managed silently.

"Good" he grinned, "I won't finish what I was going to say." He held her close, moving down her neck with his own fangs. "I guess, whilst I'm here, I have to perform my appointed duties." It was fairly obvious that the idea wasn't particularly unappealing right at this moment in time.
Midlonia
25-02-2008, 00:28
Much in contrast to the previous nights. Ravelyn was the first to wake up. "Every time I go to sleep someone else ends up in the same bed," she said, and now the count was three, though she hadn't slept with Lathua or Tere directly that night. She stretched, and put on white robes. The material sifted over her wings and formed so that it had a back even though her wings went through the fabric.

It was early morning when she awoke, and she left the three sleeping to go into that center room. She stood at the stone ring where the light realm flower had bloomed.

Lathua stirred next, she still felt exhausted, she sighed and got up, trying to find her robe. She found it at the far end of the Empress’ suites. She had enjoyed her time with the Empress’ first consort, as she put the robes on, they shimmered and changed colour, they were now black, with a gold tie-band. She smiled and bit her lip, before slowly moving from the suite down into the castle. Coming across Azreal. “I enjoyed myself, thank you for the honour…” she said quietly.

Ravelyn smiled, and nodded. "He's quite a sly one, isn't he?"

“Who, Empress?” She asked, blinking.

"Terefedel."

“I am afraid I do not know how you mean, he was a very good lover…”

"He's mischevious," she replied plainly. "Very tricky...it's quite enjoyable"

“Yes, he is…” she sighed and smiled.

Clodius yawned, finally rising, body sinking into the bed, peering at the torn remains of his uniform...(Well, she did like the draconic)...and vaguely trying to recall the view before remembering where he was. Shrugging about his lack of wardrobe he rose without cover, deciding that they must know each other well enough by now.

"Would you see to it that Clodius gets some form of clothes?" she asked Lathua. "His are rather in shreds, which is partly mine but mostly his fault."

“Of course, Empress. I shall see Terefedel rises also.” Lathua bowed and left.

"Hey now, if you weren't so impatient," he grinned playfully. "Of course, forgotten how good this feels actually. Should get together more often." He smiled again, warm and quite mischievous looking, a couple of pairs of bite marks were visible along with more than afew scratches and bruises.

Ravelyn chuckled to herself, sighed, and turned her attention back to the light flower. Then, Clodius' voice chimed into her thoughts. She turned towards him. "I agree," she said quietly. "Well, to insure good relations between our respective lands, we will simply have to meet more often." She supressed a smile. "You know, you remind me an aweful lot of him..."

"Vaughan." He went quiet. "You said his name."

"I..." she hadn't realized it. "I'm sorry..." She was caught off guard, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "He was the first person I ever fell in love with; a draconic." She took a deep breath. "I still love him deeply, even after his soul was destroyed. Still...I never for once..." She looked at him helplessly, and softly kissed him. It was a chaste kiss, not one filled with a carnal passion.

Forgive me…
"Don't apologise." He looked down and returned the kiss, letting Rave hug him and cradle her body in his larger frame. "Love is what it is. I feel honoured to be even compared."

"He was a great man. A leader," she chuckled a bit, though it was sorrowfilled. "Always...making decisions without me, or anyone else for that matter."

She paused. "Sorry for yelling at you earlier. I seek to blame pent up millenia of frustration on it."

"Leaders have to, unfortunately." He smiled, and hugged a little closer. He placed a hand under her chin. "Love is unforgiving, but to know it and lose it is simply the price we pay for being able to feel it at all."

"But why does one have to lose it and yet be forced to live for eternity without it?" she questioned. "Somehow, when I find it I am always separated from it. I mean, now I am counting down the days until Franz comes for me. I don't know what will happen after that."

"What will happen, will happen. We merely have to meet it when it comes." He stroked her hair idly, letting the black strands wash through his fingers. "But for now, you have Tere, and I guess me as well."

She hugged him tightly. He somehow knew the right thing to say, and at the right time. She took in a deep breath as she felt a warmth at her back as another flower came up from the soil to share the space of the other light realm flower.

Lathua arrived, dragging a still sleepy and slightly bruised Terefedel behind her, she was carrying a set of the black and gold robes with her, which she bowed and held out to Clodius. “Please, accept these Warlord.”

"You know, thats technically the wrong title, but..." he smiled and took the robe gratefully, slipping it on across his broad shoulders. It let it hang fairly loosely though, enjoying the cool air as he peered across the room back at Rave. "Stop looking disappointed dear." He laughed.

Lathua smiled to Rave, then stared at the ground next to her. “A second flower?” She whispered.

Ravelyn turned and looked at the second flower. "What...exactly does that mean?" she questioned.

“Well, that you’re becoming at one with this place. Quite rapidly for two flowers to have grown so quickly….” Lathua said as she looked to Rave again.

Clodius meanwhile left to peer at the view from the floating castle, peering down at the distance they had crossed. Below him now the shoreline of the Middle Sea crept up, the dawn light meaning still the artificial street lights still etched their way over the landscape. Lines or road and rail spun lonely webs through the pale pink desert sands before the water, whilst to the North the massive glow still radiating from Port Blanche lit up the sky. Hundreds of wakes from a multitude of ships patched the water, commerce moving its hand irregardless of the flying city that now appeared in the skies above.

A series of whooping noises echoed across at them, then a single long blast of a horn.

The Hathertwaite and her escourts had arrived too at the Middle Sea, having been called off of their urgent path, they had returned to Navarre to pick up Heruss and Kristian before heading steadily down the river to meet up with the Castle as it arrived. A pair of resonators span for a second, before calming and glowing a soft blue.

Clodius smiled at the sight, and peered back at Rave and Lathua.

A small craft came from the Hathertwaite, a sleek angular craft it gently meandered between the clouds that drifted lazily across the Middle Sea, with a whine of jets it set down onto one of the wide open gardens on a large plaza as though made for that express purpose. A pair of Behemoths hulked over and stood nearby, watching the craft with glinting ruby eyes.

With a hiss of pneumatics the door rolled open and Heruss stepped out, his greatcoat blowing in the wind. Kristian was similarly dressed, forsaking his usual clothing for the more formal attire.

Ravelyn took Tere's arm, and walked to the window towards Clodius, and looked outward. Ravelyn smiled as she saw Heruss and Kristian approaching. "How are you feeling?" she directed at Kristian, nearly jumping out to run to them.

“Absolutely fine and full of energy” he grinned, taking Heruss’ arm with a nod and a smile from him. “This place smells and looks wonderful…” he said, looking around in awe at the castle as the Behemoths stalked back to their sentry positions by the door.

Clodius came down too, a gentle pacing as he rolled down, his smile dropping slightly as he saw Heruss, but he quickly restored the facade. "Glad to see you make it."

“Time heals.” Heruss said with a lop sided grin, he then offered his hand out the the Freestian.

"Quickly." He tooked the prooffered hand and shook it. "Any news?"

Ravelyn, overall, was in a very good mood. She watched Heruss hold at his hand and Clodius take it. She grinned. She followed out into the sun which caught the red flecks in her dark hair.

“Not much, thankfully. The Chosen Ones have taken the rest of the Relics and stored it in their vaults. There’s been an attack at the Gravity Construction Plant in Montmarte, but we’re not sure if it’s the locals or the A.D. The Real-time battle reports screamed about shooting for the heart, so I suspect the Anno Domini are trying to steal some ships of their own.”

Lathua came out, blinking at the sunlight and staring at Heruss. “Your majesty.” she said with a curtsey, which wasn’t all that hard to do with her robes. “Welcome to Laputia.”

Heruss stiffened at the title. “I am afraid I to, have no Kingdome.” He replied in her tongue.

“Ah, so the Lowlanders got you also?”

“A long time ago.” He smiled to her.

Ravelyn turned to Heruss. "You can speak my language," she hit his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me!?"

“Because this is Laputian, not enochial. So far as I knew…” He said with a grin to her. “If you actually bothered to feed off of me to fix that wound when I offered you might have found that out.”

Clodius turned from one speaker to the other. "Come again? Please don't talk gibberish, its offputting."

"Very similar...very similar," she said accepting the answer.

"Sorry," Ravelyn said in a thick accent as she attempted to transfer back to common language.

“Sorry Clodius.” Heruss said, he lisped severly before clearing his throat. “It’s an old old language. You’ll probably have to learn some of it…”

"I'm sure." He smiled as he turned again. "So, after landing, I assume you have a new course of action to take?"

“Uhm, well…. No.” he said as he scratched the back of his head. “Just denying them this was the main reason of coming here. Mind, I‘m not meant to be here, so…. Ehe. Well. The authorities back home might be throwing a bit of a fit.”

"A fit?" He blinked. "I assumed you had the Midlonian High Command informed?"

“Uhm… sort of.” he said, grimacing. “Sturm isn’t that interested in Ghost Stories right now, so basically said I should do whatever I could, within my authority… which this sort of. Well. Wasn’t.”

"It...wait...I thought you had everyone on board? I assume your generals remember the war?"

Clodius blinked. "Humans...its been a hundred and fifty years..."

“Yeah…. Even Sturm, as old as he is, wasn’t born until nearly 80 years after the war.”

"Humans..." she sighed.

“That is their finite nature.” Lathua said with a quiet nod.

"Hey now, at least you have evidence to take back. Time for you Heruss, to go ensure we ahve everyone aboard." He turned to Tere and Rave, "you have the entire Freestian military at your disposal. Whenever and wherever. I explained to Sarah, and we have enough people alive from that time to know its importance. All you have to do is jump and we will say how high?"

"Five feet," Ravelyn said looking directly at Clodius. She whistled..."---waaaaaaiting."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “This all depends on what their reaction is. I’m sure the Archbishop is screaming and shouting that I’ve gone rogue and The Chosen Ones will take over the Paranormal dealings, which would include the Franz case…”

Clodius blinked, shook his head, and, kneeling, then proceeded to do so. He landed with athump that cracked the stone and covered the party in a cloud of dust.

"Well. You are safe here, should they come for you. But Franz has manipulated your people against ours before. We should be careful in case of a similar split."

Ravelyn grined widely. Her terribly good mood was ruined by what Heruss just said. She frowned. "Except Franz can control neither side now..."

“That is what genuinely concerns me, if they get us into a shooting war between our nations again, they’d easily roll up the remains.” He shook his head. “And no offence Clodius, some of the toys MIRA has made in the last 10 years would cause your eyes to pop out of your head.”

"...they can't turn against one another..."

"Franz worked as much through manipulation as through power alone." He nodded, and peered back at Heruss. "Us both. Dalying with gods tends to bring out the inventiveness of man."

“Point taken.” he sighed. “Ravelyn… Empress Azreal… I still don’t think you understand how he works. He doesn’t need to be there to manipulate people. He can do so in a dozen different ways, literature, recordings… anything. Plus the Anno Domini having forces from both sides of the conflict means he can use those forces to force attacks on the other. I‘m sorry to have ruined your good mood, but despite this wondrous resurrection of the Laputians, there is still that issue.”

She took a hold of Heruss's hand, closed it into a fist, then turned it over and opened it again. Inside a rose bloomed with seemingly no roots. "He can't reach you or Clodius...you two have both bound yourself to me in different ways, of course. With the eye inside of me, the light which has been seeded is far too bright for him to shape, or even grab a hold of. Yes, he can still kill you...but no, he can't manipulate you." She said, dropped Heruss hand, nodded to them, and turned on her heal towards the castle, her robes trailing behind her embroidered with the golden thread.

Tere and Lathua quietly followed her. Heruss stared at the rose before following her. “It’s neither me or Clodius I am worried about, it is the rest. People like Archbishop Felsworth. He could be manipulated into thinking he is receiving word from God…”

Clodius smiled, and hugged Rave in a gentle embrace. "Thank you. But its not me I am worried about, or the direct mode of manipulation. We are all creatures of emotion, and for all the wonderful things that provides it means we must also acknowledge the weaknesses it brings. Love, hate, fear can all make us deviate from the path."

"Ah," Ravelyn said calling back. "Yes, he is wide open," she smiled strangely.

"Lots of people are. There are so many competing forces already at work that we do have to be careful where we tread. I have my nation for now, but that could pass. There is resentment here, and dear god it forms in a million ways."

Ravelyn had reached the top of the stairs and opened the double doors wide. "Then I pray all find something strong enough to hold on to..."
Midlonia
26-02-2008, 00:21
Heruss took a deep breath in the covered rose garden, he marvelled at the flowers beneath his feet and the clear water running around the edge. “So… what happened here?” he asked quietly. “How did you become the Empress of Laputia?”

"All of that I'm not quite sure about," Ravelyn said, then looked at the lightrealm flowers. She pointed. "One bloomed when I entered the room."

“I see.” he said as he moved over and stooped to look at it. “There’s an inscription around the dias.” he said as he brushed some of the soil away. “Though I can’t really read it…” he frowned and looked at it, tilting his head, before he sighed and stood up again.

"Really?" she said, and walked over. "I can't quite make it out," she said softly, frowning slightly, then looking back to Heruss. "So what's the plan now? Where to? What relics are left?"

“There are now few relics under my control, save for his mask. The rest have been taken by Bishop Felsworth. I am now… actually at a loss.” he sighed and shook his head. “I did make out one word on that though.” he nodded. “Azreal.”

"Huh?" she said, and eyed him carefully, then followed his gaze down to it. "Well I was the first here. Some of that might have known and worshipped me and hoped I would hear them. The voices in my head could have drowned them out." She winked slightly, then looked around the room. "The second one bloomed this morning.”

Clodius stood silently, unsure of his bearing given his lack of historical knowledge, and merely compelled himself to listen, staring at the dais himself. Other questions entered his mind, of course, about the castle and how it ended here, questions related to other distant memories of his own.

Heruss sighed and stooped down again. “Love, something…. Magir-Seraphim Azreal…. Greatest… Empress of them all….rebirth from death… Laputia… it’s really corroded.” he shook his head.

"Wonderful," she said. "Now they expect something great from me when I have nothing great to give."

“Love conquers, Magir-Seraphim Azreal, greatest of the chosen, Empress of them all shalt bring forth rebirth from death of Lauptia and lead us to new glory…” Lathua said quietly from the far side of the room.

"I hate to break it to you," she said grimly. "But I'm not the seraphic of life...all I bring about is death."

“From Death comes life…” Heruss said with a frown.

"But not by my hand."

"Hey now, I wouldn't restrict yourself like that." Clodius smiled and moved closer to the group. "We are not bound by titles after all."

"In my power I can't heal suffering, I can only take it on. I can not bring forth life like Charmaine. I can only destroy..." she said, turning to face Clodius,

“Look around you, Azreal.” Tere said motioning to the castle. “This place is alive from your presence.”

"It was coming to life even without me."

"And maybe you are trying to hide from the fact you are responsible..." offered Clodius. "As I said, you are more than whatever title you possess and indeed what you may think yourself capable of. You are strong, Azrael, probably stronger than you realise. You just need to embrace that strength.

“Not as quickly.” Lathua said. “We were two days from flying, now you’ve rebuilt it in a two days.”

“Seems you really did bring life back.” Heruss said with a sigh as he turned.

“So? What exactly are we to do now?” Tere said as he folded his arms.

“I honestly don’t know. As I said, many of the artefacts are no longer under my control. Felsworth took them under his control after his sword and uniform vanished. I‘m genuinely at a loss. There‘s nothing for us to do.”

Navarre, office of the Prime Minister

The door to Farahind’s office knocked, something hard on the wooden door. A sharp pair of cracks against the door followed by silence.

"Come in." Farahind swept one leg over the other, the blue light material of her deser robe swishing softly in the light breeze that flooded her office fromt he open balcony. Her hair tied back and make up on, she looked far more proffessional than he barely awakened appearence in the command room earlier.

The figure entered and bowed, he wore a top hat and a neat, well ironed grey suit. He took the hat off and held it in his hands. He leant on the black walking stick with a dove-shaped top. The figure was an elderly human being, his hair, balding, was shock-white, and a pair of aged, pale brown eyes shone with a youthful vigour. “Prime Minister.” Dyer said. “Congratulations on your election to office.”

"Thank you Mr Dyer, the flowers were much appreciated." She smiled, polite and functional but fully displaying her own ghoul fangs. "I hear you wanted to see me rather urgently?"

“I am afraid so.” Dyer said with a slight sigh and a weak smile. “I am afraid I have been asked to deliver a note by Minister Hillcrest, it’s signed by himself and… well, by the Prime Minister also, may I take a seat?”

Sarah said nothing, just indicating one of the steel modern style recliners across from her in front of her glass semi-circular desk. The morning sun shone through the thin drapes, the blue hues turning the bright yellow into dull green aura.

Dyer sighed with relief as he sat back into the chair, placing his hat on his lap. “Aaah, I cannot tell you how good that feels. I’ve been standing and running around for the better part of an hour, my age means it hurts at times.” He smiled again before producing the note from his coat. “I am afraid it is strongly worded, and I genuinely hope this won’t overshadow any such relationship between ourselves. I would hope that working with an Mainland Corps veteran would mean our working relationship would be profitable and beneficial for both of us. Especially as this is my retirement gig.” he chuckled, his face suddenly growing serious again as she read the note.

Sarah nodded as she read, "I know this is meant to be a fairly easy post given the circumstances. I am sorry my staff kept you waiting." She carried on reading, eyes arching slightly. "Wait a second. What is it Mr Hillcrest is asking?"

“It’s an extradition request.” Dyer said quietly, evidently discomforted by the note. “For a rogue Colonel of the M.A.F who has been tracked here.”

"I see. Must be important to bring it personally to my attention." She reread the note. "Hang on, Heruss?"

He cleared his throat. “As you can see it’s reached the top. The seals of the Prime Minister, The Foreign and Economic office and the Supreme Commander Aslmadeus Sturm have all sealed it. Yes, Colonel uuuh, Asophel? Heruss. He’s acting entirely without clearance to operate overseas at present.”

"I am well aware of what he is up to currently. I spoke with him yesterday. I had assumed he was operating under your government's authority given the threat currently facing us."

Dyer shrugged. “I am afraid at present Midlonia’s colonies are currently suffering major unrest. For us to have a Colonel go suddenly missing on us, especially one of such a station who is known to be… aggrieved by the lack of proper autonomy for his region as it’s local leader…” He put his hands up. “What can I do? This is their issue, not mine. They know he deals in the paranormal, but from what has been suggested to me is he may have been fabricating reports to the Supreme Commander and to Archbishop Felsworth.”

Sarah nodded. "Protocol does indeed dictate that, if he is acting beyond his mandate then it is in your power to ask for his recall and for us to aide in that. Except we have one slight problem."

“That being?”

"Colonel Heruss is no longer on Freestian territory."

Dyer frowned. “Uh. I am afraid that I do not understand… they told me his ship was here in the Commonwealth…”

"His ship did indeed pass through here and was unto recently on our soil, however..." She paused, biting her lip.

Dyer merely motioned her to continue. “However…?”

"As of this morning parliament passed an emergency bill recognising the world's newest state."

"And that state, is the Colonel's current location."

“Oh… I see. So where is this new state? Can you show me?”

Sarah leaned back and switched a button on her desk. Between them, a smaller version fo the huge holographic map in the JCC appeared, quickly closing in on a spot in the Middle Sea.

“Oh my….” Dyer said as he leant in and looked. “There’s… an island there I don’t recall being there before…”

"Indeed. Laputia or something. I have been asked by several of my closest advisors to recognise it and have with that advice done so. The bill will be passed into officialdom this afternoon."

“I see. I see.” Dyer nodded. “I am afraid that your recognition does not mean the Greater Kingdom’s recognition though, they may still press for me for Colonel Heruss.”

"I understand, of course, but given the terrotoriality of Laputa rests entirely within the Commonwealth for the time being your superiors will have to understand that it is our say alone that counts. I hate, really, Mr Dyer, to put you in this position. Personally I don't like it so much myself, of course, but I swore to uphold the law of this land and that is what I will do."

“Miss Farahind. I am aware of this, but I am bound by those above me, and they by those above them. I fear that my next visit will be entirely unpleasant. I honestly do. There has been a change at the top recently because of this great unrest in the colonies. Montmarte and the Birchester Island Chains have recently lit up like somebody has put a flame to kindling. I bid you a good day, Prime Minister.” He stood, bowed, placed his bowler hat back on his head, and left, limping as he did so.

"Mr Dyer..."

“Yes? Daniel, please.” He turned at the door.

"Daniel." She smiled, almost pleasantly airily, "I understand the concerns of your superiors, and why they hold them. But Freethinker sovereignty is not tried lightly, as well they should know. We are good friends, children of a common mother, and they should remember that before making their demands too harsh." She nodded. "Thank you for your visit mi...Daniel."

Daniel drummed his fingers on the door for a moment, before closing it again. “Sarah, is this room secure? Clean?” he asked, his face suddenly whitening almost as much as his face.

"Of course Daniel. Why?"

“I heard rumours. Very snatching ones, rather shaky sources mind. That… if I could not secure your assurances for whatever reason I was to issue an ultimatum.”

"An ultimatum." Sarah pronounced every syllable almost as a seperate word. "I'm sorry Daniel, what do you mean?"

“Aher, well….” He sighed, sat down, got up again, then sat again. “An ultimatum of the sort that results in people dying. As in, they‘d come get him themselves kind of ultimatum because you‘re obviously protecting him.”

Sarah rose sharply, the desk shaking as her legs came up. Standing a good six foot four without heels she peered down sharply at the Midlonian. "I hope that it is just a rumour, Mr Dyer, for your country's sake." She turned gravely cold, cross her arms. "I wish for you to pass that message on to your superiors."

Dyer winced, he was an old man, 80 tomorrow by all accounts. “I hope so too, Sarah. I hope so an awful lot. I shall.”

Sarah suddenly softened, as if the impact of her words took some satisfactiona way from her anger. "I am sorry Daniel, I do not mean to stress you. You have an awkward position, I'm sure."

“Highly, like I said, this was supposed to be a nice, simple retirement job with a few nice perks, that consulate building have such a fantastic view of the docklands and I even have my own spa, a fleet of private cars… instead I get this mess…”

“I have to sit here across from you with the potential of threats.”

Sarah smiled in sympathy. "It is nothing personal. I'm sure your superiors are wise enough to know words will be far more productive than posturing."

Daniel nodded and sighed again. “I really do hope that there won’t be anything thrown around like that.” he rubbed his eye with an old finger with a few sunspots on and sighed.

"There won't be." She smiled, assured in her statement. "I mean dear god we have our own flesh and blood fighting for each other. Common sense will prevail."

“Obviously, obviously.” he nodded again and smiled as he stood. “Then I hope I will be able to meet with you tomorrow?”

"Of course. My door is always open Daniel."

He nodded as he opened the door. His cane tapping on the floor outside as he left.

Sky Castle

Tere simply held Rave’s hand gently as they walked along the battlements. Heruss was behind them, marvelling at the site. “Of all I read of these places I never dreamt they’d be so…. Wonderful.” he said, smiling gently.

There was a dull beating of wings, and Clodius, back in his draconic form, swooped past them, leaping in long glides from one tower to the other, enjoying the experience.

"Show off," she grumbled under her breath and spread her own wings out in a brilliant desplay that would make even the draconic jealous.

“Have fun if you want.” Tere said, letting go of Rave’s hand and kissing her gently on the lips. “It’s your Kingdom after all.”

Without hesitation she lifted off into the air and felt it rush past her face. She quickly caught up to Clodius, even passed him a bit before turning to look at him.

Clodius chuckled, and spread his own out, like the wings of a bat, stretching and curling the tips so he completely surrounded the Seraphim. "To be fair dear, I'm a bit out of practise."

She gave a yelp of suprise as his wings closed around her. "All I hear are excuses," she kissed the top of his head before pushing off of it, slipping through the small space provided through his wings.

"Touche," he muttered and, dived after her.

Ravelyn looked behind her. His wings were a lot larger, and he could gain more velocity if he tried, but she was smaller, and could manoeuvre more quickly.

He zoomed past her, turning up against the surface of the ocean, the azure waters of the tropical middle sea around him chopping up small waves that crashed against his wingtips and tail.

The water which came up from his wingtips sprinkled across her face. She dove low, and raised her hands, using a bit of her magic to bring the water up with her. She flew over him, dosing him with the large wave she had pulled up.

Clodius spluttered, flying through the wave and twisting completely in midair to shake the water from his scales, their dull black colouration suddenly bursting into colour from the droplets. He looked up, and chased after Rave, a playful smile on his face, a smile framed by his foot long sabres, mind.

Ravelyn looked back and saw his smile. She was momentarily distracted with the long fangs, that she almost moved too late to avoid them. She moved out of the way in time, and took residence upon his back.

Clodius slowed in midair, peering his huge head round to peer at Rave. "Excuse me?"

She laid down upon her stomach with her head resting upon her hands. "Oh, Hello.”

Clodius smirked, now floating as best he could on the thermals rising from Laputa beneath them, now nestling in the shallow waters. "Hold on." He turned down, and dived.

She closed her wings to her body tightly so as not to be thrown off by the force, and did indeed hold on tightly. A few of her nails somehow managed to get past some scales.

He plummeted with incredible speed, faster than an eagle striking. He lifted, only at the very last moment, pulling up level as his feet dipped the water, slowing before a massive shadow appeared beneath them. Clodius roared, and soared into the air again as beneath them a massive Rush Shark lept from the water, its Megladon sized jaws passing beneath them in a display of piscine power..

Ravelyn laughed at the display. The rush from flight far faster than her own was amusing her quite alot. She bent her head and kissed along a few of the scales in soft, short pecks.

“Don’t you feel jealous sometimes?” Heruss said to Tere as they watched the display below them, the three craft of Heruss’ idly sitting around the castle within their view.

“Not particularly. Love runs deeper.” Tere said with a small sigh.

“Even when she takes other lovers?” Heruss raised his eyebrow to look at him.

“Even then.” He nodded.

Clodius flew back down towards the battlements, landing pretty well for a one ton reptilian killing machine, droplets spraying the surrounding attendants.

One held out his robes and bowed to him, despite being soaked.

"Careful," she cautioned, and let her fangs sink in between two scales.

Clodius leaned forward and let her drink a little, shaking his wings and tail lightly to clear them of water.

She withdrew her fangs, and closed the wound. She was quite enjoying her perch on top of him.

Clodius shruged, and transformed again, a few seconds of painful retraction once again left him in human form, crouched down with Azrael with her arms tight around his neck, leaning against his bare back.

She licked some of the stray water from his back, specifically around his neck. And she stood up. Her hair was damp and curled gently at the bottom.

Tere and Heruss stepped forward, Heruss simply smiling with his lop-sided grin and clapping his hands slowly. “Wonderful aerobatic display.”

“Have fun, you two?” Tere said with a smile.

Clodius turned, letting the attendent put the robe on but not fastening it, and turned round to flick a stray hair out out of Rave's fringe. "Have fun?" he said, rather plainly considering what had just happened.

She smiled in response and something shifted in her eyes. She twirled a stand of wet hair around one figure. Yes, a brilliant ride… she said silently, and turned to Tere and Heruss. "So are we to have fun now until the final battle?" she questioned, hopeful.

“I think rest and relaxation are definitely in order.” Heruss smiled, taking another deep breathe of air. “Of course, if you wanted us to go, you have to only say, Empress.” Heruss grinned at her.

"Well then, go," she said haughtilly, then softened her expression. "And relax."

Heruss grinned and bowed. “I don’t suppose there is a spa or something around that myself and Kristian can go relax in, is there?”

"Spa, no..." Ravelyn said, thinking to herself. "But there is some place with stones and steam and flowers that might serve that purpose, though I forget where. I haven't explored anything for myself really yet, except my chambers..."

Clodius peered back out of the ocean. Distant red specks flittered on the horizon, ships avoiding the sudden land mass. "Not a bad spot, all things considered, to make a new home."

Heruss grinned knowingly. “Took Kristian a full month to learn Porphyria, he knew the way from my chambers to my office and back though.” and with that he turned and left, taking Kristian by the arm as he did so.

"I wonder..." Clodius wondered. "Probably need to get back in touch with Navarre at some point."

“Yeah….” Tere said with a nod. “You can use this if you want.” he pulled the communicator out of his pocket and threw it to Clodius, before moving over to Rave and taking hold of her and kissing her.

She kissed him back, adrenaline still rushing through her body from the flight.

He broke the kiss and grinned at her. “Wish I could fly.” he chuckled before kissing her again.

Clodius stepped away, and took the communicator in his hand. He didn't press anything though for a moment, instead peering up at a passing contrail, far above the normal height. "Well well" he muttered to know one but himself. "Smile Clodius, you know they're taking your picture."
Midlonia
26-02-2008, 02:05
Tere stirred, it was dawn. He stood up out of bed, stumbling past Clodius, and Rave still in the bed, stretching he stood on the balcony and looked around at the clear, crisp air, hints of mist on the coasts covering obscuring the perfect view. His eyes were purple. He had felt something. Something was wrong.

Clodius stirred, blacklidded eyes watching Tere's movement, before yawning silently and moving up after him, cautious as he saw the Midlonian's worried expression.

“Clodius…” Tere said his voice barely above a whisper. “Can you feel it?”

The Freestian looked at Tere, gripping the battlements in his fingers, crumbling the edges. "What are you talking about? Are they returning?"

“Smell the air. There’s something wrong with it.”

"There's been something wrong for the last few days."

Tere gripped the battlement himself, leaning forward. “Unease. I can feel it. Something is causing unease.” He looked at Clodius, "What else has been wrong?"


"Just the mystery of this place...and yesterday, that sighting I shrugged off. I realised something when I got a message this morning."

“Message?” Tere said, turning to him.

"Remember when I said we were being photographed? I thought it was odd considering how much we already knew about the place. Turns out it wasn't our forces. Private flight, commissioned by someone."

Tere frowned and looked up at the sky. Another dot was lazily flying high above them, a start almost. “What are you….” he said quietly as he grabbed a telescope from a bed-side table and clicked it open and stared upwards.

"Domestic surveying company, high power stuff too. Guess who is paying them?"

Tere bit his lip. “Us.” he said simply.

"Tere, when Heruss said he may have problems back home he meant with your goddamn command didn't he?"

“I don’t know…” Tere said shaking his head, then looking at Clodius. “I don’t know!” he shouted.

A small white cat leapt up upon the bed, and settled down next to Ravelyn.

Clodius sighed, and leaned forward. "Tere. What the hell is wrong with your government? How can it not see the danger thats rising?"

“They didn’t allow any immortals, vampires or other “undying” minorities into the central government as part of the Redepmtion post-war. It’s why Heruss has always remained a Colonel….” Tere said as his grip tightened on the telescope.

"Cause they are all too busy counting on their paychecks..." Ravelyn chimed in, looking to her side at the purring cat, she picked him up in her arms and set him against her shoulder.

"Morning Empress, sorry to have awoken you."

"It wasn't you," she said as the ball of fur purred in her arms, and looked around curiously over her shoulder.

Tere turned. “Uhm… where did that cat come from?” he asked, pointing.

Ravelyn looked at the cat, laughed quietly, and kissed its fur. "Oh..he's been around for a while...haven't you?" The cat looked her straight in the face, and licked the side of her cheek.

Tere simply shook his head. “First time I’ve seen him…”

"I wouldn't say that..." Ravelyn said, petting the cat's head who was thoroughly enjoying it.

The cat winked at Tere...

Clodius just stood there, rather concerned at Rave's insistence.

Tere simply stared at it. Then rubbed his temple. “Stress, must be stress…” he whispered.

"Must be," Ravelyn agreed.

“Got to be…. Winking cats, rogue colonel’s I’ve happily followed out here at the risk of a whole new war….” Tere sighed as he sat down on the bed and stared at the cat again.

The cat looked at him curiously with two bright blue eyes and balanced on Ravelyn's shoulder.

“Hang on, there definitely wasn’t a cat with us when we arrived, and we’re still the better part of 100 feet off of the ground… so how the hell did it get up here?” Tere said, looking at the cat as it stared back. “And why do I feel like I recognize him….”

Ravelyn couldn't supress her laughter. The cat jumped off her shoulder, and went over to Clodius, purring loudly, sniffed him with an arrogance imatchable, and deemed him something vile, and decided to sit over by the window.

Clodius just snarled at it, almost comical given the size discrepency. "Care to explain Empress?"

"No, not really."

The cat hissed back at Clodius, and got on it's hind legs, throwing a bat to the air before turning around in a circle, and cleaning its face, pretending no one else was in the room.

Tere sighed and shook his head. “If they issue a reclaiming order on Heruss, and if extradition from the Commonwealth isn’t effected they’ll come for him you know.” He looked up to Clodius. “God help us all if they do.”

"Your government would be stupid enough to try that on Freethinker soil?"

“With what Heruss knows? I’d be surprised if they didn’t just burn this place from orbit.”

"They would be hardset to try. What we need is to get the Empress here back to Navarre and get an official treaty signed." He looked at Rave. "Enemies aside, the Midlonians wouldn't be stupid enough to push another fully fledged government over such an issue."

“Fully fledged doesn’t come into it, if it’s within the Mainland, then they’ll come for it. They won’t recognize it on the say-so when they know the Colonel’s here…”

"Then we have to go..." she said softly.

"Where?" Said Clodius sharply

"Sign this treaty?"

The cat seemed to chuckle.

Clodius nodded, and flipped open his communicator. "Very well. I would advise leaving the land here for now, I can get our navy and aerospace forces to ensure nothing even scratches it beforehand." He turned to Rave and pulled her closer. "Your safety is now my personal issue, and my personal issue is the personal issue of my race and my nation and all that serve her. You are protected now more than most people can claim to be, Empress."

“Cat. Laughing.” Tere said, staring at it again.

"Thank you, Clodius," she said softly.

“Yes, cat laughing...hmmm?” the cat seemed to chuckle, if that was possible. It jumped from the windowsill and transformed in the process to a man with short white hair, and remaining larger cat ears upon his head. He stood and managed to stop purring. He was wearing baggy black pants with several leather attachments studded with skulls and rubies, black boots.

His shirt was a dark crimson which matched his left eye, while his right remained an ice blue. There was the tattoo of a cross on the back of either hand, and upon his fingers were three various rings. One black wing; and one half black wing were at his back. He stood up fully upright, stretching his quite built frame, though not as much as Clodius.

Ravelyn walked over, flicked one of the ears, and he shook his head in surprise and they disappeared. He coughed once. “How’d you manage to end up in this mess?” he said getting his voice back before stealing a kiss from her that was short lived in the company, though clearly one of a lover. He looked at Tere. “No, no…not a word from you.” His tough appearance certainly did not match the adorable white cat he had been only a minute before. He turned his attention to Clodius. “Hello…”he said, in the same accent Rave had, though far more masculine.

“Hello Qui…” Tere said simply.

Clodius fought a battle against instinct, the sort of battle that combatted his civilised nature against his hunter background. He sized up, strong, muscle out, almost snarling but drawing it back in a cordial smile. "Hello." He said in a voice even more plain than Tere's. "And who might you be?"

"My son," Ravelyn explained.

Quissera extended a strong, cold hand. "Quissera..." he said introducing himself.

"Clodius..." He said, shaking the hand firmly in a grip tight enough to let the new arrival know his strength were he to test it. "I'm afraid I wasn't aware of the Empress having a son. Forgive me my trespass."

"Yes, yes...I know who you are. She has a daughter too..." Qussera said in return, turning towards Ravelyn. "What, you don't talk about me?" He smiled grimly.
“Two daughters.” Tere said.

"Three if you count the two vampires..." Qui continued, and lit a cigarette. An emerald ring around his neck sparkled in the light of the flame, and the glowing fire also flickered on the silver cross around her neck, which she was never found without. "Two vampires, then Vaughn's kid..."

Tere nodded. “So, why the visit, Qui?”

"Oh," said Clodius, "yes, I've heard about Vaughan. You come at an interesting time."

Qui scoffed. "To ask Azrael a question actually..."

"I bet you have, Clodius," he said quietly. "Very good man. Almost considered him my father, but that would have been far to strange..."

"Too strange..." Clodius stepped uneasily. "So what is the question?"

"Considering..." Quissera said, and then Ravely cut him off.
"What's the question," she said almost breathlessly.

Quissera bowed. "Have they questioned you?"

"Yes," Ravelyn replied, almost shaking.

"And everything has gone well..."

"Yes," she said softly.

Quissera nodded. "Good...that's good," he said loosening up. His cigarette had almost burned to his fingertips. He put it out. "You look good..." he said softly, with almost a painful expression.

Ravelyn nodded it thanks, and then met his eyes. Neither turned away for several seconds. Then, Ravelyn spoke. "They can't see you here, can they?"

Quissera shook his head. "No...they can't...but they have been trying to get into these walls for quite some time. It's only a matter of time. I should really get back now."

"Yes, I think that would be best for now..." she replied. The air was thick with things unsaid. Quissera gave a final glance at Tere. He would never be permitted to talk about this...as he turned back into a white cat quite smaller in size than the 6'2" man who had been standing there before. He jumped up on the bed, and curled up, eyes flicking up to look at what was going on, but nothing more.

Prime Minister Farahind’s Office

The cane knocked abruptly and suddenly on the door, several times, ragged and sharp whacks.

Sarah looked up, annoyed at the rudeness of the sharp knocking. "Come in".

Dyer opened the door and closed it sharply behind him. His face showed fear, and was pasty, in complete contrast to the happy round multicoloured badge with 80! Written on it.

"I take it you are not here just to thank me for the silverware set." She said, putting her file down and closing the holographic display. "What is it Daniel?"

Daniel’s hand was shaking violently, his limp was even more pronounced as he sat down heavily into the chair, it shook more as he retrieved a red envelope from his pocket and shook violently as he placed it onto the desk in front of her. “I need a very very very stiff drink.” he said quietly, hoarsely, in a voice that truly showed his age.

Sarah nodded, and rose to the set of cabinets on the left wall, one of the few relics of Barham's furniture. "Hope this helps..." she said, genuinely pained to see him stressed so, the tumbler filled with a good Scotch. She returned to her desk and offered the drink, placing it in front of him. "Not good news I assume?"

He took the glass up and shook it so violently that half the contents was on his suit shirt, but he took the rest gratefully. He just shook his head as he placed the glass down on the desk, then accidentally knocked it off, breaking on the floor. “Oh god, Sarah I am so so sorry!” he said in a pained voice.

"What is it Daniel?" She leaned forward, now genuinely worried, her arms crossing on the desk as she moved closer.

“That.” he said pointing to the red envelope. “I never ever wanted to ever deliver one of those ever again. And yet here I am, on my birthday…” he sobbed and placed his hands on his temples. “This was supposed to be a nice retirement…”

Sarah took the envelope and leaned back, using one hardened fingernail to tear the top open and withdraw the letter inside. She read down, half expecting what the note said but still exhaling long and hard as she did so.

"Explain. Now." She said, sharply and with only the vaguest hint of cordiality.

Dyer simply wept, he began reciting in a monotone, stopping only to sniff loudly at times. “Reclaiming order issue 33-2-0693. Colonel Asopher Heruss. Midlonian Armed Forces Special Reserves Branch. Heruss acting outside of all authority or consent from Central Government, or Office of Supreme Commander. Location confirmed as within Commonwealth Territory, explanation of “other nation” not valid despite unrecognised landmass logged as anomaly 8339. Failure to comply with reclamation request will result in further action under orders 9-27-899. Securing reclaimation order through all means at disposal of M.A.F against elements believed to be sheltering rogue Military officials.” He then burst into tears and slumped onto the desk.

Sarah breathed out very slowly, the sort of gesture that implied very explicitly the only reason why the contents of the room werent being smashed to pieces was extraordinary self-control on the ghoul's part. She crumpled the letter in her hand, squeezing it small and torn, and she looked up through blacklidded eyes at Mr Dyer with a look of abject fury.

"There...." she started.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” Dyer sobbed again. “I just wanted a quiet life…”

"Any attempt by any Midonian military or security force to engage in action on Freestian sovereign territory without our permission, will be met with force, lethal if required. That is all." She said, each word plain and clearly stated. "Your masters will not try me. Make, that, clear, to them."

“Ye-yes Prime Minister.”

Sarah leaned back and steepled her fingers. "Happy Birthday", she said after a moment. "My regards." She said, almost smiling. "Please make your superiors see sense, Daniel. I cannot blame you for their stupidity, but you must make them understand their arrogance will cost them dearly."

“There’s something horribly wrong, that’s written like a Colonial authority letter.” Dyer sniffed as he took out a spotted handkerchief and blew it hard.

Sarah retrieved the man another drink, slamming it on the table. "Someone didn't do their history properly..." she muttered. "I have nothing more to say on the matter, save now being encouraged to ensure the recognition act passes."

“Do you know when it’ll be signed? It may mean they change their minds…” he took it again, drinking it heavily and exhaling through his mouth, sucking air back in a short burst.

"Today. I'm hoping to have the new Empress in to sign it. By doing so the territory will be established and recognised, hopefully we can get further international recognition of such."

He nodded. Then took out a small diary and a box of cigars. “Do you mind if I smoke?” he said looking to her.

"Feel free. Careful though, those things will kill you eventually."

“I’m 80. After today I will be surprised if I make 81.”
Midlonia
29-02-2008, 00:39
Sky Castle

Heruss leant against the battlements, his coat flowing with the wind, he frowned and looked troubled. Kristian stood next to him, resolute and quiet, looking out with him.

“They’ve probably issued the order now, you realise?” Kristian said after a while.

“Mmm.” Heruss said quietly.

“If they come for you…” Kristian started

“I know.”

“Whatever happens. I love you.” Kristian said, not turning.

“I know.”

Clodius peered at Rave with a sullen expression, local robes, replaced with his black spartan uniform. "You ready?"

"Yes," Ravelyn said simply. She sighed. "Ah, back to politics it would seem."

“So it would seem.” Tere echoed as he stood next to her in the same robes.

"I'm glad we share that view in common. Such is the downside to leadership." He peered around, three faint black dots approaching. On the horizon on the water several dozen grey shapes, the Fifth Fleet, harboured itself protectively around the kingdom.

"For how long I ruled my own empire," she leaned on the railing. She looked at Tere. "Aren't you going to change?"

“Do you have something more suitable for me, Empress Azreal?” He asked her questioningly.

The three black dots moved closer, black painted Premier flight VTOLs, their huge turbine engines muffled and their metallic surfaces spotless as they zoomed in, engines rotating and flaring as they came into land. "Your chariot awaits, my lady."

"Stop calling me that..." she snapped. "Why do you all refer to me by such a formal title?" She looked at both of them. "Significant other? Just say we are lovers, and welcome it."

“Alright, give me a minute and I’ll go find my regular clothes Ravelyn…” Tere chuckled as he quickly ran back inside, emerging a minute later, tugging his long red cloak back on.

Ravelyn sighed softly. "Sometimes...I don't know what to do with you."

Clodius blinked, then smirked. "Believe me, where we are going you will get a lot of that I am afraid. The birth of a new country is hardly an everyday occurence." He squeezed her hand softly. "You got us though. Just remember, this little formality secures the future safety and prosperity of your kingdom, so we should all be thankful for that."

"I expect it from other people, but not you," she said looking up to him, and walked out to her "chariot". The white cat looked out one of the window perched on its front paws.

The chariot was a huge, forty foot long VTOL transport, adapted for Premier travel for Kings and Prime Ministers. The interior was beautifully furnished in black leather, several home comforts and a lot of floorspace considering the outside dimensions of the craft. Clodius merely sat straight off, loosening the uniform slighty. "See they invested in renovating the things..." he muttered.

"Leather? Isn't this a bit kinky?" she commented running her fingertips over the leather

"Tis good material. Sides, everyone kind of expects it of us..." Clodius smiled. "I'll tell Sarah you appreciated her sense of style."

"Expects what exactly?" she said, tilting her head.

"Sterotype? Sorry, I'm a bit lost..."

"Freestians carry the reputation of being free spirited and out there by international standards. Our society is built on very few but firm rules about consent and contract. Hence why most people from more conventional nations tend to find us very liberal in many areas. In vulgar terms, they think us hedonistic drug adled kinkos."

"Oh," Ravelyn said, sitting up straight. "Are we there yet..." she poked Tere.

Clodius leaned back and pointed out the windows. The three craft, one passenger carrying, the other gunship escorts, were travelling up the Whitestone valley. On either side the Carrassian and Whitestone mountains rose majestically, whilst beneath the villages and towns that inhabited the fertile land buzzed with activity as the craft soared above them.

Tere simply shrugged. “A while yet, I had a new badge made, by the way." he pointed to the small golden wings on his breast. "Call it new loyalties."

She shifted her wings. She wanted to fly. Clodius knew that look. She knew she couldn't leave at this point in time, so she sat properly. She looked at Tere. "Your loyalties are to a dead woman Tere," she half smirked.

Tere simply took her hand in his gently and leant to her. “I know…” he said quietly. “but until then we’re living for the moment, right?”

"Unfortunately..." she murmured.

Navarre

The craft touched down quickly on the Plaza Libertas, it splayed layout straining under gravity as it steadied itself on its gear. Now welcoming a head of state to parliament, in the short notice givena huge parade had been organised, mostly from garrison units but impressive nonetheless, the huge ghoul troops in full dress at attention, lining up the way to the front steps of Government House.

Ravelyn stepped out of the craft first; eyes scanning over those who had gathered. All of it wasn't really necessary. Unfortunately she knew politics all too well.

Tere followed two steps behind her, he stood to attention, looking ahead at the Government House itself.

Sarah was there to meet them, looking as beautiful as a six foot four ghoul could in a professional manner. She nodded to the party, to her side stood, in standard but extremely well tailored suits, her staff and cabinet. "Welcome Empress."

Ravelyn deeply wanted to protest the men following behind her, however, she decided it would be fruitless in the long run. She looked to Sarah, who was quite a bit taller than she. She looked into her eyes...."Sarah." She said, nodding her head.

"Please follow me." She lead them inside, away from the blazing sun and the guard of honour, footsteps echoing as they entered the huge entrance chamber. Like most Freestian architecture it was huge, expansive, and spartan, again precisely engineered but mostly undecorated save for some Art Deco stylings. Galleries towered above, and natural light cascaded through the large open windows that were seemingly popular in most government buildings.

They carried on, deeper into the building, passing through a small coutyard and finally into the grand chamber itself. On either side , standing, the constituent and representative members of parliament.

Tere simply nodded quietly. To the side was the Midlonian Consul, Daniel Dyer, who had insisted on being at the signing ceremony. Largely to add his own signature, and thus Midlonia’s formal recognition of the new Kingdom. He had instead gone over the Cabinet’s head and spoken to the King himself and was now cleared to add his own authorization to the document.

I don't like him… she said silently to Clodius, assuming Mr. Dyer was one of his own people. Makes me uneasy…

Sarah nodded to Dyer and smiled reassuringly as best she could, though given her bearing it probably came off more as outright intimidation. She moved up to the speaker's platform, a raised dais before a fine oak table, carved and richly engraved, upon which sat a piece of plain paper marked with he seal of the Freestian Government.

Dyer simply bowed, his cane slipping slightly on the floor.

"My greetings to the house, the members for constiuents, and the members for the will, you may sit." In unison, all 800 members of the Freestian legislature did as she said. "Thank you. Today I have the utmost pleasure to announce the formal recognition of a new nationstate, a new friend, ally, and bastion against the lawless chaos of the world." She bowed slightly to Rave.

Ravelyn returned the bow with a nod, and a slight spreading out of her beautiful black-feathered wings.

"In the past I have heard quite stories of Laputia. A new error has begun, however," Ravelyn said, her voice ringing out as clear as crystal. It had a drawing effect to it; made one lean as close as possible to enjoy even the faintest breath. She let them cling to every word of her silken voice. "And a new nation should be addressed by another name. Laputia will be recognized as Kievzhe."


"The treaty before use seals the Kingdom of Kievzhe as a recognised sovereign entity in the eyes of the Commonwealth and, with the authorisation of the good Ambassador here, in the eyes of the Greater Kingdom of Midlonia as well." She paused, one or two members looked uneasily at Dyer and her, but she carried on.

"Though some might disagree, we have always fought for freedom and self determination, and in doing so here we honour not just the respect for sovereignty and human rights for which we are famous, but also gain a valid friendship amongst people with whom we share a common bond."

"The Recognition and Action Treaty, under the auspice of the Kievzhe Settlement Act, may now be signed. With it, permanent, non retractable ascension of territory within the Middle Sea will be granted and recognised henceforth without condition as part of the new Kingdom of Kievzhe."

"Kievzhe" Sarah nodded, slightly offset. "This grant represents the first gift of territory ever willingly given by the Commonwealth. May it prove a fruitful decision." Another pause, and she stepped forward to the table. She took an ancient looking feather pen, dipped it in a discrete inkwell, and, in her name, signed the document. She turned the paper over and invited the Empress up to sign it.

Ravelyn took the feather pen into her hand, and signed her full name.

"That," Sarah said simply, "is that." She raised her voice. "Does any of the house object to this decision?"

Dyer simply stayed quiet, and Terefedel merely stayed standing at attention.

"I must object." A tall lean man rose in front of the party, a representative member of the house. "I believe, though the treaty does allow for such a secession, that it was not automatic and required the full approval of the house."

Sarah blinked, "Would the right honourable gentlemen please explain under what basis you make this objection? The act allows such secession as is deemed fit by the Cabinet and authorised by the Foreign Secretary."

Ravelyn looked at the man, sizing him up with her scarlet eyes. Here we go, politics. If only she could charm them all...but it wasn't worth it.

" A vote is required, constitutionally, Madame Prime Minister." The man said again, ignoring the Empress entirely. "It is enshrined, after all."

A tall greying gentleman in discreet clothing entered the chamber carrying a note, which he quietly handed to Dyer, who took it, read it, read it again, then looked at the gentlemen, it was Bratcher, his minder, bodyguard and secretary. He gulped hard, read the note again, then slowly straightened his ageing frame. “Ahem.” he said quietly.

"The vote has already taken place with the act in question. Does the House Speaker not agree." The ancient man behind rose from the wooden throne and looked, puzzled.

“Ahem.” Dyer managed again, only slightly louder, he seemed reluctant to draw too much attention in front of all 800 members of the parliament.

"I am unsure of the Prime Minister's basis for the statement as well." Sarah gritted her teeth as she looked up to see the note being passed. Nervous shuffling erupted in the front row of the government benches. "What is it Dyer?" Sarah asked as calmly as her tempered state would allow.

“Ahem.” he said again. “As my position as Greater Kingdom Consul to that of the Commonwealth I have just been informed that Parliament in Midlonia has voted against any such support or declaration of the new territory, and also implores that all and any such recognition of Laputia, or any successor state, would result in severe condemnation and possible action against what is still considered Greater Kingdom Territory, this is up to and including military and economic action against the break-away state, and any such support…” he sighed and shook his head, muttering something about what the hell the idiots back in Kilwarby were thinking.

"This is not Greater Kingdom Territory Mr Dyer. That fact has been well and truely established." She raised her voice again. "Fine, a vote!"
"Hear, hear" calls sounded throughout the vast chamber, the opposition remaining awkwardly silent.


“They do not mean the Commonwealth, Prime Minister.” Dyer continued, his voice rising. “They are speaking of the successor territory.”

"Which will be established from Freethinker oceanic space, not Midlonian territory" She brought her voice down again as the Speaker flustered anew, trying to sort out the rising voices itno an organised vote.

“You don’t seem to Understand, Prime Minister!” Dyer shouted over the rise. “The castle, the island itself technically is. The Kingdom of Laputia is part of the Greater Kingdom!”

"It ceased to be a part of Midlonia a long time ago." Sarah said shortly. "If you do not wish to sign, I understand, and if your government wishes to lodge protest, thats fine too. But this vote goes ahead. Speaker!" She called. "Tally!"

"All those in favour." Hundreds of ayes rioted throughout the room, easily the majority as a relief, but far too many for Farahind's liking stayed sitting.

Dyer sighed, threw his arms up, shook his head and yelled again. “Not the Commonwealth you blithering idiot! The Castle!” he was being drowned out again. “The castle and all claims are held by Midlonia!”

"The castle is not of Midlonia." Ravelyn said, finally speaking up.

"Mr Dyer, please, do not force your removal from the chamber." Sarah said, genuinely pleading though her voice remained determined.

Dyer simply shook his head in disgust at the lack of leeway and left, Bratcher following him.

A loud call again. "All those opposed?" A shower of Nays, nothing to upset the expected result, but again an uncomfortably large number remained sitting. "Motion passed. You may proceed Miss Farahind."

"Thank you, Lord Speaker." Farahind nodded, ignoring the departing Dyer as best she could. "Very well."

Miss Ravelyn was itching to talk. Her prescence and her voice could sway thousands...if people started to look at her rather than Sarah. Apparently this was all over a squabble of land, and who it belonged to. She certainly knew who.

She turned to Rave again. "Empress. Your state now has territory and recognition, and the protection of our nation. May this day be forever remembered by all."

Clodius stepped up to the dais, and beneath Farahind's signature added his own as the understanding and acceptance of his people. Sarah smiled at him, and then at Rave, moving next to her as the house descended into private chatter and photgrapher's flashes began sparkling in the public galleries.

"Don't worry, Azrael..." Clodius began, "now if anyone truely tried anything, well, lets just say they would have to punch through us first." He smiled as well at Tere. "I assume you would like to request asylum for yourself and Heruss, given what has transpired, your home nation is getting...awkward."

“Well, we’ll consider ourselves amalgamated with the Kingdom of Kievzhe.” Tere said nodding.

Ravelyn smiled, her mood brightening. "Yes...I guess you are right."

"Fair enough." Sarah meanwhile turned to Rave again, looking brighter herself. "An interesting experience I am sure. However there is still matters to discuss, especially with Mr Dyer's..well...raised issues, if you and your party would care to join me in my office?"

Ravelyn nodded. "Gentlemen," she said turning towards Tere and Clodius for them to follow, and then followed Sarah into her office.
Midlonia
01-03-2008, 15:48
Heruss leant on the battlements as he took in the morning air, he breathed deep at the sea-scented air. The wind blew almost constantly here, causing even his shortened brown hair to blow roughly in the breeze.
His coat flapped slightly also, even though he had done it up against the wind. With a sigh he turned and headed inside, walking slowly along the sparkling granite corridors without much of an aim but to wander. He headed up a set of spiral stairs and peered curiously into the Empress’ suite of rooms.

A white cat stared back at him with ice blue eyes. The cat was so still it almost could have been mistaken for a statue, except for the fact it blinked once, and only once.

“White suits you.” Heruss said simply as he looked at the cat.

The cat blinked.

“Certainly better than the constant black you seem to wear, correct?”

"I wear white shirts..." he said, transforming in the process. The last thing to disappear was his cat ears. He, indeed, was wearing a white shirt.

“Yet black trousers.” Heruss said, pointing. “Why are you here anyway? I thought you were preparing for something.”

"They can't see me here, and I have yet some time to take the steps required."

“Nor will they ever be able to.” Heruss said, nodding. “Are you aware of the… legend of the Laputians Qui?”

"No, not particularly," he said, stretching on the edge of the bed.

“They’re fallen angels.” Heruss began. “Once created by great powers unknown they became powerful, some say too powerful and thus their makers tried to destroy them. They rebelled and a great battle was fought, it was said that the battle was so great that the earth beneath them was melded anew. The powers who made them punished them, by stripping them all of their wings and their ability to travel swiftly between realms. However, as they were victorious, they banished their makers from stalking their halls and their lands forever.”

“You’re basically in the last safe haven in existence from the Powers.” Heruss turned and looked at Qui. “You should be able to do whatever you wished here without any reprisals from your makers.”

Qui chuckled. "I don't know if you'd want to invite that. They still don't know where I am, which means I have to return occasionally."

“There is that.” Heruss nodded. “Besides, what would you do without any reprisals, hmm?”

"Wouldn't you like to know," he said, folding his hands. "So what brings you in?"

“I would.” he smiled. “I am merely wandering. I have little to do right now, so thought I’d just be a nosy father and take a look at her rooms.”

"I assure you it's quite safe," Qui continued.

“I know.” Heruss nodded. “I was just being nosy, like I said. Surprised she hasn’t added a few more bits to it though,” the rooms were still fairly Spartan. “It looks a bit…. Bare.”

"I'm sure that is not what occupies her thoughts at the current point in time," he commented.

“True, but what does? Any mind has a thousand thoughts and worries at any one time. What does worry me is what her death will bring here…among other things.”

He half smiled rather eerily. "Let me worry about that, all right?"

“I still have to worry. Especially as part of this is my fault.” Heruss replied with his lop sided smile.

"Part of your fault, eh?" Qui said, still smiling.

“Like you I am here without permission.” Heruss nodded. “Unlike you, however, my upper powers know I’m here.”

“Which means, when they know I am here, they will want to.. Reclaim me. Which they’ll happily do at any cost because of what I know, what I can do….”

"Do you want help with that?" Quissera said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it with an ordinary lighter.

“Not really. It has to be done. I’ll probably die in the process. But is has to be done…”

Qui chuckled. "If that's what you wish," he said simply. "But Rave isn't going to be too happy."

“No, I expect she will be furious. But it has to be done for the good of us all.”

"Why aren't you a self-righteous one...." Quissera said looking at him in disbelief and a bit of laughter.

“I thought that was a requirement for a soul of the throne…” Heruss grinned.

"Self-sacrificing...hardly," he said with an even bigger smile.

“Evidently I don’t have the right soul for the job.”

"Mmnn. The self sacrificing ones are of Light. Like Charmaine..."

“I prefer to be in-between Light and Darkness, as you well know, but then sometimes you have to choose a side.”

"Indeed you do. When it comes down to it, everyone can be categorized."

“Pigeonholes. Man’s greatest curse.”

"I don't understand your language..." Quissera, looking up at Heruss for a minute.

“It’s a way of categorizing post. Mail.” Heruss said, glancing over to Qui from the window. “Because they do that for people and places you can do it with categories also.”

"I see," Quissera remarked.
Reubinskia
01-03-2008, 16:00
Heruss leant on the battlements as he took in the morning air, he breathed deep at the sea-scented air. The wind blew almost constantly here, causing even his shortened brown hair to blow roughly in the breeze.
His coat flapped slightly also, even though he had done it up against the wind. With a sigh he turned and headed inside, walking slowly along the sparkling granite corridors without much of an aim but to wander. He headed up a set of spiral stairs and peered curiously into the Empress’ suite of rooms.

A white cat stared back at him with ice blue eyes. The cat was so still it almost could have been mistaken for a statue, except for the fact it blinked once, and only once.

“White suits you.” Heruss said simply as he looked at the cat.

The cat blinked.

“Certainly better than the constant black you seem to wear, correct?”

"I wear white shirts..." he said, transforming in the process. The last thing to disappear was his cat ears. He, indeed, was wearing a white shirt.

“Yet black trousers.” Heruss said, pointing. “Why are you here anyway? I thought you were preparing for something.”

"They can't see me here, and I have yet some time to take the steps required."

“Nor will they ever be able to.” Heruss said, nodding. “Are you aware of the… legend of the Laputians Qui?”

"No, not particularly," he said, stretching on the edge of the bed.

“They’re fallen angels.” Heruss began. “Once created by great powers unknown they became powerful, some say too powerful and thus their makers tried to destroy them. They rebelled and a great battle was fought, it was said that the battle was so great that the earth beneath them was melded anew. The powers who made them punished them, by stripping them all of their wings and their ability to travel swiftly between realms. However, as they were victorious, they banished their makers from stalking their halls and their lands forever.”

“You’re basically in the last safe haven in existence from the Powers.” Heruss turned and looked at Qui. “You should be able to do whatever you wished here without any reprisals from your makers.”

Qui chuckled. "I don't know if you'd want to invite that. They still don't know where I am, which means I have to return occasionally."

“There is that.” Heruss nodded. “Besides, what would you do without any reprisals, hmm?”

"Wouldn't you like to know," he said, folding his hands. "So what brings you in?"

“I would.” he smiled. “I am merely wandering. I have little to do right now, so thought I’d just be a nosy father and take a look at her rooms.”

"I assure you it's quite safe," Qui continued.

“I know.” Heruss nodded. “I was just being nosy, like I said. Surprised she hasn’t added a few more bits to it though,” the rooms were still fairly Spartan. “It looks a bit…. Bare.”

"I'm sure that is not what occupies her thoughts at the current point in time," he commented.

“True, but what does? Any mind has a thousand thoughts and worries at any one time. What does worry me is what her death will bring here…among other things.”

He half smiled rather eerily. "Let me worry about that, all right?"

“I still have to worry. Especially as part of this is my fault.” Heruss replied with his lop sided smile.

"Part of your fault, eh?" Qui said, still smiling.

“Like you I am here without permission.” Heruss nodded. “Unlike you, however, my upper powers know I’m here.”

“Which means, when they know I am here, they will want to.. Reclaim me. Which they’ll happily do at any cost because of what I know, what I can do….”

"Do you want help with that?" Quissera said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it with an ordinary lighter.

“Not really. It has to be done. I’ll probably die in the process. But is has to be done…”

Qui chuckled. "If that's what you wish," he said simply. "But Rave isn't going to be too happy."

“No, I expect she will be furious. But it has to be done for the good of us all.”

"Why aren't you a self-righteous one...." Quissera said looking at him in disbelief and a bit of laughter.

“I thought that was a requirement for a soul of the throne…” Heruss grinned.

"Self-sacrificing...hardly," he said with an even bigger smile.

“Evidently I don’t have the right soul for the job.”

"Mmnn. The self sacrificing ones are of Light. Like Charmaine..."

“I prefer to be in-between Light and Darkness, as you well know, but then sometimes you have to choose a side.”

"Indeed you do. When it comes down to it, everyone can be categorized."

“Pigeonholes. Man’s greatest curse.”

"I don't understand your language..." Quissera, looking up at Heruss for a minute.

“It’s a way of categorizing post. Mail.” Heruss said, glancing over to Qui from the window. “Because they do that for people and places you can do it with categories also.”

"I see," Quissera remarked.

It Is TRUE:rolleyes:
Midlonia
02-03-2008, 00:25
Sarah did not acknowledge Dyer directly, merely giving a general hand wave to let him know to follow as she lead the group back once more into the office. Now in plain daylight, white sun filled the room with an almost ethereal haze, sounds drifting up fromt he square below providing the main soundtrack. Sarah took her seat at the desk and invited the rest of them to sit down on the various sofas and armchairs that were scattered in a rough semi-circle around her.

Dyer sat, his back and knees cracking as he did so. “I’m sorry about the outburst Sarah, it’s just this is a very hefty issue. You know the Central’s position on break away colonies, regardless of age of claim.”

"Yes." Sarah said, not looking straight at him for the moment as she scanned the notes left on her desk. "And if that is its position then so be it. As I said, de facto it matters not."

“De Jure, no. Reality? Yes.”

Sarah now moved her gaze to the Midlonian as Clodius moved closer protectively towards Rave and Tere. "Pardon?"

Dyer ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “After the Second War and the independence of The Island Colonies on top of loosing out here part of the Redemption saw the Colony Retention act passed. In essence it’s a not-one-step backwards law and edict which applies to all titles held by His Greater Majesty, or by the government and peoples of Midlonia.”

"You can try to control the land if you wish," Ravelyn said unexpectedly. "But it won't answer to you."

"A law which is irrelevant as the Commonwealth is out of your sovereign area and the land itself was seperated before Midlonia itself existed as a state."

“That isn’t the issue, Empress.” Dyer replied with a slight smile. “The issue in regards to the island would be either enforcing His Greater Highness’ claim to the throne, this can be done by invading and capturing the island…..” he played with his hands for a moment. “…or it’s destruction.”

"You'd have to kill me first."

"A law which is irrelevant as the Commonwealth is out of your sovereign area and the land itself was seperated before Midlonia itself existed as a state." Sarah said.

Clodius rose to his feet, towering over Dyer. "I believe your government needs a reminder of what happens when it tries to reclaim lost lands if you believe such an attitude is acceptable."

“Me? No. Don’t be silly. I’m just the messenger, I‘m not allowed an opinion on the matter which was passed by the elected representatives of the Midlonian peoples.”

"Well," said Sarah as she rose from her seat, though with a less aggressive posture than the vampire. "Take a message, Mr Dyer." She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Tell them that their advice on the matter is appreciated but their mandate and legislative power have no real power beyond Midlonia's borders."

“I am aware of that, Sarah. What is confusing is I spoke to Hyka- Ahem, I mean His Majesty this morning and got his full approval for it’s independence due to it’s location. It then seems the Cabinet overruled him by hosting a vote on the matter.”

“I genuinely cannot remember the last time a government ignored His Majesty’s advice so blatantly. I really can’t!”
"Hmmmm."

Sarah nodded, and looked up at Rave. "You’re the Empress. How do you wish the matter be handled?"

Ravelyn paused, stepping forward past Clodius and Tere who had formed a sort of protective barrier around him. "Well...normally I am a rather diplomatic person in areas of territory. I'm, however, not feeling particularly agreeable with everything that has happened. Given Kievzhe's history...that land in the hands of a non-angelic can do no good. Good would be my ultimate goal despite the chains which constrict me," she said, running her fingertips over one of her adamantine shackles. "So I must say that I cannot acknowledge any ownership of this land from anyone other than myself. How humans and cultures have divided up the earth when it should be shared..." she sighed heavily. "It really belongs to no one, but it only answers to me, which makes it mine to preside over. If the Midlonian government wishes to claim the land, then they will meet their death trying to do so. And that, is a guarantee."

Dyer sighed. “I know this. A war on this scale would be disastrous for both sides. Every time I send a message I seem to have the original orders overruled. It seems that a more direct approach may be necessary.”

"To Swad?"

Sarah muttered sharply under her breathe. "Seems such a big step over what should be a small matter. Nevertheless..." She looked up at Rave.

“To Swad.” Dyer nodded.

"I don't like you," she said openly to dyer, twirling one of the rings upon her fingers. "...and I don't trust you." She finally turned her attention to Sarah. "But I trust you..." She trailed off again, then signed in submission. "Who must I make nice with now?"

Dyer simply blinked. “Now hang on a second…. I’ve been doing this for 50 years now. I’ve been shot at, spat on, set alight and placed in a prison cell for 6 months, but I’ve never been called untrustworthy. I‘ve always been regarded as a Maverick in the Economic and Diplomatic Corps because of my honesty and integrity.”

"And I've been doing this for several millenia. I've been shot at, stabbed, maimed, raped, tortured, and killed...twice. I've been in the restraint of inquizitors for a good three months. I don't care who you consider yourself or what your position is, because it means nothing. You heard that a person's eyes are windows to the soul, yes?" She looked at him with shifting crimson eyes; alive with the sanguine; blood red color. "That's all I need to know."

“Well, if that’s your opinion then.” Dyer shrugged. “I suppose it’s really your call Sarah. You’re the government that’s legit in the eyes of the Greater Kingdom in this case.”

"Poetic" was all Sarah had to offer. She relaxed, taking her seat again and steepling her fingers. "I understand, Daniel...I would hate to be in your position. I will seek redress on your behalf Rave, if you would choose to accompany me?"

Ravelyn looked at Sarah, and nodded. "Of course."

“That’s settled then.” Tere said quietly.

Sarah smiled back. "Time to go crack some heads....figuratively" she quickly added as she saw Dyer's expression. "And you two?" She nodded at Clodius and Tere.

"If by figuratively you mean for fun...I'm allright with that," she added. Ravelyn turned to look at the two men who now stood behind her. "These two are coming..."

“Ah, so we’re your bodyguards now?” Tere said with a slight grin.

"I guess so." Clodius gave a weak smile, then looked worryingly at Tere. "You okay given the politics back home?"

“I am, it’s the Colonel I am worried about, if he knows something’s up even more than just the Supreme Commander….”

"I wouldn't worry about Heruss. He knows how to take care of himself. Plus he has Loki to keep him company..."

“Yes, the Psychopath and the Sociopath… sounds like a TV comedy.”

"And which is Loki?" She smiled.

Tere raised his finger as though to make a statement, then paused in thought. “Good point.”

Sarah peered at Rave again, a relaxed smile now. "Do you wish for any arrangements to be made on our part for their protection?"

"No," she shook her head. "Loki is more than a capable body guard. Besides...if anyone gives him so much as a reason for him to end their life he will. He isn't picky."

“So, when shall we go?” Dyer said, looking up and tapping his cane on the floor.

Swadlincote

A city of nearly 260 million inhabitants, sprawled like a vast red smear on the green land below it. The beating, thundering heart of an Empire that found entire districts covered in a permanent smog of some sort at different times of the day. The running joke was that you could tell the time of day from which district was smogged out.

With a whine the aircraft’s engines announced the short vertical decent onto the landing pad, the craft was a bit larger and more comfortable than the Spartan craft that the party had travelled in earlier. Below them soldiers in red clothing with white pith helmets holding rifles of various description stood to attention. A red carpet had been rolled out and at the far end were three figures.

The Prime Minister Benjamin Musotana a bald rotund man who’s head shone in the sunlight.

A man older than Dyer it seemed, but standing neatly to attention wearing a long leather purely black trench coat and a peaked cap with a Golden Dove with a pair of rubies for eyes in. Aslmadeus Sturm, Supreme Commander of the Midlonian Armed Forces.

Finally, a young red-bearded man wearing a neat cut suit, the only thing betraying him as the Greater King was a small iron crown on his head which was riddled with Emeralds, Diamonds and a large pair of jewels A large, deep red Ruby, and a sparkling Sapphire.

They were standing on the prominent hill in the centre of the city in the Castellion of Swadlincote, it was a fairly modest affair by all accounts, built at a time when forts were no longer completely pratical it offered a simply stunning view of the city below it. Red Brick buildings mixed with marble in row upon row, large town houses, small terraced houses, industries pouring forth black smoke, gigantic gas cylinders hissing gently. This was the beating heart.

Ravelyn walked towards the three with her two 'body guards' to either side. Her wings were spread out in their full splender. The way the light hit her made her seem ethereal as the red tints in her hair came out, and her crimson eyes seemed to draw everything in. She knew the king when she saw him; as he wore a crown; she a circlet. There were no emeralds, but there were diamonds and rubies embedded with the angelic crafted circlet.

Sarah walked down by their side, taking the opportunity to stretch slightly, cracking her fingers and adjusting her dress, another, this time pastel variation of Freestian dress robes, slightly inadequate in the cooler climate. Clodius wore the black spartan uniform from before, all decorations renewed and his cleaver glistening in the sunlight.

The soldiers all snapped to attention at the same time. "Our strength is our courage, our honour, our unity" They all shouted. “War is Never ending, only man is finite!” They shouted again. “God Save the King.”

"Yes, man is finite..." she commented silently to herself. "Unfortunately, I am not..."

Sarah nodded, and bowed. She took a step forward and knelt slightly, an incredible show of respect for one of her species, fangs subdued and arms held open.

“Welcome, Prime Minister Farahind. The honour is mine to have such an exemplary soldier and an exemplary politician here.” Musotana said with a warm smile.

Hykar nodded. “I am glad to see you again, Farahind.”

"I am glad to be here once more, Major." She grinned, and smiled. "It has been a long while."

Musotana seemed to be flustered by Rave’s presence, Sturm also seemed to be slightly perturbed by Rave’s presence, the King seemed calm and collected.

“Empress.” He said quietly, his carefully cultivated Midlonian accent cutting across the courtyard despite the wind that had picked up. “Welcome to the Greater Kingdom.”

Her own accent was heavy and thick, and wrappd around his ears drawing him in closer as did the rest of her appearance. Her eyes, most of all; simmered as rubies themselves. "Your hospitality is greatly appreciated. Thank you for meeting on such short a time from request."

He smiled gently to her. “The situation is most grave, to not have done so would have been foolish.”

"Perhaps," she agreed, looking up at him. "However...I would have not said so openly."

“When you speak to an equal I do not believe in the needs of unnecessary secrecy or complete subtlety, if I am not honest how can I conduct business?”

"Well said, your majesty." Sarah nodded. Clodius coughed.

"I tend to have a blatant way of putting things," she explained. "I need to be careful what I say...I do have a bit of a ...language barrier, if you will. Even after many years." In fact, she did not consider him her equal. He was far luckier than her; to be in control of his own fate.

“Then I hope you shall ask me to explain myself better if anything is misunderstood.” he smiled.

"Will do," she said softly.

“Shall we go inside? I fear the smog may be rolling in thanks to these winds.” Musotana said, coughing slightly as he did so.

"A good idea...." Sarah began coughing as well, far too used to the clean open air present even in Freestian cities. "Thought you lot were trying to sort this smog out?"

Ravelyn did not breathe unless she needed to speak, and therefore, did not draw a breath in after the comments being made.

“We have, this is a clean district now.” Hacked Musotana as he waved them to walk across the wide courtyard and into the low, two story palace section of the Castellion. “But the wind sometimes brings it across.”

"I'll take your word for it." Clodius muttered. "Been a while since I walked these halls. Centuries, I think."

Inside the corridor was white and gold, ornate with a black and red carpet that filled the centre of the roof, the sides showing off bare and highly polished floorboards. Busts of previous Greater King’s and Queens lined the wall, starting with Godwin and ending in Hykar I. The King’s father.

Musotana breathed a few times as he coughed. “Ah, that’s a bit better.”

Hykar simply coughed lightly, apparently having held his breathe. Sturm didn’t seem phased, having lived in the city all his life he was more than used to it.

“One of the drawing rooms, I think.” Hykar said with a nod to a door on the right at the far end. They entered and inside it was different again. Cool blue painted oak panels lined the walls, large comfy wing backed chairs and sofas with a roaring fireplace in the centre of the room. A large window to the side showed the thick smog rolling in over the courtyard, the honour guard outside had now donned gasmasks and were moving away. Hykar removed his crown and placed it on a small side table. "Now that the formalities are out of the way, please do have a seat."

Ravelyn did sit down, and stretched her wings further to allow for comfort. Clodius and Tere were to either side of her, and in that she felt comforted.

Sarah merely sat down on a chair, reclining back and shifting one leg over the other. "Thank you Henry. I remember this room, you had it redecorated since we were last here..."

“Yes, I felt it needed to be a little less….drab.” he smiled. “Much brighter despite the smog, don’t you think?”

“Can I have anything brought for you? Something to eat perhaps? To drink?” Musotana asked as he sat down in a wingback chair next to the King.

"I do." She smiled again, almost mischievously. "I wish we could have come on a happier errand, that is all."

“So do I.” Henry shook his head as he sat back and looked at the fire. “So do I.”
“Fact is it seems that it’s elements of the Cabinet, elements of the Parliament, elements of the Supreme Command…” Sturm began, his voice grating and aged. “This has been going on for months, it’s like one side is trying to form it’s own damn governmental bloc under the Opposition parties.”

"Mmmn...." Ravelyn said, her angelic voice cutting through the room. Heat radiated off her, and poor Tere and Clodius were getting full effects of her glamour. "But what is to be done..."

Tere gently slipped his hand into Rave’s squeezing it as he did so.

“I am not honestly sure.” Henry said as he stabbed the fire with a poker, before grabbing a coal shovel and throwing a couple of lumps of coal onto the fire. “It seems to be a majority in politics, but a minority in the military, the problem is the military is bound to the politicals. If they vote for a full action against the new Kingdom, then there is very little I can do to stop it, or the military.”

"Then let me talk to them," Ravelyn said. "I'm sure we can certainl...come to terms?"

"One slight problem..." Clodius muttered. "The Commonwealth surrounds the new Kingdom."

“Which isn’t a problem in the eyes of the politicals.” Sturm coughed lightly. “The M.A.F has been heavily re-arming for years since the collapse of the Concordat. The politicians are under the naïve impression you might be beaten to reach the new Kingdom.”

"You'd be willing to invade the Commonwealth?"

Sarah nodded, her brow furrowing. "Can't you dismiss them? Constitutionally I thought you retained that power?"

“It’s like the damn planners in the Second Moonstone War all over again. 18 months…” Henry sneered.

“Me?” Sturm laughed, a wheezing old laugh. “Definitely not. But it’s not my remit where the war is to be, just how to get it there and executed.”

“Technically I can. I hold the power to veto them on many issues also. However, if I dismissed them and only the loyal elements listened, what then?” Henry sighed.

"I thought your police and military vowed their oaths to you?"

“They do, but even then there are points of contention. There are some commanders who believe it’s little more than a ceremonial vow.” Sturm said, his voice rattling. “Some commanders are also overtly ambitious and will listen to various powerful men to get higher up the ranks.”

Sarah leaned back, drumming her fingers on her leg. She turned to the Empress. "Your call, again. We can try to talk sense into them, might be the best way forward."

Very tempted to have a powerful woman put them back in their place… Ravelyn said silently to Tere, gripping his hand. She wondered how long he would last with her glamour resonating so strongly.

"I..." she paused. "feel that might be the best way to go about it."

You’d definitely be the one to do it, oh mistress. Tere said quietly with a twitch of a grin.

“I have arranged for you both to speak before the Commons tomorrow after PMQ’s.” Musotana said. “His Majesty will be there also.”

"My deepest thanks," the empress said.
"Thank you", Sarah said curtly.

Musotana bowed his head. “For what it’s worth, I am all for the independence of the Kingdom, it’s pointless not to recognise it. When it has a functioning government and is no threat to us at all.”

“Anything else we really need to talk about?” Henry said looking up from the fire across at Sarah first, then Rave and the others.

"Might I have a word in private your majesty?" Sarah said, slowly and quietly.

Henry nodded to the others. “Please do go and feel free to look around the Palace, you will be shown your rooms tonight.”

Tere stood and motioned to Ravelyn. Musotana and Sturm were already at the door.

Clodius rose without a word, exchanging quick glances between the two remaining residents of the room, and departed after Rave.

Henry simply sat back and smiled at her as the door closed behind Clodius. “So?”

"You never call any more." She leaned back again, stretching one leg over the other.

He smiled a little. “I am sorry. I know. Since things started here I haven’t had the time.”

Henry shook his head. “Inexcusable of me, really.”

"Its alright. Been busy myself..." She looked over at the fire. "Politics is a lot harder business than I thought it was."

He grinned. “Being at the very very top, you see everything and have to make choices you really dislike at times. I think I preferred my time in The Corps. A little bit simpler.”

"Indeed. Run, fight, sleep, eat." She looked up at him, smiling anew, genuine and friendly and almost innocent. "I still miss those days."

“So do I.” He scratched his ear and leant back into his chair. “So do I. Especially those times at the shooting range.”

"The actual shooting...or?" She laughed, grinning softly, casually moving her hands back under her hair and letting it fall lose.

“Oh, you know, the shooting and the reloading, over and over again. Both kinds.” Henry grinned and chuckled.

Sarah shook her head and looked away, her smile stretching. "Oh come now, you make it sound so sordid."

“Ah well, considering there wasn’t a bit of the shooting range left that we hadn’t been by the time we left the Corps…” he grinned and laughed.

"I will admit, for a human, you weren't bad." She turned back to look at him. "Good times. I must admit surprise you haven't been able to find anyone since taking the mantle from your father..."

“People treat you a lot differently when you rule a whole Empire. You get too many leeches, people who want you for the power rather than the person.”

"I can imagine..." She rose, and moved up to him, standing eye to eye, "I believe, Henry, that I need to be shown my quarters for this visit?"

He stood up, and placed his hands on her hips. “I believe it is Sarah…”
Midlonia
05-03-2008, 00:42
Henry stirred, his grip around Sarah tightening as he woke. The sun was streaming in through high windows and there was the sound of doves singing. They were in a large bed with clothing strewn around them. “Morning.” he said to her quietly.

Sarah did a sort of gentle growl as she curled to look at him, dragging the sheet over her body. "Not too bad, your majesty."

“Still pretty good for a human?” Henry grinned as he kissed her.

Sarah smiled, then turned and whacked him playfully with a pillow. "I don't remember you requiring a intermission last time..."

He laughed as he was hit, grabbing hold of her and pushing her down. “Might have something to do with the glass of wine we had beforehand.”

"Are you not forgetting something your majesty?"

"That being?" Henry said as he grinned.

"Oh...just, you know," she grinned, and effortlessly lifted herself and the King so that she soon ended up straddling him. "Ghoul, dear."

“Ah, yes. That.” he smiled. “But everyone has a weakness.” he said, massaging her hips and back.

Sarah looked down, and placed her hands above his. "Still have a little time..."

“Mmmhm.” he nodded as he continued massaging.


------------

Tere cracked open an eye and hissed instinctively at the sunlight before his eyes adjusted, he sat up and rubbed his temple. Once again his eyes were different colours. The room they were in was luxurious, marble flooring with thick woolly rugs. Clothing strewn around the room in which was becoming all too familiar a sight for all three of them. He shook his head and moved into the adjoining bathroom and turned the shower on, which hissed into life.

Ravelyn had somehow ended up on the floor with all of the sheets wrapped around her, and she did not stir even when the light hit her face.

Clodius meanwhile, was surprisingly active as he was nudged awake, leaping to a standing position on the bed itself as if he had been startled. The bed creaked mightily as his weight shifted over it.

Tere heard the cracking of the bed as he turned the shower off, he stood out of the shower grabbing a towel and began to dry himself as he moved out of the bathroom. “You ok?” he asked as he looked at Clodius.

"Nightmare...instincts of a superpredator." He looked around. "Unusual surroundings. I don't like being in hostile territory"

“Ah, point taken.” Tere said as he dried his hair. “Though this isn’t hostile territory, not yet anyway…”

Clodius still looked uneasy, peering down at the sleeping Empress, kneeling slightly and running his hand through her hair. "I hope it stays that way."

"You and me both." Tere said with a shrug as he threw on some boxers and left it at that for the moment.

Ravelyn stirred and immediately latched herself onto Clodius arm which had strayed near her body. Still being half asleep; she didn't let go.

"Somebody else is awake then....sort of." Tere said, looking to Ravelyn.

Clodius didn't move, letting Rave hold on as long as she wanted, merely moving the thin covers over her and watching her form intently. "Let her rest, we will all need the energy…"

Ravelyn opened her eyes slowly, but did not release Clodius. Instead, she shifted closer to him. "Have I been asleep long? Or rather, have you been awake ?"

"Not too long, go back to sleep if you like." He smiled down at her, getting closer and running his other arm around her protectively.

She leant up and kissed him, and settled back down into his arms.

He held her tight, and closed his eyes.

Tere sighed and opened the window. The gardens below were quiet still, only the sounds of Doves, and some curiously loud growling and groaning, filled the sky. The gardens were beautiful and ornate, ponds and water features. Statues and flower beds of a multitude of colours filled the ground below. Patrolling discreetly soldiers moved quietly and respectfully around. They were still in the palatial wing of the castle, with the “Little Castle” a small faux keep being where the strange sounds were coming from. That was where the King lived after all.

“Huh, seems the King is having fun then…” Tere shook his head and looked down, he then turned, grabbed a shirt and trousers and put them on. “I might go take a walk, been a while since I’ve been here, you two coming?” He asked, looking over to Clodius and Ravelyn.

Clodius slipped out, finally letting go of Rave as he stood over the edge of the bed, leaping down with surprising grace for so heavy a creature, though had the floor been wood all the way through he would have gone straight through. "A walk?"

“Yeah. I haven’t seen the gardens in a long time.” Tere said as he stretched and yawned. “Plus I could do with the air. Y’know?”

Clodius nodded, grunting in his throat with that unhuman growl. "Better go get dressed" he muttered, grabbing his own underwear from the floor and quickly making himself decent.

Ravelyn woke up, but had some difficulty getting out of the cacoon of blankets she had created for herself. She walked over to the beureau, which had somehow been filled with clothes. She picked a beige light dress with thin straps, and zipped it up, choosing appropriate corresponding accessories.

“Shortcut?” Tere said, grinning as he looked out the large French-door style windows.

"My wings are kind of sore..." she said suprisingly.

“Sore? How’d that happen…” Tere said, looking over to her.

Ravelyn shrugged. "No idea...."

Clodius moved around her back, his fingers pressing against her neck again.

Ravelyn shivered. "If you start that again...we will never leave," she murmured, closing her eyes.

Clodius smiled, keeping the touch light. "I just think you wanted the massage."

Tere shook his head with a chuckle.

"Maybe," she muttered.

“We should really all try to wake up,” Tere said. “Otherwise Ravelyn’s right, we won’t leave this room. But I think you should enjoy the massage if your wings are sore.”

"Getting technical, the way wings form with the standard humanoid shoulder cluster tends to mean you use the same muscle set for both," Clodius mentioned, "When we transform we do something similar, though we have to get the entire wing structure in the area a normal human just has his shoulder blades. Its simply," he squeezed in a few well placed points, "a matter of knowing where everything goes."

"My wings are huge compared to my size though," she remarked. "They are much more of a pain sometimes than an asset."

“So why don’t you put them away more often, like you showed me and Heruss when we went to the library?” Tere asked as he leant against the wall.

"Believe me until you have to store a twenty foot tail up by your cocsyx you have no problems whatsoever." Clodius muttered, grinning. He continued to press, feeling the specifics, and kneading the soft flesh a little more.

"Because it takes far more energy than I'm willing to expend."

“Ah, right.” Tere nodded.

"Shall we go?" she asked quitely.

“Sure.” Tere crossed the room and opened the door. The corridor was like most of the others, but with wide sweeping staircases at either end. They moved down them quietly, even Clodius’ weight apparently being absorbed by the plush carpeting. They went through a pair of heavy double doors and out into the bright morning light. The Garden smelt of the scent of flowers and of the morning dew damp of fresh soil. Tere took a deep breathe and smiled. “Always did like these gardens.”

"I've always been found of gardens," she commented.

"One of the things that still embeds itself in us." Clodius commentated, the gardens of Navarre homages to the originals here. "Its nice to be somewhere you know there's nothing lethal lurking in the grass or bushes."

They set off at a slow and steady walk, passing rows of begonias and various lichen and trees of different sorts. Passing water fountains and bird tables surrounded by doves taking a morning drink and cooing softly. “They have a small army of gardeners maintaining this place apparently, but you never see them.” Tere remarked casually as they passed a bush which had been neatly trimmed into the shape of a Dove.

She looked at the dove shaped shrubbery. "I've always been one for reptiles rather than birds."

"Go back far enough and they are the same thing." Clodius noted. "To think how all life is interconnected."

"I don't believe that," she said in return.

Tere shrugged. “Well, it’s not as if God waved his hands and made everything in a literal week. Certainly not the line the church takes, which is quite unusual and progressive of them.”

Ravelyn chuckled, but did not say a word.

There was the sound of yapping not too far ahead of them. A small tennis ball landed in front of them with a thud and a small black Scottie Dog bounded around the corner, barking happily, it ignored the three people walking along, grabbed the ball and bounded away again. “Hrm, seems they’re exercising the dogs.” Tere remarked casually.

"Cute little things. Never caught on back home." Clodius said simply, watching the little dog make its way, carefree over the gardens.

“Considering they got eaten….” Tere chuckled. “Small bite sized snacks.”

"What ate them exactly?"

"Point." Clodius smiled. "We did." He said to Rave without a pause.

Ravelyn blinked several times.

Tere snorted with laughter.

"Not part of our cuisine back home.."

“Or here, but hey! It was the Commonwealth. You just expect it these days.”

Clodius just smirked. "No, not us specifically. But, well, the wildlife back home tended to do horrible things for animals domesticated for the Midlonian standard of rural."

There was a loud, deep booming bark as a large rubber Frisbee flew over them. “Which is why we responded with better breeding…” Tere said as a gigantic dog bounded around the corner, it’s bark booming heavily. It was some sort of cross between a Pit Bull Terrier and a very large wolf. It leapt over one of the hedges easily, snapping it’s large jaws at the Frisbee which was still sailing lazily over the hedges.

"Navarrian Wolfhound. Nice breeding."

There was a loud shout and a scream and a loud bark. “Help! HELP!” the voice cried.

"What went wrong now?" she questioned and headed in the direction of the call.

Clodius pricked his ears and followed, running with heavy footsteps that dinted the pristine lawns.

It was Dyer, flat on his back with the large dog barking at him. He was holding onto the Frisbee. “Get this bloody thing off of me!” he shouted as it barked again, sniffed him and began to lick his face with a large slobbering tongue.

Ravelyn just stood there. "I wish I had a camera."

Clodius merely growled, loud and long, and the dog whimpered, instinct overtaking the fact it was about the same size he was.

“Champion!” Yelled a soldier as he rounded a corner, “Get here now!” he snapped. The dog whimpered again, grabbed his Frisbee off of Dyer and loped away towards the trainer. “Sorry! He’s a softy really.” The trainer called before disappearing.

Ravelyn chuckled.

Dyer dusted himself down, recovered a handkerchief and mopped the slobber and spittle off of his face. “Bloody Navarrian Pithounds.” he said simply.

“Well, you were silly enough to pick up it’s toy…” Tere remarked casually.

"Surprised to see you out and about Dyer." Clodius remarked.

“I always take a morning constitutional.” Dyer said with a smile. “Tends to be quieter and I can discuss things with Bratcher when he’s about.”

Kilwarby, Swadlincote, Parlimentary building

The cars hissed as they turned quietly down another roadway. The Parliamentary building was a gigantic monument to gothic architecture. Made from sandstone it was unnecessarily ornate with every stone and every piece of woodwork on the outside apparently having some sort of carving design on it.

Henry took Sarah’s hand in the car. “You ready?” He asked.

"Of course." She smiled back. "When was I not?" Her curtness was belied somewhat by a gentle squeeze of his hand, a subconcious thank you for being there.

Light bulbs began to flash and snap as they got closer, it was rare these days for the press to have been whipped up into such a fervour, but when the King was personally to sit as speaker in the House of Commons, along with the leaders of two world nations…. Well. It was like a red flag to a bull.

The cars swung into the gates as they quietly opened and closed almost immediately.

Tere sighed as he saw the clamouring photographers and cameras as they rolled to a stop. “Big smiles all round I suppose…” he said quietly.

Ravelyn, given her appearance and years of politics, left her next to flawless before a camera. She might as well have been walking down a red carpet rather than to this political meeting.

Clodius smiled, saying nothing but checking his uniform to ensure it was sharp and straight with military precision.

The journalists were in an uproar as they stepped out of the cars. All clamouring for a comment from this new “Empress” that was amongst their midst, as well as clamouring for answers from Farahind and Hykar. One voice loudly cut across the shouting, subduing it almost immediately. “Prime Minister Farahind, is it true you had a relationship with the King during his time in the Mainland Corps?”

Sarah peered at the King, bemused. "I do not like to discuss my past, but yes, we were close during our respective times in the corp. That is all."

“Then does this not mean you’re using your position to force this issue to the rightfully elected representatives of Midlonia?” This voice persisted.

"This is an important issue regardless, seeing as your elected officials decided to press the issue in the first place. We are here today to sort this little matter out for the best for all concerned. Anything else, you would have to ask the Empress."

“Fine then. Empress, what’s it feel like being such a monumental nuisance to the Greater Kingdom, and the possibility of the invoking of the Colonial Retention Act?” The voice persisted again, the journalists were looking around for the journalist who was speaking so loud and clearly, but couldn’t see him.

"Care to repeat that again?" she questioned, turning to the man and her eyes brurning with fire.

“How does it feel being a bloody nuisance?” The voice came again.

"Hardly a nuisance," she replied.

“Is that why you’ve now managed to drag the Commonwealth and the Greater Kingdom to the brink of war?”

"Would you like a direct quote from me?"

“I’m sure we all would love to hear what a foreigner thinks…” the voice chuckled, the Journalists raising their cameras, checking Dictaphones and raising TV Cameras.

She smiled pleasantly. "Any reporter that has the audacity to say such a thing of me should be shot on sight." She turned, and walked away.

The Journalists laughed and applauded her. One thing the Midlonian Tabloids and papers enjoyed? Honesty.

The rumbling of voices didn’t die out after they had come inside. Instead it seemed to increase substantially. 1,000 representatives were currently sat in the House of Commons, and the cheering exchanges were the end of the Prime Ministers Questions. The speaker, a middle aged woman stood when she saw the King, checking her notes she loudly declared. “His Majesty has arrived for the next issue before Parliament, the declaration of Independence of Laputia and it’s recognition by the Commonwealth.”

The members jeered some sort of “Raaaaaah!” as the King took the speaker’s seat and sat down, donning a wing as was traditional.

“Order!” he shouted and the members silenced immediately and sat. “Prime Minister Farahind.” The King pointed to Sarah, who took her place at the podium opposite the opposition MP’s and the Shadow Cabinet.

"Thank you, your Majesty, and to the House for granting me time today to make this proclaimation."

The house jeered again. “Order!” Henry called again.

“Bloody foreigners….” a lone voice said. The King glared at the figure, who was immediately subdued.

"I am glad to see the mother of Parliaments has remained the bastion of civilised discourse it has always been." Sarah said cordially. "I am here to request the Midlonian Government rescind its rejection of the recognition of Laputian independence, on the grounds that the state in question has now been fully established and, in light of this and the precedent for international peace and prosperity, the importance of diplomacy and communication in maintaining that order."

The house jeered loudly again. Hisses and shouts of “False state, false statement.” were shouted, once again calling for Henry to call for order. Half of the house seemed testy, louder than usual and certainly more confrontational than the previous weeks of televised PMQ’s had shown.

The opposition leader, a young man by all accounts stood. “Since when did the Commonwealth support the dismantling of the Midlonian State?” He said to cheers of approval. “This country had held onto the title of Laputia for 6 centuries, Laputia is Midlonia. Wherever the land that claims to be Laputia is, that’s where our flag is.” They cheered again. “Any such declarations of independence like those attempted in Pushan and most recently in Montmarte have very clear legal precedents, the Colony Retention Act!”

Sarah gave the sort of expression she might give a fly she found in soup. "The precedent is non-binding, and, to be honest with the house based on an entirely different situation. The colony has now been renamed, received a new government and territory and is de jure and de facto no longer part of the Laputian political entity that was subsumed into the Greater Kingdom." She breathed in sharply.

"Therefore any claim on your part is neither valid nor, in reality, workable."

“If we took that attitude we’d have lost everything of ours years ago!” The leader said again to cheers. “Montmarte’s rebellion was the Front of the Independence of The Republic of Harmony and had it‘s own governing body! Odin’s Cultists wanted the Island of Pushan to be renamed Odin’s Realm and had it’s own governing body! The validity of the act is non recognition of these statelets even if they have something that passes for a functioning government!”

“I have a copy of the act here,” he said as he waved some sheets of paper. “Here’s a quote. ‘All statelets that attempt to form in the Greater Kingdom from this day forward should never be formally recognized by the Greater King, or his Parliament. The statelets should not be recognized and reclaimed even if there is support from other national identities wishing to further destroy the Greater Kingdom.’”

"But, there's the catch. The castle and lands, now renamed, were never part of the Greater Kingdom in any legal or physical manner before the passage of the act. As the Commonwealth itself was succeeded from Midlonian claimed land, the castle and its environs were included in that. Therefore..."

“You are speaking in irrelevancies.” The opposition leader snapped back, interrupting her. That castle is the last physical remnant of the Laputian State as it first existed. It was also dormant during that time, meaning that legally the castle is part of the Greater Kingdom Still!”

“Order, I will not have you interrupt the Commonwealth Prime Minister while she speaks Mr Paddick!”

“You,” the Opposition leader pointed to the King rather boldly. “Are too busy thinking about how to keep your precious girlfriend here happy than look after your legal responsibilities.”

The room fell dead silent in shock.

She paused. "There is no legal precedent for this kingdom to be included in the act. Dormant as an entity, the territory was part of the Commonwealth..." the phrase had hit hard, the confident ghoul faltering.

The silence was deafening.

“As the Greater King of the Midlonian Kingdoms, Emperor of Laputia, King of Lincote, King of Midlo-”

“Oh shut up!” The oppositon leader shouted again to the cheers of the members. “This house is sick of your foreign subversions, your dithering decision making on key issues that need your approval, your choice to recognize the colony that legally should have the Colonial Retention Act invoked upon it shows how weak and subverted by foreigners you have become!”

"It is not a colony. And as for your claim, well, your sovereignty does not extend to anything more than baseless posturing." Sarah said, slowly. "You opinion matters not, the state is now officially a sovereign entity, and if you wish to dispute that then all I can say is you are welcome to try."

"Excuse me," Ravelyn said, her voice ringing and reverberating like a well-tuned bell.

“How dare you speak to me like that!” Henry roared from his seat. “This Parliament is hereby disbanded!”

“This Parliament no longer recognizes you.” Paddick said with a smile. “This Parliament is a legal entity and this half this morning voted for your removal from office and all ability to disband Parliament.”

“That is treason!” Henry shouted.

"EXCUSE ME," Ravelyn said a lot louder, her voice bellowing throughout the room with the fervor of a god.

The room was silenced once again.

She looked to the opposition's leader. "Would you come down here please..." she said, as more of an order than anything else.

“I don’t recognize foreigners in this building.” He sneered to her.

"YOU WILL RECOGNIZE ME!" she said, catching his eyes, and imposing her will upon him. Her voice bellowed as if she were possesed. "Come. Now."

Sarah gave Rave the look of 'I hope you know what you are doing', wincing at the member's reply. She stepped away from the podium for a moment, but didn't fully leave it, shifting her gaze to Henry with a sympathetic expression.

He twitched to move, but then stopped, something on his wrist flashing. “I do not recognize foreigners or non-human entities in this building as placed under the Redemption Clauses of 1954!” he shouted back at her.

"Do you want me to come to you?" she questioned, her eyes starting to glow. "I believe you'll find me a good deal more agreeable if you come down yourself..."

Clodius stepped up beside Rave. "Be careful" he whispered to her, "don't give them further reason to reject you."

“You will stay where you are.” Paddick snapped. “If you want to talk, talk, not as if we have to be face to face for you to bite me, is it necrotic?”

She started walking towards him on his last word, using her great wings and in one beat of her great wings she was in front of him, her eyes glowing. She put her hand upon his face, and the bracelet around his wrist snapped. "I'm trying to save all of you from what would cost your nation many lives. She took her hand away. You can understand that...can't you?" A feeling of warmth flooded through him. Of love? Of something far unknown to him that made him follow her with his eyes. She walked away through the rows, those who got near received the same feeling. At this point her ethereal wings started to glow. Eyes were on her. "You bicker amongst yourselves, treason...all of this, and you quarrel over a castle which will only respond to an angelic. It is absurdity, when there are so many more important things in life you can be doing. But on this day you are stuck inside, not even enjoying the gardens or your respective others. You are arguing over something that will inevitably kill many of your people if you wish to claim land which only recognizes myself as its leader.”

"On the other hand," she said, passing to the other side of the room across the front, yet keeping her distance from them. She seemed to eminate a non-phsyical warmth that eased the tension amid the group. "You could all just be power hungry and not able to see the greater good. That is also, a possiblity, hmmn?"

It seemed any words against the king or against her were quelled with a complacent understanding, as if they already knew where she was coming from. And her voice was oh so heavenly. "But seeing as that I attempt to trust in the fact that people have a good level of common sense, as well respect for life, there is no possible argument in what you have said. Rebellion against the king? Perhaps...but the matter of land is quite clear now, wouldn't you agree? It would be far more advantageous to impose your will upon the empress rather than the land itself..."

She had placed one arm behind her back, immediately angling herself to hide it away from the spectators. The two men behind her could clearly see a trickle of blood running down her wrist. It was a great struggle for her to bring about this feeling in the room.

So difficult with the size, it gave her a resonating headache. The Powers apparently did not like her using this ability. It was not something the seraphic of death was supposed to be doing. She paused for a moment, yet nothing happened. They were going to let her continue. Why? She should have been pulled into darkness a long time ago. She thought it strange but nerveless, her influence spread over the room. Only able to do so because it would not bring power to herself. On quite the contrary; it was weakening her for their behalf. She managed to stay steady enough to continue. The room remained silent, and even those with a high resistance to magic felt their tensions loosen; simply relax and listen to the angel's sweet song. It wasn't imposing will; but strengthening feeling to bury others.

But she did not show any pain in her expression. Someone shifting in their chair to lean closer in towards her sounded like a waterfall from the fabric. She closed her eyes momentarily, then was silent as she stood steadily, ready to make an agreement, or start preparing for a war.

“A persuasive argument.” Paddick replied with a slow clap. “But an argument which we have heard a number of times before from various other figures who have felt they have the same right to declare unilateral independence from this body, this country, this Union.”

"But I'm not those others," she said clearly, looking at him with her head tilted downward slightly. The look on her face is rather intimidating. "I have three empires behind me."

“And we have 6 Kingdoms.”

"Three planets..."

“Snap.” Paddick replied, only slightly worried by the change in Rave’s expression.

Sarah moved nearer the King, Clodius meanwhile watched the rising crowd with blacklidded eyes.

"I gaurentee if you do not wish to settle this with an agreement, it will hurt you more than it will hurt me."

"I have been more than reasonable with my offer," she said in return. "And it would benefit both sides. Or are you really that power hungry?"


“The only agreement this house legally recognizes is that of the Colony Retention Act which applies to all parts of the Midlonian Land and it’s peoples.” Paddick started. “If you split and continue with this course then you sha-”

“There is always a third way.” Henry said from his chair, sitting up suddenly, causing even Paddick to stop and look up.

Sarah looked up. "I hope you know what you are doing..." she whispered to Henry, looking around the increasingly hostile chamber.

“Hope so… it’s a massive idea…” Henry whispered to her.

“And what Third Way do you propose, or rather, your foreign friends propose?” Paddick spat back.

“That Kievzhe and it’s Empress become a part of the Greater Kingdom. This settles the issue of the legality issue de jure because it recognizes the new land, along with solving your own…. Well expressed grievances.”

There were some murmurs of approval from the benches. It seemed that Rave’s magic had at least softened the very sharp edge of the hostility.

Ravelyn herself was quite faint, but the wound had very much closed. Still, it was taking her a good deal of effort to make her look like nothing was wrong.

Tere gently placed his hand on Rave’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

“The government…. Fully supports this generous gesture by His Greater Highness.” Musotana said simply.

A third man, further down stood also. A member of the Third-largest political party, he merely nodded his consent and sat also. Paddick remained livid, but didn’t speak. The King had indeed snookered him legally speaking.

Ravelyn took the opportunity to agree silently.

Sarah bit her lip, but she didn't raise the point of what it meant in terms of placing part of the Kingdom in the middle of the Commonwealth. She looked down at Henry awkwardly.

“Largely ceremonial, don’t worry about it…” Henry whispered to her. “Once this is all blown over we can discuss that problem.” He then rose from his chair.

“Then I hereby call a vote, as speaker of the House, and it’s Greater King, over membership of the Empire of Kievzhe to that of the Greater Kingdom.”

The hands rose, the votes were counted over a period of some 30 minutes before two of the speaker’s assistants came forward to the dias.
532 votes for. 478 Against. The motion had passed.


------------------------------

Henry breathed a sigh of relief as the motorcade pulled away from the House. In the car with him was Sarah again, with Tere Clodius and Rave in the car behind.

“Ok, so that’s stopped the war at least…” Henry said quietly as he massaged his temples.

Sarah meanwhile was very alert, preoccupied with the relative difficulties of explaining the decision to her home government. The anger at what would seem like surrender would have to be confronted sooner rather than later.

“Would you have preferred conflict?” Henry asked glancing to her. “Look at this.” He handed her a table of motions by Paddick’s own Midlonain Determination Front Party. It had also included trade embargos and even a possible blockade on the Commonwealth had the issue about Kievzhe not been resolved in some way.

Sarah sniffed, chuckling contemptuously, but it couldn't hie her ill feeling. "Guy's a loon, yes, but why pander to him? Since when has appeasement worked?"

“A Prime Minister isn’t a leader, Sarah.” Henry glanced to her. “They are a team leader, a team player and an appeaser.” He sighed and looked out onto the city, streets blocked off by armoured vehicles flashing past as an outrider wearing the King’s uniform zoomed past. “When you’re in my position, which is still largely ceremonial… you’re in the same position. Just because I wear a silly set of hats, or “rule” doesn’t mean I…. Rule. This country is far too large and unwieldy to manage by myself and sometimes…. Sometimes the best option is to appease to delay the storm for a good while yet. Many of his supporters will be satisfied with a new Kingdom in the list of titles. Some of his hardliners won’t.”

Sarah nodded, turning her head so she leaned her forehead against his, brushing away a stray blonde hair. "I know." She said, slowly. "I have to deal with them myself." She looked up. "I know what you did was right, but I've always known you as a fighter. It must have hurt to compromise as such back there." She moved again, brushing cheek with her lips. "You did well."

“Given half a chance I’d have torn his bloody head off.” Henry said with a chuckle as he turned to her , kissing her lips gently. “However, I have learnt that conflict resolution is just as necessary as skull cracking.” He paused and thought for a moment. “Even if the skull cracking is more fun.” he smiled.

Sarah smiled too. "Don't tempt fate." Was all she said, closing her eyes.

In the car behind them Tere sighed and stretched a little. “Well, that went better than I thought it was going to at one point…”

Ravelyn was very much laying across Clodius and Tere, sleeping, or half so.

Clodius nodded, flexing slightly, feeling oddly stiff. He leaned back into the leader, its springs straining against his bulk, closing his eyes and entering an almost meditative state. Rave's hair in his hands was softly stroked though, even subconciously.

Ravelyn shifted on top of Clodius and Tere, in a position somehow making it a lot more uncomfortable for them.

"You tired?" Clodius asked, moving his hands down a bit. "Barely halfway through the day."

"Mnn...powers don't like me even inching towards my full form," she muttered half in sleep.

Tere gently held Rave also, letting his hands rest on her body and sighed again. “Thought so… so, back to the Palace and a long rest at a guess?” he asked, looking to her.

Clodius nodded, just letting Rave lie how she likes across his lap. "However you want to work it. Need to grab some exercise though at some point. Feel so weak today."

“That’s just the cooler air. I’ll have a word with the Gym see if they can ramp the heating right up.” Tere said, looking at Clodius.
Midlonia
15-03-2008, 18:16
Tere’s feet pounded on the running machine. The gym was out of the way in a mirrored room filled with various equipment. In there were a couple of fitness instructors and a couple of soldiers. Slowing the machine down Tere sighed and grabbed a towel, mopping his face, which was sheened in sweat. The air conditioning had been turned right up and the room was stuffy and hot.

Ravelyn had long since retired to a private training room on the side with her son. Perhaps retired was not quite the term to use. Ravelyn wore black shorts and red tank top. Quissera had taken the time to wrap her wrists and knuckles with tape for her sometime prior. Her hair was swept back in a tight clip which exposed a delicately curved collar bone. Quissera was how he always was; without a shirt and a pair of loose fitting black jeans. His torso was quite well sculpted, and muscle rippled underneath pale skin. They had been going at it for a while, and by at it, of course; fighting.

Clodius, was, well, exactly like people expected. Each hand looped in the protected handle, the machine around heaved and sagged with the two ton weights as he inched forward, no sweat, tongue merely panting.

It seemed that neither Ravelyn nor Quissera one could get the upper hand, though Quissera had a massive bruise on the upper right of his chest, and Ravelyn was clearly favoring her left leg. How long had it been? A few hours since they started? Yet both had more fight in them.

“How long they been in here now?” One Instructor whispered to another, who had a towel around his neck.

“Four hours. Constant constant constant.” He shook his head.

“Loopy bastards…” The other muttered as he left.

Tere moved from the machine and moved over to some weights nearby, he was using considerably less than Clodius but was still lifting a decent weight. “Feeling better?” he gasped as he asked Clodius.

"No." He answered simply, taking a step back, dense muscle relaxing against the harnesses. "Not at all. I wasn't aware just how strong the local feeling ran..."

“How do you mean? Paddick?”

"Amongst others..." He shifted weights again, each the weight of a small car. He took up the straps again. "I forget how little humans experience in their brief lives, how much collective rather than indivdual memories shape them..."

“Oh the curse of being undying…” Tere snorted as he pulled the weights again with a sigh and a grunt. “It’s just part of the psyche. I mean, when you consider how much the country has actually lost in it’s History… I mean, you and I both literally know how much it‘s lost in it‘s history, can we blame them?”

Clodius said nothing, bring his arms together anew, the weights lifted with deceptive ease. There was a hideous crunch as the machinery tottered and then collapsed awkwardly, the metal twisting and crashing to the floor. Clodius looked down on the wreckage. "Useless... thing" he muttered, though his eyes werent fixed on the broken equipment.

“What else is on your mind, Clo?” Tere said with a sigh as he stopped and looked at the ruined equipment.

"Tired." He said, simply. "Of a lot of things."

“Ever bother talking about them?” Tere said with a sigh as he stood up and stretched. A maintenance man came in with a cart and began to put the bits of the machine onto it, leaving the weights alone.
"Nope." He answered plainly. "I have had other things to concern me. Authority has this annoying tendency of doing nasty things to any free time for idle thoughts..." He sighed, a deeper breathe than any he exerted with the weights. "I hate seeing stupidity and not being able to do anything about it. I am strong, beyond comprehension for most, but I cannot even remotely affect the arrongance of men like...well, like Paddick but, really, like all of us."

“Hrn. Well, yeah…” Tere looked up at the ceiling. “Wonder how Rave and Qui are doing…”


"Come on, Miss Ravelyn," Qui said as he saw a bit of fatigue just start to show in her. "Got to keep that body of yours in shape..." He grinned.

"Did you..." she said hesitantly. "Did you just call me fat?" She lunged and him as he laughed, and part of her laughed to.She hit him clean in the face, but he recovered easily, and kneed her side, she doubled over but swept him down to the ground. There was a large thud as he fell to her, still laughing, though his breathing pattern much disturbed from the fall.

"Better," he said as he looked up to her from his back. "I swear all I have to do is get you angry and you fight 10 times better..." She shook her head, and started to get up, but his arm pulled her back down to him. "Do you think you are going somewhere?" He threw her to the ground, reversing positions. She pushed him off, and stood up. One of the soldiers had looked into the room. Ravelyn looked at him, and Quissera put his arm up in the doorway. The soldier hadn't even seen him move. One look from the man, and the soldier turned and walked away. Ravelyn smirked, and slapped Qui upside the back of the head. He turned, and the two went back to fighting.

Ravelyn hit him in the chest so hard with her heel he turned. She stopped as he prepared to counter. “What’s that?” She asked, and turned him around though he tried to shrug it off. There were two scars on his lower back she hadn’t noticed before. “What have you done?”

“What I needed to,” he said, his tone darkening. A lot of yelling ensued between the two. Qui had picked up his shirt and jacket and was fumbling in one of the pockets for a cigarette as he exited the private room, with Ravelyn right behind him yelling at him as if they were the only two in the room. In their path of walking it seemed that way as well.

“What the hell do you think your doing?! You are going to get yourself killed!” she screamed at him. He turned around on his heels and gave it right back to her, spreading out his black wings.

“I’m trying to save you,” he growled. “How could I not…want to. At least your soul if not all of you…”

“What I needed to,” he said, his tone darkening. A lot of yelling ensued between the two. Qui had picked up his shirt and jacket and was fumbling in one of the pockets for a cigarette as he exited the private room, with Ravelyn right behind him yelling at him as if they were the only two in the room. In their path of walking it seemed that way as well.

“THIS HAS to happen Loki,” she said using his real name. “There is NOTHING I can do to avoid it. DO YOU know what I saw? HMMN? Are you trying to kill yourself!? “

“If I wanted to kill myself we would have already slept together,” he said with a half-hearted smirk. His voice was low, almost quiet. He lit a cigarette and took a drag, even though there was no smoking in here.

"They don't trust us, damn it..." she growled. "They don't trust you of all people! And clearly they were right in not trusting you! I don't want to see you hurt, damn it. If you go through with this I can't say I'm going to as well!"
"Don't make this difficult," she continued.

"I'm not leaving without you," he snapped back. "You can think whatever you want but you know I'm going to rip your soul out from hell if I have to go down their myself...."

"Don't be a fool!" she screamed, and her voice fell into a half whisper. They had the entire attention at the gym. "Don't you dare try to go against them!"

"They are going to kill the woman I love, who wouldn't go against them?" he growled, turned, and walked towards the door.

"Don't let your pride get in the way of this if that is what its all about! You have to let this whole thing go!"

"Goodbye, Azrael..." he said, and passed through the door. She had yelled his name back at him, and was left there in silence.

Tere simply raised his eyebrow and looked at Clodius with a shrug after they heard the shouting.

Clodius just watched them through blacklidded eyes, following the words loosely. He saw Tere's glance, rather dissappointed the Midlonian seemed to know as much as he did.

“Too complicated, it really is. I still can’t get my head around it and they’re being secretive on top of that...” Tere said quietly.

"Right..."

Ravelyn let out a frustrated sigh. "Quissera Shentavo!" She growled, knowing he had heard it even walking out of the building and shifting forms. She turned, tried not to look at Tere and Clodius. She was upset, almost in tears, but she went to the showers and took one; short, hot...what she liked, and it calmed her down.

She put on her dress she had worn there and let her hair dry in natural waves, which took all of five minutes with a bit of magic. She walked out, more collected, and headed towards the two men. "Are you two finished yet?"

The vampire shifted, swinging around on the balls of his feet, unsure to move closer or not. "I guess so. Are you?" He asked, pointedly.

“Just about to hit the showers.” Tere said with a sigh as he took a swig from a bottle of water.

"Mmmhmm..." she murmered, without much conviction. "I'll wait outside for you then?"

"Suit yourself," Clo nodded to Tere, slinking and, with little fanfare, transforming, sending pieces of tile flying as diamond sharp talons erupted into the floor.

Tere sighed and shook his head as he hit the shower button, sending hot water cascading. It was warm. “Something’s really up with Rave…” he said simply.

Clo moved and paced outside for the moment. "You think?" Came out in the reptilian's guttural tone. "Something is always up these days." He peered up at her departing figure, biting his armoured lower jaw, and slowly cantered after her, heavy footsteps drumming the room.

By the time she reached the front door Quissera was already gone. She sat down on some stone structure behind which plants were growing, took out a cigarette, light it with hellfire, and started to smoke. The end glowed green in color. She let the wind brush past her face and caress her skin.

"You alright?" Clodius growled softly, the massive drake sliding through the doors awkwardly, scratching the frame as he did. He sat as best his bulk would allow next to the small petit woman, her feathers brushing against unyeilding scales, his massive membranic wings closed like a sale around her as protection from the wind.

"Am I ever?" she whispered.

"Seemed to do alright earlier..." he said. "I've seen you angry, never resigned though."

The cross around her neck gleamed in the sunlight, and she traced her fingers around it. "Because I am not a creature of this realm, I am forced to abide by choices which are not my own. And if I do not do it, he will die..."

"We all have our crosses to bear." He offered, sympathetically, though he shrugged somewhat uneasily. A hand the size of the woman's torso came and cradled the womans shoulder, letting Rave lean back against hardened flesh of his arm.

Somehow, Rave was not comforted by the sentiment. "But unlike the rest, we are sometimes given more than we were meant to handle."

"Not ours to wonder, duty calls and we obey." He looked down at her, massive blue eyes peering down with raptor like precision. "Do you want sympathy, or a helping hand?"

"Neither," she said softly. "I don't want anything."

"Yeah right." He said, almost smiling if it weren't for the situation.

"It's not something I expect you to understand," she said looking outward toward the horizon. The long chains on her wrists easily broke the simple look she had been going for with the dress, but it had always been something she had to deal with. She looked down at them momentarily. "I think I just need a little while alone."

"Suit yourself." He said, rising, slowly, powerfully, but somehow subdued. "But, believe me. I do understand." He gave her one last glance, and walked away.

Ravelyn bit her lip. "Then explain to me what I want..." she whispered softly, even though she knew he would not hear her. She finished her cigarette, and set out in the city on her own.

------------------------

As the two slept beside her soundly, Ravelyn could not sleep. She had spent the entire afternoon looking out the window. Quissera had not returned, nor had she heard a word from him. Feigned worry had ruined her afternoon. She heard his silent whisper from behind her chamber’s door, and gently rose from in between the two sleeping vampires.

She slipped out, almost levitating her steps were so quiet. She walked to the door, and slipped out. She kissed him gently, but he had grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the door, down the corridor. A few angelics saw them, but merely bowed, and they disappeared into the observatory, where luckily, no one was. He turned and kissed her.

“Yes,” he said with a half-hearted smile. “They recalled me for the past several hours. That is why I didn’t come earlier; that and they would not expect me to come earlier. They know I’m here now, and I’ve told them all that was planned; that is all that we want them to know. They took it at face value. Your frantic worrying helped solidify it. You are a wonderful actress Azrael,” he whispered, brushing her hair away from her face and kissing her forehead.

“Soon…soon all of this,” she slid her hands over his shoulders and arms. “Soon it will be our time.”


“You know when it’s going to happen?” she asked looking up to him. “Tell me…when its going to happen.” While her eyes implored him, his face softened in expression and he drew her close, and bent down to her ear.

“I don’t want to tell you. When I come back, and we share a final glass of blood together; the last blood you’ll ever taste will be mine…that night, is your final night in this life.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with it?” she questioned.

“All my life, I’ve waited as have you. Besides…it’s necessary to convince them. It will give you motivation to kill yourself stronger than any other. You will die by Franz’ blade…and I won’t be too late, I promise.”

“Yes, you will be…” she smiled, and felt his heart beat as she laid her ear upon his chest. “You’ve fed…” she trailed off.

“What else could I do when the love of my life throws me out,” he chuckled. “I should be going now…get back to bed. I’ll see you in a short while…” He stole a kiss from her, one last time, and disappeared down the corridors. She headed back to her own chambers.

Heruss simply stepped out of the shadows, wearing his full uniform. “Good Evening Rave….” he said quietly.

For once in her life Ravelyn was startled. Why should she have been startled? She turned to Heruss. "Father?" she questioned. "What are you doing up so late?"

“I’m a Vampire, where else am I likely to be at night?” He continued, barely a whisper.

"I sleep during the night..." she continued, but her voice trailed off. "What's on your mind?" she asked, searching his eyes.

“Things.” Heruss said simply as he looked out of the window.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts then," she said, turned from him, and headed towards the door.

“What are you planning, Azreal….” Heruss said quietly and simply. The words cutting through the silence like a lightning bolt. Which flashed suddenly as heavy rain began to fall outside. The thunder rolling a few seconds later.

"What do you mean?" she turned, feeling a cold breeze brush over her bare neck. She was wearing a short, light satin robe, quite fitting for the night.

“I know Qui was here. I can sense him. I also know you had a supposed falling out…” Heruss continued eerily quiet.

"What of it?" she said, failing to give him any sort of explanation or answer. Don't do this, father… she thought silently to herself. You don't want to know…

Heruss sighed in frustration. “I see.”

"I'm planning my death," she said in return, coldly, but that gave him no true answer.

“Aren’t we all…” Heruss muttered and simply turned on his heel and walked away.

"You want to kill me?" she questioned.

Heruss simply turned a corner and left Rave on her own, thunder and lightning flashing, bathing the corridor in a white-blue light. A figure at the far end of the corridor was seen for only a brief second before it apparently vanished.

"Heruss," she yelled. As he disappeared, she leaned against the wall, shaking. She slid down with her back against the wall, and held her knees close to her, resting her cheek on them. I have to be strong...I have to keep this up… And she remained there, listening to the lightning and thunder.

Tere opened the door. “Rave?”

Rave looked up to him, still shaking as if cold. She managed to regain some of her composure. "Sorry..."

“It’s ok.” he said quietly and moved over to her and knelt next to her.

"Heruss doesn't want to know the answer..."

“To your death?” Tere placed a hand on Rave’s shoulder.

"No...he doesn't want to know why..." she whispered. "But he's too stubborn to know when to stop asking. If I ever told him, it would be the death of him...by my hand."

“Why by your hand?” Tere said before catching himself. “Know what, don’t tell me.”

The lightening flashed again and the figure at the end of the corridor appeared and vanished again.

"Because..." she said softly. "Because if he knows...if he knows...I'll have to kill him. That's all. There would be no other option...thats for any one....even you."

Tere simply kissed Rave on the cheek. “Then don’t tell anyone.”

"I'm sorry, Tere..."

“It’s alright, I can worry about secrets after your death I am sure.” he smiled weakly.

The figure flickered again at the lightening, this time though, he did not vanish, his clothes were there, but he wasn’t. He moved over to a cat sitting on the windowsill staring out at the rain rattling down.

“Take it you don’t like rain then.” he said simply as he cleaned the monocle and fixed it back onto his see-through eye.

Quissera turned towards him, not even blinking. On the contrary… Electricity flickered over the cats fur as he transformed into the figure of a man with black battered wings and white hair. "...I love it..."

“What a pathetic thing to hide as…” Franz said idly as he checked his pocket watch, span it a few times, then put it away again.

"She thinks its cute..." he chuckled.

He snorted almost in laughter, but largely in disgust. “And a man such as you, so strong showing such weakness.”

"She is my weakness, I'm sure you've figured that out by now. But for all the weaknesses to have, I consider her a pretty damn good one."

“Hardly.” Franz said quietly.

Quissera openly laughed at him. "What would you know...Ah, Franz! The one who is going to kill my angel..."

“And anything else that gets in my way. Including this place, oddly enough.”

"Gets in your way," he chuckled. Apparently he was enjoying himself. "Your a funny guy. Putting so much lust for power so high on your list of priorities. "So everyone else what? What do you care of anyone else?"

"She'll be the death of you"

“So’s everyone else supposedly.” He shrugged. “Yet here I stand.”

"I believe the only one who will be the death of you is yourself, son..."

“When you have the power you can have everything else you care, by the way. Seems to be something you‘re angling after.”

"Me? Angling? What would have given you the thought," he said with a mocked suprise. "If you would excuse me...the sun is rising in a few moments...and I must be going. Until that day..."

“Oh, going so soon? Shame, the party’s about to start…” Franz said simply.

Quissera groaned. "For God's sake leave the girl alone..."

“Nah… not unless you want to offer yourself up as a sacrifice.” He said quietly.

"And what do you want from me..."

Franz simply grinned. “Blood, and a lot of it, but I think you’re the kind of person who will try to kill me again if I tried to take it. Shame really. I would change the rules…”

"Blood...my blood?" he laughed. "I believe Miss Ravelyn already has ownership of that...I can get you pretty damn good cigarette though." Was he mocking Franz? he lit a cigarette and took a drag.

"You should know by now...she is the sacrificing one of us, not me. I am rather selfish."

“Which is why it’d work… I could promise you her after all.” Franz mused as he took a step forwards and placed a pale opaque hand on the glass.

"She's not yours to promise," he stretched, and opened the window. "I must be going now..."

“She would be if I ascended…Oh well. Hope things go well at the party.”

Quissera shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He was right by the window; and that's where they watched. He jumped out and vanished into the night. Good luck, darlin'...

The portals began to open and crackle along the grounds, the gardens being disturbed and glass in the windows shaking.

"We have company again..." she whispered, looking Tere straight in the eyes with an indescribable emotion.

Tere kissed her on the lips and pulled her back onto her feet, calling his sword as one of his eyes turned purple. "Then we shall meet them."

"I'm in no mood to fight," she whispered softly, but again she had no choice. She stood but she didn't draw a weapon.

“Neither am I my love.” Tere said quietly. “But we have to.”
Midlonia
15-03-2008, 20:03
"Where is Heruss..."

A body was flung through a window down at the far end of the corridor. A snarling, flaming giant rock-encrusted creature had smashed a smaller blue-cloaked figure down the corridor and out the window.

Ravelyn took off after in the direction of the flaming creature. As she passed by the flames on the creature were recalled into herself, and it smoldered, loosing energy. She jumped out the window, following with keen speed the decending figure. She gripped Heruss' hand, and contracted her wings. It was painful for a moment as the velocity was forced to come to a stop. She looked down at him.

“Bastard Gorons.” Was all he managed simply. He had been badly hit and a couple of ribs had been broken, but he was still alive. His sword was by his side, sticking out of the ground.

"That all you have to say to me?"

“At the moment when we’re under attack? Yes.” he said simply as he painfully got up.

She let him go, letting him drop the rest of the four feet down.

Heruss cracked his head on a rock, and stopped moving completely.

She cut her wrist and spread a circle of blood around him. She dropped to the ground. A white circle formed around him. She wasn't going to wake him up; but she wasn't going to let him be killed either. She summoned her scythe. "Who's next?"

There was some childish laughter on the rooftop as a figure bounced along. Below him were men running, carrying swords and rifles but dressed like ordinary citizens, all that was different was they wore headscarves.

She didn't move from the spot. Despite the anger she felt towards Heruss...she wasn't going to leave his side.

“Tum-ti-tum-ti-tum!” The figure bounced again, before stopping and looking down at Rave. “Hi! Who’re you?” he called down.

"Azrael..." she said simply.

“Ooooh! The Angel…” the figure laughed before leaping and landing in front of her. “Not much to look at though…”

"Different strokes..."

“Uh-huh. Well. I am Odin, nice to meet you.” he extended his hand.

She didn't shake his hand.

"Would you mind leaving...I was trying to sleep."

“Awww, not very friendly, huh?” He grinned as the Goron smashed its way through, being joined by a second covered in ice crystals.

The cross around her neck started to glow; she now wore it on her choker. "You don't want to be here..."

“You’re right. I don’t.” He smiled. “But hey, I don’t have a choice!” He leapt away as the ice-covered Goron smashed a couple of bushes over and stormed towards her, it was a mixture of leathery flesh and rock-like growth on it’s back.

"You think he would have realized by now..." she chuckled as she looked at the ice. She was becoming less and less of fire. A bright flash emitted from her hand; radient light engulfing them all. As the goron bound for her and leapt, it hit a wall, and was knocked back to the ground. A defensive spell from an offensive style angel...

“Oh, we know, this is just the warm up.” Odin called out. “Have fun!” He leapt away.

The other Goron, with his flames still damped down grabbed a statue and swung it like a club at Rave. Taking off the tops of trees and plants nearby.

As it hit her, she turned in to mist, then reformed. She regained her stance, and twirled her scythe. "Tell me Heruss," she asked the unconscious man. "Why does no good deed go unpunished?" She sent a blast of light towards the Goron from her free hand.

The Goron bellowed and was thrown back into the palace, smashing another window. It then exploded completely, showing the inside with chunks of smoking flesh and rocks, which pelted the grounds inside and out.

What has caused the explosion? A large figure, clad in rusty red armour, it was holding a large pistol and twirling a sword in it’s other hand.

But it wasn’t Terefedel, who was currently fighting several figures. Around the figure was the stench of rotting flesh, and the feeling of blackness, of darkness.

"Zacharian!" Ravelyn called out, half in suprise or half in horror as she left Heruss' protective circle and ran towards the figure.

“Ladies and gentlemeeeeeen!” Odin shouted from the rooftop. “Here is your main event!”

The figure simply raised his weapon and fired at the circle behind Rave, unspeaking.

"Zacharian!" She growled, and met his weapon with her scythe, shifting his aim. "Look at me Vaughn..."

“Bitch.” was all Zach responded with as his sword, smashed her scythe away with amazing speed and force. He took aim again and fired. He wasn;t aiming for her properly, but at Heruss...

"Leave him alone..." she said, and jumped on him, literally, on top of him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her fangs into his neck.

The figure vanished completely and reformed further down. “Don’t touch me you soul eating bitch!” he snapped at her as he leapt into the garden and ran towards Heruss.

"Your not him...I still have...his soul within me..." she coughed. She ran towards Heruss, but the barrier held; it was created with her blood. She swung her blade up at him. "Fuck you..."

“I’m him.” Zach replied as his sword met hers. “I still remember. I know what you did to me!” He began yelling. “For it I will see your death!”

"You are lying," Ravelyn said with absolute sureity. She growled and pushed her stance forward. "What did you say to me every morning...what did you say to me..."

A white tiger ripped through the rubble and golems, growling and moving with intense speed.Don't be stupid Rave… he thought to himself.

“Hey.” Zach said smashing her scythe again. “Beautiful.”

That moment of hesitation cost her dearly, as her eyes widened. She knew it wasn't him, but the shock startled her, and his sword went right into her side.

Darkness rippled along the sword and into her wound, sucking light away and forcing the blackness further into her side.

The white tiger crashed into the figure, and transformed after the figure was knocked down; a large broadsword crashing right through him.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER," Quissera said, feeding off of the darkness. The cross on her neck glimmered.

The figure faded again and reformed further away, a wound was evident through his abdomen. “Hello son.” he managed.

"Any creature as dark as I can see right through you, even though she might not be able to.” Ravelyn had stumbled towards the circle she had created.

“You are a pale imitation of Darkness, nothing more.” Zach spat.

"You'd be suprised..." he growled. "Just how dark I am..." Ravelyn had gotten into the circle with Heruss. "Come on...I'm on a tight schedule ..."

Zach crossed the gap between then quickly, his sword raised and ready.

Odin merely watched from the rooftops.

Electricity surged from one hand as his broadsword was brought down strongly.

Zach brought his own sword up, sinking into the ground as they clashed.

Odin leapt from the roof and landed on the floor. He then walked over to the circle and peered in. “So, what does this do?”

Ravelyn simply glared at him. She had thrown herself over Heruss.

Odin stepped over the circle, he still being alive apparently meaning it had little effect on him. “Doesn’t seem to do much…”

Blinding light shot through the circle, knocking Odin outwards. "Seems that way," Ravelyn muttered.

“Hmm. Interesting.” Odin said as he got up, looking over to the two who were still fighting.

Quissera matched his speed and his blade. "Get away from her..."

“She’s mine.” Zach spat.


"Wrong again, she's mine...and no one elses," he growled, and tore through the image once more.

“I think everyone who isn’t you that’s fucked her like the whore she is would say otherwise.” Zach responded trading a furious series of blows with Qui.

Odin merely took out a bottle of bubbling water and looked at the circle. “Tainted Holy water…” he said, pointing. “Wonder what it’d do to this protective circle of yours.”

"Physical things mean nothing to me," he commented. and drove his broadsword with a good deal of more strength then before. Darkness swirled around him.

Ravelyn cringed but had placed herself fully over Heruss. This was going to hurt like a bitch. She heard Quissera call her name but wouldn't move from Heruss' side. Quissera meanwhile had a cloud of darkness rolling over his figure. It started to drain off of his opponent, and his wings glowed in shadow.

Odin tipped the bottle up and onto the circle. The Black, fluid poured into the ground, killing the grass immediately and the plants around them for some distance. He then began throwing splashes of the water onto her wings and her back as she clamped down ontop of Heruss.

She screamed as the water burned her skin. Her cry flowed throughout the surroundings. Quissera's broadsword at that moment broke down upon the man's shoulder, slicing through to almost cut him in two. He turned towards Ravelyn, and ran towards her. "GET AWAY..." he growled, his eyes glowing now with an intense purple as electricity rippled throguh the pouring rain and became closer and closer to hitting Odin. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

“I’m not after her.” he grinned as he bounced away.

He didn't follow Odin. He tried to get into the circle, but the light almost blinded him, but it faded. He crouched down and lifted Ravelyn into his arms. She was shivering. "For what damaged has been done, I take from you so I'm the one, to serve with out gain, to take your greatest of pain," he whispered into her ear, and her body healed; the wounds closing, and they opened up on his body.

Ravelyn was unconscious. Quissera repeated as Ravelyn had done; biting his wrist and spreading it around them in a circle.

Before the circle was complete however gunfire had erupted, hitting the ground around them. Once again it seemed they were aiming for Heruss, a couple of bullets hit home, but with everything else going on around them it was hardly the time to notice.

Quissera took the brunt of it, doubled over in pain, he spread out his wings; and even the one that was broken enough was spread outward. He was now protecting two people.
Midlonia
15-03-2008, 23:34
Zach leapt at the now cowering Qui and smashed his blade down onto his shoulder, hacking at his good wing.

"Qui grit his teeth in pain, and turned with his broadsword. He lifted Ravelyn up with one arm completely, throwing her over his shoulder. "Away..." he growled, and electicity shot out at Zach's shade as he backed away to try to remain standing

There was something like the beating of a dull drum, a sound low and thumping.

And death descended. A black mass, moving too fast to describe, impacted the ground, massive claws tearing into the ground and surrounding the figure in a wall of dust. Through the pale hanging mist massive wings spread, and a roar like thunder billowed from the storm.

"Clodius," Quissera called out in a rough voice as blood dripped from his lips.

Clodius' head appeared, armoured, his jaws dropped, teeth glistening like a line of knives. He espied the injured group, staring from Qui to the nearly immobile vampires. "What has he done?" He asked, in a surprisingly gentle voice as Domini corpses fell from his armour and tail.

He lifted Ravelyn ontop Clodius back. "Get her out of here," he said, gripping his broadsword and turning back towards Zach, who had taken just as many vicious wounds as Qui had.

Zach dived at Qui again, stabbing him with a shout as Odin simply danced around the courtyard like a child.

"Not going without all of ya mate." He said, twisting, the hardened bone of his tail slamming through the chest of the nearest enemy.

A body smashed through a window, followed swiftly by Terefedel. “Hate these bastard cultists!” he yelled as he rammed a second sword through the chest of the nearest enemy who fell, his weapon firing blindly into the sky.

Lightning crashed down from the sky towards Zach as Quissera guided it; breathing in the blood filled air with heavy breaths.

"Not. Yet." He lurched himself round, his massive body making the ground itself shake enough that nearby cultists fell clutching to stabilise themselves. He cleared in the sense of a steaming locomotive the space between him and Tere, watching with caution the arching electricity.

Zach was struck and displaced himself again, but electricity was crackling all over his body as he shuddered, then sank to his knees.

Qui lifted up his knee sharply into the mans jaw, and followed up with his broadsword.

The body fell, steam and smoke apparently escaping along with flickers of darkness.

However, over in another part of the garden was Odin, he had passed into the circle having washed it with another bottle he had with a stake and hammer in his hands.

Heruss was weak and bleeding in several places, his eyes flickered open for him to look up at the grinning figure. “No…” he managed weakly.

“Yes.” Odin grinned as he placed the stake onto his chest and rammed it down with the hammer.

The scream cut across everything that was going on, it was an eerie high scream with a tone of something entirely inhuman with it. With laughter Odin vanished into a portal, leaving the straggling remains of the attack to duke it out with the security troops now locking the castle down, killing all the cultists, even those who tried to surrender.

Quissera looked at Odin; Heruss wasn't his concern, but Rave would definately care. Quissera picked up Heruss body , stabbed his broadsword through Zacharian, and threw Heruss' body on top of Clodius. Ravelyn was just beginning to wake.

Clodius arched slightly, raising himself as a few stray bullets thudded and stung into his thick torso. Lethal to humans, against the steel like flesh they were but pinpricks, and every single ounce of pain was worth it to keep his charges from harm. The huge draconic retired behind the line of security troopers, looking sombre.

“Keep up the pressure lads!” yelled one as he reloaded. “Let the VIP’s withdraw!”

Ravelyn looked at Heruss, and fear rushed through her. She held Heruss' close. He was dead. She glared at Qui; and her wrath ensued. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE," she roared at Qui. "I told you not to return! Now you fail to watch over Heruss! Get OUT of here!" She growled at him. "I don't want to see your face again. You've failed me..."

Quissera's expression was painful as he stumbled towards them; badly hurt from taking her wounds onto himself. "I had to come back for you..."

"Be gone from my sight," she growled, and with that pained expression, he began to walk away from them.

“Give him to me.” Tere said to Clodius quietly.

Ravelyn would not let go of Heruss. She was crying, though whether it was from Quissera or from Heruss, or both, was undeterminable.

Clodius bowed, using one hand to gently and with incredible respect take Heruss' body down and placed it in front of him, angling himself so Rave could follow. Letting them stay close he took a step back from the pair.

Miss Ravelyn would not leave his body. She still covered him with her wings. The last thing which had happened between them was a fight of sorts.

Terefedel removed Heruss’ cap and badge with gentle respect, he then motioned for Rave to help him carry Heruss down a set of stairs to the morgue below. It was a clean, plain room with refrigerator units along the walls, in the middle was a table with a lot of sink holes in it. To wash the table of blood after a post-mortem. Gently they placed the body on the table and Terefedel stood back, bowed his head, then proceeded to smash the door in on one of the units.

Kristian arrived a few moments later, looked at Heruss, burst into tears, screamed, then ran over to his body. Shaking it. “Come on, wake up! Wake up!”

Ravelyn fell away, sinking into the corner of the room; her hair covering her face which rested on her knees.

Tere quietly fixed the badge onto his uniform, and placed the cap slowly and carefully on his head, he then saluted the body, turned on his heel, and collapsed next to Ravelyn.

“We can’t win, can we?” he said quietly, his voice empty.
"It's my fault he's dead..." she whispered.

Clodius came down, finally, now back hastily in uniform and human form, looking, for the first time, genuinely sad, though he still bouyed powerfully on his feet. He moved up to Khristian's side, letting the man feel his pain, whilst the Freestian himself merely stood, and, with respect bordering on almost unknown inspiration bowed his head, a mark of fealty almost unknown for a non vampire.

“Don’t be silly. It’s not your fault.” Tere said, shaking his head.

"Yes...it is."

“How can it be? It was a battle Rave.”

"I let him fall."

“Fall?”

"Yes...after I caught him I asked him a question...and he wouldn't give me an answer...so I let him fall."

Tere tensed beside her. Then, he struck her across the face hard.

She didn't flinch.

“It’s still not your fault.” Tere said afterwards. “I don’t want to hear it.”

She got up, and walked out the door.

Tere leant his head back against the wall and put his hands back into his pockets.

"She's hurt deep." Clodius offered, the Freestian unable to offer anything but the obvious as he moved from his vigil.

“And I’m not?” Tere snapped back. “It is her fucking fault and now my friend and boss for over 500 years is dead! Lying on a slab in the palace.”

"Don't fall into the same trap, Tere, you're smarter than that."

Tere smashed his fist into another refridgerator unit. Kristian simply had his face pressed to Heruss’ in one last kiss before he wiped his eyes and walked away on unsteady legs.

“There has to be a way to bring him back….” Tere muttered suddenly.

It killed him, to see Ravelyn in such pain, but he couldn't go back to her. He knew the words she had said were not what she meant, and he found a hotel, checked in; hiding his wings, and left Rave to be for the night. Ravelyn, on the other hand; had returned to her chambers and had begun to fill a tub with water.

There was a knock on both their doors.

Ravelyn didn't answer; she locked the door behind her and waited till it was full. Quissera simultaneously opened the door with a very large broadsword in his right hand.

Kristian knocked on the door again a little harder, he had to talk to her. He had to…

“Yes, because that’s going to be effective against a Ghost.” Franz replied sarcastically.

Quissera sighed. "Come in...have a drink."

“I see you enjoyed the party then.” He said with a chuckle as he moved into the room.

He poured a glass of vodka he had sent up, offered it too him, chuckled because he was a ghost, and he downed the shot.

"Yeah it was a blast..." he commented as he poured a bit of the alcohol on his wounds and had begun taping them up.

Franz snorted and moved to the other side of the room. “So. Asopher is now as dead as I am. That’s certainly lightened my day, just the other two to off and then I can do whatever I like.”

"I don't care about Heruss," Quissera said as he poured himself another shot. "You of all people should know what I care about."

“Yes, and now she’s very pissed off at you for your negligence, isn’t she?”

"Is she?"

“You’re in some cheap hotel, while she is back at the Palace. Seems so to me.”

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" he chuckled.

“You’re telling me she’s over the moon at the fact her Father is now dead, and that it’s your fault? Yes, I can see her leaping into your arms now…”

Quissera chuckled. "Doesn't matter what you can or can't see to me." He sharpened his blade as he sat on the bed.

“But it does matter what Ravelyn sees, doesn’t it?”

"Of course," he smiled. "Now if you would excuse me...I'd like to get some rest."

“And from what I’ve seen, she sees you as a failure.” Franz continued.

"You can only see with your eyes then."

“Not when I am walking.” He grinned. “But fine, I’ll leave you in peace for now.” he faded from the room. A card dropping to the floor as he did so.

----------------------

Kristian hammered on the door again.

Ravelyn had submerged herself underwater. Blood trailed from her lips; but she did not stir. It is a painful sensation; drowning, when you cannot die. She heard the knocking on the door but did not answer. The door opened by itself.

Kristian stood in the doorway, looking at Ravelyn simply.

Her eyes were closed; but the water was stained in a deep crimson color; though still transparent.

She rose from the water, coughing as she emerged; water coming with her breath as well as blood. "If you want to hurt me go ahead."

Kristian simply shrugged. "What's the point, you're into pain aren't you... you'd probably enjoy it... all I want to know is why you dropped him."

"I'm not into this kind of pain..." she remarked. "Why I dropped him? It was four feet down, and I didn't want to hurt him. He was being stubborn and wouldn't give me an answer..." She passed Kristian a dagger. "Go ahead..."

Kristian looked at the dagger, then at Rave’s nude body. He then gritted his teeth and slashed at her stomach, her arms, her chest, her face, then he began to cry and simply broke down into tears, dropping the dagger and hugging her, crying as he did so.

She pushed him off of her, and blankly resubmerged herself in the water; this time it becoming so dark one could barely see; she had lost a lot of blood; but no thirst came to her lips. This wasn't enjoyment; this was attonment. She started to drown once more.

Kristian simply stood there, staring at her.

------------------

“There has to be a way of bringing him back. There’s an entire fucking army out there made up of people ‘brought back.’” Tere said quietly, staring at Heruss’ body.

Clodius gave an awkward sideways glance. "You really want him back as such?" A violent memory of Tyras' living, breathing corpse taunting him belied itself in his expression, the strong features and muscle seemed to sag and age even with the meerest memory.

“I want him back. Fullstop.” Tere said, looking at Clodius.

"Would he?"

“Would…help….if I was fully….gone.” a voice said very weakly.

Clodius turned, his ears pricking. "What the..."

“Get this….damn thing….out.” Heruss said, his lips barely moving.

Clodius peered from Tere to Heruss, looking off, curious, but automatically obeying the plea.

Heruss gasped in pain as the stake was renched from his body. “Fuck that hurt.” he said quietly. “Death is very very very painful. I am glad that’s only the second time…”

He got up very slowly and stiffly. His body apparently going near to rigor mortis during his “death”.

“Where’s Kristian and Rave?” has asked, quietly.

"No idea." Clodius offered, peering at the Midlonian, "probably best seeing them, both of them are fairly distraught.”

“Yeah, hence why I asked Clodius.” Heruss said as he moved slowly towards the stairs and back up.

“Yeah, hence why I asked Clodius.” Heruss said as he moved slowly towards the stairs and back up towards Rave's chambers. When there he placed a hand gently onto Kristians shoulder and kissed him deeply and passionately before sending him back to their room to talk to later. He was crying again, this time with joy. He simply sat by the blood coloured bath and waited.

After a few minutes he decided to poke down into the water at Rave who he presumed was under it all.

Ravelyn was long since unconscious; and still losing blood. A scar ran across he cheek; one down her side over her abdomen; three jagged ones on her arm; one on the side of her neck, one on her hip trailing down to her leg.

Heruss frowned and poked again, before reaching in and pulling Rave’s slack head out of the water he pulled her heavily out and dragged her across the room to the bed, laying her on it and looking at her again. Checking her pulse and for a heartbeat was useless, so he merely stood by her.

She coughed up water as she came to, pulled the blankets around her; hiding the scars as she put her hair over that side of her face. She said nothing besides telling him not to look at her.

“Stop being so childish Rave.” Heruss said quietly to her.

"Childish?" She said quietly.

"I let you die..."

“Do I look dead?”

Ravelyn turned away from Heruss, pulled a cloak over her figure, and put the hood over her head. Without a word, she walked out the door.

Tere came up to Rave and held her shoulders gently. “Ravelyn…”

"Leave me be, Tere," she whispered in almost a fearful voice.

“No.” He said simply. “I can’t do that, not knowing you’re like this.”

"Like what," she asked, not looking him in the eyes; because turning her head would reveal that vicious scar.

Tere gently held her cheek and turned her back to him, looking at the scar with a slight worry. “Like this, avoiding me, avoiding talking…”

"Don't look at me," she hissed, and recoiled from his touch.

“I will look at you.” Tere said in a commanding voice. “I will look at you because I still love you.”

“I don’t care if you’ve got some scars on you at all.” Tere said firmly. “I care about your soul.”

"I care."

“You can heal them.” Tere said quietly.

"No," she said softly. "I can't."

Tere gently took her into his arms, firmly when she struggled slightly. “Why can’t you?”

"Because when I handed Kristian the blade, every slice was deemed to stay; as punishment for my...neglect of my own life."

“I see…” Tere said softly.

“You’re still beautiful to me though Ravelyn. That will never change.” he pulled her hood gently away and looked at her, and her new scar.

She recoiled from him further, and turned away.

Tere pulled her back forcefully and kissed her. “I mean it.”

"My image is an affront to God," she said, pushing away from him.

“Ravelyn…” Tere said as once again he found himself forcing her back into his arms “You’re not an affront to God!”

“Azreal.” Heruss said quietly.

Ravelyn looked at Heruss through the corner of her eye while remaining in Tere's arms.

“Don’t blame yourself.” He said from the door. “It’s really all my fault. All of it.”

"How can I not?"

“Because you care too much, Azreal.” Heruss said with a sigh. “Like I said, it’s my fault. I should have answered you properly in the first place and I didn‘t.”

Silence. "...so say it now. What you wanted to say...but were to...busy to."

“No, I don’t want to kill you.” Heruss said with a slight smile and a shake of his head. “But like every good father you entertain the possibility.”

And she immediately lept from Tere to Heruss, and hugged him.

Tere simply shook his head.
Heruss held Rave close to him and kissed her head. “It’s ok now… it’s ok.”

She hit him. "Don't you ever die like that again!"

“Ow. Alright. I’ll try.” he smiled.

“Next time it might be me doing the bloody killing…” Tere said with mock disgust. The tension of the situation displacing immediately.
Midlonia
16-03-2008, 18:49
Ravelyn slipped out of the room, and Qui took her hand immediately. His entire torso was bandaged practically, but none of the visible cuts were serious. She ran her fingertips over the wounds. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "You didn't have to take my pain onto yourself..." She hugged him, and he hushed her as they crept through the halls into the same room they had been in before.

"You threw your body over him; let some guy poor that unholy water on you...nearly burning through your damn spine...what was I supposed to do? Let you suffer like that. Ravelyn? Look at me..." Quissera said.

She turned her face towards him, and he stepped forwards, running his fingertips softly over the scar around her cheek. She drew in a breath, and then he said, "I never thought you could get any more beautiful."

He bent his head and kissed her, and she let herself fall against his body. "Are you...are you okay?" she asked.
"I took the brunt of the gunshots and took your sword wound; and those burns you got from that potion, whatever it was. I'm a tough guy...I can take it." He smiled. She pushed him lightly with a smile.

"Did they take you back again? The Powers," she questioned.

"Nope. I'm pretty sure they are convinced of it now. I won't be able to see you for a while though. I have to get ready for it."

"I don't want you to leave..." she said breathlessly, buring her head in his chest. "I can feel that the oncoming battle will be tough...and that everything has to be timed perfectly so we can take the opportunity, but can't you...can't we one night before then? The castle..."

He shook his head. "No...we have to wait until that night comes; and it won't be in the castle walls. If you are going to truly be a dark seraph for a while, it has to be done after the first time. The moon will be a blood moon on that day..."

"So it's just a few months away," she commented, half sighing. He nodded, and placed his hand on her cheek. 'Okay...we'll wait."

A figure moved from behind a statue in the hall. “It seems to me, Ravelyn… that you’re up to a lot more than you’ve been letting on.”

Ravelyn turned, startled, almost jumped. "Don't make me explain, Heruss."

“Tough. You’ll have to. I believe you’ve already killed me once.” Heruss said to her quietly.

"I don't want to kill you again...."

“So you’re trying to go from Light to Darkness…” Heruss said with a sigh.

"No," she said. "Heruss...please don't make me do this."

“And in order to do that you have to bring about a number of events. Franz included…”

"NO Heruss...you have it all wrong...please...I don't want to kill you..."

“If I have it wrong, then why are you still threatening to kill me?”

"Because if you force me to tell you I have no choice but to kill you...."

“Why is that, then?”

"Because the Powers will see the information in your mind...and...I can't risk it."

“The powers will already know of this for a start. I overheard part of your conversation. If they’re being as active as you say, then they’ll already know. Even though… you’re standing here in the Laputia suite, made from stones of the fallen castles.”

It was true, a look around the room revealed busts and trinkets from the Laputian Kingdome, and pictures, sketches of the castles flying above the ground.

"This room...we have protected, Loki and I. It is why we have spoken here..." she paused. "Heruss...I can't let you leave this room."

“I will go where I please, Azreal.” Heruss said sternly. “Like you I have a timetable to stick to.”

"Heruss...please... it will be the death of both of us. Please stay here...until we figure out something."

“Nor will the powers see what happens here.” he said quietly. “Or in my mind, unless I allow them. They’re not as powerful as they like to think.”

"Heruss..." she sighed nervously. "If I give you the answers you seek...allow me access to your mind so I can erase the information."

“What would the point be of that?” Heruss asked, leaning against the wall.

"Because you know, finally get the answers you've always wanted for a short period of time...and I can let you leave this room without worrying about my lifeforce being extinguished."

“I’m not worried. I know you’ll be dying. Wether it’s permenant or not I don’t know.”

"If you leave this room it will be very permanent...please," she pleaded. "Please agree to this."

He sighed and shook his head. “Alright then.”

She sighed with releif. "Ask away."

“What are you planning to do with Qui?”

"In what sense?" She paused. "I'm going to kill him."

“Why?” Heruss asked, looking across at her.

"Because I'm going to sleep with him."

“And why would you do that? You’re going to die as well, killing off two seraphim would cause the powers to panic.”

"The powers will take Qui's soul...which is what he's preparing himself for. When they do, he will break away...and come for me.

“Break away completely?” Heruss looked up at the ceiling.

"Yes."

“Wouldn’t that send the wrath of the powers against you both?”

"Not if we both break free."

“What would happen then?”

"Well, yes they would turn against us...but they couldn't control us."

"After that....well...he has to get there before I die..."

“I'm not sure what will happen after."

“So we have to somehow slow Franz down… I see.” Heruss sighed and nodded. “Promise me this, Rave. Give me back these memories when the time is right. I want to help you, I think we all will. But you’d have to give them back.”

"I can't do that until it is already done..." she motioned him forward.

“Do it just before we meet Franz, after you know Qui is dead.” heruss sighed and slowly moved towards Rave, and held her, kissing her forehead. “Thank you for telling me.”

"I can't..." she sighed. "And..." she whispered as she entered his mind. "I'm sorry I lied...about this." With that, she had already passed his barriers, and erased the knowledge he had acquired. All he knew was that he walked into the observatory and witnessed a fight between Ravelyn and Quissera. Quissera stormed off...and he was comforting Ravelyn.

Heruss simply slacked for a moment, and then his hands were brought up and patted Rave on the back gently. “It’s ok.”

"I don't know what to do...I don't know...if he'll ever come back," she started to cry.

“He’ll be fine I’m sure. It’s just how he is and you and I know this. He’ll come around eventually.”

"What if its too late?"

“It’s never too late to tell someone the truth.” Heruss said simply.

"Am I beautiful, Heruss?" she asked suddenly.

“Of course.” Heruss said with a warm smile.

She managed to smile through her tears. "I'm sorry you had to see all that..."

“It’s alright, these things happen.”

She nodded. "I should get some rest anyway...the day has worn me greatly..."

“I think that’d be best, Terefedel will be glad to see you I am sure.”

She smiled as Qui receeded back into the shadows from one of the balconies. An amazing actress...my dear… With that, both left the observatory.

Tere took Rave into his arms as she returned to the chamber. “Hey.” he said to her quietly as he kissed her.

"Hey," she took a breath in and wiped her tears away.

“You ok?” He asked as he pulled her closer to him and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Yeah," she said. "Quissera stopped by. We had a fight."

Tere sighed and nodded gently. “I see.” he then smiled grimly. “I’m not a very good boyfriend, am I?”

She chuckled. "I'm a difficult girlfriend."

“Yeah, but I feel, useless sometimes. Heruss always seems to know what to say.”

"That's Heruss...and he isn't my boyfriend," she laughed.

“True, he’s your father. I just feel…. I don’t know. Out of the loop sometimes.”

She smiled sadly. "I know..."

“Yes, exactly the problem,” Tere grinned as he playfully pushed Rave away from him. “You know, but I don’t!”

She laughed. "I'm not human Tere...never have and never will be. We are treated differently by nature...revered by people on this earth, yet servants and not the masters..."

He sighed and chuckled himself, before tracing his finger along her facial scar, kissing her gently and tenderly. “This is true. You’re also greatly loved by individuals.”

She smiled. "God knows why."

“Yes, he probably does, but again, he’s in the loop and not me.” grinned Tere.

She pushed him.

He laughed, then tripped over a small padded stool in the room and fell over, he was still holding onto Rave’s shoulders and pulled her down with him.

She let out a groan as she fell on top of him.

He laughed again. “Sorry.” He kissed Ravelyn again.

And she kissed him back. The white cat sat on a window a few doors down; looking out at the view. His heart ached.

“I love you Azreal.” Tere said to her softly and breathily as he kissed her again.

"I love you too..."

“I’m worried about Loki though.” Tere said with a sigh.

"Me too," she whispered back.

“Have you talked to him?”

"We just had a fight..."

“Why? Heruss isn’t dead anymore…”

"It wasn't about Heruss."

“Then what was it about?”

"He wants to save me."

“If I had to put my money down though It’d be either me or Loki to save you.” Tere smiled.

"I don't want to be saved this time," she smiled. "That man is so stubborn..."

“Wonder where he got it from.” Tere chuckled.

She hit him.

“Ow!” Tere said and laughed.
Midlonia
16-03-2008, 21:41
Kivezhe floated gently in the sky. Tere and Rave had returned to the castle while Heruss and Clodius has remained behind in their respective posts for the moment, soothing tensions and ruffled problems that had arisen during this whole saga, Heruss had promised to return in a few days, with Clodius promising this also. Leaving just Tere and Rave returning to the floating island, for now.

Tere yawned and opened his eyes as the craft finally touched down in the morning light. Birds fluttered and flapped around the gardens as they returned. It was still a little different to what they had left it, it now being completely and utterly restored to it’s former glory, statues of angels and hundreds or different kinds of rosebushes and different flowers of every sort that seemed to be able to grow under the sun, all forming wonderful patterns.

“Home sweet home.” he muttered and stretched slightly, looking to Ravelyn. “Good to be back after these last few hectic days, isn’t it?”

" A little more than just hectic," she commented.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He offered his hand to her to pull her out of the seat as they started down the ramp into the gardens proper. “So, what should we do now, Empress?”

They walked quietly through the gardens together, the various plants and displays being constantly attended to by men in green robes. “Do you know what you’ll do with the eye when you come up against Franz?” Tere asked her as he took a red rose from a bush and offered it to her.

“Perhaps you should give it to one of your children temporarily when you go to do battle… If he kills you while the eye is still within you, well. All of this dies.” Tere swept his hand across the place.

Tere pulled his hand into a fist and sighed, looking to Rave, one of his eyes turning purple as he did so. His face suddenly beading with sweat.

"I suppose you right. Though I only trust one of them with being able to control the energy..."

“Yeah…” Tere said, suddenly feeling breathless. “Which one? Qui?”

"Yes," she said softly. "Have you notice? He is growing stronger than me..."

“Mmmn.” Tere said. “Yeah… that’s because he’ll take on both roles, right?”

She looked at Tere strangely. "No..."

“No?” Tere said weakly. “Why not?”

"Because that would be going against the powers," she commented.

“Oh…right.” Tere said almost sleepily again, sweat beading on his forehead quite a lot now as one of his eyes glowed purple, he suddenly clutched his chest.

"What's going on," she asked him, slightly worried.

“I…dunno.” Tere said, pain in his voice. “It just hurts again, like when we had that vision…”

"What vision?"

“When we found out about this place… Grandfather.”

The world felt as though it was lashing at them both suddenly, painful whips racking both their bodies seemingly from all around them. Then the world simply disappeared, leaving darkness.

"What did you do?"

“I don’t know.” Tere shivered. “I don’t know…”

Lights began to clatter and snap on, one by one revealing them to be in a small room, with a door in front of them, and a corridor on the other side of that. It was like a bulkhead door, around them was all metal construction with a desk and a diary on it. With a typewriter and a picture of a man in a crown.

"Who's that," she asked quietly.

“King… uh… I can’t remember.”

“Harrod the Third.” a crisp voice came from behind them.

"And why exactly are we here..." she pursued, not turning around.

“Even I’m not sure love.” the voice continued. “Him upstairs has taken it upon himself to send me down here to help you. God knows what or why though, I only served as a battery commander on this bloody thing.”

“Where are we?”

“Ey? Oh, uh… Behemoth.”

“Right…” Tere tried to get up unsteadily, but fell to the floor.

“So, you going to turn around, or am I both to stare at your backs all day?” The voice continued.

Ravelyn turned towards the voice sighing. The things she always got dragged into.

The person standing behind them was purple eyed and wearing a simple khaki coloured uniform with long brown leather boots, he had mutton-chop whiskers with a moustache looping them together. “Name’s MacDonagh.”

"Like that fast food chain?" she questioned.

“Ha, bloody ha….” he scratched his chin. “Mac, Don, Argh. Not them.”

“Anyway, you’re on this bloody big command fortress thing Franz loved to bloody pieces, it’s little more than a rusty museum now, save for my office.” He shrugged as he lifted Terefedel up onto his shoulders easily. “God, he’s light…”

Ravelyn tilted her head. "What exactly is going on here?"

“Uhhhh, depends. What time do you make it?”

“Around 10AM."

“Right, in that case…. Start running.” MacDonagh said as he broke into a trot, carrying Tere on his back.

The reason why was answered almost immediatly, the wall behind them tore in as some massive claws smashed their way through.

Ravelyn didn't question it, she broke off running, passing them easily, but slowing to stay with them.

“Bugger bugger bugger bugger.” Macdonagh muttered as he ran up a ramp as another pair of claws smashed in.

“10 in the morning, August 29th 1952.” He shouted as they went up another ramp. “Was when this thing finally got it’s arse kicked.”

“10 in the morning, August 29th 1952.” He shouted as they went up another ramp. “Was when this thing finally got it’s arse kicked.”

There was a series of loud booms above them.

"Oh, 3 days after my birthday," she commented, which was more to Tere than anyone else.

“On mine…” Tere muttered quietly.

“Anyway, listen, I reckon you’ll want to watch what happens next, I’m gunna put him down,” he said, nodding at Tere, “and then go like a bleedin recording. I hope to God that you get some ruddy clues.”

He slowly put Tere down in a corner and then snapped himself rigid, “What the devil’s going on here Simpkins?” He bellowed.

A small child came over to him with pointed ears and green hair, he was a child-elf, or Kokiri. “They snuck up on us, sir…” he started before being cut off by a sharp slap.

“It’s fucking desert out there! How can you sneak up on someone in the fucking desert?”

“I dunno! I dunno!” A cannon fired behind them, then another. They were on a wide covered walkway that had several guns on it with lifts and various other bits and pieces including shells which were being rapidly shoved into the guns and fired.

“Alright, so what are you trying to hit?”

“A Goliath sir, it’s knocked out our traction!”

“What the fucking hell is going on with this side battery?” A voice snapped and barked behind them as a short, cloaked figure came into view, he sported a scar on his cheek and wore a monacle.

“Nothing commander!” MacDonagh said quickly. “Focusing our fire, ‘tis all.”

“Worse than useless MacDonagh…” Franz said quietly, his voice dripping with menace.

“Doing my best since you lead us here you halfwit.” MacDonagh snapped back.

Franz moved to yell at Macdoagh before the room exploded, bathing everything in pale flames which licked the walls, floor and everywhere else, Macdonagh and Franz’s bodies were flung back against the wall, he slumping as Franz grunted horribly in pain. Two things clattered to the floor. A small book, and a pistol which was, ornately decorated with a blackened fist on the handle.

Franz grunted and slowly got to his feet, reaching for the wall unsteadily and moving away from the burning deck.

Then the scene stopped, the images faded, and only MacDonagh was left, leaning against the wall in a very bad position, his cause of death apparently being a broken neck from the blast throwing him against the walls. “Hope that helped a tiny bit, if at all. Seemed like a waste of bloomin time to me.”

“Items,” Tere said weakly as he stood up. “Two Items of his fell, he needs them all to come back… that’s what the clue was.”

"I can't do this forever, Tere," she whispered. "He's going to come back. That is unpreventable..."

“We could slow him… we could. Where are they?” Tere said, looking at MacDonagh.

“Display cabinet over… oh.” He said, looking. “They’re not there.”

“Nope!” A voice giggled as he threw the pistol up and down in one hand, the diary in the other, he then juggled them. “She’s right you know, it’s inevitable.”

Garufedel was now wearing a black uniform with a long black travelling cloak. His head was bandaged around his forehead and he was grinning from ear to ear. “Thanks for reminding him though, we’ll be back for this soon.” he said, stamping his foot on the floor.

"Don't make me call Quissera on you," she chuckled, recalling their last encounter. She sighed. "Your brother is pathetic Tere...too pale too; unsuiting for his bone structure."

“Comes with being dead twice over.” Garu smiled and mockedly bowed. “You’ll know it soon enough.”

"It will be my third time, thank you," she growled.

“Ah, but you’re still alive.” Garu said with another giggle. “I however, am dead. Definitely dead.” He threw his the two items to his radioman, then nodded to him to leave. Which he did with a sound like a radio trying to tune in.

“Now, Miss Shentavo, fancy a bout?” He grinned as he pulled his sword out of thin air.

She summoned her scythe and twirled it. "If you insist..."

He laughed and leapt at her, his sword spinning and twirling as he did so.

She deflected his attack. "We both know you can't kill me," she said softly. "So why do you persist?"

“Simple. I take pleasure in it.” Garu said laughing as he smashed into her scythe. “It also allows Him to see your fighting style to best you.”

"Hmmmn...but that has already been decreed hasn't it?"

"And by that time," she whispered in almost a hiss. "I will no longer be this way...all of this is pointless."

“Oh, perhaps.” Garu said as he leapt back, then twisted his back over, her scythe whistling overhead. “For the large part I do it for the fun.”

"You certainly are annoying..."

“He always was.” Tere said as he stood.

Garu laughed. “Yes, I like to annoy. Pushing people to their limits rather than myself, it’s more fun and a lot easier.”

Garu leapt forward again on the attack, his sword above his head as he brought it crashing down.

Ravelyn swiftly moved out of the way, deflecting the attack but not attacking. There was a dullness in her eyes that had not been there before. She was not impressed with Garu's theatrics.

“Awww, no fun? How about if I wheel Zach back in here, huh?” He then mocked his voice. “Hey Beautiful.” and laughed.

"I'm going to kill you," she said, and struck down her scythe with immeasurable speed. Apparently; she was going to kill him.

“But you can’t kill me.” Garu mocked. “Like I can’t kill you.”

"You can't kill me because Franz would not be able to ascend without me..." she remarked. "Nothing is stopping me from killing you."

She struck again.

“Oooh, really? Give it a try then.” Garu said, throwing his weapon back into the air as it vanished.

She set her scythe upon her back and words passed quickly through her lips as a bright orb glowed in her hand. She looked at it as it grew bigger in blinding light, then turned her wicked crimson eyes towards Garufedel.

“Ah…” Garu simply managed.

"Want to try again," she asked as she gripped her scythe again; light travelling along the blade, waiting to be released into the darkness.

“I think today may be the time to run away.” Garu grinned as he leapt backwards into a rapidly opening blue portal.

She sliced after him, the light tearing through the tear in the portal, but she was not able to follow.

"Bastard..." she growled.
Midlonia
17-03-2008, 22:46
The world changed back suddenly to the castle, the soft, scented breeze of roses, the statues and the plants all swaying in the gentle gusts of wind that ebbed and flowed. A Behemoth had clanked over to where Ravelyn and Tere were and waited silently by their side.

Tere twitched and winced as the came back so suddenly, he leant against a statue and took a few deep breathes. “I hate it when they do that… why me?” he asked as his eyes dulled again.

"Oh poor baby," Ravelyn said with a bit of a bite in her tone.

“Yes, poor me.” Tere snorted as he tried to straighten up, then nearly doubled over again, grabbing his heart which was fluttering.

"You learn to live with it after a while," she continued

“Mhrn.” Tere managed simply as his heart began to settle. “Ok,” he breathed. “So you’re the same at times?”

"No, sometimes it feels like a thousand knives are being driven into my body, or a spike will go through my wrist, all if I don't obey."

“Gotcha…” Tere said as he stood upright unsteadily. “Though I think I still have Free Wi-” he then bent over and screamed suddenly before the pain vanished. “…or not.”

She sighed softly. "No one has control over a mortal's life. This has already been determined," she said softly. "What's going on Tere?"

“I don’t know…” Tere said weakly. “Might be the whole inability to die thing.”

“I don’t know…” Tere said weakly. “Might be the whole inability to die thing do the math, how can I look like this if the part of me that's Helmand was nearly 50 when he became a vampire?”

"Well what's the other part?"

“I’m definitely not normal.” Tere carried on. “I just… don’t know.”

"No one these days is normal..."

He laughed, a single short chuckle before he coughed heavily, bring up blood as he did so. “Ugh…”

“That’s not right…” he said almost dreamily before he collapsed and began to shake.

Rave took him into her arms. Why wasn't she more worried? She held him still and supported his head as she waited. What for, was unclear.

Tere stopped shaking after a minute or so and went slack in her arms. A considerable amount of time passed before he gently opened one, purple eye.

“Hi…” he said very slowly.

He looked at her uncertainly for a moment, his mind evidently grinding away. “Who are you?”

"Welcome back," she whispered, then was suprised at the question. "Seraphic Azrael."

“Oh… uh… where am I for that matter?”

"The kingdom of Kievzhe."

“Where?”

"It's a newly established kingdom."

“Oh…right.” He looked uncertainly for a moment or two, then he simply frowned again. “I…am…. Joffre…. Helmand. Yes…” He looked up at her, “I am Lord Helmand.” he smiled. “Pleased to meet you, Seraphic Azreal. But, uhm, why are you holding me like this? Not that I am really complaining at all.”

"Because you fell in front of me," she said taking in a breath. Was this for the better or for the worse?

“Oh… I am sorry.” He blinked. “Though… I feel as if I know you.”

"I believe you are mistaken," she whispered, and helped him up.

“Hrm, perhaps…” He nodded, then held his head a second or two. “I must have come over faint, I have a terrible headache.”

"It would seem that way," she said, unsure of how to react.

“Yes. Must be…If you excuse me Seraphic, I will take my leave of you and find something to drink, that should help cure any faintness.” He bowed deeply, then turned and left her alone with the Behemoth standing next to her, it simply growled almost in question at her.

"He'll feel less pain this way," she whispered softly.

It growled at her again.

"Don't question my decision in my personal life," she remarked and with a mental scolding, brushed the dust off of her dress.

It grunted a little softer this time, and bowed itself.

She nodded, and headed towards her chambers.

Heruss was leaning against the wall just outside of Rave’s bedchamber and sighed. He was there, but he wasn’t. He was pale, and a small floating disk showed why. It was a communicator that allowed him to be at the castle as a slightly ghostly image that he could manipulate to mimic the broadcast as though he really were leaning against the wall, or sitting.

"Yes, father," she sighed.

“Hello Daughter.” He said, straightening as she appeared. “I have some news… largely about Terefedel. I saw what happened and had a word with the Librarian.”

"Yes..." she said, undisturbed.

“Helmand can’t come back.” Heruss said simply.

"What should I do?"

“Give him a sodding good slap for all I care. Or try to remind him who he is. End fact is Helmand cannot come back, it turns out Helmand was another key to ascension. As long as Tere remains Tere, he will be fine. However if he becomes Helmand fully, then… well, we’re all done.”

"Got it..." she turned to one of the behemoths. "Bring him to me..."

The hulking deep red and gold suit of armour growled, it’s red eyes shining out of it’s helmet as it clanked away.

A few minutes later it arrived back, it’s quarry in front of him. Helmand looked puzzled. “You wished to see me, Seraphic?” He asked, looking curiously with his two-tone eyes. “What a strange bit of magic…” Helmand said as he looked up to the disk projecting Heruss’ image.

Ravelyn swiftly hit him across the face. "Tere wouldn't let me push him around like that."

“I beg your pardon?” Helmand said as he rubbed his cheek. “Who?”

She hit him again, this time backfisting square in the jaw. The beautiful woman was awefully strong. "Terefedel..." she growled. "You are Terefedel."

Helmand suddenly grabbed her by the arm. “Now see here a min…” he paused, his eyes unfocused as he held her arm, looking at it. “I…”

"You?" she questioned.

He continued to look at her arm. “I… have felt this warmth before.” he said quietly, holding her arm still in a grip. “A summerhouse.”

She stared back at him.

“A summerhouse, and blood… and…” he moved his free hand up to his face, gently placing a finger against a fang, drawing his hand away, before touching it again to see if it was real. “You…” He said, looking her in the eyes. “I… we… made out.” The colour in one of his eyes began to change again to clear-blue where previously it had a blue tint.

Ravelyn scratched her head sheepishly. "Maybe a little bit..."

“A little… I seem to remember vigorously…” He said, his eyes still unsure and barely focused. “And, I wasn’t called Lord Helmand, was I?”

"No, you were Terefedel..."

“Yeah… him…” He looked at her arm again, took it closer to him and kissed it gently. “Then afterwards, after the summerhouse was a big house…”

She looked at Heruss. "Is he seriously going to go over this..."

“If it helps him to remember, plus a bit of juicy gossip is always fun.” Heruss smiled.

“You… you tried to hurt her…” Tere said, looking at Heruss, “You fought each other in a big room.”

"Yeah but I won..."

“You did… I remember that.” He then leant forward and pressed his forehead against hers, letting her hand drop. “What’s happened to me…” he whispered quietly.

"I don't know," she whispered, bringing her hand upto the side of his face.

“Ravelyn…” he whispered to her. “I love Ravelyn so much that I‘d die for her.”

"Tere..." she whispered back.

He closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips to hers, when he pulled away again and opened them his eyes were blue, with one having only a hint of purple. “I… remember, mostly.” he said after a few moments of silence.

She tilted her head, and actually kissed him.

Tere brought his arms up behind Rave’s back and held her close. Kissing her and revelling in it as though it were his first kiss with her all over again.

She pulled away and hit him. "Don't you ever do that again!"

“Yes, because I can so totally control a charm I don’t know who placed on me!” he said, hitting her back.

A brawl ensued, and ended with Ravelyn pulling Tere's hair and sitting ontop of his back.

“Good to see the happy couple are back together again.” Heruss said to no one in particular as the disk shut itself off and left the room sharply via a window.

Tere growled at her, trying to move. “I blame you anyway!” he said.

"Blame me?"

“Probably your angelic blood that caused this.” Tere said as he bucked again, finally throwing Ravelyn off, but taking a bit of his hair with her.

Ravelyn allowed herself to be thrown off, and after sliding a bit, she stood up. "Then don't bite me again."

“Don’t know if I can do that.” he said, showing his fangs. “I don’t think I can drink anything else any more.”

"Then don't blame me for your issues!"

“Fine, sorry…” he sighed.

"Did you mean it?"

“The sorry? Yes.”

"That you blame me?"

“I don’t know…maybe.” he shook his head. “I just think there might have been a connection with your blood being so… infused with magic.”

"Of course...it's all my fault."

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I said it while I was angry…”

"You were telling the truth."

“I…” he just looked at the ground.

"...meant it." She finished.

“I don’t want to go. I’m scared Rave.” He said so quietly, not looking at her. “I don’t want to…vanish. Be replaced by somebody who’s been dead and gone for hundreds and hundreds of years. I’m me, I have a life, I have….you.”

"You have more to live for than me," she whispered.

“I don’t want anything else anymore.” He said.

"I'm going to be gone soon, Tere...in a few months time."

“Not forever. I can wait for you. I promised to wait for you."

"I'm not sure waiting will be an option this time," she said in a soft whisper.

He looked up at her, with fear in his eyes. “What?”

"I don't know if I'm going to be coming back this time..."

“You have to…” he said. “You said…”

"I'm not sure anymore."

A tear rolled down his cheek. “Then where will you go?”

"I will be destroyed."

“No…” he whispered. “No, no, no… if you are destroyed then I shall find a way for me to go too, Helmand can come back and be the next one‘s burden. I can‘t exist without you.”

"You existed without me before," she said in reply.

“And now I can’t exist without you. You brought me back when Helmand began to take over.”

"I'm not human, Tere. And it isn't my pride saying this. Being angelic isn't a prideful thing in the realm of souls. It's humbling. I am only a servant; and instrument. I do not have the opportunities nor value you do."

“He’s not human either.” a mirror in the corner of the room spoke suddenly. “He’s a construct.”

"He's not an angelic..." she said dully, turning towards the mirror.

“So?” Terefedel’s reflection was staring back at them both, but his eyes were both purple and the reflection didn’t follow Terefedel. “He’s a construct designed for a simple specific purpose. He’s got about as much choice in the matter as you do.”

“I…what?” Tere said, looking at Rave, then at ‘himself’ “What do you mean?”

“You don’t exist, nor did you ever exist, you’re a charm, a persona made by me, for me to keep that body safe.” he said pointing.

"Humans..." she growled, and carried a bit of contempt in her voice. "Trying to play around with souls..."

“Needs must, Angelic.” The voice replied, dripping with malice. “Do you know how hard it is to be constantly hunted without some convenient place to hide like this?”

"I don't love you," she remarked.

“Me?” Tere said, looking at her.

"Am I talking to you?"

“I don’t know… it’s confusing talking to your own reflection.” Tere said, looking at the mirror again.

“So what Angelic? I don’t love your kin at all. I was there, I know what terrible things these people did. What these supposedly holy scum are capable of.”

"You apparently know nothing then," she said cooly, and the mirror smashed, as if on it's own. Shards scattered across the ground.

“That’s going to be seven years of bad luck…” Tere said quietly.

"I don't have seven years," she said plainly.

“I don’t think I have either…” Tere said, looking at the shards.

"I'm not sure there is much good left in me, either."

“What do you mean?”

"Nothing. Forget it," she said, leaning against the wall and looking at the shattered mirror.

Tere stepped over the glass, crunching it underfoot, he leant gently against Rave and took her into his arms. “I guess this time it goes both ways, huh?”

"What does?"

“Every man that loves you dies. This time, it seems we both do.”

Tere then moved away from her and leant on the window sill. “But I’m not the only one that loves you, am I? Qui loves you more than I ever could…”

She tensed. "No, he loves me in a different way."

“Yes, very…” he sighed and leant his head against the cool stone of the sill. “He said once that your souls merged, your very essence, I can’t compete against that, can I?”

"Is it a competition?" she questioned.

“I don’t know…” he whispered. “Human thing I guess, we’re…possessive, I don‘t know if I cannot feel jealous at times of him.”

"He's a very possessive man in some ways," she said softly. "But I have no doubt he is jealous of you."

“I wanted to ask you something, but I don’t know if I should, if we’re both going to die…”
"Ask away..."

Tere stood up, turned, and lowered himself to one knee, he took from his pocket a small jewelery box and opened it. Inside was a ring, red and gold bands with a sun diamond in the middle, which sparkled in the room. “Would you marry me?”

She looked down at him with widened eyes, taken back by something so sudden. She was unsure of how to react, even after hearing the news. She could not tell him all she had planned, and it hurt her for her to feel so vile. What could she possibly say to him? "I'm greatly moved, Tere," she whispered, "My heart, however, does not lie with you alone." What else could she possibly say?

“Oh….right.” Tere said as he closed it. He then grabbed it hard in his hand, crushing the box and threw it out the window it fell from the island, causing some crows and a single dove to be startled and flutter away, he then leant back against the window sill in silence. “It was… stupid of me. I’m sorry, I'm really no good at any of this at all am I...” he then stood quietly again, looking out.

She hated it; all this secrecy. Despite the fact that he pretended not to care, she knew he did. "I'm no good a wife, Tere. I never have been."

“I’m not very good as a boyfriend though either.” Tere said his voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t care if you weren’t any good as a wife, I still wanted to ask…but as ever I mess it all up.”

He placed his hand to his forehead. “I blame that Fate book, it’s evidently all wrong. All fake because I am after all a non-existant persona aren’t I?”

"You can't always listen to what your reflection tells you, and some of our fates are more...protected, than others."


“My reflection is the real me though isn’t it? I’m just the water in the glass, the ghost in the shell, the useless construct that was supposed to keep this body away from harm, and what did I do? Become a vampire and go to war time and time again. I knew those blackouts weren’t just combat, or my memory shutting down because of the horror of the situation….”

"If you are just a construct Tere," she said in return. "How do you love me?"

“I don’t know, perhaps I don’t, perhaps that’s just me clamouring for something to hang on to to make me feel real.” Tere said in a dead, flat voice.

She hit him. "You are more pathetic than me sometimes."

He took the hit and leant against the window. “Yeah, I am, I’m not angelic, I’m not human, I’m not…anything then am I? Just pathetic.”

"That's all for you to decide."

“The same way you decide your existence?” He said sardonically.

"Not a good comparisson."

“Isn’t it? We were both created for specific purposes. I don’t even know if I have free will anymore, of if this is just some… method or motions I go through, the allusion of choice.”

"Least you have the illusion."

“You’re right. I do.” He leant at the window and looked below where it fell away to the sea below, “Or I wonder if I really do? Would Helmand intervene if I threw myself from this window?”

“You’re right. I do.” He leant at the window and looked below where it fell away to the sea below.

He then looked up at her and smiled. “Shall I put it to the test you think?”

"Put what up to the test, Tere," she said to him, a little more than agitated.

“Free will.” he said as he then threw himself from the window.
Midlonia
17-03-2008, 23:58
"Tere!" she yelled outwards, and dove out the window after him. No...he's a fucking human. No construct on earth could be so God damn annoying sometimes… she thought to hereself as she grabbed him.

Tere simply laughed like an idiot, a man who’s soul was being crushed at all angles, who’s sanity had finally cracked under everything that had been happening. “Knew it!” He giggled.

She brought him back to level ground then hit him across the face. "This isn't the man I fell in love with!"

“So what? I don’t exist. The man you fell in love with never lived, he’s nothing. I’m nothing at all.”

"So you'd feel nothing if I left right now, correct?"

“I don’t know, probably not.” He said quietly. “Not now I know I don’t exist, I‘ve already been rejected by you for the ultimate corporeal expression of love and commitment anyway.”

"You can't ask that of me!" she yelled back. "I'm not the marrying type!"

“Well I did! I fucking did. You married before!”

"And look how that turned out!"

“We’re both dying anyway, so who cares? It’d be the same as last time.”

The knocking at the door had hardly been heard by either of them. He found it unreasonable to wait, and opened the door, stared at the two lovers. This couldn't be good. Quissera looked at both of them, first at Rave who downcast her eyes, and then to Tere, who was on the brink of madness.

“Oh… you. The true love…” Tere snorted.

"Did I interupt something?" he questioned.

“Not much. I discovered I don‘t exist.”

Quissera looked at Ravelyn. "You erase his memory or something?"

Ravelyn shook her head. "Wasn't me..."

“I…” Tere said, grinning stupidly. “Don’t exist, I am a construct made to keep some all powerful wizard hidden.”

"You know, you are just as idiotic as I thought you were when we first met if you believe all of what you hear," Quissera said to Tere.

“So glad I met your expectations.” Tere snapped.

"What's his issue?" he asked turning to Rave who shook her head. She couldn't deal with things like this. Quissera shrugged. He did not turn his eyes away from her.

He looked at her expression a long time before he gave in. He sighed. "All right, boy...you are coming with me." Quissera walked towards Tere, grabbed his arm and jerked with the force of a dragon as he pulled Tere towards the door. "Come willingly. Don't make me force you, you won't like it."

Tere simply slacked in Qui’s arms and went willingly. “Taking me to my death in the Twilight, like you have a penchant for doing?” He said.

Quissera backhanded him. "No but I have a penchant for doing that."

“Right.”

He opened the door to a small room, shoved Tere down on a chair at the center of the room, and locked the door behind him. He could feel Ravelyn's prescence behind the door but shut it out. He didn't need any distractions. He walked aroudn the room, closing the blinds so that no light came in. He pulled up a wooden chair and sat across from Tere. His shirt was opened to either side revealing his muscles, however that wasn't the thing that one would focus in on. His skin seemed to glow with unearthly moonlight even though no light cast in through the windows, and his eyes glowed slightly. "Did you know I used to be a professor in Ravelyn's academy?" he said, taking out a small vial from his jeans, putting something into it and mixing it around.

“In what?” Tere said quietly, staring at him.

"Mana vex," he commented as he swirled the vial. It glowd green through the green container, though that could have just been the vial.

“And what’s that when at home?” Tere’s eyes glowed purple and he cried out slightly in pain as his voice changed maliciously. “Doing as many women as possible because you can’t have the one you love, Angelic?”

Quissera didn't get angry. "Ah, so you are the one that is vexing Tere," he observed as he handed the vial over to Tere. "If you think you can take me...drink it."

Joffre took the vial and looked at it. “And what does this do?” He held it up and twitched his lip at it.

"Trust me," Quissera. "If you want any chance at all you are going to have to drink it."

“Not until I know what stupid little elixir your filthy hands cooked up.” Joffre snapped, “You think I’d have lived this long for being so fucking stupid?”

"Drink..." Quissera said plainly, and his head was tipped by an invisible hand, and the liquid forced down his throat. He was unable to spit it out, and a tight grip forced him to follow. Quissera still lounged in the chair, unchanging. His voice not even coming from his lips any longer. Joffre's eyes lost focus, then refocused a few seconds later.

“What…. Was that.” He said slowly.

He could see on Quissera's back four fully grow black wings, spread out. "Many students were afraid to take my class because of the horrors that they witnessed; those not strong enough to barricade themselves against my...lessons. Survival of the fittest has always been an ideal of mine." He smiled.

"What you just drank opens up your mind to me. You can't lie to me, and if you attempt to I will know it. My students drank it before every class, you see."

“I see… which also means you could probably destroy my mind, leaving Terefedel intact.”

"This is true," Quissera said softly. "Look me in the eyes."

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.” He looked at him.
Immediately Jaffre was capticated by the vampire's eyes. He was held there, unable to turn away. He was pulled into those eyes as the room began to spin. He could see the vortex spinning clearly now; on the path for distruction. A pair of eyes flew at him and the world fell into darkness.

There was the scent of roses in the air; then Quissera's voice. "Your heartbeat is far too loud for my ears, dear. Do not worry...but leave me." Then the voice faded. Joffre could see nothing around him, while he could hear Quissera's voice. Joffre's

"Did you see the color of my wings, Joffre?"

“Black.” Joffre said quietly.

"If you ever get a chance to see Miss Ravelyn's wings, they are the purest white just as mine are the purest black. We are both called seraphim, but in actuality that is not true. Dark seraphim are called sephiroths, as light are seraphim. But whether light or dark, even angels are quite capable of lying."

“Oh, I know. She hides something from the construct.”

"She hides things from everyone. Everyone but me. Seraphim and Sephiroths as myself alike, can not lie to each other; at least, we see through each others lies."

“So why the disparity because of race for the construct?”

"Disparity of race?" Quissera laughed. "We envy those with choice, and you must understand that it is not personal, but against those who created us."

“The Powers. Always conspiring and meddling in reality’s affairs.” Joffre laughed.

"Them meddling?" a pressure was felt over Joffre, as if compressing him. "What about you..."

“What about me?” Joffre said as he felt the pressure on him.

"Think your creating a construct and actually God says, no no, wait...and places a soul in that construct. You weren't planning on it were you? A certain angel I know was created a similar way. Miss Ravelyn was a military project hmmm. Ah, if you ever see her true wings, though I doubt you'll get the chance."

"Where was I?" Quissera continued again.

“God has no place in physical affairs…” Joffre said slowly.

"So you are lead to believe," Quissera replied. "Ah, lying...I was speaking of lying."

“Yes, babbling about my inability to lie now I have taken your elixir.”

"Oh no," he said in return. "That wasn't my point you see..." Laughter insued.

“So what is your point?”

"When I said that elixer stopped you from lying, in a way it does...it opens up your essence to me. Entirely. And when I said I wasn't going to drag you into the depths of the twilight..." the pressure increased. "I lied."

“That was the construct talking, not me. You don’t know who’s essence you’ll get.” Joffre grinned.

"You are wrong again," he said. "I've had years of practice, believe me. I only have materialized your essence...you don't see anyone else do you?" Laughter again. "Don't think I want to do this...I would very much like to drag Tere with me. I wouldn't mind, however I do this for Ravelyn, not my self..." Bits and pieces of Joffre began to break up and fade into nothingness.

“No… you fool! Do you not know what you’re doing?” Joffre shouted.

"I don't really care either..."

Quissera's eyes looked down at him; the size of twenty fold what they had been; glowing slits within the blackened night. "Scream for me...please. I do enjoy it."

“I won’t give an Angelic the satisfaction” Joffre spat. “Don’t think you won’t fail like Your precious Angelic Whore did with this construct’s brother.”

"Oh I don't think I'll fail at all...I have no regard for your life..." he said laughing as he spat. Soon, a scream was forced to Joffre's lips. It was forced; as if he were a puppet. His eyes rushed towards the breaking essence, and shattered it into thousands of pieces which faded into the darkness.

The essence fell and fluttered, turning into white dove’s feathers as they did so before fading.

"Simple pleasures," the voice sighed. "Falling feathers..." Quissera snapped back into the physical realm, stirring slowly before stretching, and opening the door for Ravelyn, who was waiting across the hall outside.

Tere’s hair had turned blonde again, he was slack in the chair, slumped over.

Ravelyn rushed passed Quissera to Tere. Quissera looked at her, and asked, "No thank you?"

Ravelyn looked back as she put her arms around Tere. "I'm still mad at you!"

"Oh, right..." he said, and leaned up against the wall.

“You don’t sound mad…” Tere said weakly.

"He just saved your life..."

“I know…” Tere whispered as he looked up slowly, his eyes a brilliant crystal blue again. “Thank you Qui.”

Quissera shook her head, seemingly hurt. He looked to Rave again, and walked out of the room.

"You all right?" she asked, hugging him.

“I think so. I don’t feel… uhm. Insane.” he smiled at her. “I also feel stronger than I did.”

She smiled back, then kissed him. "You went all emotional on me..."

“Urgh.” He smiled and kissed her again. “I hate that, makes me seem stupid.”

"Exactly what Qui said..." she chuckled.

He laughed. “Well, I guess so. One thing though, what are you keeping from me? I just get that… feeling and I can‘t shake it. If you really can‘t tell me because of the powers, then say so. Otherwise I‘m going to worry.”

"I can't tell you because of the Powers," she whispered softly.

Even angels lie.
Steel Butterfly
18-03-2008, 18:14
[OOC: Tag...and I like what I see. It reads well man.]
Midlonia
19-03-2008, 00:08
“Then I can be content with that answer.” Tere smiled to her and kissed her gently on the lips. “If it jeopardizes you both now. Then I don’t want to know.” He slowly stood up, his robes ruffling as he did so.

“I’m really sorry about earlier, the proposal. I forgot about others…” He said to her quietly.

"Even if there weren't any others, I don't understand the concept of being married. It's to have children, yet I can't have any...is there a point?"

“It’s not to have children…” Tere chuckled a little as he smiled at her. “It’s about cementing yourself as a couple…”

"Why does it have to be cement? You can't move in cement."

“That’s the point.” he laughed. “You get stuck, for better, for worse…”

“Still,” he rubbed the back of his head, “It was stupid of me.”

"I turned down Qui before..."

“For marriage?”

"Yes."

“Oh, I see. How did he take it?”

"He laughed and said 'knew you wouldn't'", she said with a bit of a chuckle.

He laughed also, then suddenly grabbed Rave and held her to him. “You know, I was so scared of loosing you that I lost it.” he said to her.

"Well, you can't be with me forever," she sighed.

“How long?”

"I don't know," she said softly.

“I hope it’s longer than centuries.” He bent down and kissed her neck a few times before biting her, sinking his fangs into her neck quickly.

"You sure you want to do that," she pushed him a bit. "Last I recall you blame me because of my blood."

He held her tighter to him and sank his fangs a little further into her neck and drank. Evidently he no longer blamed it, or her.

Quissera was on the other side of the door, though he masked his prescence. He leaned his head up against the wall. He heard the sounds, wanted to turn around go in, and kiss her. That, however, would be too much of the truth. He quietly walked down the hall.

“Going somewhere?” Heruss said quietly as the disk floated in, his image projecting and ‘walking’ alongside Qui.

"Does it matter?" Qui asked in a low voice.

“Perhaps, it seems most unlike you to be walking away from Ravelyn’s adoration.”

"She's mad at me still," he said painfully.

“You’re also not as good an actor as she is.” Heruss remarked dryly.

"He's sucking on her neck," he replied, and this time the pain was real.

"What am I supposed to do? Go in and say excuse me...I'm sorry for not being able to protect Heruss but I love you? She knows...but she's still upset."

“Better…” Heruss said, looking at Qui. “To be honest you’ve lived with it for this long, why is this any different?”

"This isn't any different..." Qui said plainly. "Stay out of my life."

“Yet you can’t stay out of ours…” Heruss said.

"Of hers..."

“Yet ours bisect.”

Quissera sighed, and turned to look at Heruss. He took the disc and threw it out the window.

The disk floated back in further down the corridor.

“My my, somebody has issues.”

"What do you want from me," he asked Heruss.

“Why was my memory altered? Even I recognize a memory gap when I see one.” He said suddenly.

"I know nothing of it."

Qui scanned him once over. "Looks pretty intact to me."

“Hrm… must be my old age.” Heruss said with a sigh.

"Guess not." the disk shut off and floated away.

Quissera sighed. There was a lot placed on him, but he wasn't complaining, he wanted it to, yet he hated to go through all the annoyances.

Tere finally pulled away from Rave’s neck and kissed the wound closed. He then gently cupped her cheek with one hand and kissed her again. “I needed that.” he chuckled.

She smiled. "Feel better?"

“A lot.” he grinned at her.

“Where’s Qui gone to?” He asked after a moment or two of holding her, looking into her eyes.

"Not sure. I didn't really expect him to stick around..."

“Shame, this place would be nice for him to stay at.” He said, looking around at the castle walls.
"So he can see us together every day? I think he likes his own home a bit more."

“There is that I supposed…” Tere said quietly. “Where is that home anyway? It was very nice.”

She smiled. "Now that is a secret."

“Fine, I won’t ask.” He chuckled

------------

Tere sighed and looked out at the night sky, the lights of the stars and the large pale moon hung in the bleak darkness, that was the great thing about the Commonwealth, he decided, the lack of people. The lack of civilization, completely different to Midlonia where you were never more than 20 minutes from a village, or a hamlet, or even a farm. Below were very faint lights from the small towns that dotted the inland sea, but that was it. It was very peaceful here.

"It's too quiet here," Quissera said, walking up slowly behind Tere.

“Perhaps, I prefer it though, the constant humming noise of Midlonia is horrible compared to this.”

"I think I'd prefer somewhere close to the ocean..."

“And what do you call that?” Tere said, pointing down at the inland sea, which it was, a vast ocean in comparison to even the mightiest lakes, it had it’s own tides after all, which was about the only audible sound, the occasional crashing of a gentle wave at the coasts some distance away.

"Not close enough," he said, then turned away and started to walk towards the door.

“What did you want, by the way.” Tere said suddenly.

"Nothing," he said in a low voice. "Nothing at all."

“Don’t lie, Qui, please. I know you don’t approve of me and Ravelyn being together when you do nothing but yearn for her, but we both love her with all our being.”

"Your point?"

“Talk. I know it will be about Ravelyn. So talk.”

"I feel you are quite wrong this time," he said smoothly. A smile came to his lips. "Did you really ask her to marry you?"

“Told you it’d be about her. And yes, I rather stupidly did, I know that her heart belongs to you also.”

"You know she is going to die? Yes...you do," Qui said, trailing off. "Would you still love her if she were evil?"

“I love her, full stop. End of. I don’t care if she were good, evil, or in some vague grey area. I love her.” Tere said, looking up at the moon.

"If she killed everyone you cared about; Heruss, Kristian, Clodius...even you?"

Tere paused for a moment, hung his head down as though in shame. Then very quietly. “Yes.”

"Then you answer with your head and not your heart," Qui said leaning against the wall. "It's remarkable the influence she has on people; it truly is."

“I answer with my being, my heart never stopped for a second, but my head. It did, hence why it was almost shameful for me to say it.”

"Could you not turn against her if she was against you?"

“No.” Tere said immediately, looking across to Qui, then back out to the sea below. “I’d let her kill me. If it were the case, I couldn’t stop her.”

"Hmph. Wouldn't even try..."

“No, not even try. She’s a strong woman, despite her lack of choice, so… no, I wouldn’t. I don’t know if her love for me is as strong, but, that’s how I feel.”

He then paused and looked up. “If it were what she truly wanted.”

"If that's your choice," Quissera said openly. "Then who is anyone to change it?" He sighed softly, and opened the door, and passed through. Halfway down the hall Tere could hear the voice call back. "If you would excuse me..." And he vanished into the darkness.

“Right… who is anyone to change Free Will.” Tere sighed.

He turned and slowly walked back down the tower steps, his footsteps echoing off the walls gently as he did so. There were rarely anybody about at this time bar a couple of Behemoths that did the patrols, it was quiet, nice.

One of the great Behemoths clanked along the hallway, stopping and growling at Tere as he walked past.

“Hrm? No, I’m just walking.”

It squeeked and growled again.

“No, I’m fine, thank you. I don’t need an escourt.”

It growled and bowed before clanking away again.

Ravelyn walked down the corridor, and as she turned the corner she bumped into Tere. Her mind had been so focused on so many other things she had not realized there was anyone else about. "Sorry..."

Tere simply took her into his arms and span her around. “It’s ok” he smiled. “What’s on your mind anyway?”

"Just the usual stuff."

“The usual stuff doesn’t have you this distracted, is it what we can’t talk about?” Tere asked.

"Of sorts, yeah," she said quietly. "I don't like it here...it's to quiet. I need noise to help drown the voices out...'

“Want me to take us somewhere?” Tere said as he held Ravelyn tightly by the waist.

"Yeah...maybe by the shore?"

“Sure.” Tere smiled and watched the world around them thunder loudly, the sudden pick up of a breeze that caused a couple of banners to flutter as they vanished and the world turned to a greyed out haze. They moved from the castle and downwards, landing at the shoreline, with their feet just in the water, when he brought them back a wave lapped their legs gently and suddenly, the water was cold. The waves roared as they crashed into the beach over and over.

"Better..." she said softly. "For some reason my head won't stay quiet enough for me to get some rest..."

Tere looked at her with some concern. “I wonder why. Isn’t the voice in your head clear enough any more to drown the others out?”

"No, no it's not..."

He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “I wish I could help sometimes, I feel useless at times when it’s things like this…”

"That's cause you are," she said with a laugh.

He chuckled. “I wonder if I could cut them down a little by drinking some of your blood, they used to whisper to me also afterwards after all…”

"No," she whispered. "I can't give any more at the moment...I haven't fed in days."

“Well…” he said quietly as he then moved his head and leant it on her shoulder, letting his neck be exposed. “Then I guess you know what to do about that.”

"I can't drink anymore fresh blood," she whispered. "I need my blood stone."

“Why?” Tere said, pulling back from her and looking at her with some concern.

"I think it is making the voices worse....before I never had any issues with it."

Tere simply laughed. “We’re both as hopeless as each other in the end, aren’t we?” He smiled. “I drink your blood and go insane, you drink mine and it makes the voices louder.”

"Yes, it would seem that way," she smiled.

He sighed and chuckled some more before kissing her. “So, shall we take a walk along this beach?”

She nodded, and began to walk along the beach with him. The waves started to drown out the voices.

“You know there’s a part of me that wants to know how long we’re going to be together, so I can count the days and make all of them special, and a part of me that doesn’t.” he said after a few minutes of walking together.

"I don't know the exact day," she said softly. "Qui does."

“Oh…” Tere said with a sigh. “I bet I’ll never get him to tell me, huh?” He quirked a little smile to her.

"He won't tell me," she smiled.

He nodded and stretched his arms, placing on around her shoulders and pulling her close to him. “Then I’ll just make every day special.” He said with a smile.

"That's really corny..." she commented.

“You’re right.” Tere said laughing again. “It is.”

They carried on walking for the night, as the sun began to rise, and the moon dipped behind them it slowly began to turn orange, then red. “Wow.. Look at that. Must be the dust thrown up by the desert…”

Ravleyn looked out towards the horizon. It was beautiful; matching her eyes perfectly.

“You look incredible.” Tere whispered to her.
Midlonia
23-03-2008, 02:04
Tere yawned as the day dawned properly, he and Ravelyn had been walking all night and now, he didn’t really fancy sleeping during the day. It was fairly clear too, which is how he spotted the small dot of a transport slowly making it’s way to the island. He stretched and cracked his neck loudly before rubbing the back of his neck and jumped from the battlements, landing some 40 feet in the gardens below.

Contrails followed lazy arcs behind the arriving VTOL, distant escorts to the massive oceanic warships sitting on the horizon as well as the transport itself. The craft neared, its engines flaring white hot in the sun, its battered exterior a sharp contrast to the serene and clean surroundings of the palace itself.

"What's that?" she asked Tere. Ravelyn herself was rather unaccustomed with the type of ships in this area, or anywhere for that matter. It was not something that generally interested her.

“A transport, like the one we took when we went to Midlonia” Tere said. “Probably our beloved Warlord.” he looked to her and grinned.

She smiled. She was tempted to call out to Clodius; and he'd hear her, yes...he'd hear her. But she didn't.

The VTOL landed, again heavily and will little grace, the utilitarian nature of the ship not particularly given to finesse. The ramps opened, flightcrews did their thing, and Clodius, accomponied by several human and ghoulish military officers, descended onto the manicured lawns.

Tere simply stood respectfully a few paces behind and to the side of Ravelyn, he was wearing his robes of the Kiveshe again now and simply stood to attention on impulse.

Ravelyn was a good deal more relaxed than Tere. Whatever formalities had been imposed upon within military or other ranks she clearly had no regard for. It was Clodius, however, that brought a smile to her face.

Clodius walked up, humanform, heavy footsteps, and this time in desert pattern combat uniform. Medals now adorned flecked pockets, and his cleaver was now slung in its common clasp. He nodded as he walked up, stopping in frotn of Rave and genetly embracing her. "Sorry to have been away for so long, been issues needing to sort out."

She leaned up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. "It's all right. I understand," she said softly, the scent of roses taunting him with the fresh breeze of the ocean carrying it by.

"I'm glad to see you're doing okay. Hows making the place home coming along?"

“She added her own hot spring the other day.” Tere said quietly behind her with a smile.

She blushed. "Was supposed to be a suprise..." she snapped back.

"Oh..." The vampire smiled, though the expression was heavy. "Introductions though, quickly, Empress, the command staff of the Freestian Armd Forces, as near as we could. Tribune Marshall Alexander"...a gesture towards a massive seven and a half foot H6 ghoul almost as wide as he was tall, in a decorated, navy blue uniform who bowed politely, one eye covered by an eyepatch and whose face was littered with scars and pits like the surface of the moon, "Admiral of the Fleet Jane Sellandros" A woman, human, short, in her fifties and with the traiditonal Freestian jet black hair and tanned skin, stepped forward and nodded.

"A pleasure," she said unable to supress rolling her r's as she spoke. She was happy to see him again. It seemed like it had been ages.

"And, though its been a while since I had the pleasure of serving with him, allow me to introduce Colonel Theo Oakland, of the Freestian Space Marine Corp." A figure, shorter but just as a big and scarred as Alexander, stepped forward in turn, uniform slightly crumpled and aged, but carried with terrifying power. Oakland smiled a crooked smile, fangs visible but teeth somewhat disproportioned from an old bullet wound.

"Oh its been a while since I got to crack Midlonian skulls," the huge ghoul laughed, peering down at the Empress. "A pleasure, and thank you for the hosting."

"I'm not Midlonian," she smiled, and nodded. She noticed the scars and was a bit humbled by the large gash which ran across her cheek. Clodius had not yet seen the scars on her body. "And the pleasure is mine."

“Oakland. Good to see another old Warhorse still alive.” Tere said with a smile.

The two had never met during the conflict, but had both heard stories of each other’s own notorious exploits.

Oakland offered a hand that could have encircled the vampire's head. "Indeed. Too bad there are so few of us left that remember." Alexander and Sellandros moved up behind him, coughing politely. "Well," said the Marshall, "is there somewhere we could sit down?"

Tere shook the Ghoul’s hand and stood back. “I believe the Empress would see us best suited in the antechamber?

Ravelyn nodded, waved her hand, and a set of black chairs appeared; craftily wickered with almost celtic design. Suprisingly they were very comfortbale.

Tere sat on a smaller chair next to Ravelyn and leant back into it.

Clodius, Alexander and Oakland all sat slowly by comparison, letting the chair adjust for their impressive weight. Sellandros merely stood before descending quickly. "Well, shall we begin?" She said earnestly.

Ravelyn spread her wings over the chair, and it adjusted to her form; including making way for her wings. "Please do..."

"The proposal for Kievhe joining the Midlonian Empire has presented a few snags."

Ravelyn raised a brow. "Wonderful," she commented. Of course, this was the thing that was most on her mind. She looked at Clodius.

"Well," the vampire began, "the problem by and large is the nationalist element deciding to use this as an opportunity to, shall we say, move a lot of people a lot nearer."

"What do you mean?" she questioned, not bothering to hide her clearly not Midlonian accent.

"Well, geographically the island may be part of Midlonia, or rather, will be soon enough. However...this implies of course that its territory and its waters and aerospace fall under Midlonian juristiction. Here," he nodded at Oakland, who reached forward and placed a light, floating lense in front of the group. A dull blinding light followed as a holographic map of the Middle Sea appeared, Keivzhe a tiny dot at its centre.

"I see," she said, folding her hands together.

"This" Alexander began, in a deep, booming voice, "is, as you can imagine, eye opening. There is a treaty that allows the free movement of Freestian and Midlonian military assets trhough each other's territory with permission, patrols resupplying, a few training exercises, that sort of thing...well..."

"We recieved applications for over a thousand forces movements to and Kievzhe, ships, aircraft, the like," Sellandros honed in. "Big buildup."

"If the island is myself, and I can move it, would it not be better for me to move it into one of my empires and avoid all this?" she said, directing it towards her "consort".

She tilted her head. "I'm not sure they understand the nature of the island..."

“Couldn’t there be an amendment to the treaty specifically for Kievzhe?” Tere asked, quietly.

Clodius smiled, "We are Freestians. We're very used to being able to stare the Midlonians down." He looked up at her, deep, bright blue eyes, focused and intent. "You must understand, Empress, you are but one piece of a very complicated jigsaw. The Midlonian force movements are a test." He turned to Tere, slowly. "An amendment?"

"The land wasn't meant for Midlonians...it was meant for my...kind." She sighed. "The more and more time I have become Empress of something again the more and more I remember how much I hated foreign policy negotiations."

Tere sighed and looked at Ravelyn. “With your permission may I play at politics?” he said with a quirk of a smile.

Ravelyn made a gesture with her hand. "Several millenia is far to long to be in politics in my opinion, please..." she said, folding her hands. She didn't look several millenia old, that is for sure.

Tere cleared his throat and sat forward. “Yes, an amendment, that treaty when signed was largely for the Falcon Isles if I remember, and our own inter-training exercises. Seeing as this is now in a much, much busier place we could submit for an amendment in which those same requests for Kievzhe are simply… lifted for all localized traffic. No need for permission logging with either side. Just still ask that military assets make the requests though.”

"Well, civilian traffic is fine, free navigation and all. The problem is the military traffic, or rather, its abundance."

I don't want any Midlonians or Freestians on my island except you and Clo.. she sent silently to Tere, crossing one leg over the other.

Clodius took a long breathe outward. "Understandable Empress."

Tere paused for a moment. “Then we could draft a sub-treaty specifically for Kievzhe allowing the Freestians to move through without requests, it’s part of the Midlonian Empire, but this far away after that ruckus in Parliament they won’t try to enforce their own line.”

Alexander snorted. "I'm just worried. It wouldn't surprise me if they tried to take it further."

Oakland coughed, and Clodius continued. "Military traffic, is and has been for the last few decades been fine. But, there's a danger of it being used to push Freestian claims. Disputes over Freestian maritime claims are nothing new. This territory will ignite that debate again I am sure."

Ravelyn wasn't happy. Her island was being invaded by humans; who only cared about war.

“Then let them have the debate, if you haven’t noticed this island isn’t actually touching the water below.”

"As said. This is more than the island or the territory. We're getting confrontational, if not by design then by the inevitable consequence of the current situation."

How about anyone who wants to come onto the island has to duel me first? she smiled at the draconic.

“You mean there are elements in the military threatening to take over this place?” Tere frowned. “You do realise this thing could probably chew them up and spit them out quicker than the Behemoth used to eat an armoured division?”

Clodius smiled. "It would simplify things." He turned to Tere. "You've told me what you're army is capable of. I know your people arent that stupid. But its where everything is headed that is concerning. The deal struck to get Keivhe recognised by your homeland was, I regret to say, rash in this respect."

“Would you have preferred the first and third Aerospace slamming down around here?” Tere said, waving at the sea.

I like simple...

"Would have been a fine battle," Oakland said, staring up at the sky.

Clodius ignored him, peering at once at Rave and smiling. "Yeah, dont we all?"

"Can you hear what I'm saying?" she questioned the group.

I can Clodius thought, telepathic or not.

"How about I run off with my little island?" she added. "There is no reason it HAS to stay here..."

“Moving us out into the ocean proper would be a good idea…” Tere mused.

She sighed, and the island began to move. I'm getting too old for this…

Alexander rose slightly as the ground beneath him rocked, Oakland and Sellandros shared exchanged looks of concern. "You sure this is a good idea?" The huge ghoul commented, staring out as the island began to move.

“Well, I guess this would stop the paperwork problems.” Tere said with a shrug.

He turned to Rave and looked at her. “Where are you taking us, exactly?”

"Just be careful, gah" Clodius mentioned, rising himself, his own sense of balance drifting off.

"Where none of this will be an issue..." she commented.

“Right…”

"Err, okay...."

Alexander looked concerned. "You are part of the Midlonian Empire, I dont believe it will be that easy to shrug off, even if it does buy time for the moment."


“Don’t you just love Politics.” Heruss said as the small white disk appeared in the gardens, his image flickering into life as it did so. “Let me Guess Alexander, the 200 nautical mile nonsense again?”

"Amongst other things. Seriously I thought the matter was settled."

“To me it is, but you know what the GRN is like, it won’t deal with people with that kind of range when it’s the shortest possible route.”

Heruss sighed. “Got to remember that the GRN is largely independent in the scheme of things, as am I.”

"A point, perhaps. Honestly I just think," Alexander sighed, "I'm just getting the impression your comrades are angling for a confrontation."

“Possibly are, I don’t know. The whole darn armed forces has gone through a rebuild with a lot of shiny new toys, what do you honestly expect? They feel like the old GRN again.” Heruss shrugged and stood next to Rave’s chair.

"As did I," she said softly. "But let's be frank...I don't want any Midlonians or Freestians on this island. I can clearly see that the relation with this island is ignored because people generalize what is what in the physical realm with no attention nor respect for the supernatural. I will not have this land be used for purposes of self-interest."

Heruss nodded. “This I understand, but the problem is on paper and physically.”

"And I don't like it..."

"None of us do." Clodius offered, rising fully to his feet.

"Why do people have to be so blind?"

“Because it’s the way of the world.” Heruss said with a nod.

One more thing she had to deal with. She half hoped Franz would come and kill her now so she wouldn't have to deal with any of this. "Greedy, uncivilized, worthless..." she murmured with a scowl and played with the cross around her neck.

Tere simply took her hand and squeezed it.

“I think that solves most matters, doesn’t it gentlemen?” Tere said, looking to the others.

"Removes our problem..." Sellandros muttered, "but it might create more for you."

"With the amount of stress and displeasure this has caused me, I believe whatever problem comes my way will dissolve rather quickly."

“Figuratively, or literally?” Tere said with a shrug before he also stood and stretched himself slightly, his blonde hair catching in the sun.

"We'll see," she said. She had become upset with this whole meeting; not because of the people, but with the ridiculousness of it.

“So. What now?” Tere said, looking to Clo and Rave. “A walk would be good.”

The gardens continued to smell of all kinds of roses, some gentle and some quite powerful in their perfume, around them were fountains splashing quietly of angels and imps and various things. The castle moved slowly, but unfortunately it also moved quickly through clouds, causing the gardens around them to go grey and hazy at times.

“So, how are thing in general at Navarok, Clo?” Tere said.

"Uneventful. Your hunch about the Behemoth though...."

“Yeah?” Tere said.

"Well, nothing major so far. Though probably the sheer amount of firepower we have in the area is preventing anyone getting too close. Museum patrons have not been amused, but side from one or two suspicious sightseers nothing out of the ordinary. Except..."

"Ghosts."

“What sort…” Tere said rather flatly.

"The elusive kind that moves things slightly and echoes soft voices in the night. Sentries cant pick up movement or bodies, but something is going on. Our null teams can't pin it down though."

“Anything discernable from the whispers?”

"Screams."

Ravelyn cringed.


Clodius backed up slightly. "Cries, perhaps, no words to measure the speed of the voices in question. Not even an accent."

“Odd. Which sections are they coming from? Might be a clue.”

"All over...but...well, this is gonna sound strange, but its been a theory flying round the more...credulous members of the null teams..."

“We’re on a floating magical castle run by a Seraphim, is there really anything strange any more?”

"Point..." He breathed in. "Its not the crew we're hearing. Its the machine."

Tere turned and just looked at Clodius, not quite believing him. “The… what? It’s made of steel bulkheads and furnaces.”

"There's....in several recorded magical civilizations its certainly not unheard of for artifacts forged or beloved by powerful entities to...take on characteristics of their own. Here." He pulled his own cleaver, its moonstone pommel glowing a faint blue beneath its white opaque surface. "See how the blade curves differently from the standard pattern. The sword responds because of the basic proper ties of the moonstone." He reseathed it, and turned. "Heruss said he adored it, an extension of his meglomania. Its possible."

“Yes, but…. Hrm. I suppose so. We might have to go take another look…” Tere shook his head. “We had a flying visit yesterday, another… vision and various problems. Artilleryman MacDonagh from C battery had a chat with us.”

"Oh? Who...sorry?" Clodius turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

“There were some ghostly manifestations within C Battery, sub section 6, battery was run by a Captain called MacDonagh, some sort of vision delivered by you-know-who upstairs,” he jabbed a finger up to the sky. “Said he needed to talk to us, then provided us with useless information.”

"Useless information?"

“Useless.” Tere nodded. “Showed off how he died and that was pretty much it.”

"Franz, died off when?"

“No, how MacDonagh died.” Tere said with a sigh. “Like I said, the three of us,” he motioned to Rave with her new scars on her arm and face prevalent, “might have to go back there to find out about your whispers.”

Clodius nodded, then stopped. "What the hell..." he moved closer to Rave. "What happened there?"

Ravelyn leaned against Clodius absent mindedly.

"What happened?" He said, letting a finger caress one of the scars he moved protectively around her.

She let him hold her. Feeling the shroud of strong muscle fall around her comforted her just as much as looking into his eyes. "It's nothing..."

"Obviously its something." He looked at Tere. "Not your work, is it?"

“No. Certainly not.” Tere said. “I really don’t know what happened.”

Ravelyn remained quiet. Apparently she didn't wish to say.

Ravelyn looked up into his eyes, and he was drawn into hers. The scene flashed before his eyes. It had been Kristian who had made the scars.

"Tell me!" He said, a mixture of anger and pleading. The thought passed barely into his mind. "Why?"

"Because I killed Heruss..."

"What...thats..." He looked at Tere. "I'll kill the little fuck."

"Clodius," she said wrapping her arms around his waist. "Won't fix anything..."

Tere just held his hands up. “How was I supposed to know that was what was going to happen?”

"I'm not blaming you, but..." He sighed outward. "No time for little sideshows." He muttered, suddenly feeling somewhat ashamed of himself.

She hugged the draconic and let the warmth flow over her.

"Do you want them fixing?"

"They can't be undone. Too much time has passed... "

"Yeah... I don't know what to do either Clo..."

Ravelyn frowned.

Clodius just his head. "Anyway...you were saying about Behemoth?"

“Like I said, useless and nothing important.”

Tere stretched himself again and he heard his spine crack loudly. “Nothing really happened during it, so they might be your ghosts rather than the Behemoth proper.”

"Who knows. Not my field."

“Right…” Tere sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, just putting a hand against his chest for a moment before taking in a deep breath. “Ok, should we go to the Behemoth now, or later?”

"We have anything else to do?"

“Up to Ravelyn.” Tere said simply.

"We should go as soon as possible," she said quietly.

Tere simply nodded. “Twilight?”

"I hate that stuff. But go for it. Who knows what we'll find has happened."

Tere grinned as he took hold of Rave‘s hand and offered his out to Clodius‘. “Afraid of the shadows, Clo?”

"Paranoia is a survival trait in our line of work, Tere."

“Point taken.” He grinned

"Well, lets keep it as short as possible."

The world changed around them, unnatural wind whipping around them as the world simply turned to a series of foul greys.

“Yeesh, this place looks worse every time we come.” Tere muttered quietly as he simply took Rave into his arms and carried her, to save on her strength for the length of the journey ahead of them.

Clodius looked around, uncomfortable as his balance and his senses suddenly seemed to go haywire. "Lets go."

Eventually they arrived at a huge dark grey slab. “Must be here…” Tere said quietly as he brought them back out of the Twilight, they stood now on small rocks and single, in front of them was a huge structure, all metal and rivets all slightly rusty and broken in places, with snarling guns sticking out of it, it was square in shape and simply huge in size. The Behemoth was just that. A behemoth.

"Pretty. Remember when they dumped it here in the last hours of our advance." He said, though only Tere might faintly recall. "Tough days to live through." Several small tents and a few off road vehicles lined the sides, an encampment of sorts, and in the surrounding foothills and offshoot peaks further temporary dwellings had been erected. Dozens of Freestian military personnel and a few civilians, some in suits, others in traiditonal robes stood alongside massive ghoul soldiers, fumblign through notes and taking pictures. One turned and pointed in surprise at the new figures. The ghoul guards rose and turned, nearly raising their weapons before recognising Clodius' distinctive features. The lead ghoul walked forward.


"Didn't know you were coming down sir." He said simply. the soldier, helmeted and in the dull grey and white mountain combat uniform, seemed confused slightly. "Didn't think you'd be interested."

Tere set Ravelyn back down on the ground and held her hand. “You ok?” he said to her quietly.

"Yes," she said in return, her eyes partially glazed over.

“You sure? Your eyes look a bit out of it.”

"The lady okay?" The ghoul said, seemingly unperturbed by the wings. "We got a mess and medic tent sent up if ya need 'em."

"I'm quite fine..."

“Mess?” Tere said looking to the Ghoul.

"Messhall?" The ghoul said, looking confused. "Lady looks pale, is all, like she ain't eatin ina while." The accent was a thick Outback drawl. The corporal, as he was, shifted his feet ungainly. "S'pose you ain't here for the food."

“Right, right, sorry.” Tere looked up at the Behemoth and pressed a hand to his chest again. “No, we’re not really here for the tour either.”

He took his hand away again and looked to the Ghoul. “Something about reports of cries and what have you…”

"We're here," Clodius offered. "To hear the voices."

Tere suddenly snorted with laughter as his hand dropped from his chest. “We’re the Ghostbusters.”

"The what?"

The ghoul went pale himself, trembling for the briefest of moments, a rare sight indeed for the seven foot of muscle sitting beneath enough armour to stop a fifty cal. "Ah, the screaming. I best get the professor down."

“It was a comedy movie the Ealing Studio did, shot it in parts of Navarre, really funny movie about guys who went around trapping malicious spirits.” Tere simply whispered as the Ghoul waked away. “Christ, must be something if it made him shudder.”

Moments later, a thin, frail old man in a tweed coat ambled up. "This better be important, time's a wastin when..." He espied Clodius, and stopped. "Lord Maxilimus, my apologies, what a pleasure, and your companions!" He bowed respectfully but briefly to Tere and Rave and then turned back. "So you wanted to know about the crying then?"

Tere simply nodded.

"Oh good." He grinned like a schoolboy, and almost danced a little jig. "Well, follow me!"

Clodius looked at Rave and Tere and slmost smirked. "After you."

“Not quite as bad as the Librarian…” Tere whispered to Rave.

Ravelyn begrudgingly followed, shooting a look at Tere and slapping him upside the head.

Tere simply grinned as he was hit and looked to her with a boyish smile on his face. “You know I love it when you do that, right?”

"I won't ask." Clodius muttered as they followed the professor to one of the larger tents. The cool mountain air was replaced by a thick stench of pipe tobacco and a lemon-scented air freshener. The professor had already taken his place in a set of huge, well worn high backed armchairs that seemed completely at odds with the fold out equipment and high tech monitoring gear that filled the rest of the tent.

"Take a seat, take a seat!" He porffered a similiarly designed sofa and chair for them to make themselves comfortable on. Clodius, with his weight, decided to stand however.

Tere took a seat on the sofa and looked to Rave if she'd sit with him, then he turned to the proffessor. “So, what do you know?”

"A lot, my dear boy, but thats not really relevant is it? Now, the voices I assume is what you want to know about, right?"

Ravelyn made herself quite comfortable, but not on the sofa. She took a seat on the desk, and made herself at home.

“Well, yes.” Tere nodded.

The professor smiled at him gleefully, then at Rave with a similar expression. "Oh I do love an audience. Mind if I light up?" He took out a pipe and a well used bag of pipe tobacco.

"Not at all," she said in reply.

"Well then," he did so, slowly for the urgency of the situation, and leaned back and took a puff. "Now, what we're here for again?" Clodius blinked. "Oh right, yes, sorry. The voices." He coughed loudly. "The voices..."

"Strange phenomena really, bunch of Midlo tourists first spotted it, site guards just assumed wind, the dull philistines, but no, sounded like the classic null squad to the rescue time, so I get carted up here. Six am they get me up and all, had to so quickly pack everything. Young officer so politely but very insistent. I did like the drive though, ever seen the sunrise in the mountains, light gaz...sorry, getting on there. Now, as I said, we got up here, and...."

Another puff on the pipe. "Yes, just very little at first, thought maybe the wind too, somat spooked the monitors but to be honest everything does, bloody things are useless. Got the hounds a bit worked up though, and thats always a good sign of somat interesting. Now, course, we get the order to watch an all, so we get the goddamn whole army stomping up here."

"Nice lads, of course, but no appreciation for the delicate nature of our work, like I said, not too bright, but they're good for moving things and for getting things done when you say so, but anyway, the voices, yes. Well, we set up the monitorin', audiovisual and spectro and all that jazz. Nowt at first, course, some audio, turned out to be a tuskrat, but then we get it, finally, the engine room, sharp growls, like an animal."

“Couldn’t it just be another Tuskrat?” Tere said with a raise eyebrow.

"Now we just think somat else crawled in the night somehow." The professor went on, ignoring Tere. "So we send in an 'ound to chase it out. Poor Pit come sout half an hour later with it's tail between its legs. Course we like things like that even if poor old Bess don't, so I and a few of the lads pop in. And it was well worth it my boy." He sat back, smiling like an idiot again.

“And why was that?” Tere said, leaning forward.

"It had every sign of infestation, my friend, the cold air, the wind, the sounds with no echo and no cause. Ghouls were off like a shot, claimed to feel the air being sucked out. Claustrophobic bunch. I stay down of course, setting off the recorders and everything, got so much tape, nowt visual, part from stuff on the IR. Still, by normal standards we got a lot. Course, an hour later the bloody captain walks by and pulls me out. Bastard would barely let me get my tapes out before pulling us out and locking the door. Like that would 'elp!" He muttered.

“So you have the tapes with you now?”

"Oh yes, but no one likes to listen to 'em."

Ravelyn jumped off the desk and walked towards the door. "I should go.."

“Why?” Tere said, looking at her.

"My ears are already plagued by their own set of voices."

“Might distract them you never know…” Tere called to her as she left the tent. “Ok prof, can you run the tapes for us?”

"Of course," he said, almost absently as he also looked after Rave. "She said she could hear the voices? Fascinating, must ask her about that sometime..."

Tere simply gave a look to Clodius as the professor messed around getting his tapes ready.

Ravelyn nodded, and took to Clodius side, still near the door.

Clodius shook his head, but didnt return the full expression. The professor appeared behind the desk with a CD as Rave reappeared. "Here we go!" He said almost gleefully again, like he was holding his first christmas present. He put it in the player rack and presssed play. "Now listen!"

Tere simply cocked his head and listened. “I don’t hear… anything.”

Then the CD player burst into life. "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna..."

"Um, Proffessor, I think you may have the wrong CD..."

The professor flung his arms around. "Finally!" He stopped. "Sorry, very inappropriate." He passed a new CD into the machine.

“Finally? Oh don’t tell me you’re part of that stupid new craze…. Anyway, continue…”

He pressed play again. First came the standard static, then voices, loud and joking, "Just the ghouls." Said the prof, emptying his pipe. "Keep listening." There was a gust of wind, and then the voices went silent. Feel that? one sole voice called.

Tere leant forward and placed his hand on his chin and listened.

The whole room seemed to spin as she leaned against Clodius.

Then the scream, or roar, or whatever it was came. Clodius' words came true. The sound was guttural, metallic, unearthly. What...was that the voice echoed again. Then sound started anew, nearer to the recorder. Hello?

A new sound entered the fray, a low repition of the roar, and wind, inside the tank, picked up again. Heavy breathing followed. What the hell is that smell? asked another voice, before the first seemed to make a realisation The air! Another loud roar interupted the tape. Guardian help us. A crack. Shit, the lightin...switch to helmet lamps, now.


"And so on." The prof stopped the tape. "Ghouls won't go in now, and they won't let me in without them." He grumbled again. "Shame I didn't get more on camera, but space was limited."

“You got some stuff on Camera too? Anything on it?” Tere looked to him again.

"Nowt but an IR, one moment." He went over to the ocmputer on the desk whilst Clo placed a hand around Rave. "You alright hun?" The vampire asked.

"I don't thinks so," she said softly. "Feels like my head is reeling..."

One thing the others hadn’t noticed was that Tere was sweating again, his hand occasionally going to his chest for a few moments, before pulling away and him sitting back attentively as the Professor got his film equipment set up.

There was several loud yells from outside, and suddenly an old fashioned klaxon filled the air.
Midlonia
05-04-2008, 01:18
The sound was quickly joined by running feet, heavy slow ones, and the shouting and barking of orders and panicked questions. The professor seemed unfazed, still pottering with the equipment whilst Clodius raised his head to the open tent flap.

“What’s going on, Prof?” Tere said as he simply looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, just the alarm, probably some dantelope running across the fences again..." He went back, about to push play, when another huge ghoul poked his scarred head through the flap. "Lord, prof, we got a situation here...!" He said, grunting and panting. Behind him a small crowd had gathered on the outskirts of the metallic giant.

“Out of the frying pan…” Tere muttered as he got back up.

"What is it?" The angelic asked quietly.

“Don’t know at all.” Tere said looking outside at the ground and the giant behemoth before them.

"STAND BACK" A huge ghoul commanded, and teh group crowding dispersed slightly. At the centre of the crowd one huge soldier knelt pained and bloodied accompanied by two of his comrades gasping from carrying him out.

“But I have a feeling none of it is good.” Tere said quietly.

Clodius skimmed by them, walking towards the crowd, the other soldiers parting when they saw him approach. "What the hell happened here?" he enquired.

Ravelyn followed closely behind Clodius. She wanted to reach out and heal the man, but something stopped her.

Even on his knees the wounded Freestian rose as tall as the vampire, looking up through reddened ad cracked skin. "Ghosts" he whispered, vapourised skin peeling from his already scarred features.

“Ghosts?” Tere said, looking at him. “What kind?”

"Pipe cracked, coated the poor bastard in pressurised steam, sir." His companion said, obvilious to the question that statement presented.


Ravelyn watched with horror as the skin started to peel from his flesh from the damage. Something in her heart ached, but it wasn't for the scene unfolding before her eyes. How long would it be? When would be the next time? She shivered. Her mind was on other things.

“Steam, what do you mean steam? The damn thing’s dormant, has been since the end of the wa-” Tere stopped as they could hear it now, a faint hissing and clicking. He looked up and saw some smoke, very thinly, drifting from one of the smokestacks. “Since the war….” he said trailing off.

Clodius peered at Ravelyn before his attention turned skyward. The ghoul giants around them rose their heads as one.

She brought her hand over the cross aroud her neck, feeling the metal against her skin. For a moment she looked even sad before she regained her composure.

“That’s not good.” Tere said dumbfounded. “What ghosts?” he snapped.

"The machine, sir." Was the only reply. Clodius gave an angry snort.

"Bollocks." He muttered. "If Herring is gonna be a showy bastard lets spoil his fun. Demo teams, I want every track and barrel cracked, now." His words carried weight, and the soldiers around him dispersed eagerly to their armouries. "Come and play, you bastard."

The machine apparently replied. A thunderous bellowing whistle that echoed with a scream, a couple more stacks suddenly burst into life, belching green, then purely black smoke from it.

"Oh my. How unexpected!" The proffessor blurted out behind them, rubbibg his glasses on a dirty handkerchef.

“How the hell can there be a ghost in the machine… it’s not alive, it was never alive….” Tere muttered looking up at the Behemoth as sounds began to join it, electric whirrs, clicks and clattering from machine within, all screaming and screeching, shedding a century’s worth of rust as it did so.

Ravelyn heard a loud scream in her head and she winced. Yes, there definately was a ghost of sorts in the machine...and she could hear every whisper amplified.

“It won’t work.” Tere said suddenly, realising what Clodius had ordered. “Cracking the gun barrels won’t stop it. There was a ship on Pushan Island that was from the First Moonstone War with cracked barrels and a fricken hole in it’s hull.”

"Lets immobilise the bastard anyway." He said plainly. "Then we can let the BUFFs reduce it to an impressive trouser stain."

Tere smiled. “The Historical Society is going to have a fit.” he muttered, looking to Clodius.

“Hello! Hello down there~ Yoo hooo!” a voice called down from them as the figure leapt into view. “Having fun yet?” Garufedel called down to them.

Ravelyn looked up the approaching figure. Her eyes flashing suddenly, she closed them tightly, and dropped to her knees. No...

“Rave!” Tere said, moving to her and kneeling next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. His face determined, but concerned.

“Awwww, not enough fun going on down there…” Garu said tilting his head to one side. “No matter, let’s liven it up shall we!” He clapped his hands twice.

Below about halfway down the giant machine portholes slid open, and something clicked on the inside. Suddenly a flurry of machinegun bullets came pouring out, firing at random into the sky at first, before settling down, arcing and spraying them at random, chasing diving Ghouls but not actually hitting them, purposefully missing them. One simply made circles around Tere and Ravelyn. All the while Garu was giggling.

"Get away..." she growled at Tere. "Take us away from here..." She held on to him tightly with her eyes glued shut.

Tere nodded and began to draw them into the Twilight, but suddenly the Behemoth whistled again, a terrifying two-tone scream that echoed and ricocheted into the twilight itself, snapping them back into the colourful reality of the situation around them. Tere simply held onto Ravelyn tighter.

"TERE!" she yelled, keeping her eyes closed.

Clodius swung himself round, concern torn between Rave and his Freestian brothers. The ghouls shouted and yelled, but their movements were disciplined and well drilled, falling back to the limited cover the rocks provided around them.


Tere did it again, drawing them back into the grey shadows of the Twilight, but again the Behemoth screeched its siren again, this time joined by three distinct tones, playing a small short tune similar to the music rave had sung to Franz back at The Spire. “I can’t…” Tere said quietly, horrified at the sudden pain in his chest also.

Ravelyn gripped his shoulders tight. She trailed her hands down Tere's shirt and ripped the bottom with a quick slice from her small dagger, which she discarded. She wrapped the cloth around her eyes, knotting it tightly. A white shield covered them as she held him, protecting them from damage.

Dull whistles erupted in the air, more mortal than the supernatural chimes as antiarmour missiles tore into the thick steel slabs of the huge Behemoth's hide. The ghouls had regrouped after their assault, but their weaponry was for infantry grunt work, not the enourmous mass that arose in front of them.


Tere grunted. “What was that for?” he whispered to her, looking as she covered her eyes.

“Ka-BOOM!” Garu said as he did a sort of mocking pirouette on the top crenulations, a larger gun suddenly turned and fired, obliterating a Freestian transport nearby.

"Don't ask questions..." she mumbled under her breath. "Go...help Clodius...I'll be fine alone..."

“I can’t leave you like this.” Tere said gripping her shoulder tightly. “I won’t. Dammit. You evidently can’t look after yourself.”

The cannon fired again, thundering across at a Freestian Missile team, throwing the Ghouls like cloth puppets.

“And I can’t go off and fight him while you’re like this, what’s wrong Ravelyn?”

"Quissera won't let me fight him..."

“What?” Tere looked at her in disbeleif. “Why the hell not?”

"...because he wants to protect me..." she said quietly.

Another roar, another volley of red flashes and cracking explosions that pockmarked the ancient hull.

Clo himself had swung around, back in combatform, his uniform in shreds. He looked awkward, unable to understand how they were still alive.

“And that involves blinding yourself in the middle of a load of gunfire?” Tere snapped angrily.

"You want everything else in this room dead?" she growled. "And gunfire won't cross my shield," she said, the white light still eminating from her hand.

Tere put his hand onto hers for a moment. “Alright. Alright. I’m sorry.” he said quietly before he moved from her.

“I must say.” Garu shouted down. “Remarkably good still considering it’s 150 years old. But playtime is now….” he lowered his face looking down. “Over.”

More ports had opened on one side and simply set about butchering many of the ghouls that had been shooting. Those that took cover soon found a heavy artillery shell thrown their way, in all about 10 of the Ghouls actually survived the onslaught.

“And now, lets see how.” Garu jumped back up onto the battlements. “Lets see how she handles!” he clapped his hands again.

More black ominous smoke, hurling itself skyward. The castle groaned and creaked, scraping rust against rocks to it’s side, and crunching stone that shook. The castle didn’t move at first, merely shook the ground around them violently, then, with another roar from the whistle, that same eerie battle chime that had terrified and routed armies 150 years ago roared in defiance with an inhuman screaming edge added to it, it moved.

"Oh.....my" The professor muttered, standing alone before it as the massive giant straddled him as it rumbled forward. "How extraordinary!"

“Are all of you educated folk this bloody stupid?” Tere shouted to Clodius. “We have to get aboard!”

"We what?" Clodius grumbled. "Right...."

“Look, we have to try to stop the bloody thing, we can’t have it wandering the hell around can we? Ravelyn!” He shouted to her. “We’re going now, come on! Now!”

She took his hand without hesitation. "Then lets go," she said, and fanned her wings outward fully.

“Ready? Alright, listen, we’re going to let it run us over, then we grab onto one of the service platforms and get in that way. Ok?”

"Let it run us over? Are you mad?"

“If we go up into the sky we’re going to get torn apart, well, two of us anyway…” he glanced to her. “It’s weaker underneath, no guns.”

"All right, all right..."

The Behemoth drew closer, shaking and rumbling the ground as it’s sheer face came towards them, snarling and screeching as it did so. “We’re gunna need to be quick though.”

They ducked under the slighty lower outer lip instinctively, it was more than tall enough to cope with the different land of the Freethinker Mainland. The machine rattling and roaring over them, a platform appeared just above them with a steel wire ladder hanging from it. “Now!” he shouted as he jumped for it, it groaned and cracked under protest, but Tere simply clawed his way up, with Rave and Clodius following, the ladder snapping like thin wire, causing the Vampire to slip, digging his hands into the metallic platform and warping it significantly.

Ravelyn had a much easier time scaling the structure with her wings supporting her. She followed Tere, the whispering getting louder.

Tere held onto her firmly, checking her against the roaring clattering of machinery, the hissing and clicking and clanking and the endless screeching. “You ok?”

"Yeah, yeah...I'm fine..."

“You don’t look it, but we don’t have a choice.” Tere said, looking at her.

Clodius swooped up, one massive clawed hand dragging up the proffessor with him.

“Prof!” Tere said in surprise. “How much do you know about the layout?”

"Damn near everything my lad!" He said, readjusting his glasses. "After all, not much else to do here..."

“Fine, what access point is this?” Tere said, pointing to the door. “Where will it take us?”

"Forward emergency chute, I think the design had a number of them, weakness really before they started sealing them." He dusted his glasses again, apparently still unsatisfied. "Interesting how close combat changed Midlonian super heavy design philosophy, two many surprises from our friend here...oh, yes, the forward mess halls and crew quarters, I think." He said finally.

“Seems like the smart way to go then.” Tere said as he pushed on the door. “Of course it’s still sealed…” he sighed. “Clodius?” he said looking to the Vampire.

"My pleasure." He said grimly. He placed a huge shoulder against the hatchway, a foot of steel welded shut, and pressed. It collapsed inward in a second, the welding slicing like paper.

"Open fucking sesame."
Midlonia
27-04-2008, 21:32
The machine shuddered and rattled, screeching and moaning, the dark corridor they entered didn’t help much either with the strange sounds and continued whispering apparently coming from all angles.

“Ok…now I’m out of ideas.” Whispered Tere as he looked around in the gloom.

"Well" Clodius began, twisting his body in the narrow bulkheads, the leviathan lizard bulk terribly unsuited for the close confines of the metal stronghold. "You can start by telling me who that guy is?"

“What guy?” Tere said.

“Me.” Macdonagh said simply as he held up a paraffin lamp, apparently emerging from the shadows suddenly.

“Oh, you… err. Clodius this is… eerr….” Tere span his hand in the air trying to remember.

“Macdonagh, battery commander and resident ‘good ghost’ pleased to meet you.” He said as leant against the wall of the groaning Behemoth.

"Good god..." He hissed, recoiling in a very snake like fashion. "I mean....ghost...." He peered from the figure to Tere and back again.

“What? Ent seen one before? Sheesh. You’re telling me, this bloody Freestian vampire ain’t seen a few ghosts in his time? Godsake…” Macdonagh shook his head. “I thought you were special forces, meant to do things and see things folks don’t normally see?”

"Dont push it. This is not turning out to be a good day." He growled, not an ignorable expression as a row of bayonet sized glistened in the darkness. The massive reptile pulled himself through a hatchway, somehow fitting in the humansized gap despite being an order of magnitude larger than the rest of them.

“What you going to do then Lizard? Chew on my lamp?” Macdonagh snorted and followed him. “You even know where you’re going?”

"I killed you here, remember?"

“Oooooh, so that were you? Right…. Fair nuff then.”

"The less reminders we have of that time, the better...you lot put up a good fight, I remember. Lions led by donkeys and all that." He turned away, suddenly calm. "Too many mistakes, then and now."

“As ever. Yes. Especially the biggest eehaw of them all. Bloody Haringott. Might wanna be careful down the next couple of corridors, they’re stuck back in 1952, and will take you back to then rather than the time shifting nonsense you saw previously I reckon.”

"Forgive me for interrupting this touching reunion," Ravelyn interjected. "But what the fuck is going on?"

"The final battle, the last battle of Navarre, in the dying days of the war, this moving fortress was the last Midlonian bulwark before the city itself." He breathed in, sharply. "Me and my kin were given the task of neutralising her."

“Along with that stuff you nicked.” MacDonagh added.

"You should have run then."

“Probably. But then this thing is slow.” MacDonagh shrugged.

“I disssssslike disssssssloyalty, MacKHADonaghAaaaaaa.” A voice cut through and ecohed around the ship. It was a very familiar voice, but it had a mechanical edge to it, almost hissing and clanking to every word.

“Bugger.” the Ghost muttered.

Clodius said nothing save turn his magnificent head towards the voice, peering through the darkness and echoes towards it source. There was a dull clink as claws unsheathed, punching through the steel deck like knives through paper.

“I’d ssssssssssstop that if I were you clodiussssssssssss.” the voice hissed again. “You could hurt yourssssself like you did to me lasssssst time.”

"And who the hell are you to tell him what to do," Ravelyn questioned, drawing her scythe from the air.

“I? I am the ghost in the machiineeeeeeee dear.” The voice retorted.

"Forgive me for not being impressed," she said monotonously.

“Ssssssssshame. Perhapssssss I can convince you otherwisssssse?”

"Doubtful..." she said and was tempted to light a cigarette; one of Qui's habits. She stopped herself. "My personal opinion is that you don't have what it takes. I hope you prove me wrong...Doubt you will."

"The machine....a ghost in the machine..." The professor piped up, finally, havign lit up a pipe from his pocket and looking barely flappable in the circumstances. "Well, thats certainly something which could get me a research grant!"

“I’m sssssshure it would. But alas, you won’t survive.”

Scalding hot steam suddenly began to flood the corridor, piping in from vents and various other places as the bulkhead doors slammed themselves shut. Thick steel plating which screamed in protest at being moved for the first time.

Ravelyn stretched her arms over her head and her body temperature adjusted accordingly. Hot environments were not an issue for her. "Clodius...be so kind as to make an exit..."

"With pleasure" He brought his massive shoulder against the bulkhead and heaved, the door slowly spitting before massive roar and the door pushed back, massive pistons behind the blast screen competing with his own industiral strength musculature. The steel buckled and bent, but did not give way, the foot thick hardened plate offering no leverage as his claws sliced through the thin plating beneath his feet.

In response the steam changed to super-cooled air, vents and plating cracked and snapped at the sudden change in temperature, cooling fluid seeped in.

"Oh boy," Ravelyn said, and leapt upon Claudius’ back.

"Not the time dear, wait till we're back home"

“Survive now, copulate later, quickly before we freeze to death.” Tere said as he violently shivered.


Ravelyn clung to Clodius, shivering nearly uncontrolably.

The professor just shivered a little, looking more annoyed his light had gone out. "Course, surprised you just didnt go down into the magazine chute beneath you. Had to load those shells in somehow. Quite surprising the Midlonians kept sucha primitive feat..."


"NO TIME." Clodius yelled, and, arching himself to protect Rave he turned to the floor and punched through the hatch, the floor caving in and sending them all flying into the magazine below.

“Back up top. Quick.” MacDonagh said as he twitched his whiskers, ice falling off of them and steadily got to his feet. “It’ll lead us into the canteen, we can get to the control room from there. Bet you any money it’ll try and burn us here also.”

"Burning good," she said, coughing. Part of her hair had turned white. "Cold bad..."

"Yeah...we do..." Clodius suddenly looked distracted, his nostrils flaring, his face looking troubled. "Whats that?" He turned his head, from the passageways around shouts and gunfire echoed, shadows moving around, men scurying, and then a roar.

“It’s coming in this way! Keep shooting dammit!” screamed a voice. More gunshots followed it before another roar saw a small kharki wearing helmeted figure get pelted down the ramp at the far end of the magazine. Several other men came down next, looking back and still firing shots off.

“Don’t let it get to the damn A-Bomb!”

“Fucking thing won’t go down!”

“Die you damn scaly bastard!”

"Oh dear." Clodius muttered, "this wont be good." He finished lamely as something much larger followed the men, followed by a companion.

“Hit it with the flame thrower!” screamed a junior officer as a man wearing a bulky pack staggered into view next, flames licking at the entrance to the magazine proper.

“What? You fucking mad? A flamethrower in a magazine?” yelled back another.

“We haven’t got any choice!” the voices were echoed slightly, and their edges held a strange light and a blurred edge to them all.

"Quickly, Sempero, I need you up here now!" Said the raising black figure, tossing another of the khaki clad soldiers out of the shadows. "They're getting heavy. Move, now!"

The flames roared across the short gap between the man and the shadow, igniting the whole magazine around them in a pale yellow light, in the centre was a large fat bomb, which was painted a bright yellow with various symbols on it and a strange black outline to it also.

The giant shadow roared again, and moved into the light, and stopped. Clodius Maxilimus, slightly smaller and bloodied from a dozen gun shots, rose high on his rear legs.

“Burn ya bastard burn!” the figure screamed as the flames licked and snarled at the gap between them. “Yeah you don’t like it when somebody has the same footing, eh?”

Clodius winced as he watched his younger self recoil from the flames, the burning fluid lapping over his thick hide. The present day vampire trailed a finger over his own flesh, the scarring still vaguely discernable, as his historical counterpart yelled in pain. Another repitlian giant emerged from the flames, smaller, sandy coloured and striped, and charged into the flame crew before they could react.

The scream was short lived.

But even as Sempero charged the last defenders down, Clodius watched his younger self take a hold of the device before him. One hundred and fifty years it had been, but it was here and now. And then, the vampire looked up.

And younger and older stared at each other.

“This can’t be good.” Tere muttered.

"It wasn't." Clodius whispered to the side.