The Multiverse: Rings of Deceit

Low lit and intimate, thousands of bottles glimmered along the walls of the Room of York. A single stretch of mahogany set the stage for a crystalline dance. Many wines leaned ready for consumption among the specifically placed glasses. The scene was set perfectly in the eye of the fermented rose. Zosimos perched, chin balanced on the backs of fingers laced, at the head of the long narrow table. His eyes were set on the door, waiting for the rest of his kin to arrive.

Ember walked into the Room of York, wearing a long black coat with fur around the hood and cuffs. Her long black hair pulled into a tight braid falling over the back of her coat. She took in the dim room and the many bottles on the wall and admired their beauty for a moment before politely clearing her throat. Unsure if she could pick a seat anywhere, or if there was some sort of order to the way they ran meetings, this being her first venture alone.

Noxize Deschain The inky being seemed content to remain unseen, residing within the very walls of the room. If need be it would make itself known, and manifest some humanoid form to interact with the others. While not a member of the vampire group itself, Nox WAS owner of Descorp, an ally and defender of the Hollow. If his presence is unwanted...well..too bad.

Zosimos flourished with a single hand, indicating she was welcome to sit wherever and whenever. He smiled upon the new arrival, revealing sharp cuspid teeth. The shadows flickered.

Daemala entered a moment after Ember, slipping in black cocktail attire. She uncorked a bottle of Blud, premium blood organics infused wine, and poured a glass for her elder. Zosimos raised his chin to her as she bowed in the slightest. She poured a glass for Ember, then another for herself, and took a seat to the direct left of Zosimos.

Out from her pocket, the woman drew a cell of some sort. Daemala sent a single text to Kaine, their coordinates and theme of meeting. The waiting continued, for the others.

Ember took the glass with a smile to Daemala and walked toward the table, her black strappy heels clicking faintly along the way, she sat about the middle of the long table and crossed one slender leg over the other.

"Greetings," said Kaine, as he stepped in through the door accompanied by two men. Each clad in white shirts topped by a red tunic, with dark leather pants, expensive boots, a short cape and a black cravat.

There was no explanation for his sudden presence other than the possibility that he had been following Daemala. He arrived way too soon after she sent her message for any other logical story.

"I would ask what this meeting is about, as Kaine, rightful Lord of and Father to all Vampire-kind."

Daemala bowed her head deeply upon the arrival of Kaine, Zosimos brought up his chin in acknowledgement.

"Welcome, honored guest," Zosimos spoke, gesturing to the chair directly across the table from he. It was the only other head of the table present. Daemala kept her head bowed, passing a smile to Kat from her position of respect, but she couldn't help but wonder how Kaine had arrived so quickly. Surely, he could have been in the Hollow, but she had just sent that message...

"Many things to discuss, address...Put an end to," Zosimos curled his fingers around his glass and raised it as a wine stewardess came from nowhere to fill a glass for Kaine and his guests. He smiled, swept a lifted brow gaze around the room.

Alexander bursted into the room. Not in an obnoxious, interrupting way, but a really, REALLY pissed off way. He quickly made his way to the other side of the room, and for a moment, it looked like he was going to punch the wall down, but he managed to show enough restraint not to.

It was the attack earlier that made him this way. And more importantly, what he discovered after it. It pissed him off. Even more so, it worried him. Especially, after they searched the bodies, what they had found. Cameras that had been transmitting. They had to be worried they were a distraction, but now Alexander realized they might be probing their defenses.

All in all, Alexander was not in a good mood. "So, I assume by now you all have heard about what happened at the castle and what we discovered" he told them, referring to the humans who could disguise themselves as vampires so well no one could detect it till it was too late, and the cameras they had.

Daemala truly did look surprised at the news, more so than the entrance which made her flinch. If he were to wreck something, goodness that would have cost her! Thankfully, he didn't, so her mind was free to be enveloped in Castle worry. She had heard nothing of what went on at the castle. Alarmed, the woman looked to her elder. Zosimos's face was stone, eyes following Alex around the room.

"Please, take a seat, and tell your tale," Zosimos gestured to a seat at the long table, as well as some of the wine. The others would be arriving soon as well, but if it was dire enough to enrage Alexander...Zosimos had to hear the tale.

Daemala cradled her glass and listened as well, glancing from Ember to Kaine. She held her King's gaze, worried in the slightest.

He sat, which was probably a good sign. It meant that it was unlikely he would flip the table over in rage, which meant he vented a good amount of anger on the way here. He then looked at Zosimos, and told him "The Castle was attacked...by humans. However, they were disguised as Vampires. And I don't mean the cheap parlor tricks we are used to seeing in this sort of work. I mean, they smelt, breathed, and felt like vampires. I don't know how, or why, but we have a threat we almost know something about..."

"Almost. Each one of the attackers wore this..." he told them, tossing a Ring onto the middle of the table as he poured some wine, somehow telling this story was helping him vent. The ring was silver in color, had a Wolfs head, with Ruby eyes. "This same design I have seen only one other time. On the knife that stabbed me. The same night Casren turned me. This can't be a coincidence, this attack. They have been planning this...and they are up to something. I found this newspaper on our steps seconds before the attack...with tomorrows date, that says 'Castle Vankoryth Attacked!'. I am sure you understand the gravity of the situation. Not only are we looking at a mysterious new threat, but we are looking at one that have been watching us for what we have to guess to be a very long time, one that might have been able to infiltrate us on a massive scale..."

It was unlikely there would be any more questions about why Alexander was pissed. A lot of people would likely be pissed after hearing that. Alexander finally poured some wine and drank a bit of it. He then took a deep breath. "So, any questions?" he asked, unsure about what else to say at the moment.

Zosimos had known of the attack. He was there in his room when Timo slithered from her body, awakened but not awakening by the chaos in the Castle Vankoryth. However, the elder did nothing to interrupt the tale or indicate his prior knowledge of the attack, for he technically wasn't there.

The rings were news. The newspaper was news.

Zosimos shifted forward and took a drink from his wine, so the plot thickened. Daemala followed suit in consumption, but more to quell a growing fear than anything. Again she looked to Kaine. There were attackers, and more of those who wanted to see the Vankoryth Detente fall. Zosimos's mouth formed a line, and there he posed for minutes passed, thinking.

"Two questions," Zosimos spoke finitely as he leaned back in his seat. "Who's sigil is this, and what do they want with the death of the Detente?" He looked around the room, to Kaine, to Daemala, to Kat-Lyn Ember, to Alexander, to the shadows, then to the door.

A girl appearing oblivious would wander in carrying a doll in a tight hug and peer around before sitting herself down next to the people and cleaning her fangs, she would of course not mention what she had done, but she knew Mr Greekman would not be happy, he would not be happy at all, and she intended that, besides screams of horrors were such delectable and delightful sounds and she felt a primal urge to make their pain last.

Sitting herself down, she finally said, "I made the little birdy sing, he spoke of a conspiracy to turn the Detente against itself, as they believed the threat was too big. The group though he would not whisper, not tell, so I pulled out his fingernails to try persuade him, but he went quiet and stopped speaking, I think I broke him, he's in room of reason, so I drank him up after all leaving things to waste, is bad Mummy and Daddy taught me this."

Kaine approached the table, picking up the ring and twirling it in his fingers as the others spoke. Eventually, he decided to give his own opinion of the matter. He cleared his throat, placed the ring back down and then stepped back to speak.

"Humans, that have the abilities of the vampire; or at least can emulate them to the point of worry... I have seen such phenomena before. Some call them ghouls, or humans fed with the pure blood of a vampire. It is a subtle, yet effective way of keeping the living under control without actually turning them. To feed a living man the blood of a vampire is to temporarily gift him some of the vampire's abilities, in return for his loyalty. It could well be that this is what we are looking at here.

"As for the sigil of the Wolf, I know of two that could match this description; designs change and I have not seen such a ring for a very, very long time. The first suspicion I have would be of hunters; the wolf's head is sigil of several old organizations dedicated to the... Eradication of our species and others like us. The second? Werewolves, who so love their own monstrous image. The animals have their place, but they have pride, honour and brute strength. I could easily see both of those possibilities being true."

The girl caught his attention a little, but he chose not to speak to her. Soothsayers and oracles were no danger.

"Ghouls...Dogs," Zosimos spoke in but a whisper, eyes slipping to Anamaria after Kaine had spoken. She too spoke of traitors, of a threat eliminated? Were the two related? Daemala's eyes were wide. She had not known so many sought to end her line.

"Do we have any heads?" Zosimos spoke true of prisoners and identified offenders alike. "We have been intruded upon! Attacked in our own home." It was now his gaze returned to that of his wild and insane kin. Anamaria, her uses were far more vast than any could ever have imagined.

"The corpse of this one, this confessor, do you still have it?" There was a strange glimmer in his eye as he addressed the insane one with the doll. Daemala's eyes shot again to Kaine. Her gaze asked the solid question: What do you know? A thought struck her, and she turned the same gaze onto Alexander. Her kin. What did he know?

Alexander did not hesitate. "If it was a Ghoul, then it would be a vampire working against us. there would be no need of masks or hidden identities. No, this is something else. Something new. Additionally, the man who stabbed me is not human..." he told them, however, they key word in there was "is". Alexander finally revealed that mystery too. "...because I saw him again, hundreds of years later, having not aged a day...we are dealing with something immortal. However, this is the first sign I have seen of him making some sort of strategic play against us..."

Alexander finished his glass of wine, then began to pour another. He was calming down, which was definitely good. "Now, this means that we are either dealing with one of the rarer types of werewolves, or something completely different. In some dialects, the word Wolf is the same word as hunter. It could be we are being hunted by one of the rare types of werewolves that don't age, That limits it down, but It would also make it dangerous. But we don't really know who this enemy is. They have spied on us with cameras, and invaded our home".

"So, we need to figure this out, before the try again. Otherwise, who knows what they might have next. We also need to make sure they have not managed to get their hands on anything useful, like any important documents, in the castle...."

Nox listened to the news, at first alarmed- they knew of his plans? Then relief, someone else was poking at the vampires, someone with an old grudge it seemed. They would make a delightful distraction. The psion sent a message out to his men, alerting them of the potential human/vampire/ghoul whatevers. He also sent a message to his elite warrior- Albtraum. It would be wise to have the Avatar on standby, things seemed to be livening up in the Hollow. Plans needed accelerating.

"Then what we do is simple. Vankoryth IS a castle, is it not? It has dependable walls and a keep behind them. We lock the castle, we close the gates, we double the watch and prepare for further intrusion. My dear Daemala, who is kin of Casren, will take full control of the castle and it's defence - as is her right."

"Second, a large host of Forces Vankoryth will garrison at Verinotte Hollow, with many trackers and covert operators among them to deter terrorists. Like this, we will defend our interests and make it impossible for such pathetic covert operations to break through our defences again. If they have an army and truly mean to act against us, we will draw them into open battle and then take our full victory there."

Kaine sighed, sharing a glass of Blud and finishing it quickly. "You, boy," he told Alex, "will find the enemy. And when you have, you will immediately tell Daemala everything you know. If this is a state of war, then she is now our de facto dictator - as was practised by Rome and her allies."

A biker stepped though the doors, flanked by two jacket wearing thugs wearing various religious markings and trinkets. Their jackets read 'Gae Ceann'. One of them had a rather nasty looking machete hanging from his pudgy waistline. The lead biker was six foot tall, wore a black eye and all three stunk of dead bodies.

One of the men helped himself to the wine, the other put a foot on the table and the lead biker brushed his slick hair backwards and grinned. "You called for a headsman?" Benjamin asked the group, the proud interloper had the arrogance and stance of a man who had nothing to lose and everything to give. An axe hung from his white and black checkered belt, hair fragments still stuck to the edge.

"The Gae Ceann got yor' back, mate." One of the bikers said towards Daemala, winking at her. His jacket read 'Jackson', he had the badge of second-in-command and he smelt of wolf, if his large teeth filed teeth weren't the only hint. The other biker was a vampire, a young and handsome man who bore the name 'Milo' on his back.

"We got ourselves a traitor?" Ben asked.

Ember's eyes rose in surprise at the sudden appearance of the bikers who looked so out of place in such a fancy room. She downed half her glass and let the information wash over her. Questions ran through her mind but she remained silent, hoping Yves would arrive soon.

Daemala sat, expressionless, eyes wide and on Kaine. He was moving pieces awfully quickly, and she wasn't sure how willing she was to go along with it. Be shut up in the castle, when she had a tavern to run? Command forces? Were they truly at war? Another hunt? Oh this was all happening so, so quickly! Her hands lowered to the table in shock when Zosimos smiled and nodded along with Kaine's delegations. If possible, Daemala's eyes stretched wider as the bikers burst in. The beautiful Room of York! Were the others mad not to flinch at the gang-some intrusion?

"A traitor indeed," Zosimos greeted the newcomers, not bothering to request they take their seats. It was wise, the greek elder thought to himself, to have invested in the Gae Ceann.

"The Castle makes an adequate fortress, no doubt it's large enough to suffice. We'll be needing to check up on our technology, assure we are upgraded and prepared for techno-logic attack as well. Proposing appropriate security measures and checkpoints be taken and placed throughout the Cursed Wood as well, Verinotte Hollow is more than protected I do beleive." Zosimos nodded to the Gae Ceann bikers, as well as the guard who stepped forth from the shadows. He slipped back as Zosimos gathered the attention of the room again.

Zosimos pointed to the ring, the newspaper. He made no mention on how he felt of Daemala's elected position, which infuriated her. A de-facto dictator? Daemala was prepared to be a Queen, not a dictator!

"A priority," Zosimos all but hissed, finger extended towards the artifacts in question. "Do we have any more information pertaining to this offender? Namely, their name? If not, we should discuss this...De-facto dictatorship." His fangs flashed at Kaine. Was he presenting opposition?

It was then Manik Chakor slipped into the room. He hovered in the corner and waited to be addressed, a smirk set upon his face. Manik had important news.

Alexander held his words when Kaine mentioned Daemala and leading the castle. He could not be sure if Kaine knew he too was kin of Casren. Not too mention his son as well. He had thought that was not so secretive as before. Of course, Kaine could also be ignoring that on purpose for his own agenda, in which case he wondered what that could be. Still, he held those words on that subject. For now, anyways. He looked at Daemala, who seemed shocked. If he thought she wanted him to bring up bloodlines and Rights to Rule, he might, but in truth, he wanted to be the one hunting this. It was connected to him in some way, and he wanted to know what and how.

He then decided to bring his knowledge of his search into the fold. "I have hunted that same symbol for 100 years before finally losing the trail. Whoever these people are, they have been around for a long time, and they are capable at many things. My best lead during my hunt was that a similar ring belonged to an Alchemist, about 1000 years ago, but no one knows what happened to him or his place of work. It was the most evidence I ever had on one target..."

Alex then realized something, looking at the Ring. They all had a ring. Each one of them. He knew why his investigation never turned up anything. "They are playing with us, or me, at least. I was looking for one man during my hunt, but in truth, this is an entire order. An entire, secret order. A secret order who might provide false information about itself to protect themselves. That's why I could never find him, all the information was tampered with!"

With this realization, his mood seemed to pick up completely now, shifting from anger to determination, with some bits of happiness and a bit of pride. "This is a start. But this also means we can't trust any information we get from them. If this is true, then they likely have fabricated and organized their stories. This means we are dealing with an enemy both cunning and manipulative...".

With that revelation, he drank some more wine, and then added "Now, all we need is a motive. If we are going to find them all and take this threat out, we need to know more then how they work, but why they work...". He sighed as he realized what that meant. "We need to investigate ever possible connection first, between my stabbing and the attack. And I can only think of one...".

"Casren..."

As if on cue Yves would appear within the room, saluting to the authority members, he would finally speak, "I am here as representative of the military Athena won't be attending so she sent me instead to handle this. As for where Athena is, I shall first close the door." with a gentle shove, he closed over the door and sat himself down on a empty chair, "Athena went to the Grove of Aurora and found a passage had appeared next to it, she brought a detachment of soldiers and has been missing since then, she entrusted me with duties of the army until she returns, but she believes that the threat may well be on our land. As for kin here, Ember dear, you are being temporarily promoted to Captain because I feel you can handle it."

Taking a breath he went on, "I have tripled the watch on all areas and all communication is being done via Descorp Walkie Talkies thus to prevent anyone overhearing us. I am afraid my friends, we are facing a very smart threat, because whatever secrets Grove of Aurora hold for us, there is one clear thing, it's blocked off now completely, while Casren is missing. I hate to say it friend, but we have been severely outfoxed we were too busy building ties but someone within the group is a traitor as everything that taken place has been with inside information and our best assets are missing, no offence meant to lady Daemala and everyone here today, but Casren and Athena were both very intelligent."

Sighing heavily he said, "That's not the worse, I could try burst through to the Grove, but we can't predict how deep it goes down, we can only somewhat assume, but if we go we need people not afraid to die. I can't go because I am best trained outside of a couple... This is likely to reveal much we don't know about the area, but I won't pretend it's not dangerous, the reports though suggest there is almost a huge well of magic fluctuating deep down..."

Ember smiled at seeing Yves, she was always happy to see him, but the daunting weight of what was happening made her grin fade more quickly than usual. Was someone really getting that close to destroying them all? She poured a glass of wine and offered it to Yves.

Was the entire Terra going to Hell in a handbag? Zosimos all but fumed on the spot, his face set firm to display no emotion. Secret societies plotting their demise, soldiers occupying every street corner. Was this the future, the utopia Casren had imagined? As the Greek man listened, he doubted his kin more than ever. Who had he sired? What was Casren tangled up in?

Grove of Aurora

The trees give way to a thicket of thorns, dangerous vines, and spiny trees. What could be deer paths all eventually crossthrough a small clearing. In the center of the clearing is an odd statue of a woman lying asleep.

The ring glistened in the low light of the room as Zosimos examined it. Daemala examined hers in turn, Manik sneaking a peek from where he was stationed. Yves entered, and the attention of the room shifted. The Grove of Aurora, a piece of their domain, had presented a threat. What was the old tomb, in which Frederic Bistreo had so comfortably rested for so long, have to do with any of this? With Athena missing somewhere in it's depths, as well as Casren lost presumably in the North, Yves was absolutely right. It was all too much. Zosimos leaned back, Daemala not moving a hair.

Finally, Zosimos leaned back. He nodded to Ember, respectfully acknowledging her gain of rank. He cast a sweeping gaze around the room, catching Manik's eye. The impish man stepped forth, bloodshot eyes gleaming, and drew a crumpled envelope from the pocket of his pants. He tossed it onto the table. Zosimos looked to Daemala, ordering her to take it. She did. Again Zosimos swept the room with his gaze, Manik falling back into the shadows.

"A thousand years ago, an alchemist bore a ring of similar craft, " Zosimos held up the offending object for all to see.

"A thousand, a million, different depending on what bloodsucker you ask. It was the same time many walkers of the night were sired, bleeding into history and leaving an ugly stain. A stain which darkens with age, edges ebbing outward as new blood falls where old blood has caked. The civilizations of Terra presented themselves true, fabric strong despite the stain. Some would argue stronger. It was around that time the Grove of Aurora first appears in tale and lore. It was around that time the Castle Vankoryth was built, that the Sangue di Bistreo and many other strong families of our kind became a thing."

Zosimos paused, glaring at everyone again. Daemala thought of the Lessards, Manik of the Draculs. The Scarlet Devils crossed Daemala's mind as well, she almost smiled thinking of tea parties. Surely there were other families strewn across the globe that others would recall, some might remember the Lahmian Sisterhood.

"From then until now, societies have risen and raged, they have burned to the ground. Terra has been offended, defended, and yet here we are. Here we are, in old stone walls speaking in whispers of wrongdoers who have no faces, the same wrongdoers who have been at our throats for centuries. What of these rings, this alchemist, that grove? Here we are, peddling with affairs in space and walkie talkies and secure castles while a greater threat looms that cares not for walls or lanterns. Roughly a thousand years ago, Terra was a very different place, and I fear that we may have forgotten about the ways that will save us. Is it a coincidence Casren and Athena are missing, as Terra around us seems to descend into madness?"

He turned to lock eyes with Yves, then Alexander.

"Investigate we shall. May the Crawling Chaos protect the Cursed Wood evermore, lest the Vankoryth Detente fails in this time of utter shit," Zosimos sighed and flicked a hand to Daemala, signaling her to open the envelope. She gasped audibly, he didn't bother to spare her a glance. He was too busy staring deep into the eyes of Alexander.

The WCPD

The Wing City Police Department, dedicated to protect and serve. One of the most formidable law enforcement agencies on the planet, considering the near limitless potential crime for a city on the crossroads of worlds.

"Wanted," Daemala announced in a shaky voice, swallowing to disperse the sense of panic overwhelming her throat. "Lazarus Bloodwheel," It was the name of her kin, her most recent sire, someone who protected her life and death, who was there to beat down doors and be her personal bodyguard. A siring that was truly worth it, a challange in the Cursed Wood.

"Murder." She turned wide eyes to Zosimos, who looked solemnly to Yves.

"We are in full compliance with the Wing City Police Department," Zosimos stated gravely. Daemala cast a sideways glance at the Gae Ceann, then turned to Kaine. Zosimos cared not if Lazarus was of his line, or alliance. Injustice was injustice, and this was no time for childish games of blood and lust.

Benjamin grinned. "We might be working with those weak pricks, but I promise all of you, when we find this traitor, whoever he is. I'll personally make sure that you all see his head on a spike outside these walls. If these pigs beat my gang to it, I'll just rustle around in their jail. He's marked for death." Benjamin said, his voice nothing but determination and confidence.

The biker's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and the biker gasped for breath. The two bikers grabbed a hold of their leaders arms and held him still, a shrill and sore-sounding voice came out of Benjamin's lips. "LAZARUS BLOODWHEEL." Benjamin slumped, awoke and stood up in a few brief seconds.

After a few seconds of recovery, the biker rose with a jagged smile. "The hunt begins. I expect full payment, Zosimos. Heads WILL roll." The biker adjusted his jacket, turning to leave the room.

Alexander sat and watched the meeting unfold. He reached for his glass, but it was empty. He did not realize he finished it so quickly. He poured another glass, and then looked back at Zosimos. "This timing, it has happened at the strangest time. The war around Terra is comming to a close, but tempers are still hot. And annoyed. Someone strikes at us, when we are divided. They leave these jabs and riddles, to cast this shadow with a mystery..."

And that's when he realized something. "They want us to attack them. They want us to violently charge after them. Terra is just recovering from another war. If we go rushing after them, the people might view it as another war. Another war they don't want. And now, we do not know how much we may have been infiltrated. Forcing us to question ourselves and the people around us. And the one person who might have all the answers, Casren, is missing".

He looked towards Daemala now, then back at Zos. "If we are going to investigate, we must learn as much as possible. The attackers could not have come from nowhere. Perhaps if we find out who they are and where they have been, we will learn something. And if they are this strategic, we will need Athena, and Casren".

Alexander sighed, looking at everyone in the room. "Our enemy is prepared, cunning, and waiting for us. They will know how we will act, and most likely expected us to say everything we have said here. They will expect us to make our moves. They may have even expected me to say this. So, we have to do something that will make us unpredictable..."

"We have to ask a sworn enemy we know to help us..."

He expected there to be some outrage from that.

"And which of you fools sired this cretin?" Kaine asked, pointing a finger at Alexander. "This paranoid child who speaks of strategy and cunning but has none of his own? They have expected nothing said here, nor do they know us, unless any of you have been stupid enough to reveal to others how you react when it comes to scenarios where actual strategy is required. They do not know how we will act, just as they could not know that I would be here, or that I would use my foresight to point out something none present have yet spoken of: we know them. We might not know who they are, but we DO know them. Or at least, one of us here does. Let me be the first to point the finger of suspicion."

"You." He pointed to Alexander once again. "Seem overly confident. You speak as though you know exactly what they will do. Are you more aware of them than you let on? Are you working with them? Or are you simply delusional? In any case, your voice should no longer be trusted at this council."

"Until such a time comes where the enemy can be located, we must assume that he is already present. If we do not, we will miss him, and disaster will fall upon us."

The time had come for the present, if somewhat lax, Frederic to speak. He had not meant to hold his tongue for this long, but once they had all started talking, well, who was he to intervene? After all, it would've been rude for him to simply butt in. But now was the time for this recently reclusive man to have a few words.

"This is all simply...well...I do not see how you all take this as a threat, especially those of you who are...longer lived than others on this council. Your paranoia and anxiety only makes you seem...feeble, especially to those who look towards us for leadership."

Kicking his feet onto the table, a wry grin slowly crossed his face. It was not a very kind one either. "All of you seen so scared that a group, and organization, finally had the gall to finally come at us. Not in secret. Not behind closed doors, or soured relations, or anything like that. As far as I am concerned, this is our first true enemy...and the first place you look, oh Elder of Elders...is amongst your own? Oh, the trust in your kin. Its so deeply moving." The sarcasm dripped from the blonde vampire's voice like poisoned honey.

"Of course...and while I do not believe it...if it is an internal threat, we have the means to stomp it out. A weed in the midst of a garden simply needs to be plucked. An outside threat? Thats more fun. More exciting. More room for plots, secrets, battles, the very things that have kept our kind alive for so long."

A very brief pause. "I cannot speak for the rest of you, but I for one intend to have a little bit of fun with all of this. Agents, spies, assassinations, things that will get the Detente moving again. Stagnation is an enemy of our kind...I say...it is time strike. Not just at this mystery group...but at all of them. What say you? What better call to arms than a call to defend one's way of life." Frederic would wait. After all...he had his own schemes...The devious man would not be denied, one way or another...

"We must begin a hunt for the truth," Zosimos spoke, looking from Frederic to Kaine, from Alexander to Yves.

"Whether it be outside force that threatens us or something from the inside, it has a face. We will find this face, and expose it. We cannot accuse blindly!" He leveled his gaze specifically back to Kaine and Alexander, "We cannot strike until struck. We can, however, rise further. Surely," Zosimos waved a hand to the Gae Geann, then to the new Captain, "Our assets are more than worthy."

He of course was making mention of the money they had, the small military they amassed, and of course the Crawling Chaos.

"We are what we are, and so we shall be. Now, let's find this offender and..." Zosimos's fangs sprung out. "At all costs, eh?"

Kaine was lucky he was across the table, and Alexander was currently containing all his anger, that gave him the ability to contain his anger. However, if Kaine was going to pose the question, he would pose the answer. "Casren, that's who sired me" he told Kaine, staring at him with his contained anger. "And now, you are falling into what they want you to. You are randomly accusing people of treason. We are looking at a possibility of mass infiltration, so of course that's what anyone would expect at least someone to do...you should not let your anger"

Now, he turned to Zosimos "We need someone who they could not have predicted we would get then. If they have taken this much preparations, it is safe to assume they are anticipating our movements, and have failsafes in place. They are trying to set up something I saw two hundred and thirty four years ago, A "Nerve Loop" they called it. You set up a scenario where you have to be paranoid, because you don't know who you can trust, but at the same time, you cant be paranoid, because you don't know who you can trust, and you cant let it control you. Do either of these, and you lose the game. You get stuck in their loop. The key is control, you have to be just paranoid enough, but not fall right into it. That's what I remember, anyways. This is on a much larger scale then before...and better thought out".

"If this is a game of chess, then we must add new pieces. Different colored pieces, that work for us". Alexander was thinking big now, very big. However, he looked at Frederic next. "Which was something I was about to get to. We are facing an enemy who may have infiltrated us, but how do we know? Maybe there is no one, maybe they just want us to think that to destroy ourselves. Like I said, we can't be too paranoid. This enemy has been waiting and planning for a long time now. They poke and prod at us, but have yet to fully destroy us. We know nothing about our enemy other then the fact they attacked the Castle Casren helped build up, the home of the Detente, and they stabbed me many more years ago. All we have are rings, and newspapers, and cameras and equipment. We know their symbol, we know they fight against us, and we know they have been secretive an patient. But that is about it".

Alex then looked towards Daemala, and asked "So, what is your opinion on all this?"

"Your words are full of falsities and sarcasm," Kaine immediately replied to Frederic. "But your patronizing tone suits you well, snake; it is only too bad that behind your forked tongue you lack the wisdom to speak among generals. You would truly have us war against everyone not part of us? It would be a brave move, but incredibly foolish, and for it we would suffer more than a smarter man would have us suffer."

"I am not accusing any of treason, what I am doing is making a point. As I said before," he spoke, turning to the others as he did so, "until we find the face of the enemy, assume that they are among us. You would be wise to question those you do not trust and to keep your allies close at hand. But do we descend into absolute paranoia? Absolutely not. As Alexander said, this tactic, assuming it is true - and I do - relies on each one of us being paranoid and distrusting of everyone else. So how do we defeat it? It's simple: you must find someone you can all trust. Whether he is present or elsewhere, man or woman, vampire, werewolf, or even human, it does not matter. What matters is that each of you here trust him completely, and that he is intelligent. Very intelligent. And we name him the lead investigator into this incident, and we let him be paranoid for us, let him decide who each of us trusts and is suspicious of. And then, friends, the enemy that tries to sew the seeds of anarchy against us will fall, because he must not simply contend in a free-for-all battle of wits, but hide in a united force where inevitably, he will reveal himself. And if he is not one of us, we will have nothing to fear or to lose."

Kaine looked around him, then took a step away from the table. "I would name Casren to be such a man we can trust, but apparently he is missing. Still, it is not up to me to decide, I am here only to offer advice. I have said everything I need to say here, so I will take my leave. Daemala, are you coming?"

He looked at her, but his eyes spoke different words than his mouth. They said "don't", or, if you were to look into it a little deeper, "be my eyes and ears here."

Daemala and Zosimos listened, her with wide eyes and his lids lax. At the end of the deliveries, Zosimos turned his eyes to Daemala. The woman cowered under the sudden attention, her shoulders stiffening downward and her expression that of a doe. Her gaze was locked with Kaine's. Should she go, or should she stay? Zosimos's mouth twitched at the dilemma. He opened his mouth to speak, but she interjected.

"It's best I stay," Daemala shot a look towards Zosimos, then to Frederic, lastly Alexander, "For Casren's sake." She folded her hands into her lap and looked at them. Daemala would not say more on the matter.

"Well then," Zosimos pursed his lips and smiled around the room. "What does anyone propose we do next, exactly? We're already negotiating with the Invictus, for those of you who don't know," Daemala's eyes had gone wide; Zosimos's grin grew, "About the future of Terra! A fine planet is she, but a conflicted one. We're to take an active hand in it's solution no doubt. Could this be the cause for this...Group, that may or may not be a facade for someone who may or may not be closely associated with us, to come after us? What is the reasoning behind the sigil? We must know."

Zosimos rapped the table hard.

"We must deal with these rings, first and foremost! They are the only," He nodded to Alexander, "Physical evidence we have as it stands. So they want to trap us in a nerve loop? So they want to shake us? So be it. We must not submit to acts of terror!" Zosimos looked to Frederic now.

"Agents and spies, let's avoid assassinations if we can," Manik Chakor faded in from the shadows placing a hand on the table. He had been watching and listening, and finally had something to say. "I agree our force must be stronger. You say we are to rule Terra, Greek?" Manik shot a bloodshot squint in Zosimos's direction. "I say you can put whatever crown you'd like on that head, I work for no King who can't cross a sea, lest defend his own." It was here Manik glared at Daemala, who huffed. She was not a King, she was a Queen, and the spot wasn't hers yet. She gestured to Kat-Lyn Ember Rose.

"We have a navy now child," Daemala remarked, "If you're interested in crossing seas." With a roll of her eyes and a shake of her shoulders, she received the nastiest of glares from Manik. A hiss faded on the tip of his tongue, Zosimos raising a brow at the would-be confrontation.

"Well, if we can't even handle our shit..." Zosimos let a hand fall out to the side, and looked to Frederic, then Alexander. He gave one of Casren's signature sighs and let his eyes come to rest on Ana Maria.

"These rings... What do you know?"

The room filled with vampires and none yet the wiser of what was to come as a dark presence filled the room with what soon followed to be a rather handsome Drow in finery of red and white. The noble elf simply gripped the head of his rather strange cane only to tap the butt of it twice upon the ground and cleared his throat as he approached the vampires and their comrades only to offer a fiendish grin and a mock bow. "I am Lord Baenval and though I wish not to interrupt such fine business as this I feel as if it is my sworn duty to do as such."

Alexander listened. They were avoiding his suggestion of bringing in a Wild Card, from what he could tell. He didn't blame them, people tend to prefer to stick with what they know, even Vampires. At least the fact there was not much outrage if any towards the suggestion itself, as far as he could tell, meant it had a chance. The real question was who. What enemy could they get to help them, and not betray them. Who could they trust for this?

Alexander had an idea. But he was not sure about suggesting this one. Mostly because he had not heard anything about him in a long time, and was unsure about suggesting it because of how badly it might go. But he knew that this move would not have been predicted. Because the idea, in itself, would be impossible and insane. He was not sure even how to get him on their side, unless...

He kept the idea in his head, deciding it might be best not to mention it at this moment, though the fact he had some idea he was not sharing was not that hard to see. It wasn't obvious, but it was possible to tell. He listened to everyone, and then asked Zosimos "People we have trusted and who kept order are missing. We must take up these responsibilities, and together we must maintain what we have built, while hunting down those who wish to see us dead and what we have built destroyed. For our survival, for our progress..." he then turned to Daemala now. "For Casren".

Kaine's announcement of departure momentairily surprised him, but it passed. He was more focused on what was being said, and what was not. "So, we have leads to follow, people to find, and affairs to manage. I agree, we do need to get our shit straight. So, I ask, who will do what? You have decleared some of this already, and I will not deny the chance to find these people, but we can not do what we would be expected to do. I have suggested one way to add a wildcard, but we should all have some sort of wildcard. We can no longer stay confident our methods may work, or what we know is correct".

He looked at Zosimos now, his mind drifting back to that idea from before. I do not expect this idea will be popular, if I suggest it at all, it's risky and I don't even know if it will even be possible, but it is something they would not have expected, even with all of their planning and preparation.

Before he could ask Zosimos what he plans to do, this intruder appeared. "Who are you? Why do you interrupt this meeting!?" he asked, slightly ticked off.

(Sorry if I missed a tag, the last post made it impossible to tag all, but I think I got everyone here? Except Frederic, who never appeared on the tag list. O.o)

"Who am I? A silly question after I have already introduced myself as Lord Baenval, no matter though, it only makes this meeting with some of the more powerful members of this mock court a bit more interesting." The drow spoke only to keep his fiendish smile out in the open as he took a step forward allowing his cane to tap on the ground lightly as he began to look over the audience he held. "To those who know me I am simply called The Pretender, a speaker of many interests, and also The Shade. I however assure you that such names are nothing more than the fancy of simple men and women who have little to no education on the finer arts of acquisition and lordly affairs like those of you who sit here before me." Lord Baenval spoke with an air of confidence about him that few could muster in a situation such as this for his scent was not that of the dead and to those who could hear him the sound of what could be described as a working heart was vigorously pumping.

"More to the point however I speak for the demon lord Belphegore and a lone galactic being who goes under the name of Shabot-Urn. It appears to me that a certain sapphire ring was placed in the care of a lone boy in sight of one of your vampiric guards and I wish to retrieve it in order to move onto other business that I have urgent business with. Aiding me will grant you both of my lords blessings and the boon of gifts that will flood your way will not go unnoticed."

Noxize Deschain The black being flowed forth from it's place in the wall, the echoes of a psychic scream still rattling about in it's head- the awakening of the symbiote Legion in Wing City reached even this far. Nox had bad news for the vampires.

"Descorp is leaving this rock. We apologize for this disconnect of services. After the dark days pass we will return. Have a nice day."

A sound like that of a large pair of hands clapping sounds once...and Nox is gone. In moments the sound was echoed as each and every Descorp personnel member vacated the planet. Compact Rip-Gates allowing for instant transport back to the ship. Something bad was coming...if it scared off Nox and the rest of the Descorp. But what?

Horrible news followed by horrible news. Zosimos could practically see the dominoes as they fell, ivory relics of a time long dead. The old greek grinned silently where he sat. The curtain on this act seemed to be falling. Falling, falling, and he didn't wish to fall with it.

As if on cue, the bottles lining the walls began to quiver. Tauvyr Tavern rumbled, what was going on outside? Daemala jumped up, pardoning herself and rushing through the door. Patrons were seemingly alarmed at the strange activities.

There was a techno-jingle. It was a phone, Zosimos's phone. He was mildly alarmed that it was ringing, but still he received the message. Zosimos looked around, bowed out, and hurried after Daemala. The message was surely troubling.

It was now Manik Chakur stepped forward, looking at the rings.

"Rings...It is rings that lie at the heart of all our strife..." His bloodshot eyes bulged as he spat the words, "The rings must be taken care of I agree, we must aide this man in his search for his sapphire ring," Manik bowed deeply to everyone, "For Casren."

The Multiverse » Arcs » Rings of Deceit

As written by: lostamongtrees, StarrTiger, Grahf, Nevan, Mr. Baneling Squishy, Rulke, Gasmask, SkullJester, Marcus

38 pieces and 16 characters involved, written by 9 different authors.

1 places involved

So begins...

Rings of Deceit

Setting: Room of York

Grove of Aurora

The WCPD