Lysard Direfaust's Story

The outcome wasn’t unpredictable. Vampires are said to be a superior race and, in some ways, they are, but he knew better than to consider his inhuman nature panacea against defeat. Or rather, in his case, against being within inches of it. He had prevailed over his opponents, having left their wounded bodies somewhere behind. The steel of his blade had bathed in blood of an enemy that outnumbered the lone vampire. Perhaps it would’ve been preferable if the blood had nourished his fangs and not the comparatively indifferent steel though. Indeed had he indulged he wouldn’t have been in the sorry state he was in now.

To be quite frank, he looked as though he just came back from a slaughterhouse. A fitting appearance after the fierce battle he had been engaged in some hours ago. His armor held, but his lifeblood ran freely from gaps between ornate plates. He may not have gotten torn to shreds right away due to the heavy plate, but the gaps between plating were not without vulnerable spots. The Direfausts made great equipment, but not perfect – that much was certain. The crimson staining his face made dirty strands of hair stick to his forehead, their color unidentifiable and the eyelids over one of his eyes were stuck together sealed by congealed blood. The reason for his blurred vision however was less due to the gore covering his skin but due to the hunger he felt. He knew it well by now and he knew how to hold it back. The weakening effect that it had on him however was not a matter that could be resolved with sheer perseverance – it was a natural reaction as his supernatural resources were all but exhausted. He was lucky that the blood he’d consumed a while ago was enough to regenerate his more grievous injuries, but the other cuts would keep stinging without closing for some time. Even a vampire’s recovery could be slowed down.

All of this was the result of taking on a corrupt band of mercenaries that had worked together with local bandits, charging the town they settled in for protection while in fact reinforcing the bandits, keeping the threat formidable enough to scare the inhabitants into agreeing to pay them. It was unfortunate that he had to take on so many at once. He would’ve preferred to take them out in a less blunt fashion. The plan was to assault the leaders and hope that from there the group wouldn’t be able to function in the same coordinated manner as before. Such was the reasoning of the Direfaust, the human Direfaust that is. But he forgot to account for the loathing the group would have for what he was. Hatred can be a surprisingly good anesthetic and so, even with their leaders down, both the bandits and the mercenaries found strength and courage in the rage they felt towards a vampire. It turned out to be enough to overpower the fear and confusion caused by the young man’s exploits. He was not prepared for them to lunge at him all at once…

And so the beast he had become had to use its instincts. When he fought back there, his strikes had turned less methodical and steady but became filled with wild abandon; his blows had changed from those aimed at weak points to those that would overwhelm with sheer force and inflict trauma upon his opponents. But the beast wasn’t dumb – its target was survival rather than selfless decimation of as many of its enemies as possible followed by an indignant fall. So it had escaped and when the young man again regained control he felt so weak that letting his feet just continue dragging him on ahead was pretty much the best option. At least his sword was still with him.

All was in a haze of red and black right now. The crooked outlines must’ve been trees; the shuffling sound must’ve been that of his feet against the grass. The hoarse sound and ripping feeling against his dry throat just now must’ve been an attempt at a breath. Those wandering a Purgatory of some sort must feel something similar, along with the seeming lack of time or progress in their voyage. It felt like this state would last forever and with that came a desperate desire. Just stop it. Somehow. By any means. Put an END to this endless progression of steps. Where was he even taking himself? Where was he dragging along his wounded body?... Wherever… The time to die had yet to come and in the pain he found more proof of having survived than he did any notion of symbolical punishment or purgation.

The armored gauntlet on his arm fell onto the solid bark of a tree, leaving a bloody smear on its surface as the armored palm dragged across it against his will. His whole body began to lean ahead and with his balance hinging in part on his hand on the tree he would’ve fallen. To prevent this he grabbed the trunk of the tree, his knees buckling but he didn’t fall to the ground. It’s been a long time since his armor seemed this heavy to him. Was he really so weak that he could already feel the burden it would be to a normal human to wear such a heavy suit or armor? He pulled himself up, still counting on the tree to support his weight. Once straightened up somewhat he threw his head back and let out a loud shout. It tore through his throat and echoed like a roar. A proclamation of his survival. A feral oath not to fall here. A sign of defiance against his own weakness. And so the blood-drenched young knight headed on through the forest, leaving behind the bloody smear on the tree bark and the echo of the roar. But how long he would be able to walk without collapsing was a question open to debate.

Brildar watched in wonder at the little thing. "I should be asking you that--what manner of man-beast uses his hair for such constricting garments? Still..." She looked Brildar over, her little neck craning up and down to see all of him. "I am known as Pnév̱ma Nýmfi̱, a proud nymph of the Yemeryiet Forest~ Mother always calls me Pnév̱ma but Pev or Fi are fine too!" He placed his hands on his stomach gazing at his new friend. Before he could say anything again, she was already talking. "You said you are going to the Capitol City of Etherea?" She crinkled her nose looking at the map that he was holding in his hands. "Well, that piece of paper won't do you any good in my forest!" She whispered "The trees move, you know, so it's hard for someone who doesn't know them well. But that's okay~ I can show you through just fine since despite your hairiness, man-beast, you don't seem like a bad person." She moved away from him slightly and a wide grin spread across her little face. She had a determined look on her face and he watched little legs sprout from her torso. She wiggled her toes and placed them on the ground as if she was testing the water. Her hands moved her massive amounts of hair and turned around. She looked back while skipping and said "I'll have us there in no time~"

He followed behind her and watched as she jumped and hung from limb to limb.

"Well Pev, I have 'eard about yee kind in legends, and I can say that everything I 'eard is true! But can trees really move...? That would explain a lot."

His new friend was rowdy and playful. He needed this tiny body with mass amounts of black hair to get him to his destination. He gave his surroundings a new thought. Everything had a voice and that amazed him. He now had a new appreciation for the leaves that swayed in the breeze and the grass under his feet.

Do rocks talk? He wondered.

He started to ask Pev, "Do rocks have thoughts like tr--"

His sentence was interrupted with the sound of a loud battle cry that echoed throughout the forest. It sounded like a man holding on to his last hopes. It sounded desperate. Whatever it was, was in peril.

"Is that a common ting Pev? Could yee tell where it came from?"

He gave her a concerned look and scratched his beard.

The progress was rather quick, the small girl maneuvered expertly through the forest. Occasionally, she would slow to allow her new-found companion time enough to catch up with her before her legs sped up their pace again. This feeling was foreign to her, since for the most part, she did not see much use in materializing on the physical plane to the fullest extent. The ground felt moist but was a welcome comfort beneath her tiny feet. The hairy man-beast called from behind her, sounding whimsical and as if in thought.

"Well Pev, I have 'eard about yee kind in legends, and I can say that everything I 'eard is true! But can trees really move...? That would explain a lot." She giggled, throwing her voice over her shoulder as she spread her arms out while she skipped.

"Of course they do, silly! When the wind whispers, when the earth shakes, trees are always constantly shifting~" Her hair rippled behind her, trailing along on the ground as she weaved through the forest eagerly. The red-hair made heavy stepping noises--see, all that clothing was bothersome! It seriously impeded his movement and made her pause to make sure he kept up! Though... thinking about it, perhaps it was better if he remained somewhat covered. She had heard rumors among her sisters that things of the male breed did not resemble females completely. His voice took her from her thoughts.

"Do rocks have thoughts like tr--" Whatever he was about to say was cut off as an unearthly scream tore through her forest. It was frightening; Pnév̱ma pausing the instant she heard it. The sound definitely did not have any origins among her trees or her plants. For a moment, the nymph considered that perhaps this outsider she was leading through her forest had something to do with it but he quelled that doubt with his next questions. "Is that a common ting Pev? Could yee tell where it came from?" She blinked, having stopped dead in her tracks. The change of atmosphere immediately effected her and her trees seemed to all be whispering in disorganized voices.

She shook her head very slowly, lashes falling to partially obscure her golden orbs as she thought. She spoke in a hesitant tone, the bouncy edge lost. "No... that is not a sound made by my forest. As for where it came from..." She trailed off, carefully lowering herself to the ground. As she had done before when tracking the man-beast, she placed her ear against the earth, twitching slightly as she listened for any traces. Yet there was not a movement, not a tremor, not even the faintest clue. She frowned, pressing her ear a bit closer. She had most definitely heard the scream, so why could she not feel it's presence in the earth?

She leaned up in frustration, blowing up her bangs a bit. 'What's wrong...? Why can you not tell me what has come into the forest?' She asked her question silently, directing her thoughts on the spiritual plane. There was an eerie silence for a few moments more before the wind picked up slightly, with it, some leaves that brushed against her cheeks as they flew past. She nodded and stood up, hair once again tumbling over her body. She turned, the smile gone from her lips and in it's place, a more serious expression.

"The forest has told me that whatever it is, it entered from the east. Where it is, exactly, I cannot say--but we may stumble upon it if we go in that direction." And it was on the way to the city, she added to herself as a side-note. She did not turn to see if he was following her, already climbing over some branches in the direction this thing had entered in. This was worrisome, to be certain, for to not even be able to sense this creature or pinpoint it's exact location... She had already accepted that not all things had links to the spiritual plane, after all, the man-beast was an excellent example! He was astounded by the fact that trees could move, even speak, so there must've also been others that were just as weakly linked. However, she should've been able to sense a link through the pulse in the plane sent out by all living creatures. And the fact that she couldn't even do that...

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of those thoughts. Dead things couldn't move or make noises, so there was no reason in pursuing that line of thinking. She progressed quickly, ducking under a fallen branch and worming her way through a small gap. She only stopped to point the way around to her companion before working through and continuing on once she got to the other side. The journey progressed in silence, perhaps he was just as anxious as she to see what could've possibly made that noise. As always, she was unaware of how much time passed, how long it had taken as they moved through the forest. She never did have a concept of time, though it did not bother her.

Still, the search appeared fruitless. There was nothing in the eastern area and no sign of life anywhere. She sighed. Perhaps the sound had come from the mountains... Pnév̱ma turned, ready to dismiss it when something caught her eye. She shifted, leaning forwards to gaze at a tree. The bark had been rubbed by something crimson, though it was faded in color and looked darker by this point. She need only look a few moments more before it registered in her mind. Blood! This was blood! She reeled back in surprise, giving a small squeak that was surely heard by the man-beast. But she cared not. If blood was spattered on this tree, then that could only mean...

Her eyes widened as they followed the streak of blood downwards and her gaze settled on the collapsed figure of what appeared to also be a man. She could only deduce this from the broad shoulders and the ridiculous garments he also wore. Except for him, these appeared to be shiny and weighing more than the hair-ones her new companion wore. She backed up, expression touched by fear. She could not sense anything off him, perhaps, perhaps he was--was dead? The thought terrified her, for indeed he did look the bloodied mess and even his hair was coated in it! She blinked quickly and scampered backwards, grabbing a long twig.

Gathering her nerve (admittedly, it was weak but she did not want the man-beast to think she was some weakling nymph since she was the first one he'd ever met), she breathed out quickly as she forced herself to prod him with the end of her stick. The man released a groan and she started, dropping the stick. "I-It made a noise!" She let out the surprised, frightened squeak of her voice, unable to restrain it. She didn't know what to do, nothing had ever become wounded in her forest before... She only knew what the word meant because her Mother had taught her but now that she was witnessing it, her mind was drawing a blank. Pnév̱ma shivered as she looked over at the man-beast, hoping he, at least, would have a better idea as to the proper course of action.

Brildar watched as Pev's face went from cheery to disgruntled. She looked around and responded "No... that is not a sound made by my forest. As for where it came from..." She placed her ear to the ground and came back up even more disgruntled than before.

"Ay lass, don't let it get to yee" he said to try and calm her worried look.

The wind blew again and her face changed as if she was having millions of conversations at once. "The forest has told me that whatever it is, it entered from the east. Where it is, exactly, I cannot say--but we may stumble upon it if we go in that direction." She started off on a mission and she seemed determined to finish it which ended up leaving Brildar in the dust and in a rush to catch up. He hobbled as fast as he could without running. She had stopped so that he could catch up.

"Slow down Pev, whatever it is wont disappear in the condition it is in." He said while heaving and gasping.

Pev would run off and wait for him to catch up, each time Brildar made a futile attempt to gives his stout legs a rest. He was right on her tail when she stopped. She scanned the area and seemed as if she was going to give up her search when she yelped. Her eyes went wide as if she just saw a ghost. Brildar ran over to see what was bothering her and spotted it too. The crimson red stain the tree that could have only been blood. Brildar stayed close behind the tiny nymph and they followed the blood stained trail. There it was. What they had been searching for was right in front of them and it didn't even seem alive.

Poor lad. He thought while walking closer.

Pev grabbed a stick and walked over to the lump in the leaves and proceeded to poke him with it. It moaned and that seemed to have scared Pev because she let out a shriek. "I-It made a noise!"

"That's not a nice ting to do Pev. Give him some space." He said to her gently.

He walked over to the man and took off his pack. He took a knee and rummaged through his things. He pulled out the stomach full of water and a handkerchief. Brildar carefully laid the man flat and moistened his rag. He carefully wiped the blood away from his face trying to find where all the blood was coming from. The man was in critical condition and needed medical attention real soon or he would die from loss of blood.

"He needs help Pev, the professional kind." He said with his voice low, trying not to make the man even more uncomfortable then he already is.

"I'm sorry lad but you're gonna have to walk some more. I'll try and help yee as much as I can but please bear with me." He said while packing up his things and putting the pack on his back.

The small nymph was most certainly frightened but her companion was far calmer about the whole situation. He spoke to her in gentle tones after she had squealed, perhaps to soothe her, or just make sure she didn't run away. "That's not a nice ting to do Pev. Give him some space." She complied all too willingly, scampering away to retreat behind one of the trees nearby. The groan the dying creature had made had frightened her, the sound guttural and pained. The man-beast did not seem disturbed as he approached the figure on the ground. Pnév̱ma hissed at him from her hiding spot, her voice strained.

"What are you doing?! It made a strange noise, it could contaminate you like fungi!" The man-beast did not heed her warning as he took off the large pack he had been wearing and placed it on the ground. She watched anxiously as he fished through it, pulling out what appeared to be some sort of container and a strange, white object that seemed to be made of rougher hair. She ducked a bit further behind the tree as the man-beast tilted the container forwards, water splashing from it on to the other object. He used it and dabbed the creature's forehead looking area with it. She fidgeted; ohhh, just what was the man-beast thinking? He could catch terrible fungus from something that was nearly dead anyway and then it would start growing in odd places on his hair... She knew, she had caught the mushrooms in her seedling years and the shrooms had sprouted from her head for a week or so. Terribly mortifying that.

The man-beast finished up, the object now the crimson hue that was still splashed all on the body of the creature. He began to straighten as he turned to her, his expression somber and tone low. "He needs help Pev, the professional kind." She blew her bangs upwards as she shook her head rapidly.

"No no no, just leave him! He'll get blood all over the forest grounds..." She trailed off as she noticed that he wasn't even paying attention to her as he adjusted the pack onto his back. The man-beast was already reaching down to take one of the arms of this strange creature and put it around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry lad but you're gonna have to walk some more. I'll try and help yee as much as I can but please bear with me." His walk was greatly slowed now due to the extra weight but it was obvious he had every intention of continuing. Pnév̱ma shifted her weight from one foot to the other before she forced herself to run past the man-beast, safely walking a few meters in front of him. She made it very clear she was displeased by the decided action to bring this creature with them. After all, she had only agreed to take the man-beast through the forest because she liked him! And this other thing... it was all covered in gross, sticky blood and it breathed funny! Those were reasons enough to leave it behind, at least, they were for the nymph.

The hairier of the three did not pay heed and kept walking, grunting at her to keep leading them towards the city. She did so with a much crestfallen air, an undertone of anxiousness. Whereas before she had been eager, now she just wanted the journey to be over with so they could be rid of the strange creature. By the shadows being cast by the trees, nightfall was rapidly approaching and it would not do good to have the foreigner in her woods when night fell. All sorts of strange, bizarre things could happen...

Though in actuality the walk was only several minutes more, for they had been close to the forest limits, it seemed to dragon forever. Pnév̱ma kept sneaking glances behind her at the thing, rather disquieted by it. As they approached the edges of her woods, the nymph stopped, turning around and letting her hair hit her form as she spoke to the man-beast.

"Well, this is it--the city is just beyond those borders..." She pointed, the walls of the city clearly visible just a ways off. The man-beast, however, looked rather exhausted as he panted. It must've been the weight of the other. Ohhhh, they shouldn't have brought him along! He had spoiled her whole entire evening now and his blood was getting everywhere; she added as a side-note when she caught sight of the trail that had formed when he was being dragged. She huffed out and moved to the side a bit to allow the man-beast to walk past her and past the few remaining trees. "Please discard that as soon as you can... it looks so dirty and it makes really odd noises." She commented with a frown. The petite girl had no way of knowing that something scarier was sleeping nearby as she directed the man-beast towards the city, walking a little behind him as she had decided, at least, she would see him to the limits of her forest.

He didn’t make it too far. As strong as his vocalized intent to survive was, it still served to further sap his energy and he only managed to make a few more unsteady steps. It was no wonder he was discovered not only easily but also quite near to the spot where he’d paused. His head was filled with noise, his vision clouded with blood. His own? His enemies’? He couldn’t discern too much right now. It took all his strength to stay in control, but at this point it seemed it would either be control of his body or control of his instincts. The latter, for certain reasons, took priority for now. Depending on when he would be discovered a number of things were possible – either those who find him would get to help a still-human wounded or they would become victims of his hunger that soon enough would become uncontrollable. There was also the possibility of one who would approach him chopping off his head just to be on the safe side. He made several futile attempts to continue moving but he wouldn’t be able to even crawl without assistance any longer. The ache in his entire body continued and it made him let out pained grunts at somewhat uneven intervals, more frequently following any additional exertions.

Weakened as his powers of perception were, a sudden squeak of fear from someone very close followed by a remark he couldn’t make out didn’t go unnoticed and alerted him to a new presence quite close to him. The voices echoed and rang in his skull, rendering the speech incoherent and discomforting as was the inability to see those speaking next to him and likely about him. That is why the first thing he did was to turn his head slightly to the side. It certainly shifted his field of vision in a manner that would help see the ones whose voices resonated in his pulsing skull. But following his meek attempt at motion someone rolled him over. Then he felt something cool and moist against the skin of his face. It must’ve been wet cloth of some kind.

The fabric would become covered in blood quite soon, but it helped open his eyes and, to an extent, was rejuvenating. Water was not the liquid he dedsired right now, but it tipped the scales somewhat more towards staying awake and in relative control. Despite its likely sorry state after being used to wipe away the gore staining his face, the cloth did at least help in terms of revealing the features of the bloodied man. As the upper layers of blood were wiped off the noble features of the young man became slightly easier to observe, still stained and amply covered in smears of dried blood. Whatever wounds he had were not on his head or his face apparently, whether due to the fact that they weren’t present, or due to his regeneration having already patched up those particular wounds unbeknownst to those currently examining him. Thanks to the minimal care provided to him he at least managed to open both eyes now. His vision was still slightly blurry.

“Wh… ere… Where… This… We… Where is… this…?” He muttered weakly. The one tending to him presently spoke in a lower tone that was merciful on his aching head.

“I'm sorry lad but you're gonna have to walk some more. I'll try and help yee as much as I can but please bear with me.”

At this distance he could even make out the words, even though most of what he got were the key directions. “Walk more. Try and help”. He made another weak sound. Nothing like speech and in fact the way it came out he wasn’t sure if it was going to be a sign of agreement or on the contrary an attempt at protest. Regardless he was in no position to do anything but comply and so, at a sluggish pace yet definitely a better one than he would be able to muster on his own they began moving. There seemed to be two of them, though only one was carrying him. The short stature of the one supporting the weight of the armored young man made it a bit uncomfortable to move, but the young man earnestly made attempts to step ahead on his own, though more often than once ending up stumbling. He would’ve fallen to the ground beyond a doubt was it not for the one he was slowly managing to identify as a dwarf.

“Where… are we g… oing?” Another question was uttered slowly.

At the very least the sun wasn’t sapping at his strength further. Was nightfall approaching? It could put the ones helping him in danger. Their progress was slow and though the young man couldn’t track it well he too felt the ordeal stretch in time. Along with the potential danger came a slight relief. He could feel his senses sharpening somewhat. Though his mind was far from the clarity it would normally possess, it was as though certain sensations pierced through the faint crimson veil hanging over his vision and the noise lingering in his ears. And then he felt something… Blood, but not on him. And a presence which was steeped in the familiar, desired, but, at the moment, alarming fragrance.

“Killer… nearby…” He only managed to mutter around the time they’d reached the edge of the forest.

West had hid himself well, near the edges of the forest. The Backwoods trail It wasn't too far from the main road, but it was quite secluded and few knew about besides the numerous thieves and other shady characters that roamed it. And couriers, the ones in a hurry at least. It was nearly morning, but still dark, and West had been awake most of the night. He had heard many things, some of which may have even been a swordfight, but no sign of bandits and their stolen explosives. Just petty thieves, and one courier almost being overtaken, but then getting away. West almost had to intervene.

He had decided awhile ago he'd stake himself out under these new rocks for one more hour, he moved to another pile when nothing was around to avoid arousing suspicion, and the time was nearly here. He heard clomping of horse's hooves, and men talking. I didn't hear them when I should have. They are moving slower. A company? That was much more likely of being them then the single horsemen riding by. The said explosives were to be rapidly moved to their boss where they could be implemented, besides, no one new. But West was superb at being no one, so the issue came to his attention rather quickly. He heard gruff voices.

"Shut yer traps! Just because were at the edge doesn't mean were safe!"

"Aw, Filder, lighten up a bit, no snooper knows someone stole the boomers, and if do they'll think it's the Reds Group, not us!"

"Doesn't mean you have to shout it out to everybody in the forest."

Their words confirmed West's suspicions. You should've listened to 'Filder', buddy. He carefully extracted himself from the rock pile, and waited in the accompanying shadows of a thick tree. The sun was just barely peeking up in certain areas, and it would ruin their night vision. The company was getting closer. He stayed motionless, a passing glance would mark him off as part of the complex root system that was gripping the ground around the tree. The first of the group passed him, some on horseback, others walking, all looking like they hadn't had a good cleaning in a decade.

The stopped at the fallen tree, a) because it was rather big b) because it was blocking the path and c) because one of the men and taken a tumble off his horse because of snoozing, from the looks of it. The appropriate frustration at their comrade was shown in multiple curses, groans and "Get Up!"s. West was satisfied that the tree helped slow them, that was partly the reason he hid here. He slunk quickly toward his obvious target, the only wagon in the group. Apparently they wanted to make this as easy a possible. Keeping low to the ground and moving diagonally from the sentries, he moved toward the back of the wagon. He would have to make this quick, as the guy was getting back up on his horse, and they would soon decide to move or go around the fallen tree.

The sentry barely turned back to face where West had been as he silently jumped in the back. West almost whistled at the amount of gunpowder they had. He wasn't familiar with the properties of explosives, but he was sure this amount could blow a hole in a mountain or two. Or a fortress wall. He uncovered one that had a tarp draped over it. It's detonator looked similar to the one on the explosive he had, so he was confident he could deactivate all of them before they started moving. They were in big packs, about ten, the latter eight stacked on top of each other in twos.

He finished sabotaging the last detonator. West slid an eye out of the canvas covering the wagon's back entrance. Judging from the absence of people, and the the grunting, they decided to move the tree. Hitting the ground with a quiet thump, he starting making making his way off the path. When they finally moved the tree, West was about 15 yards away and still moving. That was relatively easy. He thought. Why don't more people start getting into mining? The Dwarves dominate and monopolize that business. They need some competition.

He shifted his mind to how he could report the now dormant explosives to the local authorities without tipping them off he was involved, when his ears were assaulted with a shockwave and he was thrown into a dive. His shoulder greeted the ground with a crunch. He slid a few yards before stopping. He lay still a second and then coughed. He sat up. A small crater was left in the place of the wagon, and a few of he bandits were lying prone or sprawled in a comical fashion against trees, along with the horses. Oh. He thought. That's why a lot of people don't get into mining. He had screwed up something. The explosion was probably heard in the entire forest, and the surrounding area. So much for being undetected. He had to get out of here. Fast.

Groaning sligthly, he stood. He studied his shoulder. It wasn't dislocated, but it was bruised and bleeding, and the shoulder fabric on and around it was torn off. Further observation revealed no further injuries. He looked back to the blast zone. None of the bandits or horses had moved, so they were unconscious or dead. Most likely the latter. He felt slightly guilty. Getting blown up was not a nice way to go. He looked around and started for the edge of the forest in a quick jog. If there was anyone around, he didn't want to explain.

Brildar heaved the young, bloodied man through the forest step by step. He followed his guide through shrubbery and endless trees. The man he was hauling moaned and groaned each step they took. Pev continued to leave him the dust and then wait for him to catch up, which took even longer because of wounded man. Brildar was starting to tire and walked even slower. His stomach rumbled and he took note of the setting sun. How he could even see the sun through all the leaves and greenery is a mystery. It would be dark soon and they needed to get out of the forest. No telling what could sneak up on them in this dark and foreign place.

It's almost dinner time, I hope we get there soon. He thought to himself.

The weight on his shoulder from the man in armor was starting to make him sore. He watched Pev's tiny, black head bob up in down in front of him. She hoped over branches. Every once in a while she would glance back. Probably to make sure that their new addition hadn't magically cured and eaten Brildar. She seemed scared of him like she knew something he didn't. He tore his thoughts away from that and instead tried to focus all of his strength into carrying the man. He was getting heavy, probably from the set of armor he was wearing. He tried to talk but Brildar couldn't understand him, instead interjected.

"Don't talk lad! Use all yee strength to get out of these damn woods. I can't undurstand yee anyways."

Pev glanced back at them to see what the fuss was all about. After seeing that there was nothing major, she shrugged it off and continued to lead them out of the darkening forest. It was getting dark enough that Brildar could no longer see the trees in the distance without concentrating. He was used to being in the dark but this was different from being underground. There were so many objects and shapes around him that he was unfamiliar with which made him uneasy. The sound of the animals around him plus the man's heavy breathing and constant groaning did not make things any better.

The woods seemed to be getting less dense as far as Brildar could tell. Though he wasn't the expert on trees. He was about to ask Pev how far away the end was but instead the man on his shoulder spoke up. “Killer… nearby…” Those were the only words that Brildar could understand that had come out of the man's mouth since they had found him.

"Did you hear that Pev? Can you sense anyone nearby?" He said in a worried tone.

He could fend for himself but he worried for his new nymph friend and the injured man. His thoughts quickly stopped when the sound of a large explosion rang through the forest. Brildar was an expert on all explosives.

That was a whole hell of a lot of dynamite and not too far away. He thought while holding the man and looking at Pev.

The poor girl had screamed and was now cowering in fear from the loud noise. She had experienced so many new things and this just topped of her night. The man on his arm also flinched at the loud explosion. Brildar assumed that that was the person the man was talking about. Whoever had made such explosion was near and they would probably come in contact with said person.

The day had started off promising, a mere interluded through her forest, a hairy man-beast for a companion, and a simple trot through the woods to bring him to the city. Yet ever since they found the bloodied and battered creature, her experiences had gone from uncomfortable to downright terrible. It was getting dark, besides, and she suspected they had less than an hour to get to the city. She would be safe in her forest, of course, night or day presented no issue to her. But at night, Mother would instantly tune in on the intruders and send... Pnév̱ma shivered, best not to think about that.

The man-beast made to move forwards with the creature in the direction she gestured in when the bloodied abomination spoke, sounding gurgled and not very pleasant. "Killer.... nearby..." The hair (literally) stood up at the ends, curling a bit as she tensed up. Killer? Nearby? Just what in Gaia's dear name had she gotten herself involved in? She should've listened, she shouldn't have gotten involved, this was all just too strange! Her hairy companion frowned a bit as he regarded her.

"Did you hear that, Pev? Can you sense anyone nearby?" The girl peered at him from underneath lowered lashes and was about to answer when a very loud and disturbing noise pierced the air. She didn't know what it was or what it could possibly signify but all she knew for sure was that it scared her. She screamed again and scampered to a nearby tree for comfort. The instant her small body touched the trunk, the whispers of it filled her ears. Though normally she would find this a relaxing sound, the hushed voices that pressed against her ears were strained and not at all content. It was clear to the forest that the nymph was less than happy with her surroundings.

"What is wrong? Are you frightened? Did he do that to you?" She shook her head furiously, hair now tossed even more wildly around than it had.

"No no no... it is not the hairy man-beast... it's something else..." She muttered against the tree, hesitantly turning her golden eyes back upon the scene. Unlike her other companions, who were not nearly equipped to handle her woods in the fading light, she had long since grown used to the dim setting. Though she had been scared by the loud noise, annoyance was starting to bubble in her chest. She did not mind the man-beast; he was friendly, he made her laugh because he was silly and reminded her of something like her Mother. But the others had all waltzed in here uninvited and it was grating on her nerves. So what if the creature was wounded? Couldn't he have curled up and died somewhere else and not sully her earth? And now this thing? She was smart enough to deduce that no one creature could've caused the noise and compounded by the presence she felt shifting through her woods, she was right to assume so. And Pnév̱ma had had enough.

She was tired of all these willy nilly interruptions in her day and displeased by all these hitches in the journey that was supposed to go so smoothly! She hissed lowly under her breath and stopped leaning against the tree. Her eyes were not as honey-golden as usual and she narrowed them very carefully as she focused on the intruding presence. It was not far and by it's uneven footsteps, also suffering from the wounded ailment. And approximately not 15 meters from where they were standing. Her tone came out harsher as she focused on the spiritual energy of her forest, directing that essence at the moving figure.

"Si̱ko̱theíte, i̱ gi̱ mou, pagída af̱tó to thi̱río." The vines and roots lying exposed on the forest floor instantly heeded her words, coming to life and snaking through the forest after the presence. It took a mere few seconds before she heard adjoining yell and a smile of satisfaction fell upon her lips. She turned back to the man-beast and their not-so-pleasant travel creature, the former of which looking thoroughly confused. She blinked at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I didn't do anything bad, I just told my forest to snare him, that's all. That's how I catch runaway animals; you snag them around the arms and legs so they cannot escape!" She said it lightly though she was still rather annoyed underneath the smile. Whatever this thing was that thought it could come through her forest? She'd had enough of all this nonsense. At this point, she'd drag all this weight to the city herself (with the assistance of her plants, of course) just be rid of it. In fact, that was a marvelous idea! She didn't wait for her companion as she darted ahead, eager to incite her plan. They were right at the edge after all and she could fully justify this to Mother later.

"Come come, I'll still have you to the city!" She called over her shoulder, snapping her fingers to signal to her plants to drag the whatever-it-was out of the forest with them. Yes, this was a much better solution, shame she hadn't thought of it when they first found the creature. It would've saved her a lot of problems. She was already waiting at the outskirts of the path to the city before her hairy companion caught up with her, the nymph settling her hair around herself. There was some odd thing between the dusty, dirt path and what she had to assume was the city. It ran over the river but hovered in place. How was it kept like that...? She decided to stay put until her new friend got here, he'd know what to do. He came from the outside after all. So busy was she of thinking of this strange structure and what she had caught in her plants that she did not pay attention to her surroundings near the city, too lost in her own thoughts.

"Come back here ya thieving bastard!" It looked like the man was attempting to yell, but it sounded like a pathetic cough, audible only to West. His lone pursuer loosed another arrow as West continued his flight toward the edge of the forest. The quarrel struck a tree far to his left, considerably off target. But you had to give him credit, considering that he had been almost blown up and was sprinting. West looked up slightly as he mantled a fallen tree. The branches were low enough for him to grab. He looked behind him as he landed, his pursuer was panting, tired, and barely able to look straight. The sun was coming up. The man may see him. Would he risk it? Hell, what else could go wrong?

He made a sudden sharp turn, leaning close to the ground all the while. He felt the rough surface of a small rock in the bowl of his fingers. Taking hold of the rock in one hand, he leaped, grabbed a low branch with his other and flipped himself. He felt slight vertigo as he watched the leaves of the ground become the sky. He landed on a higher branch, hitting it with the balls of his feet. Feeling the jarring landing, he teetered, windmilling his arms, albeit in a bent-arm fashion. He flinched, his shoulder flaring out in a burst of pain. He quickly steadied himself, holding himself in a squat. He took in a breath. That actually worked. I might try that out later. Leaves crunched. The pursuer stumbled, almost tripping, under West's perch. West aimed the rock at a tree in the direction he was originally running.

The pursuer did a few 180s, looking for West, before the rock impacted the tree with a discernible thunk. "I hear ye!" The scruffy man took off again. West relaxed. He had him off his tail. Now I have to find a way to stop him. Make it easier for the authorities to find him, they'll find him out as a bandit. He readied his knife. He had made throws with it before, to cut out-of-reach ropes and the like, but never a handle strike. His former pursuer gained slightly more distance. He gripped the blade, aiming for the neck area. Before he was even able to draw back, multiple vines and brush, captured the man, and started dragging him away, to West's right. His face betrayed no emotion, but West stared as the man was dragged through the underbrush, cursing and protesting all the while.

"Unhand me! What devilry be this!" West almost laughed at the comment.

It occurred to West that he should probably drop down and meet the person who caused this. Hiding was a good option also, but he'd seem more believable to the local military commanders if he was a witness, and not the actual captor. And the less likely he was involved in any of this. He doubted that anyone at the actual capitol heard the explosion, but at least one of the surrounding patrols must have. A investigation or scout party was near guaranteed. He dropped down deftly, and started walking. He wiped some dust of his face, most of it came off during the chase, but he still felt a bit grimy.

He reached the clearing, and instantly his countenance changed. He appeared a bit more nervous and uncertain, but still kept his shoulders high. "Hello?" He called out to a small party a ways off. His voice was slightly higher, and more refined than his usual voice. "This man was dashing after me, I'm not sure of his motives, but he was. I hid myself, and I observed the undergrowth retain him. Who did this?" He hated doing this one, but it was the only that came to mind at the moment.

Though the encounter with those willing to assist him to such an extent as well as the lack of burning sunlight over them for the moment were truly blessings, they were only delaying the inevitable. His thirst had to be quenched and his powers of perception decreasing and increasing in unsteady pulses were signs of an approaching disaster to anything that would be near him when he falls into a state of frenzy. A hungry vampire’s body is able to mobilize its last resources to wrestle down just about any prey and feed, or else – to die trying. But of course fine moments such as discerning one’s prey and lingering sentiments towards those in the vicinity tend to fade out of the picture when that happens. Lysard knew that and nearer to the end of their stride he was already muttering weak requests for the dwarf to put him down and run…

While his requests were unheard, in fact, perhaps he was only uttering them in his mind, only weak groans and pained breaths escaping his throat in merciless reality, he did find a moment when he was released. Tired of carrying around the armored youth, the dwarf had paused at the clearing just a little bit before the explosion and put him down. When it did resound, it provided quite the sufficient distraction. The nymph was doing something ahead of them. He didn’t have time to make out what exactly it was, nor did it matter. Lifting himself weakly to his feet, he allowed his inner beast a very slight respite from his normally uncompromising self-control. His body was practically propelled against all injury and all odds away from the clearing without giving a chance for anyone to stop him. He didn’t move in the direction of the killer he’d felt – instead hoping for easier prey. He wouldn’t even make an encounter with the one who moved into the clearing afterwards. His senses were giving out. While at first he used the bare instinct to give himself a boost, moving out of range of his rescuers’ sight and hearing, soon enough it turned against him and enveloped his consciousness entirely. The man known as Lysard faded out of existence for a while. And his body, wild and hungering went on a hunt determined for his kind by nature.

Though the young nymph wouldn’t have any knowledge of it, she had entangled a suitable quarry for him. Not all vampires in the wild would be able to count on such luck as an already immobilized victim. Thus her ignorance became his bliss. The bandit tied by the forest’s roots was shouting something, asking who the hell he was, probably cursing or maybe begging for mercy. He… or perhaps at this point already “it” didn’t care. The man in front of him was prey, fresh and incapable of resisting. It grasped the man’s hair firmly with an armored gauntlet and pulled his head aside, exposing his neck. The man’s eyes shifted frantically to the side at the blood-stained face of the young armored man who quickly drew closer and bit firmly into the exposed skin of the human. A vampire’s bite was truly a strange thing – the toxin made the experience a mixture of pain and pleasure to the victim, even though the ensuing stages of corruption were a lot more decidedly unpleasant. Lysard however was not one to let it go that far… With every gulp of warm blood, with every drop of crimson trickling down his throat, his senses were returning. Delirious at first, determined to finish feeding later. He had to suck this body dry or else the toxin would bring forth a new vampire in a few days…

The man he left dangling from the roots the nymph had called forth was little more than a dried husk, drained entirely. Lysard looked at the man with a somewhat pained expression. He wasn’t proud of the deed, even if he managed to get himself to feast on someone he wasn’t indebted to. Hard as it was, he worked to release the man from the roots and laid him down at the bottom of one of the trees, closing his glazed over eyes and folding his hands over his chest.

"Rest in peace…"

He uttered simply before standing up. While he busied himself with this, he could feel his body utilizing the newly gained nourishment. His wounds were pulling closed, even his throat wasn’t burning anymore from the prior shout and from having been dry all this time. It was quite literally as though the life of the unfortunate man was now added to his… That was how it was for vampires. Lysard looked himself over – while he certainly felt nearly fully restored to proper health, he still looked like he’s been through hell and back. Most likely he would need to find accommodation. Get cleaned up, tend to his equipment… He cursed under his breath. There was nothing he could do other than get to the city. But he wouldn’t return to those who had rescued him – he would have to do it on his own now. And so, now rejuvenated and in full control once again, he began moving far more steadily towards another exit from the forest and the city that was beyond it…

Pnév̱ma had been teetering on her heels back and forth, staring at the strange structure over the river with wide, golden eyes. Though she couldn't quite figure out how, the structure stayed up even as other creatures on two legs and larger beasts that snorted walked upon it. The beasts were tied with brown vines but did not seem to mind being wound up and pulled square boxes that were on top of circular blocks. She narrowed her eyes at the odd sight and shrugged. There were strange things outside her forest, that was to be sure. The girl turned back to the hairy man-beast, who had set the odd creature down on the ground. Did her companion tire easily...? Perhaps that was why he set the offensive thing upon the ground. She swept her long locks around her body, tugging her hair closer to her form as she stuck out her bottom lip.

Ohhh, so close and so far. How on earth were they supposed to get across that infernal structure? The nymph was distracted from her inner turmoil as a soft male voice called to them, sounding unsure and hesitant. In a moment, her shoulders shot up to her ears, small body tensing. "Hello? This man was dashing after me, I'm not sure of his motives, but he was. I hid myself, and I observed the undergrowth retain him. Who did this?" Who did what...? What was he even talking about? She didn't know but she had definitely heard all she needed to hear.

Hid himself? In her forest? In undergrowth? How dare he lay with her plants in such an intimate manner and think he was worthy of their presence? Her hair settled over the left side of her face as she glared at the other man in full, unamused and disgruntled. She decided she did not like him, with his silly display of nervousness and his unassuming walk and oh-so-arrogant nature to think her forest enjoyed his presence. She gauged him from the tips of his unruly hair to the strange garments on his feet. Yes, he even smelled like an invader of sorts. She made her dislike very clear upon her face as she swept her hair around, given it's length, it was able to hit the sides of his cheeks in a rendition of a slap.

"Back, back heathen." She stated, thinking of the thing's name on the spot. "I don't know what you're pla--" A loud, resounding noise suddenly filled the air, effectively cutting off the girl's words. Her eyes were immediately brought away from the imposing figure and towards the city, catching sight of an odd sight of mist beginning to settle on the ground. Immediately, the trees behind her began to whisper in panicked voices, all shouting at once and filling her head. Her petite hands shot up to the sides of her head as she squeezed her eyes shut against all the noise rushing inside of her mind. It was impossible to make out any of the voices clearly for long as they all spoke at once; she was only able to catch snatches of what was said. But one such voice caught her attentions for it resounded the strongest in her mind, desperate, frightened, terrified.

'We must return to Mother...!' Her eyes shot open as she quickly turned to her new companions. She barely took notice of the missing man, more focused on her new friend. The forest wouldn't protect him, no, it would only protect her. She could care less about the heathen as well but she was always loyal to those kind to her! She went to outreach on of her arms towards him when a terrible roar vibrated through the air, vibrating through her tiny body. The girl was paralyzed, unable to turn, but she heard what sounded to be a singular flap of giant wings. The force of the movement created something resembling a sonic boom and she tried to will herself, urge herself to move her feet, to move forwards to try and say something--anything!

The ground shook beneath her feet violently and the nymph was too delicate of form to be able to hold her footing and was knocked backwards, tumbling several meters down the path as the earth continued to quiver. She managed to sputter out a few words, the jolt of her small form enough to snap her back into some functioning state. "Éla se ména, ampélia mou!" She cried, the vines and roots from the earth digging up from between the path and rising upwards. The walls of the city were already beginning to be chiseled away to nothing and debris was flying everywhere. The rocks were very large in size and despite her not caring of the others, she supposed the man-beast would be disappointed in her if she did not shield them all. She directed her plants upwards, the tendrils of earth wrapping around each other strongly to form a barrier of sorts around the group.

The strange sensation from whatever was causing this made her feel ill, her spiritual link already making her feel light-headed--which was a new sensation for her. She had no time to ponder it as the effort it took to create this barrier in this creature's presence was sapping her energy. Her vision began to tinge with black and the nymph fainted just as she finished making the barrier, collapsing on the very edges of the bridge.

They had finally made it out of those damn woods and into a clearing. Brildar could finally see the city walls now that there were no trees in the way. He set the wounded man against the bridge to catch his breath and rest his arms. He glanced over at Pev to see her gawking at the bridge with confusion and wonder.

What a strange little thing she is. He thought to himself, chuckling softly despite the recent events.

Brildar walked over to the river, knelt down and used his hands to scoop up water to his parched lips. He gulped three ferocious gulps before taking out his handkerchief to clean. He scrubbed away the dried blood before wiping off his dirt covered face. It was like he was taking off a mask of dirt. The hankie quickly dirtied again and he repeated the same process of washing it. Behind him he heard a new voice. A male one, almost apologetically said something about a man coming after him and hiding in bushes. The fellow seemed guilty and Brildar wasn't going to trust him so easily as he did little Pev. He turned his attention to Pev to see her flipping her hair angrily and her face reddening. "Back, back heathen." Before Brildar could stop her she started on a new retort. She was not speaking for long until the air and skies changed in a fraction of seconds.

Brildar hobbled over to Pev quickly while staring in the direction of the city. A strange purple haze engulfed the city and the skies split. What had come from the sky was unknown but whatever it was had created a force so great that it shook the ground. Poor Pev went flying from the force and Brildar fell trying to catch her. He could not stand back up again but still tried to crawl for her. The small girl rolled and shouted out some incoherent jargon that Brildar could not understand. Suddenly the vines tore out of the ground, creating a barrier between them and what ever had happened in the city. They were safe from any debris that could have made its way to them but Brildar started to experience a sudden pain in his chest.

"Oh dear Dumathoin, is this what a heart attack feels like?" He said out loud, clutching his chest in pain.

He hit his chest several times out of instinct and started to regain his control once again. He recovered, stunned, looked around for Pev and somehow knew exactly where she was.

Why can I feel others just as I feel her? He thought to himself curiously.

He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him over to her. He reached out his big hands and gently picked her up into his arms, careful not to hurt her. Her long black hair fell over his palms. She was still alive and breathing but he was afraid she needed medical attention from the tumble she took. He looked back to the city and whatever it was had left and all was back to norm except the city tangled with rubble. He had forgotten about the injured man and looked to no avail for him. He had vanished but he could still feel his presence. Brildar had little Pev to think about and didn't worry to much. He looked at the guilty stranger with a stern face.

"Don't try anything funny lad. Don't think I wont kill yee, cause I will if I have to." He warned.

Brildar crossed the bridge and made his way to the city, Pev in arms and his pack on back. He didn't worry about his pet because she was a tough one and could survive almost anything. He was heading towards the others, who ever they were.

Okay.. What'd I do to make her angry?

West thought tiredly as the Nymph, at least that what he thought she was, gave him a glare. Sizing him up. He stepped back as it whipped it's hair around and nearly hit him. His face impassive, with a touch of confusion to add to his "ignorance". His face did not reflect his thoughts.

You feel whatever the hell you want you to about me. I'm doing my job. Hate me if you want, this continent isn't safe yet.

It was starting to say something when a resounding boom cut it off. As if one the forest didn't have enough already. He looked to the city. The skies were changing. North. He was in there. West dashed past the Dwarf and Nymph, who was uttering a language he didn't recognize entirely. No normal person would hear it as anything recognizable, but he caught snatches thanks to him being around lots different species. Something about protection.

West stumbled as a the sonic boom reached his ears and debris pelted him. A particularly large piece impacted the bridge he just crossed. It held. Shortly after, he collapsed on his back, sliding a little as a deep pain entered him. Gasping, he tried to diagnose the pain. No debris had hit him. He attempted to get up, but with little success. The pain dissipated leaving as quickly as it came. He recovered, narrowly dodging some more debris. Hearing still slightly impaired, he called out to the patrol sent out to investigate the explosion.

"You there!" The captain got up shakily, turned around to face him.

"Who are yo-" West cut the captain off.

"No time!" He spoke with authority. "We need to round up the rest of your platoon. Send your fastest riders to help evacuate the city." The captain. nodded without question. He gestured to two of his riders, who mounted, and took off toward the city.

"What is your name? Where is your commander?" Asked West as the captain offered him his sword. He shook his head.

"Grunman, sir. Captain Grunman. Commander Heaves is in the city." Grunman retracted his sword. West nodded, drawing his knife.

"Very well, Grunman. Meet me at Town Center after you round up your men. I shall have a word with the commander. If he is still alive." Grunman paled slightly at those words. Even then, he kept a straight face. He mounted also, waving the rest of his three men forward.

"Need a horse?" Grunman asked, pausing by West as his men rode past him.

"You are most needful of them at this time. I can manage." Grunman nodded, and sped up to join his men. West ran slightly diagonal to them, heading for a different entrance. Something was drawing him somewhere, he knew exactly where to go, and he didn't know why. He turned his mind to other issues, as his feet guided him who-knows where.

Commander Heaves? North, what are you up to?

The explosion that had given Lysard his chance to make an escape earlier was apparently only a smaller shock in line for this area for even he caught a glimpse of strange light that enveloped the sky and send forth bolts of lightning bright and terrible in the destruction it brought about. That was a good reason for him to put his newly recovered strength to the test and he proceeded swiftly through the forest to a spot where the canopy wouldn’t prevent him from watching events unfold. Drinking the entire blood supply of a grown human body was quite filling, but much of that reserve was already spent on bringing his body back into normal condition. In a nutshell this left him sufficiently satiated and he had certainly missed the ease with which he could move regardless of his armor. He even had the time to wash off some of the blood in a nearby stream, relieving himself of the uncomfortable black-red crust.

It was shortly after this momentary pause at the body of water that first evidence of the cataclysm caught his attention. And as he came closer and gained a chance to observe better, he saw it. The sky nearly seemed to split, the beast that came forth from there, despite the distance still managed to be imposing. And as he observed this event of incredible magnitude unfold, he felt something inside of him. It was as though his heart pulsed with a vigor unknown to man or vampire. Familiar, yet somewhat overwhelming as his armored hand involuntarily pressed onto his chestplate over the spot beneath which the strange pulse had awakened. He clenched his teeth, shaken on the inside and continued to watch the great catastrophe.

And after a while, the beast took off, no doubt leaving much devastation in its wake. With the frantic beating within his chest coming to an end, Lysard, for a reason he could not fathom, felt strangely driven. For some reason he knew that getting to the city has now become a task more urgent than it was before. The young vampire knight hurried on ahead and it didn’t take him all too long to make it to the city. The guards had yet to be stationed at all spots where the storm and the beast had damaged the outer wall, making entry an easy feat. Though it would technically make his presence in the city something of a stretch in terms of the law, if everything went according to plan, he would be gone from here before anyone would have the time or inclination to check for an unwanted presence in the city, such as his own.

Lysard looked around, even his still somewhat bloodied armor attracting little attention. After all, in a situation such as this, wounded were to be expected. Regrettably under the circumstances restocking on supplies would have to wait. A weird sort of gut feeling, similar to the instincts he would often be forced to keep under strict moderation, yet somehow unrelated to his vampiric nature, urged him to seek. He conducted a brief investigation. Most people were in no condition to give him any answers, but prompted by a helping hand some at least shared different perspectives on what had occurred. Of course, most of it was merely frightened muttering and attempts to give the beast and the storm a wide variety of intimidating monikers. Still, it was clearly far from a mere nightmare even if it seemed like one. The threat was real, it occurred right there over the capital and Lysard feared to think just what sort of havoc the beast could be wrecking wherever it was headed. As for the strange thing he had sensed within himself - at best it would be considered by others to be merely common shock at seeing what they'd seen.

Among other people he had offered assistance to a blacksmith. A rewarding initiative as the man didn’t hesitate to suggest repaying the young man by looking at his equipment asking little to no questions. The officials of the city were unable to respond to all the destruction that had occurred, so his goodwill found a decent application. Soon enough he was already sitting inside the smithy with the steady clinking of the blacksmith’s tools upon metal. His house was damaged, but his working place was not. And it was now serving the young vampire quite well as was its diligent worker.

"You’d think a young man like yourself would rather go into an inn upon coming to a city. But I suppose now’s really not the time for ale. Still, you come at a most peculiar time…"

The man commented to Lysard, who was for once sitting without his armor, though still keeping his sheathed sword upon his knees for now. For some reason the young vampire felt impatient, restless. And the longer he stayed there the more he felt he had to go. He had to leave as soon as possible. And seek them out. They were here, they felt what he had felt and this bound them together. Prior to leaving he would thank the toiling man for his hard work, but the response to this was merely a dismissive hand gesture.

"If anything I should be still thanking you for showing up when you showed up. There’s enough rubble in the city right now to preoccupy every pair of hands and you've made yours useful."

Thankfully working on his equipment didn't take long. It was fully cleaned as was Lysard himself. Additionally the blade sharpened and the joints of his armor seemingly bending with more ease. He and the blacksmith exchanged another round of mutual thanks after which the vampire, whose nature thankfully wasn’t revealed, stepped out into the still ruined streets of the city. Find them. They're here. Then all would be clear. He knew it for a reason he could not understand and was compelled to trust this knowledge. Soon enough he approached the Southern entrance. And there stood a man, who was beyond a doubt among those he was seeking. Lysard stepped forward guided by whatever had awakened in him earlier. And he knew that he wouldn't be the only one.

The first thing Fallon saw when she blinked open her eyes was darkness. Nothing at all. Next her nose started working, picking up scents of dirt, stone and... blood? The smell broke through her sleepy stupor and forced her to try and come upright. At first, the action proved futile. The darkness above her was rubble. Panic invaded her mind and she frantically clawed at her prison, trying to find a weak point. Dim light danced through a small crack and with all the energy within her, Fall broke the barrier and took in great gasps of air as she finally saw the sky above. She pushed away the rubble that hindered the movement of her lower body. Her body groaned in protest as she forced herself up, but aside from some flesh wounds, Fallon was largely okay.

She couldn't say the same for the rest of the city around her though. Her head swam as she recalled last night's events, but she couldn't rest until she'd made sense of what had happened. Fallon had found the way back to her inn, but stayed in the attached pub to chat with the locals. She was happily chatting with locals and tourists alike when a flash of light blinded everyone in the inn. Then, an explosion. Or was it a roar? After that point, her memory was hazy, and she had a feeling she might have been hit on the head by something.

Little had survived whatever had happened. There were a few stragglers here and there, but the carnage made her sick and dizzy. And then a chilling thought crossed her mind. What if whatever had caused this destruction would come for her hometown next? Fallon stopped breathing, but forced herself to think positive. If that seemed unlikely, she was going to distract herself with more practical matters. Such as the location of her lance. She rummaged through the nearby rubble, and got a small bit of satisfaction to see the long weapon intact. Her pack that had her armor was dirtied, and the said contents were a bit dented, but like her, they were largely okay. They were comforting weights on her back, reminding her she'd been luckier than most. She silently thanked the gods as she searched for others who were now experiencing the aftermath. There were a few, but they were too caught up in their own grief. And Fallon chose not to approach them, as she had little to offer in the ways of comfort. She silently wept for them, but kept her eyes dry and her throat clear. She needed both fully functioning.

"Ma?" A small blonde girl clutching the remains of a pillow looked around, lost in the rubble. Covered in filth from head to toe, she couldn't have been more than eight years. In her gut, she already knew what had happened to her mother. The small body approach her, and she looked up with big green eyes that already knew the answer but were hoping against hope. "Have you seen my Ma?"

Kneeling down to eye level, she spoke in as warm a tone as possible. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I haven't. I'll try and find some help for you, alright?" When the small girl nodded, she held out her hand and she hesitantly placed her hand in it. Fallon tentatively tightened her grip, acknowledging the small miracle that happened when such a fragile thing had survived through this mess. The girl continued to call out for her mother while Fallon looked for anything that seemed to be some semblance of a relief unit. Things went by without incident until the older of the pair suddenly stilled in her tracks.

First, she felt a strange tug at her heart. Like someone had taken a string to it and pulled. She shrugged it off as nothing, ignoring it until it intensified to a point of pain. She gasped for breath, shuddering and forced herself down to one knee when her she couldn't bear it anymore. Fallon wasn't looking, but she had begun to glow some red tint that sent the smaller girl in a panic, screaming for someone to come help. She faintly heard the sound of footsteps, but by the time they arrived, the pain was suddenly gone. But it left her feeling raw, wanting to be alone to contemplate what had just happened. Almost as if on cue, one of the men offered to take the girl so that she could have a few moments to herself. The young woman accepted the offer, but smiled back at the girl who was eyeing her warily. Satisfied that her helper was fine, she looked to the man and then back at her again. Fallon stood and talked to the girl in reassuring tones. "Don't worry, these men will help you. Stay safe." With a small wave, she left, trusting her newfound instinct to guide her way.

And by "newfound" she literally meant it. After that brief but incredibly painful episode, she could pick up the aftermath energy. Testing it, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the sense. She detected some great presence a distance off, and suspected it was what had caused the explosion. But nearby, she knew there were others who possessed the same kind of energy she did. Her footsteps lead her around the ruins, pumping just a tad faster as she realized they were all headed towards each other. One remained still, unmoving, so Fall opted to approach this person first.

Once she finally caught sight of one of the people she sensed, she slowed the rapid pace she hadn't realized she'd set for herself. She stilled completely when she realized there was another man coming towards him. Fallon knew there was more than one, but she hesitated as she acknowledged the fact she had little idea of who these people were and what they had in relation to her. But she forced herself to take a step. And another. Simply because there was nothing else left for her to deal with. Fall nervously tugged at one of her braids and grimaced as she realized it was matted in blood. For that matter, she had left her wounds untreated. Shaking her head, she decided she'd deal with them once she was actually not dying of her own nerves. Just what exactly had happened?

When the brunette was finally within a reasonable distance of the other two, she stopped and closed her eyes. Fall tried to feel out with her senses. Yes, these two were definitely some of what she'd felt, and there a few others still. She took a little comfort in the idea that she wasn't alone in her experience.

Shadow waited patiently, five other individuals arriving after a relatively short period of time. Three other humanoids, though their energies were slightly varied between the three, an unconscious nymph, and a dwarf. An interesting crew, to be sure, but none the less they all gathered with Shadow just outside the city. At first, Shadow said absolutely nothing, as none of them seemed to know what was going on or why they had been drawn to each other. Since none of them had answers, there was no reason to ask questions.

Besides... Everyone's questions were about to be answered.

The skies began to swirl above their heads as a bright white light began to pierce the darkness above them. The clouds began to gather and churn over and through themselves in a circle as the light grew stronger. Then, slowly, out of the light came the immense form of a large serpentine Dragon descending from the heavens. It's large, white wings helped it glide gracefully down from the skies as it inched its way through the gathering clouds revealing a brilliant array of white scales lined with gold along its body length, leading into large, gem-like objects along its neck. A large blue horn on its nose and one on the back of its head were framed by small white wings on the sides of its head as it stared down at the group with large golden eyes. The Dragon had no arms or legs to speak of, but never the less landed in front of Shadow and the others and looked upon them one by one.

Shadow's first instinct had been to take up a defensive posture, but as he looked into the eyes of the Dragon he was forced to relax himself against his will. The little unconscious nymph was forced to awaken, also against its body's will, as this enormous serpentine Dragon looked down upon them.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the Dragon spoke.

"My kin... It pleases me to find your ancient blood reawakened after so many millennia. Forgive me, but I must test your power."

With that, the Dragon opened it's mouth and expelled forth from its gaping maw a brilliant white light in the form of a pure stream of energy. The energy struck the entire group at once, bathing them in light and power, threatening to tear them apart at the seams.

Shadow's body felt like it was being thrown into the sun from the heat, and he felt like he was, at the same time, being ripped apart by so many a thousand horses pulling in different directions on a thousand different points on his body. This pain was beyond excruciating, to the point where his body couldn't even register it anymore and he simply stood there as his body threatened to fall apart beneath him. The white energy enveloping him and the others began to intensify, as the level of heat increased and the force behind it brought them all to their knees.

Then, all at once, it was over.

The pain ceased, the heat dissipating, and all of them were forced to their feet by the will of this Dragon before them.

"It is done." The Dragon said softly.

"Your blood is true, and your power fully awakened. Now my kin... Learn of your fate." It said.

Shadow found himself back in control as shook his head for a second to clear his mind before waiting patiently for what this Dragon had to say to him and the others.

"In ancient times, the evil Dragon Maglissos sought to expunge the light from this world. As a consequence of his actions, he was sealed away by the power of the Divine Dragon in a realm beyond time. He has now escaped, as the power of the Divine Dragon weakens as its life draws nearer to its end. You, my kin, are all that now stand in the way of Maglissos and his evil intentions to eliminate the light from this world. If he is not stopped, your world will perish. My power is as nothing in the face of Maglissos's own, and as such I must entrust the future of this world to you."

The Dragon lowered its head slightly, but kept it about thirty feet off the ground.

"Would any of you wish to question me?" The Dragon asked.

Shadow looked at the Dragon's eyes as they finally fell upon his own, and he took a step forward.

"How can we combat this evil if we don't know how to access our power?" He asked.

The Dragon's head reared back until it was back around the fifty foot range in the air as it continued to watch Shadow.

"Your ancient blood grants you a very special power. Merely speak the name of your ancient bloodline, and your instincts will do the rest."

Shadow looked confused for a moment as he tried to comprehend what the Dragon was saying. "The name of your ancient bloodline." What in the world did that mean? How was he supposed to know the name of his ancient bloodline? What use could a name be, and what did his instincts have to do with it? Shadow had no answers.

Before he could get an answer, however, the Dragon looked to the skies and levitated its body into the air. Slowly, its white wings began to flap as its raised itself further and further into the sky. Shadow was going to ask more questions, but something inside kept him from doing so. The Dragon looked down at its "kin" once more before flying away into the heavens, a blinding white light covering its trail as it disappeared beyond the clouds above.

About a minute later, all was quiet, and Shadow looked around to each individual around him one at a time before looking back towards the skies.

... The name of my ancient bloodline... He thought to himself.

Somethings happening. I can feel it. This was supposed to be simple. West thought, frustrated. I hate plot twists.

There were about five others here, including the dwarf and nymph he had seen earlier. He had meant to as soon as possible contact "Commander Heaves". But something drew him here. He scanned the group for recognizable faces. Surprisingly, he found one. Shadow. Rather famous in the underground world of bounty hunters, mercs, and sellswords. He was quite the antonym of West, in terms of career choice. No one said anything, and West wasn't going to encourage any talking. He felt inclined to leave, as there was really nothing of importance here, but then again...

The dark sky lit up suddenly, like one of those annoying bandit firebombs. But unlike firebombs, this one didn't go out, it got brighter. West stared straight forward, not looking up. No reason to damage his eyes. His night vision was already ruined. The light dimmed slightly, and he looked up. His face, as usual, remained passive, but his knife was in his hand in a blur. It was an overgrown serpent, to put it bluntly, but in a graceful sort of way. It landed. It looked into each of the party's eyes, and rested on West's for a moment.

He met it unflinchingly, arms by his side, knife still drawn.

Then slowly, his body relaxed. His mind was racing, but not panicking. He slowly sheathed his knife.

He fought against the influence, but to no avail. He eventually stopped, turning his attention toward the dragon.

It spoke.

"My kin... It pleases me to find your ancient blood reawakened after so many millennia. Forgive me, but I must test your power."

West would've said something, if the dragon hadn't opened its mouth and blasted them with who-knows-how many degrees of heat and light. The white-hot pain penetrated to his core, and his various mental parts screamed out individually.

ARRGGGHH!!! What the-!?! Screamed the rational part of his mind. Son of a-!

PAIN!!! KILL SOURCE OF PAIN!!! KILL IT!!! Screamed the primal, instinctive part of his mind, rudely interrupting the rational.

IT BURNS DAMNIT!!! IT BURNS!!! Screamed his body.

SHUT UP! WE'RE TRYING TO THINK! Screamed his rational and primal mind at his body simultaneously.

Fine then. His body sulked and sat in a metaphorical corner, suffering quietly.

Then, it was over.

That was interesting. West internally groaned to himself as his respective metaphorical parts metaphorically reassembled themselves. The influence stood him up.

I was going to do it myself, thank you very much. West thought.

"It is done." Said the dragon softly.

"Your blood is true, and your power fully awakened. Now my kin... Learn of your fate." It continued.

"In ancient times, the evil Dragon Maglissos sought to expunge the light from this world. As a consequence of his actions, he was sealed away by the power of the Divine Dragon in a realm beyond time. He has now escaped, as the power of the Divine Dragon weakens as its life draws nearer to its end. You, my kin, are all that now stand in the way of Maglissos and his evil intentions to eliminate the light from this world. If he is not stopped, your world will perish. My power is as nothing in the face of Maglissos's own, and as such I must entrust the future of this world to you."

The Dragon lowered it's head, closer to the party.

"Do you wish to question me?"

Shadow stepped forward to ask a question.

"How can we combat this evil if we don't know how to access our power?"

The dragon rose up twenty feet more.

"Your ancient blood grants you a very special power. Merely speak the name of your ancient bloodline, and your instincts will do the rest."

West watched as it rose into the sky with finality. It looked down at the party once more, and then West averted his eyes as another flash of white light. It faded. When he looked up once more, it was gone. He looked to the party, and locked eyes with Shadow as he was staring him down.

Shadow broke contact as he lifted his eyes again.

Great. Now I'm inclined to stay. West thought, folding his arms. He needed to meet with North, especially now. He wasn't going to be the one to start the conversation, though. He observed the destruction around them.

This is going to be a hell of a cleanup process. I feel bad for Governer Petraeus.

Pnév̱ma's memory was hazy, she had no recollection of what happened shortly after she had passed out. Indeed, when the world had faded all to an inky black, she had collapsed without another thought, the faint screams of her trees echoing in her mind. Yet now, it felt as if something was nudging at her, prodding her out of her slumber. There was little she could do to resist the tug and her eyelids fluttered open, lashes falling over bleary, golden orbs. Her vision was still blurry around the edges and she tried to focus, the small movements of her body enough to tell her that she was being held by something. Or someone, judging by the hair that she could feel against her skin. A gentle voice spoke, causing her to pause in her efforts.

"My kin... It pleases me to find your ancient blood reawakened after so many millennia. Forgive me, but I must test your power." And before the nymph had any time to try to awaken more, or even defend herself properly--a blinding light filled her line of sight, with it, a numbing pain without words. She immediately hissed out, unable to keep herself from slipping into her native tongue, losing sight on the language she had spoken with the other life forms.

"I̱ Mi̱téra, o pónos...! She let out in staggering breaths, in that moment, only able to think of Mother. For a moment, it seemed the world only consisted of pain but as quickly as it came, it suddenly ended. It left her breathless and her hair wildly tumbled about her face. She had somehow ended up on the ground, perhaps she had writhed so much and out of whoever had been holding her. (She prayed to Mother it was the man-beast, anyone else was a deplorable thought) She was shaking and barely registered the soft voice when it spoke again.

"It is done. Your blood is true, and your power fully awakened. Now my kin... Learn of your fate." Blood? True? What was this beast with wings spouting out? She struggled to stand but her legs were too weak to support her at the moment. So the nymph was forced to remain upon the ground, hair cascading around her frame.


"In ancient times, the evil Dragon Maglissos sought to expunge the light from this world. As a consequence of his actions, he was sealed away by the power of the Divine Dragon in a realm beyond time. He has now escaped, as the power of the Divine Dragon weakens as its life draws nearer to its end. You, my kin, are all that now stand in the way of Maglissos and his evil intentions to eliminate the light from this world. If he is not stopped, your world will perish. My power is as nothing in the face of Maglissos's own, and as such I must entrust the future of this world to you... Do you wish to question me?" Pnév̱ma had been about to open her mouth to respond but was cut off. Cut off by the most splendid creature she had ever laid her eyes upon.

"How can we combat this evil if we don't know how to access our power?" As he spoke in a smooth voice, the nymph stopped breathing, stopped thinking as she stared at him. She didn't even really hear the winged beast's response, something about a bloodline, but that mattered for naught. She barely registered the words as the wings spread and the beast turned, flying into the distance. No, she did not care about that at all. All she was focused on was the man creature that had just spoken so smoothly with a voice like dipped honey running along leaves.

The man's eyes shifted to the side and she saw her chance. Ohhh, was that his thinking face? How utterly perfect! She forced strength into her legs, which were wobbly from being on the physical plane for so long. She straightened very unsteadily and stumbled on her first few steps. But she didn't have to walk very far at all.

"Epilegeí mou!" She exclaimed, the small girl tumbling forwards into him and wrapping her willowly arms around his frame. He smelled of adventure! That was a nice scent. She snuggled a bit closer to the man she felt such a strong kinship with--clearly this was indeed her chosen! How else was she able to feel him so perfectly, so closely, so wonderfully? And then her mind started to progressively register other life forms around her.

She bothered to look around at her surroundings. The bulky figure of the man-beast was a few feet from her, ah, he surely must've been the one to have been holding her before. There was some other... female looking creature with hair the color of light tree bark. Pnév̱ma need only look at her for a moment to decide that the girl couldn't have been that bad if her hair and eyes were the hues of nature. There was some other creature with big, blue eyes that she didn't recognize. Oddly feminine though. And it was at last that she brought her eyes to something so utterly unpleasant, it made her snuggle just a bit closer into the man she was holding. The gross heathen from before was standing so casually, an expression of guilty nonchalance on his face.

He should be guilty, he was being intimate with her plants! And the way he looked around, ohhhh, so annoying! She looked up at the man creature and smiled her most charmingly, adorable smile at him. Well, she could deal with the heathen if it meant that spending time with her chosen. "So," She said, her voice breathless. "However did you fall from the grace of Mother to our presence?" She asked, choosing an artful way to ask him how he had gotten here and how the group had assembled. Her golden eyes were lit up as she stared up at him. Perhaps the beginning of her adventure hadn't been all that pleasant, aside from the man-beast of course, but it was certainly starting to shape up nice~

Rather shortly after Lysard approached the man waiting just outside the city they were joined by a number of individuals. He took his time to study all of them. A similar if somewhat diverse energy was radiating from all of them. While they said nothing to one another as they came, there was some sort of intuitive understanding of their reason for converging here. They were driven to come here and gravitate towards one another. So no one seemed to mind being observed by the other, their curiosity unquenched despite the newly emerged sensation. Realizing it had little to do with his corruption he felt simultaneously calmed over the origin of the victim, but was of course presented with a new question as well. It was however destined to await its answer a mere few more moments. Among those that arrived were the two he crossed paths with in the forest. When he noticed the nymph was unconscious the young vampire frowned and moved forward.

“What happened? Is she alright?”

He asked the dwarf. Could something have happened in the forest following his escape? Or was it that he missed something happening due to his delirious state? One way or other he voiced his concern rather openly. But before any meaningful exchange could occur between them yet another strange and grand event began to unfold. Much like some of the others, he was on the defensive, especially seeing that the previous thing that had emerged from the sky brought about incredible destruction with it. This one certainly seemed different, majestic, yet nonetheless imposing. He felt his armored hand tremble slightly on the hilt of his broadsword as if about to let it go.

"My kin... It pleases me to find your ancient blood reawakened after so many millennia. Forgive me, but I must test your power."

Following this declaration the white serpent did something that not only forced Lysard’s hand off his weapon, but brought back a pain that rivaled one he had felt whilst wounded in the forest. It was as though all of it was compressed in a single blast. He threw his head back in agony, but couldn’t utter any noise though inwardly he was screaming unrestrained. His mouth was wide open despite the lack of sound, his fangs in plain view but obscured by the blinding light. When it faded he found himself kneeling, his hands on the ground. Then the regal force of the beast before them raised him back to their feet. He still felt slightly unsteady and looked upwards expecting an explanation.

And there along with the others he was told of the enemy of all light, the Dragon Maglissos, as well as of their mission to stop him. He stared at the dragon with suspicion. Most likely the others here also had only questions and doubt as their initial reaction to being informed of their power as well as their supposed purpose in affecting the future of the whole world. And so one of them spoke and questioned the serpent, asking how they could ever accomplish such an inhuman feat with a power they knew nothing about. It was a good question to ask and he listened closely to the answer.

“Name of our ancient bloodline…? What does this mean?”

After the dragon ascended once more to the heavens and disappeared, he looked around at those gathered here. Quite surprisingly and, perhaps, awkwardly given the situation, the young nymph not only awoke but also clung suddenly to one of them. Was he perhaps an old friend? He found himself staring with an unannounced question in his eyes. But then the man introduced himself as “Shadow”, whether it was a moniker or a true name after which he called upon others to introduce himself as well.

“I am Lysard… And apparently we are now part of a rather strange story.”

He kept his family name secret, though at this point he was wondering just how far his bloodline truly went if a dragon would refer to him as its kin. His agenda too was not announced, but then he lacked one as clear as that of the man named Shadow. What was left to hear were the introductions and opinions of the others that gathered here. And among them he would know the words of those that saved him in the woods as well.