In the year of our Matron Mother; 1801, life for the residents of Vashka is peaceful. The humans that inhabit the five nations that make up Vashka are flourishing under the Peace Treaty that the nations' ruling councils signed just 5 years ago. But all is not as it seems. A secret war is being fought in the background by two powerful, but hidden, races. A bloody struggle for supremacy blossoms in the underground of the nations' sprawling metropolis'. Who will win in this fight for dominion?



Nathanial Havitz moved through the shadowed back alleys of Raa City, the founding city of Raanik Nation. He moved slowly and stealthily, keeping to the shadows. He stalked the Daemos ahead of him, one Kristopher Kane, a traitor, a warrior turned spy for the Angeleus, and one of the few Daemos that could possibly know the whereabouts of Nathans father. Nathan watched as his target suddenly disappeared around a corner, and hurried to catch up. The corner took him into a lot behind a drinking establishment, where he spotted his target heading for a back entrance to the building. Nathan knew he had to hurry or he would lose the spy to the crush of bodies inside. He shifted, regretting the fact that it would give him away.

Kristopher headed towards the back entrance to a popular drinking establishment, where he was scheduled to meet his contact. The contact he would meet tonight would pay him lots of gold for the information he was going to deliver, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on it. By rights, they should be paying me more he thought to himself, his greed getting the better of him. He tensed though when the sickly sweet smell of a shift wafted towards him. He spun, knowing that he probably wouldn't have any time to defend himself. He never even got a good look at the creature as it leapt out of the shadows, taking him down in one pounce.

Nathan pinned the Daemos' human form down with his weight, in no hurry to move. He leaned down so his breath fanned the spy's face, and gave him a good view of the large fangs. He gave a low growl as the spy squirmed beneath him, warning him to stay still. Kristopher went still as a stone, and Nathan knew he would have no trouble with the Daemos. He took his time, lounging on the Daemos' sprawled form. "Wha... what do you want?" the spy stuttered, his breath still not back from his rough landing. "Info" Nathan growled, his voice a rough purr. "I heard that you could tell me where my father is." Nathan brought his snout closer to the spy, speaking in a throaty whisper. "Your father?" the spy asked, half terrified out of his wits. "Laurence Havitz" Nathan purred, watching the spy go pale at the mention of his fathers name.

"Captain! Captain!" yelled a soldier rushing into the room.
"What is it?" said the Captain looking up from his maps.
"Its Kristopher, he's been compromised!"
The Captain looked angerly at the soldier and slammed his hands on the table.
"Dammit, we need him on this run. Careless idiot..." All the soldiers jumped when he slammed his fists into the wood. Obviously they didn't see him angry in a long time.
"What are we going to do about it?"
The captain straightened his back and looked at the scout. "Well we're certainly not going to let them find out about us are we? Kristopher knows a lot about are plans and if he has been compromised then he is no longer useful to us. Gather the sharp shooters and I will lead." the soldiers in the room gave a salute and ran off out of the room. The captain was left alone. He moved away from his table and moved over to a chest and rumaged out a bow and quiver. Assembling them on he was soon joined by the Sharp Shooters. "Gentlemen, you all know why you're here. That damned Daemos got himself caught and before he leaks anything out, we're going to kill him. Understand?"
"Sir!" said the shooters simultaniously saluting.
"Good, then lets get going." All of the shooters followed the Captain out of the room. The captain made a passing glance at the scout who informed him of the contact, "Where did you see him?"
"Raa City in the Southern alleys." stuttered the scout looking at the ground. The captain looked at him and lifted his chin.
"You did right by coming to me first." he said, he then turned his attention to his ranged shooters. "Lets go."
The captain sprouted wings from his back and immediately took off. The others following closely behind. His sharp shooters had the wings of owls and where much better suited for maneuvering. They had been settled close by Raa City and getting information out of Kristopher. Although he couldn't say that his information was useful but in the grand scheme of things, he came in handy. Hiding in the clouds of the sky they landed on one of the Southern Buildings that was built towards the heavens themselves. They all knelt down in a circle.
"Spread out and find him. Don't let the humans see you, and whoever it is that found Kristopher is to be killed too, understand?"
"Sir!"
They all spread apart each taking different directions downward. The captain stayed on the rooftops to see a better view. It had already been fifteen minutes until he found Kristopher. He was pinned down by something. He wasn't seen yet, but when the words 'info' arrose in the conversation the Captain readied his bow aiming at Kristopher.
Kristopher was stunned he couldn't move. The captain couldn't get a clear shot. The other Daemos was in the way, it was making conversation with him.
Kristopher looked up and saw the Captain on the roofs above aiming an arrow at him. He went pale and didn't move. If he wasn't going to die from the Daemos then he would certainly be killed by the Captain.
The large cat altered its position on him still pinning him. This was his chance. He released the arrow and it landed square at the bottom of his neck. It went through his skin and straight to his nervous system killing him instantly. The captain smiled a little at his shot.
"I am sorry mate... But this is war." he said darting out of sight.

It was just another day in Raa city people walking the streets beggars begging for food and what not. Damien looked out the boarded up window while putting his beat up black trench coat. Once the coat was on he walked over the the front door of the broken down house and grabbed the doorknob. The doorknob fell off the door as soon as he touched it, not only that the door fell over outside. Damien just looked at the door.
"The place really needs renovations." he sighed and walked outside onto the street. "Time to go and grab some food." With that said Damien walked the street running into the market. He walked up to a stall that had fruit and caused a distraction by asking for a item where the owner would have to look in the back. The distraction worked out great as he took a few fruit and took off. Damien started to eat one enjoying the sweet taste of it. he walked back the way he came to meet a friend of his who he would talk to and hang out with. He started to head down a alley and then hearing something ahead. Some kind of information on someone was about to be leaked out. Damien slowly walked trying not to make a sound to eavesdrop the conversation. Apparently someone was looking for their father. Damien then accidentally hit something causing a noise before he heard something else happen.

Nathan heard the whistle of the arrow slicing through the air just seconds before it hit it's target. He watched in numb disbelief as the Daemos that might just know his father's whereabouts died beneath him. "Damnit!" he swore as he realized that the Angeleus' Kris was working for must have killed him. And more than likely he would be next. He got up off the still warm body and loped towards the shadows of the alley. He shifted in the shadows and moved towards the corner to go back the way he came. As Nathan came round the corner he almost ran into a human that had been standing there. He looked the human over, noting the white hair with blue streaks, and the black trench coat. "Sorry mate, didn't see you there."

'What the hell is going on over there?' Damien questioned in his head. He heard another sound and then a yell. Next thing Damien knew a man came from around the corner with amber eyes and bumped into him.
"Sorry mate, didn't see you there." The stranger said as he then rushed off. Damien looked around the corner where the man came from to see a dead body with a arrow in the mans face. From the looks of things that man who ran into him was a murderer. In cities like these great rewards are given out for the capture of one. "Did you just kill that man?!" he yelled not knowing what the hell was going on.

Nathan looked back over his shoulder as the human asked him if he had killed the spy. "No kid, I didn't kill him. But the ones who did are probably going to be swarming all over this place soon, so you best get out of here." he replied, turning slightly to get a better view of the guy. "Why are you back here, anyway?" he asked. "Nevermind, I don't want to know. Besides, we don't have time for idle chit chat." Nathan looked around, scouting the shadows for a glimpse of a familiar shape. He knew his sis was around here somewhere, she was always nearby to lend a hand. "Sasha?" he whispered, wondering where the vixen had gotten to.

Sasha heard her name whispered nearby, her brother looking for her. She slinked through the shadows, crisscrossing through alleys till she found her brother. He was standing there, with a human, and no sign of the spy he had been tracking. "Nathan?" she called questioningly.

Thaine stood, leaning against the wall of a tavern, attempting to hear any information about local Daemos or Angeleus, the scum that they were. Everyone avoided him, taking a wide circular path around the large man. Why wouldn't they? He was a giant compared to most humans. the Gray Brotherhood, his brethren, knew of a large population of Daemos and Angeleus in Raa City; Thaine didn't question how they knew, but he trusted their information. The hustle and bustle of the city filled the air, much to his anoyance. He glanced at every individual, his one -eyes gaze inspecting each person for the over-sized canines of a Daemos. The brute of a man had a specific hatred of the Daemos over the Angeleus. Something about changing into animals pissed him off.

Towering over the people, the giant stood leaning against the pub, his sword strapped to his back. Rather than most of the standard weaponry of the age, his was a unique design. It was aggresively curved, with a blade of 5 feet, and a hilt of 1.5 feet. The sword was massive, able to reap death wherever it was swung. It was a simple blade, folded steel with an indented ridge to reduce the weight. The hilt was just Daemos bone with bloth wrapped around it...nothing unusual. There was no guard, a symbol as to Thaine's combat morals and ideology. The slight wind touched his bare scalp, cooling the member of the Grey Brotherhood. Nothing was happening, not a single daemos of angeleus to purge from the earth.

Elise walked down the street her head down, her bones aching. How long had she been walking for? How long had she been running to protect the only life that she had? She hated being alone and even more starving half to death. She liced her fangs for a moment before her red eyes darted around for a moment. In the distance was a rather large forest cover where she would probably find some sort of cover and she could probably feast. But then again, the taverns where right here, but that would be to much of a risk right now. Espically with all of the Grey Brotherhood that came to Raa City. No one was safe any more.

A cool wind blew against her blowing her brunette hair back before she stopped and then leaned against a wall, catching her breath and taking a breath. her stomach growled. She wouldn't be able to take this much longer. She would problem end up passing out or even worse losing the control that she had learned. She bit her lip. She wasn't going to lose control she was more tired right now. But what was a Daemos like herself suppose to do?

"No kid, I didn't kill him. But the ones who did are probably going to be swarming all over this place soon, so you best get out of here." Knowing that the man didn't kill the person made Damien feel for comfortable but he then thought of what could happen. Knowing people in general one would not stop with just one kill.
"Get out of here? I am probably a target as well now since I know of the death! Knowing that there are others out here to kill doesn't make me feel any better." Damien had never been in a situation like this before witnessing a kill and now possibly being hunted down.
"Why are you back here, anyway?" The man asked. "Nevermind, I don't want to know. Besides, we don't have time for idle chit chat."
"Of course we don't have time for that they are probably spying on our every move as we speak!" When Damien was speaking the stranger whispered a name. Damien was too occupied thinking of what was going to happen. Out of the darkness of the alley a girl showed up. Damien noticed that her eyes were not normal being a orange-reddish color.
"Nathen?" she said coming closer.
"Oh so your name is Nathan now is it? Good to finally know." Damien looked around seeing people crossing the rooftops. "It's great you two found each other, now can we please get a move on I think 'they' are already onto us."

The captain was soon reunited with his sharp shooters.
"What news Captain?"
"Kristopher is dead." the bowmen all smiled at this.
"And what of the one that confronted him?"
The captain lowered his head for a moment then returned to face the others. "Still lives, I made subtlty my prime concern."
The others nodded in agreement. "What are we going to do as far as information, Captain?"
The Captain smiled and removed his bow and gave it to one of the others.
"We're going to have to do things the old fashioned way: Interrogation." He chuckled at this and the others followed.
"Whats our course sir?"
The captain lowered down and started to draw the street. "This, I'm going to come down the street and confront the man. I want you all to spread out and watch me from above in different locations for different angles." he pointed at five different places. He looked up to see if they understood. They all nodded. "Then if he makes a move that seems threatening take him out. I'll try to convince him to come with us to our camp. Ready?"
"Ready!" they all said in a hushed whisper.
The captain jumped down and walked down the street. Others were already talking about a murder. He didn't have a bow on him so he seemed less likely to have commited it. He looked above the streets and saw that most of the shooters were already in place. He turned his attention back to the ground and saw the man that was originally with Kristopher.
"Hey!" He shouted, "You! What are you doing out here? Don't you know somebody's been murdered?"

"Oh so your name is Nathan now is it? Good to finally know." the human said. "It's great you two found each other, now can we please get a move on I think 'they' are already onto us." Nathan glanced over at the nervous human, then back at his sister. "Come on Sasha, lets get out of here." He didn't want Sasha anywhere near the dead Daemos while Angeleus warriors were about. He needed to get her to somewhere safe. He knew she could take care of herself, but that didn't stop him from worrying about her.

"Hey! You! What are you doing out here? Don't you know somebody's been murdered?"

Nathan turned at the voice, moving slightly so that he was in front of Sasha, shielding her from the man walking towards them. He watched the man cautiously, suspicious of his motives. "Nathan?" Sasha whispered behind him, "What's going on?" He glanced back and gave her a reassuring look, then turned back to the approaching man. "I'm sorry Sir," he spoke in a polite tone. "I was just on my way home. I didn't realize that there had been a murder near here."

"Hey! You! What are you doing out here? Don't you know somebody's been murdered?" A man had came around the corner strangely dressed compared to the others. Damien questioned this figure how would someone know of this murder so quickly?
"I'm sorry Sir," he spoke in a polite tone. "I was just on my way home. I didn't realize that there had been a murder near here." Damien knew Nathan was lying to the man but for what reason? Damien put several things together in his mind he then came to the conclusion that this was possibly the man who was responsible for the murder. In order to clarify this Damien walked up to the person.
"Are you a officer? If so could we see some badges?" he asked curiously pondering what to do next if he was right.

The captain laughed, "Badge? I don't need no sticken badge!"
he straighted up as he walked closer to Nathan. "I know what you did. I can let you off with a clean slate but you have to come with me. If you don't..." he seemed to be looking up at the sky. "Well... You'll end up like Kristopher. Same goes for you punk."
He completely gave himself away but it gave his point across. "What do you say? Come with me, or die where you stand."
By the looks of them they didn't even know what he was mentioning to in the sky. This would save some time for regrouping. He looked at each one expecting a response.

Sasha listened intently to the man who was threatening her brother. She gathered that Kristopher had been killed, possibly by the man standing in front of them. Which would make him an Angeleus. There was no way they could go with him. If they did, they'd more than likely end up dead. And if what he said was any indication, if they didn't go with him, they would end up dead. Not a good situation in her opinion. Drastic times call for drastic measures she thought to herself.

Sasha slinked towards her brother, throwing an arm around his shoulder, and propping the other against her hip. She leaned against Nathan, making sure she curved her spine to draw attention to her waist and hips. "I'm sorry," she said, making her voice a husky growl. "I thought you said that we would die if we didn't turn ourselves in." Sasha moved, sidling towards him, letting her eyes rove over his body, then licking her lips. She stopped just short of the man's reach, crossing her arms beneath her breasts, and leaning towards him just a little. "Can't I go home? Pretty pretty please?"

"Can't I go home? Pretty pretty please?"
The girl was obviously hitting on him. And why not? The Captain was an attractive man but he knew that Nathan was the one with Kristopher and she must have been with him. So they were both Daemos. The other... he wasn't so sure. Possibly a by stander. The captain decided to play along although he hated every moment of it.
"And whats your name, love?" he said putting a hand underneath her chin. "But I'm afraid a pretty little thing such as yourself can't let you wonder the streets." Lowering his hand away from her chin he looked at the others. "Even as company as this." he said mentioning Nathan and the other.
He lowered himself so he was face to face with the girl. "You know something that I want to know. But we can't talk here, my pet." he whispered in her ear. "What says you?"

"You know something that I want to know. But we can't talk here, my pet." the Angeleus whispered in her ear. "What says you?"

Sasha put her arms around his neck, and leaned up to whisper in his ear. She paused before speaking, letting her breath fan across his cheek. "How about no?" She let her nails grow slightly, digging them into his neck a little. "I really don't want to play 20 questions." She let him go, pulling away from him and backing away so that she was standing next to Nathan again. She brought one of her hands up to her face, and licked off some blood that stained her claw-like nails.

The Captain gritted his teeth but did not open his mouth and looked around as if nothing happened. When she backed off he muttered something under his breath.
"Decieving slut." he muttered as he felt the blood on his neck. "You're going to regret that, now I'm certain you're both Daemos'." He gave a sharp whistle and all five archers appeared from their hiding places and aimed directly at the party. The Captain arched his back and wings burst out of his back and through his clothing. His wings fluttered in the air for a moment and then began to beat quickly. He rushed forward in a gust of wind and grabbed the girl before anyone could react and flew up holding the girl from the waist. She was surprisingly light.
"If you want her... try not to die." he yelled at the fellows below. "Fire!"
The archers released their arrows all down at the street and the Captain took off with the girl. He was flying much higher than the buildings and made sure to stay away from them. The girl was thrashing, a natural instinct. He whispered in the girl's ear. "If you were smart you wouldn't do that. A drop from this height can kill you. And let's just say, you're coming with me dead or alive."
They were almost out of the city. The archers gave them a well distraction to leave without any traces. They followed a ravine out of the city and landed by a small cave. The Captain held onto the girl by a pressure point in the back, that would give a sharp sting if she made any movements. The captain manuevered around the cave as if it was nothing. He made a left, then right, another right, and a left. It was a maze. He opened a wooden door and through the girl in it. There were guards present. "Tie her up." he ordered, the guards saluted and began to tie her up from the rope attached to their belts. Once done he inched closer to her. "What did he want with Kristopher?" his voice was much deeper and more threatening. The guards stood at the door almost snickering knowing what was going to happen.

Damien looked at the girl who started to move up toward the man. She apparently was going to try and seduce him using her figure. But the seduction ended up rather crazy. The girl extended her nails and then dug then into the mans neck. Damien was a little freaked out at the site. 'Wha-what the hell did she just do! How is that possible?!" he said backing off a bit from Nathan. The girl then moved back next to Nathan as a loud whistle was heard. The man suddenly sprouted wings from his back. Damien once again was scared shitless never seeing anything like this before. To bad for him he would see more later on. The winged man quickly came grabbing the girl and taking off. At that moment he noticed there appeared to be archers that then fired arrows. Damien panicked and grabbed a metal trash can lid with his right hand. "What the fuck is going on!" Damien blurted out loudly as he then blocked some of the shots luckily. Unfortunately for him he was nailed in the left hand by one of the arrows. Damien screamed when he was hit kneeling down as blood came from the left hand.

Thanor finally heard the trouble going down in the alley next to the populated tavern; due to his long years spent in the brotherhood, he knew what that sound was anywhere. The two scumbag races, Daemos and Angeleus, were having a bit of an altercation, and the Brotherhood member sure as hell wanted in on it. Stirred into action by the noise, the large man sprinted towards the alleyway, moving faster than most 325 pound people would be able to. After a few seconds, he made a turn, rushing into the alleyway in time to see the angeleus scum taking flight with a captive. Despite his hatred of both species, he did possess some form of honor in regard to battle; this abduction pissed him off. However, the sight of the human-appearing Daemos in the alleyway was the cause of the snarl that came over his face.

Thanor Rowland had a thing for Daemos, and it wasn't a friendly obsession either. His father, one of the higher ups in the Brotherhood, had been killed by a Daemos; he remembered this as he chose his path of action. The slight rain of arrows made up his made one hundred percent; two of the arrows landed and sunk into Thanor's skin: one on his bicep, and one in his shoulder. A roar escaped his lips, not one of pain, but one of just being plain enraged at the stupid feather-brains that caused this mess. Sticking out of his body, the arrows were an incredibly aggrivating anoyance to the giant. Guiding his left hand across his chest, he pulled them out without a second though, not even flinching with the pain of removing the projectiles. His shout could be heard for city blocks, like a sonic boom.

"ANGELEUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Thinking back on it, it probably would have been smarter to sneak up on the winged humanoids; however, Thanor was not famed for his schemes, he was famed for his prowess in straight brawls. Completely blinded by the archers now shooting at them, he rushed to a ladder on the side of one of the buildings, attempting to climb up; however, he was sure that the avian creatures would flee before he got up there. Now, the Lieutenant of the Grey Brotherhood had found his target; he would head for these bird-brains and deal with the Daemos later. Of course, his objective also involved saving the vixen who had been captured....even if just to kill her himself. He rushed up the ladder, intent on slaughtering any of the archers if he got the chance.

Nathan catapulted into action, shifting without another thought into his saber-tooth form. He needed to find his sister, that much was certain, but the human was vulnerable, as his screams of pain indicated. Fortunately, the archers were concentrating on the Brotherhood member that had appeared from nowhere, leaving him and the human free to escape. But he needed to know the whereabouts of their captain and where he was keeping Sasha.

He spotted the Brotherhood member on the ladder, and made a beeline for him. He jumped when he was close enough, his powerful legs propelling him forward, towards the humans unguarded back. He dug his claws in and held on, his extra weight making the ladder creak ominously. Nathan looked up as the rusted metal gave a unhealthy screech. He waited, and when the metal looked like it was at it's breaking point, he kicked off, jumping up over the ledge of the building's rooftop. He didn't wait to see how the human fared.

The archers that were posted there started to scatter, but Nathan pounced and pinned one that wasn't so quick to flee. He growled and leaned in close, displaying his large frontal fangs. "Where did he take my sister!!"


Sasha endured the ride to the hideaway, and watched warily as the guards came to tie her up. She tried to make as much slack as she could risk as they were tying her up. She slouched, and held her hands a little bit apart. Any slack she could make would work to her advantage. She knew that she was going to be interrogated, maybe even tortured in order to get the information the captain was seeking, but she didn't plan on sticking around for long. "What did he want with Kristopher?" the captain asked her.

"What did who want with Kristopher?" Sasha countered, pretending to be ignorant.