Discworld and Member Articles
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Written by Mynona
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Friday, 26 August 2005 |
Camrille coven is one of the largest in our society, as is the sect. This was probably the reason for me losing Styx somewhere in the nether regions. Damn it. Bare stone walls doesn’t really invite to yelling someone’s name in order to locate them. I backtracked the last few turns I’d made, trying to see or hear anything that could point me in my missing servant’s direction. None such luck, though.
Twenty minutes later and I was about to give up. I was hoping that Styx had some kind of sense and that he’d try to go upwards as I’d told him to do if he ever found himself lost. The top most floors didn’t contain much and was easier to navigate from. I decided to head back to our rooms, if he didn’t show up within a day or two I’d have to send a rescue team in after him. Hopefully that wouldn’t become necessary.
Camrille coven is one of the largest in the vampiric society, as is the sect. This was probably the reason for me losing Styx somewhere in the nether regions. Damn it. Bare stone walls doesn’t really invite to yelling someone’s name in order to locate them. I backtracked the last few turns I’d made, trying to see or hear anything that could point me in my missing servant’s direction. None such luck, though.
Twenty minutes later and I was about to give up. I was hoping that Styx had some kind of sense and that he’d try to go upwards as I’d told him to do if he ever found himself lost. The top most floors didn’t contain much and was easier to navigate from. I decided to head back to our rooms, if he didn’t show up within a day or two I’d have to send a rescue team in after him. Hopefully that wouldn’t become necessary.
In the end it wasn’t. About an hour after I’d returned to the empty rooms a flustered Styx walked in.
“I’m sorry lady.” He said and kneeled at my feet.
“It’s alright. Try to keep up next time, though.”
“I will lady.” Though he looked really worried. Usually he could sit very still, even with his legs tucked under himself like that but now he was restless and just moved an inch forward or an inch to the side.
“Calm down, boy. What’s got you this upset?”
“I’ve lived here for over a year now and I still got lost.”
“That’s no news. I still got lost when I’d lived here for five years. It will get easier but it is built to get lost in. Defence structures and all that.” I got up from the chair I was sitting in and fetched a book I’d prepared earlier. “Here, read this by Monday.” Styx stared in horror at the old looking tome that I’d unceremoniously dropped at his feet. Yes it was thick, it was also boring and written in a very small font. And I was very aware that it was only thee days to Monday. The book was also completely useless. That wasn’t the point though, the point was him doing as I’d told him to. Also, I’d had to suffer that book, and worse. I wanted payback and if I couldn’t get it from those who forced me into reading it I could always force others to read it.
“Yes lady.” The evil little voice in my head snickered, revenge at last. Styx shuffled a bit before ending up with his back leaning against the chair I was sitting in and the book in his lap. I was reading another book, one on how and why servants among vampires are mostly disbanded. It held a lot of information about servants that was news about 400 years ago. Luckily it was written in vampiric or I wouldn’t have been able to read it. It was very dry but it was quite interesting to read about the values of a time so long passed. And the fact that I could ask father about it, he’d been there.
Father strode trough the door. He never knocked, it was kind of annoying, actually. Yes, we were all supposed to be his obedient little puppies but is it too much to ask for that he’d knock before entering someone’s private quarters? I rose and bowed while Styx once again tucked his feet beneath himself and bowed very low.
“Father.”
“Alexis. I just got this strange message and I’d like you to take a look at it and tell me what you think about it.” He handed me a folded and slightly stained paper. It had come a long way before reaching him.
“Dear vampire. We of the Magic Collaboration hereby invite you to a meeting at sunset, the fifth of June, 2028, to discuss the recent fluctuations in power that has occurred. We would like you to take notice that everyone and anyone that enters the place of the meeting is safe from harm from the others there. We’d also like to point out that you’re responsible for your own food and lodgings. Meeting will be held at Morrow Creek. Yours truly, Charles Constantine, Mage and spokes person for the MC.” I lowered the letter again.
“Magical Collaboration? Fluctuations in power?”
“I don’t know either. There are other ‘magical beings’ out there, seers, mages, necromancers and a whole host of witches and suchlikes. I didn’t know that they were working together neither did I know that there had been disturbances in the force.”
“Can you tell me anything more, Father?”
“Nothing much except Morrow Creek is widely known for its supposed magical qualities.”
“So, Father, are we sending anyone?” He didn’t answer but the look he sent me was enough. I did not want this. I didn’t want to go to god knew where to do god knew what with only god knew who for company. And considering they’d quite possible see us as freaks and devil’s spawn already. Especially if you read the ‘you’re responsible for your own food’ part.
“So, the fifth of June… that gives me a month and a half to prepare. Can I choose who goes with me, Father?”
“Yes, though I’d recommend bringing a few weres, they’ve also have a right to know what’s going on. You needn’t concern yourself with ‘food or lodgings’, the Shitaski coven is situated not far from the meeting place. I will contact them and make arrangements for you, four weres and ten other vampires. Eight guards, the boy and Emilio.
“Thank you Father.” I was immediately feeling better about this. I wouldn’t be leaving Emilio behind and I got a new reason for forcing Styx to read even more books. And to have Raphael give him lessons. My inner voice was cheering. It’d possibly mean a lot more work for me, including classes with several older vampires, but it’d be okay. And it’d be a real change from the usual.
I stood sceptically at the edge of the clearing in Morrow Creek. I had crossed my arms in front of me and the four alert guards were standing behind and besides me, two of them were weres. This was a meeting for the supernaturals and even though the weres never had gotten an invitation I’d decided that this concerned them too. I’d been one of the first to arrive, just as I’d planned, and I’d chosen my spot carefully. I was mostly hidden by the deep shadows under the trees as it was and the longer the night wore on, the darker this spot would be. In bright daylight I’d be spotted at once. Though there had been one person there before me. A rather round man dressed in a pointy hat and robe, both of them orange, the end result was not dissimilar to a traffic cone. He was also wearing long white hair and beard and I think he thought it made him look refined. Or perhaps venerable but all it did was just to make him look vain. A man his age usually tried to look younger than he was, not older.
I was wearing dark red leather pants, a colour that’s rightfully called ‘oxblood’ in leather. I had the required green silk shirt covered in intricate silver embroidery. And I knew it was real silver because those places that touched my skin burned. My guards had black pants and one had a dark, very dark, blue shirt and the other one was a soft brown. The weres had black shirts with a small eloping leopard embroidered over their heart in gold imitation yellow. They all looked very spiffy.
Styx was at my feet wearing a green shirt, the exact same nuance of forest green as I was wearing. Father had decided that as long as he was to be my servant he’d carry my colours. And I think he felt sorry for him, if father could, because the shade of yellow that he should be wearing, thanks to Sultrina, wasn’t healthy for one’s eyes. Styx had looked rather grateful when I told him he’d wear green. I was rather grateful too. Mostly he’d been wearing white inside the coven, as to symbolise his lack of master. Father had relieved Sultrina from that particular duty and I suspected he was looking for a new advisor in economics too.
More and more people arrived, in groups or alone. Most of them were humanoid though when I’d walked amongst humans purple wasn’t a common skin colour. There was even a group of people, mostly females, that didn’t have any pupils or irises in their eyes, they were an all over white. Those women were dressed in robes as white as their eyes and they were each escorted by a leather clad man, a heavily armed man at that. The men seemed to be very protective of their respective charges and led them carefully trough the throngs of people.
Another interesting group was the six small, bald men wearing orange robes that looked almost like ancient roman togas. They all came across as harmless and loveable but I knew enough not to judge solely by appearance. And the fact that all those little men moved with a grace and knowledge about their own self they shouldn’t have had if they were as harmless they tried for.
A lone man came wandering in wearing perfectly ordinary clothes for taking a stroll in the forest and at first I thought that he was just a human that had stumbled on the clearing by accident. Then I noticed that his hair and eyes were both green, not a solid green but both of them looked as the forest does at summer when all the greens from different trees mix together to make a patchwork of green that was also yellows and browns and a host of other colours. He also had a small racoon as familiar, or perhaps if was just a pet. Racoons were not natural for the area and I wondered how he’d gotten it trough customs. The animal was wearing a small collar made of cloth, but the collar wasn’t possessive, it was more of a marker, a badge of honour.
Some people came walking, one group came riding in on skittish horses and some even appeared from thin air. Some of them had obviously met each other before and soon a soothing amiable chatter filled the chilling night. I saw a group or three that stayed hidden almost like me though not quite as distanced from the main body of people. A large bonfire was erected and lit and people started to move towards it. It was interesting to see what groups were drawn to others and what groups or people stayed away from each other. The women with all white eyes seemed to be friendly with everyone but didn’t actively seek out others but waited for others to come to them instead.
The man with the racoon familiar stayed on his own, only talking very briefly to one of the tall men that’d ridden in. The not so harmless men split up and covered the whole area talking to all groups and lone people but they never came to where we were standing. I didn’t know if it was because they didn’t want to or if they’d simply not seen us. I hoped for the latter. I wasn’t really concerned about if they all hated us but it’d become a tad bit boring if the meeting became extended.
We stayed semi-hidden at the spot I’d chosen but because of our excellent night vision we could see everything that was happening around us as long as we avoided looking directly into the fire. But we were smarter than that. I hoped. It was nice to be able to keep our distance like this because we weren’t really popular with most mortals.
The next person to appear came alone, seemingly he just stepped out from the smoke made from the bonfire but I’d seen him sneaking up earlier. He was a tall man, clothed all in black, trousers, shirt, vest and cape. The latter was covered in gold embroidery; I guessed the symbols were runes because I could recognise words such as ‘death’ and ‘living’. I wasn’t absolutely sure; he could just have become lucky when making the squiggly lines up. I did, however, feel the power that stood around him as a wave of heat. There was something special about this man and I wasn’t positive I wanted to know what it was.
“What are they doing here!?” The black robed man had turned around so fast I’d fear a whiplash if it wasn’t for him pointing at us. He was the first to spot us and he didn’t sound particularly friendly. The others stared at where we were standing and for some reason they suddenly seemed a lot more hostile than before. They started shifting and whispering, trying to figure out who and what we were. And why no one had seen us before. The man dressed as a traffic cone stepped forward.
“We invited them here. They are just as concerned about this as we are. And they are even more dependent on the force than any of the others are.” Mr Traffic cone was surely a mediator, he stood with his hands up and palms towards the upset guy in black. Too bad I knew that that is one of the best positions to attack from.
“They can’t be trusted! They are animals!” Oh goody, someone had a really high opinion about us. As if I’d never been called ‘animal’ before. And I really resented being called dishonourable. The crowd was getting more like a mob, the IQ sinking rapidly but an assortment of previously undetected weapons made their appearance. The guards had tensed and readied themselves for attack but I doubted anyone noticed. And I wanted to keep it that way, it was better that we looked peaceful to belie Blackie’s statements. Not that the ordinary humans saw much, as ‘ordinary’ as they were. Their sight just wasn’t good enough.
“They haven’t attacked anyone yet, have they?”
“Of course they haven’t attacked yet, I’m here.” Blackie really thought too high of himself. And I’d gotten tired of being some strange form of chewing toy to these men. They obviously had a problem with each other and just as obviously took it out on everything else.
“And ‘they’, as you put it, are very much aware and would appreciate not being spoken about as if ‘they’ weren’t present.” I chimed in before Mr Traffic cone could say anything else. I really dislike when people speak over my head. “Since no one else minds their manners I’ll introduce myself first. My name is Alexis Dracula and I’m here as a representative for the vampires. And for the entire hour and a half we’ve been standing here we’ve valiantly not attacked anyone.” I don’t know what part made the most impact, I think it was a tie between ‘Dracula’ and ‘hour and a half’. The two arguers seemed equally upset at both things. Their eyes were large and round before closing more than half way in a glare. It was almost scary how they managed to do that in tandem despite the way they seemed to hate the other. Maybe I was missing something I really didn’t like the prospect of that. No intel is as bad as faulty intel and I was in enemy territory at present. I wanted to get both myself and my people out of here unharmed if push came to shove and that might be hard if I didn’t know what was going on.
“Dracula is a myth made up by some idiot of a person that wanted his enemies to fear him more than they already did. And if there really was a Dracula it was a ‘he’, you’re clearly female.”
“My Father is in good health, thank you very much, and he’s very much a vampire.” The words had spread like wildfire through the crowd. Suddenly everyone knew what we were but didn’t know how to handle it. I heard the name Dracula repeated so many times I thought they might wear it out.
“I demand that they wear restraints if they are continued to be allowed to be here.” Blackie said. I was getting more and more annoyed, not only with what they said but their inability to remember how to act. They were clearly very powerful men, both of them, but they’d also forgotten their manners. I wanted names, calling people Blackie and Mr Traffic cone, even in one’s own head, doesn’t really work.
“Listen closely Blackie, you invited us here. We’ve done nothing except getting attacked by you. This concerns us all and father was cordial enough to send his only child here, to show his goodwill. I will not allow myself, or any of my people, to become incarcerated in any way, shape or form. It’s too dangerous.” Not to mention that father’d kill me, slowly, if he ever found out. Whether or not I’d managed to get out of this alive wouldn’t matter. He’d find a way to return me from the dead just to punish me. And if I did something that stupid I’d deserve the punishment, whatever it was. And though father had ordered me to cooperate in any way possible I wouldn’t be chained up like a rabid dog.
“You are animals! You have no rights!” I was getting really tired with Blackie.
“That’s enough Caligula.” Ah, so Blackie’s name was Caligula. Well, he seemed to be about as sane as the original one.
Suddenly there was this horrible tugging feeling in my head, my mind to be exact. It was painful which was strange because I’d never seen my mind as something that could hurt before. The world around me dimmed as it lost importance to whatever it was that was happening inside. When I looked closer I saw that whatever it was had targeted the link I had with father through the various ways I was bound to him. I saw the link as a clear, blue thread that led off to where father was. I could also see a dark patch of something that tried to manhandle it. By the looks of it, it was trying to break it. A sharp sound to my left had penetrated the focus I’d put on turning inwards and I knew that my guards were experiencing the same thing I was.
I ‘looked’ at my own blue line and realised that it was strong enough to withstand the force that kept tugging it painfully because all my bonds were with the same vampire. My father. I had not only exchanged blood with him when he turned me, I was also of his blood and my blood oath to him as High Prince. It wouldn’t be harmed by the brownish force. I feared for mine though. They weren’t protected in the same way I was since their bonds were to different vampires. And I had reason to think that this would make them more vulnerable.
I took the part of my mind that I’d previously used to ‘look’ at my own mind and sent it along my connection with father. I bounced off his mind and down the links he had with William, Clay and Styx, strengthening them, hardening them. Keeping them safe from the attack. I felt them, through my mind, move forward to protect me, as I’d protected them. It was really odd, I saw out through someone else’s eyes. Disconcerting doesn’t even begin to describe it. I could feel what all three of them were thinking, doing and feeling and getting input from four bodies instead of one made me wish I knew how to undo whatever it was I’d done. I tried to shield my own body away so that it wouldn’t be affected by the input from the other three but I don’t know how successful I was.
The responses from the other three bodies were wrong, too. They didn’t think the same way as I did and that forced me to go trough every motion twice. Once for the input and once for that bodies response to that input. Trust me when I say that you really shouldn’t try this at home. I didn’t know quite how I managed but somehow I got my own body’s hand up and screamed ‘Necromancer’ at them. Both in their minds and through the normal mouth to ear way.
I felt and saw Clay and William surge forward. At the same time it was I that in tandem did the same thing. My mind was split, literally and if this wasn’t stuff for nightmares I didn’t know what was. I stopped, or stopped them; it was all a bit blurred at this point, as soon as I felt the tugging stop. As gently as I could I extracted as much as possible of me from them and opened ‘my’ eyes. And that forced the last pieces of me to return back where they belonged.
Styx was standing beside me, as much for my protection as for his own. William was standing a few paces in front of me, shielding me from Caligula. Clay was holding said necromancer about a feet of the ground with only one fist in the collar of the man’s shirt. He was growling softly, I think that we vampires were the only ones except for Caligula that heard it. I was fairly certain that Clay was also showing fangs but since he had his back towards me I couldn’t know for sure. One were had stepped up to flank the side Styx wasn’t on and the other one had stayed back.
Many of the people here had surged forward as Clay attacked. If I tried I could probably cut the hostility with a knife. My guards were tense and alert, as was I. This really wasn’t good.
“You shouldn’t attack people like that. There is a peace treaty in place as soon as you entered this clearing and I really thought that you would honour that. Maybe it was a mistake to invite you after all.” Mr Traffic cone inserted himself between the body of people and us. I noted that he conveniently stood behind Caligula so that if any of us felt the need to attack him we’d have to go around the necromancer first. The stupidity of some never cease to amaze me.
“You really shouldn’t accuse the innocent like that, mage.” The voice that cut off Mr Traffic cone’s rant was melodic and soothing. It belonged to one of the white eyed women and she was heading this way. Her man held a steady but gentle hand on her arm as to guide her. With her eyes looking like they were, he probably did. No one stopped her or stepped in her way, even though they were all tightly packed they moved out of her way, just like that.
“Caligula attacked her and hers first.” She continued. “He tried to bind them to himself, corrupting the links that are already in place.” Ah, so that was what had happened. Why hadn’t I figured that out? Doh. “If you’re to restrain anyone it’s him. He broke the treaty.”
“Is this true?” Traffic cone was watching me but at the same time trying to appear not to.
“Are you doubting me, mage?” The white eyed woman asked and her man looked angry at the prospect.
“Not at all. I just wanted to know, from the source, if that’s really what happened.” His benign smile was actually rather malign, if you knew what to look for.
“Well, he did something. I’ve never seen, or felt, anything like it. He was pulling on our bloodbonds, though, that much I know.” It was woefully inadequate to describe what had really happened but I’d need an extra three dimensions and a thousand or so new words to express what had taken place. I didn’t so my earlier statement would have to do.
“Bonds?” Mr Traffic cone gently asked. His eyes twinkling merrily.
“Yes.” If he wasn’t giving me any information I wasn’t going to volunteer any, either. Styx moved closer to me, seeking comfort. I allowed him to touch my arm, though not restrain it in any way, while we talked. I wanted both my arms free if something happened. Clay had lowered the necromancer until the toes of his boots touched the ground. The necromancer obviously couldn’t take any longer sessions without air. Too bad.
“Look, why don’t you introduce your friends and we’ll put a power-restrainer on Caligula. I hope that will be enough to make you feel safe.” Actually that white-eyed woman was making us safe. Whoever she was people listened to her and when she’d declared us innocent the others had started to back down.
“That will be all right, I guess. The others are my guards, my servant and a couple of weres I brought partly because I’m Ryttir and partly because they are supernatural too and needed to be here as well.”
“Don’t they have names?”
“Not while on duty, no.” I cut him off. Mr Traffic cone was really starting to annoy me.
“And what do you mean by ‘weres’ and ‘Ryttir’?” This guy was worse than the children in that little Japanese village. At least they had their youth to blame. This guy was just so used to running everything he couldn’t believe that anyone didn’t want to tell him something. Or that he didn’t know everything from the start.
“Weres as in wereanimals, shifters. Ring a bell? Any bell?” Yes I was in a bad mood. Getting yelled at and called ‘animal’ only to a short while later getting attacked is not my idea of a restful evening. And father had ordered me to play nice.
“That’s preposterous, there’s no such thing as a wereanimal. Wolf or not.” I just sighed and looked at him warily. Diplomacy had never been my forte, being around father, and even getting classes by him had helped a bit, but it was mostly just how to speak and make others understand what I was intending, not what I was saying. Mostly I just felt as pulling either rank or a knife on them.
“Please shift.” I told my trusty weres. I’d been told that the shift, outside the forced one at the full moon, was painful, extremely so. After that they also pointedly told me that they’d shift for me any time. They were either looking up to me to the point where me brining them pain didn’t matter or they were all masochists. Neither prospect seemed promising and honestly, both scared the hell out of me.
As soon as the words had left my lips the weres started changing. Growing from the rather normal 5’9” and 5’11” Caspar and Robin ended up near 9 feet. They tore their clothes, which was why they had been rather inexpensive and father had even ordered the weakening of some strategically placed seams. The clothes didn’t matter much since they grew fur instead, thick on their upper body and legs but thinning out towards the groin. Much like the fur of a real animal. The golden glow of their fur and the black spots couldn’t be mistaken, even in the firelight.
They stood mostly humanoid, a perfect, if somewhat larger, leopard’s head crowned a body that had unmistakably human shoulders and the flat chest. The arms where thicker than a normal humans, though, and bulged with muscle that just shouldn’t have been there. The hands were still hands but a bit squatter and ending in claws, very sharp claws. The feet had changed, toes also sprouting claws, and the heel had transformed into what looked like an animal’s hook which forced the weres to stand on the ball of their feet. It also made them crouch a little as they stood, having to compensate the newly formed hooks with a slight bending of the knee.
The change was incredibly fast and to most it must have looked like if the new shapes just appeared from the old ones. And it must have been intimidating as hell. Father had told me to cooperate with whomever led this, probably this Constantine guy, but I wasn’t going to roll over and let them walk all over me.
The mass of people that had started to back away, or at least stopped advancing, when the white eyed woman had come to our defence, had backed up a step or two as the change had left the unsettled and unbalanced. Go me. They were worried and while some looked at the Traffic cone for help others looked at him distrustfully. They slowly started to move and talk as they just had to make sure that someone else, other than themselves, were seeing the same thing they were. That it wasn’t just all in their heads. I also think there were a request or so to see if it had been done by magic, if it was all a mirror image covering normal humans, but they got negative replies. This was the real thing. And a damn good thing to impress people with.
“Now, Mr Traffic cone, do you still claim that weres don’t exist?”
“I can see that someone has erred.” Oh, he was blaming someone else for his shortcomings, bad mage. I think he was a mage, at least, that was what that woman had called him. “And let me rectify at least one of your mistakes, my name is Charles Constantine, I’m the head of this organisation.” Ah, this was the Constantine guy. Too bad he’d always be branded as ‘Mr Traffic cone’ in my head. Not that he’d know, of course. “It was I that sent the invitation.” He added when the name didn’t seem to bring a light of understanding to my eyes. Yes, about that invitation, it’d first been found tied around the neck of a young naked woman, presumably she was also a virgin but no one deemed in necessary to check. She’d, in turn, been found wandering around in the forest. Luckily it had been close to a coven and a vampire had heard her calls for help. The stupidity of some people.
“Yes, the invitation. The girl, Susanne, is all right, by the way. We offered to return her to her home but she claimed not to have one. She’s staying as a guest for the moment, gave her some clothes, a bite of food, rather nice girl overall. Rather a crude way to send invitations, don’t you think? Makes me wonder what you do with your regular mail.”
“She’s not dead?”
“Of course not.” I allowed my face and body to show how offensive the mere thought of that was. In most cases a poker-face means that you hide what’s on your mind, but even more effective is letting it show something different from what you feel. Though this time the offence was real.
“But…”
“I will not stand here allowing myself to get insulted, time and time again. Either we go on with the meeting or we’ll leave.”
“Er… yes. Right. So, then.” The Traffic cone, also known as Charles Constantine, moved towards the fire, homing in on the podium placed there earlier. It wasn’t a large podium, just about high enough to make his groin end up at eye-level. Not a very good thing but it was his problem, not mine. His orange robe and hat mixed with the fire, on occasion, and I could appreciate the effect. It’d been more impressive if it wasn’t so apparently staged as it was.
“Ladies and gentlemen, magic users and supernatural beings. We have gathered here today, as a society, for the first time since the world began. We stand in front of a serious threat, to us all, and we need to be united in this hour of need. The past six months fluctuations in the force have been reported more and more often. The level of severity has also been upped. We need to find the reason behind this so that we can battle it. Whatever it is, it’s a threat to us, our lives, our lifestyle and, indeed, everything around us.” The speech was very nice and he’d even thought so far ahead as to place minions in the audience who started to applaud when he stopped speaking. Too bad his efforts were ruined by the suspicious looks sent by some groups and the blatant disregard from others. Instant karma.
Vampires posses very little magic. In our legends and even in a select few, very old, books there are mentions of vampires using magic almost as the mages does though somehow bound to blood. Blood magic. The little magic left is mostly that which allows us to live though we are dead, and the force that creates the bonds. Both of these are blood magics and considered ‘dark’ and evil by most of the living magical world. That’s possibly one of the reasons there aren’t any information about it. Make the bad things go away by erasing them and pretending as if you’ve never heard of it. Closing your eyes does not make the monster go away.
After half an hour more of talking, ranting, yelling and whispering Mr Traffic cone had still not said more than the original letter had. He left the podium and other speakers took his place. Many things were said this night, and many questions asked. Some groups accused others but mainly order was kept. There seemed to be three main ‘camps’. What I dubbed ‘the light’, ‘the dark’ and ‘the neutrals’. Traffic cone and his fellow mages were definitely ‘light’, as was a group of blue-haired, two feet short women. Notoriously ‘dark’ were the necromancer, the group of men on horses and the old men in orange robes. Many others were on each side but not as deep as those mentioned, allied in one way or another to one of the main powers in each class. Curiously there were only three neutrals, the white-eyed women, the man with the racoon and us. Well, four if you counted vampires and weres as two, but I didn’t.
What was most curious was that there were some that hadn’t experienced any changes in the power. And it was those of us that were neutral. And I found out that the white eyed women were seers and the racoon man was a forest ranger.
The seers were more special than I had ever imagined. They were trained from a young age in a temple at some undisclosed location. When they went through puberty they performed a ritual that robbed them of their sight. Which explained the all over white eyes. Instead they got The Sight. The Sight differed from seer to seer, though. One would see the future, as most expect seers to do, while some saw what had happened. A few could see magic and others could see spirits or ghosts. The gift manifested itself in many ways.
Upon entering the temple the first time they were paired off with a male child, the one who would become their protector and their eyes in the world when their sight wasn’t enough. When the girls was taught theory of magic, psychology, physiology, theory of time and lots of other subjects the boys was taught how to fight and defend themselves and their charge. How to help the girls that would soon lose their sight and thus become easy to harm on the physical plane. In return the boys were protected from magic via the obscure ritual that bonded the pair together after the female had successfully been gifted with her new Sight.
The ranger was one of many, they were solitary as a rule and had therefore decided to send just one representative. The racoon was, indeed, a familiar, though not an animal used to further his own power but as a living link between him and his forest and its inhabitants.
The meeting went on forever, or at least it appeared to be, and when it ended it was just 20 minutes to sunrise. I’d sent Styx home about half an hour earlier in the care of Robin. Those two had become friends the last few months and though they had both tried to argue that they should stay I’d ordered them away. I would not risk Styx dying on me just because the sun happened. It’s such an easy thing to avoid in most cases.
I stood watching as the meeting broke up and the people started to leave and I promptly decided that I’d stay and see the sunrise. It was ages since I’d seen one and thought I’d treat myself to this when I had a chance. I was in no danger thanks to the anti-sun ring and both Clay and William was over a hundred, which is the age vampires goes sunproofed.
Not everyone left, though, with me stayed the necromancer, Mr Traffic cone and the seer that had spoken up for me, of course, together with her guide. I didn’t know her flavour, what kind of seer she was, or how strong she was, but she seemed nice enough. And I didn’t just think that because she saved me earlier.
“Greetings Lady Alexis.” I was almost stunned by being addressed correctly by the seer but tried not to make it show. The seer had dark hair and tanned skin, something that made the white eyes stand out even more. She wasn’t overly tall, which I liked, not being overly tall myself, and had a smile in her step as well as in her face. Her guide was taller than her, but not by too much, and had the toned body of a warrior. He had a pretty face, though nothing spectacular. You wouldn’t look at him twice if you hadn’t already done it. He seemed to be as congenial as his lady.
“Greetings to you too, seer. I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”
“You can call me Valin. I just need to tell you that what you fear will indeed, happen, but you need not fear as to why.” Ok… that was a cryptic statement if I’d ever heard one. But Valin was a seer and seers invented cryptic.
“Eh, thank you, seer Valin. I think.” I was confused, very much so, and a bit frightened. There were a few things I feared would happen and I really didn’t want them to happen either. Which was, essentially why I feared them. Yes, I was officially going around in circles. Very small, very confused circles at that.
“I also wanted to ask if my guide and I could accompany you back to your coven. It has been many years since one of us last spoke with one of you. It’s too bad and I hoped that we could rectify that.”
“Of course seer Valin. You’re welcome to stay for as long as you wish. I’m sure my Father would like to speak with you as well.” Theoretically I couldn’t just invite her like this without asking father but I was positive that he was just as curious about this that I was. And I was sure he wouldn’t mind. It wasn’t as if we couldn’t spare the space. However, if he decided that I’d taken too much of a freedom to do this I’d gladly take punishment for it. Well… not gladly per se but I wouldn’t contest it. Who in their right mind would want to punished like that?
“I also wanted to thank you for defusing the situation earlier.” I added. I was grateful and since I had manners I’d thank her for it.
“Think nothing of it, Lady Alexis, sometimes we just need to cooperated to prevent stupidity. And one of my friends had seen what had happened. I couldn’t let an innocent be punished while the perpetrator was so close at hand.
The first rays of light was hitting the treetops behind us. As we were standing facing where the sun would rise. I could see the light filter through the other trees and I realised that I’d missed this very much. Yes, we were nocturnal, but I hadn’t grown up like that. I’d missed the sun and the air and the smell of life and everything was so much more when my senses where sharper. The air was clear and my head was clearer. My guards tensed as the Traffic cone neared me. They disliked him and frankly, so did I. I almost felt like growling at the man for disturbing me but I refrained.
“Eh… don’t you ought to leave now? I mean, the sun is rising and the light will soon reach you. Very soon in fact.” He looked vaguely disturbed by the mere thought of it but I could also discern some degree if relief. If we weren’t here anymore he wouldn’t have to deal with us. We’d proven to be so hard to please because he didn’t know much about us and we weren’t’ acting as he thought we would.
“The sun doesn’t bother us.” I answered curtly and turned back to face the sun, wanting to feel the first rays as it touched my face. So, what I’d said was a modified truth. Those of us there wasn’t bothered by the sun, and honestly most of the vampiric society wasn’t, but those young enough would be really bothered by it. I wouldn’t tell him that, though. And especially not that I was one of those who should be bothered.
I watched the sun rise, it was one of the single most beautiful things I’d seen in a long time. I felt my eyes sting as the light really was a tad bit to strong to be comfortable but I wouldn’t let something small like that bother me.
“Lady, the Rector Lamia wants to speak to you.” A very distraught Clay looked at me as if I was the only safe place and there was a tornado on the way.
“What?!?”
“There is a voice in my head that insists he is the Rector Lamia, Lady, and he wants to speak to you.” Clay hearing voices in is head was worrying, that it was calling itself the Rector Lamia was disturbing.
“Well then, what does the Rector Lamia want?” Valin was standing not too far off looking smug. No doubt she’d already predicted this. The Traffic cone was standing too close to comfort, he was currently being growled at by Caspar, and he was trying not to look as if he was overhearing.
“He’s asking if you, lady, know why he can speak to me like this.” Ok, I was stunned. Could we find the hidden camera now?
“Er… will He accept an ‘I have no idea’?”
“He does, but not gracefully and he expects a better explanation by the time you get back lady.”
“Please tell the Rector Lamia I will do my best.” I had no idea even where to begin looking but since another supernatural meeting was scheduled for tomorrow night I assumed that someone should know what had happened to us. As far as I knew it wasn’t a vampiric power and I didn’t think that it was some kind of extension of his mind reading power. I had no doubt, what so ever, that it really was my father.
The necromancer was standing a fair bit away and he was currently getting glared at by William for trying to step closer when he noticed we were talking. The Traffic cone was backing up without wanting it to look as if he was backing up but failing miserably. Two of my guard was enjoying themselves scaring others while the third tried not to think about how that voice had ended up in his head. I was annoyed and blamed it on the Traffic cone, it was all his fault that the feeling of peace from the sunrise didn’t last longer. I decided it was time to head back to where we were staying. Emilio would get worried if I stayed out for too long.
We made our way to the Shitaski coven and I made real sure that no one was following us. I had no plans what so ever of letting Caligula anywhere near another vampire ever again. It took a couple of hours more than going straight there would but safety first, always, especially when it comes to someone else’s life and health. Emilio and, curiously, Styx was standing just inside the gates waiting impatiently. I got a reproachful hug and a worried pat on my hand. Emilio stood for the former and Styx the latter. It really hadn’t thought they’d worry this much. But on the other hand, by the looks of it Styx had told Emilio what’d happened at the meeting, everything that had happened. Including the bad parts. Eeep.
“I’m coming with you tonight.”
“Emilio.”
“I ‘am’ coming.”
“Ok.”
“Don’t you dare to… ‘Ok’?”
“Yes, you’re welcome to join the ‘fun’.” I’m afraid I sneered that last word but, honestly, most of the night had been divided in equal parts between incessant chattering and insulting me, or vampires in general. And I had to find out how father’s voice had ended up in Clay’s head. Though if Emilio came along he could do that for me.
“I know that it wasn’t a good night but was it really that bad?”
“Add on to what you’ve heard from Styx that somehow father can speak in Clay’s head and one of the seers made a prediction about me and the Traffic cone really annoys me.”
“Though most of that was disturbing I just have to ask… why was there a traffic cone there and how did it manage to offend you?” He looked genuinely puzzled. I just had to laugh. It had been such a strange, and way to tense, night and I really weren’t made for this.
“Come, lets go to our room and we can talk there, I would like somewhere to sit. I’ve been at my feet all night. And I wouldn’t mind something to feed on either.” We left the entrance and William quickly moved in the other direction, no doubt he was heading towards the pens, fetching me someone to snack on. Sometimes being the boss has its good points.
“So, tell me about the traffic cone.” Emilio demanded as soon as we’d gotten inside the door. It was a good room, or set of rooms as it were, and as such reserved for higher-ups. Such as me. It also meant that it was situated rather close to the ground and that had made the walk here bearable.
The rooms were nice but it was obvious that they were ‘loaners’. The shade of salmon was just on the other side of comfortable, the books in the shelves were old and worn but who in their right mind would read something entitled “Beehives, everything you ought to know to protect your investment” whether or not it was leather-bound. And the shade of brown on the couch in front of the fireplace made it certain that that particular piece of furniture wasn’t intended for this room, really. The colour of it really clashed with the walls. Though the mattress of the bed was soft, as was the pillow, so I really didn’t care. I wasn’t that much for decorations anyways.
“You remember Charles Constantine?”
“Yes, he was the one who sent the letter, was he not?”
“Yeah, he dresses in orange, an orange pointy hat and robe at that. He looks remarkably like a traffic cone. And he more or less refused to tell me his name so henceforth he has to live with the name of traffic displacement help.” It was Emilio’s turn to laugh and I relaxed a little bit more. I was safe here, or as safe as I’d ever be, and I could be just me. Strange logic and weird ideas, everything about me that made me ‘me’ but were mostly hidden away in decent company.
“What would I do without you?” He asked.
“Worry less?” I answered, I am slightly guilty of the worry I put him through.
“Possibly.” He agreed. “But I’d also have a lot less fun. And being bonded-to-be to the Heir of Camrille, the largest vampire sect, isn’t all that bad either.”
“You’re just in it for the power, aren’t you?” I just had to tease him when he left an opening like that.
“Yup. It has nothing at all to do with the beautiful, fun, amazing woman you are.” I blushed. Emilio had taken to calling me these silly things when he realised that he could get me to blush, every time. Before him, no one had called me beautiful. I looked at the bedside table where my teddy bear was sitting. Emilio had presented me with one the day before we left to come here. I’d almost forgotten that I’d confessed to never having had a teddy bear but he’d remembered. Remembered and done something about it.
It was an ordinary teddy bear. Brown with tan tummy, paws, nose and inside of the ears. It had a black yarn nose and shiny plastic disks for eyes. On the green silk he’d embroidered “to have and hold those times when I can’t be there”. Emilio had sewn the teddy bear by him self. I hadn’t even known he could sew. It was really cute, both the plushie and the gesture, and I loved him for it. For him not fearing ridicule, he dared to give it to me and confess that he’d made it all by his own.
He’d even started teaching Styx the basics. Though I knew Styx needed a pastime I hadn't really pictured it to be sewing but as long as he was happy he could do it. If he behaved that is, pastimes are a reward, after all.
Time passed quickly and soon a meal was delivered. I fed and afterwards Emilio pulled me into a deep kiss, him tasting the blood still in my mouth. The kiss was followed by another and another, things became hotter and closer. And also more nude, though not by much. We, as the four-legged creature we’d become, stumbled our way through the unfamiliar room and into bed. The stress of the last few days seemed to melt away and so did my consciousness. I was asleep mere seconds after landing horizontally.
The word ‘slug’ came to mind. I woke up, sluggly, drawing myself awake from the sleep which clang to my mind like slime. My mouth also tasted ‘sluggy’ though it was more as if a couple of slugs had crawled in there and died. Must have forgotten to brush my teeth after feeding yesterday. This morning. I groaned as yesterday did a fast-forward trough my mind. Emilio would not be happy about me falling asleep on him. I forced my eyes open, at snail pace mind you, and was met by his amused stare. I stared slugs at him. It took some doing but I did find my voice, eventually.
“I’m sorry, Emilio, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”
“A man likes to know his efforts don’t just bore a girl.” He sounded just a mite bit annoyed. And I did understand him.
“I didn’t mean to. I’m so embarrassed. And no, you don’t bore me at all.” I had a short flash of a future where I spent time, daily, apologising for this.
“It’s alright, though. I should have noticed you being that tired. You fed just yesterday and requested someone this morning too. There’s something wrong.” It was true, what he said. It was very unusual for me to need to feed this soon again. The only other times I could remember needing it was when I’d gotten hurt and needing some extra power to heal. But I wasn’t hurt so why the sudden need for more blood?
“I’m not hurt and I can’t think of anything else that would make me need more blood than usual.”
“It doesn’t matter as long as it doesn’t happen again. I don’t want to cause panic just because you get hit by the hunger at the meeting. Which, by the way, we need to leave for in an hour.” I slumped back into my pillow. There was no better word, slump. Just letting the body go boneless underneath you. One of the best ways of breaking free from a hold, by the way.
“Oh no, you don’t. As retribution for last night I demand that you rise now. Come on, out you get.” Emilio used that cheery voice he knew I hated and rose, taking the warm comforter with him. We don’t really need the comforter for warmth but it does provide a certain amount of comfort. The rather chilly air in the room was enough to make me glare at him again.
“No, none of that. You are going to take a bath.” I grumbled but followed him to the bathroom where the bathtub was already filled with hot water. I looked questioningly at him.
“If you hadn’t woken up I would have awoken you. Can’t let their favourite bloodsucker be late, can I?” I shook my head, both as ‘no’ for answering his question and at his antics. I wondered if whomever he’d fed of last hadn’t been sober. I did get into the tub. And I let him wash me. Too bad we didn’t really have time for anything else. I didn’t like imitating a docile sheep like that but as he’d said. He kind of deserved it for me falling asleep on him. I wouldn’t let him go to far, though, and I think he knew it because he didn’t. Point to him. Actually, several points to him.
We did get to the gathering in time. Or what I deemed as on time, that meant that we were amongst the first to arrive, again, though this time Mr Traffic cone was more alert and spotted us. If we’d been alone I probably would have gone to him and congratulated him on catching us when we weren’t trying to hide. I’d gotten what I wanted from hiding yesterday. Today, or tonight rather, everyone knew who and what I was. And I’d gotten a chance to observe most of them interact with each other. There was nothing more to gain from hiding.
Most…erm… people…arrived in the same order as they’d done yesterday and mainly they mingled with the same groups or individuals as they’d done yesterday. With the exception of the man with the racoon, who actually came and greeted us, and Valin, along with her guide, who came to stand besides us. I introduced Emilio to her and she commented on how lucky I was to have someone as handsome as him. I looked at her oddly before she explained that she couldn’t see but she could see the future. And Emilio future was, apparently, closely linked to mine. My emotions were battling between jumping of joy and doubting her. She did seem to know a lot more about what was going on around her than any other blind person I’d ever met. Not that I’d met a lot but that wasn’t the point. I decided to ask her again when I knew her better.
This night the discussion focused on what kinds of trouble the fluctuations in power had created and by the sounds of it, it was everything from the spell not working to it doing the exact opposite of what had been intended or doing something else, entirely. There were also a couple of examples where the spells had simply diminished in power.
Though many people had difficulties understanding what was happening there was a connection growing, or at least the way I saw it. From the three groups, ‘light’, ‘dark’ and ‘neutral’ only the neutrals hadn’t suffered. The closer you were to the leaders of the other sections, the Traffic cone and Caligula, respectively, the more changes and instability occurred.
The first problems had occurred when the Traffic cone and a couple of his associate mages had tried to purify a known ‘evil’ artefact. The power backslash was enough to kill one of the mages and render the other two unconscious. Later examinations would also show that their powercores had been completely depleted. A couple of weeks after that Caligula had tried to raise a zombie only to have it poke him in his eye until he lost concentration and taking the chance the zombie went back to his grave. I thought that whole story was hilarious but no one else seemed to think so. It had only taken a few more weeks before the weaker practitioners of the arts had experienced troubles. Two months after that the invitations had been sent out. At this point the Traffic cone didn’t dare to do any magic at all because he didn’t know what it’d result in.
The discussions were getting ridiculous and I turned to Valin who seemed as bored as I. They were just going over the same thing, time and time again.
“Um, seer Valin, I was wondering. You said that one of yours had seen what happened last night and I wonder if she knew what happened too.”
“Of course she does. Why do you ask?” Valin answered.
“Because I have no idea what I did and it’s resulted in something previously unheard of.”
“Oh?”
“Father can talk into the minds of those affected and demands to know why.” That got me an amused but knowing smile. I rolled my eyes back at her.
“Well, as I said last night the necromancer attacked the bonds with intent on breaking them and transferring them to himself. You realised this and also came up with a solution, you strengthened the bonds he was attacking and thus the threat was dispelled. But you strengthened the bonds a little bit too much, as it seems, and that would explain the telepathy.”
“Ah. Well, I didn’t mean to overdo it. Whatever it was I did.”
“The almighty heir doesn’t know what she’s doing?” Valin teased me with an odd glint in her eyes.
“You’re too right… sadly.” Emilio stepped up and placed a hand at my lower back. It was an unnecessary gesture but I was grateful nonetheless.
“She’s not right!” Emilio protested.
“Can’t you let me spend even a minute pitying myself?” I snapped at him.
“No.” He playfully replied and I knew I’d lost. Dammit, why can’t he let me win, even once? Valin stood a little to the side and looked amused. Great. I’d managed to amuse someone who probably knew everything that was going to happen. Though, at least it’s better than angering her.
“Well, it seems as our resident vampire has found a solution.” Caligula’s voice carried through the cold air and I think he actually pitched it a little just to make sure that everyone heard him. Heard him best the vampire that had foiled his attempt to take what he thought he deserved. I wasn’t going to allow that however. I’d been trained for far to long to always be in control, how to always come out on top.
“I was just telling them that it’s obvious.” I said, my voice carried clear and doubtless over the people gathered in the clearing.
“What is?” Caligula looked slightly confused.
“The reason for the instability.”
“See, this little newbit thinks she knows something. Well then, lass, why don’t you tell us?” The necromancer really was patronising. I hate patronising people, and he’d tried to harm my vampires.
“Well, from what I’ve heard it’s pretty obvious that you’re too pure, too centred on your brand of magic. The only ones who hasn’t had problems is those who use both sides. There is no balance and the powers itself has tried to tell you this by acting up.” The stunned silence my speech had resulted in was palpable. Right up until Caligula started laughing. And most of the others followed.
“We’re leaving.” I told mine and left. If they didn’t want to see the truth I wouldn’t argue. They’d come to their senses, hopefully sooner rather than later. I walked silently to the edge of the clearing where Valin met up with me.
“They’ll come around.” She said.
“Are you hoping or are you saying that in your position as a seer?” Valin smiled faintly. “Both I suppose. Time isn’t set, I can only see what’s most likely to happen.”
“That’s interesting but if you excuse me, I have to leave.”
“Of course, I was just wondering if there was a way of contacting you.” I gave her an address to a post-box we used frequently for contact with the outer world. I also told her that I was planning on having someone here, each night, though hidden and she should be able to find him or her. Possibly I’d even be here myself but only time would tell.
I was still agitated when we returned to our temporary home in the shitaski coven. Wisely no one tried to do anything about it. It wasn’t anger, not yet, but I knew myself well enough to know that if anyone pushed me further I’d get unreasonable and someone who didn’t deserve it would be target for my ire. And it ended with me feeling very bad once I’d gotten over it.
They let me steam a little before closing in on me again. At first I was a bit disconcerted that they knew me this well, until I realised that Emilio had known me for more than twenty years and so had the guards. And they were probably coaching Styx. It actually made me feel better, that they knew me. Steven’s head poked in through the slightly opened door.
“Lord Shawn here to see you lady.” He said it as he always did but I wasn’t fooled for a second, I’d seen the tentative once-over he’d given me before talking.
“Please let him in.” Shawn, the High Prince of the Shitaski coven, was a large man. Tall and wide of shoulders with read hair crowning a rather handsome face. Handsome in a male-all-angles kind of way. Though he had a habit of looking at Emilio in a way that made me want to hug Emilio close and growl ‘mine’.
“Lord Shawn.” I acknowledged him with a nod of my head.
“Lady Alexis.” He said and nodded back. This guy really creeped me out. He was a great leader and he possessed one of the most brilliant minds I’d ever encountered but something about him just had my hairs on edge. He waltzed into the room with his usual flare and smiled pleasantly at me. I had to restrain myself from showing my teeth in a much more hostile fashion. Emilio stayed close to me and Styx seemed ready to leap into action though he knew he wouldn’t be much of a distraction against a vampire as old as Shawn.
“You were back early today.”
“Sometimes things does not go according to plan.” As Shawn had no idea what the ‘plan’ was it was a safe admission to make.
“Ah.” He answered with a knowing smile that made me want to punch his teeth out. “Anything I can do to help?”
“No at this stage, no.”
“Well, keep in mind that I’d do anything to help, you just have to ask.” He was trying to lick father’s ass through me. As far as I was concerned he wouldn’t succeed, unless asked directly I wouldn’t say anything to father about Shawn.
“I will.” I said and watched the smiling High Prince strut out of the room. The dirty look I sent the door sent Styx into a fit of nervous laughter. I ran my fingers through his hair, gently, until he calmed down. And then I ordered him to shower. I looked down at my hand and rubbed it against the nearest couch. I decided never to skip showers again.
“Lady please let one of us do it.” Clay’s voice held a certain note of whining in it.
“No.”
“But…”
“I said: no!” I snarled and didn’t realise until I’d said it that I’d changed into vampiric. All six of them shrunk back, both literally and metaphorically which was a good thing because I was rather fed up with them. They’d tried to talk me out of this for several hours and my patience with them really had run out. All of them were now bowing, to a lesser or greater degree, silently asking forgiveness. I wasn’t ready to give it to them, though maybe later. I was refusing their first request because I wouldn’t order them to do something I wouldn’t do myself. And this was one thing in which I wasn’t prepared to hand over someone else.
Two and a half months after I’d presented my idea to the collaboration they’d contacted me and stated that they had found the problem. There was an instability in the force due to the purging of the magical arts. That really was what I had said but the note hadn’t said who it was that had figured it out but it had been written to insinuate that Mr Traffic cone was the one. I just couldn’t be bothered to care. The next part had me on my toes, though, the professed solution, a dark ritual conducted by some of the light mages. A ritual that included the use of vampire’s blood. Which was, quite possibly, the sole reason that they contacted me again, at all. The spell was dangerous and so was participating in it, which was why I wouldn’t allow any of mine to come to harm participating. I’d do it.
My mind was turned back to the scene in front of me. My guards, both vampire and weres, stood stiff-backed in anger though they wouldn’t argue anymore. They were mostly angry because I was putting myself at risk, a danger they couldn’t protect me from. Emilio was as angry as they were but I think he understood my reasoning and after just one ‘are you sure’ he’d backed off. He was still angry about it but he’d backed off. Styx on the other hand was wavering between his fear for me and his fear for himself. He wanted to please me but also to keep me safe. No one ever said life was easy.
“Is everything all right?” The Traffic cone gently inquired putting his wrinkled nose where it wasn’t welcome.
“Yes.” I answered curtly and the others didn’t dare to say otherwise. I had inherited some of father’s temper and though I was mostly very good at hiding it I slipped when pushed far enough.
“Good…good. So, who’s going to perform?” ‘going to perform’… it sounded as if I was either to do a dance or a sexual favour. Neither of them was very appealing.
“I am.” I said, against my better knowledge. Valin had talked me into this, to doing it at all, saying that if I didn’t the Traffic cone would probably just capture a vampire and have his wicked way with him… or her. And I couldn’t put anyone in danger like that when I knew how to stop it. And besides, if allowed to go on for long enough the fluctuations would probably spread to us too and that was something I really didn’t want to have to explain to father. Better to be dead and over with it.
“Well, then, if you’d follow me, please.” He started walking but was brought up short by my response.
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