Forsake Not The Dream

[Lavinian Dementia]

(Closed.)

The once proud city was now a ruined hovel, a place for scavengers and squatters, which of course had made it a perfect hide away for the woman who even now was trying to escape her pursuit. Boots pounded against shattered cobblestones even as with a grunt of effort she pushed off a nearby wall grabbing for a low hanging beam. Pulling herself up she ran along the rooftops till she saw a building that had half collapsed. Sliding down the roof with practiced ease she kept a watchful eye even as she heard the calls behind her. They were closing the noose and she needed to escape.

She sprinted down the alleyways, her only hope to move faster. There was more than she had been forced to deal with in a long while, and even then she hadn’t been forced to deal with them and a hunt leader at the same time. She was accustomed to picking the weak off from the herd, and slimming the pack down till it was just her and the leader. This leader had been shrewd forcing men to never be alone, and taking ample men to spread out and cover their tracks. She couldn’t isolate anyone and they were closing the net.

Lungs burned from exertion as hair whipped behind in a white comet. Grey eyes scanned the area for any answer to her dilemma, and even as she vaulted over a wall she found herself face to face with the leader. Teeth gritted even as blades were drawn from holsters, showing a determination to not go out without a fight. A smirk crossed the leader’s lips as she prowled forward in a saunter that brimmed with lustful energy. It was the sort of look that took thoughts from the battlefield to the bedroom to work out ones passions more fruitfully.

She resisted, she had heard of this woman once from her father.

The alleyway echoed of her steps as the men behind her merely laughed and backed off, letting the woman hunt. It was obvious who was in charge even as she stepped over the fallen wall of the nearby building. It was hard to believe the destruction that had occurred in this once proud city, but it was there, a festering wound on the continent.

Radasanth had never been the same in the aftermath of the Cult’s attack.

“Oh Miss Dahlios, how you have evaded us for so long, but you are not your father, you are ours. This isn’t some game where you can keep winning, eventually you’ll be brought back to Haven, where you will be judged and used as we see fit,” The crimson locks of the woman were carefully brushed aside, again the weight of the woman’s lust pressing down upon the white haired woman.

“My father told me about you once,” The young woman responded even as she took up the first Lavinian Knife Fighting stance.

“Oh, what did he say?”

“I should find a discreet priest to cleanse me of disease after shaking your hand. That the syphilis would addle my brain as much as yours-“A blade cut off the conversation as the woman brought down a knife on the girl with full force. A grin crossed the younger woman’s lips as she sidestepped and pushed off the wall, bringing a knee up in the leaders face. The woman rocked back feeling her jaw and seeing blood on her fingers before a perverse smile crossed her lips.

“Little girl, you are not your father. He got away with those comments because he had the skill to back them up. You are not Seth Dahlios, do not make the mistake of thinking yourself his equal…” The red head spoke with a voice of mixed fury and amusement. She then began the fight in earnest slashing at the girl and prodding at her as she spoke, “Besides, your father is dead little one; you have no one to come save you, no one who can back you up. I will bring you back to haven, and train you like the good little doll you were meant to be!”

“Get real bitch, if my dad wiped the floor with you, you can’t be that big a problem. I may not be his equal, but I sure as hell know you weren’t either, which puts us in the same ballpark…”

[Dissinger]

“So you see, she isn’t ready,” The voice held a tone of finality even as the images played in the room. Dark caverns carried the words further than ever, and the figure that sat hunched in the room watched the images, mesmerized by them. The featureless room had served as one of many antechambers to the other facilities these tunnels had once provided for the Ixian Knights. A few discarded crates were scattered about the area even as a small lantern provided the only heat and light, so deep underground as to be far from the sun.

Eyes cold and grey drank in the details of the woman, recognizing the dagger belt about her waist as his own. She was missing the amulet, or perhaps she had it on in another spot. The gauntlets were also his but laced tighter so as to protect her delicate wrists. She had no concept of all the possibilities they gave her, using them only as a covering for her hands and protecting them as her lifeline. She fought with a brutal efficiency drilled into her, but lacked the desire to kill and see her opponent destroyed. She was still too green to be casual about taking a life. It was obvious she still had reservations about it.

“What can I do? You already told me that this isn’t happening in this world…” The glum reply echoed through the room, as the grey eyes looked to the man displaying the fight for him. He could only see the bottom half of the man’s face, a soft smirk crossing the enigmatic wanderer’s lips before he gestured dispelling the images.

“Do you wish to help her?”

“If you came to tell me of this, you know the answer…”

The fight dissipated before the figure spoke, “There is a convergence not far from here, a passageway to other worlds, the place where Angels Lose Their Way. In this location it is possible to cross the boundaries of one reality to another, you of course, already have heard of such a thing…“

“You mean to tell me Jensen was telling the truth about that wild journey?” The somber figure said incredulously.

“The bridge changes where it goes constantly, but one who knows the flow of time, could easily slow it enough to allow one to cross into the reality they wish. You do not, but fortunately you know one who does. If one is meant to go there the bridge will even remain stationary for the figure when they draw near. You will of course be stepping into an alternate reality, to rescue her…”

“What happened?”

“Two major divergences from the previous ones, the first was that Letho Ravenheart sacrificed himself to rescue you from the Arena in Revan. Because you did not die, you were with your daughter constantly, and were able to train her in the arts of Hex Magic, but with the wisdom to not pursue it frivolously. A bond grew between you two unbreakable by even the most venomous poison. She has a modicum of your willpower I dare say, and it is showing in the fact she resists Beatrix’s attempts to subdue her through the aura of sins…”

The seated figure pondered them for a while before he said, “You said two and I have a feeling I know the other. She won’t get help because I’m dead, aren’t I?”

“During the Night of Debauchery, you chose differently. Rather than rush to the infirmary to rescue your wife, you chose to search the dormitories more thoroughly. Through luck you found a trail left by your daughter that let you rescue her. When you threatened the Dark Daughter of Cassandra Remi, the Moonlit Mistress came to the child’s rescue and you clashed, tired, broken but unbowed. Your daughter watched you bleed Cassandra for time, and forced her off, only to die of your wounds later. The divergence also caused your wife to die, rescuing those in the infirmary, and the two of you were hailed as martyrs of the Ixian Knights. Shortly afterwards Cassandra struck a retributive blow in the destruction of Radasanth, a firm symbol of her turning her back on the knights once and for all.”

“So what do you want me to do about it?”

At that, the hooded stranger smiled…

[Lavinian Dementia]

Blades clashed even as the two figures danced in the waning light of day. Even as the men watched they could see the eventual result, the girl had ample opportunities to do something to change it, but had faltered when it mattered most. Because of this, the Red haired leader of the hunting party was toying with her now, purposefully drawing it out even as the young lady Dahlios was beginning to tire. With a savage kick from the red head the girl was sprawled on her back as she shook her head.

“This is getting boring Samantha, you aren’t half the knife fighter your father was,” Crimson locks flung about as her head shook slowly, “I miss him in some demented way, you can’t hold a candle to that man’s talent. I guess that’s the problem with being so good, you find those fights that challenge you so few and far between.”

Samantha was scrambling backwards to try and get some distance even as the red head moved forward with a bored look upon her face. Hands slid the blades in her hands back into their holsters as she fingered a single blade tucked in the front of her belt. She sighed muttering under her breathe, “Not even worth Lust, but I need to break her down faster…this will take forever at this point.”

It was at that time a cry erupted form the guards watching the fight in the broken down alleyway. He fell to the ground clutching at his neck even as the red head narrowed her eyes, seeing the ring at the end of the throwing knife stuck in his throat. She immediately looked Samantha, who was as wide eyed at the event as she was. She snorted softly seeing the blade before she shook her head and moved towards the downed guard.

“Knife to the throat, which was brutally efficient…”She mused before she saw a chain snap out from the darkness. Her eyes widened as another guard had the chain wrap about his throat. Immediately he was hoisted aloft as another figure landed in the street near the alleyway. With a distinct thud the man hit the ground, his face hidden under a wide brimmed hat. A devilish smiled graced his beard covered face, even as his jacket dramatically fell about him covering the ground. Gauntlets covered most of his hands, except the finger tips left exposed to the elements. A leather vest covered his chest, the only other nod to armor the man had, even as his linen pants settled from the heavy drop.

“I try,” The voice was soft, and held a danger within it that intrigued the red head. She tilted her head as she noticed he wasn’t even fazed by thee aura of lust she naturally projected about her.

“You killed two of my men, for that you could walk away and I might only be slightly miffed, but you aren’t going to stop are you?”

“Let the girl go, you’ll have more chances later to get your hands on her,” The man replied firmly. A flash of grey eyes under the brim caused her heart to jump as she thought she recognized the look in them. It was a look only one other had given her, but he was dead. There was no way it could be him.

Samantha noticed so many of the things he wore were almost exact replicas of her gear. Right down to the gauntlets that covered his hands. The Lavinian stood up as she shook her head wondering just who was wearing those replicas. The feelings of lust were pounding in her head but she pushed them aside as she watched the stranger that had erupted into her life. The red head seemed to cross her arms before she pulled the two daggers she had been dueling Samantha with only moments before from their holster yet again.

“She’s mine, you have no right to tell me what to do-“

“Shut up Beatirix, you’ve lost this fight; you just haven’t realized it yet. I don’t even need a dagger to beat you into the ground…” The response was measured, distinct, and held an edge of malice that sent shivers down both woman’s spine. Samantha recalled a time long ago when she had heard such malice before, back in Alerar…

Beatrix was doomed.

Still she was clueless as she pulled her daggers and said firmly, “Alright, impressive entrance aside, let’s see how you deal with me, if you’re a good boy I might even let you enjoy your death…”

The man carefully took up a stance, his hands held down at his sides even as he slightly widened his footing. One hand rose before him even as his hat cast shadows over every feature of his face above his beard. That devilish grin never left his face as Beatrix cried out and came at the man. She was rocked as her first jab was parried, and a solid gauntlet clad fist punched into her jaw. The sound of something popping echoed through the ruined street as the girl went down clutching her face and groaning. “Stop moaning, it’s only dislocated.”

[Dissinger]

Killing her was off the table.

It irked him to be sure, but from what he had been told her death was not his to execute. Samantha would have to eventually, and in order to do that she had to survive. His job was to ensure she was set upon the right path before he left, whenever that was. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t rough her up, and dislocating the jaw was a good step in the right direction as his boot caused a sharp crack to escape from the woman’s ribs. A soft chuckle left his lips before he roughly grabbed her hair and pulled her roughly up and looked her deep in the eyes, “You think you have the corner on dagger fighting? Why don’t you try picking on someone your own size…”

She was trying to sputter, trying to argue the point before he roughly slammed her face into the ground. Another moan of pain left her lips before he got up and looked upon the guards who had been with her. His hand gestured to their fallen leader before he said, “Go ahead, pick her up and go. Don’t worry boys, you can have another go later…”

They didn’t have to be ordered twice as they pulled Beatrix back despite painful protestations. Seth looked with disdain upon her retreating form before he turned and looked upon the Samantha Dahlios of this world. He sighed softly as he saw she was scratched up a little from climbing and falling, but otherwise was intact. He carefully made his way to her before he extended a hand, “Come on kid, let’s get moving…”

The hand was slapped away with no small amount of hurt pride before she hissed, “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

He raised an eyebrow unseen under the hat before he answered candidly, “Saving your ass from becoming a pleasure whore in Haven…”

Her face flushed at the words before she stood up and stood up looking him in the eyes before she hissed, “I didn’t need it. You think you can just waltz in here and rescue me and for what? What’s your angle? You think saving my life will get me to sleep with you? Fat chance, I wouldn’t touch you if we were the last humans on Althanas!”

Hi young girl had grown up looking much like her mother. A resemblance that had he not recognized might have fueled the fires of lust. Still he knew exactly who she was and any thoughts in that direction did nothing but upset his stomach. Her hair fell about her shoulders in disarray. The guantlets looked like they dwarfed her hands, sliding slightly as she raised her hands to pull her hair back in a ponytail. Her grey eyes held the brewing storm of wounded pride, and Seth realized she had grown up in Lavinya, of course she had become a prideful young woman.

“My apologies, I forgot about you being a Lavinian, I should have stayed out…” Seth said siftly and took a careful step back. The girl was still holding the daggers, and Seth realized she was wielding Ebony and Ivory. The twin Prevalida blades had a sinister look to them, as if tormented further in the time they had been in use. Perhaps Samantha had put a bit of herself in there with her father’s. He merely waited until she sheathed Ivory and kept ebony out, an act Seth knew was subconsciously the blades will being pressed upon the girl.

Her eyes narrowed as she spoke firmly, “You seem to know a lot about what happened for being a stranger. Who are you? How do you know who I am?”

The lie came easily, Seth didn’t even realize it had left his lips until it was hanging between them, “My name is Thomas. I also grew up in Lavinya, though I keep my distance nowadays.”

“You wield daggers and are a Lavinian, what’s your name?”

In Lavinya the thieves often chose monikers for themselves, something to further differentiate them from each other. It was a name that defined who they were, and Seth’s had been the Lavinian Demon, but he knew to give that name would out him to his daughter. He needed something that he could recognize she was calling to him; despite the fact it wasn’t his. So, he improvised, “Incubus…”

[Lavinian Dementia]

“Samantha!” the cry rang out even as the hurried boots scattered stones from the walls across the street. The wild red hair saw the young white haired woman groan as she saw the man clumsily rush forward. How this man had become a Lavinian Thief was beyond the ken of the woman, but he had managed somehow, a fact she often had to remind herself. Her Father had always been hard on the kid, and she could see why, in retrospect.

Samantha looked to the other man before she carefully sheathed her dagger and carefully made sure to retie her hair into a ponytail. Her eyes never really left the stranger who said he hailed from Lavinya. He had passed the cursory test, but her partner knew more people from the Thief’s Guild than she did and she was more than willing to bet this man wasn’t who he said he was. The thief came to a stop a few feet from the two looking wildly between them even as he spotted the corpse of the man, red bruises forming about his neck where a chain had dug into his flesh before mysteriously disappearing.

She had seen such a trick once before.

The stranger merely shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as he seemed to stifle a muttered curse himself. She continued to eye the mysterious savior even as the red head came to a halt panting for breath. When she spoke her tone was stiff, “Glad you could make it to the party Jared. Next time I’ll be sure to send the invitation earlier, might make it on time.”

“Had some of them chasing me too! You weren’t the only one they were hunting Sam.” Jared’s retort was as heated as it was plausible. Especially given what she knew of the boy’s upbringing.

“Beatrix was on my group, I hope you had someone nearly as lethal to dodge, or I might have to feign empathy for you Firebrand…” Samantha retorted even as she gestured from the newcomer to the figure before her and back. “Firebrand, incubus, Incubus, Firebrand…”

“I’ve heard about him,” The figure grumbled under his hat. He carefully adjusted it lower as he looked about the area before he continued, “We should make way to a safe hole or something, once her jaw resets I know she’ll come looking for us again.”

Jared meanwhile studied the man before he frowned, “Incubus? Never heard of one before, who’d you train under?”

“Justin,” Was the curt reply.

“That would have been, years ago…what were you doing all this time?”

“Answering stupid questions from nosy brats,” The man’s replied elicited a smirk from Samantha who felt a bit of familiarity exuding from the man. He moved past the red head who reached out to grab him in a fit of rash temper. The man only stopped moving and turned his gaze to the woman’s, “Tell your boyfriend to get his hands off me before I make him unable to eat anything more than porridge for a week.”

He passed muster just on the way he dealt with the situation. Samantha could tell he had purposefully provoked Jared just to check on their relationship. Samantha could see Jared’s teeth clenched in his jaw before she narrowed her eyes and spoke, “Not my fault if you get yourself hurt Jared. He’s got your measure and you haven’t even given him dinner yet. “
The man shrugged his arm out of Jared’s grasp even as the man’s face blushed a bright red at the treatment from the two of them before he looked at the man and spat, “So Incubus is it? You decide you want to jump in and save Demon’s daughter why?”

“I would think the answer is obvious,” The man’s retort came with a smile that showed only teeth, “I owed him. Now if you’ll excuse me the adults have to talk.”

“I’m not done with-“ The sentence was cut off as a blade slide from its sheath to rest gently against the throat of Jared. The red head went wide eyed even as Samantha unsheathed one of her father’s lung poppers from their holster and casually flicked it up into a ready position. The old Akashiman utility knife felt comfortable in her hand as she hefted its weight in preparation to throw. She could feel the power of the hex magi in her blood rouse at the thought of fighting the stranger. The siren’s call began softly in order to seduce her with its dulcet tones.

The man tilted his head ever so slightly in recognition of the act before he spoke firmly, “You sure you have what it takes to kill? You certainly didn’t a few minutes ago, but indulge me, can you even throw it? Can you even take a life if it meant saving your friend?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” She replied even as she tensed her arm in preparation.

“Throw it, if you throw it you’ll save your friend. I want to see if you have what it takes, ‘Daughter of the Demon’.”

Samantha’s heart raced at the prospect of throwing the blade. It was dizzying to think of the elation it gave her body. A sick and twisted pleasure that was as horrifying as it was satisfying. The girl was no stranger to sex, but the thought of a kill seemed a high she had yet to achieve in the bedroom. It was this very fact that kept her from killing, kept her from taking lives, she wasn’t sure if it was necessary, or if she was doing it for the rush of pleasure at snuffing out another’s life.

“Throw the knife…” The man replied even as he carefully began to cut into Jared’s neck.

Samantha reacted immediately, the rush of pleasure leaving her body as a cold rage replaced it in the wake of a friend’s blood being spilt. The blade sailed through the air, only to be caught between two fingers expertly. The man looked at the blade carefully before he casually twirled the knife against Jared’s neck back and in a fancy display holstered it. He then began to play with the lung popper twirling it by the ring before it came to life in his hand. It pirouetted and danced in a dizzying display before it was tossed underhand back to Samantha, who caught it and carefully put it back on the belt in its place.

“You aren’t a child of wrath are you? What was your sin?”

Samantha was at a loss for words as she finally put it all together. Her eyes widening as she realized just who she had been talking to. Her voice caught in her throat before she rushed forward and hugged the stranger full force and began sobbing uncontrollably. The emotions that rushed through her were a tidal wave she couldn’t handle, and in their wake she was once again the darling daughter who didn’t need to be strong, she had her father for that strength. Tears fell from her face as she managed, “Dad, where have you been!?”

[Dissinger]

He hugged her back without thinking. The outsider to the family reunion forgotten as quickly as he entered even as he looked about the area, “Let’s move, they’re hunting already, I can feel it.” Samantha seemed unable to respond and only nodded assent before he drilled his eye into Jared Cesarino, or at least this dimensions pitiful excuse for Jared Cesarino. He gently patted her back as he turned to the Lavinian Firebrand, “Safe house, now.”

It appeared that without him to push the boy to conflict so he could grow the young thief had become even more pathetic. Still, he managed to pull himself together long enough point a direction and lead the way. Seth carefully took off his hat and put it on his daughter’s head as he continued to look about, and gave the girl the forum to hide her emotions from Jared and reign in the tide he had triggered. Their gate moved them down street with haste and with a few tight turns and twists they would lose any would be trackers. Moving through the ruins of Radasanth Seth could see the destruction wrought by Cassandra Remi. His head shook in disgust before he heard softly, “You couldn’t stop her, only delay the inevitable, even still you kept me safe, so I guess that meant something…”

“When I did it, it meant the world to me. I would give my life in a heartbeat if it meant you were safe and sound,” The reply was honest and truthful. Seth had been forced to die for Samantha once, forever ago in the Arenas of Reven. The Seth she knew, had always been there for her, and it was a distinction that showed as she wrapped an arm about his waist, almost in a need to touch him and assure herself this was real.

When he had met Samantha Ambria, daughter of the Demon, she had been a confused and paranoid creature. There had been a feeling out period that Seth wasn’t sure what his daughter had thought. The girl never seemed to smile other than in a brief feeling of amusement, there was no feeling of wholeness to her. Seth blamed himself mostly for Samantha Ambria’s pain, and chalked it up to being gone for so long. It was the price he paid when he sacrificed himself upon the alter of parenthood to rescue his daughter from the clutches of vampires.

Samantha Dahlios, was bright and full of life. She had the tools to prosper and endure, but she also didn’t let the bitterness of her situation consume her. She had lost her father and taken up his mantle the only way she knew how, she had donned his gear and taken up his crusades. This was a creature that was whole, not broken upon the shores of disillusionment. She wiped her eyes as she continued, “It meant the world to me too. After Sei failed to keep you safe, I felt like I couldn’t trust him anymore. I blamed him for you and mom’s deaths. Said he trusted a viper and that he should have known better than to sacrifice his two greatest warriors just for that stupid prophecy of his.”

A wry chuckle escaped Seth’s lips as he drew her in close before whispering, “Sei needs to believe in the good in people, or this world would be ripe for destruction. He is the light that guides the lost in the darkness. Do not become so embittered that you forget that I reached into the darkness to keep someone else from getting lost. The fact it consumed me was a fact that no amount of wishful thinking could change. But the fact you were rescued by it, means you have the chance to rescue someone else trapped inside it.”

She looked up into his eyes, the red lining showing how much it hurt. It was a pathetic face that tore at Seth’s heart as Jared broke the silence of the gaze with a clearing of his throat. Both looked to the man who gestured to a door and spoke up, ”I’ll be in here, I would suggest you hurry up your little pow wow and join me soon…”

“Yeah, I got it Jared, just give me a second,” Seth said, not allowing Samantha to talk yet. Once it was over he hugged her close, and let her sob silently into his vest. They remained there quietly for a few moments before she shifted silently and pulled herself back.

“We should get inside…” She finally managed when she finally got her emotions under control. Seth reached into his satchel for a spare shirt and handed it to her. She laughed softly before she took it wiping her face. She quickly pulled out a water skin and washed her face of the tears before she said softly, “It was so tough, not seeing you. I couldn’t believe you were gone. Mom’s death and you, it happened so fast. I never got a chance to say good bye…are you…” She gestured unwilling to ask the pertinent question for fear of the answer.

Seth looked into her eyes, seeing the shining hope in them before he spoke, his voice cracking under the strain, “No, I’m not…” He could see the hope die as her eyes hardened. He knew that look anywhere and headed off the tirade before it began, “I’m here to help you, to give you the final tools you need to succeed. After that I have to go, but until then I’m here.”

“Yeah, thanks Dad, how was I supposed to know you were fighting a secret war against the Hex Magi? You know how I found out? I nearly got turned into a whore by Karla Reyes. You can imagine how nice it was to learn my dear old dad couldn’t explain that he had nearly been captured several times by them and was fighting them to keep his daughter safe.” Bitterness entered her voice at the comments. Instead of fighting back, what he knew she wanted he hugged her tight and responded with the only words he knew…

“I’m sorry.”

She looked up into his face before she could see it, Samantha looked down swiftly and whispered, “I’m sorry, that was out of line.” Seth shook his head and carefully led them in. She looked upon him for a few moments before she whispered softly, “I didn’t realize it hurt you so much to see me like this. I’ll try to freshen up before dinner, pull myself back together.”

“I’m okay-“

“Stop lying to me dad, I’ve only been fighting the war for a year and I can tell you’re hurting bad. Relax, go sit upstairs, you need to let all that emotion out, or you’re going to kill yourself again.”

Seth looked Samantha in the eyes for the longest time before he could feel it, the rift in his heart that had opened when he realized he was fighting a two front war. That he could never have a normal life, and that he had failed his daughter. It choked his voice before Samantha spoke up for Jared, “He needs to get his gear in order, we’ll be upstairs.”

Seth looked at his little girl who pulled him upstairs. The wooden stairs creaked with the weight of the two but held, even as they moved into the bedroom. She moved him to the bed and pushed him onto it before she crossed her arms, her eyes searching for a moment. Finally she spoke, her voice sad, “What happened to you that hurt you so badly?”

Seth saw the concern in her face, and he fought to hold on, before she drew him into a hug and whispered, “I know when you’re putting on an act for me, Dad. Stop ignoring your pain.”

The tears fell like rain, for the first time since he had been resurrected.