League A (Interdivision): Forbidden v. Sanste [Archive]

Forbidden

11-20-13, 11:02 AM

Waning sun woke Ellenora in her cavern beneath the crust of Althanas. When the planet's rotation turned Concordia's fair cheek away from the great God of fire and light, a change shook her leaves and branches down to the very trunks and roots. The oaks who stretched even further below ground than they did toward the heavens, rooting themselves in the Mother's warm moist core. The needled firs and slender cypers that stood together as a pack of wolves huddles against the cold. Uncurling from a deep slumber, Ellenora inhaled the emptiness and loneliness of the caves. Her kin called them the Deadlands, for the honeycomb of twisting tunnels and sudden drop-shafts had claimed many lives. Ellenora knew them as well as she knew the naked curves of her slender, pale body. The Vampyre combed a long-nailed hand through her blue tinted black hair, then scratched the end of her index finger between her breasts, over her ridged ribs, and off the end of her left thigh. The nail drew a line like blood on snow, and Ellenora remembered change.

Change as the snows of winter had melted to new spring, as they would each year. As each dusk the Sun God's great power could not quell the Moon's blessing. Concordia sought the moon's love as much as any child of the night. Her trees and bushes smelled different washed in silver. and sang sweeter by night wind than any breeze of day. The song and scent called Ellenora out through the rough rock tunnels, up jagged hewn stairs, trailing a hand on the wall as it became soil. Dark powder to rub on her skin. To remember. She missed the earth's embrace every time she left, missed the nurturing heat of Haidia far below. But the moon summoned her to work toward greatness, to a time when the fires would burn above as below.

Two young vampires, a male and a female, were guarding the mouth of the tunnel. It yawned toward a field of sweetgrass, and the moon made their pale skin glow. She was red of hair, he a platinum blond, and both wore the garb of Nightracers. Amongst all of her children, the leather-armored rangers with their deep brown hoods, dragonbone bows and long sickle swords were the most loyal and deadliest by far. True to their names, they had vowed beneath the eyes of the great Goddess, the clan elders and Ellenora herself, to face the very wrath of the Sun should it prove necessary for her salvation. They heard her, smelled the pheremone that poured from her every pore, and turned obsidian eyes to her, bowing and gazing in reverence. The female brought her a gown of might sifan cloth and draped it about her shoulders, while the male sank to his knees and waited upon her command.

After the female had settled the short, deep necked dress elegantly upon the Ancient Vampyre's frame, she folded her Nest Mother's hair up in a tight bun and pinned it with a long iron throwing spike. Joining her brother - for all Nightracers had sworn each other as siblings - on her knees, the female deigned to look upon Ellenora's face and speak words to her ears.

"Ellenora Sekuerba Pope, Mother of the Liberi Nocturna,
My blood is yours to save our spill
Command my body and my will
To please the Eldest of the Vampyre, and hasten the Great Rising!"

The Ancient Vampyre quirked a narrow, dark eyebrow for a moment, and then signaled for them to stand with a sweep of her smallest finger.

"The Rising will come to those who are patient and wise, my children." She kissed her delicate-seeming knuckles and pressed them to the male's lips, then the females. They shone with pride at her blessing as much as from the moon's glow. "Tonight I will walk and look upon the village of Underwood, where our scouts say the Slayers of our brethren dwell. We shall see how they fare at war with the might of Haidia awakened.

The younger vampires trembled at the grandeur of her statement. They had awaited this night far too long.

"We will guard your chambers, Great Mother." The female Liberi Nocturna Nightracer said. "The trees will tell us if you are in need." The pair settled back to comfortably camouflaged posts as Ellenora waded into the sweetgrass. It tickled her feet and wisped her on her way. Soon she was walking through the thick of Concordia forest, along a trail covered in evergreen needles that bumped with great roots every so often.