Killers of the supernatural; a race against time

[matthewkuch]

Closed to Ioder

"So where we heading next boss?" The voice that spoke first asked.

The hateful person sighed in disgust and said "If you must know we are now on our way to Raireara's conference checkpoint to join forces with the other hunters." The voice of the leader was somewhat high pitched but held a soft, malevolent menacing in it.

Hearing this Gavner became confused, these men were hunters of some sort of race but all Gavner had ever heard of were vampire hunters. "Why? How many people do we need to kill a measly seraphim?" Gavner's eyes widened in horror and his heart began to race. He held onto the tree next to him to keep his balance, but still listened to the band of hunters.

"You fool" the leader hissed, "have you ever killed a seraphim?"

"Uhh... no."

"Have you any idea how strong a seraphim is?"

"Well... no again..."

"Seraphim are creatures of raw power. They can outwit you, they can crush you in a battle of willpower, and they have a legendary weapon called seraphim glimmer."

A silence ensnared the whole camp as the leader continued in his deadly, cold voice that sent chills down the spine of everybody who heard. "You attack them, and there is a flash of blinding light. Though you just punched its face with all your might, the creature doesnt even flinch and you feel as if your hand has been broken. Among your armor you have iron plates over your stomach, and the god forsaken son of a b*t*h punches you." the man said somberly.

"As its fist pounds toward your stomach it emanates the same light and pierces your iron on contact and sinks into your flesh like butter. You hear the sound of your own flesh tearing but are too shocked to feel anything." The leader was now speaking in an infuriated hiss. "And as you look up at him from the hard dirt ground, his face changes from a man to a woman. As you watch it walk away your horse gets spooked and kicks with both legs as hard as it can. It mades contact with the creature's head, but you see the glimmer, and the horse's legs snap like twigs..."

The whole camp was silent as they stared at the leader in horror. He took a deep breath and said "I was alone during that battle. But hunting groups I have been in have vanquished seraphim; they can be killed. They may be smarter but they arent faster or stronger. We have been tipped off of a seraphim in Beinost."

"Beinost" Gavner whispered, "come on Eva, we have to warn him!" Gavner said urgently as he turned and started out of the forest.

"Well then lets get him!" He heard one of the hunters cry behind him. The rest of the group cheered in response. Gavner would have stuck around to hear the rest but there wasn't any time. Maybe if he started out now he could make it to Beinost... Maybe he could warn Ioder...

When Gavner and Eva made it out of the forest 40 minutes later, Gavner scooped up the wolf cub and put her in the black knapsack he carried with him. Turning towards the direction of Beinost and began to run. His run gradually turned into a sprint, then a jog as the whole world began to fly past him seemingly at the speed of sound....

~5 hours later~

Gavner was exhausted, but he had to keep going. He hadn't drunk blood in over a week and was now weaker than he had ever been. He was drenched in sweat, and his clothing looked and felt as if he had just jumped in the ocean. His hair was saturated with sweat and all slicked back from the air, and his face was contorted in concentration. Pumping his arms furiously his teeth bared, Gavner was not going to stop until he reached Beinost. He had been flitting for the past 5 hours without stopping, and now he was consuming every last ounce of willpower he had just to keep flitting. Every inch of his body was exhaus, yet Gavner found the strength to continue.

The painful rays of the sun began to peek over the horizon, and in his weakened state Gavner was more vulnerable to injury. Howling with pain Gavner flitted even harder with his mind made up; make it to Beinost or die. Gavner's skin had turned a light shade of pink within ten minutes and Gavner could feel the skin being rubbed raw where it was chafing against his clothing. Just then on the horizon he saw a wall, standing in defiance of the whole landscape. He slowed down to a walk as he reached the wall, and found that it was larger than he could have ever imagined. Guessing, he would say it was close to eighty feet tall. Taking off his boots and reaching behind him he said "Sorry Eva, you are going to have to share room with my boots." She barked indifferently as put them in and sank his nails into the side of the wall.

Gavner wasnt worried about falling until about 60 feet up, because usually falling distances above that could be lethal to a vampire. But Gavner soon found that the height was the least of his worries. Gavner was starting to become startled because the world started to become distant. If he fell, he would be able to slow himself down to the point where he could land without dying, but if he lost consciousness he and Eva would fall to their doom. Channeling all of his concentration and focus into climbing the wall he pushed up the rest of the wall to the top and pulled himself up onto the top.

The descent down the other side was a hundred times easier than the climb up. The wall shielded Gavner from the sun as he climbed down, but he stumbled when he hit the ground. He looked around and noticed a vast network of colorful houses, buildings, and alleys. Gavner also noticed that sun was peeking into almost every alley, and there was nowhere beyond the shade of the wall that he could be protected from the sun. "Oh gosh" Gavner said, "this is going to hurt..."

~Later that day~

Walking into another patch of sun Gavner winced in pain, hunching over in attempts to minimize his presence from the sun. His skin was beet red and any movement hurt. Gavner was determined to warn his friend, but this was now too much. If Gavner stayed in the sun for too much longer it would kill him, then reduce his body to a small pile of smoking bones.

Frantically looking around Gavner spotted a tavern and started towards it, but a figure blocked his path. It was a ruddy sailor with a nice trim beard and blazing green eyes. "Not so fast night walker, we have unfinished business." the man said with a smirk.

"Nice of you to turn up, pretty boy" Gavner said. "I can never resist a challenge." And with that the two legends were engaged in a duel once more.

[Ioder]

It had been a couple days since Ioder stopped his attempts at a hostile take over of Beinost, yet he had not yet left the area. He had no reason to, the people of the city were not able to figure out that he was the one that was tormenting them. If anyone would have become wise to him he would simply trash that persona and take on a new face. He had been staying around the city, looking for something. This was the homeland of High Elves after all, there had to have been something left behind that he could use in his efforts. But thus far he had not heard of anything useful yet, so he just been staying in on of the few Inns of this dyeing city. He happily started Making mischief for the few people he would interact with, hoping to get a kicks from them.

Today Ioder took once again the form of a tall sailor type, and had started the day drinking in the Tavern he had been staying in. Early morning flagons always tasted the best, and on an empty stomach they work the best to. "Ehh," Ioder said as he flagged down one of the maidens that worked in the tavern. As he got this rather pretty black haired maiden's attention he continued in a boisterous tone. "Another!" He said as he smashed the glass mug he was holding on the ground at his feet.

A look of disgust took the maiden's face as she yelled across the bar to Ioder " Hey you fuck wit, your going to pay for that mug." Ioder simply gestured to her with an approving thumbs up, even though he had no intention of paying any type of bill here. After a couple minuets the maiden came over with another fresh glass of ale for Ioder. As he reached out to grab it from her hand she gave him an awful look of disapproval. She indeed gave him the glass mug but only after making it abundently clear he was loosing his welcome in this bar. He had been sitting at a small table in the corner of the tavern, keeping to himself the whole morning. Rather he was the only one in the place, it was before noon after all. Now it doesn't take as much to get Ioder feeling tipsy, but in the morning hours he had indeed drank more than enough. As he forced himself to finish his flagon Ioder started to feel light headed. As the room started spinning around him, he started to feel uneasy and without much he had passed out on the table. Face down on a pool of ale that he had spilled earlier, he was just a kid after all despite his appearance.

Hours must have passed because when he woke he was no longer alone in the tavern. The sounds of marry making must have woke him up as not even five feet from him was a woman dancing the rhythm of the music that was being made. Every time she would stop down on the ground it was like a clap of thunder to Ioder. His head started to pound again and again, the pain telling him to quickly leave this bar. As he managed to regain mobility of himself he stood up and maneuvered his way through the crowd that had seemingly flooded the tavern in this later hour.

As he managed to breach the entrance of the tavern he looked around for a moment and noticed that the blue hue that as over the sky was now a shade of beautiful gold. "It must not be too far from night fall." He said as he realized he wasted the entire day away. But then a familiar face appeared just off in the distance, avoiding the sunlight as best as he could. Ioder maybe be slightly hung over but he would not forget a friendly face especially the face of his vampire friend. "Gavner, what are you doing here." He said to himself as thinking things were painful at the moment. Sure that Gavner had not realized that Ioder was only a couple feet away from him this would be fun to surprise him.

So as Gavner was about to walk past him, Ioder in his sailor for stepped right out in front of his friend. "Not so fast Night Walker" he said as he stared into Gavner's eyes. Instantly Gavner recognized it was him and without warning accepted his challenge. Ioder hadn't seen Gavner in a few months and was eager to see how he had improved any in his fighting. So Ioder wrapped an arm around Gavner' shoulder and began to walk with him away from the noisy tavern and towards a dark alley way near by.

"Gavner, its been a wile." Ioder said as the entered the alley. "Had you made any progress?" Ioder said referring to his status in his clan of night walkers. But before he gave Gavner time to answer Ioder slipped a foot out in front of the vampire and with his arm around his shoulder forced him to trip and fall to the ground. But just like the vampire he was instead of landing on his face he simply placed his hands palm to the ground and flip himself upright again now facing Ioder. In response to Gavner's quick agility Ioder rushed towards him, one foot splashing in a puddle of water that formed on the alley ground. With the same foot he twirled his body and round house kicked the vampire in the shoulder, not hard enough to really hurt him but enough to send him staggering a few feet back.

[matthewkuch]

Ioder took Gavner completely by surprise. Taking the blow of Ioder's roundhouse kick, Gavner stumbled backwards silently wincing in pain. His leathery skin was now taking it's toll. "You'll pay for that" Gavner grumbled as he readied an attack at Ioder. The two exchanged blows and parries for several minutes, Gavner only going at half speed, until Gavner decided to test his friend. Using a bit more of his vampire speed he leapt into the air with his feet pulled up in crouch position and violently turned his torso. The force of his upper body snapping to the right carried into his lower body, and he extended his leg out in a powerful kick that made contact with Ioder's chest. The kick was enough to set Ioder off his balance just to the point where he fell over onto his back, but it wasn't that serious of a blow. Ioder stumbled to his feet just as Gavner readied a punch at the Seraphim's stomach, but just as he poised for the blow he felt a stabbing pain shoot up through both of his calves. His legs wobbled underneath him, and they almost gave out, but Gavner looked behind him to see what was the source of the pain.

A thin sliver of sun had just reached halfway up Gavner's calves, and his body had reached it's limit with the sun. Gavner was defeated now. He could continue no longer. Bringing his head back to look at Ioder and tell him this, his head met Ioder's fist which had just closed in for a final blow. In his weakened state Gavner could not take many blows to the head. This one was the finishing move. Check mate. Falling backwards to the ground Gavner began to writhe minimally as the world dimmed, until he fell still as he slipped out of consciousness.

[Ioder]

This wasn't like last time! Ioder's mind raced as he watched his blood sucking friend fall to the ground after only a few short moments of combat. Within an instant Ioder had gotten on the ground next the unconscious vampire, checking his friend to see if he had been previously hurt. As he looked more closely at Gavner he realized that his skin was seemingly burn for his standards. You fool you must have been out in the sun all day like this. he thought as he looked around to see if anybody had noticed their little brawl in the alley. To him it looked like no one was around to see them and no one would interfere with Ioder and his friend. Looking back at Gavner he decided he had to get him out of here and somewhere less exposed. There was an old chapel just around the corner, Ioder noticed it had long been disserted and would serve as a good place to wait this out.

"Alright big man, C'mon up here." Ioder said as he threw Gavner over his shoulder and started to carry him out of the alley. The sun had now just set over the skyline of the buildings and there were no direct rays down on the city streets. How long had you been out in the sun. he thought as he lugged the vampire down the street towards the chapel. All of this had seriously sobered Ioder up but he felt as if he had been hearing a strange noise echoing from the vampire. It sounded like a whimper of some sorts, like a cry of a small pup or something. As he reached the chapel door way, it had been boarded shut from the outside like it was condemned. With Ioder's free hand he swung at the boards cracking them, and then again he struck at the door until it flies open and faint light illuminates the building. Only the first few rows of seats were visible, but Ioder figured it would be safe enough to lay his friend down and let him rest. Gently he rested Gavner in the row of seats just out of sight in the darkness, but the sound still continued echoing now in the wide and open room.

"What is that?" Ioder said as he started to search for the noise, it was clearly coming from Within a piece of Gavner's apparel. Then just the faintest movement from one of Gavner's pouches revealed to Ioder that there was something in it. Slowly Ioder bent over and took the pouch from Gavner's side, then he slowly opened it to see what was making so much of a fuss. "Whoa there," Ioder said as the second he untied the bag the cutest head of a baby pup of some kind pokes its self out. "Your the one making so much racket in there. When did he get you?"

Ioder broke away from the intoxicating allure of the puppy and revisited the issue on hand, his friend looked weak and unhealthy. Could it be you haven't fed? Ioder thought as he remembered how Gavner needs to feed upon living blood to stay alive. What would happen if I just do this? Ioder reached his wrist to his mouth and bit into it deeply with his teeth, enough to draw blood. Ever so gently a stream of his blood started to flow out of his bit, and he them raised hit arm over Gavner's face. Letting his blood drip into the Vampire's mouth.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner woke when a liquid of medium thickness came into his mouth. Instantly his eyes snapped open and he drew a short gasp. As soon as he did so he regretted it because he swallowed 3/4 of the substance, and the other fourth went down his wind pipe. He sat up coughing and spluttering, as the substance was stuck in his throat. Sitting up Gavner coughed violently with a burning feeling in his lungs now. He looked up and saw that Ioder's wrist had a bleeding bite mark in it. Gavner's coughing slowed down, he was astonished.

Ioder's blood had a distinct taste to it. It was saturated with bitterness, hardship and sorrow from the past. Gavner tasted the pain and all of the grief that Ioder had suffered through and for, and it was unlike anything Gavner had ever seen before. Gavner knew that Ioder had lost someone, but he didnt know it impacted him as much as this did. He didnt even know who it was to him, but it was one of the biggest loss he had ever endured.

Gavner also tasted something else in Ioder's blood. Evil. Ioder had great potential to become good, or to become evil. Either way Ioder was destined to become an entity of absolute greatness, but whether it was of good or evil was up to him, and right now he was leaning towards evil. Gavner's nature required that he be swift and merciless, but contrary to popular belief not all vampires were evil. Granted, there were evil clans of vampires, but Gavner was not among them.

Just then Gavner felt the top of his head start to feel really hot. Looking up he saw shimmering light emanating and his hair began to change color from red to blonde. Gavner yelped out in shock and noticed hair sprouting from his arms and retracting back into his skin, all of which happening with the shimmering light that came when Ioder changed forms.

"What happened!?" Gavner almost shouted because he was so startled.

"You passed out and I thought you needed to feed so I gave you some of my blood!" said Ioder.

Gavner was stunned. Never had he come across a friend who cared so much about his well being that they would give Gavner their own blood. He sat back in awe of the situation that had just befallen. "You would really do that?"

[Ioder]

"Gavner," Ioder started to say as he shifted forms from this bulky sailor type to his natural child like state. His self inflicted bite wound still present even with his form change. "Neither you nor your kind has shown me any reason not to like the vampires. My sister taught me that you should always take care of your friends." Ioder had noticed the changes Gavner was experiencing, it appeared similar to his own shapeshifting. Perhaps it was from the blood he offered Gavner, had he absorbed some of his traits?

"Gavner, have you taken some of my power?" Ioder asked Gavner as he reached and touched his arm.

"Only temporarily Ioder, it happens when I feed, sometimes I can tap into other's magical powers." He stated as he looked at Ioder, studying his new child like form. Still Gavner had no real way of telling who Ioder was truly, and maybe never will he is a shapeshifter after all. "Is this your real face Ioder?" He asked out of curiosity.

"It is indeed Gavner, though I have lived a long time my body matured as a child as all seraphim do. This is the form I naturally drift to and i do identify myself with it." Ioder responded to Gavner. "What are you doing in Beinost? Not a place I would think to find you in." Ioder said getting back to earlier.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. There was so much to say but he had no idea where to start. Sitting back he took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts, and how to say this clearly with the utmost urgency. Just as he began to speak he was interrupted by a high pitched barking from his bag. Looking at the leather knapsack to his right Gavner saw Eva poking her head up out of the bag. She was staring at him lovingly with her big black eyes that looked like marbles, and her ears were perked up.

"Awww!!" Ioder cried, his eyes widening and his face turning to an expression of absolute loving. Rushing forward he began to stroke Eva's soft fur. Eva could sense the presence of evil, and Gavner could tell it made her uneasy.

She looked at Gavner with a scared face, but Gavner knew that Ioder was not dangerous. "It's okay Eva, he is a friend" Gavner said with a smile. Eva didnt need any more reassurance, and with that she began to lick Ioder's hands and play with him. Ioder sat on the pew and she jumped next to him and began to playfully nip at his clothing and jump at him. Gavner sat back and laughed as Ioder was so amused.

"She is so cute!" Ioder exclaimed.

"Oh that is nothing, watch this" Gavner said scooping Eva up by her belly and laying back. Setting Eva on his chest Gavner placed a hand on each of her sides and began to gently rub them through her soft fur. He rubbed them back and fourth five times and then pulled them out to the side at the same time.

White bolts of static energy showered the area between Gavner's fingertips and Eva's fur, and she instantly turned into a giant puff ball. Virtually all of her fur stood on end, from her feet, to her face, and even her tail. Gavner sat up and watched as Ioder's face lit up like a child's. His eyes opened as wide as they could go, his eyebrows rose and his mouth was left slightly ajar. Eva jumped off the pew and started running around the church and Ioder chased her around for several minutes.

After Ioder had his fill of petting Eva and playing with her he sat on the pew next to Gavner with a more serious composure. Eva climbed into Gavner's lap and curled up as he slowly ran his fingers through her fluffy fur.

"Like I said" Ioder began, "what are you doing in beniost?"

"Its actually about you," Gavner started. "I was in the woods of Raiaera and I came across a group of outcasts. They said they were seraphim hunters."

Ioder's face turned grave but he did not interrupt Gavner. "The ring leader said they were traveling to a conference checkpoint to meet up with a large group of seraphim hunters. Then they were coming to Beinost to track one down and kill him."

There was a long silence after while Gavner put his words together in his head. "As soon as I heard I set out for this town. I flitted through the rest of the night even though I hadnt fed in over a week. The sun began to rise but I couldnt let that stop me. I searched for you all day but found you just as I was about to take refuge from the sun." Gavner finished.

Ioder looked up at Gavner. Gavner returned the look and gravely said "We need to get out of here as soon as possible, and off the hunters' trail."

[Ioder]

A look of almost shear terror washed over Ioder, the thought of being hunted completely immobilized him. He was shivering uncontrollably and his breathing became rapid and shallow. Ioder was having a panic attack to the news Gavner was giving him. Gavner seeing that his friend was quite literally freaking out, he leaned over and placed a hand on Ioder's shoulder. "Everything will be fine," He said is a soft voice, trying to calm his friend. "Im here and I wont let anybody hunt you." His words comforted his friend to a point, he was no longer shivering and his breathing had slowed.

"Gavner, you fought tooth and nail against your weakness, the sun, just to warn me?" Ioder said as he shifted his gaze to the open door to the chapel. Day had turned to night at last, and it was safe for Gavner to leave the building without any risk of sunlight.

"We are friends. We stick together." He said he tucked little Eve back into her pouch and stood up. He and Ioder didn't need to exchange words, they both just knew that it was time to leave. Time to leave the city any maybe avoid the group coming to hunt the Seraphim. As both of the men leave the chapel, each examine their gear. Ioder had recently obtained a Damascus bladed gauntlet that he had been wearing for a couple days. Gavner checking his things seeing if he was ready to leave the city.

Suddenly like a twist of perspective, Ioder stopped in mid stride leaving his friend a few steps ahead of him. "Gavner, I am not leaving. I am not going to be hunted across the county side again." His words stopped Gavner as he turned to listen to what his clever friend was planning. "Im staying to fight. I have learned the city, its ins and outs. Plus if you stay we'll have no problem squashing these hunters." Ioder said as he gripped his gauntlet and letting the sharp metal blade slice through the tip of his thumb. He watched his blood drip into a pool on the ground. "This will be the only blood of mine spilled in Beinost." His intent was noble but his ideas flawed. He had made a choice to kill these men rather than avoid them, bring more chaos to this already shaken city. "Stand by me, Gavner." His words as sincere as possible.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner looked at Ioder, shocked at his friend's sudden change.

"Ioder... Do you know who we are up against? Tens, maybe even over a hundred seraphim hunters."

Ioder didn't look phased, and simply shook his head. "If we move quickly and cover our tracks well we can lose them. But we have to leave soon." Gavner continued.

Ioder folded his arms and his face was serious. There was no changing his mind, but Gavner felt as if it wasn't the hunters that were keeping him in the city.

Putting fourth his last thiughts Gavner spoke words of wisdom rather than to convince Ioder. "Why must we chose bloodshed over discretion? We should not bother with ending the meek and petty lives of the few, but focus on preserving the lives of legends."

Ioder looked like he was about going to give Gavner's words consideration, but then he shook his head.

Gavner sighed, but then reluctantly nodded. "I will stay. I'm sure there can't be that many of them coming..."

"Thank you Gavner. I knew you wouldn't be one to leave under such grave circumstances." Ioder said with something of greatfulness and relief in his voice. "Now, let's stop worrying about the hunters for now. I would like to celebrate this reunion shall we?"

"Haha I would love to but I need blood. How about we meet somewhere after I feed?" Gavner asked. "I am getting a bit hungry."

"Sounds great!" Ioder replied. "I saw a nice looking tavern on the east side of the city, meet me back here when you are finished. I have some business to attend to as well."

"Will do pretty boy," Gavner called off as he turned to walk off into the night.

"Farewell night walker!"

Gavner couldn't help but smile as he strode off into the night; he was always happy to see a friend.

Gavner's dead skin began to peel but it wouldn't fully heal until he was had blood in his system. Silently he stalked down several alleyways until he came across a figure briskly passing through the alley. Within seconds Gavner was upon the figure applying pressure points. Examining the unconscious figure as it fell into his arms Gavner found it to be a middle aged female.

After 100 years in the dark Gavner could see exceptionally well with such little light, but he could not tell what race this woman was. He thought of taking her to a roof before feeding on her but he was way too hungry, and could not bear to wait any longer. If only he would have taken her somewhere else, then he could have prevented the tragedy that would later unfold...

Making a small openin in the side of her neck Gavner closed his mouth over the wound and began to drink from the woman. Gavner relished the flavor of salt, iron and platelets as he swallowed mouthfuls of precious blood. He tasted slight fear in the woman's blood, but she didn't wallow in fear like most did. She actually lived her life, and she loved. The taste of love was so potent in her blood, Gavner could drink all of it.

That was when Gavner noticed that he had drunk a lot from the woman. If he continued he could seriously hurt her. He began to pull away but just as he did he heard someone running towards him. Pulling his mouth away very quickly his teeth caught on the woman's neck and left large gashes.

Looking up at his assailant he saw someone sprinting at him as fast as they could, baring two knives. The figure was still a good twenty feet away, so Gavner jumped as high as he could and latched onto the wall. He climbed with his hands pulling himself up with his arms only.

When he reached the roof Gavner looked down to find his assailant had reached the woman and was crouched over her examining her neck. With that Gavner turned and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, pausing to hide and make sure nobody was following him. Gavner retraced the path to the church and waited for Ioder to return.

Gavner had been discovered before and he knew how to deal with it. When Ioder got back Gavner would ask him to lead the way to a nice tavern and they could move on from the situation. Gavner would lie low and the people would forget about the vampire that had intruded on their town.

Or so he thought....

[Ioder]

As Gavner ran off into the distance in search of blood and whatnot, Ioder sat down on the steps of the chapel. Estelle, what am I to do? I have let myself go to long and now I have hunters after me. Every time before this I would just run and hide, but not this time. If I am every to see you I need to become strong. His mind raced in and out of thought as he stayed seated waiting on his friend. Ioder had already eaten a little at the tavern earlier, so he had only to wait until Gavner returned.

The last time Ioder was faced with a group of skilled hunters after him, he simply ran for the hills never looking back. He was not normally a fighter, he possessed Transcended Appeal, the ability Gavner experienced earlier. Ioder needed not to be a great fighter, he was always more suited to espionage rather than blood shed. In this way he was unalike the rest of his kind remaining, Asura, Kronas, and even the half blood Alexei were all very skilled and powerful fighters. Terrors to meet on the field of battle, and Ioder was never meant to be that fear. Ioder's is the road to rule, not the field of battle that paves it.

Gavner finally returned from seeking food and sat down next to Ioder. Eve poking her head out of the black sack to see her master's friend. "Im ready." Gavner said as he placed a hand on Eve and started to pet her.

"Yeah, me too." Ioder said as he rose to his feet. He looked at Gavner and offered a hand to aid him getting up. He accepted the help and reached out gripping his hand, then he pulled himself up. "Gavner.." Ioder muttered as the two started to walk in the direction of the tavern they would be staying in.

"Yes Ioder?" Gavner responded even though Ioder probably didn't mean for that to be heard.

"Umm... You don't have to stay around in Beinost, I know how your clan is important to you. If for any reason you should fear for your life. Please promise me you will flee and survive." Ioder said as he continued walking, his head looking down at the ground as he did. The two continued to walk until they reached the tavern about a block away from the chapel.

[matthewkuch]

~Somewhere in the mountains north of Eluriand~

The mountains were a cold, barren, and desolate place. From a distance they held true beauty, but among them was an unforgivable lifestyle. On a horse, Galloping through the valleys was a man with dark hair and a scar. The scar stretched from the top of his upper right forehead all the way to the left corner of his mouth. It was relatively deep for a scar, and was a bright pinkish color. Onward the man galloped into the heart of the mountain range, determined to reach what lied ahead.

At last he reached the base of a high mountain pass, and deemed the trek unable to be ventured on horseback. Dismounting he kept his hand close to his sword and began the walk up the mountain, leading his horse by the reins. The trek was harsh with little footing even on foot, and he soon had to leave his horse. Reaching the top of the pass he gazed down upon the heart of the mountain range and saw an enormous valley. The valley had been leveled out by men into a flat plane, and was enclosed by three mountains. The enclosure had three mountain passes, one of which the man was standing in. Looking down he saw a huge camp with fires and clusters of tents set up all throughout the plane. This was the man's destination.

Walking into the center of the camp the man entered a tent that was slightly larger than all the rest. Inside he found five men conversing. One man had short orange hair with black eyes, and another had medium length hair with blue eyes. A third one was older with long grey hair but sharp teeth, and yet another had a war helmet on. When he stepped inside The men fell silent and looked at him.

"How long has it been since the hunters of the night have united with the hunters of the day?" the man with the scar said.

"Too long for my liking..." The man with orange hair and black eyes said.

"Word has reached us that you were hunting a seraphim in Beinost." the man with the scar said.

"Word travels quickly. All of our hunters are almost here. We are still waiting on the last squadron, but we will depart as soon as they arrive." The grey haired man said.

"We have also received word of a vampire that is on the lose in Beinost as well. If you are willing to help us... Take care of... This vampire, we will aid you in your pursuit of the seraphim with twenty of our most skilled vampire hunters." The man with the scar proposed.

A smile flickered across the face of the man with the orange hair. "I wouldnt have it any other way." he said with a sinister laugh while shaking the hand of the man with the scar..

"If for any reason you should fear for your life. Please promise me you will flee and survive......"

Gavner thought to himself as they were on their way to the tavern. Gavner could tell Ioder the truth, but now was not the time or the place. He would be sure to clearly explain his intent to Ioder over a meal, but now was a time to walk in silence. Gavner could tell that Ioder had so much going through his mind, and Ioder deserved the silence. He needed time to collect his thoughts, and it was the least that Gavner could do to to give him that.

Ioder led the way to the tavern, and it was one of the more classy ones to say the least. It had many wooden tables and chairs with padded seats. There were even several booths, one of which Gavner and Ioder sat down at. When they sat down, Ioder turned his face to the wall and it flashed a bright light. There were few others in the tavern because people didnt come here to get drunk, but none of them saw Ioder change his face. When he turned back Gavner saw that he had changed his face to a longer form with orange eyes and longer red hair. He could pass as Gavner's brother.

A woman came over and waited on Gavner and Ioder. "Don't worry about the cost, I'm buying." Gavner said. Ioder merely laughed and ordered a dish he was familiar with. Gavner ordered a plate of fish with potatoes on the side. When the woman asked what they would have to drink Ioder opened his mouth eagerly but Gavner spoke before he could say anything. "Water. We will both be having water tonight."

Ioder gave Gavner a puzzled look and the woman rolled her eyes as she walked away. "What was that for?"

"Ioder, we have to stay sober. We now have hunters on our tail, and we cant fight them if we are drunk." Gavner said wisely.

"Well yeah but they won't be here for awhile..." Ioder began but Gavner shook his head. Ioder looked at him submissively but then sighed.

"Okay Ioder, something you should know about me. Vampires do not ever dessert their allies. Even if it is a lost cause, we will perish with our allies." Gavner said seriously. "For a vampire to die nobly in battle, defending his friends is the highest honor he can attain in his life. So even if this battle is my last, I will die a noble death by your side should you not flee."

[Ioder]

Then suddenly a great war horn could be heard in the distance, alerting both Ioder and Gavner during their meal. Ioder quickly starred across at his vampire friend as he smashed the fork he was using into the table. Gavner and Ioder both knew what this meant, and immediately stood up and began to move quickly to the door. As the reached the exit to the tavern the heard the horn sound again and again maybe indicating some sort of movement from the hunters. Regardless it was no longer time for pleasantries, not it was time for action.

"What do you thing Gavner, is it them?" Ioder said as he turned to his friend.

"It must be." He replied to Ioder. Gavner took a quick look around the street surveying his surroundings. They were not far from the exit of the city, and not far from where the hunters would most likely enter from. Gavner noticed a ladder leading to the roof of a building just down a small alleyway. He looked at his friend and motioned for him to fallow. Ioder complied with no hesitation, Gavner was a general of an army after all his brain thinks more of strategy rather that mindless nonsense. Gavner ran over to the ladder and quickly started to climb up it, with Ioder quickly on his heels. "We will have a better view from up here." Gavner said as he reached the top.

"Im sure there cant be to many of them all at once." Ioder said as crested the edge with his head only to see Gavner almost frozen still. Ioder stood on the roof and his eyes connected with what Gavner was starring at. "I-I-I-is that them?" Ioder stuttered in fear. Not far in the distance was a glow of fire, maybe one hundred men all carrying torches as they mad their way to Beinost.

"Yes, Ioder. This is why I warned you to flee. But there are more than before." Gavner said to his young friend in a sort of puzzled tone. "There is at least twenty more than before. And look there." He said pointing.

"What is it?" Ioder answered back.

"Up front, those three on horse back. I saw one of them earlier. They must be the leaders of this outfit." Gavner muttered then he went silent in thought.

Ioder's mind raced as well, he was indeed afraid. Afraid not of possibly dying, but of being subjected back into hiding. If he ever had to live like he did for so long ever again, even just the thought of enduring alone made him hate humanity. Estelle what should I do. Without you I will never survive alone again. I pledge that once this is all over and done, I will see you again one way or another. Ioder thought as he waited. It would still be an hour or so before the group even makes it into the city. And even longer than that before they would ever find the two.

"Gavner, If we kill the leader will they all disperse?" Ioder said trying to get Gavner who looks lost in thought back to reality.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner looked at Ioder, still in thought. He had noticed something about one of the men on the horses. If that's who I think it is, they will never give up until I'm dead..... Gavner thought.

"No, I dont think so," Gavner confessed. "Some of them may desert but many of them joined because they believe in their cause."

"So..." Ioder gulped, "the only thing that will stop them is death?"

"Aye." Gavner said. "And they'll get just that." Ioder looked like he was going to be sick, but he didnt say anything.

"Are you okay?" Gavner asked. Ioder nodded slowly but Gavner could still that he looked very uneasy. Gavner motioned to Ioder's gauntlet. "Do you know how to use that?"

"Yes!" Ioder said defensively, bring his hand to his chest and looking at Gavner accusingly.

"Of course," Gavner said with a smile, "I meant no disrespect." Ioder squared his shoulders and looked straight ahead.

Gavner hoped he hadnt offended his friend, but they didnt have time to wait. "Follow me," he said. "I know not the in's and out's of the city but I will inform you of my plan in due time." Turning on his heel Gavner rushed to the ladder and descended. Before he even reached the ground he was rushing down the alleyway. When he reached the end of the alley Gavner began to stomp around on the ground with one foot. Ioder looked at Gavner, puzzled.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Just as he asked the question, Gavner's foot hit something hard and metal.

"I was looking," Gavner said, "for this." He bent down and picked up an iron grate that had been concealed by trash. Ioder looked at him confusedly as Gavner set the grate on the ground.

"I have an idea," Gavner said as he leaned forward and whispered to Ioder.

Ioder's face lit up when he heard Gavner's plan. "That's brilliant!" Ioder marveled, "How did you come up with that?"

"Ioder, you are looking at an experienced vampire general. I only command a small squadron, all generals do, but I am trying to become a prince." Gavner said with a smile.

Ioder looked like he became very happy, but Gavner didn't know why. "Does that mean you will command the whole clan of vampires?"

"Well," Gavner hesitated. "Yes, but its complicated. The clan has few princes, but each prince commands the clan together. All princes have equal power, but each has great influence." Ioder smiled to himself, but something about Ioder's reaction worried Gavner.

"Come, Ioder. We have little time"

[Ioder]

~later~

Ioder and Gavner crouched down on the roofs of two houses, each on opposite sides of a road. Looking up over the ridge of the roof he saw Ioder's face, still looking a bit uneasy. "Are you okay?" Gavner called softly.

Ioder replied with a shaky thumbs up and Gavner smiled. "Just stick to the plan and we will be fine!"

At last the group of hunters reached the city and began flooding in through the gates, casting light and shadows all throughout the streets. Looking down on the group Gavner could see the glints of their bared swords and axes from their torches, and a fire in each man's eye. The group was led by several men on horses, and by the light of the torches Gavner noticed one had a scar on his face. Gavner knew this scar. Gavner knew this man...

Okay, okay. Just stick to the plan and we will be fine... Gavner thought. Backing up Gavner stood so only Ioder could see him. Gavner held up a fist giving him the signal, turned, and began jumping from roof to roof. The plan on Gavner's part gave him the advantage of going undetected at first. Ioder held no such luxury.

From behind him Gavner heard Ioder shouting and the crowd began raging. Ioder would lead them in a big circle, giving Gavner time to work his magic. Ioder's escapade would lead the hunters directly into the trap that him and Gavner had worked on during the past hour, and Gavner would set it off. After they set off the trap they would flee to their stronghold; the abandoned church.

After meeting in the church, Ioder would retreat to the docks and hide while Gavner hunted down a local blacksmith. After returning to Ioder's hiding place he would supply the two of them with weapons. They would then return to the church where they would defend it as their stronghold. If everything went as planned, the hunters would be scattered all throughout the city by that time and they would reach the church in small groups rather than one big mob.

"Hey hunters, looking for someone?!" Ioder started to yell at the crowd below making plenty sure not to give away his location.

All of the hunters started to franticly look around to try to find the source of the word. Many of them screaming their heads off trying to lure out who ever was talking. Ioder knew it was his job to get this plan moving, so he quietly made his way down to the city streets below. He was on the opposite side of the building as the crowd of hunters, so Ioder secretly made his way to about a block away from them and stepped in view. The hunters grunted a few choice words as the noticed the boy in the alley, but nothing extreme like trying to slaughter him.

I hope you know what your doing Gavner. Ioder thought to himself as he swallowed a big lump down and then pointed to the group, making sure that the realized that he was doing it. The just as a solitary bead of sweat dripped from his forehead down his face, he closed his eyes and with a flash revealed his wings. They glimmered in the dark of the night and all of the seraphim hunters immediately started yelling and rushing at Ioder.

Just like the plan, Ioder turned tail and started to run as fast as he could, he knew the inns and outs of this place so he felt confident in his ability to flee. Gavner im counting on you.

[matthewkuch]

As Gavner jumped from roof to roof, he soon realized that he and Ioder were all in. There was no turning back now, and no room for error. This realization brought a rush of adrenaline to Gavner and he traveled with newfound speed and precision. He had virtually no time, and Ioder's life was on the line. Reaching the trap site Gavner leapt down onto the road that ended directly at the base of the city wall. Reaching behind him Gavner checked his black knapsack to make sure he had the metal sledge hammer he had taken from the blacksmith. He also felt around for the long rope ladder him and Ioder had assembled. His knapsack was lacking Eva; they had left her in the church.

Running to the wall Gavner pulled out the shortened hammer and began smashing away at the base of the wall. The stone was softer than he had expected, but it still took awhile to cut halfway through. Come on come on come on I dont have time for this! Gavner thought. He chomped away, feeling his strength draining from him, but determined not to give up. By the time he had cut halfway through along the width of the road, Ioder was already a quarter through with the route. Gavner was losing time, and fast. He had to act quickly.

The road here was too wide for him to jump across, so he ran to his right side and climbed to the roof of a building. Now there was a straight runway between him and the wall. He began to run as fast as he could, and jumped when he was approximately ten feet from the wall. Arching through the air Gavner lifted his hammar high and smashed the side of the wall with incredible force. The hammar left a crater in the wall and sent cracks up and down the side. Gavner fell the remaining ten feet between him and the roof of the house below him.

After following suit with the other side, he left even bigger cracks in the wall, each of which were deeper than the first set. Gavner clawed the wall and began to climb. Reaching the top he looked back over the city to find that the mob of angry hunters was only about 100 yards from the trap site. Gavner had less than five minutes to finish the trap and get into position. Reaching into his knapsack he pulled out the rope ladder, and two metal rivets. Pounding the rivets into the wall he put the two ends of the ladder around them and tossed the other end over the side of the wall. The end of the ladder landed about five feet above the roof of a house, and Gavner was satisfied.

Spinning around Gavner lowered himself down the other side of the wall and began his descent. He heard the mob draw near as he reached the bottom he ran back about one hundred feet and readied himself to set off the trap. Come on Ioder, where are you, Gavner thought.

Ioder appeared on top of the wall and turned to the mob. "Gavner, now!" he yelled, and Gavner began to sprint toward the wall as hard as he could

[Ioder]

Ioder did not wait to see how Gavner's trap would work, he had no time if it should fail he needed to still be moving. One or twice on the run Ioder almost lost his lead wile some hunter tried to cut him off. Instinctively Ioder turned again and continued his running, but he did have full faith in Gavner. As Ioder reached the side of the wall he heard the sound of stone crumbling beneath him and the wall start to shift violently. I see Gavner, tricky tricky. Ioder thought as he stopped at the edge looking down to the streets below, and with one leap of faith jumped of the wall.

With his arms and legs thrown back Ioder glided threw the air like a skydiver steering his body to land on the closest roof. He raised his hands to his face and as he landed, he forced himself to summersault so he wouldn't hurt himself on the roof. The sounds of men screaming behind him made him believe that Gavner's plan was going to be a success. The next step was to get back to the church then to the docks to lie low. So off to the church it would be, Ioder quickly rose to his feet and raced his way across the roof then hoping onto the next and then the next. As he reached a larger street that separated the roof to much for Ioder to jump across he instead had to find a ladder. The hunters have been dispersed now, they were no longer a giant group instead they were separated into smaller ones that did not fall into the trap. Traveling my the streets would still be dangerous.

After Ioder found the ladder and descended to the streets below he then quickly took cover behind a barrel (Pewd's Nemesis) as he noticed a few hunters turning the corner and heading in his direction. One, two, three, four.... Only four hmmm Ioder thought as he they all came into the light of the street and Ioder could count them. Letting them pass would be the ideal decision, and the smartest in fact but Ioder wondered if he was really going to have to run for his life or were these men just scary in numbers. So as the men walked past him on the street in front of the barrels he quickly morphed his shape into an exact copy of the final guy in their formation. A gross body but if would work well. Ioder stood from behind his barrel and quickly yet silently made his way behind the man he copied. As he did he quickly released his Damascus blade and started to raise it to the back of the man's neck. Just as he did one of the guys at the front of the formation turned around to talk to the others and noticed something strange. He saw double.

"There he is! The shape changer!" The man yelled quickly, and as he did Ioder reverted his form and pushed the man he was behind into the others. Jumping forward on top of the man now lying on the ground Ioder plunged his blade into his back. The cold metal piercing the hunter's skin itching as it stayed in place.

"That's one down." Ioder said trying to intimidate the other, also twisting his blade tearing the flesh of the guy impaled. Gavner wait for me ill be there soon.

[matthewkuch]

As Gavner sprinted at the wall as hard as he could he saw Ioder get off the wall. This was going brilliantly, just as Gavner had planned. About 15 feet from the wall he gave a mighty leap with everything he had and turned his body parallel to the ground. His feet made contact with the wall and he kicked as hard as he could, feeling the weakened, weather beaten wall begin to give way to his will.

At that time, time seemed to slow down to Gavner. He looked at the edge of the wall and saw an extremely large slab begin to separate from the rest of the wall. Small bits of stone were crumbling off and falling to the ground, illuminated by the moonlight. The wall had separated at the channels Gavner had carved out with the hammer, just as planned. The force of kicking off the wall counteracted the inertia of his bolt towards the wall, and he remained in the same spot as the wall fell.

As the wall began to topple, Gavner remained in the same spot as gravity began to become upset with him. Crashing towards the Earth, Gavner heard the screams and scrambling of men as the wall toppled to the ground. Gavner fell twenty feet to the ground and landed hard on his front. Forcing himself to his feet he looked to the side at the falling wall as he hurried to the edge of the wall to keep out of sight. He watched as it crashed onto the ground and crumbled. Men scrambled and scattered, trying to escape the falling death trap, but nearly half of the angry hunting mob was caught in the trap.

Around the wall was absolute chaos. Men were screaming and running around, some having the living daylights scared out of them, some very pale. As the The men began dispersing through the alleys in small groups. One of the groups started to come out the edge of the toppled wall and Gavner pressed against the wall to conceal himself in the shadows. The men paused, staring into the shadows with no avail. They turned and began to walk into the city and Gavner waited five minutes to follow.

Slipping into Beinost Gavner hurried down an ally and located a grate that led to the vast network of sewers below. He entered and located his way to the weakened tunnel so he could collapse it.

"That's one down," Gavner heard a familiar voice say above him.

"Ioder," Gavner mumbled to himself. "I cant collapse this just yet..."

[Ioder]

"Get this little shit off of me!" The man pinned to the ground mustered out through the pain of Ioder's Blade. His fellow hunters all immediately drawing their weapons in response to Ioder's abrupt attack. Three men, one elf the other human all seem to be quite battle worn. The wore mostly cloth but each had studded leather vests covering them, along with assorted other pieces of armor. The Elf had long silver hair and drew a pair of twin from the looks of it steel short swords, used to quick duel wielded strikes. The Elf stepped forward towards Ioder as he still twisted his cold blade in the man he had pinned. An expression of almost excitement filled his face as he drug the tips of his blades on the ground. "This is going to be over quick." He could have well said, his face expressed it fine enough. Almost like a sense of bloodlust emanating around him and his pals.

The other two both drew their weapons of choice, one with a crossbow of sorts and the other with a long sword. The stood back wile the elf continued to step towards Ioder. This was about to turn into an all out brawl, exactly what Ioder wanted. Slowly Ioder rose from his position sitting on the man, never taking his eyes of the elf. As he reached his feet, Ioder whipped his hand out to the side slinging some of the blood off his blade. A small act that carried a sense of confidence.

They seem confident in him, but I cant count out the two in the rear. Ioder thought as he tried to analyze the elf, sizing him up. Right handed, his left has a weak grip. He noticed about the elf.

Just as he could finish his train of thought a hand wraps its hand around Ioder's left ankle. Franticly Ioder looks down to see what was going on who was grabbing him. His eyes opened wide as he saw the man he mimicked earlier still fighting back, even after being stabbed. "Son of a-" the words barley escaped Ioder's mouth as in the corner of his eye he sees the flash of a swinging blade. The silver haired elf spared no time as he launched his strong handed sword right at Ioder. He's fast Ioder thought as he simultaneously swung leaned his body far to the right side to avoid the sword. The blade barley misses Ioder buy only inches and instead hits the man on the grounds arm forcing him to loose grim on the seraphim. But not that smart. Quickly sparing no time Ioder repositioned his arm and trusted his Damascus blade forward towards the elf's chest. With a great and powerful swing from the elf's left hand his blade caught Ioder's in mid thrust, parrying it as he stepped back and flexed his sword arms out. Each tip pointing directly at Ioder, this elf was good, this elf was a threat.

Again and again the two crossed metal, neither gaining any ground on the other. The sounds of their blades hitting each other echoed around only masked by the taunts of his fellow hunters. "You're very good." Ioder said as the elf caught his gauntlet in an x with his swords.

"You aren't to bad yourself." He retorted, "But you are only one person, you don't stand a chance."

He spoke truth, Ioder was only one person. And even with Gavner the bloodsucking general of the vampires on his side, this was almost a lost fight before it started. Suddenly as if going blind Ioder jumped backward from the Elf and lowered his guard.

"True, why don't you join me." He said calmly and turned tail. A confused look came across the elf's face, he was completely taken back by this notion. Or possibly slightly insulted by even the idea. "You'll be of grate use to me. The legends of a Seraphim, being or power an might were not fictional. But with every king there are knights." The men behind the elf also bared the same look as he did. Ioder raised on finger up and motioned for the elf to fallow him and he began to run. Time was short before Gavner would be at the chapel and even less time before the next street would crumble. It was not safe to stay any longer, but the offer was very true one.

The elf stood there puzzled, what just happened, his prey offered him a job. Though confused he was intrigued even if just in the slightest. He motioned for the men to grab the fallen man and return him to the camp site outside town. And after he finished his orders he took off after the seraphim.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner did not have time to dawdle and wait for Ioder to finish his ordeal. Spinning on his heel he ran down a smaller tunnel that branched off the main one. This was a smaller, more insignificant tunnel used for street drainage. The tunnel led to the road that was parallel with the one Ioder was on. He and Ioder had infused the cracks in the sides of the tunnel with Magnesium and explosives that led around the vast network of tunnels under Beinost. All Gavner had to do was get out of the tunnels and ignite the fuse.

Lifting off the grate above him Gavner climbed out and looked over to the hidden fuse that Gavner and Ioder planted. Just as he started over to it he heard voices around the corner. Orange light was cast around the bend, creating shadows a mile long. A group of three men in dark hoods came around the corner. They were bent over in stealth, little did they know that Gavner's sense of hearing was far more advanced than theirs. The one covering the rear flank held a bright burning torch that cast light and shadows all throughout the alley.

"It's the nightwalker!" One of the men hissed and they drew their weapons. The man in the back drew a mace while he held the torch menacingly. The man to Gavner's left drew two combat knives and the man to Gavner's right pulled out two battle axes. The polished steel weapons looked as if they were mirrors, and had been sharpened every night. They glinted malevolently, seeming to scream out "Death." These were no backwoods seraphim hunters who joined a lynch mob and attacked in numbers. These were true vampire hunters.

Vampire hunters were the elites of the hunting force in Althanas by far. Almost every one of them had something terrible done to them or their family, so hate and revenge was what fueled their actions. They had to seek out the hunting force and then perform a series of tests to see if they were qualified or not. After they were deemed qualified they were physically and mentally broken in a grueling five year training session. During these years they were taught superior battle lore and were trained to their physical strength peak. A thirst for blood and battle was instilled in them and they were trained to stop at nothing to kill a vampire. Point in case they were physically, mentally, and emotionally tougher than any normal human being or average citizen.

Gavner looked up into the eyes of the man to the left, the man to the right, and the man in the rear. He smirked, and with that the show down was over.



The nightwalker bared his sharp black teeth and lunged at us with supernatural speed. What have I gotten myself into, I thought.

Jumping back I watched as the vampire attacked the man to my left, who had the battle axes. He swung at the nightwalker's neck but even with his swift attack he was no match for the vampire. The creature effortlessly parried the blow and nimbly knocked the axe out of his hand. Not giving the man time to swing again, the vampire crouched down and grappled the man. Standing up, the vampire threw his arm overhead and the man with the axes had his feet thrown up vertically into the air.

I could hear the man's bones snap as he crashed back to earth, landing directly on his neck. There were only two of us left. I was overcome with rage as I looked at my fallen comrade. Just another person taken away from me... By a vampire. I spat on the ground and stepped forward, taking my place in battle. The vampire smirked and began circling me.

"What is your name, noble nightwalker?" I scoffed as he bared his teeth once more.

"What is it to the likes of you?" he hissed back.

"I would like to boast of the vampire I killed in Beinost."

The vampire lunged at me like quicksilver, a killer instinct in his eyes. I plunged the knife in my left hand towards his right side but he caught my wrist with his right hand. He had the upper hand now, but I was not going to let him prevail. I kicked his shin as hard as I could and attacked his other side with my free hand. He winced in pain from the kick but blocked my attack with his free elbow and bent my wrist back farther than it had ever been bent before.

My wrist cracked angrily. Eyes widening, I stared in horror as my wrist gave a loud snap and bent back all the way. My entire arm was enveloped in a shattering pain. It felt as if hundreds of thick splinters were piercing into my wrist and slicing down my arm. I cried out in pain but the nightwalker was a ruthless, vicious beast as he smiled wickedly. He had the upper hand and was going to win. This vampire was going to kill me, and I hated him for it. I spat in his face, and he punched me in the gut, harder than any other blow I had ever felt. I doubled over and threw up on his shoes, my wrist still in his hand.

With his free hand he wailed me with an upercut on the chin and I was thrown back with the force. Several of my teeth were knocked out and I was only being held up by the vampire who was holding my wrist. I dropped the knife in my right hand and the vampire snatched the knife out of my left hand. He hissed at me and plunged the knife right into my unprotected belly. The breath was taken away from me as I heard the tearing of my own flesh and felt a freezing air deep in my stomach.

The vampire let go of my wrist and pushed me over. I hit the ground hard on my back and my head rolled to the side. The stabbing cold feeling in my stomach had now turned into a fierce fire that had spread all throughout my torso. Reaching up to my stomach I felt the hilt of my own knife sticking out of my stomach and flinched as it moved and stirred up a whole new throb of fire. Gasping for air I felt tears come to my eyes as I pulled the knife out and tossed it aside. I observed the dancing shadows on the walls of buildings in the alleyway as I felt liquid stream down my face from my eyes.

I was now convulsing from the pain emanating from the fatal wound in my stomach. My rage had turned into sorrow and despair. I was now hopeless, a lost cause. Memories of my mother and father flashed before my eyes, smiling and playing with me as a six year old. Then I saw myself walking into the house to find them torn up, dead and bloody in the house. A creature with black teeth and nails hissed at me, blood dribbling down his chin and he fled the house. Now I lay on the ground thinking of the vampire who had just mortally wounded me. This was an evil creature, and I couldn't have stopped him.

I heard a cry come from behind me and the torch fell to the ground. Somebody stomped on the torch, casting the alley into darkness. My vision and hearing was growing faint, but I heard somebody walk up and stand over me.

"You can boast of your death as you rot in hell, bit**," the voice hissed. "Gavner Nahs killed you."

[Ioder]

Faint foot steps sound as Ioder and his pursuer race through a random alleyway heading in the direction for the harbor. Ioder was to wait there until Gavner reached him and the pair would make their way to the safe house. But this was the kicker, Ioder had a pursuer, rather he had a skilled huntsman fallowing him either he was to deal with him now or loose him. This elf was very skill full and well trained in sword play, he leaked out an aura of pure bloodlust.

"Stop Seraphim!" the elf yelled as he raced after Ioder with mixed intent. Now this hunter in particular was not originally part of this huge force, he was only a late hire to add to their mussel.

Ioder continued to run until he reached the end of the alley and it opened into a larger street. The street was only a few blocks from the harbor his destination. When he reached the wider street Ioder quickly turned to the right and pretended to keep sprinting, but instead just steeped out of view from the alley. Standing with his back against the cold stone wall Ioder stayed and waited for his elf pursuer. The elf was loud with his footsteps, either he was wearing heavy boots of he was just not worrying about making noise. Either way the elf was loud and easy to fallow with only one's hearing. Ioder held his breath just before the elf emerged from the alley and continued his path in the direction he say Ioder run. And As he passed Ioder, slight bead of sweet dropped as he let out his breath.

Ioder stepped out into the middle of the street, letting the elf race his way down the street a little way. Just as Ioder felt like he was at a safe distance to talk to the silver haired elf, Ioder opened his mouth and yelled out, "Stop!" the word must have pierced the elf concentration, he turned around with hast and franticly stared at the seraphim. "Elf, you are more capable than I. But you have no purpose. More skilled than any I have seen from your army. Must not be from this army." Ioder spoke intangibly, almost trying to confuse the elf.

"You must think me a fool, speaking to me like you are not my pre-." The elf said as he drew his twin swords.

"You must Not know what I can offer!" Ioder cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "You are strong, be my knight, be my general. Lets wage war on all that is."

The elf looked increasingly confused, he had not been specifically after Ioder, but he was indeed going to be paid for his head. "You speak in riddles." the elf retorted.

"I know you are confused, but I also know you would like to hear more. My name is Ioder."

"Alfe," The elf responded. His name was Alfe, the elf.

"Would you care to listen to my plans, and be my first follower?" Ioder said as he brought his Damascus blade into view. "Regardless form me not to kill you, thou must show thy metal before this seraphim.!" Instantly Ioder began running, sprinting rather at Alfe. This is going to be fun, first to draw blood wins. If I win he will be my general. If he wins, ill let him live. Oh the wheels of madness that turn within my head...

[matthewkuch]

Fricking vampire hunters....
Gavner had lost several of his closest friends to vampire hunters before. He hated vampire hunters, and anyone who placed themselves in league with them.

Walking briskly down the street Gavner made his way towards the blacksmith. He did not have much time, and Ioder was counting on him. As he was walking, Gavner took a moment to observe the night. He took in the crisp cool air, and breathed deeply as he walked. Gavner relished the odor of fungi and moss, as these odors reminded him of home. As a general he knew that this night could very well be his last, so he tried to enjoy as much of it as he could.

Reaching the main street, Gavner observed this area of the city. Ioder had described this section in full detail, but he had to see for himself. In front of him were small roads that branched off, leading to visible docks and shipyards all along the waterfront. On the side of the road Gavner was looking from, there were many buildings close together. These structures were separated by back roads and occasional alleyways.

Sparing no time Gavner took a left and walked down the main road. The road led on for quite awhile but Gavner ceased about 100 feet down. Pausing, he lifted his gaze to a sign on the left that read:

BLACKSMITH

"This is my place," Gavner mumbled to himself. He reached the door underneath the sign and placed his hand on it. Gavner pushed on the heavy wooden door, only to find it locked. Gavner looked both ways down the street to make sure nobody was coming, then backed up and breached the door. The hinges of the door looked strong, but were weaker than he had expected.

Scrambling in, Gavner hurried to put the door back in place. In his haste he became careless and began knocking things to the ground. Metal tools and scraps clattered to the ground, providing a beacon of sound directly revealing Gavner's location. Fitting the door back in place Gavner froze, listening into the night. After listening for several minutes, he did not hear anyone approaching. Turning into the building Gavner found an oil lamp barely burning, casting a weak glow on the wall it was up against. The dim light lasted about a 2 foot radius before the darkness suffocated it.

Gavner gripped the knob on the lamp with his index finger and his thumb, and he turned it as far as he could. Instantly the flame grew tenfold and burned a brilliant hole in the dense, ominous darkness. There were racks and tables with axes, swords, maces, and any other type of weapon you could think of. At the back of the store was a counter with a register and a glass case, in which were the finest of all weapons in the shop. Behind the desk there were two doorways, each of which led to the same room in the back. Gavner assumed this was the smithing room but the lamp did not illuminate that room.

Walking to the left side of the shop Gavner observed two leather forearm sleeves hanging off the wall above a small table. A small white tag with cramped handwriting dangled off the merchandise and read:

Slotted leather sleeve. 120 marks each

Looking at the table underneath the sleeves Gavner saw an open box of polished steel throwing knives. On the box was a similar tag that read:

Steel throwing knives. 70 marks each

The sleeves had 5 slots on each, and they were perfect size for the throwing knives. Gavner was best trained in throwing knives, so naturally this grabbed his attention. Observing the items, Gavner decided that these would be of best use to him. He was reluctant to steal such fine work, but he vowed to return later and recompense the blacksmith. He put on both sleeves and filled all the slots with throwing knives, silently promising to return after his quest was finished.

Walking to the glass counter, Gavner saw all kinds of weapons. He saw swords, Katana, beautiful bows, arrows, axes and much more. Behind the glass counter were weapons of the finest make, and enchanted ones. One knife make in particular caught Gavner's eye, and grabbed his fancy.

It was a beautiful knife with a hilt of black and gold thread. The polished metal was dark grey, and had no trace of impurities. Gavner noticed something strange about the knife, and when he looked closer he noticed it was emanating a soft red glow. Gavner looked for a name tag but only found a number. Looking up to the counter he found a paper with numbers and paragraphs beside the numbers. He found the number that corresponded with the knife and read:

Damascus blood knife.
Blood Enchantment: Does not allow any wound inflicted by this knife to heal or stop bleeding unless given the antidote in hilt. Wound will not clot, and the blood will thin when nearing the exit point.
Damascus knife- 300 marks. Blood Enchantment- 400 marks.
Total: 700 marks

Underneath the blood knife was a knife of the same make, except the blade seemed to have long yellow bolts of energy crawling around the surface of the blade. The corresponding number to this knife read:

Damascus energy knife.
Lightening enchantment: Strongly electrocutes anything attacked with this knife. Stab wounds can stun victim for up to 10 seconds, and administer up to third degree burns from energy (charred flesh and damaged nerves).
Damascus knife- 300 marks. Lightening enchantment- 500 marks.
Total: 800 marks.

There were two knives of the same make remaining. One had ice crystals and snow on the blade and read:

Damascus frost knife.
Frost enchantment: Freezes surrounding flesh of stab wound and gives frostbite to surrounding skin.
Damascus knife- 300 marks. Frost enchantment- 400 marks.
Total: 700 marks.

The second of the two had thin red flames, crawling around the blade, licking the Damascus on the knife. The corresponding number led to the paragraph that said:

Damascus fire knife.
Fire enchantment: Deals third degree burns to all areas of skin punctured (charring of flesh and destroying of nerve endings).
Damascus knife- 300 marks. Fire enchantment- 300 marks.
Total: 600 marks.

Each knife was on top of a black sheath, and they were lined up in the case from back to front. Gavner set his eye on these combat knives and took a liking to two in particular.

Jumping behind the counter, Gavner looked to find the opening of the case. On the case, binding the two doors shut was an iron lock. Sparing no time he began to gouge at the lock, taking chunks out of the hard metal in deep channels. After the lock had less than a half an inch of iron remaining in the spot where Gavner was cutting, he cleaved through the rest with his teeth. The lock fell to the stone floor with a clatter, but Gavner opened the case and reached for the knife that had caught his fancy.

Extending his arm in, Gavner's fingers closed around the hilt of the glowing red knife. He took a few seconds to admire the beautiful knife, sheathed it, and reached for the energy knife. The tip of his middle finger brushed up against the flat of the blade, and sent an electrical current up his hand. Pulling back, and gasping Gavner was startled by the reaction.

"This is stronger than I thought," he mumbled to himself. He found a belt hanging on the wall and fastened each sheathed knife to his hip. "Now," Gavner said. "To find Ioder."

"I am afraid you will never find him," a rich voice called from the front of the shop. Gavner spun around to face the front of the shop, only to find a tall man with dark hair leaning against the wall. His short dark hair came to about his eyebrows, and he had a long deep scar that extended from the top of his upper right forehead all the way to the left corner of his mouth.

"Nightwalker, tonight will be your last. I have come to finish what I started five years ago." The man said.

"Mortem..." Gavner said in a hushed voice.

Mortem the Interfector was the leader of the vampire hunting force in Raiaera. Several years ago he ran into Gavner while he was roaming the countryside with Fintin. He ambushed them with a party of vampire hunters, and Fintin fought Mortem. He gave him the scar on his face, and knocked him unconsiouss. In this lesson Fintin had taught Gavner mercy, and they left Mortem to his crowd of stunned hunters who could not believe their leader had fallen.

"I am going to kill you, Gavner Nahs," Mortem said getting off the wall. "Prepare to die."

[Ioder]

Sweat was already dripping from the Seraphim's brow before even clashing with the Elf. His blade slung forward as he ran, determined to finally start his plan. Even if its just the one person, he would see this through.

"Estelle, this is where we begin. Everything up to now was just preparation." Ioder spoke just as he neared the elf. Alfe stood strong, swords draw and eyes fixed. It was becoming clear to Ioder that this Elf would not falter and indeed strike him down if given the chance. " Do you seek power?" Ioder yelled as he stepped of with his right foot and launched himself into the air. Only mere feet between the two, Ioder reared back his bladed arm seconds before thrusting it forward. "Do you seek freedom? Equality?" He yelled as passionately as he could.

Virtuously Alfe brought both his steel swords up catching Ioder strike in an X again. He was quite skilled able to do this with relative ease, like he was simply messing with Ioder. "You jest, you are just mere prey to me seraphim." He says as he scissors his blades forcing Ioder back a foot or to. Like a fluid dance Ioder and Alfe both rebounded with simaltanious assaults.

"You came here not of a passion for killing, you have proven that much already. Is it coin?" Ioder says as he clashes, exchanging beads of sweat with the Elf.

"What is it to you, if I've come for coin the outcome would still be the same." Alfe says as he brings his foot up, kicking Ioder back a few steps. Ioder's feet dragging against the ground trying to keep his balance.

As Ioder stopped his sliding he stood up straight eyes still fixed on Alfe. But he let his blade arm lax. "You will not receive any coin, only failure and death." He said as he also relaxed his shoulder. "I will not be killed here, I'm meant to do more in my life. Not to let my dying breed go, to give me and my sister a safe home." A solitary tear forming in his eye. The silence...

After a few moments of dead silence, Ioder looked re focused his gave at the Elf. He felt so passionate about his words that he let his vision blur. "This will be the my last strike, after this one of us will have lost." Then there was small break in his speak. "Ready?" He asked. The Elf nodded and readied himself.

The two both began sprinting at each other with great speed and determination. As the pair clash with a derailing sound of breaking metal, the two worriers ran past each other. Unclear as to the outcome until... The tips of one of the Elf's steel swords cracks and shatters about the inches of the top.

The victor was clear-

[matthewkuch]

Gavner stared into the cold abhorring eyes of the vampire hunter, and for a second everything froze. The flame in the candle did not flicker. The air had a stench of hatred.

Gavner used this second to run through the General's final checklist.

Have I let go of all ties to this world?

Yes.

Am I putting the clan before myself?

Yes.

Am I willing to die for a greater cause?

Yes.

Am I ready?

The question that had troubled Gavner before each and every single one of his battles was undoubtedly troubling him once more. He did not feel that he was ready to exit this world in such a manner, but for some reason he felt at peace. He knew that things would work themselves out no matter what happened.

Gavner knew that this second could not last forever, and so in final battle preparation he recited a line to himself that he had once heard long ago. Gavner recited a line said by one of the greatest vampires of all time, Master Crepsley, in one of the darkest of all times.

Even in death may I be triumphant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC2szVT619I [OOC: Kingdom Hearts battle music is pretty epic, and I thought this suited the battle pretty well]

Gavner blinked, and suddenly his second was over.

Mortem leapt at Gavner with abnormal speed, but Gavner was quicker. In a flash Gavner brought his leg over the counter and kicked his foe in the chest, halting his progression. Gavner took the upper hand and leapt in the air, spinning his torso while kicking his leg. He timed it perfectly so his foot made contact with Mortem's face just as he looked up. This sent Mortem into a table with weapons on it, splintering the table and throwing weapons everywhere.

While he was ahead, Gavner decided that he needed to escape from this confined fighting space. He backed up and leapt over the counter and Mortem, landing just in front of the door. He put his foot directly through the door, splintering it into hundreds of chunks of wood out on the street. Gavner turned around just in time to find an angry Mortem coming at him with a daggar.

Using an open fist Gavner knocked the dagger from Mortem's hand as he thrust it at Gavner's heart. Gavner sent his fist for Mortem's head but Mortem punched Gavner in the stomach before he even made contact. Gavner was punched so hard that he naturally doubled over before he could fight the urge. As he did so Mortem dealt a strong uppercut to the bottom of Gavner's chin, sending him backwards to the ground.

Mortem reached down for his dagger and was soon overtop of Gavner, but Gavner used a technique he had once used on Ioder in their first battle. Utilizing all of his supernatural speed Gavner rolled back onto his neck with his hands on the ground and his feet crouched over him and pushed off the ground with all his might. He extended his feet as hard as he could and kicked Mortem in the chest as hard as he could.

Mortem flew back into the blacksmith's shop and Gavner landed in a crouching position. Turning, he fled down the empty street, which was now free of civilians or hunters at this hour. He made his way down to the docks and jumped aboard a ship with a mighty leap. An arrow whizzed past his left ear and lodged deep into the mast of the ship. Gavner crouched and spun around to view his oncoming aggressor, only to find him several feet away coming up the ramp of the ship.

Gavner crouched and poised to pounce on his foe when the time was right. When Mortem was up the ramp, Gavner leapt for his enemy, with his whole body parallel with the horizon. He brandished his glowing red blood knife, aiming for his target's arm. Soaring just past Mortem, Gavner swiped with his knife and etched a long gash into his adversary's forearm. The gash began at the base of his pinkie finger and ran all the way to his elbow, carving a gushing channel through his sleeve and into his flesh. Mortem didn't flinch, or cry out in pain. He simply turned and thrust his knife at Gavner's stomach, missing his enemy.

Looking forward, Gavner noticed that he was heading directly for the edge of the ship. If he didn't do something soon he would smash into the thick wooden barrier and essentially hand himself to his enemy. Using his hands to break his fall he rolled and landed in a crouch position. The momentum of the roll was still carrying him and aided to his jump, as he extended his legs and jumped completely off the ship.

Gavner was expecting to land in the water, little did he know there was another ship very close to the one he had jumped off. He landed just clear of the edge and turned to find Mortem falling directly on him. Mortem kicked Gavner in the chest and and he went crashing to the deck. Forcing himself to his feet, Gavner felt a shocking pain from his back, as the fall must have bruised it. This brought a wave of rage unto Gavner, which he rebuked immediately. Generals were not supposed to let their emotions get in the way of battles, lest they act foolishly in a spurt of emotion.

Rushing over to the side of the deck, Gavner picked up a barrel of pickles and hurled it at mortem with all the strength he could muster. Gavner turned for the ramp and fled the ship as fast as he could. He didn't bother to watch and see what happened, but he heard the barrel smash into something and something else hitting the water. When he heard the barrel smash, he heard a soft grunt, the sound of all the air being forced out of a human. A smile tickled Gavner's lips and he fled the ship for his final battle arena. This is where he would finish it, and settle his score with Mortem once and for all.


Kill. Kill! KILL!

As the barrel with the vile smelling contents splintered on Mortem's chest, he was saturated with rage. A greater hunger for murder, and a fresh case of bloodlust washed over him as his desire to kill grew from a flame to a roaring bonfire.

He was thrown backwards and plunged into the cold harbor water head first. Surfacing, Mortem let out a howl of hatred for the vampire, as he simply wanted to finish this and kill the evasive vampire. Mortem usually kept his emotions under control during a battle, but this battle was personal. This anger and hatred for the vampire had consumed him for the past five years, and now was his opportunity to settle it once and for all. Mortem pulled himself up onto the dock and started off for the vampire. He wove his way through the tightly packed buildings as his itch for murder grew more savage, and there was no way he could currently satisfy it. Mortem needed to kill. Mortem needed to kill.

With this a sudden spurt of adrenaline coursed through his veins and he sprinted as fast as he could to catch the bloodsucker. He turned the corner to find that the vampire had climbed a ladder onto the rooftops. Mortem was up the ladder and on the vampire in seconds, slashing at him with his dagger. The vampire blocked Mortem's advance with the side of his arm and elbowed Mortem in the face. Mortem was thrown down on the roof but got up in seconds. The vampire was now brandishing a blade which had yellow bolts coursing around on the surface.

Something strange happened when Mortem got to his feet. He felt lightheaded and almost lost his balance. His vision faded as white clouded it, then left soon. The vampire lunged for Mortem with the dagger and made contact with his right side. He stabbed Mortem right between the ribs, and Mortem instantly stiffened. He felt as if electricity was coursing through his entire body, and his body was being shaken back and fourth. While he was being shaken back and fourth Gavner kicked him in the face and sent him back to the roof again.


In a flash Mortem was on his feet again.

This guy never dies! Gavner thought as he altered his defensive stance.

Before Gavner could register an attack Mortem pulled out a longsword and began to swing at Gavner. Gavner had just enough time to take out his other knife and block the sword blow using both of them. Gavner and Mortem were now in a furious weapon lock, each pushing as hard as they could to overpower the enemy. Breaking the lock, Gavner lunged for Mortem's heart, who blocked the attack with his elbow and struck Gavner on the head with the hilt of his sword. Mortem lifted his sword over his head, anticipating the victor. Gavner was at a disadvantage, and he knew that this would be the end. The final blow would soon land, and one of them would be dead. Mortem would stand over the slain vampire in victory with the rising sun in the background, triumphing over the nightwalker.

Or would he?

In the very last second, just before Mortem brought the sword down on Gavner, Gavner tightened his grip on his blood knife. He thrust his hand directly under Mortem's unprotected sternum for the fleshy weak spot of the human body, and made contact.

Mortem's eyes widened and he took a shallow breath, but received no air. Gavner twisted the knife, and pulled it out of his foe. Mortem's sword fell to the stone shingles with a loud clatter and Gavner kicked his foe in the chest. Gavner's foe fell to the roof, and Gavner watched as he slid off and fell to the ground. Walking up to the sword, Gavner kicked it to the side and it slid from the roof to land on its fallen master's chest. He continued to the edge of the roof and looked out over the main street, claiming his victory.

The sky was beginning to lighten, and he was running out of time.

Now off to the church to meet Ioder...

[Ioder]

Time seemed to slow down as the fragments of Alfe's sword fell to the cobblestone below. Ioder had bested the elf in this duel, proving he was not going to die by the hands of this lesser being. The two stood silently for a few moments after the clash, neither one sure of what was to be said. The terms of the fight were set, though the were vague. Finely breaking the silence the elf dropped both of his swords and kneeled on the ground still facing away from Ioder. The seraphim felt supreme pleasure, relishing in the fact he had a wise elf kneeling down to wait his fate.

Ioder turned his heat to witness the elf, to visualize what he so vividly saw in his head. The poor fool, to take on a seraphim one on one is the greatest mistake he could have ever made. Ioder thought boasting his own powers.

"So elf, do you still feel the need to fight?" Ioder dominantly said to Alfe who has appeared to given in. Bested by Ioder's blade, his talent, his purpose.

"You have broken my blade, and with it my pride as a mercenary." The elf said now with his eyes closed and hands rested on the knee. It appeared like he has conceded, perhaps some code of honor or has he just given in? Ioder turned and began to walk towards Alfe, his mind still racing about how he should convey his offer. Though it had been fought over, it was still the elf choice to fallow Ioder in his mission.

"Alfe,.. Stand and sheath thy blades." Ioder said, those words must have startled the elf as he winced. Not out of pain, but he did stand none the less. "You have skill and pride. Your good with your blades, but the outcome was prerecorded. I will not die today, I have to change this world." The elf reached down for his blades, sheathed them and turned to face Ioder. His face solemn and un emotional, like reading a blank page. "Let not your pride be stripped rather share in mine. Help me make a world where Seraphim can live once again side by side with people. A world where all races are equal." Ioder was speaking from long past transcriptions, experiences he has witnessed through his many years. Speaking in way that his child like form did not seem to fit. "If you agree to fallow me, I can promise coin and a reputation, one of strength and power."

"Seraphim, you promise that I will be paid. And you promise me power. What is it you wish of me." The elf said still dawning his emotionless stair.

"You will be the leader of a group I wish to great. One that will pride themselves on their strength and cunning, one that stands for equality for all." Ioder retorted. The elf stood quite, simply watching Ioder as he spoke. "Accept my terms and join me." A smirk came across Alfe's face as she bowed slightly to Ioder.

"Lead the way Ioder." Alfe said as he returned to attention. It wasn't long before the pair turned and began to run in the direction of the chapel. Heading to meet Gavner, getting ready to end this night with a bang.

[matthewkuch]

"Fernando get over here, I haven't heard from the boss in quite a time. He said he would be here ten minutes ago." Lucius called to his hunting brother. "Assemble the survivors and we will all search for him together."

"Aye." Fernando replied.

Lucius did not know what they would do if they could not find the boss. He had always led them through even the hardest of times and always found victory, even where there was none presumed. He always found a way to get them through the night. Mortem was their brother, and they were a family. He mourned when one of them died, he drank and rejoiced when one cheated death, and he genuinely cared about his men. They were not just men under his control. They were brothers.

The rest of them had assembled. They had lost 10 of their men in the vicious trap of the seraphim, and vampire. Looking over their depleted ranks, Lucius was enraged. This vampire had killed 10 of his brothers, 10 of his own flesh and blood. A thirst to kill, and an itch of murder began to tickle his heart. An itch that began to fill him, and consume him. He could not satisfy this craving, unless he found this vampire. But first he needed to find the boss.

The pack of hunters crept down the streets and alleys of the town without a sound. The crisp air of the early morning held an eeriness to it, along with a bad omen. Not only was the air saturated with moisture, but it was filled with mutiny. Lucius had the feeling that the hunting party was on its own, as the seraphim hunters were fickle and weak at heart. They knew not what they fought for, once their leaders had fallen they would change sides sooner or later. Then somebody noticed the worst part of all.

"Boys over here, it's the boss!" Sanfrik called as the whole group of hunters crowded in a circle.

"What?" Lucius demanded pushing through the circle, "What is i-"

Lucius stopped short as his eyes found their cut down leader, lying on the ground with his sword on top of him. As the pack of hunters stood back in shock, they began to take in the scene. One by one they lowered their heads in honor of their fallen leader, and they all fell silent.

A wave of rage washed over Lucius, and suddenly his whole being was laced with hatred. The vampire had left Mortem on the ground with a huge hole in his chest, in a pool of his own blood. Lucius was going to destroy the vampire, even if he had to sell his very soul just to murder him slowly and painfully. Lucius wanted to make him suffer, and stare into his eyes as he watched the life drain from this vampire.

"Sanfrik!" Lucius roared. "Bring me the items spoken of by the legends. We are reincarnating the ritual."


Making his way to the abandoned church, Gavner made it inside just as the first rays of sun were peeking over the horizon. Ioder came in shortly after, with an elf man. A wave of relief washed over Gavner as his friend came in. He was worried that Ioder would not return, but he had now come back safely. Gavner gave a sigh of relief and Ioder cocked his head.

"What, you didn't think I could handle myself?" Ioder asked.

"I had my doubts," Gavner said, "I am glad you are okay though."

"Blood sucker, you forget who you are talking to!" Ioder said elegantly, puffing out his chest like a peacock, "It is I. Ioder the great, Ioder the magnificent, Ioder the marvelous!"

"Don't be too modest pretty boy," Gavner said raising his eyebrows.

"But now to the task at hand. I fear what will happen when the vampire hunters find their fallen leader. There is no escaping what will happen, so we must lie low for the day to be ready to face our greatest battle yet when we awaken tonight." Gavner said.

"I do not like waiting, but I must agree with you. Daytime will be a disadvantage to us, and we are in no position to fight again." Ioder said.

"I will ask of your friend later, right now we must find refuge in this church," Gavner said gravely.

Gavner and Ioder soon found that they were in a one room church. There was a pulpit at the front of the church, but there were no additional rooms. Walking to the pulpit, Gavner lay his hands on top of it in an act of stress. He stepped back, startled as the pulpit fell forward without even a push and crashed against the ground. Gavner was worried that the pulpit would break and reveal their location, but it was unchanged. Gavner noticed something where the pulpit was on the ground, and found a trap door underneath laden with dust.

"Over here!" Gavner called to the other two, who were searching for shelter from those who entered the church. They rushed over and Gavner opened the trap door to reveal a ladder leading into a torch lit tunnel.

"You first," Ioder said looking doubtfully at Gavner.

Gavner lowered himself into the tunnel and found it led to several rooms. One room held several bunks, anther was a kitchen, and the third was a weapons arsenal.

"This must be the haven of the sacred monks of Beinost..." Ioder marveled, "they were an elite fighting force, who fought as mercenaries for the church. They were trained to be the best of the best, out of all warriors in the city. Maybe even in all Raiaera!"

"This place is chock full of every weapon a warrior could ever ask for... And the finest quality." Gavner said. "But come. We have found our refuge, now we must rest."

[Ioder]

Ioder lowered himself down the small trap door and climbed down the rickety ladder. He was sure that Gavner was getting tired as he asked to rest a few times. Even though Ioder's blood was pumping one hundred beats a second he figured that his vampire friend would not lead him wrong. As Ioder landed feet flat on the ground of the small tunnel, Alfe started down the trap door. The elf with the help of one sword lifted the top of the door back over the hole and he finished climbing down the ladder.

"Alfe, stand guard here at the base of the tunnel." Ioder said in a demanding tone, making sure to show that he was in control of the situation. This was less for Alfe, but it was to show his demanding nature to Gavner. Even in the strife they were both enduring the Seraphim always end on top, as is the way of all emperors.

"Sir." Alfe answered compliantly. He was not completely sure of his commitment to the Seraphim, but for now he had no reason to disobey. He was promised payment and as long as he gets what is deserved he has no quarrels.

Ioder and Gavner continued down the faintly lighten tunnel until they both reached the weapons arsenal room. Ioder marveled as he entered and saw the multitude of weapons hanging on the wall. Maces, axes, swords, bows, everything you could ever want to kill someone or something just dangling on the wall. "Whoa" Ioder let out as his jaw dropped. He flicked back his green coat tails and walked to the one thing that really caught his eyes.

A remarkable full Damascus Arm Gauntlet, the fingers pointed at the tip to resemble claws wile the entire arm covered in decorative plate metal. This was fitted to a slightly older body than the one he was using now, and for the opposite arm than his own bladed gauntlet. In a flash of light Ioder underwent a quick metamorphoses and revealed a slightly older body. Appearing the same in basic features but old, maybe twenty three. Gently Ioder reached up and lifted the piece of armor off the wall and started to equip this to his left arm. Gavner must have found something that caught his own eye as he was off on the other side of the room doing the same thing as but with something else. Ioder carefully strapped this marvelous equipment to himself and as he finished he turned to his vampire friend.

Gavner had a wicked smile over his face as he saw Ioder flaunting his new arm protector. "Carful, your getting flashier and flashier pretty boy."

"Why thank you." Ioder said as he bowed.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner sat up on the cot in the sleeping quarters. His internal clock began to tick and he knew there was now 23 minutes until the sun set completely, but he wanted to wait a bit before waking Ioder. Gavner exited the lower quarters and visited the church above. He waited there, looking at the stained glass windows and church for about ten minutes until he decided that it was time to wake Ioder.

Before he headed to the trap door he eyed the front door of the church and suddenly longed for some fresh air. He exited the church completely and kept to the shadows. Venturing about 15 feet from the church, Gavner found a nice alleyway to stay in. The streets were relatively full for the streets of Beinost. People were rushing along the streets, wasting no time to reach their destination. After about 7 minutes Gavner headed back to the church, but as he was on his way he was plagued with a feeling that something was terribly wrong. He proceeded cautiously until he was in the church. Upon entering Gavner saw Ioder sitting in one of the pews.

"Off for a stroll bloodsucker?" Ioder said rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Gavner flashed him a look and Ioder sent back a confused face. With the slightest jerk of his head and movement of his eyes Gavner tried to alert Ioder of his suspicion. Gavner felt as if he was being followed.

Comprehending what Gavner was saying Ioder got up and moved to the side of the door, out of sight to the outside world. He waited there and gestured for Gavner to continue in. Gavner walked along to the center of the church and turned back around. Nobody was visible outside, but Gavner and Ioder waited for a few more minutes.

"It's okay, nobody is there." Gavner said when nothing happened.

In that moment the sound of breaking glass filled the entire building and 4 figures were smashing their way through the stained glass windows of the church.

"Vampire hunters!" Gavner cried to Ioder as they forced their way into the church and he recognized their attire.

Before anybody could think Gavner was upon the first one with his energy knife. He slashed at the shoulder of the recovering man who ducked low under the blow. Retaliating, the hunter thrust his right hand for Gavner's left side aiming for his ribcage. Noticing this, Gavner grabbed the man's wrist with his free left hand and twisted it so it was upside down. Bringing his right arm around he landed a clean blow to the top side of the hunter's arm which was now twisted upside down.

Gavner broke the vampire hunter's arm and the man was temporarily shocked. Gavner used this second of hesitation to plunge his knife into his enemy's rib cage. The vampire hunter stiffened from the energy of the knife and Gavner ripped it out. Turning around he was surprised to find that another hunter was already upon him. The man sent his hand for Gavner's heart and flipped up his hand, snapping his wrist. Gavner caught the man's palm with his hand and saw a hidden blade shoot out 6 inches from his wrist. Sparing no time Gavner broke the man's arm in the same fashion he did the first hunter's and kicked the man in the chest.

The vampire hunter flew back into a pew and land hard on the wood. Gavner closed the distance between him and the man in one jump and swiftly plunged his knife into the heart of the vampire hunter. Looking up Gavner saw Ioder handling one of the hunters and his elf companion struggling to fight the second one. Even Ioder was having a hard time with the vampire hunters, which was very understandable (Gavner only had such luck disposing them because of his supernatural strength and speed). Vampire hunters trained their entire life just to fight and kill the supernatural creatures. Most only lasted one battle.

Gavner leapt across the room and kicked the elf's vampire hunter as hard as he could. Gavner's foot made contact with the side of the man's head, who was knocked unconsious instantly. Turning around Gavner watched as Ioder knocked the hunter off balance and punished him with a kick to the bottom of the chin. Instantly he was upon the hunter and twisted his head, cleanly killing the man. When all was done they looked at each other, panting, not knowing what to say.

"Make sure he is dead," Gavner said to the elf tossing him the energy knife.

"You fought well," Gavner said to Ioder. "I thought you would have more trouble with the vampire hunters."

(boss music begins) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNFVJQO66Qk)

Before Ioder could respond a figure appeared in the doorway. Darkness radiated about him and none of his face was visible. Gavner and Ioder looked at each other and then back, and the man was gone. Gavner spun around and found that the man was behind them, except this time his face was visible.

[Ioder]

“Kratos!” Ioder hissed through gritted teeth, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Only his mouth was truly visible to Ioder and Gavner, but that was all it took for Ioder to recognize this person. His trade mark blank expression made itself prevalent through the shadows. The light piercing the darkness of the church inched its way up revealing more of the mans face. His piercing blue eyes and long blue ponytail came in view next and with this confirmed Ioder’s assumption. A terrified look came across Ioders face as his heart sank into his boots. “Gavner,” Ioder started to softly say to his comrade “ We need to go.” He said as he issued a quick hand.

”Where are you going little brother.” A eerie voice said from across the church, Kratos spoke. ”After I've come all this way to see you.” He said as he stepped forward completely revealing himself, even just his presence sent chills down the Seraphim’s spine. In his hand was a spear with a glowing red tip, it was Kratos’ favored weapon.

”We have to go now!” Ioder yelled as he turned and started to run, making sure to usher Gavner and Alfe to do the same. Sweat falling from his brow, and his arms thrown back. A flash of bright blue light zoomed past him and then blocked their exit. ”Shit.” A hand shoot up quick and fast catching Ioder at the throat, lifting him off his feet.

”Now that was rude.” Kratos hissed as he moved his face close to Ioder’s a wide grin pasted to his face. Gavner sensed that Ioder was either powerless or afraid of this man, regardless he knew he had to step in. At almost full speed Gavner leapt into the air aimed to drop kick the man with all of his force. Moments before impact Kratos eye balled him the vampire and instead moved Ioder’s body in the way of the attack . On impact Kratos jumped away and let the vampre hit his friend instead. This man was no joke, possessing speeds greater than even Gavner the vampire general. The two flew into a pair of church pews, and then to the floor. “You knew this was coming didn't you Ioder?” Kratos’ voice echoed in the darkness.

”Seraphim!” Alfe yelled as he moved to where Ioder and Gavner landed. Reaching them and bending over to help both men up, With Ioder leaning on his shoulder he moved in to whisper to him. “Who is this guy?”

”H-He is my brother, Kra-kratos.” Ioder let out a cough and continued to talk. “The Seraphim of Death.” a stream of blood leaking from his mouth as he stood up for himself. Gavner seemed not to be injured due to his being at Ioder’s side when he turned to locate him.

”He is of your kind?” Gavner asked as he waited at the ready to Ioder’s left.

“Yes,” Ioder said as his body itself started to contort, he was changing form into the one Gavner first met him as. It resembled his true childe body but it was old maybe about in his twenties. “He is merciless, he will kill you if you give him the chance. It was he who lead to the downfall to my kind. He is twisted, siding with the humans against his own.”

”Now little brother Asura must have told you I was coming. He was always good at reading me, why did you not run.” He reappeared sitting atop the alter with his spear in hand and a chalice of old sacrificial wine left behind.

”Gavner listen, we need to move and quickly less he traps us here.” Ioder said as he and the others whispered amongst themselves whilst Kratos spoke.

“Im here to finish what I started long ago. There are only a few of you bastards left.” He said as he stood up and with a flash of light his blue Seraphim wings sprouted from his park illuminating the entire church in a radiating blue. Ioder Gavner and Alfe seemed to have finished their discussion and were ready to move. “I will be the only Seraphim left, I will kill all of you and become then move to rule.” He either was truly smart or psychotic but he seemed confident in his ideals. And at the end of his last word he launched himself threw the air and at the team. His spear aimed and ready, a blue glimmer tailing him closely the same as Ioder’s yet his was solid blue instead of Ioder’s rainbowish. The team braced for impact and just before they all sprang into action.

Ioder threw his hands up in the direction of his brother, with it came a cloud of Ioder’s glimmer making a shield as Gavner used his speed to make a dash for the wall of the church unseen. And Alfe to the exits, prepping their get away. Kratos summoned his glimmer forward clashing his with Ioder’s, it seemed even yet the blue was thicker than the later. The two Seraphim clashed using their unique magic only buying time for the vampire to clime his way to the top of the church just above the enemy. One two three seconds pasted as the magic clashed in a light show until Gavner knew it was his moment. Quickly he released his grip on the wall and dropped down on top of the enemy, his sharp claws digging and shredding the Seraphim’s back as he clawed his way down its length. Kratos letting out a scream of agony as Gavner landed on the church ground and then sprinted to the exit of the church, just as he was told to by Ioder.

”You fowl creature!” Kratos yelled as he quickly twisted his wrist and a cloud of his glimmer was sent forth after the vampire.

”Not so fast Kratos your here for me!" Ioder said as one of his glimmer clouds intercepted his brothers. Once against in a clash of almost blinding light the two forces clashed. Giving Gavner enough time to get free and finish preparing their escape. “What’s wrong Kratos, your acting sluggish!” Ioder taunted his combatant. Then using a surprise tactic Ioder raised his gauntlet and launched one of his arrows at his brother it instant the two clouds separated making a hole. The arrow soared true to its’ target. Yet Kratos’ experience on the battle field proved its worth and almost like simple reflexes he caught the arrow inches from his face.

”You were always a tricky one little brother, but a surprise attack for shame.” Kratos said as he snapped the arrow into pieces with only his hand.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner burst out the door, ignoring himself completely. Every instinct in him screamed to stay and fight it out, but he knew that discretion was the better part of valor in this case. That would have been fine and dandy except for Ioder who was trapped inside the church with the enemy. He had to get back in the church to help his friend immediately. Ioder stood no chance against the aggressor, and everyone knew that.

I'm coming Ioder Gavner thought.

As soon as Gavner was outside he saw Alfe running back to the church through an alley.

"Sir," he called to Gavner, "I have located sufficient escape route!"

"Very well Alfe," Gavner yelled back, "We have to help Ioder now!"

"Come on, think, think, think!" Gavner said to himself.

Looking up he saw a huge cart of straw being pulled by a man on a horse, most likely the last load of the day. He looked up at the church and remembered that the interior was made of wood. Running up to the side of the horse Gavner leapt in the air and struck the man hard in the side of the temple. The man slumped forward onto the horse who whinnied suspiciously as Gavner unhooked the large cart. Just as Gavner carried out this action a cry of pain was heard from the inside of the church.

"Hold on Ioder!" Gavner yelled as he wheeled the small trailer around. The cargo and the cart weighed very little, so Gavner was at the side of the church in a matter of seconds. Lifting the cart up onto his shoulders, Gavner threw the cart one of the remaining stained glass windows which were still in tact. Leaping through the window head first, Gavner extended his hands to break his fall and rolled to the side onto his shoulder to absorb the shock of the fall.

Looking up he saw that Ioder and the enemy were too busy fighting to notice what had happened. Gavner shoved the cart in the corner of the church and took some out to make sure it was touching the walls of the church. He ripped some metal out of the frame of the shattered stained glass window and took it to the straw. Using his energy knife he struck the metal into the straw which began to smolder after several strikes. After several more strikes a flame appeared in the base of the straw. Gavner blew on it and it slowly began to light the pile.

Flames engulfed the pile of straw as they savagely licked the fuel source. The fire crept its way through the entire mass, and Gavner turned around to see that Ioder was reaching his limit. Just as expected the church began to fill with smoke, obscuring all visibility in the area. Gavner ran behind the assailant which was now about to overpower Ioder. He slashed his knife directly for the heart of the enemy who caught on at the last minute and dodged to the side. The knife missed the heart of the foe, but made contact with his upper arm and sliced into his bicep like it was an overripe peach.

The foe's body stiffened from the energy of the knife, but the temporary stun lasted only a mere two seconds. This was only enough time for Gavner to pull away his knife and dodge out of the way of the next attack. The assailant roared at Gavner in return but by that time the church was filled with smoke and there was no visibility remaining. Gavner ran around the thrashing enemy seraphim to where he last saw his friend, Ioder. Picking his friend up Gavner set the seraphim on his shoulders, ran to a broken window, and lowered him out.

Turning around Gavner ran deeper into the church and gave out a shriek to signify his position. Turning Gavner crept silently to a different area of the church as he heard the enemy seraphim charging the spot he gave the shriek at. Gavner picked up a pew and let it slam to the ground, and repeated the previous process.

"What kind of creature preys on its own kind?" Gavner called out disgustedly into the smoke as he distracted his foe by throwing objects and distorting the assailant's sense of where Gavner was. "Surely scum of the earth."

"Shut up you vile creature," The seraphim yelled. "You know not what you speak of, or whom you speak to."

"Oh but I do," Gavner said, "I am speaking to a puffed up bird from outer space."

Just as he said this, Gavner noticed that he had walked into a corner. Directly in front of him he heard the seraphim speak.

"I've got you now, you little nuisance."

The seraphim closed in and Gavner could make out a silhouette. Just as he got closer a creaking noise from above rang out through the entire church. Both enemies looked up and saw flames crawling on the ceiling, eating away at the church. Without thinking Gavner dove past the seraphim and rolled to break his fall. At the end of his roll Gavner kicked off the ground and soared through the frame of a broken window. As Gavner exited the burning church he heard the creaking and groaning, and finally the sharp splintering sound as the entire roof caved in on their foe, trapped in the burning building.

[Ioder]

“Wake up” Alfe said as he slapped Ioder’s face attempting to wake the unconscious Seraphim. Groggily Ioder started to stir as Alfe carried him over his shoulder. “I said Wake up!” The tall Elf said slapping Ioder one more time. This time Ioder’s eyes pop right open and he begins to panic.

“What happened?” Ioder says as he strains his neck to look all around Alfe as he made his way to the escape route. “Where is Kratos?” He yells as if they were not being hunted. “Where’s Gavner?” Alfe quickly makes it to the sewer grate and puts down the confused Seraphim. Ioder now sturdy on his feet looks at the elf and then past him to the furious fire blazing just beyond the alley.

Is that the church? Ioder thought as he placed the tower of smoke just over where he figured the church to be. A sharp pain shoots through Ioder’s entire being; the battle with Kratos and using his unique powers had taken their toll on the young Seraphim. Alfe quickly gave Ioder his shoulder just in time before Ioder’s strength gave way. Standing proves to be too much for the tired boy.

“Gavner…” Ioder says just as he drifts of back into unconsciousness. On his back a flash of his Seraphim light resonates even through the rags he wears. The light stays for a moment then disappears quickly. The second the light fades Ioder’s body convulses, forcing Alfe to grab hold tight. Ioder is sweating profusely and shivering at the same time. Just as his body begins to still Ioder gives one final jerk. The light returned but this time in the form of elegant glowing wings like the one’s Kratos bears. Ioder’s quickly disappear and he just leans on the elf and the pair waits for the Vampire.

Soon enough Gavner returns to Alfe and the still unconscious Ioder standing outside the sewer. With his vampire strength Gavner pulls up the grate to the sewer and helps Alfe carefully enter with Ioder. The group walks slowly through the knee high filth of the Beinost people. This passage should lead out of the town and safely away from the eyes of the hunters. A night that would never be forgotten, the death of a Seraphim doesn’t come along often.

Gavner had proven to Ioder his friendship, his loyalty, his strength. This city was a sight of the largest conjunction raid of both Vampire and Seraphim hunters. A stain on this city’s already tainted past.

[Lye]

This thread has been submitted for Workshop HERE (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?28077-Workshop-Killers-of-the-supernatural-a-race-against-time).

This was harder than I thought. Here we are:

Ioder (17424)

1,404 EXP
One Damascus Gauntlet (as described above)


matthewkuch

1,404 EXP
One Enchanted Damascus Blood Dagger (as described above)
One Enchanted Damascus Stun Dagger (as described above)*
Loses 217 GP to afford discounted spoils



*Stun effect and duration is dependent on target's abilities of endurance, will, and elemental affinity and may be more or less effective than described.

[Lye]

EXP Added!

Please link this thread where proof of acquisition is required.