Darkness ensued for the second week as clouds of ash blacked out the sky. Gavner smirked as he looked across the darkened landscape. Now that the sun was no longer a limitation, the clan had access to unlimited power, as their reach was unchecked.

A blur streaked across the corone landscape, before a tall, dark haired humanoid figure appeared before the creature of the night. His left eye socket was darkened, and a large scar ran across his jugular.

“Good eve, Commander,” Gavner said, taking a knee as he saluted his superior by drawing the middle finger of his open hand down his forehead and to his lips.

“Rise, General,” The commander said. The younger vampire looked upon the superior officer skeptically, as he had clearly flitted from the outlands across the ocean, and yet he had not even broken a sweat. If he had to guess, this vampire was over 700 years in age.

“Time to our kind is irrelevant, but is critical to you at this point,” the commander stated. “I have been ordered to charge a force with the commision of search and rescue for one of our rival clans.”

“Since when does Annoterish deal with diplomacy, Commander?” Gavner asked. “Warmongering is all we know.”

“Silence.” The commander said. “The price of omnipotence is tradition. You are to search the attempted settlement in the dwarven ruins of Lornius. Scour for survivors, but the only head you are to rescue is the War Prince of this clan. Am I clear?”

“Do I have a name?” Gavner asked.

“Names are above your level of knowledge at this point,” He replied. “You will identify him by the clan’s brand on his neck.”

Gavner nodded in understanding.

“General,” the commander said. “Failure is not an option. Am I clear?”

“Transparently.”



Dry, hot ash crunched underfoot upon setting foot ashore on the newly forsaken island. An anchored ship loomed to the east and pieces of dark, solidified volcanic aftermath plagued the waves as they crashed upon the ash laden sands. As the nightwalker made his way inland, he began to notice fissures in the surrounding earth where craters and tunnels had formed and been filled in with ash and volcanic fallout. Searching for signs of vampric settlement would be nearly impossible, what with all indications of life either destroyed or covered up; however, it seemed that there were already inhabitants here searching for something in the aftermath.

Upon approaching the area of recent settlement, it seemed as if the encampment was an excavation site. Looking into the darkness, Gavner could see deep into the tunnel, leading into the interior of the land, that was unearthed.

“Perhaps this could be the entrance to the ruins,” Gavner wondered to himself as he started down into the underbelly of the world.