The Cost of Peace

[Emora Deen]

The onlookers glanced warrily at eachother, wondering if it was worth it. Wondering if he was right. Hushed silence filled the area. "You might have hundreds," her soft voice said and she stepped towards the soldier. Atul's eyes flickered worriedly to Tenele, but he had seen her fight, and knew that she could handle herself. Vlad and he were close by, so it wasn't as if they couldn't jump in at a moments notice. "But, Ighten will stand with the prince, and we have hundreds. When he has the allegiance of the people, and Ighten on his side, do you think your numbers will amount to anything?" Tenele asked, glancing at him with her green eyes. "Your God is seeing his last days."

"You dare speak so boldly to me Ighten scum?" he spat. Tenele was suddenly distracted by the sword being drawn to his left to pay much attention to the hand coming at her from the right. She had expected it to be a hard hit, but not quite as hard as it actually was. Her whole body collapsed to the ground, and maybe that could have been due to the fact she still wasn't in her tip-top shape, but for whatever reason she landed hard on her side, her hood falling from her head. She blinked her eyes, shaking her head a bit to clear her vision as she glanced back up to the soldier glaring menacingly down at her. His expression changed, and he muttered something under his breath.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad twitched, unable to hide his urge to jump directly to Tenele's side. Fresh anger burned white hot inside him. "I don't know about the rest of you," he shouted fiercely to the wavering crowd, "but I'm done talking!" He was through Tenele's attacker - literally, through him - in the breadth of less then a second. The man collapsed to the ground, wide-eyed and unaware what hit him. Vlad spun his glare on the other man who had swung at her, and his claws drove into his chest before tossing easily at the other soldiers. The men scattered out of the way of the grotesquely bleeding, groaning body. The shock on their faces was good, even if it was just alarm at the brutality and not true fear of the circumstances, it gave the villagers a sign of hope that they could win this.

Vlad concealed a shudder, glad the two sides were now staring at each other and not at him. The scent of the human blood smeared down his entire arm was nearly paralyzing, but this was not a good time to step to the sidelines and drink. The villagers finally had their nerve, and if he or Atul disappeared for even a minute, it might all be for nothing. A battle was about to happen. He suddenly remembered Tenele on the ground. He turned to her and took her good arm, pulling her to her feet while determined to absolutely not look at her. He couldn't risk what he might want to do if she was bleeding. "I think you would be safer inside," he told her, sounding spacey.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele thanked Vlad in a whisper, shaking her head again to clear the spots out of her vision. "I think you would be safer inside."

Tenele arched an eyebrow at him. "I get knocked down one time and your doubting my ability to handle myself?" Tenele asked with a smirk. A villager came bouding up to them so fast she barely could register he was there. He grabbed her hand and raised it to the sky. "Even the Goddess Attara fights with the Prince! We cannot lose!!"

Tenele blinked. "What?" she mutted. "Woah, guy, you go the..." The cheers grew so loud that Tenele couldn't even hear her own words. Things suddenly seemed to get way out of control. Fighting broke out in a flurry of yells. A crowd of villagers attacking running guards tore between she and Vlad. Soon it was nothing but a sea of chaos inside the courtyard and outside on the city streets. People were swarming her and she just evaded them, backing up towards the house. She saw Atul in the midst of battle, which seemed to be going too easy for him. His human adversaries were far less of a challenge.

Fero tugged Tenele towards his house. "What the hell is going on?! Why do they think I'm Attara?" She called over the roar of the battle.

"You have her attributes?"

"What?" Tenele asked, not really able to hear him.

"You look like her!" he yelled. So that's why Atul made it a point to keep her covered up as they walked through the streets. That's why Nadia didn't want her to be seen outside. Her eyes turned out the chaos as Fero drug her backwards. She watched the battle develop in slow motion, hearing the screams of the falling villagers. There weren't that many guards left, and it wouldn't be long before they fell to the village. She noticed one coming and she shoved Fero out of the way. He plunged his sword towards her, and she bent her body so it missed the blade just in time. Her hands grabbed his wrists and she brought her knee up into his gut. One of her hands let go of his arm as he doubled over, and she pressed her forearm to the back of his neck and shoved down, sending him to the ground. Her bare feet stomped his hand against the ground and she snatched up his sword in time to block another attack from a guard.

"Fero!" Tenele called, "drag this one inside!" Fero gave her a confused glance, but he did as he was told, taking up the guard by the arms and heaved with all his might to drag the body up the steps.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad was thankfully too heavily occupied for the next several minutes to think heavily about hunger, although his body was constantly conscious of it as he launched through the crowd. The soldiers were going down, slowly but surely, but the villagers were not half so well trained or armed, and the body count was rising unpleasantly on their side of the fight as the morale began seeping away from the tiring civilians. Many of them had the good sense to poach weapons from the fallen soldiers, which at least improved their odds, but others were distracted by fallen friends or relatives and paused to go to their sides. While Atul took the lead in the attack, Vlad found himself playing defense, focusing on knocking men out of the way of sword thrusts they never saw coming or redirecting the soldiers' attacks into their own ranks. The whole scene practically tasted of blood now, and it was disorienting, to put it mildly. He tried a few times to catch sight of Tenele, but didn't see her in the chaos. Being unsure whether she was inside or underfoot somewhere in the chaos didn't help his concentration. It did make him angry, though, and he made sure the soldiers felt his wrath as he maneuvered the battle like someone in a different reality, slow enough to follow with the eye but very difficult to hit. That didn't stop some soldiers from putting their two cents into his hide in the process.

[Emora Deen]

The battle didn't last much longer, and as the soldiers drew there last breaths, the shock of what the villagers had lost set in. Atul watched as they pulled there dead together, families mourning over the lost. His eyes were downcast as he turned away from them to walk back towards the house. Some of the villagers bowed at him, others looked on as if they had no idea what to do now. For the life of him he didn't know what to say to them, for they had just risked everything for him.

He spotted Vlad handling the last of the soldiers, and when his lifeless body had fallen to the ground, Atul placed his hand on Vlad's shoulders. He could feel the weakness of the Vampire, as well as see it. "You need blood," he said softly, glancing around for Tenele. He found the woman cleaning a soldiers sword on his own clothing. "Tenele," he called, motioning for her to cover her head as to not draw any more attention to her.

"What good is that going to do now?" she muttered, obviously not in the best mood.

"I honestly have no idea how you put up with her," Atul hissed, wrapping a hand around the Vampire's arm. "You need blood or your going to eat anyone around you, right? Take mine, you won't need the normal amount."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's pupils were jittery and unfocused as he glanced at Atul and the prince's words registered. The battle was over. He could eat. But even in his state he could see the stunned civilians crouched over their dead, scattered amongst the bodies of the soldiers. There was no place private here, and this was not a good time to be a monster in front of these people. But Atul's idea wasn't very practical either. "That isn't how it works," he said shakily to the other man. "When I'm like this, it isn't a matter of how much I need. I won't stop." He was having difficulty being rational, as was typical under the circumstances. Once he took one of these bodies, his instincts would take over, and then friend or foe wouldn't matter. He'd just head for the next live target. He could smell Atul's blood and hear his pulse like a beacon. No. This was the hero. He could not eat the hero. But the hero could stop him if he got carried away. "Not here," he said, trying to make a decision before his instincts did it for him. "Inside."

[Emora Deen]

Atul nodded and ushered Vlad inside. Tenele followed behind, looking worried. She had seen Vlad like this before, and though she knew Vlad's pleasurable bite, she also remembered the one of feirce hunger when he almost took her life. Atul stopped Vlad in the living room, over the stone flooring. "So," he said, rolling up his sleeve. "Ugh, how does this work? Neck or arm?"

"You're going to feed him -your- blood?" Tenele asked in a breath. "Is that wise..."

"You mean since Verin's blood is in mine? Probably not, but it will be more than enough to fill him, and he won't need some for a while. It will sustain him as long as he is in this village." Atul said softly, holding out his arm to Vlad.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad looked warily at the outstretched arm. It was a good idea; Atul would have some leverage if he wound up having to beat his head in to detach him later. He managed to smirk at Atul. "I'm not going to be gentle," he teased, but there was more warning in the words than anything else. He took the prince's arm and turned it palm-up, and then there was no turning back. He watched the prince out of the corner of his eye to gauge his reaction, then raised his wrist to his mouth and bit down.

Something much stronger than bloodlust immediately tore through him, and his eyes lit up like bonfires with Atul's energy. His heart began racing faster and faster, until it actually started to hurt, but the pleasure outweighed it and he drained the wound hungrily. There was the normal surge of his own power, but there was more to it this time. A pale blue light began to join the red glow in his eyes, and a force grew inside him that was familiar, something immense and dark. It took time for him to recognize it. When he did, Vlad's appetite seemed to wane instantly. With the hunger suddenly gone, the crushing force in his chest wasn't pleasurable at all. He let go of the man's wrist and reeled back, drawing breath in gasps and looking genuinely spooked. If his back hadn't met with the wall as he backed up, he might not have stayed on his feet. Had he thought things through more clearly, he might have predicted that Atul's power would resemble Verin's, but at the moment he didn't have that clarity of thought.

[Emora Deen]

Atul grasped his arm, feeling only slightly light headed. It hadn't hurt at all to him, just a prick on his pain scale. The vampire, however, seemed to be reacting a bit differently than he had expected. His loyal... friend... was at his side in a second, her hands grasping his shoulders. She tilted her head to look into his eyes. "Vlad, are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Do I taste that bad?" Atul asked with a smirk.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad wasn't quite hearing or seeing anyone for a moment. His entire center of attention was focused on the power he felt and trying to discern its nature. It felt like Verin's, complete with the overwhelming sense of euphoria. He could tell now that it was only Atul and not the same as what had all but possessed him a few days earlier, but he wanted to be sure he was in control of it and not the other way around.

The words of Tenele and Atul gradually faded into his concentration as his adrenaline began to go down toward something more tolerable. His blood was still rushing with unbridled energy...it was almost disconcerting to think of what he'd be experiencing if he hadn't stopped when he did. Atul had not been joking about the serving size. He looked up at Tenele's worried expression and at Atul's smirk behind her. The humor in what had just happened began to strike him. "I'm fine," he laughed breathlessly to Tenele, "I've had worse." His eyes flicked to Atul teasingly. He didn't take it any further, because he had a feeling he might strike a sore spot if he accused the prince of tasting like his father. And there was really no other way to explain it.

[Emora Deen]

Atul grinned. "I bet you have," he said cockily, turning to walk to where Fero had securely tied the last living guard. "Why is he here?" Atul asked in a hiss.

"Lady Tenele asked me to bring him in. I suspect she plans on getting information out of him?" he asked curiously.

Tenele glanced over her shoulder. "Yes. That man there can give us what informtion he has on the maharaja's men, and whether an army really is coming for him."

"You mean for us," Atul reminded her.

Tenele scowled at him. "Speaking of us, we have some things we need to discuss," Tenele muttered. Her eyes turned to Vlad, just taking in one last time that he was alirght. She then went to a wooden chair and sat down. "I want to know exactly everything that is going on. I want to know exactly all that was meant to happen, why we were invited to your kingdom, everything."

"Have I not told you everything?"

"Some things could have a brighter light shined on them," Tenele replied softly. "Some things you tell me do not sit well."

"You don't trust me to tell the truth?" Atul asked, a bit taken aback.

"Its not that I don't trust you to tell the truth, I don't trust you to tell the whole truth. Your the type of person who keeps things quiet becasue he is afraid of worrying people."

"And one more thing," Tenele added, pointing to the door. "I want to know why those people think I'm Attara." She glared at Fero, suspecting he had something to do with it.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad crossed his arms and stood up straighter against the wall he'd crashed into. Far from needing support to stand, now he was having trouble standing still. But he'd been inattentive to Tenele during the fight, and now he took the opportunity to watch her speak and search out any signs of injury from the battle they'd just had. A battle she'd joined flexibly without being given an explanation of why it took place, he noted. She was good at thinking on her feet and going with flow, and she certainly had to be to travel with him, but this time even he had the feeling she deserved some sort of apology. It seemed natural for her to want answers.

[Emora Deen]

“The original gods were Thar, Verin, and Solanos, brothers if you will. Many centuries ago it is said that they did battle over an elf village that had yet to choose a deity. While Verin chose to frighten them into submission, Thar tried to win them over with promises of protection. By the end of it Solanos didn’t even care, for the deaths had given him more than enough to keep him busy. On the day that Verin had said the decision must be made, only one was brave enough to step before both Gods and speak her mind. She was beautiful, and different from the other elfs. Though, she was beautiful she still was very plain compared to royalty. She spoke with profound conviction, and her words captivate the gods, for she defied them both. She told them that they were childish to force such a decision on people, and that they deserved to have individual choice in the matter. She captivated her godly audience to the point that Thar and Verin fell in love with her. Well, if you can call what Verin fills love.

“The elf was Attara? So that’s why he said I was a decedent of Attara...”

Fero’s eyes twitched as if something crossed his mind, but he continued. “Her words reached the God, Thar, and that is why Thar is worshiped more loosely than Verin, because he does not force allegiance. He set aside his quarrel with the village and chose a human form to come before Attara. The legend is that she too fell in love with him, but even as elf years are long, they are but seconds to a God. Thar feared to lose her forever, and upon her death she was reborn as the Goddess Attara, Mother of Nature. Verin’s jealousy of Thar grew, for not only was Thar winning favor with the mortals, but the earthly thing he had desired now belonged to him forever. Time passed and as Verin’s boredom grew, and agitation multiplied, in a fit of rage towards Thar, he struck Attara down to Heirot, banishing her once again her mortal form. She was born again as an elf, apparently hidden from Thar with no memory of who she was.”

“What does this have to do with me covering my hair?”

“Attara’s human form was said to have silver hair, as well as her God like form. You must understand that here we are not like Ighten. Legends hold more value than they do in your kingdom. Here some people still believe that Attara is bound in her mortal form, wondering around lost to Thar.”

“So your worried about people thinking I’m Attara because of my hair?” Tenele muttered, almost in disbelief. But, then again, even Atul had asked her to cover it up.

“These people have never seen anyone with your hair color. Never. Are elfs common in your kingdom to have silver hair?”

“No, the only ones I’ve ever seen are my brother and I... My mother had it.”

“You are the only one that they will have ever come across with such extraordinarily rare hair. Not to mention, that from what I’ve seen, your personality seems to resemble hers. Stubborn and overly brave.” Atul muttered. “This can be dangerous.”

“Funny, no one has ever told me such a story,” Tenele said skeptically.
“That’s because Thar’s people would want to keep Attara safe by not spreading such a tale, and Verin would want to be entertained by the chaos it would create.” Fero sat down on a long low lounge chair.

“I think this is a load of bull,” Tenele muttered, folding her arms.

“It’s the truth. These people don’t know that Attara was released from her earthly prison long ago by Shea. She’s returned to Thar’s side.” He said it very gently, his eyes flickering to Tenele.

Tenele blinked, wondering why he was giving her that odd stare. “Good for her,” she whispered. “She’s with Thar again.”

Tenele couldn’t imagine what it was like to be separated from a loved one with no memory of them, or even worst from Thar’s point of view, not knowing what had happened to them.

“Okay, now that that’s been covered.... What on earth were you two doing?!” Tenele turned her eyes on Vlad, almost eager for the subject to change. “I go to sleep for a few minutes and suddenly your at each other’s throats?”

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad smiled disarmingly, too enthralled with her headstrong charm to avoid it. "Atul was bored and decided to start a war...I think that's how it went," he smirked, wondering if he could redirect Tenele's indignation upon the prince.

[Emora Deen]

"Bored?" Tenele asked darkly. "Bored, and you decided to start a war?!" Tenele gave an exasperted sigh, putting a hand to head.

"It wasn't exactly like that," Atul tried to explain quickly, throwing Vlad a dark glare. "I'm going to over throw my father, run Verin out of the kingdom."

"Really?" Tenele asked. "Going to over throw the son of a God and a God all in one day." It suddenly struck her how strange that Atul would call his brother Father... since in a since that's exactly what he was. All of the leaders of Atul's kingdom had been children of Verin... so that meant that Atul's "father" was his brother... This was just to jacked up for her to think about.

"So we're going back to the capital and back to Verin's strong hold to go through all of that again?"

"I'm going back, and I hope that Vlad will go with me. Its probably safer if you stay here," Atul advised, holding his head high.

Tenele was very quiet as she sat there giving him a very blank stare. Then, her head tilted to Vlad. "Did I hear him right?"