Lore: The Seer of Lies

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:18 pm

Vlad cast her one of his dark smiles, a sign of approval. he knelt and scooped her up in his arms, so that they were touching as much as possible. He wanted to make sure he didn't 'drop' her mid-port, with his concentration failing as it was. "One more thing," he said, "Take this." He pulled the necklace out and held it to her, shielding his eyes as its mere presence seemed to singe at his skin. "If I try anything, I want you to use this," he told her seriously. The pendant was becoming unbearable. "Take it," he urged.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:21 pm

Tenele wasn't sure what he meant by if he tried anything. She quickly took the pendant to keep it form hurting him and held it to her chest. She watched him, confused. "What do mean?" she asked, glancing from the pendant to him. "If you try anything?"

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:26 pm

Vlad peered at her, preferring not to spell it out. Losing control of his own power was beneath him, and he wasn't looking forward to it. "When we get to Lowight, I will not be myself. The first thing I want you to do is get away from me. If there are others near us, warn them. Even if I'm lying still. Understand?"

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:47 pm

Tenele gave him a swift nod, though the whole time she was trying to make up her mind whether or not she would do what he said. She didn't entirely understand the complexity of his issue or how dangerous it could be. Then, again she really didn't care. "I will," she said, smiling as she clutched the necklace. "Let's go."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:07 pm

Vlad nodded and a distant look filled his eyes, dragging power up like water from a well. He tensed, and they disappeared, reappearing at another forested area similar to the last one, except there was no snow on the ground, and the air was a bit warmer. He didn't stop to admire the scenery; vlad took them through the next jump, and the next. His mind was rolling with stunned adrenaline, and he fed off the dizziness, jumping back into the next port before he could clear his head and become aware of how numb he was, or how warm Tenele was in his arms.

On their 9th jump, he landed to find his feet weren't answering him. He accepted it, sinking to his knees and making sure his grip on Tenele was still sound. Then he jumped again. It took longer this time to come out of the blackness and back out on forested terrain. Vlad had to wait several seconds, both to give Tenele time to breathe and to think straight enough to image his next destination. They were close. Maybe two more jumps.

Their next jump left Vlad in a cold sweat, his arms shaking almost beyond use. "Hold onto me," he ordered her, and his pale voice didn't sound like his own. Just one more jump...he could feel the remaining distance in his mind...he couldn't make it all the way to the palace. They were going to end up somewhere in the city. Great.

He clenched his eyes, and it was like juicing a potato to get the power to come to his will. He groaned like he was pushing a boulder, fighting his way into the spell, and then they disappeared. The blackness lasted too long. The spell was too slow. Some ten seconds later they emerged on the dusk-lit streets of Lowight. Vlad appeared in the center of the street, spooking the townspeople who were out around them. The no life king shuddered like some great fist was squeezing him. Then he seemed to drain, sagging down across Tenele's lap, his face pressed against the stone path. He drew tight, labored breaths, beads of sweat sliding down his forehead and into his eyes. His breathing sounded uncomfortable, like you knew he'd be coughing if he had the energy for it.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:19 pm

Tenele paniced and dropped the pendant on the ground, pushing Vlad's hair back with her hand. "Vlad?" she asked worriedly. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard. Vlad..." He wasn't alright. She completely forgot about what he said, about getting away. She had no intention. She brushed her hand across his cheek, tilting his head in her direction. "Vlad... please... answer me."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:28 pm

Vlad squinted his eyes open, and they were twitching like they couldn't focus. You could see his pupils contracting with excitement and fear, a very human expression for him. His hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled it back, away from him. "I said..." he broke off, panting, "Get. Away!" he choked out. The fear was in his voice now too.

Those who had been out on the street rushed over to the scene. "What's going on here?" said one.

"My god...is that that Vampire Sinead keeps..." murmured one woman who seemed to recognize him.

"Young lady, are you alright?" two kind old nurses were at Tenele's side, touching her shoulders worriedly.

"Get Away, NOW!" Vlad half-screamed at all of them. His grip was tightening and loosening on Tenele's arm.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:37 pm

"Get away, now!" Tenele yelled, feeling suddenly lightheaded from the strain porting had done to her body. He had her one good arm in his hand.

"Vlad... snap out of it," she said tugging on her hand. If he wanted her to get away he would need to let her go. She wasn't going anywhere though. She refused. "Vlad... calm down its okay... Its okay, we made it."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:49 pm

The crowd spread back for a moment, listening to Tenele, and then they gradually squeezed in again, too curious for their own good.

Vlad's eyes were staring straight at Tenele's, completely unguarded, and what was naked behind them was terror. Vlad was terrified. He was not some vampire. He was a no life king, and he would not be controlled by his hunger. He wouldn't. His grip only grew tighter, to the point of ferocity, on Tenele's arm. He fought the need that was burning through his skull, wrenching his eyes away from Tenele and burying his head against the street. A raw, agonized scream wrenched out of his throat, and then everything went wrong.

Vlad grabbed Tenele's wrist and used it to pull himself toward her, too fast for her to move, too fast for anyone to stop him. His teeth dove into her neck, and the only sign of self control was that he managed to miss her jugular. Once his teeth found purchase, he didn't try for a better shot, just stayed there feeding at her neck, each pull of blood driving him further from himself.

That got the crowd's attention. The majority of them went off running, and a handful tried to pull Vlad off. He swatted back at them like they were flies, throwing them backward against the wall at the side of the street. The heroes slumped to the ground, and it wasn't clear if they were unconscious or dead.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:56 pm

Tenele wasn't sure what he was doing when he pulled himself to her. Then he moved like a cobra and she felt a strange sensation at her neck. Before once Vlad had bit her it had not hurt, but this had a strange pain to it. She was shocked at first, too shocked to do anything. Then she realized he wasn't himself. He was going to kill her. "Vlad!" she cried out, struggling under his weight. "Vlad!!!" she screamed louder. Her energy seemed to be sucked out of her, as if he were drawing her life out with her blood. "Vlad..." she whispered faintly, slapping at his shoulder and back with her hand. At first it had been hard slaps, but now it was barely even noticable. She coughed, blood splattering out of her mouth as her hand fell to the side of her, going for the pendant.

"I'm... sorry..." she whispered as she grabbed it and pressed it too his cheek. "I'm... sorry..." She was crying. Not because of what he was doing, but because of what she was about to do to him.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:06 pm

Vlad roared, a dark inhuman sound as the holy amulet touched his skin. It burned through his flesh like a cancer, and forced him to draw back from her neck, blindly fighting to get away from the amulet. It also hurt enough to outweigh the ache of his hunger. He scrambled back, taking advantage of that brief window of clarity, but he was still right there with her. Close enough to have her again. No...no, no, no, he thought as he began to remember what he'd just done. He could still taste the sweet iron of her blood in his mouth.

He stared at her, his body still begging him to go for another pull. If anything, it was stronger than before; he hadn't taken that much blood. He wouldn't miss this time. "T...tenele," he strained, the one word requiring a battle to get out.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:12 pm

Tenele was already weak from her ordeal in Arken and now she was even weaker. She was staring at him as the blood drained down her neck. She was gasping, trying to get control of her paniced breathing. "I'm sorry," she said, looking at the symbol on his cheek that she had burned in. She was still gripping the pendant in her hand, lying there too weak to move.

He was hurt. He was in turmoil. He had saved her, the least she could do was give him a little of her energy. She had done it once before when he was dying. She tossed the amulet to the side. "Go a head... its alright."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:26 pm

Vlad could have screamed if he had the focus. She didn't get it. He was going to kill her, right here. He squinted at her, through the pendant's light. She wasn't going to go away. She was going to make him kill her. Why was she doing this? With a crashing wave of confusion, he felt his panic change gears into despair. He gritted his teeth and pressed the side of his head into the stone, unable to stop looking at the blood dripping from her neck.

And then a burning started in his head, a kind he hadn't felt in hundreds of years. Moisture collected in his wide-open eyes, tinted with blood. He blinked, and they ran in pinkish tracks down his cheeks and onto the stone.
He clenched his eyes closed, like that would stop them from coming, and screamed out with his mind to the only person he could think of who might be able to stop him. SINEAD! Sinead, damn it!

The queen was in the middle of a conference with her advisors when that familiar link she had with her most unusual servant burst open. She stiffened at the agony that was real enough to touch in his voice. She'd never heard anything like it. Where are you, Vladimir? She demanded.

The fountain. Vlad's voice came through choppy, like he was losing his concentration.

Sinead stood up, looking confused. Her advisors stared at her, baffled as well. "The rest of the meeting is adjourned. Convene with me at dusk," she said quickly." Something about Vlad's voice had her seriously worried. She closed her eyes and raised her hands over her head, summoning a ball of light that engulfed her form. When she reappeared on the dim streets of her city, she glanced around searchingly for the cause of the trouble.

Post by **Emora Deen** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:33 pm

Tenele had to force herself to keep her eyes open as her blood pooled on the cobble stone street. She blinked, watching Vlad. She reached out, grabbing a hold of his arm and using it to pull her closer to him, leaving the cloak that had been draped over her battered form behind. She rested there next to him, closing her eyes and hugging herself to him.

"Its okay... Vlad... People do... odd things for the ones they love." She smiled into his shoulder.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:49 pm

Vlad clenched his eyes and pulled her in against him, his hands shaking with effort. He pressed his head in against her shoulder and drew a sobbing breath, knowing he was about to lose it. He would kill her. And she'd never even know. "Tenele, I do love you," he cried against her neck. "S...sorry..."

"Vladimir Dracul!" Sinead's commanding voice seemed to draw the entire night into silence. "I hereby lock all of your powers. You are forbidden to feed," she shouted anxiously, as if maybe it wouldn't work.

Vlad opened his eyes, still shaking. "Yes..m...my master," he gasped, feeling all the magic run out of him like water. Sinead's control over him was no light thing.

She ran over to where they were lying. Taking Vlad by the shoulder, she pulled him back to stare at him. He threw her hand off and rolled away with his back to her. He couldn't stop crying, and Sinead was about the last person he wanted to see it. Sinead frowned, but accepted it for now, rushing to Tenele's side. "My dear girl....I never believed I'd see you again," she said, taking in her wounds with a concerned horror. "I'm sorry." Sorry she'd forced Tenele through these horrible things, away from home. She didn't fail to notice the fang marks on her neck. Placing her hand over them, she focused her magic and closed the wound. It left two small scars on her neck. "What in the world happened?" she asked of Tenele, since Vlad was behaving so strangely.