Fantasy Bloodlines (Open)

[Battle-Sister May]

Bloodlines
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"Darkness... Something every men and women fear, deep in their hearts. And why wouldn't they? Who knows what might be lurking in the pitch black of night? What sort of monster lives within the thin mists of the small hours? But it is a good thing to fear the darkness, survival dictated so. Many predators tend to lurk behind it... One in special(...)"
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- Dr. Abraham Van Helsing. The Predator in the Dark, Chapter I, Volume I
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Raven's Tower, a gloomy little town in the middle of rural England, as is with most of them. It is not a famous touristic point, since there is not much to be done or seen, and the people prefer to live one day at the time.They are welcoming to visitors, and are happy when people come to visit them, as it gives the inhabitants the certainty that someone out there still knows and remembers them. Of course, it isn't important unless you know a bit of their story. During the days of the inquisition, the now peaceful town was place to one of the greatest witch trials ever seen. Now, the remains of at least three hundred people tried and condemned as "practitioners of the dark arts" rest within the catacombs that run beneath the streets. And there is also the Black Tower, a great structure that rises from the middle of the city and into the sky, and serves as nest to hundreds of ravens and crows. No one knows who built it, nor when it was built, but many have reported sightings of spirits as being common within the vicinity of the tower. It is said to be impossible to enter the place, and many attempts to bring it down have been met with some omen that turned the ordeal completely impossible. Many believe the tower to be cursed, and tell the story that a powerful mage lived within the structure hundreds of years ago.
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 And so the city followed as that, a stopping point for ghost hunting enthusiasts and those that liked to study the inquisitorial era. At least until a few years ago. Since two rich and influential families installed themselves in the vicinity of the city: The von Carstein family and the Draken family. They installed themselves not far apart from each other, and since then, the town has seen exponential growth, and in such a short time, went from a small community to a huge metropolis. The farmers became businessmen, the small houses were exchanged for skyscrapers, and the rural city became a worldwide economic centre, all due to the investments of those two families. The von Carsteins founded hospitals, brought schools and universities, and made it one of the best places to live in the whole country, if not the whole world. Homelessness and unemployment have never been lower in a place, but crime has also been high, and many suspect the Drakens to be the ones responsible for it, even if direct ties cannot be found connecting them to the underworld, but even then many think they have been beneficial to the city in their own way, as they have prompted the police force to be renewed.
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Anyone who spends enough time in Raven's Tower knows about the feud between both families, but no one can really know the true depth to which it reaches... The true darkness hidden in the history of both names, and their true goal inside the city. They both seek entrance to the Black Tower, and will stop at nothing to reach their objective before their rivals do, for the body of a powerful mage is indeed entombed within the old stones of the structure. Not only any mage, but a necromancer of great power. It was prophesied by Queen Neferata that they who claim his soul shall be the one to rule all vampires. 
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The only true question is: Which family will claim the power contained within the tower?
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Rules
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1.  All RPNation rules apply, of course.
   
2.  Be respectful towards your fellow RPers.
   
3.  I will not tolerate Godmodding and Powerplaying 
   
4. Don't kill other characters without permission.
   
5. If you are going away for a while, please, let me know.
   
6. Please, try to avoid one liners.
   
7. Questions? Suggestions? Be free to talk to me!
   
8. You have three chances. After the last one, you're out.
   
9. Don't post OOC on the main thread. The OOC thread exists for a reason.
   
10. So that I know you have read the rules, add your character's favourite blood type to your CS.
    
11. This is the Golden Rule: Have fun!
    

 
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LORE || CHARACTER SHEETS || OOC
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[Battle-Sister May]

Raven's Tower
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 It was high night, and the full moon was shining bright on the sky above. It was a clear sky, with only a few stray clouds travelling from one side to the other, quickly disappearing into the horizon. The moonlight hit against the unnaturally dark bricks of the tower that gave the town its name, showing the number of ravens nested within the crevices and holes on the structure, their homes for the dozens of generations that had come before them. The streets were mostly empty, as always happened to the city during the dark hours, but the nightlife was far from dead. The clubhouses, restaurants and pubs were still open and bustling with people, and the less than legal activities that happened on the underground were lively. The lights that dotted the buildings were already starting to go dark, as people gathered themselves to go to sleep, rest and prepare for another day to come once the sun rises to burn away the mists of the night.


 


 And such is the favourite hour of the creatures of the night. The time when they can rise from their hiding spots, without fear of the tyranny of the sun. The howl of a werewolf, a gathering of witches, the hunt of a vampire, all happening at the same time and in the same city. While in most places this would be considered an absurd possibility, in Raven's Tower this was as expected as to the noise a glass makes when falling on the ground and shattering, and as common as the sun rising every morning. The werewolf kills in bloody rage, the vampire feeds, and the witches summon another portal towards the world of spirits, seeking to summon a demon. Such was the nightly life in this city in the past dozen of years or so, when the vampires of von Carstein and Draken came to install themselves within the city, unbeknown to the common humans of Raven's Tower.


 So was life within the town, a constant gathering of beings of the night, and the two families seeking the hidden power within the tower's entrails, the palpable magic energy that permeated the very soil and infested the air around the location. They were stronger here, no doubt, but none of them was any closer to discovering the puzzle to finally unlock the tower, and no one knew how long tensions between the various parties involves would go until a bloodline war happened within the streets of the town. So far, they had been controlled, but for how long would they be able to stretch this cold war of centuries?


 Elizabeth let out a small sigh as she stared off the window, looking at the skyline of the city in the night. Even after the rather long time they had spent around this place, she still found it stunning, and rather hard to believe how they had turned that small village in such a metropolis in such a short period of time. She hanged her frilly parasol on a hook and proceeded to take her evening gloves off, letting the cool evening breeze touch her pale skin, like a soft kiss from a long lost lover. It was ironic, that she wore those things during the day and took them off during the night, but she had to protect her... Sensitive skin somehow. She proceeded over to the cavernous dining room in the heart of the von Carstein manor, where the other members of the family were gathered, sitting in the long tables that surrounded the high seat where Vladimir was installed, looking over the members of the family. Elizabeth took her seat, the seat of honour closest to the count, and waited for the late members to arrive so that he could start his speech of the night, as happened weekly. As always, the place was well lit by a number of chandeliers, and soft music played from a small band on the corner, masters of their trade, no doubt.


 On the other side of town, a meeting much like that happened, but in the rather rundown and vandalised manor of the Draken family. Seth sat on a chair at the centre of the table, waiting for the members of his family to arrive. He was growing inpatient from how long they were taking, and was already considering starting off without the stragglers that didn't show up. His tension must have showed, because Lana laid a hand on his, rubbing it rather tenderly "Be calm dear. They will come around. I am sure they were just met with a setback." She said, softly "I hope it was something important... Or I swear I'll hang their hides from our wall." He said, and when he did this sort of thread, they rarely were just to blow steam off.

 

[Wick]

-3 Hours Ago-


Lance slammed his suitcase down on the motel room's bed, causing it to bounce nearly out of control. After steadying it, he flipped the latches on either side and swung it open, rapidly pulling out changes of clothes, and recording equipment. They had finally arrived. Him and his trusty camera man; John, had at last, stepped off the plane, and into the foggy down known as Raven's Tower. Lance was shivering. Sure it was "enjoyably" near freezing in the room, what with very little people coming and going, but most of the uncontrollable trembling came from excitement. After downing a few packets of M&M's, he was fully active, and ready to go. The motel was set on a rather tall hill, so from his window, he had an excellent view over the city. He moved over to the restroom and placed a few things down, switching on the light, which let out a pitiful zap, and immediately blew out, but that didn't stop him from feeling overjoyed. He stepped back over to his rickety, tattered bed and spoke to John, who was over at the bed opposite of his, unpacking his things


"Here we are John! The infamous city, Raven's Tower. I can already feel the dark energy radiating from it's being!" He tossed another shirt into the pile he had already created in the corner.


John was not nearly as enthusiastic as Lance was. In fact he hadn't exactly wanted to follow the knit-wit on this pointless journey anyway. The only reason he decided to tag along, on any of Lance's adventures, was because he got payed for making "brilliant episodes" of Ghosts: The Truth. As a matter of fact, John had not the slightest belief that ghosts, or vampires, or whatever the hell else Lance came up with, actually existed. He neatly folded his clothes, and placed them aside, on his bed. He glanced back over at Lance, giving off a false sense of excitement.


'Do you think they'll have any souvenir shirts saying; "I survived the invisible vampire army"?' He smiled widely, waiting eagerly to see how Lance would respond.


Lance turned slowly toward him with wide eyes. "Oh my god, do you think they do!?" He opened his mouth and let out some sort of sound that could have been either excitement, or his appendix had burst. John rolled his eyes and continued unpacking. Lance finished dumping the rest of his supplies onto his bed and dropped the suitcase on the ground. Picking up one of the cameras he had brought, he began inspecting it for damage, and adjusting the lens. He closed one eye and peered into the viewfinder.


"We'll start at the main hot-spot, the actual, Raven's Tower.." He took his eye off the camera and moved over to the window, staring outside. The tower was visible off in the distance. John looked up at Lance and spoke.


'Just because it's been her longer than most of the buildings doesn't mean there's anything supernatural about it.' 


Lance turned to look at him again. "Can't you feel it John? That pull, can't you feel it?" He swiveled on his heel and looked back out. "That tower, is our destiny. My destiny, and when we crack open the secrets held within..." He thought about his family, his mother. "Our lives will change, forever."

 

[StoneWolf18]

Kiraan was exhausted to say the least. As for why...she didn't know. Sleep wasn't had to come by, it was remaining awake that was the problem. Yet she always woke feeling even more fatigued both mentally and physically than she had before. The woman was hardly doing anything stressful and had kept herself sated (although the blood was unfortunate not fresh, all things considered) but nothing kept the fog from her mind or soreness from her oddly aching joints. Which is why, as the meeting rolled around...she was still asleep. Kind of. As moonlight filtered in through her window, it still took a great amount of effort to pull her from the abyss that was a useless state of what could be more closely compared to unconsciousness rather than a restful sleep. Blinking a few times she had to drag herself from her bed to make the still awful state she was in somewhat presentable. The dark bags were more than clear under her eyes as they contrasted greatly with her pale skin, eyes were full and swimming with the overwhelming since of exhaustion. So, in all, it wasn't that hard to tell what she was currently experiencing.


Realising that she was late, the woman briskly (or as fast as her sluggish mind allowed) made her way to the table where the meeting was being held, silently taking her place near the front due to her age, and awaiting for the speech to begin so she could resume her desperate search for rest.

 

[DarkAncient]

Josef made his way to the Nightly Von Carstein festivities late as usual. His face was buried in a book that, looked at from any distance, must have been bound with something's flesh. The text was in arabic, and yet he mumbled to himself in Slovak. He was always late for any event that he was to attend, no matter how frequently it happened, and one could easily blame it on his research. He spent every sunlit hour in his room surrounded by books and papers, and every hour of moonlight performing experiments. Today had been no different, and only those who had recently joined the clan would be surprised by these actions.


Josef made his way to a seat rather quickly, without looking up once. Was it not for the reflexes vampirism had bestowed upon him he would have tripped on three chairs and two other people. It was not until he was actually seated at a table that he put the book down and looked up at his surroundings. He may always be tardy, and he may spend an obsessive amount of time among his books, but he was not rude. It was then that he saw Elizabeth, to whom he offered a small nod as greeting. He was an awkward person through and through, and no amount of eternity would ever change that about him. 


"Greetings" was all he could muster in the form of a verbal greeting. He thought about saying more but decided simply to offer nods to the other members now seated. Most notable among the others there was Kiraan, to whom he offered a nod and another soft greeting. "Hello" He felt the draw of his book, but knew how rude something like that might be at a meeting. He suddenly felt like he was being stared at, and began to awkwardly adjust his tie and eye-patch, praying the meeting would just start. 

 

[Teddy Bear]

Ophelia dropped the lifeless body of a man, her now ex-client, into the cold floor of the vip room. She had warn them about the consequences of not following the agreement. This man, not only had he not pay her on time, but he had tried to run away. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at the unrecognisable face of the man. Then her face twisted in disgust as the smell of his blood entered her nostril. It was the worst she had ever smelt. She was glad that she decided not drink his blood. Ophelia stepped over the body and entered the bathroom. After her hands were cleaned, she grabbed her black, hooded jacket from the table outside and exited the room. Two men were waiting outside. They were here to clean, as usual. Ophelia was a regular here, and they knew her so well that they even send two men to clean up her mess. She he tossed them the keys and walked off. 


The brown haired vampire opened the curtains and entered into the busy nightclub. Ophelia squeeze through people, some with blood that smell so good and some were ordinary. She wanted to play with one of them but she knew that she didn't have anytime to spare at the moment. She was already late for the meeting and knew that Seth wouldn't be that happy. After a few minutes, she was able to find her way out of the club. She put her jacket on, zipped it up halfway so that her belly was not showing and pulled the hood up to cover a little of her face before started walking to Draken manor, the destination place for the meeting. 


As Ophelia entered the manor, she greeted both Seth and Lana quietly before taking her seat. She pulled her hood off and placed her legs on the empty chair next to her. She looked around the tables and noticed that she was, fortunately, not the last one who came late. Ophelia crossed her legs and waited patiently for the meeting to begin. 


 

 

[Wick]

-Present-


The tower was far larger than Lance had thought it was. It seemed that looking at it from on top of a hill, far away, was a lot different from looking at it up close and personal. He got out of the rental van and looked up to the top, where he saw an influx of ravens and crows circling the spire. The night air was surprisingly colder than their motel room had been. Even with a jacket on over his cloak, he still couldn't help but shiver, this time not from the M&M's.


A short time later they had managed to pull out all the camera supplies and recording software. They had set a few EMF's around the tower and a thermal camera facing the front of it, where they would be filming. A couple lamps stood posed, and facing the tower so Lance would be seen in the recording.  John picked up one of his more heavy duty video cameras and propped it on his shoulder, aiming it at Lance like a loaded RPG.


"Alright, so, I'll just start off the show with the usual introduction, then we'll get to telling what we're gonna do in this episode." Lance smoothed his jacket down.


"Ready? 3.. 2.. 1..." He quickly lunged forward, making spastic movements in front of the camera. "Welcome all ghost hunters! THIS is Raven's Tower, England, and we stand in front of the very monument that gives the city it's name, and perhaps, it's supernatural forces." He moved to the side, the camera panning across to follow him. "For nearly centuries, the city had been known to see some serious shit. We're here to uncov-" John stopped filming and interrupted Lance as he continued.


'Dude, you can't just cuss like that if you want this to be on national television.'


"No, no, it's fine, we'll wing it."


'How are we supposed t-'


"Wing it!" John sighed exasperated and rose the camera again, continuing. "We're here to uncover it's deepest and darkest secrets, and possibly, control it." Lance signaled for him to cut and John once again lowered the camera.

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

Beau Von Carstein was sat up high in a tree a while away from the Von Carstein home. He never usually went to the nightly get togethers at home. Despite being one of the 'good' guys, he was definitely one of the worst. Maybe it was his Draken family looks or his war time up bringing. His guitar was on his legs. He played it gently and used his powers to quieten the noise so only he could hear it. After all, there was no one else around here but him.

 

[WildCatin']

Annette was thrilled to be out tonight. Why she hadn't come to this city before, she didn't know; it boasted an excellent nightlife. She had been on the road for the last two days after leaving her last stint of employment. The small family run dentist office had been in a town equally as small in magnitude, and it hadn't suited her at all. 


The club was starting to come alive for the night. Annette had brought a little stash, since it was hard to get a-hold of good molly when you were new in town. It was starting to take effect and her body was really starting to hum to the beat of the music. Tonight she wore a black leather top that stopped a few inches above her bellybutton in combination with a neon green skirt. Black tights led down to black heels, making is appear in some lighting as if she was sort of disembodied. Her hair was tied up (which was rare) in three sloppy, loose knots of descending sizes. It had a wild look to it.


Annette turned from dancing with a random partner, heading toward the bar when she almost ran into a girl making her way out of the club. She hardly looked old enough to be here, but she had a strange air about her. She wasn't sure the girl even saw her as she skittered out of her way, which made her strangely glad. Somehow she didn't feel like she wanted that gaze on her. Maybe she had gotten some less-than-pure molly after all.


For some reason she paused and watched after the girl for a second. The bouncer spared her a knowing look before opening the door for her; she must be a regular. Annette turned back to the bar, feeling like taking a shot more now than she did when she first headed off the dance floor.

 

[Wick]

Lance smirked and placed his hand against the side of the tower. He spoke back toward John, staring at the wall with awe.


"First scene complete. Er..." He turned and looked at John. "You should go back to the van real quick. Gotta get the uh, 'All-Purpose Door Creator'."


With a groan, John stood up, heaving the camera with him and moving back to the parked vehicle. The air was filled with a strange smell, like the kind one would catch a whiff of when a dog stepped out of a pool and shook itself. Lance wrinkled his nose and shrugged the smell off. As he paced along the wall, he began to feel mildly uneasy. He looked back at the van, but John was on the other side of it, where the sliding door was. The lamps lining the street cast ominous shadows across the ground and the tower. That stench, was stronger now. He glanced again at the car. The wind had stopped, and everything was eerily silent. Nobody seemed to be nearby, the crickets and other bugs around the area had stopped their chorus of chirping and clicking. Lance could hear his own heartbeat. He shivered, he had never enjoyed dead silence. He started to head back to the van.


=Heh, er, perhaps we can film the entry tomorrow night, or morning.=


The moon shone down on the van, making the stupid graffiti on it's side visible.


"John?" Lance stopped in front of the machine and echoed himself. "Jooohn?" 

 

[BlueOctober]

In the dead of night, with the pale moon being the only light that permeated through the curtains that the vampire had drawn near-closed, Aiden emerged from the library where he had cloistered himself for the past week or so. He stepped out onto the balcony that ran outside of the door, above the streets, and gazed down at the mortals that still walked around, even at this ungodly hour.


"Bound to get themselves hurt." He mused to himself, cocking his head to the side as he watched a few of the mortals stumble in the middle of the street itself. Certainly, if they were to be struck by a car, then Aiden would be given a free excuse to, say, abscond with the body, but he would also be robbed of the fresh blood. He took a long sniff of the air, and recoiled at the sour scent of the blood of the three women below, blood tainted with alcohol that would surely sully the usually ecstatic taste of a mortal's blood.


"Perhaps if I were to....leave..." Aiden glanced back at the ruinous state of his library, books scattered all about in a disarray that only he could manage. "Then I could find some fresh blood."

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

The music slowly became louder but only faintly. He made it so people within a 10 feet radius could hear it and got off of the tree to go for a walk. Beau didn't like to stay in one place for a long amount of time as then his mind would wander to dark places, be it the past or how easy it is to commit mass murder. 

 

[BlueOctober]

@MuffinRPs


Once Aiden had vacated his small sanctuary of a library, he wandered out into the darkness of the city, hands in the pockets of the oversized coat that he had opted to don for the night, due to the chill that had permeated through the night. Underneath he wore his usual suit, charcoal grey, and a pair of black dress shoes that clacked against the stone sidewalk as he made his way around the city, looking for some blood, any blood, really.

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

Beau stopped playing for a second and looked up to see a man in a suit. One word popped into his mind. Tepes. He could do one of two things. He could avoid the man or flirt with him. He thought for twenty seconds exactly. He was undecided. The Von Carstein decided instead to just lean against the wall and play his guitar, leaving it to him to decide what his action would be.

 

[BlueOctober]

@MuffinRPs


Aiden took note of the distinct scent of another vampire, and his eyes honed in on the other man as he walked, though they were just as swiftly drawn to a small pack of mortals that were walking ahead, offering ample blood, if this other vampire was up to do a little bit of hunting. Aiden offered a wicked smile, waved, and gestured toward the mortals, cocking his head to the side in a silent question, would you come hunt with me?

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

Beau knew what the vampire was suggesting and immediately rejected it. That wasn't how they got blood. "Sorry baby. I'm a Von Carstein," he explained with a slight flirtation and went back to plucking his strings.

 

[BlueOctober]

He laughs, and walks over to the other man. "Oh, your kind are just no fun. C'mon, what's better than fresh blood?"


@MuffinRPs

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

"Music," he said and strummed his guitar thrice. "We still get blood, just in a more civilised manner. Which Tepes are you then? Who I am is obvious; I'm the disappointment but I don't have a clue who you are," he asked frowning. Danny rarely spoke to people from other families so he never knew who was who when he did.

 

[BlueOctober]

Aiden cocked a brow, put his hands into his pockets, casting a waning gaze at the mortals he had intended on hunting. They could wait. "Oh, I'm nobody special, just a man from the Fatherland."

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

"Germany huh? I've always wanted to visit other countries but I never had the opportunity." Beau's human family were all too afraid of war to leave the country. This always caused arguments between him and his parents and he never made up with them which is one reason he's a disappointment. The other is because he looks like he could easily belong to the Draken family when he's the opposite of them personality wise.

 

[BlueOctober]

"A shame, but you are immortal, why not walk there?" Aiden chuckled to himself. He knew the man across from him was from an opposing bloodline and, by all rights, they should have been tearing each other apart. The young vampire knew when to pick a fight, though, and now didn't seem like a good time.

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

Beau glanced down at his guitar and played a few chords, "Pasts catch up with you, I guess. I could never leave the country. The want to leave the country is how I got turned. It's mostly a blur. I was walking through the forest when something grabbed me. The rest is just black." He didn't know why he was talking to the Tepes vampire about this. He guessed it was because he never talked to anyone outside his family and rarely talked with them.

 

[BlueOctober]

He hummed to himself "So it seems desire led the both of us to this life. Mine was not one for adventure, rather, one for glory....." He trailed off, looked down at the ground, kicked a loose rock away. "During the First World War."

 

[MoxxyMoxx]

Beau frowned, "My Dad was going to be drafted into the Vietnam War so him, me and Mom ran from large cities to small towns. I couldn't handle the lack of places to go. We argued and argued and..." He wiped his eyes and steadied his breathing, "I'm fine." He cleared his throat and focused his mind on playing the guitar in his hands.

 

[BlueOctober]

"Ahhhh...." Aiden nodded "I remember that war, and all the needless bloodshed of the Americans." He chuckled "with as many of them that died there, I could have had a wonderful feast, but instead their blood went to some of the lucky few who managed to get themselves there." He clicked his tongue. "Such a waste."