Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine took note of the answers she had been given. Once the demon's finished she raised her chin in a defiant manner. "Are you able to mask yourself as the powerful beings some call gods? Or is that perhaps a bit too over-ambitious for creatures such as yourself?" As she finished, a smirk grew across Seriphine's face.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Are you able to mask yourself as the powerful beings some call gods? Or is that perhaps a bit too over-ambitious for creatures such as yourself?"

Loque winces. Maybe they should insult the shadow demons when they’re preferably not surrounded by them. “Seri, please.” she cautions.

 

[Infab]

"Are you able to mask yourself as the powerful beings some call gods? Or is that perhaps a bit too over-ambitious for creatures such as yourself?"

The middle shadow demon almost seemed to grin. "We've never really tried. No god has ventured down here. Ask Velin as to why that is." it hissed. It chuckled once more afterwards. "It would be rather interesting to try...wouldn't it? Gods, these powerful beings...and if one of us manages to copy them and play off the darkness in their hearts..."

 

[Breadman]

"Well aren't you picky." So far these demons sound like a pompous bunch "Where's your ambition? Your drive? You just wait for someone to chance upon the Abyss and you to be the first ones there? Rather dull existence."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato nodded in response to the answers they were being given - his assumptions were confirmed, and it was interesting to hear the thought process behind shadow demons. The reason behind not copying demons made sense, though the subjectiveness of 'sloppy seconds' made him raise a brow - wouldn't you want to take any opportunity to escape into the mortal coil? Sure, some would fare better due to their status, but if the minimum goal is preventing the disrupting of the Abyss and escaping into the mortal coil, shouldn't anything be fair? Their response to Seri's god question added to that.

He awaited their response to Henderson's question, for that'd surely add more to their nature.

 

[Infab]

"The Abyss provides. We claim what is given, and respect what others of our kind take." said the left demon. "There will always be new vessels, some better than others, and coming from a variety of places. Through deals, or banishments, or even the occasional wanderer slipping through the doors. We lie in wait, and make our choices. As we have always done, even before the time of Adriel."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari was bundled up in the corner of the truck, her pillow draped over her like a shield or awkward blanket, and every so often with a bump on the road a few bottles would clink together. Empty bottles. She had done well to go through her little reserve over the night until she, unceremoniously, passed out into a dead slumber. Once she had woken again her eyes looked a little red - a little involuntary change of her appearance she couldn't do away with. Alcohol was no friend of a kitsune, after all. Still, she had one bottle left and some snacks for an early day meal, which she vigorously ate washed down with her last bottle. Rum, as it was. She seemed more in a daze than she really was, the hangover almost more of a lazy act. The minor solitude it offered was relaxing enough when confronted with the foolishness of so many of the people around her.

The shadow demon visitors was an interesting diversion, and she watched them from over the lip of her stolen pillow. They were cute, almost, in the way that a wayshrine spirit was. And remarkably forthcoming. Curious little bastards they were. When one mentioned her, she held up her half empty bottle with a grin. "Konnichiwa~!" She purred, happy to receive a little attention. Of course she was valuable, why wouldn't she be? Wherever her own shadow was, that bitch was going to have a hard time coming to her when she showed herself. Inari wasn't so foolish to think it was going to be an easy ordeal - she would have to fight herself, after all, and she considered herself one of the best in Kowareta.

She had a question in mind to ask the pair but decided against it. No need to give them any ideas.

 

[Infab]

The middle demon soon spoke again. "Now we have our questions." it said, looking around at those in the back of the truck. "...Why have you come to the Abyss? Seeking treasure, perhaps? Glory?...Redemption?"

The other then spoke. "Redemption is most likely. There is no glory to be found in the Great Abyss, nor treasures to uncover. Only misery and death." They both chuckled a bit, before the left one continued. "But you all have experienced great misery at some point in your lives. You're familiar with it, as well as death...though you yourselves have not died. Yet."

The middle one then leaned in, posing a second, ominous question. "...How does it feel to know...you're being hunted by yourselves? All that you are, were, or could be...the evils of your mind and past, and the darkness in your hearts and souls...made manifest by one of us as a singular entity. Purely to end you and claim your flesh as their own."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari made a slight hiss that, after a moment, was in fact not a hiss, but her failed attempt at holding back a laugh that quickly devolved into amused cackling. She liked these shadow demons. Inquisitive, curious little things, and far more theatrical than she gave them credit for. It was a shame she didn't have a fuller grasp of the language - if she could commit even half of what the last one said to memory, she could make a fine go of being a playwright back home. Forget the geisha work. She'd sit back and let the other actors deliver some fine words to stir some hearts, and more importantly, coin purses. Profitable. Not as fun, by profitable.

"Why come to Abyss? I wonder that, too, and wonder why I not do so faster. More fun here than I thought, yes? Lot of places to see. Some people friendly. Some people not. The not friendly, they fun to kill. Keep sword happy, keep soul happy, I say," Inari remarked from behind her pillow, one paw resting on it lazily. "Hah! And you say no treasure? Only if blind. Many fine thing I see I want, but no can take. For now. When work done I come back. This pillow all I have for now, and...." She paused and her hand disappeared as she rummaged through her pack. It returned, and she held up a part of Thelyra's horn that she had taken after it was cut off. A shame she couldn't have taken a few servants. Even Thelyra herself would have been entertaining to try and handle. Where was the fun in someone docile?

"This treasure, too. Wonder where should put it? Here?" She asked, holding it up to her forehead. "Or here?" She moved it to the side of her head, against her temple. "Many other place to put it, I think. Like between legs. For ceremony. Too funny for fighting, no good to place on armor." Inari paused again. "Maybe good for dagger...."

The kitsune shrugged and put it away. "When I fight shadow, maybe I get more swords. Have two of favorite sword then, yes? Who care who they are. They want to kill me, I want to kill them," she explained, suddenly sitting up a little more, glancing at the shadows, her grin widening. "You want know how it feel? Ask shadow friend who chase us. Because they not hunting me, I hunting her. And since she come right to me... I don't need waste time. I just wait!"

 

[Infab]

"You want know how it feel? Ask shadow friend who chase us. Because they not hunting me, I hunting her. And since she come right to me... I don't need waste time. I just wait!"

The pair of shadow demons let out a laugh that sounded as if hundreds of people were all laughing at once. Then the middle one spoke once more. "We like this one! You certainly are a prize!" It remarked, its eyes giving off the appearance that it was quite pleased. "And you most certainly belong down here."

The left one spoke next. "My dear kitsune...you misunderstand your situation. Your copy...its hunting you. But its doing as most shadow demons tend to do..." it said, "...letting you come to it."

 

[Doomevil]

Senya narrowed her eyes at the questions, they all had a specific reason how they got near the entrance, it was a simple job in theory. She spoke up.

“It’s a job I hope to finish, dead or alive. We all have different reasons for being here, but I’m sure we prefer sticking with each other than to let our shadows steal our bodies.” She explained before they gave an ominous sign if one of them died.

A chance for treasure, glory or redemption sounded too optimistic even for her. So, would that happen if they defeat their Dark counterpart? Guess they wouldn’t mind explaining that so they can gain an advantage.

“What exactly happens if we defeat a shadow of ourselves?” Senya asked, arms crossed.

 

[Infab]

“What exactly happens if we defeat a shadow of ourselves?”

The pair of demons both looked to Senya. "Rather interesting question, that one." said the left demon, before the middle one spoke. "...We copy the darkest parts of you...so what do you think happens when you conquer the evils that haunt you?"

Then both of the shadow demons spoke in unison. "A truly cleansing redemption."

The left continued where the middle one ended. "You absorb the power that your copy had. We...become part of you. Part of your shadow, leaving the Abyss behind and becoming one with you. Eternally bound to your soul."

 

[Doomevil]

They become, a part of you? So that means once they defeated them, they're there forever. A small price to pay, but still morbid nonetheless. Senya had no more questions, wanting to move on to deal with their next objective.

 

[Breadman]

"If you're so curious. I didn't come here by volition." Henderson gave the demons a short answer. "I came here because I'm forced to. Redemption is not on my mind because I have nothing to atone for. I was simply following my own nature as best as I could. Would you damn a cock for hailing the sun every morning with his shrill? Or a bear for mauling a careless trapper to protect it's young? What about the disease that is spread by the tiniest of creatures known to us with the countless deaths they caused? I don't care for whatever laws and morals some high off their own fumes deities decide to create and dictate. Bollocks to that. If I had kept to the rules they set I would be a dead weakling at the hands of someone more powerful. Something you lot I'm sure are familiar with."

"As for your friend that has taken my form. He can try. If he is what I suspect him to be, then I will have no qualms about what I will do. But should it be the other thing I suspect from what you say, however small that chance is, I will enjoy the short period we will spend together then."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato pondered on the questions asked, before having his thought process interrupted by Inari's cackling. Whilst he continued to consider his own question, hearing the responses of the shadows was... interesting. Shadow demons waiting for them to come to them, absorbing the power that they had upon their defeat, and becoming one with them, interesting tidbits. With Henderson's response, he spoke up as well.

"The Dou, it had brought me to this point, and my decisions stood by it. Helpful I wished to be, and so asked was I to join, and join I did. A job to finish," he said, with a nod towards Senya, "though alive at the end, for the greater good, and to maintain the status quo. If redemption is what I get in the end, then so be it. The future is unknowable, after all..." he stated, the shadows likely feeling the non-oni aura emanating from him, indicating a truth to them were he not an oni.

"...but you speak of a shadow's power being bound, absorbed. Does this too mean we gain their knowledge?" Takato decided to ask. Jakob didn't seem to have gained any new knowledge upon defeating his shadow, but he may as well ask, to be sure.

 

[SniperComZero]

Gwenaelle had been... it'd be a stretch to say happily, but was content in sitting at the back of the truck. Cleaning her rifle with a dampened rag. It was something to do whilst she was brooding. Perhaps so she could think, or perhaps so no one would bother her whilst she did. One of the two. She did, to the best of her ability, try and ignore the drunken ramblings of the fox, too. She was interrupted, however, by the rude introduction of some shadow demons hanging off the back of their truck. It was almost reflexive in how she levelled her rifle towards them, but... they seemed non-hostile. And, at present, it wasn't like she had a quarrel with them like she did with a certain other sect of demon. That, and discharging her weapon in an enclosed space might've been a bad idea all around. Though, they, and everyone around, would be certain to know the scowl she held whilst her chin was propped on the butt of her rifle.

Seeing as quite a few of the others had decided to answer the question, the elf deigned to bother answering it, herself. "...To be quite frank, I can't quite remember why I came down here in the first place. But... I have to admit, that seeing what I've seen, that murdering Sekath, that pig, and all of her whore lackeys, has given me quite a great purpose. Honestly, it probably won't redeem what I've done, but... it'll sure as fuck make me feel better. Mm, and perhaps, more than one of you... things." There was a slight hiss to her last word.

"...But riddle me this. What happens after? You kill the soul, take the body, and then...? You go back to the mortal realm all for the express purpose of either slotting yourself into that life, or taking a hammer to everything you come across. Seems like quite the mundane existence. Or, quite the short one."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

In the Land of Pride...

They were once again back on the move, and it was rather funny to Jakob that he was the one driving the truck with Mariette sitting right next to him. It reminded him of Grimtham. They only needed Aleister and Ethraeil sitting in the back, probably talking some nonsense about cactuses. He looked over his shoulder at Riberta and Hudson to see if they were at the very least comfortable travelling in the back, before looking at Mariette. The vampiress was looking out truck's window. "...It's been a while." he said while turning his eyes back to the road. "You said it's been 30 years for you in here... but outside? It's been 3 years, three very active years... I imagine you want to know something about the stuff going out there, right?" Jakob looked at Mariette again with a big smile on his face.

"I know more than you think I do," Mariette replied, frowning. "Sazak told me of the horrible things he did to get his vengeance on our little 'inquisition.' He knew how miserable it made me feel, knowing that I departed early when I could have stayed and faced his plot head-on."

Jakob let out a faint grunt as he heard Mariette talk about Sazak. "He's a cruel bastard. Using that to torture you is despicable..." He then looked back at Mariette, a soft smile slowly forming on his lips. "...But enough about that. I don't want you to think of that bastard too much. Only think about killing him for what he's done to us." He looked back at the derelict landscape ahead of them. "But I do wonder, has he told you about the current state of Adonia? Things have changed a lot ever since he's used that damn ring. We're talking about... ancients coming back from distant times, walking among mortals."

"Ancients?" Mariette repeated. "What are you talking about? More vampires like Ser Edmond?"

"You don't remember the old tales?" asked Jakob, giving Mariette a curious look. "...Of the ancients that existed before the Age of Darkness. There's humans from the ancient empires, yes but also... Dwarves, Southern and Northern Elves, the painted Orc tribes, even monsters that were long extinct." Jakob looked back to the path ahead, as suddenly the truck shakes a bit as it hits a large boulder on the road. "Shit, sorry!" he said, fixing his hat and continuing looking at the road. "...Things were insane during that time, but we are adapting to them. The Dark Elves went north to some place far away, the northern Elves hide in their forests away from mankind, and I heard reports of the Orcs hiding scattered around in the highlands. To escape Velin's retribution obviously...Work has become complicated because of it. I had to travel through the dark marshes to fight beings that are... too strange to even describe."

 

[K0mori]

It took a moment for Jakob's words to set in. Elves? Dwarves? Orcs!?

When the truck jolted over a stone, it snapped Mariette out of her confusion. The world really had changed completely in the thirty - no, only three - years since she had left it. But as he continued speaking, about how the revived races were hiding themselves away, scattering in fear of Velin's retribution, Jakob could see Mariette's expression sour from ordinary concern to true malice. "Velin," she hissed. "The fraud. Were it in my power to kill only one or the other, Velin, or Sazak, I would pull that Goddess apart, just like she did to Cass." She was gripping the hilt of her sword so tightly that she began to tremor.

"I was at the precipice of losing my mind completely, so thoroughly awash with misery that I had forgotten the very concept of equity," she ranted. "I started to believe... I started to believe that there was no such thing as a rational truth or justice, that my existence of eternal pain in this land was karma dealt upon me, not by that disgraceful... pute! ...But rather a judgement from something far greater... as if... I was born to suffer...

"But, I refuse to accept that any longer," she continued, having regained her stately composure, which looked positively strange as she still resembled a beggar in rags. "The truth is that I was cast out of purgatory, a place of repentance, for no reason aside from the hatefulness of Velin for all of my kind. If I ever belonged in this terrible place, then she belongs in the deepest, most horrible, forgotten crevice of Azgon's realm of agony." Mariette finally smiled, serenely, as Jakob processed the emotionally-charged outburst.

"So... your daughter, Lucy... how is she?" she asked, casually.

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson leaned back against his seat in the truck, the brim of his hat down as he crossed his arms. Though he had gotten plenty of sleep the night prior (perhaps the best he has had in quite some time) he still did not feel the need to watch the scenery pass him by. Even in the event of the group falling under attack, he was certain that him having complete and total vision of a surprise attack wouldn't do them much good in the first place. The hunter gathered his thoughts, trying to understand the nature of their plan as Jakob and Mariette talked in the front of the vehicle.

That was until Jakob struck a boulder with the car. "Fucking gods!" Hudson yelled as he jumped in his seat from the shock and jerk in momentum as he frantically lifted up his hat, leaning forward in his chair as he looked around to the front. Seeing that nothing was wrong, he readjusted himself with a sigh.

A bit more focused on what was happening in the truck now, the hunter could listen to the vampire discuss her violent feelings toward Velin. It was always an awkward situation when she was the subject of conversation, as one of her 'children' it was technically a duty for him to defend his goddess' honor. To allow a 'heathen' to spout such vitriol was one thing, but a crazed vampire? They would be cast into the sunlight on the spot. Yet Hudson was not like other members of Velin's Order, always a bit numbed to the religious teachings as he only joined the ranks to kill demons before dying himself. Given what Mariette described it certainly was not unwarranted.

"It's not like Velin's improved things much by being active again." he piped up over the engine. "Calling for the complete and total extermination of the supernatural peoples of Adonia does no good at all. When so actively hunted those groups will be backed into a corner yes, but they'll be huddled in that corner together."

"I didn't think much of it at the time, but Camille saw this coming. Vampires and other supernaturals have formed some kind of hidden community and they've been wreaking their own brand of havoc on innocent people. Spent the better part of a year trying to track it down but came up with nothing..."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob watched as his friend vented her sudden anger and frustration. Her hatred for Velin was way bigger than his, yet he understood why she felt the way she did. She was taken away from the realm of repentance and thrown into the Abyss, an unfair judgment for a woman that had done a lot of good in a broken world. Once she calmed down, she gave Jakob a smile and asked about Lucy. Jakob remembered Mariette's sudden mood swings, so he wasn't bothered by it a lot. He simply smiled back and pulled a pair of pictures from his coat.

Mariette probably recognized one of them: it was an old picture of a younger Jakob next to his wife Cecil holding a baby Lucy. Next to Jakob was their deceased son Abraham. The other picture was rather new, and it featured Jakob, his sister Jessica, and an older Lucy wearing a cute little dress. Jakob remained quiet for a bit, letting Mariette look at the pictures while he continued driving. "She's quickly growing up." said Jakob, breaking the silence between the two. Mariette could head some sadness in his voice. "...It ain't easy, raising a lovely girl like Lucy without her momma. It's been difficult for me... I worked a lot on my cases, but mostly...I was trying to piece all the clues together to find Valeria...And that was especially difficult for Lucy."

Jakob looked away for a moment, clearing his throat before giving Mariette a little smile. "But Thiasis knows I am so damn proud of that little girl. She's very smart. Smarter than her old man, I'd say! You'd never guess who's tutoring her. Theodore-fucking-Bovin! Little man came to live in Red Gorge after what happened to him. She's also learning some magic from a friend of ours, a little goblin... ever seen a goblin? Little nomadic people that travel in caravans? Anyways... she's also going to a very good private school." He paused for a moment before looking back at Mariette with a proud smile. "...All thanks to a wonderful Escarian woman."

Jakob looked over his shoulder as Hudson mentioned something about a hidden community. "Yeah... I know what's going, at least the basics of it, Aleister is behind it. I wish I could talk to him but..." Jakob looked down for a moment before looking back at the road, silent. He didn't want to think on what had Aleister caused. That wasn't the priest Jakob had once met.

 

[K0mori]

Listening to both men describe their experiences, Mariette pieced together more of the story of the world she left behind. Sazak had already informed her of Velin's purges, as the news was yet another means of degrading her faith and fortitude in the face of damnation. While she had come to accept her doom early on, it was much harder to swallow the suffering of others. As she had already implied, she also knew about the fate of Jakob's wife, Cecil. Knowing that Jakob was a sentimental man, she felt it was beat to be indirect, at least for now.

What surprised her, however, was hearing that Aleister was attacking innocent humans as the leader of some sort of resistance. Aleister was supposed to be the pacifist of the two- the one who actually listened to Undite. She remembered his reluctance to support her bid for a vampiric kingdom in the old world, as it was likely to end in violent catastrophe. He wanted a refuge in some far off land, instead.

Maybe his ideals were too lofty and the priest simply fell from grace. Maybe it was necessary to fight back, or else face total annihilation. Either way, it saddened Mariette to hear that Aleister had become such a rogue, as she knew of the death of his adoptive household and the church's reaction to his discovery. Whatever shadow he had become of himself, it was unimaginable pain which must have transformed him.

"I imagine the vampires of Chalmette Flourissant have taken to the hills to escape all this, just as we always planned. And, because I left a human in control of my vineyards, La Cygne will still make wine," she added. "Maybe someday, les gens will see fit to end their endless survival and move on to the next life, so all of this will be settled. I just hope that by then, it will be under the auspices of a more tolerant god of judgement."

She looked fondly at the photos Jakob presented to her. "She's learning magic," she repeated, and with considerable effort to remain serious, added, "...from a goblin? Perhaps she'll excel as both a student and as a witch. I hope she is staying away from the dark spells I once practiced. It's a pathway to temptation."

She didn't mention Theodore as she wasn't particularly fond of him. Even after decades of time spent in Hell, she still hadn't fully forgiven him for once suggesting the inquisitors revive her disembodied head during her brief tryst as a pureblood.

 

[Infab]

Riberta had remained quiet, listening to Jakob and Mariette speak in the front of the vehicle before Hudson chimed in with his own comments to add onto Jakob's explanation of what was going on in the mortal realm. Plenty of things had changed in her life time, since she was from the early part of the Age of Darkness. From knights and castles to business men and parliamentary buildings. She glanced out of the back of the truck, looking at where they had been, before eventually asking a question of her own. Directed at Mariette.

"So what did Sazak promise you?" she asked, looking back towards the front to where Mariette was. "He sold you on something, you made your deal, and now you're down here...What was it?"

---
​

"As for your friend that has taken my form. He can try. If he is what I suspect him to be, then I will have no qualms about what I will do. But should it be the other thing I suspect from what you say, however small that chance is, I will enjoy the short period we will spend together then."

"You're an interesting one, for sure. I do ponder as to why one of us would choose to copy one such as yourself." said the left shadow demon. "Perhaps he shares such a voracious appetite?"

"...but you speak of a shadow's power being bound, absorbed. Does this too mean we gain their knowledge?"

The middle shadow demon chose to answer this question. "That depends on the person that we copy." it responded. "You gain power, and are...cleansed. Knowledge is power, correct? At least to those that value knowledge...like yourself."

"...But riddle me this. What happens after? You kill the soul, take the body, and then...? You go back to the mortal realm all for the express purpose of either slotting yourself into that life, or taking a hammer to everything you come across. Seems like quite the mundane existence. Or, quite the short one."

The middle one also answered this question. "We claim your life...whatever it may be." it said. "We take your body, eat your soul, and return to the mortal realm to live your life..and we live it as the worst version of yourself as possible. Your copy is in control, and its made of all your sins and darkest attributes...which would still be projected forth while in control of your body. So if you were just and kind queen before...you would be a horrific tyrant to all your subjects once we are in control. We find it...pleasurable."

The demons finally looked to one another. "Well, it is time for us to depart. Such a pleasure to talk. We don't get many visitors." said the middle demon, before it simply faded away. The left one waved goodbye to the group in the back, before also fading itself.

Kassidy soon looked at the others. "Well...there ya have it." she said finally. Vince chimed in from up front. "Yeah...there you have it. Let's put as much distance between this place and us as possible." he said, as the truck continued along on its path. They avoided deep cracks in the ground, massive bumps and trenches, before eventually leaving the shadowy lands and reemerging back into the odd colored lands of envy.

 

[Damian0358]

The more the Shadow Demons spoke, the more Takato felt vindicated when it came to asking about their being earlier. Subjectiveness, choice, opinions and feelings, this and more, exhibited from what was paralleled to water just moments earlier. His understanding of these beings has come out of this dialogue greater than it was, and he hoped that will prove useful in the fighting to come. But it seemed that they had had their fun, and the demons faded away, with Takato politely, albeit with a serious expression, returning the left one's wave goodbye.

He did find it strange though, as they left the shadowy lands behind, how the Shadow Demons seemed disinterested in engaging them outside of dialogue. Sure, the left one claimed that it wasn't fun chasing something that another had claimed, but if they were given the choice to become another as to protect the Abyss and provide their own escape, wouldn't it make more sense for them to collectively strike against their copiees? Their shadowy parallel can only be truly defeated by themself, after all, so a divided group such as theirs is more vulnerable to being attacked by a shadow from the other party, since they wouldn't be able to defeat them. It made sense, and yet, it seemed they viewed that as 'not fun'. Likely not even part of their code of conduct, but just an unspoken rule to not fight that which has already been claimed. What of those who had defeated shadows? If they are of value, does that mean they'd continuously receive shadows during their stay, never to be harassed by the shadow of another? But if they aren't, do shadows still go after them, to ensure they died, or do they just collectively leave them by?

As they reemerged into the envious lands, Takato realized something - if these are questions he was asking himself, did that mean his shadow too shared in them? Possibly, possibly not, but it made him wonder... what sort of shadow demon, in their views, chose him? They had become his worst embodiment, sure, but what does he bring to the table by himself alongside his copied mentalities? Something to consider for later, he supposed.

 

[K0mori]

Mariette hesitated a while before answering, a knot forming in her stomach as she remembered the extent of her treachery against her friends. "He... proposed an alliance of sorts. In exchange for assistance in his scheme to capture Valeria and Velin's executioner blade, I would be given the means to achieve my lifelong goal of establishing a kingdom for the vampires: strength and speed beyond that of a pureblood - which I was, at the time, thanks to Adona's ring - and the power to transmit vampirism to others through the use of magic, no contact required.

"I don't suppose you know much about me, but when I was human, many years ago, I was very nearly the Queen of Escaria," Mariette explained, now looking back at Riberta and Hudson. "I was among the most respected of my kind in the south of Adonia, as I had built a legitimate fortune as a vintner, and used that wealth to purchase the county title of La Cygne. The other noble vampires and I carefully balanced the needs of the human community with those of the gens de la nuit, and did not hesitate to execute any vampire or werewolf who predated on the local population. We planned to gain control of the duchy title and then demand our autonomy, and there was never any doubt about who would be in control."

Mariette had been nearly smiling as she told of her peaceful years as a countess. However, her expression turned grim as she returned to the point of the discussion. "Then... I went to Grimtham, thinking I would cross paths with the Raven of Giguere House, Camille. Of all the possible opponents to our plans in Chalmette Florrisant, she was the one we most feared. I was supposed to be a sort of ambassador, to convince her that we weren't all monsters. But... as you can see, I was the wrong one to send. The villains who threatened the world from Grimtham, three years ago, were pawns of this Abyssal conspiracy. They fell under the hellish sway easily, as they thirsted for power, and Sazak found the same weakness within me.

"When I realized how thoroughly I had lost my way, betraying my friends and my own better judgement, I could no longer live with myself. I just wish I would have waited a few more days. If I was going to wind up here regardless of my actions, then I ought to have done more to stop the conspiracy from triumphing."

 

[Infab]

Riberta listened quietly, as Mariette told her story. People often made deals with demons for selfish reasons, but once in a while, someone would make a deal with a more noble goal in mind. Circumstances would twist things and drive them to commit acts deemed dispicable, or the demon itself would twist the deal to suit their nefarious wims. Sazak was always one to twist things, regardless of circumstance.

When Mariette finished, Riberta spoke up. "...My clan was a small one, in eastern Daristein. Back then...it wasn't a united federation, or even a united kingdom. That came later. I lived in the forests of the kingdom of Allenrode, born in the village of Heilrath. Allenrode bordered the eastern elven kingdom, whom didn't bother us much as they were too preoccupied with their visions of extravagance and lust. West of us, the other human kingdoms were too busy waring amongst themselves. We pagan barbarians were left to our own devices."

"...I, alongside my husband Valamar, lead our clan in peace and prosperity. We were primarily a hunting clan, stalking deer and elk in our region. Food was plentiful, life was good. Our relations with our neighboring clan was decent, as Valamar and their chieftain Gadaric often hunted together. We shared food, us providing them with meats while they gave us crops. Mutual respect and cooperation."

"...One day, I decide to see if I could track down a nice elk for a meal. Sometimes I would hunt alongside Valamar, and I knew how to do most of the things he did. I found this...massive elk a good ways away from our small village. I take it down with three arrows, and finish it off with my knife. Perfect kill, skinned it on the spot. And as I started home...I notice the smell of something burning..."

Riberta paused for a few moments, before continuing. "...I had two daughters with Valamar, whom I left in the care of Valamar's sister while I went hunting. Valamar himself had gone hunting a few hours earlier with Gadaric...I return to my village to find that it had been raided and burned to the ground. Few survivors, and most of them were wounded. Gadaric had...killed my husband with a spear during their hunt, then lead a raid on my clan's village. His warriors slaughtered everyone they could...including my children."

"...I buried my daughters and my husband in the woods. Alone. As I sat there, staring at the graves, wondering why this happened and to them of all people...Sazak happened upon me, as he was travelling west through the forest from the Elven lands. I'm sure you know of the form he takes...the blonde woman in black. He spoke to me...and offered to help. He said he could give me power to avenge them, and make sure that it would never happen to anyone ever again. Of course...how could I refuse? I was a grieving mother and widow."

"The power...it came in the form of lycanthropy first...then vampirism. With my werewolf abilities, I slaughtered Garadic's village. I burned it to the ground along with everyone in it. I slew any that stood against me and my wishes...including a family friend. I then hunted Garadic down and ripped him apart. But...I didn't stop there. In order to make sure it never happened again, I turned my focus onto the kingdom itself...and then the elves...and then Daristein...Vampirism only aided me in my war. My endless...eternal war."

"...I was a warlord. I lead armies of lycans against kingdoms and nations. I fought any and all...and enjoyed every moment of the mindless slaughter...till I realised finally that was never my intention. It was never my wish to become that. I wanted to simply kill the man that murdered my family. I tried to stop myself. Settle down, and live in peace...but something just wouldn't let me. And I found out just what that was after a band of soldiers from Daristein came and murdered my clan once more."

"As I stood in the ruins of my village yet again...Sazak appeared once more. This time, to gloat. And he filled me in on just why I couldn't stop. He had cursed me to wage war eternal against any and all. I would fight as long as there was an enemy to gain and destroy...and I have been fighting ever since."

Riberta then grew quiet once more, looking to Mariette before speaking again. "...Sazak must die." she finally stated.