Through Darkest Knight

[Masamune 5.0]

Mirado moved around the wreckage with his arms trailing behind him awkwardly. He quickly turned to his right as he heard Marten drop from his spot on a tree. Marten was chasing a figure. He could not make out it's exact shape but it did not move anything like a zombie. It was much too fast. Had his attack actually missed?

He then heard someone groan nearby. He turned towards the noise and saw the outline of a body among the decimated forest. It struggled to move and groaned once more.

Mirado quickly made his way through the debris and stood over the groaning man. Mirado's eyes widened. It was a vampire. Were there two vampires attacking with the zombies? Regardless, Mirado's leg began to glow. He softly kicked the vampire in his side, sending a small surge of lightning coarsing through his body. It should be enough to stun him, especially after being hit by the element of power. "Hey, Etzale! Give me a hand with this guy!"  

[demonofwhite]

Constance felt a sharp pain in her back and winced. She knew she wouldn't be able to move for a while. Being paralized took it's tolls on her magic, to. She had a potion hidden in her shirt for it, but she would need someone else to give it to her, and from the looks of things here, that wasn't going to happen. She could, however, stay concious for at least another hour. She had been in this position more than once before and had almost grown acustomed to the hole thing. Is there something you want from me? She let her mind echo in the one's who was carying her.  

[Demonix13]

"Sure thing. Just keep him still."
Alpheus stood with his hands poised over the prone body, and began to move his hands in semi-circular motions, then clasped his hands together with a thud. The earth around the vampire rippled like water, and then surged forward and encased the vampire in solid rock.
"Just one more thing."
Alpheus shut his eyes, feeling the essence of the rock and all the trace minerals in it. His hand darted forward and hit a seemingly random spot on the rock. He kept this up for about thirty seconds, striking the rock at strategic points. The Etzale then held his hands out face up and quickly made them both into fists. The rock turned into a silver rock amalgam.

"That shouldn't kill him, but it'll definitely put him in pain. Hopefully it'll contain him, but if he gets out, we may have no choice but to kill him."  

[Gredar]

Atrio stopped, ducking off the path into a secluded area. "It pains me to do this to another vampire, but I'll not die to some petty sorcerer's curse," Atrio monologued, still holding Constance's mouth. "If Marten hadn't forced my hand, the fool, he chose his own path long ago. He never could see his way to true power... and why didn't he see my potential... I've passed him now, it's time I showed him he's nothing compared to me." He sank his fangs into Constance's neck, drawing heavily on the magic-laced blood.


Marten could see Atrio through the trees, and his easy lope turned quickly into a breakneck run, muscles straining as he covered ground at tremendous pace.


Atrio drew hard at the jugular, sucking blood with more force than the heart had to pump it. He felt the artery go flat, but kept his vigil. He would need strength to face the group, especially now that his zombies were all gone.


Marten lept through the trees, gripping Atrio with claws and teeth in a vicious move. He dragged his target forcefully from Constance, trying to position himself for a vicious jerk to snap Atrio's neck. Atrio fought like a madman, with strength well beyond the limits of human or even elvish muscles. He threw Marten from him, taking a fighting stance and preparing for a contest of magic. "Don't make me laugh old fool, your petty magics are no match for the power that runs through my veins," Atrio taunted, lifting a darkly glowing fist towards Marten. Marten glanced at Constance, a pulse of magic resealing her jugular and awakening her spinal cord before returning his attention to Atrio.  

[demonofwhite]

Constance sat up. "My blood's powerful...that's news to me..." She muttered. "If all you wanted was some of my 'precious' blood, all you have to do is ask.
I don't stand for rudeness..." She pulled the vile out of her shirt and drank it as an extra precausion. "As it is...you shouldn't disrespect your elders..." She stood up and looked at him coldly. "I'm pretty sure I could easily dispose of you...I'm not one to toy with..."  

[Masamune 5.0]

"Alright, I'll stay here and guard the vampire. I can't do too much with no arms," Mirado explained to Alpheus. "Go help Marten. He was chasing someone. I think it might be a vampire, too."  

[Gredar]

Atrio waved his hand at Constance. A large wall of shadows coalesced in front of her and slammed forward, throwing her into a tree. "You cannot know the power that runs through my veins now. I could squash you between two fingers and not even pull a muscle."

"It's true. I can explain later, but he gains immense power from magical blood." Marten projected as he circled the vampire. There was a flash, and around the vampire large vines sprang of their own will around his legs.

Atrio gripped one of the vines. Instantly it whithered, blackening it's way down to the roots as Marten's spell fizzled. "Hah, you forget, old one, how much strength the blood gives me!"

"You forget how dependent you are on it. Without those few swallows you're less than an apprentice in the hands of a master." His forehead flashed again. This time Atrio's skin began to crawl, literally. Hundreds of ants now swarmed his sallow skin, viciously biting and stinging their victim.  

[demonofwhite]

Constance laughed. "You don't know the sorce of my magic...until you find that out, it is useless." She sat down and watched.  

[Gredar]

"Constance, it's not your magic he needs. The blood itself carries power, one which a skilled wizard can distill; or in Atrio's case, copy. I can explain later." He lunged at the vampire, dodging the cold blast of necromantic energy and sinking his fangs into Atrio's shoulder.

Atrio struck Marten's head hard, or tried to in any case. Already the elixir's power was wearing off, he had pushed himself to the limit and without blood or magic energy left he was little more than a normal man. He hurled the panther away from him with the last of his strength, before shapeshifting into a bat. "You haven't seen the last of me, Marten. When I have freed myself from your curse we will see who the true master is!"

Marten grinned a feral smile "It will still be me, Atrio. Until you learn the discipline required for true magic, it will always be me." He shifted back to human form, feeling the waves of nausea and headaches finally swell over the magical blocks placed by his transformation spell. Something was wrong, though. He couldn't place it, but the night was awfully breezy...

Erik watched as Atrio shifted and did the same, shrinking in the prison until he could easily fly off. He darted into the shadows before returning to his master, defeated but proud of his accomplishment. He had held two of them on his own, with only a months study. If Master Atrio would teach him more, he was sure he could defeat all of them!  

[Masamune 5.0]

Mirado twisted his right arm. He could move it again. His left arm was still sore, though. He then looked back at the crystal prison to see that it was empty. The vampire had escaped. "Son of a b***h!"  

[Demonix13]

Alpheus sighed. "Well, can't win 'em all I suppose. Well, at least we didn't lose."

((Sorry I was gone for that whole battle. I've been kinda busy lately. Also, Merry Christmas.))  

[Gredar]

"We did lose," Marten croaked. He vomited into the bushes, heaving up food he hadn't eaten. Transformation did crazy things to the body, this was actually one of the tamer side effects. "Atrio got what he came for." He stood up shivering and staggered back towards where they had pitched camp. "We should be safe for tonight though. He won't risk attacking til he's recovered." He collapsed under one of the few trees remaining in the glade. "Someone make me some coffee and I'll explain. And get a fire going, it's freezing." He became vaguely aware of the fact that his fur was gone, but that thought was run over by another wave of pain as he moved his head slightly.  

[Masamune 5.0]

"I was being so stupid..." Mirado mumbled. His left arm ached. Master Sergey would have been angry with him, or atleast as angry as the man ever got. Mirado could have used the element of power without damaging his own body, but he panicked. Three times he used it without thinking. He was hardly any better than he was before Sergey taught him. Mirado sighed. "The Tome's powers aren't enough alone... I have to be smart..."  

[Zerith]

Several small bursts of energy radiated from the northwest, but Dracquis the Dark One paid it no mind. He had found another small village, with inhabitants ripe for the kill. Their souls would be great nourishment.

Shadows, blacker than night, crept in from the outskirts of the unsuspecting village. They drew closer and began to envelop the place. The shadows glided among rooftops until everything was covered in complete darkness.

The bone-chilling laugh echoed throughout the doomed village, waking all the inhabitants to the terrible death that awaited them. That wicked laugh, which sends shivers down the spines of the bravest men, which breathes a breath as cold as winter, which turns the sane mad with fear, trailed off into an eerie silence. Only to be replaced by three words from the same sinister voice. "Tu es mortuus!"  

[demonofwhite]

Constance stood up. "I know he gets the energy from the blood itself. I've experianced powers like his before, so I made boundries on my own blood." She pulled Marten's cloths out of her waist bag and tossed them at him. "He mostly sucked out ash, anyway. And I really hope that you don't need help putting those on..." She added sarcasticly. "I'll make some coffee."