Warning: This is a disclaimer. You know what to do with it. Believe it or not, this is almost blood free. VLR#8 by Coyote ___________________________________________________________________________ Somewhere. A void with no discernable landmarks. There are 2 figures in this void. "Where is he now?" The larger, luminous figure asks "In a dark dungeon cell, under the Jihrasan mountains, as far as I can tell." the small figures answers. "Interesting. Go to the mountain, and find out what Diana's 'minions' are up to, and check to make sure he comes out of this intact." "But what of your other sister? if you interfere, won't she be bitter? In the realm of mortals, we cannot interfere, and if of this action she does hear, Against her, I can do nothing, I fear." "I just want you to watch. He has the ability to escape from this situation, but he is so narrow minded. He sometimes can't see the solutions just because they aren't right in front of him." "But, you want me there just in case, to aid him if he cannot escape. Don't worry. Of me there will be no trace." "Thank you my friend. Do not take any unnecessary risks." The second figure bows, and then vanishes in the blink of an eye. "My, how one vampire can generate so much interest ... I hope those two don't tear him apart." --- In the stone corridor outside Renaku's cell, Nigel has gathered some 20 odd demons to help him keep Renaku under control. "Lucky little leech, not everyone gets to meet a goddess." Nigel smirks out as he opens the cell door. "Which goddess is it that I am going to meet?" Renaku asks. "Why her Ladyship, Diana, of course. You remember the ol' Blood Moon Society, don't you?" Nigel's smirk broadens. "Welcome to our new headquarters. Now step lively, dead boy, you wouldn't want to keep Her waiting." "Since when did goddesses start associating with such rubbish as your little 'society'?" Renaku says as he steps out of his cell into the midths of a circle of demons. "Since we do her work, spread her will, and are just cool to hang out with." Nigel replies, as he motions for one of the demons to bind Renaku's arms. "Oh, makes perfect sense." Renaku says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Perhaps Lady Diana has become weary of the grandeur of living on the moon," Renaku mocks, laying on the high society accent" and jest decided to come slum with her boyz." He finishes off, dropping to a gutter accent. Nigel whacks Renaku across the head, and he falls to the floor, his vision bluring, from the hit, and the not quite healed blow from before. "That's pretty funny, Renaku. See? I'm laughing so hard, you're rolling on the floor." Nigle says, his eyes burning with anger. "When Her Ladyship, Diana comes, you will regret your words. Why she wants us to deliver you to her is beyond me." Nigel says. His expression suddenly softens, and a wicked gleam comes to his eyes. "But in the meantime, you are going to help us get something that will help Her fight and win her battle against her sister." Nigel says. "She might even destroy you outright for helping her. I won't bore you with all the GORY details. Besides, you will be in the thick of it all, so you will find them all out soon enough." A slow, sadistic smile has crept across Nigel's face. Renaku gets up off the floor and walks toward Nigel. "Let me give you a piece of advice, Nigel." Renaku states as he approaches Nigel. The demons move in to take him down, but Nigel waves them off. Ice blue eyes lock onto cobalt blue eyes. "Don't meddle in the affairs of the gods. You, and those unfortunate to be around you will pay for you arrogance." ______________________________________________________________ Vampire Legend R Episode #8: D'lrow Rorrim Irrational _____________________________________________________________ Deep within the Jihrasan mountains, near the shores of the Digirf sea, there is a vast network of underground caverns. Dark, winding, twisting and rough, this network of tunnels ends at a great fissure under the mountain. It is of untold depth. In the center of this massive fissure is a granite platform, suspended in free space. It is held up above the bottomless abyss by the power of a single large stone that rests on a red sandstone pillar in its center. This stone, roughly the size of a large dragon's egg, has no set color, as complex iridescent patterns play across the surface. Encasing this stone is a large crystal sphere, 20 reelm in diameter. Across it's flawless surface, arcs of energy dance and flicker. Occasionally, the stone and the crystal sphere interact, and multi-colored bolts of power are exchanged. The excesses energy shimmers off of the crystal sphere, electrifying the atmosphere, and causing smaller arcs of energy to play across the granite platform. Around this crystal sphere, an elaborate set of symbols has been carved, 27 dark runes make up this arcane diagram. Thrust into the center of 26 of those runes, are swords of various lengths and styles. Although all the swords are unique, they all share a common attribute, they all have a stone or crystal embedded between the blade and the hilt. Flashes of energy can be seen between the gems in the swords and the crystal sphere. The 27th rune is vacant. The Blood Moon Society means to complete the circle. They mean to shatter the crystal sphere, and they mean to claim the stone in the center of this platform. Between this stone platform, and the wall of this fissure, is a narrow wooden walkway, barley 3 reelm wide. Three figures are walking across this shaky catwalk. Marrigan, high priestess of the Blood Moon Society, David Darkchylde, a dark elf from the northern steppes, and Ferio, a demonic vampire walk unconcerned across the small pieces of wood that separate them from the abyss. When they step onto the granite platform, the stone and the crystal sphere cease their multicolored exchange. Energy stops playing across the surface of the crystal sphere, as it seems to become thicker and more solid. Marrigan and David stop at the base of the dais leading to the crystal sphere, and Ferio continues up to the circle of runes, carrying the demon-slayer blade in a leather cloth. The crystal sphere seems to shrink in size as he approaches, and the color shifts to a fire orange. He takes one look back and Marrigan gives him a nod to continue. Still holding the sword through the leather cloth he raises it high overhead and drives into the center of the 27th rune. Nothing happens. "Shit." Marrigan says in disappointment. David on the other hand steps in front of Marrigan, and conjures a dark shield. The onyx core of the demon-slayer blade glows blinding white, emitting a wall of light. The other swords, the crystal sphere, and the stone follow suit, establishing some sort of magical resonance. An instant later, a maelstrom of energy is released, engulfing the platform. The energy storm abates after a few minutes, revealing Marrigan and David unscathed behind his shield. David is breathing heavy from the effort of maintaining the shield. Ferio wasn't as lucky. The demon-slayer blade is laying off to one side of the platform, unscratched. "It appears that the demon-slayer is not the 27th sword of Master Kaneuji Jinsume." David pants out softly. "Aye, t'would be too easy if'n that were the case." Marrigan says. "It is still inconceivable that a MERE wood elf could master the stone, and forge such blades as the 27 swords, and that blasted sphere." David says softly as he looks at the remains of Ferio. "Tis true, but just think what a dark elf could do with that same power, David." Marrigan says. "What should we do with Ferio?" David asks softly, motioning to the mangled, and burnt pile near the base of the diaz. "*Sigh* Bring him, and ayle fix em up." Marrigan says. She then goes over to the demon-slayer sword. Taking off her crimson silk cloak she wraps it around the sword, and then picks it up. Now wearing only her crimson teddy, she gives the dark elf that 'come hither' look. "Come with me and I'll fix you up as well." She adds with a lustful wink. "As you wish, my Lady." David replies with a sadistic smile. They leave the platform, David levitating the remains of Ferio behind him. Once off the platform, the crystal and the stone go back to their playful multicolored exchange. Excesses energy flickers off of the sphere, almost like a sigh of relief. --- In the twisting caves leading to the fissure, Nigel and demons are herding Renaku towards their destination. Nigel is leading the way, with Renaku behind him, being all but carried by a rather large demon, to keep Renaku from bolting into one of the myriads of side passages. The rest of the demons flank Nigel on either side. "And how do you know the will of your Lady?" Renaku asks. "My, aren't you the inquisitive one." Nigel says. "What are you trying to do, make me question my faith in my Lady, or try to distract me.?" "Neither. If I'm going to meet her, as you say, it would be wise to know something about her." Renaku replies. "Wise? Hmph. You really are an idiot, aren't you? You tramp around the continent, doing your good deeds, fighting lesser evils, occasionally being a nuisance, yet even your dull wit should recognize that you aren't doing any good. The 'evils' you squash just come back, stronger, and the world gets darker, little by little. Yet you refuse to open your eyes and see. You go about playing 'hero' and are ignorant of the dark flood that will engulf you. You fight us, and accomplish nothing, but if you would just join us, you could accomplish much." Nigel stops Renaku and looks him in the eyes, with almost a brotherly concern. Renaku remains unfazed. "You still didn't answer my question." Renaku says, "How do you know the will of you Lady?" "And you still refuse to open your eyes and see the darkness around you." Nigel yells at Renaku. "Let me put in the simplest terms the are, for your slow wit. Lady Diana and Lady Moon, have waged war on each other for hundreds of thousands of years. Lady Diana is trying to purify the tainted darkness of the night of Lady Moon and her children. We do the same thing. Let the good and light have the day. We WILL own the night. "We do not need ... " Nigel is interrupted as he spots a green haired woman approaching from further down in the tunnel. The woman is dressed in dark, and drab colors. No life is in her eyes, and her faces is a neutral mask. She kneels in front of Nigel. "Martina, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be down below, preparing for the ceremony?" Nigel asks the woman. "Lady Marrigan sent me to tell you that there has been a delay in the plan. She wishes for you to take the vampire to the upper cavern for now. Then you are to wait for her in the central cavern." Martina says, without a hint of life in her voice. Nigel fumes silently, and Renaku smirks. "It appears that your Lady has other things to do, besides 'hang' with her boyz. It's as I thought. You have no way to meet Lady Diana face to face, do you? You assume her will from the things you see, and how your priestess interprets them, correct?" Renaku taunts. Nigel clenches his fist and jaw, but suddenly he relaxes, and turns toward Renaku. "You will meet her, don't worry your silver head about that. Perhaps then you will understand. She has asked specifically to meet with you. Why I do not know. Until then, we just have a little more time to make you presentable to her." Nigel turns to Martina. "Go, wait for me in the central cavern." The green haired woman, with dead eyes, bows, and then disappears into a side passage. --- The upper cavern. This large cave is a rough semi-circle, about 100 reelem in diameter, It opens up into the fissure. From the edge of the cave, the granite platform can be seen glowing below off in the distance. Around the cave are scattered arcane devices, unholy symbols, and various piles of things that need not be mentioned. Off near the back of the cave, several humans can be seen standing, soulless, lifeless shells. On the other side of the cavern are several stout iron cages, each containg a very angry demon. This is the temporary laboratory of Shioryu Wong. He is running here and there among the clutter, preparing some kind of experiment. He doesn't seem happy. "I told her not to try it ... I told her this wasn't the sword ... I'm going to be very angry if this doesn't work ... " He mumbles as he puts the finishing touches on his experiment. In the center of the cavern is a set of devices that are holding Renaku's demon-slayer blade, point down. Below the blade is a square hole, just large enough to fit one of the demon cages in. Wong is in the processes of loading one of these cages into the hole. The demon doeth protest, violently, and loudly. "Now, Now, Now, none of that. This is for the greater good ... I don't care if you have to go to the bathroom. Come now this won't hurt a bit ... actually it will hurt quite a bit as the sword eats your demonic soul, but once it's over it's over." With a loud clang, the cage is loaded. "You, stand there, and grab the hilt of the sword." He says to one of the human shells, or as Wong calls them 'conduits'. The shell does as it is commanded, and climbs up onto the raised platform that holds the sword. Wong then hooks up a mess of wires, and magical talismans to the lifeless human. "There." Wong says. He steps back, and pulls a lever. The platform falls, driving the blade through the caged demon. The demon's life energy flows into the blade and then ... nothing. Not a drop of energy flows into the 'conduit'. "Damnation!! I TOLD Marrigan that this wasn't the 27th blade! Now the blasted thing has sealed itself off! Grrrrrrr ..." Wong stomps around the platform that holds the sword, like a starved wolf, circling a chicken in a cage. The lifeless human, its job done, goes back to it's place on the back wall. "This sword has been a thorn in our side for countless years. I should just throw it into the abyss, and be done with it. We should have done that when we first ran across it, but Nooo, we had to be smartass demonic beings and try to use it." Wong continues to rant. He reaches out and grabs the sword by its hilt, and immediately regrets it. He pulls his hand back, burned and smoking. "*Ch'al K'Sufit Mal-hele'ka!*" He screams out, and the arcane devices around the sword burst into flames and explode. When the dust and smoke clear, the demon-slayer sword is left unscratched in the middle of a charred crater in the cavern floor. Wong continues to curse under his breath as he heals his hand. "Quite the show of power there Wong, attacking the sword like that." A deep grating voice comes from the entrance to the cavern. "We can't utilize it directly, can't touch it, can't corrupt it, because it EATS the corruption, and now can't even use it indirectly!" Wong yells at the demonic knight, Givoanni who is still standing at the entrance to the cavern. "Nigel is bringing the vampire to you, and Lady Marrigan doesn't want him anywhere near his sword." Givoanni states. "The vampire? Oh, Neyhehehe. YesYesYesYesYES. OF course, Renaku!" Wong starts dancing around, laughing like the maniac he is. "Wong. It is nothing to get that excited over." Givoanni says. "But it is, it is. You see? The sword sealed itself off, and those things," he motions to the lifeless humans standing in the corner, " don't have a soul, and Renaku does, and it will unseal the sword, and then we ..." Wong is cut off as Givoanni slaps him across the room. "Settle down Wong, your doing it again." Giovanni says as he walk over to Wong. " ... thanks, I needed that." Wong says, as he gets up off the floor. "Give me the sword, so I can go lock it in the lower level." Giovanni states. "Wait, help me clear all this junk out of here first. It won't be necessary anymore." Wong asks. Giovanni shrugs his massive shoulders and starts throwing things over the edge into the abyss. Ignoring Wong as he chuckels to himself, and mutters over his plans. --- In the tunnels. "Quite a trip down here isn't it, Renaku?" Nigel asks. "Renaku? Tsk, Tsk, that's what you get for trying to be all witty and clever. You could have just kept your mouth shut, then perhaps you would be conscious, dead boy." "Would have been a dull trip then, Nigel." Renaku manages to say. "True, but since your awake ..." Nigel trails off, and whacks Renaku again in the head. "Hey Nigel" A deep voice calls, "Wong's ready for him in the upper cavern, and I already stashed it." Giovanni reports. "Good. Is Marrigan in the central cavern?" Nigel asks. "No, she and David are doing something, fixing up Ferio, I think." Giovanni replies. "What happened to him? He's almost indestructible." Nigel asks slightly puzzled. "They tried to see if the demon-slayer was the 27th sword." Giovanni replies. "Ouch, bad?" Nigel asks. "He wasn't pretty." Giovanni says. "Hmm, Anyway. Take the rest of these demons, and use them to guard the lower level, just in case something happens." Nigel says. " I'm going to take sleeping beauty here to Wong." --- In Renaku's Mind. "This unconciousnesses is starting to get annoying." Renaku thinks. --- In the lower level. Behind a huge iron door, is the storehouse of the Blood Moon Society, so to speak. Since they never need money to acquire goods, or have any reason to store magical artifacts, (if they can't use and artifact, drain its magical energy, and discard it.) the storehouse is very rarely used. On the floor, in the dust are the huge tracks of Givoanni, from when he walked in, deposited the demon-slayer blade in a large iron trunk, and walked out. A small figure is suddenly in the store room. She wears a dark green cloak, but not much else can be seen in the dim light. She steps lightly over to the iron trunk and examines it briefly. The figure's pupiless white eyes glow briefly, and the heavy iron trunk falls cleanly apart, as if cut by an invisible knife. She picks up the sword, and puts it beneath her dark green cloak. The figure disappears, just as suddenly. All the sudden, the iron chest reforms, looking like it had not been touched, except that the locks lay open. Even the dust that the girl had disturbed with her feet, moves back into place. Not a trace. --- "And here we are. Hey, Wong your playtoy is here!" Nigel yells into the cavern. Wong appears out of one of the smaller caves and walks over to the entrance. Renaku lifts up his head to see what the fuss is about. "Good, you are awake. You remember Mr. Wong, don't you Renaku?" Nigel taunts. "I do, as a matter of fact. Shioryu Wong of the Feng Shui, brothers to the Fumu, and all around major pain." Renaku states. "Neyhehehe, My, My, My, I'm impressed, no ... honored that you remember our little sessions. I must have made quite the impression on you." Wong says. "Several in fact. Perhaps, one day I will return the favor." Renaku replies. "Neyhehehe. We shal see Renaku-san, we shal see." Wong says. He then takes a small package out of his coat, and begins to unwrap it. "But not today, I'm afraid." "And what is this, ground fire root to throw in my eyes?" Renaku asks. "Actually, no, but that's not a bad idea ... THIS really won't hurt a bit." Wong says as he blows the dust into Renaku's face. Renaku doesn't even get the chance to respond. As soon as the dust reaches him, his whole body becomes rigid, and a look of puzzlement is frozen on his face. The demons that were holding him release him, and he falls to the floor. "Well now. That worked better than I thought it would." Wong says. "What exactly did you do to him? Will he be alive and presentable to Lady Diana when she comes?" Nigel asks as Wong drags Renaku into the center of the cavern. "It's simple, my demonic vampire friend. I've frozen his body, so that I can freeze his soul." Wong states." It's the same trick that the Fumu use to enslave something. Freeze the body and soul, destroy the later, and put a enslaved soul into the former, and bingo, instant dark slave. BUT we can't quite do it like that, or that easily. He's a free vampire after all, a strong mind and soul in him, let me tell you, AND, more importantly, the demon-slayer sword is attuned to his soul. SO, keep the soul frozen, thaw the body, and BOOM, instant power conduit to the sword." Wong rattles off as he inscribes Renaku inside a rune of evil power. "Will he still be alive, AND presentable to Lady Diana when the time comes?" Nigel asks again, with more force. "Of course. All we have to do is thaw him out, so to speak." Wong replies. "In the meantime, our dear Renaku will allow us to create AND power bigger and better projects. Not as big and bad as we want them, mind you, but they will do for now." "At least until we can crack the crystal sphere. Then, even the power that we can get out of the demon-slayer blade will seem like a drop in the bucket." Nigel says, a sinister glimmer forming in his eyes. "Then we can truly spread the will of Lady Diana, like a fine layer of blood over the entire land." Wong says as he completes the rune. "Too bad the demon-slayer wasn't the missing 27th key." He says. "This little trick will also save Marrigan's cute little ass as well." He adds under his breath. He walks over to edge of the abyss, and looks down on the stone platform that floats in the center. Light from the crystal sphere on that platform reflects off of his glasses, as his eyes glow beneath them. "Then the true fun will begin." --- On the floating granite platform. If Wong would have been paying more attention, instead of nightdreaming on what he would do with the power of the stone, he might have seen a girl in a dark green cloak suddenly appear on the platform. The girl glides up the steps to the crystal sphere. Casting a disdainful eye at the dark runes of power, she steps into the ring of swords. The stone, and the crystal sphere have been steadily increasing their activity as she approaches. They are at a frenzied pace now. Waves of energy spill out of the sphere and flow down the steps and wash over the cloaked girl. Arcs of energy seem to lash out at the girl, and create a cocoon of energy around her. The girl doesn't seem to notice. She reaches the crystal sphere. It and the cocoon of energy merge together, allowing her to enter. The crystal sphere turns golden yellow. Inside, she removes the demon-slayer from her cloak, and touches the base of the blade to the stone. She closer her eyes for a moment, and concentrates. After a few seconds, the girl opens her eyes, and puts the blade back under her cloak. She runs her hand across the side of the stone, and a smile comes to her lips. She gives the stone a slight bow, and disappears. The stone and the crystal sphere resume their multi-colored exchange, if not a little more excitedly this time. --- Inside Renaku's mind, and it is not a tranquil place. He is still groggy from the beatings that Nigel gave him, not to mention whatever Wong poisoned him with. One good influx of energy would fix all of that, but that doesn't seem very likely now. "I'm never going to get to the Rylor Mountains at this rate." Renaku thinks, as he lays immobilized on the floor. "This reeks of irony, as well. For 60 years, I've been honing my body and mind, mastering the sword, and I'm going to die again, destroyed is probably more accurate, without even a fight." Renaku continues to think. "I guess Kanouseiko-sama was wrong. Even more irony there, The goddess of possibilities choosing the wrong one." Renaku thinks. "Stand." "I can't." Renaku thinks to himself. "Stand." "I can't, they immobilized my body!" Renaku thinks. "Stand. They have immobilized your body, but you have immobilized you mind. Free you mind, then free your body." "I can think about standing all I want. My body still won't stand." Renaku says. "Then don't think." "What?" Renaku asks. "Stand." "That's irrational!" he says. "Correct." "But ... " he tries to say, then he notices that all these thoughts don't seem to be his own. "Don't think. Stand." "Who are you?!" Renaku asks. "Who you are." "Kanouseiko-sama? Don't play games with me!" He yells into his mind. "I am you." "Me?" Renaku asks, getting really confused. "Irrational." "Irrational?" Renaku asks. "Stand." --- The upper cavern. Wong has added to the diagram that Renaku is lying in. It now covers a good deal of the cavern floor. "There, that should do it." Wong says with a exhausted sigh. "I forgot how much energy these runes take to make. But, no matter. In two or three days energy won't be as big of a problem." He glances at the center of the diagram one last time. No Renaku. He does a double take, "Where in the, how in the ...??" Wong stammers as he looks around. Renaku lands behind him, and Wong is almost bitten by him. Wong doesn't, however dodge Renaku's backhand, and he goes flying into the corridor outside the cave. Too weak to just fade out of reality, like he would normally in this situation, Wong takes off running. "Givoanni! Nigel! Marrigan! David, ANYONE! Renaku is loose!" Wong yells at the top of his lungs. Renaku, still not quite in his right mind, takes off in pursuit. The chase is on. --- The tunnel from the upper cavern to the lower ones is straight and fairly easy to follow, The lower ones aren't as easy. With his mind as clouded as it is, he lost Wong, and himself in short order. Around him he can hear Nigels's demons looking for him. This game of chase has turned into a game of hide-n-go seek. The irrational thoughts, as he has labeled them, aren't helping either. "Go left" "Why?" Renaku asks. "Why not?" "Because I don't know what's to the left!" Renaku answers back. "Neither do you to the right, or the front, or behind." "If I could think straight, then I might know what is around me!" Renaku yells back. "You always think too straight." "I want to think straight." Renaku says. "That is why you can't see." "See what?" Renaku asks. "Different ways of doing things." "What do you mean?" Renaku asks. "Your mind is still closed." "Give me a straight answer for once!" Renaku yells into his mind. "JUMP LEFT. NOW." --- In the central cavern. Wong runs into the cavern, completely out of breath. Nigel goes over to him while Martina sits there and watches with lifeless eyes. "Wong, what's the matter?" Nigel asks, heaving Wong to his feet. Wong pants for several seconds " Renaku *pant* ... escaped *wheeze*!" He finally manages to get out. "He WHAT!" Nigel Screams at Wong. "I *pant* don't know how he did it ... He's still in the middle tunnels, and he is still disoriented." Wong says. "Go get David and Lady Marrigan, and see if they have Ferio fixed up yet. Go!" Nigel orders, as he dashes out of the cavern. --- Renaku jumps left, narrowly avoiding the huge spiked hand of a demon. He also jumped cleanly into a deep vertical shaft. His momentum carries him across the shaft, where he lands roughly, 3 levels down. Across from him he sees Nigel, who has just finished summoning the ugliest demon he has seen in quite some time. "That was smooth." Renaku says to himself in particular. He scrambles to his feet, and runs for the nearest open passageway. On the other side of the tunnel is a long wooden catwalk leading to a floating platform. Nigel runs back into the cavern, with several demons in tow. "Where is Giovanni?" Nigel demands. "He is on the floating platform." Martina replies. "Of all the dumb luck...." Nigel says as the sadistic smile returns to his face. He sends his newly summoned demon onto the catwalk to block Renaku's retreat. --- Wong hurries through the tunnels leading to the middle caverns, where Lady Marrigan has taken up residence. He gets to the main cavern and finds the remains of Ferio laying on a long table. Battered, burnt, and not alive, by any definition. "She has angered me for the last time." Wong grates out. He reaches the door to her private chamber, and he blows it down. Storming inside, he catches the dark elf, and the High Priestess of Lady Diana, in, at the very least, a very awkward situation. Wong's eyes glow red. --- Renaku feels the irrational thoughts build in his mind once again, but stronger. Ahead of him, on the catwalk, he sees Giovanni approaching rapidly, and behind him, he can hear that 'thing' Nigel conjured up approaching as well. "Jump." Giovanni assumes some sort of Arc technique stance, in his current state of mind, Renaku can't place it exactly. "Jump." Renaku's irrational thoughts offer again. "What would that accomplish!? I can't think straight enough to fight, much less for flight!" Renaku thinks in response. "Jump." "No." "Into the abyss, it is your path to understanding." "No! It is a path of destruction!" Renaku yells aloud. Giovanni notices Renaku's indecision and inner struggle, and he moves in. Nigel's summoned monster acknowledges Giovanni's claim of target, and steps back. Unable to handle the strain, Renaku gives into the irrational thoughts. "Third times a charm." is Renaku only thought as Giovanni attacks. Renaku crouches low, and Giovanni's stroke passes harmlessly overhead. Like a tiger, Renaku springs foreword, and catches Giovanni's shoulders as he prepared to bring his sword down on Renaku's head. "No!" Nigel screams as both Giovanni and Renaku are catapulted into the abyss. He frantically tries to cast a dark net to catch them, but they disappear into the darkness. --- Freefall. Both combatants seem not to care, neither can seem to gain the upper hand. Gravity is winning. "Don't think for a second that I'm letting you go, vampire." Giovanni grinds out through clenched teeth. "We die together." "I ... I wish I could think straight for one second!" Renaku screams back over the rushing wind. --- "Don't think straight. Do." "I am trying to do!" Renaku yells back "You still think too narrow." "What do you mean? Tell Me!" Renaku asks back, growing really tired of these irrational thoughts. "You think, fight, and live by formulas." "Huh?" Renaku asks. "If this happens, do this, if that happens do that." "What do you mean?" Renaku asks again. "You think in terms of technique, and counter technique, not in terms of action and reaction." "That what a swordsmen strives to do is master the technique. What you say is irrational." Renaku counters "To you. Open you mind, and see past the technique, to how they work, and why you do something a certain way, and why your master taught them to you." "But ... " Renaku says. "Training and Technique are only used to hone natural ability. You do not use natural ability to hone training and technique. The Hive swarm technique uses the arms and the shoulders to deliver fast, precise, but relatively weak blows. The different stances help maximize movement in the arms and shoulders. The Asurion Tempered Steel Dragon stance maximizes the use of the powerful muscles in the back, torso and legs to deliver devastating blows. The Mandion Arc uses ..." "Enough!" Renaku screams. "Do you understand? There is a reason for the different stances, different styles. Open your mind and see the reasons. Do you understand?" "Is that what you mean by don't think straight?" Renaku asks, finally starting to understand. "Correct. Keep your mind open, so you can see the different options, the different reasons, see the causes of the effects, and vice versa." "Then mastery of the sword is not then just limited to the perfection of technique, but the interaction between body, mind, soul and sword?" Renaku asks. "Correct." "Then I have quite a ways to go to master the sword." Renaku states. "Correct. Do not limit opening your mind in just the matter of combat. It is the illustration that you understand best. Keep your mind open, Do not limit yourself to what has been done in the past, or what you or others consider rational." "Sometimes its good to be irrational?" Renaku asks. "Correct." "Irrational." Renaku says. "Irrational." --- Giovanni notices the change in Renaku's expression, and he makes a final attempt to break Renaku's neck. Renaku simply transforms into a bat, and slips from the Demonic Knights grasp. He slowly opens his wings to decelerate his rapid plunge. A short distance below him, he hears the meaty impact of demon knight on granite. Breathing a sight of relief, and inwardly thanking the gods, and whatever he had been having a conversation with. Renaku 'listens' around. (Bats 'see' by sonar, and what better way to look at a black, lightness crevasse than by sound?) He can not hear the opposite wall, or the bottom of this massive fissure. The near wall is jagged, and rough. It seems to be riddled with caves, and ledges. Below him, he can hear that the ledge that Giovanni landed on, is fairly large and level. He can also hear that the fall did not completely kill Giovanni. Renaku transforms back to his human form, and drops onto the rapidly regenerating form of Giovanni. Guided by sound, Renaku bites Giovanni on the neck. With a final scream, the lifeforce of the demonic knight is drained away. The body disintegrates soon afterwards, leaving Renaku revitalized, and alone in the dark, many seguael down from where he started his descent. --- Atop the fissure. Nigel is not happy. Cursing up a storm in the demonic tongue, he storms along the narrow pathway to the platform. Several summoned demons follow him. The crystal sphere and the stone seem to ignore them. They don't cease their exchange, and arcs of energy still play and dance on the crystal surface. Nigel doesn't have time to contemplate this as Wong materializes beside him. He spins to face Wong. "By Chaos, Wong. Where have you been?" Nigel demands. "Taking car of some unfinished businesses." He says. The air around Nigel briefly flares red. "How and why did he escape from you?" Nigel grates out. "I didn't exactly let him escape. He somehow unfroze his own body. That trick is impossible to do, but he did it." Wong says. "Yet he did." Nigel states. "Yet he did." Wong repeats. "Then he must have survived Giovanni and the fall into the abyss" Renaku states. "Then all we have to do is wait." Wong adds. "Then only exit is up here." "How can you be so sure the only exit is up here? This mountain is riddled with caves an passages." Nigel says "For well over 9000 years, My brothers, the Fumu searched the length and breadth of this fissure, looking for the 27th sword of Master Kaneuji Jinsume. No cave has been left unexplored, no crack, no stone, or wall has been left unchecked. Only the depths have not been fully checked." "And what about those depths, what if ..." "Then he is out of our reach. Period. The Fumu have limits, just as we all do, save the gods themselves and they found nothing. Whatever lays beyond those depth, will remain a mystery. Beyond those depths, nothing returns." Wong states. "We are still screwed regardless." Nigel says "When Lady Diana comes she will want to know where Renaku is. What do we tell her? That he's somewhere in the abyss? The energy from the demon-slayer we can do without, but if we loose the Lady's favor, then what?" All the sudden, Wong goes pale, and he slumps to the ground. "Wong? What the matter?" Nigel asks. "We are beyond screwed." Wong simply states. --- In the abyss. Renaku is searching through the cave, whos entrance he landed at, in hops of finding something he can use as a weapon. A rusty sword, a scrap of iron, a stalactite, anything. The armor that Giovanni wore disintegrated with his body, and his sword fell into the abyss when Renaku took them over the edge. He is alternating between his bat form, to navigate in the cave, and find possible areas of interest, and his human form to feel around for a weapon. Renaku had gone a good distance into cave, and he had found nothing suitable for a weapon. He was almost certain that these caves were not natural. The cobblestone section he found 2 'rooms' ago confirmed that. "It's like someone has swept these tunnels clean." Renaku thinks to himself. "I wish I knew the history of this place." Renaku transforms back into a bat, and flies around the next two bends, not even bothering to check the smooth sounding floors. Around the third bend, he actually sees something strange. A faint light fading in and out on the far wall of this long section of tunnel. He flies to the end of the tunnel, and sees that it makes a right angle turn right. Dancing green light seems to be pouring out of an archway in the center of this second hall. Renaku shifts to his human form, and slowly approaches the archway. He slowly peers around the archway, and lets out a gasp of surprise. In the middle of the room, sitting cross-legged on a stone, is a young girl, perhaps 14 or 15, playing with 3 fireflies. With her pointed ears, and delicate facial features, she looks very elven, but her large, pupilesses eyes don't match elven stock. She is dressed simply in a light colored shirt, and pants, and her long straight hair hangs down to the middle of her back. She looks up at Renaku as he appears in the doorway. "Please, come in and have a seat, There is someone that I would like for you to meet." The girl says in a soft, melodic voice. Renaku enters the room, cautiously, not sure what to expect. Once in the room, Renaku becomes aware of another presence. In the corner of the room, he sees an apparition of an elf, examining the real, his, demon-slayer blade. "Please, do not be alarmed, Neither of us mean you any harm. This is Master Kaneuji Jinsume, He forged your sword." The girl says before Renaku can even decide how to think about this. Renaku slowly walks over to the apparition of Master Kaneuji Jinsume, The Master continues to look over every detail of the sword, a proud smile shining on his spectral face. He finally notices Renaku, and he presents the sword to him with a few silent words. Renaku accepts the sword, and bows to the Master Swordsmith. "He says he is proud that it is his master work you bear. and that with this blade that only good may you fare." The girl says, giving voice to a long dead swordsmith. The specter gives a silent sight of relief, a slight bow to the girl, and fades from sight. Renaku turns to the girl. She stands up and soundlessly put on a dark cloak. "Who are ... "Renaku starts to say "Please, don't ask. You must finish your assigned task." the girl replies. "Task? Wait, are you the one who has been tormenting my thoughts?" Renaku asks. "No, and we must go." She says. She glides over to Renaku, and puts her hand on his arm. "What are you ..." Renaku starts. --- " ...doing?" Renaku finishes. Renaku finds himself in a dark and dusty storeroom of some sort. It is mostly empty, except for a large iron chest. "From here your path should be clear, and you will be on your own, I fear." The girl steps back, flashes Renaku a small smile and disappears. The dust once again moves back into its place, removing her footprints. Renaku stands there, and lets all this soak in. "astounding." He finally sums up. --- After some difficulty, Renaku gets the massive iron doors open, from the inside. He then carefully makes his way through the tunnels and passageways back to the central cavern. "Something is not right." Renaku muses aloud He has yet to see, hear or smell a demon. After a slight detour down the wrong tunnel, Renaku reaches the central cavern. He finds no demons, and no trace that the Blood Moon society even existed. Almost. In one corner, he finds Nigel's slave, Martina. "Where is Nigel" Renaku ask her. "Dead." She replies. "Dead? Who killed him?" Renaku asks back. "She did. She killed Wong as well. She is on the floating platform, waiting to talk to you." Martina answers. She then sits back down, and waits for the next command. Seeing no other choice, open minded or otherwise, Renaku walks out to the platform. Sitting on the steps, is a woman of exceptional beauty. Long black hair bound in a loose braid, with alabaster skin, and ice blue eyes that rival Renaku's. She is wearing an all black robe of a priestesses. On top of her head sits a crown. It is the slim onyx crown of a priestesses, Interwoven with the iron crown of a warrior, the whole thing a mockery of the crown of Luminance. The center gem is a single blood red ruby, exquisitely cut into a thin crescent. This is Lady Diana, Lady Moon's dark reflection. Renaku walks half the distance to the base of the stairs, kneels and awaits the lady to recognize him. The wait is not long. "You are Sadaku Nan Roane, Knight of the Moon, correct?" Diana asks. "Yes, My Lady. That was my name and title 30 years ago." Renaku says still kneeling. "Why did you abandon your name and title?" She asks. "Because, My lady, I felt it was not fitting for a vampire to claim such a title. I abandoned my name because I did not want to taint my family's name, or the reputation of the master who trained me." Renaku answers. "Drop the `My, Lady', or this will take forever." Diana says. "As you wish." Renaku says. "Do you know why you retained your memories, and personality when you were transformed into a vampire?" She asks. "No." Renaku replies. "Do you know why I had the `Blood Moon Society' bring you to me" She asks. "No." Renaku says. "Guess." Diana says. This takes Renaku by surprise. "How the heck am I supposed to read the mind of a goddess? Up till now, I've only met one, possibly two and Kanouseiko-sama was in a dream." Renaku thinks for a second. Renaku remembers all the things that the irrational thoughts had told him. "You wanted to see if Kanouseiko-sama was correct about me?" Renaku asks tentatively. "Partially, I wanted you to destroy the `Blood Moon Society' actually. Those power hungry heathens had no interest in preserving the balance that we have struck. You were well on your way to doing that, when they gave me reason to do it myself." Diana says. She is now standing in front of Renaku. "May I see you blade." Diana asks. Renaku presents it to her without hesitation, and she takes it. As she examines the sword, a small smile escapes from her perfect lips. "Such a elegant design, not over frivolous and ornate, as most dwarvish works usual are. An elf made this sword, am I correct?" "Yes, Master Kaneuji Jinsume forged this sword." Renaku replies. "As well as the crystal sphere that surrounds my stone. It has kept the Fumu from getting their grubby hands on it for 10,000 years. The skill that he put into the forging of both is impressive. Such a rare thing, a Master Elven swordsmith." Diana reaches down and stands him up, and then forces him to look into her eyes. Renaku is surprised to find that she is taller than he is. "The balance of power for this world is going to change, because forces from outside this world, like the Fumu, are disrupting the balance. As Luna, or Kanouseiko as you know her predicted, you will play a key roll in this slow processes. My sister Luma and I can't help you directly, but our other sister may, and perhaps already has aided you. By the way, NEVER even mention our other sister's existence anywhere near Luma. They don't get along." Diana says the last part in a quiet whisper. "What should I do now?" Renaku asks. "Keep doing what you are doing, go to the Rylor mountains. The odds are that you will find what needs to be done, or it will find you. If we need you, we can get in touch." Diana says. "Anything else?" Renaku asks. "No, that's all I need to say." Diana replies. "Then, Lady Diana, may I ask one favor from you?" Renaku says as he kneels. "What type of favor?" Diana asks back. "The woman named Martina, is there anything you can do for her?" Renaku asks. "I'm afraid not. The only I can do for her is end her existence, painlessly." Diana says. Renaku's shoulder sag. "Then please do. I cannot take her where I will be going, and she will starve down here." He replies. Lady Diana nods. Renaku stands, and bows low to her. He then walks out onto the catwalk, and out of sight. Lady Diana sits down on the steps "I wonder if it is fair to place the weight of the world on one man's shoulders, only time will tell." She asks no one in general. --- Renaku stops in the center cavern, and goes over to Martina. Martina lies there, truly lifeless now. Her expression exactly the same as before. Renaku wonders, is this truly what is in store for the world if he drops the ball. He picks her up, and begins the long journey back to the surface, the weight of the world on his shoulders. ______________________________________________________________ Vampire Legend R was created by Ben Overmyer. This episode was written by Coyote. Email c&c to: coyote@tomserver.phys.ttu.edu The mystery rhyming character is copyrighted by someone. 20 points if you can guess who she is.