Warning: This thing gets a little bloody. If you have a REALLY weak stomach or a really active and detailed imagination, read at your own risk. _________________________________________ A solitary traveler is seen on the path, alone in the moonlight. There is something unique about this traveler, besides his nocturnal trek. Looking at him you see that he is a warrior of some sort, a knight most likely, but there is something else, something in his presence that whispers 'don't mess with me' in your mind. It would be wise to listen to those silent whispers too, because he is a vampire, a strong vampire at that. He is a desperate vampire on a quest. A quest that will take him through the depths and heights of the Rylor Mountains, seeking a rare herb, of use in arcane magics, to concoct a balm that will allow him to venture out into the noon day sun. The lack of this herb, however is not the cause of his desperation, nor is it his inability to walk in the sun. He is desperately on this quest because ... he is bored out of his skull. It is a silly quest, yes, to shield a vampire from the midday sun would take a strong magic indeed, but he has nothing better to do at the moment. Besides the occasional monster, and desperate highwaymen, the whole country of Cantanalva had been very quite recently. He had already gone up against the major evils that had plagued Cantanalva, and rid the country of it, more or less. Short of killing off the entire population, there is no way to completely rid a country of strife or evil. But he did what he could, and from the current lack of activity, he did some amount of good. "Perhaps I should move on." The lone traveler muses to himself. "From what Jaeef said, Asurion might be a good place to go. It has always been a plagued land, with the dark land of Melegan so close ... Melegan." His thoughts trail off into his memories. Unpleasant Memories. ________________________ Vampire Legend R: The Fumu Coalition ________________________ A village is burning. People are burning, dying, screaming, yet the streets are barren. Or so it seems. The main gate lies broken and battered, the bodies of its defenders shattered, but no invaders can be seen. The village is destroyed. Outside of this decimated town, a group of shadows seem to coalesce. The darkness seems to grow. Within the darkness, Evil apparitions on shadowy steeds admire their handiwork. The shadows move on, back into Melegan. Nothing but destruction remains. These are the Fumu. --- A man in a dark cloak comes into the burning town. If anyone had been left alive by the Fumu, the stranger would have caused quite a stir. He has pale white skin, piercing ice blue eyes, stark white hair, hanging down below his shoulders and ebony plate armor, with silver trimmed gauntlets. At his side hangs a sword, no ornate carvings, no jewel encrusted hilt, just plain and functional, or so it seems. Upon closer inspection, the hilt is composed of a few elegant steel curves, that surround and encase an onyx core. Like the man who carries it, this sword has secrets of its own. The stranger is Renaku, the Vampire Knight, and he has come to this town to put an end to the Fumu Coalition. Like the two towns before, he is too late to do more than bear witnesses to the destruction caused by the Fumu. He picks his way through the remains of the gate, and enters the burning town. This is a dark time for Renaku, not only in terms of the events of the time, but of the state of his mind. He has been a vampire for 15 years, 15 very solitary years. He has no close friends, only acquaintances. The only people who know he is a vampire want him destroyed. 15 lonely years living as a parasite, killing others so he can live. Granted, he feeds on the parasites that plague humanity, but the very act of feeding upon another human being still repulses him to the core, no matter who it is. He can't stop feeding on people regardless of how he feels. If he doesn't feed, his bloodlust takes over, and when that happened, he does horrific things. Renaku searches the town for clues, or survivors, but he knows that he will find neither. The Fumu are not incompetent, they leave nothing but destruction behind them. An hour or so before dawn he leaves the devastated town, to seeks a place to rest for the day. Some distance from the main thoroughfare, Renaku finds a barn. Inside the barn, he selects a dark, dry section in the rafters to bed down, or upside down as the case may be. It is much easier to remain inconspicuous when you can transform into a bat, and hang from the ceiling. Granted, if given a choice, he would prefer a nice soft bed at a good Inn, but those are few and far between, especially ones that don't ask questions about their patron's sleeping habits ... Sleep does not come easy for a vampire, and lately it has become even more difficult for Renaku. He sleeps, yes, but not a blissful sleep, just a quasi-awake state, his mind and senses simply refuse to sleep. Somewhere below him, he can sense the livestock begin to stir and wake up. " I wonder who tends them." He thinks, "There was a cottage somewhere north of here." He could smell the remains of a cooking fire in the wind. In answer to his thoughts he hears someone approach. With the creak of old wood and the grinding of metal, they heave the barn door open. A woman, from the sounds of her movements. A young woman, by the sound of her sleepy curses as she shooes the cattle out of the barn. "She would make a good meal." comes from a dark corner of Renaku's mind. In response to that stray thought, Renaku can feel his bloodlust build, and try to take over, but he keeps it under control. It has been 13 years since he last killed an innocent, and damned if he is going to break that streak now. "If this were a bard's tale, I would have already seduced, and killed her by now ... and being pursued by her lover." He thinks. Funny. In almost every tale, myth, and historical account there's always a girl. Either the tragic hero's fiancée, a voptous king's daughter being preyed upon by some beast, forbidden, or lost love. There's always a woman. Either as an object of desire, reason for a quest, or a source of torment. He had broken up with his girlfriend 2 days before he died, so according to the stories, she should be tormenting, or being tormented by him, as she claims that either her love would free him, or had damned him to be a vampire. Of course, he is 'living' proof of just how inaccurate those stories can be, and, being truly honest with himself, though, he recalls that relationship went down in flames, hard. "That is the last time I date a fortune teller" he thinks with some amount of mirth. Can a vampire date? Funny. In 15 years, that though had never crossed his mind. After his transformation, he found that he was still attracted to women, But now it is more of just a mental attraction, rather than a physical attraction. something pretty to look at, someone to talk to, something he once desired. His bloodlust simply labels them 'meat'. He wonders if he will ever be able to love again, or be loved for that matter ... "Bah." he thinks. This isn't getting him any rest. He tunes out his noisy senses, and his noisy mind. He forces himself to get something resembling sleep. --- After dusk. During the day the weather had gotten worse. The wind has picked up as a storm from the Citnnaltaa ocean had swept inland, drenching the scorched land. Because of this, Renaku is forced to walk, instead of fly into Melegan, as he had planned. Bats don't fly well in heavy storms. 2 hours before midnight, he arrives at the pass of Semadartson, one of many passes into Melegan, and like the other passes, it is guarded. A 7 man garrison charged with the protection of this pass by the King of Asurion. Both incoming and outgoing travelers are to be stopped and questioned. The guards bar Renaku's progress immediately, they had seen this strange, solitary traveler from quite a distance away. One of them, who wears the insignia of captain, approaches Renaku slowly, with his right hand held palm out, a common sign of peace. "Doele Duna Gan'ha Nantiva Asurianam?" the Captain of the guards says. {Stranger (you) can speak Asurianam?} "Linite, gan'has ... ono duna, Nantiva Asurianam." Renaku replies slowly, "I speak Vantala easier. Do you?" { Little, (me) can bit speak Asurianam.} "Fluently." the Captain replies. "Otiagari." Renaku says. { Thank you and I'm relieved.} "State who you are, and why you are traveling at such and hour." The captain asks. "I am a hunter," Renaku replies, " on the trail of a horrible beast. Its trail is leading me into the valley of Melegan, which appears to be its home. If necessary, I will destroy this beast in its den." "I don't play verbal games, stranger. Why are you trying to cross into Melegan at this hour, 'hunting' whatever you say you are 'hunting'. " the captain says. "It should be quite obvious. I am hunting the Fumu." Renaku states. At the mention of the Fumu, all 7 of the guards are on their feet, weapons drawn. All pretense of courtesy and respect are dropped as well. "Speak freely, stranger, of your involvement with the Fumu dogs, because your life depends on it." The captain of the guards demands. The guards have encircled Renaku by this point, their scimitars drawn, and each guard easily assumes the 'Tempered Steel Dragon' fighting stance. Renaku knows of this ancient Asurion style of combat from his travels. Using this powerful technique, a novice can fell a tree in one blow, a master can bisect a pillar of stone. Against 2, possibly 3, he would have no trouble, because the 'Tempered Steel Dragon' style sacrifices attack speed for strength, but against 7, a full Dragon Flight, Renaku doubts that even his cursed strength and agility will guarantee a victory. "Several days ago, the Fumu attacked the town of Sertni'wuth, in the east where I had taken up temporary residence. Because of Unoeno the Shaman, who was able to give us fore-warning of their attack, we were able to route them, at a severe cost." Renaku explains. "Among the fallen Fumu, we found many men from a neiboring village. Unoeno found that they were being controlled by an outside force, their will and spirit had been destroyed. In addition, during the battle, I had seen many dark creatures, and several beings who's names are unspeakable. Their presence and the horror of what happened to the village of Minthias have given me all the reason I need to hunt down and destroy the Fumu. I ask you again, are you still baring me from my hunt?" Renaku adds, anger slowly creeping into his voice. "You say dark, foreboding words stranger, but without proof, they could be no more than wives tales, meant to scare small children, and green border guards. We are none of those." the captain replies, the he continues, "However, it would be foolish to ignore such dark news. Therefore, you will go, and tell these things to our King, in Asuri, and he will decide what is to be done. 3 of my men will escort you there." "As a prisoner?" Renaku asks. "No, as a guest." The Captain replies. "And if I refuse?" Renaku asks, anger rising. "You will be cut down where you stand." the Captain replies coldly. Renaku thinks about this for several seconds before he replies. "Asuri is several days travel from here. By then the Fumu's trail will be gone, and they will probably be prepared for another raid. I take no responsibility for what atrocities the Fumu will reign on your country, because of your ignorance." Renaku says, in an even colder tone. "Take his sword, and search him." the Captain orders. 2 of the guards advance on Renaku. As he turns to face them, his ice blue eyes begin to glow lightly, he drops his hand to the hilt of his sword. "Don't." Renaku warns, with inhuman malice in his voice. "Don't even think about it." This stops the 2 guards, but Renaku hears a signal being given behind him, a simple hand gesture. The sound of several scimitars ripping through the air he doesn't miss either. He doesn't miss many things with his supernatural senses. He sword is unsheathed in an instant, and he blocks the 2 scimitars being swung at him. Then he realizes his error. The high block he chose to parry the guards powerful strokes leaves his back completely exposed. He hears the low swoosh again of the incoming blows, and feels pain blossom in his legs, side and shoulder. He is overcome by that pain, and he drops to the ground. Oddly, the pain starts to subside, and he wonders why. "Duh." He thinks. The initial attack, the low swoosh. The attacks were carried out using the flat of the scimitars. If not for the bloodlust welling up inside of him, Renaku would be impressed by the skill of these swordsmen. All he sees next is red. --- When he finally regains control, he has just sunk his fangs into the neck of the last standing guard. Just in time to fully feel the horrid pleasure of sucking the life out of his victim. Half of his being is repulsed, and disgusted by the act, while the other half welcomes the inflow of new life energy. His bloodlust has been quieted, being satisfied by the 6 life forces it has eaten. He says a silent prayer for their souls, and then takes stock of the current situation. Around Renaku, are the drained bodies of 5 of the guards. Dropping his last victim, he notices that there are several large gashes in his armor, but the wounds have already healed. His cloak is tattered and shredded, and a good reelem long ( 2foot) lock of his hair is missing as well. His baggy pants are stained with blood, the guards and his. "I must look like hell." He muses. He looks around once more, but the 7th guard is not to be seen. Looking at the 6 fallen guards, he sets about his next grisly task. Going to the first body, which seems to have been dead the longest, he decapitates it with a swift swipe of his sword. Grimacing, he cuts open the guards ribcage to reveal the heart. Then, taking a sharpened stick from a pouch on his belt, he drives it through the heart. He does this to each body in turn. Now you may think this is cruel, and barbaric, but necessary. If someone is killed by a vampire bite, there is a slight chance that they will become a vampire too. Renaku does not know the exact circumstances, or criteria that cause a vampire's victim to become a vampire, but he makes certain that these guards will not share in his fate. He 'kills' the vampire before it has a chance to take control of the fallen body. A vampire can be killed by simply removing its head. No wooden stakes, garlic, or other such things required. (Long exposure to sunlight will also work.) The soul of the person that became the vampire, however, is trapped until the heart is destroyed. Mercy through cruelty, a contradiction in terms, from a vampire-knight, another contradiction in terms. "... face me monster." Renaku turns to the source of the challenge, he sees the Captain of the guards, severely wounded, but still very much alive, rise out of the underbrush. "Is it not enough that you kill, but must you defile the body too!? Die!" the Captain howls as he charges. Renaku blocks the man's reckless attack easily, and with a flick of his wrist disarms him of his scimitar. Continuing in the motion, Renaku sweeps the Captain off his feet with the flat of his blade. "Listen carefully." Renaku says, after lifting the man up to his eye level. " I do not take pleasure in decapitating bodies, piercing the heart or draining the life out of people. If I had not destroyed the bodies of your men, they could have become vampires as well. That is a fate worse than death, my fate." He sets the man on his feet, and backs away. "I did not wish this confrontation, but what is done, is done. I cannot change that. If you want revenge for their deaths, hunt my kind down and wipe us from existence." He pauses, then continues. "Never underestimate a vampire, be wary of the folk tales, and always aim for the head. Words to live by if you want to survive your vendetta." He sheathes his sword and melts into the darkness of the night. Renaku made an enemy that night, a bitter enemy. Perhaps you have heard of the famous warrior-priest Jouo Ban Trevant, who is credited with the destruction of over 300 vampires? But that is a story for someone else to tell. After that tragic encounter at the pass, Renaku descends into the dark valley of Melegan. The valley extends for 250 seguael (about 150 miles). It begins at Degirf, the inland sea, making a ragged north-south cut through the Northern Bartok mountains to the Citnnaltaa ocean. 30 seguael across at the widest point, this deep valley is in constant shadows for most of the year. Remote and rugged, the valley has been a haunt for the filth and vermin of Vantana for countless ages. That is why Renaku has come to Melegan, because of its dark reputation. Somewhere in the valley is the stronghold of the infamous Fumu. If you want to subdue a raging river, cut off it source, that is Renaku's reasoning. Renaku reaches the floor of the valley several hours after midnight. He did not sense anything living on the desolate rocky sides of the valley, but once inside the forest on the valley floor, his senses are filled with the presence of numerous wild creatures. They keep their distance from him, because they too can sense that he is not prey, but a dangerous hunter who is to be avoided. The humans in the forest, however, aren't as perceptive. Along the banks of one of the creeks that feed the river Melegan, he runs into a band of marauders, from the look of them, a gang is a more a ppropriate description. Renaku catches their sent first, and then hears their lookout hoot like an owl. Up ahead, several trees have 'fallen' in such a way as to steer any travelers onto a narrow path leading into the deep forest. "I've seen children conduct better ambushes." Renaku thinks, "Might as well play along and see what information I can get out of this group." He continues on the path, casually avoiding several pit traps, and a snare. He can hear someone silently curse each time he misses a trap. "A clearing. How predictable." Renaku thinks, "They should all leap out dramatically in 3 ... 2 ... " "Now!!" someone yells from the forest. Renaku casually stops, as a spiked log swings out in front of him, and sidesteps a moment later, allowing several arrows to zip harmlessly by. The bandits charge into the clearing, expecting to confront a dead and mangled corpse. They don't expect to see this strange traveler waiting for them. "Well, well, well. Look like we got a lucky one here, boys." The leader says, trying to regain some momentum. "Aren't you the picture of a tattered tourist. Bad haircut, horrible clothes ..." "Looks like he's been chewed up and spit out already, looks more like a bone to throw to the wolves to me." a gang member says. "At least he's not a skeleton, I hate the damned undead." another says. "Aren't they all?" replies another. "Well, Mr. Tourist, or Mr. Spy, or Mr. Bone, which are you?" the leader asks, " and how did you avoid all our traps?" "Neither. I'm looking for the Fumu, and your traps were quite obvious, and easy to avoide." Renaku replies. "Hey, the bone speaks, lets throw him a dog!" a gang member says. "I guess the dogs didn't want him." another says. "He musta been a bad bone." "A Fumu seeking bad bone ... something almost poetic about that ... Anyway, you don't need to travel all the way to the Fumu to find trouble. You've got plenty right here." The Leader says. "Now, we can do this two ways. You can either give up all your valuable, and you get to live, or we hack you up into little pieces and then we have to sort through your remains for said valuables. Guess which way is easiest on all of us?" "I prefer method 'c'." Renaku replies as he draws his sword. "You skip all this silly talk, you tell me where I can find the Fumu, you reset your silly traps and then you wait for a more suitable mark to walk into those traps." For emphasis, Renaku splits the spiked log lengthwise with a backhand swipe. "Or, as you said before, we can do this the hard way." "Hahahahah, listen to him! He must think he IS bad to the bone, talking like that." The leader whistles out a signal, and the rest of his gang comes into the clearing. "Ok, Mr. Bad Bone, if you insist on doing this the hard way, we will be more than happy to oblige you." The Leader draws his sword and drops into an attack posture. Renaku looks and listens. In front of him are 10 men, each with a sword, the leader and, he hears an archer notch an arrow in his bow, somewhere in the underbrush. To his right are 3 swordsmen, and a burly guy with an axe. To his left stands a guy with throwing daggers at the ready, a guy with a spear, and 3 more swordsmen. He can hear 3 more archers in the trees as well. Behind him, he hears 8 men. 2 of them have crossbows by the sound of it. Besides the leader, none of the gang seem to have any practiced melee skill. "23 swords, 4 archers, 2 crossbows, 1 spear, 1 axe, and several daggers. Your decently equipped, but you should learn how to use the weapons you wield." Renaku states as he readies his own stance. "The Mandion Arc technique will work well here." Renaku thinks to himself. "Care to test your skill, Bone?" The leader taunts. Renaku readies, and the leader advances. Suddenly Renaku reverses his grip on his sword and spins on his right foot. He neatly bisects the gang member that was attempting to stab him in the back. He hears the archer's release, and 4 arrows cut the air toward him. A quick step to the right, and 3 of the arrows miss their mark. The 4th, embeds itself harmlessly in the ground. The axeman plants his feet and swings at Renaku, who blocks the axe with his blade. The axes shaft is severed, and Renaku bashes the burly man with the pummel of his sword. His neck makes a sickening crack, and he falls lifeless to the forest floor. With his left hand he catches a thrown daggers, while he decapitates a surprised swordsman with his right. Spinning again on his right foot, He parries an attack by the swordsman on his right, and he catches the one on his left in the chest with the dagger, and then throws the swordsman into the charging spearmam. Renaku sidesteps again, narrowly avoiding a crossbow bolt. He throws the dagger at the other crossbow before he can fire and the dagger passes through the man's skull and embeds itself in the tree behind him, followed by a fine mist of blood. A group of 5 swordsmen charge Renaku, who in response, jumps straight up into the trees. He comes down beside the remaining crossbow, along with 3 dead archers. Renaku pivots on his left foot this time and disembowels him. He continues in that arc and decapitates another swordsman. With a burst of speed Renaku charges the 5 swordsman, he reverses his grip on his sword and spins on his left foot. The 5 fall dead. Renaku is gang tackled from behind by 4 swordsmen and the spearman. His spear doesn't penetrate Renaku's armor, however, and Renaku easily throws off the swordsman, killing 3 in midair. Renaku hears the sound of an arrow rip through the air, and he shifts his stance so that it bounces harmlessly off of his armor. He catches another thrown dagger and embeds it in the nearest swordsman. Advancing towards the leader Renaku decapitates yet another swordsman, disarms one, and bisects another in the same arc. The spearman charges Renaku, who grabs hold of the spear, and flings the man across the forest and into the dagger throwing guy. Renaku throws the spear, impaling the remaining archer. He then advances on the leader and the 6 swordsmen that hung back. He can see that the leader is stunned, unable to react. Renaku jumps foreword, and uses the Mandoin Arc technique one last time. 3 of the swordsmen fall, as Renaku stops his blade a hair's width from the leader's cheek. "Now, tell me where the Fumu are." Renaku says with no small amount of threat in his voice. The remaining swordsmen drop their swords and flee into the woods, the 18 seconds it took Renaku to devastate their ranks clearly shaking their resolve and courage. " A... Aaakkross t-tthe r-rrivvver ... ttthe oother ssiddde ... ttwo ddays ttravel nnortth... Ppplease ddont k-kill me..." the leader manages to stutter out. "What do you know about the fortresses itself?" Renaku asks. "Nnnnothing! Iiii've never ss-seen it ... ppeople ssay itts bbuilt iiinttto tthe sside of a cliff. I dddonnttt knnnow anyytting!" the leader wails. Renaku glares one last time at the former leader of the gang, and then clocks him up side the head, knocking him out. He then wipes his sword clean and sheaths it. Renaku glances around at the devastation and recalls the tragedy at the pass, and the vast difference in skill and organization of the 2 groups. He also recalls the difference in his performance. "It's amazing what a good meal can do." Renaku grimly thinks. He searches the area and soon finds the hideout that the gang had be using. Inside the hideout he finds the gangs substantial stash, but more importantly to him he finds several maps of the area, a good pair of pants to replace his blood stained ones, and a sturdy black cloak. Renaku spends several hours in the camp, restocking his supplies and mending his armor. 3 hours before sunrise, he leaves the camp to find a place to stay during the day. Somewhere upwind he can smell the fires of a forge, or foundry, and that means there is a town near by. "It would be too dangerous to stay at an inn, after all, I am in the dark valley of Melegan." Renaku thinks. "Yet another night sleeping as a bat..." He transforms into a bat and flies upwind to find and abandoned building. ___ High in a tree, a lone grackel sits. It has watched the events below with an un-birdlike interest. After Renaku leaves, it too takes to the air, and then heads for the opposite side of the valley. .... To Be Continued. __________________________________________________________________ Comments, complaints, critiques, or critisism? E-mail me at coyote@tomserver.phys.ttu.edu. I don't often sit down and write full stories, so feedback is really appreciated. __________________________________________________________________