Merry Christmas

Or rather, merry day after Christmas, since I spent all day playing Halo yesterday. Well, I didn't get a Christmas story done, or even started. Oh well.

Bio

This should give people an idea of where I was going with The Organization. For one, this bio actually ties in with the story, it's not something I did for fun. So they actually were being investigated.


Requested reports on living members of Organization, generation 193, post-mission codename “Malek”. Reports on dead members to follow when possible. As requested, intense magical examinations of location of final encounter have yielded a believable chain of events. Shortly before the deaths of eleven of the members, it is believed that “Malek” was wounded. However, as intended, Malek was able to eliminate most of the team as they started a final attack, by means of a large magical explosion. However, two of the team, “Xadian Night-Shade” and “Xeras Swift-Fang”, were able to deduce what was going to happen and managed to raise magical barriers in time to survive. Malek fled. The two awoke hours later, as the sun was rising. They performed what they call “The final rights”, a primitive magic that they use to dispose of the bodies. Unfortunate, as the scientists would have liked to have samples from the bodies. As expected, the weapons were taken as well. Thus concludes the report on the events taking place during the final encounter, following are the initially requested reports on the living members of this generation.

Xadian “Night-Shade”

Widely thought of as the most powerful member of the Organization in more than a hundred generations, Xadian is a vampire. He chose the name “Night-Shade” due to one of his abilities, which gives him more control over darkness than other vampires and even most other creatures. He is an accomplished swordsman, archer, and hand-to-hand fighter. His weapon is the Organization’s samurai sword, which is imbued with intense powers, the most notable of which is the intensification of shadows, which, when added to the subject’s current abilities in this field, makes him the most powerful shadow manipulator since the Ancient Rakir was defeated two thousand years ago. It is not known why he refuses to use these powers, which should have allowed him to defeat Malek easily. Other notable aspects are his eyes, which are pitch black and can hypnotize those who look into them. In addition to this, his strength and speed are greatly increased when compared to that of other vampires of his ability. As to his history, he was born one hundred years ago, and was bitten roughly eighty ago. Even before this he had been trained almost obsessively, to the point that the Organization members that trained him simply schooled him in the finer points of magic before allowing him to join, even going so far as to say that there was nothing left for them to teach him, and that he would last a hundred generations before falling in battle. Something that has become a little more possible in the light of recent events. Since his initiation he has trained countless members, none of which had a fraction of his power and, consequently, never lasted long.

Another interesting point is the rumors surrounding him, such as the thought that he has wings, and that he commands a legion of shadow beings.

He is considered extremely dangerous and should be eliminated as soon as possible.

Xeras “Swift-Fang”

Xadian’s second-in-command, Xeras an interesting specimen. His father was a vampire of little power, while his mother was a phantom, again of little power. Due to this, he is unhindered by contact with sunlight, but is restricted from the usual phantoms abilities. He is still able to turn invisible, and walks as silently as a regular phantom, but cannot manipulate energies to control temperature and his state of being. Despite this, he is quite powerful, and is able to use the phantom abilities of speed to greater effect than most full blooded phantoms. As such, he is the Organization’s lead scout. He is also one of the most proficient users of magic in this generation. His weapons are a pair of knives that enhance his magical abilities. Now for his history. He was born roughly seventy years ago, the source of his youth lies in lineage, his mixture of phantom and vampire blood allows him a very long life, but not immortality. His most notable abilities are his speed and great resistance to stress, which allow him to run at speeds nearing mach one. He has also been known to use his fangs to his advantage, biting almost cheerfully in battle, whereas other vampires are almost repulsed by the thought of this. He is considered highly dangerous, and should be eliminated as soon as possible. This should be difficult, as Xadian has a deep respect for the subject, and would die to protect him.

Kale “Straight-Arrow”

The youngest member of this generation, and the only human left, Kale is childish and immature. He is prone to rash decisions, and is quick to use a weapon when a calm word would suffice. But beneath this lies a cunning fighter, and a master archer. He started his training at the age of thirteen, and quickly became an outcast, having none of the abilities of the other recruits. He lacks ability with a sword, is not strong like the others, and has no powers. However, he soon gained respect through his cunning strategies, and his ability with a bow, which soon earned him the only long range weapon in the Organization’s arsenal, a bow with a silver string. The bow allows him to hit a target from more than a thousand feet away, and shoots several types of arrow, such as exploding arrows and fire arrows. He is considered a mild risk, and should be eliminated only if the chance provides itself.

Zane

All files pertaining to subject 1021, AKA Zane, are highly classified, and cannot be accessed by anyone without at least Level 4 clearance. This report has been given a red flag and will be investigated.

A few facts about The Organization. Xeras was originally going to be a werewolf. I have no idea where this vampire phantom hybrid idea came from. I also don't know why I'm calling werewolves lycans. These days I have a distinction between the two.
The Organization is inspired by Audience of One, by Rise Against.

This was the first story that Xadian Night-Shade was in. Xadian as a character got his start as Xadian Life-Stealer( At first Xadian Halo-Giver,  a name I am ashamed of. Which is weird, because I originally came up with Xadian Life-Staler for an online roleplay, and he wasn't named Halo-Giver.) in The Vampire War, I think. (The bastard gets around.)

The Organization

Since I haven't posted in a few weeks, and I'm not likely to post again for a while, I'm going to toss up an unfinished story. It's one of my favorites, because it was the first story that I ever used Xadian Night-Shade in. I'm also posting it because I've decided to use Xeras in Achievements of a Fallen Vampire. I'm also going to post a little bio that I did on several of the characters.

Thirteen black-clad figures rushed through the night, a regular occurrence for them and their organization. But more strangely for them was the number. There hadn’t been this many on the same mission in many years. There were only fifteen members at any one time, and that was the way it had been for as long as any of them could remember, and longer besides. But even so, it had been this collection of warriors that had been largely responsible for the continuation of life. They had been hunting demons and other creatures for as long as even the oldest being could remember. This particular generation was made up of several species, a mixture of humans, vampires, lycans, and phantoms. This particular mission was one of the most important ever, hence the number of participants. They were being led by one of the most powerful warriors to ever be sworn into the organization, one Xadian Night-Shade.

They had been chasing the thing for thirty miles. It was a particularly powerful Ancient, by the name of Malek. A strange creature, it had been silent for several millennia, almost since it was created. But that did nothing to diminish its abilities, such as being able to speed across the land at the speed of thought. This was one reason they were having such trouble catching it. The creature had suddenly gone on a rampage a few nights ago, which was why they were after it in the first place. It had killed mercilessly, causing the deaths of thousands in a few short hours. Then it had gone silent again. But they were after it none the less, to make sure it never happened again. They had been approaching it when it caught their scent, then it turned tail and ran. They had chased, moving with a speed and coordination that few could even hope to attain, scouts moving ahead of the rest, clearing obstacles and reporting the beast’s whereabouts. They finally picked up a good trail, one of the lycans catching the scent. They sent back a messenger and at about the same time came to a clearing in the forest they were traveling in. They melted into the shadows among the trees. They watched as the beast paced around the center. It was an ugly creature, four legs supporting a thick torso, sprouting from which were two arms. On top of it all was a head, shaped like a wolf’s, with an elongated snout. It had four eyes clustered above the snout which looked unsettlingly like those of a spider’s, nothing but black orbs, shining with intelligence. And sitting on it all, a set of humongous horns, with tips sharp as blades.

“Have you ever noticed they all have horns?” One of the scouts remarked. As he said this the rest of the soldiers arrived. The leader, Xadian, silenced the scout with a glance that would have sent Malek running. He gave a hand signal and they all drew their weapons, which differed as much as the owners did. No guns, for their greatest weapon was not a blade, but silence. They walked into the clearing, silent as the dead. Not that it made much difference. Malek was upon them in an instant.

They were best warriors in the world, and they showed it. Malek charged at them like a bull. Two of the warriors he was after rolled out of the way, a third vanished, and the fourth simply jumped as Malek ran underneath him. The warrior that had vanished reappeared with his sword already plunging towards Malek’s stomach. The blow connected, his sword stabbing deep, and Malek roared and the warrior vanished again as Malek’s fist slammed into the ground where he was standing. The rest were watching this with a detachedness that comes from surviving countless battles, wondering why so many of them had been sent. But Malek soon showed why, as with a complicated hand gesture the air in the clearing shimmered and burst into flame. Smoke was sent into the air as the grass caught fire and the leaves on the trees shriveled. The only areas unaffected by the heat were where the warriors were standing, where the air was crisp and cool, and the grass wasn’t even smoldering. The fire shrank and went out as Malek realized that it wouldn’t be that easy with this band of warriors. As the flame dropped so did the shields protecting them. In all this none of them had made a sound, silent as the grave. Xadian stepped forward, swinging his sword playfully. It was an amazing blade, with shadows dancing up and down the length so that it was more darkness than blade. But it gleamed none the less, the shadows surrounding the clearing leaping to and fro as it did so. With every step he took, the rest of the warriors moved as well, so synchronized that it was as though they were of one mind. Suddenly, with a particularly large flourish of his sword, Xadian leaped to the attack, the rest of them following.

They moved so quickly that all could be seen was their shadows, seeming to fly through the air. In an instant Malek seemed to be covered in shadows and gleaming blades flew through the air around him. This lasted barely a second before, as though from a signal, they all leapt away from the beast. Their blades had struck home, but Malek seemed unhurt, only madder. The only blow that seemed to have done anything was one of Xadian’s, but even this seemed barely a pin prick. Malek made another gesture and the clearing burst into flame again. Again, nothing happened to the warriors, whose shields protected them. But Malek held his hands high and a ten foot sword appeared in them. This he spun through the air in a display even Xadian had to admire. He ran through the clearing, despite it being in flames. He wielded the sword two handed, swinging in his hopes to hit something. But the smaller warriors ducked or, for the more powerful of them, parried before jumping away, their shields moving with them. But Xadian decided to end this, and called his team to his side with a hand gesture. A concerted effort and the flames that still surrounded them shivered and flew through the air to land on Malek, who started writhing before forcing the flames away from him. He swayed, unsteady, and tried to cast a spell. But his magic failed for a second. Which was all it took for the team of warriors to swarm him. They covered him as the air was churned by their blades. They spun and stabbed, their movements quick as the moonlight. This time they seemed to do more damage, and blood streamed from a dozen of Malek’s wounds. Again they spent barely a second before leaping away. Malek seemed stunned and they took advantage and surged forward in a wave of shadow. But as they were doing this, Xadian and his second-in-command, Xeras, noticed something the rest missed: Malek’s hand moving a complex gesture. The two barely had time to raise their shields before Malek completed the movement and the air around him exploded just as the shadows reached him. The explosion blew through the clearing and into the forest beyond, carrying the two and slamming them into the trees. Xadian fell to the ground and watched, while the world darkened, as his comrade’s bodies fell to the ground and Malek, with a glance towards them, disappeared into the forest. Xadian looked around for Xeras as the shadows crept closer, only allowing himself to black out as his eyes found his friend.

He woke several hours later, the first rays of sunlight falling on his eyelids. He immediately rolled into the shade, lest he become injured by the light. He glanced around for Xeras, finding him immediately. He was getting up, undisturbed the light falling on him. He was a strange creature, part phantom and part vampire. This allowed him to walk in sunlight but restricted him from most of the abilities that phantoms possess, such as heat manipulation and phase shifting. His form was sometimes blurry and he was fond of vanishing and hiding in dark rooms as a prank. Their eyes met and a connection was made. They looked away and Xadian sighed, this was the closest The Organization had come to complete annihilation in many generations. He had lost several friends and more than a few rivals tonight. Xadian spoke, his voice loud in the silence of the forest.

“Let’s perform the ceremonies and then get back home.” Xeras said nothing, just nodded. Xadian wove a shroud of shadow above his head and walked into the clearing. Together they performed the Final Rights. As the sun’s light strengthened the bodies would combust, leaving no remains. Even now, with just the first rays lying on the bodies, they were beginning to smolder. They took nothing from the bodies but the weapons; these would be kept for the next generations members, given according to skill and power. They stood in the shadows of the trees and watched as the first body started to glow and catch fire. They left as the rest began to follow suit. As they disappeared into the shadows the sound of burning bodies followed them.

Several hours later they were back at their home. It was a large building, made of a black metal that absorbed sunlight. A ring of stone statues made sure that not a single ray of sunlight touched the ground around the building. The statues were of a black stone, and were covered in red symbols, weaving a spell of ancient power. Hardly any still knew what the symbols meant, but just by looking at them you felt the power, and the intent. Only those who were of The Organization could enter, or else the symbols called powers that even the being who made them hardly dared to use. They also had the advantage of scaring away unsuspecting intruders.

As they entered the building they stopped and bowed to a disc of gold, an artifact that brought luck and peace, in return for respect. It was also another safeguard, protecting the building if the ring of statues was breached. They had learnt not to disrespect it when a foolish trainee had walked past it without so much as a glance. His screams of agony had remained in their minds long after his life had been extinguished. But nonetheless it was considered almost friendly and was treated by some of the members as a part of the organization. A few more childish members had actually taken to leaving trays of food in front of it. This had quickly been discouraged as it drew rats.

Past the disc was a hallway, lined with doors and ending in a large space which was used as a courtyard and training room. Through the doors were rooms where members and trainees slept. These varied according to the occupant’s tastes. All the rooms were well lit and windowless. These they bypassed, heading onto the courtyard. Here they stopped and looked over the training dummies and punching bags that lined one wall. On the far wall was another door. Arranged around the door were racks and hooks holding training swords and other weapons, although fully trained members would generally use their own weapons. Through the door was another hallway, also lined with doors, that ended with another large space, used for meetings and the occasional movie night.

They headed towards this space, knocking on two of the doors as they went, drawing the final two members out. They followed silently, already acknowledging the absence of the majority of the team. When they got there, they both started to speak, but Xadian silenced them.

“There has been a catastrophe.” He said.

“I knew it!” One of them, Kale, burst out. He was considered the baby of this generation, and for good reason, being just a pup in terms of time. He was only sixteen, having completed his training only a few months ago. As such he was prone to outbursts and fits of temper. But he was useful nonetheless, having a natural knack for swordsmanship and archery. He hadn’t been sent on the mission due to a bout of sickness.

“Kale.” The other, Zane, said quietly, silencing him with just that single word. He was a sort of enigma, being the most soft spoken and unsocial of the group. But he was one of the most useful members of the team, due to his unique species. He had been created in a lab, stitched together from vampire, lycan, and phantom DNA. As such no one knew what to call him, although one of the few reports found in the lab where he was created gave a brief mention of the reasons behind the experiment. The scientist had been trying to recreate an extinct species, and called him a specter. Also in the report was a brief walkthrough of the expected abilities. Zane would have all the powers of the species involved in his creation, none of the limitations, but unfortunately none of longevities involved. To fix this, when he became a full member of The Organization, he was given a choice of accepting the curse of the vampire or the lycan. Surprisingly, he chose to be bitten by a lycan, even though this meant that he wasn’t granted immortality, only longevity. His unique creation also made him the smartest of the group, so when he talked, they all listened. He had been unable to go on the mission as he was recovering from his last one, where he had been injured in a large explosion. They all decided to ignore the ironic similarities in the missions.

“Kale.” He repeated. He motioned for Xadian to continue. He nodded his thanks before speaking.

“Malek proved far more powerful than expected, and we are woefully weakened.” He said. “I fear we are the last members of this generation. Now, we have a choice, we can start the training process immediately, or we can go after the demon that did this, even though we are weak at the moment.”

Naturally, Kale was the first to speak, doing so with anger. “I say, we go after this fool ourselves.”

“I hate to say it, but that’s what I would say too.” Xadian admitted. Xeras simply nodded his assent. The three of them looked at Zane, even though they had the majority. He was silent a long minute, but he spoke wisely.

“I’m not sure.” He said, sounding as if he was still debating it. “We are a bit undermanned, but a large group didn’t work against this thing. So it’s entirely possible that a smaller team might. But, the sooner we start training new recruits, the sooner we’re back at full strength. And we’re the last of this generation, so if we die the world’s screwed.” Here he stopped, closing his eyes in thought. He did this often, sometimes even stopping in the middle of battle to think. It thoroughly creeped out everyone else, wondering what was going through his head. He stayed like this for a few minutes and the others were starting to wonder if he’d fallen asleep when he opened his eyes.

“We go.” Was all he said. Which would have decided it even if the others hadn’t already agreed.

They didn’t leave right away, as they always had training before a mission, unless it was of the utmost importance. They began in the usual manner, with a few minutes of meditation. This loosened their muscles and allowed them to concentrate more easily. This meditation was the first thing trainees learned, the members teaching them how to enter a relaxed state before they even talked to trainees about fighting. Xadian, despite his sorrow, entered his mind easily. As he did so, it was as though he were dead. His eyes were closed, and every muscle in his body was relaxed. His breathing lessened until he was almost not breathing at all. As all of this happened, he entered his mind and a state of complete calm fell over him. The others followed suit a little more slowly, the two younger members most of all, still being slightly unwilling to lose their ties to reality. Xadian, on the other hand, couldn’t wait.

Inside his head, Xadian was in a room. Pictures lined the walls, detailing his life from earliest memories to battles still fresh in his mind. As the pictures went back further and further, they faded into nothing. The room was sparsely decorated, with only a replica of his sword hanging above a door that led nowhere. It was similar with the furniture. Only a simple wood table surrounded by wooden chairs. The table served no purpose other than to support a vase of flowers and a picture in a frame, this time of his family, before time had taken their lives. He could barely stand to look at this, as it always brought memories of how he had had to watch as they grew old and died, forbidden from turning them into vampires by the Vampire Council, as punishment for standing against them during the Great War. He had given up trying to change the picture, it had never worked. Now he simply stared at it without seeing it, thinking, instead of the family he had lost today.

In his mind, Xeras was in a field of flowers. Talking with his sister, dead many years now. He had more control over his surroundings than Xadian, allowing him to view almost whatever he wanted. He watched his sister, even though he couldn’t hear her. This was one of the few things that he couldn’t change. And just like Xadian and his picture, this always saddened him. Just like Xadian, he had been punished by the Vampire Council for standing against them in the war. His punishment had been more immediate though. All they had done to him was kill his family.

In Kale’s mind, there was little to be sad about. In keeping with his age, he was in a playground, although he was slightly younger, only a small boy. He was playing with his friends, all of which he would never see again. They were not dead, those that he knew of at least. He was merely forbidden to see them. He had been turned in the last part of the Great War, and stood against the Council with the rest of them. However, due to his age and the minor role he had played, his punishment was extremely light. Even so, he was slightly saddened by the sight of his friends, and the knowledge that they no longer even remembered him. The Council had wiped their minds, ensuring that none could remember him and his deeds. Now, the only time he could see them was during meditation, and even then no one was able to speak to him.

Inside Zane’s mind, dark images flashed like lightning, appearing and vanishing at such a speed that only Zane would have been able to make sense of them. Spectators could, however, at least see a brief image. In one, there was part of a lab visible, lined with rows of fiendish devices, designed to inflict pain. In another, there was a computer, with lines of print visible, but before one could begin to read, it was gone. In others, there were views of cages, some occupied but most empty. In another there was a view of a room, covered in blood and in the center, a guillotine. This was where the “failed” experiments were executed. It was also where Zane had made his great escape, using his newly found powers to kill the scientist who had created him, and in the process killing all of the other experiments. Then there was a view of the Organization’s headquarters, Zane’s first sight of it in fact. There followed a montage of his training, and then of his missions, leading up to that moment.

As they returned to reality, gasps could be heard as their breathing returned to normal. This didn’t distract them though, and they continued their training as usual. Xadian sparred with Xeras, as always. This left Zane and Kale on their own. It was strange training without the others, and they stopped early. They each went to their room, preparing for what could be their last mission.

Writing

Postponing the next chapter of Fallen Vampire. Have to figure where I'm going from here and I'm working on a story with Okeana. Going to be my first first person narrative. Might even go back and rewrite parts of Tournament of the Clans.

Fallen Vampire: Part Three

A few days my ass. Really dropped that ball.

Part Three: Necromancy

Three shadows crept through the forest. Xadian had contacted a friend of his who happened to be in a neighboring village, by the name of Vapula. Xadian himself knew much of necromancy, but Vapula was wise in all things, necromancy included. He was not very skilled in fighting, but he knew how to kill Shades better than Xadian did. After Vap and Berith had been introduced they had set off. Xadian alone would have been able to track the Shade, but Vapula quickly showed his skills when he picked up an older trail that it had used. As they followed the trail, they were taken into a forest. Following the signs, such as broken limbs and lingering patches of darkness, they grew near to the Shade's origin. Finally, they reached a cave.

It was pitch black, and moisture dripped from the roof off the cave. Several times the three of them tripped over small stones. But, as they went deeper into the cave, it got easier to see. Finally, they got a glimpse of a light.

They drew closer to the light, and saw that it came from a ring of torches. Inside were two circles with stars in them, both drawn in blood. The pentacles that the necromancer would cast his black magic from. Inside one was a figure, the necromancer himself. In the other, was the Shade.

According to the plan they had made, Xadian and Vap walked straight into the ring of torches, while Berith stood by, charging his sword's attack. The necromancer took notice immediately, and with a swipe of his hand wiped away part of the pentacle surrounding the Shade. This released the monster, allowing it to walk out towards Xadian and Vapula, who for their part simply stopped and drew their swords. Xadian attacked the necromancer while Vapula took on the Shade.

Xadian and the necromancer clashed swords. The necromancer quickly showed that he was inept at fighting, and was on his back in a matter of seconds. Vap, on the other hand, had more trouble with the Shade. Even missing an arm it was formidable. Vap had quickly dispelled its black cloud and was dodging blows by a hair at a time. Left, right, then right again. Then the Shade kicked him to the ground, something Shades didn’t usually do. As he scrambled to his feet, the Shade was scrambling to help its master. Xadian turned at Berith's shout and ducked the first blow. Normally he'd grab its arm and execute a brutal take down, but contact with a Shade was deadly. So, he hooked his sword behind its head and pulled it to the ground by its skull. Not an easy feat, toppling a Shade. As the two struggled the necromancer got to his feet. He stood with outstretched arms, and the cave suddenly got crowded. The stones that the three of them had kept tripping over were actually tombstones, and the cave a huge graveyard. As the necromancer exerted his will over the dead, the dirt floor of the cave was clawed apart by dozens of reanimated corpses. As they struggled to gain their footing, Berith looked on in horror. But, the necromancer had raised them without a pentacle and was not safe himself. So he ran farther into the cave, leaving the Shade and Xadian, Vapula, and Berith to deal with the zombies and each other. Xadian was still preoccupied with the Shade, so Vapula went to work rekilling the undead foes. Berith, meanwhile, went after the necromancer.

As Berith disappeared into the darkness, Vapula cut a zombie in two and sent another straight back to death. He was a very accomplished necromancer himself, and could easily dispel parts of the necromancers magic. Meanwhile, Xadian's sword and the Shade's wrist blade met with a ringing sound. As they engaged in battle, it was clear that Xadian was slowly gaining the upper hand. The Shade was stronger by far, but Xadian was the more agile and better trained of the two. He ducked behind the monster. In the time it took the Shade to turn around, Xadian had kicked its legs out from under it, and slammed his sword, hilt first, into the back of its head. A blow that should have killed any mortal creature didn’t even faze this thing. It simply got back to its feet and swung again.

As Xadian was fighting his foe, Vapula was having fun playing with the undead. He had, converted, several of his foes to his own side. The necromancer was good at his art, but Vap was a master. He had studied magic for all of his vampiric life, in the same way that Xadian had devoted his life to training, except with more explosions and fire. Which he exhibited with ease, blowing a clump of zombies to pieces. Just then, the Shade and the zombies stopped for a second, as if the necromancer was distracted. Then they attacked with new speed.

Xadian was almost overwhelmed in an instant. The Shade had attacked with blinding agility and stabbed him in the shoulder. He slid himself off, quickly, before the Shade could steal his lifeforce. Then he ducked a swipe, and straight punched it in the chest, throwing it back a step.

He thought while fighting, trying to come up with a way to kill something that couldn’t be stabbed, crushed, or even winded. Just then, the Shade grabbed his sword, and pulled it out of his grasp.

Xadian was grabbed, and thrown to the ground. His vision blurred with the force of hitting the ground. The Shade readied the killing blow. It struck.

Xadian wondered why he had time to flinch. Then he wondered why he wasn’t dead. Then he looked at the Shade's sword, which had stopped an inch from his face. He rolled away then got to his feet shakily. He looked farther into the cave. At the same time as the Shade had froze, the zombies, which had been piled on top of Vapula, were all dead again. Berith must have killed the necromancer. Xadian went to help Vap, who was struggling to remove himself from under the pile of bodies. Berith walked up as they were walking towards the Shade. His sword still had blood on it, despite his ongoing efforts to clean it.

“No graves farther in, he dug his own when he tried to fight there.” Berith reported.

“And it still took you that long?” Xadian.

“Hey, I had to catch him first.”

They looked at the Shade. Vap stepped forward to return its soul to the afterlife. Xadian stopped him.

“How do I do it?” He asked.

“You touch its head and speak the words.”

Xadian stepped closer to the Shade, with his friend's soul still inside. He touched it's forehead with two fingers.

“Return to peace, Alric.”

The lightning went from its eyes, and it dropped knees. As its head touched the ground, its bones turned to dust. The Shade was no more.

The three of them walked to the mouth of the cave. They had dug a mass grave for all the bodies, even taking the time to collect the dust from the Shade. They started walking. The journey across the forest was uneventful. As they crossed from the forest into the countryside, the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon. In the time it had taken the three to find the cave and vanquish the necromancer, night had passed. The sun rose as they watched the new day start.

Posting

I know it's been a while since I last posted. I'm not giving up on this thing, I'm just going through a bit of writers block at the moment. I've had the third part of Fallen Vampire done for a week and just haven't felt like going through the whole autoformatting/reformatting process. Hopefully sometime tomorrow.

School

Just found out I'm not going to be going to school for a semester. Not something I decided, but I'm ok with it. I'd been leaning towards taking a semester off, but probably wouldn't have made the decision myself. So I'm kind of glad that they made the decision without me. This will probably free me up to do more writing, like I haven't already. And, it'll give me time to straighten out my circadian rythym dysfunction, which has gotten pretty bad lately, hence the posts dating from anywhere fom 2 am to 6 am.

Achievements of a Fallen Vampire: The Shade

Second installment of Achievements of a Fallen Vampire. Expect the next installment, Part Three: Necromancy, in a few days.

Xadian stood by, puzzled. Berith was a Fallen Vampire, and therefore should not be able to use his powers. As he opened his mouth to inquire Berith held up his sword.

“This sword was given to me by a very dear friend. It once belonged to Sade Star-Light.”

This made sense. Sade Star-Light was a very powerful vampire known for imbuing her weapons with her power using magic. It was sort of irrelevant for powerful vampires to do so as they were usually lords, and the position of a lord came with its own special weapon, which was also imbued with power. Although looking back Xadian regretted not doing so himself and hiding the weapon.

They looked around, surveying the street, which was littered with bodies. A bit of dust swirled between them, left over from the bandits who had been disintegrated. They looked at each other. Then they started walking.

Part Two: The Shade

Another two years passed. Xadian still journeyed with Berith. They had had many adventures. They had made friends and enemies. They never stopped traveling. Then came the day of the shade.

They were spending the night in a village by the name of Reth, after a long day of walking. They had booked rooms in an inn for the night, and were already in bed. As Fallen they had some resistance to the sun, a leeway of an hour or so. But they still adhered to the rituals of full vampires and slept during the day and woke at sunset. Then, as the sun was setting and a few minutes before they would normally have woken, they were woken by shouts from the streets. Berith yelled from his room and asked Xadian if he could look out the window in his own.

As he did so he took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the light. When they had, he looked on a scene of horror. Buildings that had hours earlier stood tall were now strewn across the streets, torn down by something of extreme strength. Dozens of bodies littered the streets, in various states of mutilation. It appeared that something had torn through mere moments before.

Fallen Vampire

Second installment of Achievements of a Fallen Vampire is done, but I don't fell like messing with the damn auto format right now. At the moment, if I copy and paste it on here, half of it is two font sizes smaller than the rest, and there's still the issue of the spacing. Damn spacing. So, I will probably put it up tomorrow.

Achievements of a Fallen Vampire: Part One

The first few pages of Achievements of a Fallen Vampire. I decided to realease it in installments.

Achievements of a Fallen Vampire

Xadian stood within the ring of thrones and pedestals, each throne occupied by one of his fellow Lords, save one. His own. The Vampire Council. The rulers of the known lands. The all powerful overseers who ran the day to day lives of so many. His former friends.

The High King, Arcanus Fang-Master spoke.

“Xadian Night-Shade, we are here today to state your sentence. We,as the Vampire High Council, find you guilty of treason against vampires as a race. You are hereby banished from vampire society. You will be stripped of all rank, titles, and powers. You will live out the rest of your days as a Fallen Vampire, with nothing but the clothes on your back and a Fallen Sword. Guards, remove him.”

Many of his former friends on the Council looked uneasy or guilty as the King spoke. One in particular, Azanami of the Blue Fire, his own mentor, looked ready to stand and protest. But the decision was absolute. The guards grabbed Xadian's arms from behind, and led him away, into the shadows he once controlled and called friends.

Fallen Vampire Bio

A short bio I wrote up five minutes ago as a test for a story I'm going to be writing soon. It wil be set in, as the bio notes, a completely new world for me. I think it's a bit of a detour from the usual Xadian Night-Shade. Being a Fallen Vampire actually kind of suits him, I think. A wampir, by the way, is what I'm calling fallen vampires, since without their powers they are technically a new race. Basically half a vampire. I'm intentionally leaving it short, because I want the world to be fresh and clean when I start.

Xadian Night-Shade (Fallen Vampire)

Type: Theoretical Character

Race: Wampir

Rank: None, formerly a Lord.

Title: None, formerly Lord of Absolute Darkness

First Appearance: None yet, soon though.

Ability/Abilities: None, he was stripped of his control over shadows when he was banished from the Council.

Weapons: A plain sword, which he was given after he was banished.

Age: 312

Description: 5'10, black hair that hangs down to his shoulders, medium build. Cold, blue eyes.

Notable Battles: None yet.

Background: An experimental character that hails from a completely new world of mine, a darker place where an omnipotent and faceless Vampire Council rules over the world. The vampires enjoy a seat of power over other races, with the exception of the werewolves, who rule the northern wastes, a frigid tundra where nothing grows. I got the idea for this from a manga called Record of a Fallen Vampire. I have yet to actually read any of it, but the description gave me ideas...

Xadian enjoyed a lofty and powerful position on the Vampire Council, before he opposed a decision that would have benefited the vampires as a race, but at severe cost to the humans and other races. As a result, he was stripped of his position and powers, his forehead was branded with the mark of fallen vampires, and he was cast away, with nothing but his clothes and a sword. But are his powers really gone? He will find out as he attempts to survive in a world that hates him, set against by the Council at every turn. Can he survive as the Council attempts to make survival impossible, and can he exact revenge on those who cast him away? And is everything as it seems in this world?

Pronunciation

I've been hearing from friends and family that some of my character names are hard to pronounce for a while. So from now on, if a characters name is hard to pronounce, I'll say how to pronounce it, either in their bio or right there in the post, if I think it's that important. I will say right now, since he's the one I hear about the most, Xadian is pronounced Zay-Dee-Enn. I've had a couple people try to pronounce it Ex-Zay-Dee-Enn.

Found it. And Xadian Life-Stealer Bio.

Was watching Howl's Moving Castle yesterday, and realized Howl looked alot like what I envisioned Xadian Life-Stealer looks like. I've been trying to find a good image for this character since I came up with him. He's actually version 1.0 of Xadian Night-Shade. They're kind of the same character, in a way.

I could not believe how much they look alike. Posting the Bio for him too.

Slender Man Origin Story

One of the things that confuses me the most about Slender Man is, there are very few origin stories for him. I've read maybe two, in all the hours of research I did on him. So, I came up with my own that explains alot of his abilities.

Haven't posted in a few days. Well, here are a few Bios for you all. And yes, I know that at this point no one is reading.

Also edited Tournament of the Clans so that it doesn't take up so much space.

Crow Shade-Slayer

Crow Shade-Slayer (Main Stream)

Xadian Night-Shade

Xadian Night-Shade (Main Stream)

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me... Screw that, the whole sixteen thing's depressing. I thought I'd have done something big by now. But hey, I managed to finish a story in time for my birthday, and this cheered me up too.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4523596/1/Kingdom_Hearts_The_Short_and_Honest_Version

+ five to angsty poetry for the win.

Now if only my birthday didn't fall on a tuesday. I'm in a homeschool group, and only have one school day a week. I'd just take the day off, but that would be the third one in a row. Meh.

Tournament of the Clans

I am HATING this auto format thing, its tripling everytime I hit enter on the original document. I'm leaving it alone for the moment but if anyone knows how to change the auto format please tell me. With that, onto the story.

Five hundred feet below London, a large cavern exists. Accessible only by two tunnels, the entrances to which are extremely well hidden, this cavern contains a small village. In this village lives a small handful of caretakers, which spend their days cleaning and seeing to the upkeep of the cavern. Also in this cavern are several large buildings, each with a separate purpose. There is a building for meetings of war, a building for negotiations between clans, and a building used only once every year. This building, known as the Stadium, is used for the yearly Tournament of the Clans.

First

I've started this blog so that I have somewhere to put my stories and other works when I finish them. Somewhere I can get a bit of feedback. So far the extent of people that I know have read my stories is less than five. At the moment, I'm not liking the design of this blog, so it's not going to be the final version. I might even have to change to a different service or make a website myself to get it the way I want.

I've been writing for about three years now, although I've been coming up with stories most of my life. The main reason I've started this blog now, when I've been writing for three years is because I've just now finally finished a story. I don't finish them often but its supposed to get easier after the first one. Another reason I'm starting this now is tomorrow's the sixteenth eve of my birthday, and I wanted to give myself a birthday present. If you want to know more about me, head to my profile. My next post, in about ten minutes, is going to be the story I finished. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's the first draft.

I'm also going to be posting little bio's about my characters. I started doing these about three months ago when I decided I have too many characters to keep track of. So, I started a project I call the Master Compendium, which is supposed to be a project to document the backstory and basic information about every character I've ever used in or out of a story. A very lofty goal indeed.

So now, a bit about my stories. My main character is a vampire called Xadian Night-Shade, hence the name of this blog. I write mainly about vampires, and other supernatural creatures. I've recently started writing using Slender Man, so if you're going to be a common reader you should probably go find out exactly who he is. I reccomend it, he's the first thing to make me scared to go to sleep at night since I watched Rose Red. Plus he's got so much backstory, which is something I really like. I have an EXTREMELY large project planned for him in the not-so-distant future. There's usually quite a bit of backstory that doesn't somehow make it into the stories, so I'm also going to post little commentaries about each story, if there's something that I think I need to add. I also reccomend reading the bio's, they give you alot of extra backstory that you won't find anywhere else.

Something I think I need to make clear. I am VERY protective of my stories. If you want to send them to someone, please just send them a link to this blog. Trust me, if I find these stories somewhere I didn't put them, I am going to take action. If you absolutely have to take a story and put it somewhere else, ask first. I might actually let you, so long as you give me the credit for the story and put up a link to this blog so people can find more. Also, don't change the goddamn story. Don't make it shorter, don't change a single word of it. And don't put it somewhere, and then send me a link to it saying "heads up". I will come for you. ASK first. Also, if you feel like being a good person and find a story on some website that you think doesn't have permission, send me a link, I'll check it.

So on that note, if you see something you like, leave a comment, or even better, send me an email. I, like many writers, thrive on feedback. And if you didn't like it, tell me why instead of just yelling "DIS SUKS". I know I'm not the best, but I'm trying to get better.

I'm kind of interested in collaborative efforts. If you have something you'd like me to work on, a story idea or something like that, send it to me and I'll see what I can do. I promise I won't steal it. I'd also like to see what people can do with my stories. If you're good at animating and get inspired, I'd love to see what you do. Same with drawings and artwork.

Sooo, meh. I'm bad at endings.