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Post by Behax on Nov 17, 2018 16:13:32 GMT
Lucien's rage didn't subside, but it wasn't truly being directed at Victor. The poor man was simply there to witness it. He didn't seem surprised by Victor's story either. "Walter D'Glace is a man of cruel intents. It was often a game to him to seduce and turn men or women, and then abandon them to their new lives. Often he would watch from a distance as they stumbled and fell. It was a game to him to see how long his Newlings would last......" However Lucien had the feeling that Walter's machinations with Victor were a little more insidious.
Sympathy crossed Lucien's features when Victor continued his story. He slowly crossed the room, back to where victor stood. He reached out to cup the side of Victor's face, gentle despite his clear anger. "I am sorry Lord Dardariel, but there is no cure to vampirism. To become as you are....Your mortality has died and been replaced with something else....There is no going back." Lucien was not going to lie to this poor man, he wasn't going to give him hope where there was none. He then pulled away and exited the room.
He didn't immediately leave the house though. Instead he followed a path through the halls that was familiar to him. Soon someong to an ornate looking door. It had been busted open, but Lucien pushed the broken door aside, entering what had at one time, been a grand master bedroom, not is as much disarray, if not more so than the rest of the house. This particular room looked like it had been routed through quite thoroughly and with little regard for it's contense.
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Post by Grimm on Nov 17, 2018 17:44:17 GMT
So he was only being toyed with by that man, that news made him only more depressed. He looked into Lucien’s eyes when the Hunter cupped his face and given the terrible news that there was no going back. It devastated Victor. That heart he wore on his sleeve stopped beating once again. Lucien was like the winter wind when he stepped past him, leaving Victor with nothing but despair. For some time he stood there, pulling the cloak tightly around him. It felt like he was being swallowed by nothing, an eternity of pitiful existence. He regained his composure and left the horror of the room behind. It was easy to find Lucien, he could follow the scent, he reeked of lilies. But it was a small blessing, the house in this damp air must have smelled of mold and decay.
Victor was about to enter the bedroom when he realized that it was just that and decided against it. It felt awkward to violate Lucien's privacy, so he stayed outside in the hallway trying to distract himself for now with the artwork along the walls. It was a skill he was particularly good at. Victor could keep himself from crumbling for now, he could wait until he got to the privacy of his own home to expel the demons that swelled in his chest. For now, he would just have to pretend that everything was okay and that his world hadn’t completely fallen apart.
But it had hadn’t it? No amount of inspection of the artist brush technique could distract him at how fast his reality had come crashing down. But so had Lucien’s. How long had he been asleep? This place had been abandoned long before he was ever born. To wake up one day to find that the people you loved, the place you cared about in ruins.
At least Victor had a home….for now. One day it would be reduced to this, there would be no stopping the march of time.
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Post by Behax on Nov 17, 2018 21:01:58 GMT
Lucien looked about the room in disarray, at how it had been torn through. It was clear the fight hadn't dragged through here, no someone had destroyed this room while looking for something. When he stepped forwards he heard glass crush under his boot, and looked down to see a picture frame, he picked it up. Staring briefly at a beautiful drawing of his own face before throwing it across the room in unspent anger. Victor would of heard the crash from the hall. In his own heart he swore that Walter would pay for this.
He walked to the wardrobe, with most of its contents spilled across the floor. He tore the soaked shirt from his back, and soon replaced it. It was some time before he stepped out of the room, now dressed like the man he was supposed to be. A lord, and a hunter of monsters. His two swords were now properly sheathed, though he still carried the sword in one hand, and under his other arm a rectangular object wrapped in cloth that Victor could probably guess was a painting.
"Let's go," he said simply as he walked past Victor. He was about to descend the stairs, when another open door caught his attention. It looked like it had large claw marks going across it. Lucien walked over to inspect it. putting the wrapped painting down, but using his sword to nudge the door open and peer inside, though he doubted anyone was still here. This room had been destroyed as well, but in a completely different manner to the last. Everything was torn up, as if by a rampaging beast. There were blood splatters to, and to anyone with a keen eye, scatterings of what looked to be thick grey fur. There were manacles hanging from the far wall above the bed too. Lucien surveyed the destruction in silence before leaving the room. He picked up the painting again, and then made to leave the house.
Victor might observe that the clawed door had the name 'Luka' inscribed on a plaque.
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Post by Grimm on Nov 18, 2018 4:20:33 GMT
Victor flinched when the glass shattered in the other room. He listened for signs of fighting before he guessed it had either been a reaction of anger and frustration or Lucien had made a careless move. He milled about in the hallway until Lucien emerged, now dressed as a proper hunter, at least what Victor saw in the illustrations of Lucien’s legend.
He followed behind Lucien quietly, observing the odd manner of room decor but still, he remained quiet until they were just about to leave the house. The rain had died down to a drizzle, but the wind and thunder continue to throw their tantrum. “I have a horse in the stables, or did…” Victor tried to be helpful but he wasn’t exactly sure if the beast would still be there now or not. Being helpful was also a way to keep his mind off the questions haunting him.
What happened to a vampire when they were killed? And if vampire’s existed did that mean everything else was relatively true? Werewolves, demons….was heaven and hell a real place? Victor had been a hard skeptic when it came to the supernatural wonders. God, whichever one it was, must have a cruel sense of humour. He was terrified over such a stupid thing. He wanted to be angry and throw a tantrum, but he restrained himself even tighter until tears pooled in the endless shine of Victor’s Paris-Green eyes. He pulled the hood down to cover his expression, he had often hid his face when he felt like crying. Everyone always looked you when you cried. “My home is 4-hour ride due east of here, or you can take the road to Hamilton but that adds another hour to the ride.” He tried to keep his voice steady, he just wanted to scream at everything, to cry at the curse upon him. Part of him had to wonder if the family had been cursed for the skeleton that they kept in the proverbially closet.
“I can hold that for you. I can keep it dry under my cloak.” Victor motioned to the painting that Lucien was holding. Maybe if he was given something to do, he could keep it together a little longer. Until they got home, if Victor’s home was where Lucien wanted to go. Victor wasn’t even sure what time of day it was, although he was certain it was nighttime. The sun could be coming up anytime. He wasn’t sure about Lucien, it was evident that he wasn’t entirely human - did daylight effect him the same way?
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Post by Behax on Nov 18, 2018 18:37:39 GMT
"Then let us hope it is still there," Lucien replied as he stepped out into the rain and wind. This time he did not embrace it, but the angry howling of the wind and the passing thunder seemed to now compliment his own turbulent mood. He nodded his acknowledgement of Victor telling him howling the ride would be, and when the newly turned vampire offered to hold the painting for him...For a moment Lucien's grip on it tightened, as if he were afraid to let it go. But then he handed it delicately to Victor.
Outside it was still dark, the storm made it difficult even for Lucien to tell the time of day, though he had a sense that dawn was approaching, and would be upon them before they reached Victor's home. He turned his attention back to the house that they were now leaving. A place he'd once called home, with a man he'd loved dearly.
"When I said that....I didn't want to wake until everything was dust..... Garrett that....That didn't include you as well.....But now I wake, and you have left this place....And Luka is gone too." The words spilled from his mouth, as a fresh tear began to run down his face. His range turning back to grief as looked at the ruined house.
"Lord Dardariel...Take a step back." He warned, before beginning to trace sigils in the air. "This place was once a home, but now it is the grave of one whom I love, so let it be rendered to ash." As he spoke the words, and traced the spell in the air, a glowing fiery circle began to appear in the air inside the ruined foyer. And when Lucien stopped speaking, wild tendrils of flame burst from with, and naked their way through the house, setting the whole thing ablaze.
For a moment Lucien watched it burn, the heat intense on his skin. He watched the central stairs collapse, before turning away and heading towards the stables. Fortunate for them both Victor's horse was still there, grazing on the overgrown grass. "You say this ride will take 4 hours.....Make sure any exposed skin you have is covered, because it will surely be daylight before we reach your home." He said nothing of himself, and the clothes he wore included no cloak or hood.
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Post by Grimm on Nov 19, 2018 5:09:37 GMT
The moment he was given the wrapped painting Victor felt he could go on, there was no curiosity to peek at it or to pry into Lucien’s past life. There was something to focus on besides his predicament. He tucked it in under his cloak protectively and followed Lucien outside. Victor watched it burn from several feet behind Lucien, he had never been a fire that big - never seen such a wonder as the magic that Lucien conjured. The mood sombre, both at them at the same funeral, but both of them grieved for different things.
After he was warned, Victor carefully placed the painting down and rolled up his sleeves. He fished out a pair of long black gloves that he pulled on well past his elbow, then proceeded to roll his sleeves back down. From around his neck, he pulled up a cowl that left nothing but the green illumination of his eyes. Victor had come prepared. He had even tested the outfit in the courtyard and it seemed to do okay. Hopefully, he hadn’t ripped anything during his little adventure.
The fourth hour was close approaching and so was the dawning of the new day. The storm had finished moving through, leaving the clouds painted with bright hues of pink and gold. It would be a sunrise that Victor would have loved to experience, it would have sparked the inspiration for the love of life once again. But instead he was on the back of a horse, one arm wrapped tightly around Lucien, the other clinging protectively to the painting. Victor had the hood of his cloak pulled over his head and had his forehead pressed against Lucien’s back to keep it from blowing off. The sun was up and Victor was terrified. He cowered behind Lucien, the fear probably evident in how much his arm trembled as he tightly held on. He already knew what it was like to be burned by the sun. He had burned his foot in an attempt to find out if the sunlight really would kill a vampire. Unfortunately, a dip of his toes turned out to burn half his foot. With the memory of that pain still fresh, he certainly didn’t want to die that way. He could think of nothing worse than to be consumed by fire. And to think the sunlights harmless kiss was to blame.
“The roof is made of copper, it’s patinated over the years.” Victor relayed the information. “Stables are towards the back of the house, you can ride right into the covered alley.” The stable house was good enough to keep the rain out, it was excelled for keeping the sun out too.
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Post by Behax on Nov 24, 2018 14:54:43 GMT
Lucien quickly check the saddle of Victor's horse. Slipping the sword he carried into it, though he kept the two sheathed swords at his sides. He climbed up, and helped Victor do the same. Moments later they were away. The burning house remained visible at their backs for a long while. Lucien felt like he could still feel that intense heat, even after he'd long left hit behind.
When the sun began to rise, he stopped briefly to admire it. He felt Victor holding tightly to him, pressing his head to his back. Scared. As he should be Lucien felt. However it didn't stop the half-Vampire from appreciating the sunrise, the first this eyes had seen in a century. He lingered only a moment longer before snapping the horse's reigns again and urging it onwards.
Lucien was clearly an experienced rider, he got as much out of Victor's horse as he could with two riders. Pushing the horse just far enough, but never too far. Occasionally he had to ask Victor which path to take, reading the sign posts aloud.
He kept an eye out for the house that Victor described for him, galloping into the grounds a little after the fourth hour passed. Only slowing down as they approached the stable, riding the horse right into it, and only stopping once they had left the sun behind. Inside it was dim but not dark. "It's safe now," he relayed to Victor. Getting down once he felt the other man let him go.
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Post by Grimm on Nov 25, 2018 20:57:32 GMT
Victor hadn’t realized just how tense he was until they had made it to the safety of the stables. As he got down off the horse, not even his supernatural strength could save him. He sunk down to his knees, the painting still at his side. Even if he was a vampire now, he still wasn’t use to such labors. His sickly past hadn’t built a body good for strenuous activities and these past fews days had certainly been rather strenuous.
The long ride had managed to quiet the overbearing feeling that life as he knew it was truly over. But it was still there. After a moment he founds legs and stood up, “Welcome to the Dardariel Manor.” Victor said pulling down the fabric that covered the lower half of his face. After they took care of the horse, Victor lead Lucien to the house through a covered hallway to the servants entrance. Every curtain in the house has been pulled close to keep the daylight out. The house was in the shape of a U with the extension of the stables making it more like a J. Built like any aristocrat with wealth to burn there were high ceilings, gold trim with artwork that covered every inch of the walls. Also rather evident was emptiness of the home, dust had began to gather after Victor had sent all the servants away. It felt gutted and hallow.
“I am the only one that lives here now. My mother passed away a few months ago, my sister soon after. And after the change in my condition, I sent the staff away.” Victor explained. He hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone, nor did he want anyone to find out what had happened. Placing the painting down safely on the table, Victor felt safe enough to remove his cloak and gloves, laying them over the back of a chair.
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Post by Behax on Nov 25, 2018 21:42:07 GMT
Lucien held a worried expression as Victor sunk to his knees, and watched as he stood back up. He wasn't sure how to respond to Victor's welcome given the circumstances, and knowing that the last time he'd welcomed another man into his home it had ended so un fortunately for him.
He followed Victor into the home without much more than a nod. He let him talk as they entered the house proper, and noted the signs of the beginnings of neglect. He'd seen newlings let themselves go to ruin before, and usually considered it a shame....
"I assume you did so for their own safety....But have you considered what might happen to you if you don't feed? I'm guessing how you are going to take care of that issue hasn't crossed your mind...Or maybe you didn't care for it to?" Lucien spoke with a serious tone. He wanted to hunt down Walter that was for sure, but before he could do that he'd need to take care of Victor before he became a monster. Lucien clearly didn't believe all Vampire's were monstrous given what had transpired at the Lamine estate, but he understood well that all Vampires could become so.
He was inspecting some cabinets as they spoke. His expression lighting up slightly when he found what appeared to be a liquor cabinet. He pulled it open and frowned when he saw that most of the bottles were empty or nearly so.
"There might be a way to solve your servant problem, no need to let this place fall to neglect and ruin," he said as he found a glass, and began pouring the remnants of multiple bottles into it. It seemed he didn't mind too much about what he might be mixing together.
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Post by Grimm on Nov 26, 2018 3:03:46 GMT
“I found myself stalking one of the chambermaids one night. Didn’t trust myself after that and I sent them away the next day. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” Victor explained while Lucien riffled through the liquor cabinets. “Sadly I missed vampire orientation, so no - I just thought I could keep resisting. At least until I could kill him…then..” Victor paused recalling Lucien’s clarifying that Victor would never be human again. “..then…I guess I’ll find a way to dispose of myself. Existence was hard enough as it was…I can’t imagine an eternity of it and with this thirst.” He ran his tongue along the edge of his fangs. He was hungry again and he should be for starving himself for weeks, but he would be able to manage it for now. Just like he had managed for the past week.
“So what about you? You’re not exactly human, are you? They left out a few more notable things about your appearance in the illustrations. And there was wine and blood in the bottle you handed to me in the catacombs.” Victor went over to a cabinet that was obscured by large vase and pulled out a few bottles of whiskey reserve. The bottles had a thick layer of dust on them, as they had belonged to his father. No one in the house drank and after his father disappeared, they had sat hidden in that cabinet. Victor set them on the table in front of Lucien.
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Post by Behax on Nov 29, 2018 19:52:33 GMT
Lucien listened to Victor speak about his experience, before interjecting. "If you keep resisting, you'll soon begin to starve. However you won't simply die, you'll go insane from the thirst before you get close to that point. That's when you'll become truly dangerous," Lucien explained with a sombre tone, before downing his cocktail of leftovers. The expression he pulled suggested the taste had at the very lest...Been interesting. "You don't even have to drink human blood, any blood will actually do, it's just most vampires have a preference for humans. "
The hunter smiled slyly as Victor finally asked about him, questions that must have been playing on the new vampires mind since he'd accidently awoken Lucien in that crypt. "No. I'm not, But I'm not exactly a vampire either," he revealed as he walked over to where Victor had placed the unopened bottles. Lucien blew the dust off and uncorked one, starting to pour it into a glass.
"I'm what is referred to as a Dhampier. Caught somewhere between the two, but neither one or the other. My father was a vampire, and my mother was human." He picked up the glass, watching the liquid swirl around for a moment, before knocking it back, and immediately pouring another. "I'm stronger than any ordinary man, more resilient too. Unlike Vampires I can walk in the light, and drinking blood is less a necessity to me though it has its benefits, and I can also get cravings for it."
He paused, holding the glass in hand. "As for servants....Well there are plenty of others in the dark world who could replace those you dismissed. Other vampires, even werewolves and the like. Not all that live in the dark are evil, some are just as unfortunate as you, and wish for some normalcy. Failing that, when I gather some strength back I may be able to summon some familiars...and there is...." He paused and knocked back the third drink. For a moment he looked like he might pour another, but decided against it. It had been a long time and he could already feel the alcohol working through him.
"There is another man I would like to find before I hunt down Walter. He should have also been looking over me at the Lamine, estate, but he didn't seem to be there, and I could see no signs of his demise," Victor explained with a serious tone which also suggested he wasn't quite explaining everything. He picked up the painting Victor had lid on the table, and unwrapped it, revealing a painting of three men, on the left was Lucicen, on the right was the man from the painting in the ball room, and between them, a tired looking young man, thin with brown and grey hair, and eyes cold and piercing as steel. Yet he didn't seem unhappy.
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Post by Grimm on Nov 30, 2018 3:49:23 GMT
To his disgust the talk of blood made his mouth water and he thought about the pigs that had been kept near the stalls. The thought turned his stomach and he tried to push it out of his mind. But it kept nagging at him. He didn’t want to drink anyones or anythings blood. Damn be it if he went insane, at least there was now someone who was capable of stopping him and the vampire who did this to him. Watching Lucien kick back the drinks made him feel a little envious, Victor had his own devices to relax - a nasty little drug habit he had picked up after he had killed his father, not quite being able to live down the guilt of taking his life. But the man had been a monster in his own right, an abusive drunk who always seemed to have it out for his mother.
“Dhampiers, Vampires, Werewolves?! This is all so new and world shattering.” Victor sat himself down in disbelief. There were stories about the creatures that went bump in the night, but they were always just stories. It was unreasonable to be afraid of these things that did not exist and yet here was Victor newly enveloped into the fold.
He put a hand to his face and glanced at the painting, green eyes practically glowing between his spread fingers. “Who is he?” Victor asked finding that all of this had become more complicated then he had first thought.
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Post by Behax on Dec 2, 2018 18:32:45 GMT
Lucien had to wonder if a century really was long enough for people to forget that he had been a real person, hunting real monsters. To Victor stories about him had been just that......Stories. Yet Lucien was sure the monsters hadn't gone away...Well....This man's encounter with Walter proved as much. So how did people explain the strange happenings around them in this day and age?
He snapped from his thoughts when asked who the third man in the painting was. "He is Lucas Knitlier , he was...." Lucien paused...."Is a much loved.....friend." It was clearly deeper than that. Lucien correcting himself as he spoke, he hoped to find Lucas alive. "Though he prefers to be called Luka.....Despite my telling him it's not actually......Well never mind. He's from a minor aristocratic family...and a werewolf."
Lucien was actually quite worried about his well being. His room had been torn to pieces, which suggested a fight, and yet Luka had been nowhere to be seen in the manor.
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Post by Grimm on Dec 4, 2018 4:08:10 GMT
After Lucien was done explain who it was he wanted to find, Victor let out a rather unenthusiastic and underwhelmed ‘oh’. A werewolf, naturally. He wasn’t sure if vampires were supposed to feel exhaustion, but that’s what he felt. Mentally burnt from the panic of going through his ordeal alone for the past few weeks. Overwhelmed by the new world he had been exposed to. All he had wanted to do for the past two days was sink into a hot bath, but he wouldn’t be able to do that right this moment. The bathroom curtains were not designed to keep the sun out, only obscure it - so the only time he could enjoy the luxury was in the middle of the night. He had fallen asleep in the tub one night and awoke to the sun closing in around him; it was a mistake he wouldn’t make again.
“Well Lord Bastista, unlike you, it’s been a while since I rested and as I cannot yet clean the grime from my skin - I offer you the use of the bath. Feel free to explore the house. Library, Study, Sunroom, left.” Victor motioned to the left of the grand gallery where they were sitting now. “Kitchen, Dining Room, Parlor, to the right. Second Floor are the bedrooms, including the one that Mast-“ Victor stopped himself from speaking. He had meant to say Walter, but that wasn’t the word that had come out of his mouth. “-including the one that He was staying in. He had left some items behind, clothing and the like; nothing important. Anyway, the bathroom is at the end of the upstairs hall if you want to use it. I, on the other hand, would like to forget I exist for a while.” Victor looked utterly defeated and tired.
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Post by Behax on Dec 4, 2018 22:42:57 GMT
Lucien almost seemed to tense when referred to by his title and name, like he felt that he should be carrying himself a certain way when spoken to that way. Though he didn't react at all to Victor almost referring to Walter as master.
"I understand.....Thank you for the hospitality. Do not worry about me, get as much rest as you need," he said with a restrained yet reassuring smile. He supposed it made sense to familiarise himself with his surroundings while the Lord of the house rested. Familiarise himself with being awake again as well. It had been a long time he'd slept, he was sure much might have changed.
The bath was the first thing he did however. Though it took him sometime to draw his own bath. He spent maybe an hour or so resting in the hot water, taking in the sensation around his body. It truly to himself like he'd awoken from the grave. He hadn't really been asleep as much as he'd been put into a sort of stasis. His body was stiff from the century of immobility.
Once he was done, and redressed he went to investigate the bedrooms, to see what Walter left behind. Something Victor may have considered inconsequential might in fact not be.
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