Marianne K'sthalt was having a bad day even before a child pummelled her into meat paste on the wall.
She has been assigned to Bishop Kismet as a guard by her uncle, and was instructed to guard the perimeter. She had done so for more than a week with nothing to do and nobody to talk to apart from one or two other guards.
Kismet and his inner circle kept Marianne at arms length despite her obvious skill and capabilities. Not that she could blame them: House Kismet and House K'sthalt worshipped different Gods. While Navruavati and Aenrys personally got along, "Their" subordinates often did not and instead competed against each other for power.
Religion has divided the Vampires just like it did the Humans and Elves, perhaps to an even greater degree. Politics within the Tartarus Continent was more strife with bloodshed and betrayal than any other, and this is without factoring in the Old Guard sectarianism. Vampires were creatures of desire and brutality, meaning most conflicts were solved violently rather than politically. Assassinations occurred almost daily, hence the presence of Nyx on the Tartarus Continent despite being an enemy of Aenrys and Navruavati.
Because of this, Marianne knew her assignment to Kismet had underlying implications. Perhaps she was here to sabotage whatever the Bishop of Navruavati was planning, or to spy on him. Who knows, she might even be meant to kill him. Not that the last one was feasible: an Epic entity like Kismet could crush twenty of her with one hand. And so the Vampire maiden wasted her time away with nothing to do and next to no one to talk to...Until the entire building started shaking.
Before she knew it, alarms were ringing and Vampires were running around as the tremors increased in intensity. Kismet and his inner circle appeared for the first time in days and began barking orders to the lesser Vampires, ordering them to take defensive positions.
Marianne was placed with another high-end Master, a young Noble named Aleksandros, in guarding one of the outer regions of the complex. It was the gate to a subzone created by Kismet, and where intruders would appear once they breached the initial defences. Thus Marianne and five other Vampires took their positions and waited. And waited. And waited.
After ten minutes of nothing, the alarm had started drilling into Marianne's skull. Her discomfort was shared by her fellow Vampires, with Aleksandros voicing his complaints. "Bloody hell, will they just shut that thing up already?! We know there are intruders!" he snarled.
Vampires were a high-strung bunch; once they were put on alert, it took a while for them to calm down. Their blood roared in preparation for a fight that had yet to arrive, and time moved agonisingly slow for them. While such high awareness would provide a boost in battle, it was a large detriment outside of it. Impatience was the second biggest cause of death for Vampires, just behind arrogance.
But as if the Gods had heard them, the intruders finally arrived at the room. Three figures, all men from the smell of them, stepped through a portal that had just appeared on the wall. Two wore matching black cloaks and their shadows stuck closer to their bodies than normal: an obvious sign of a Shadow user. The third man...was strange. Very strange if fact, in more ways than one.
He wore a white mask that covered his face with a wide grin carved on it. Orange eyes peered through the slits, and his ashen grey hair hung loose. His entire body seemed wrapped in bandages, and he wore a heavy cloak that concealed his exact shape. But what really bothered Marianne was the smell.
Or lack thereof.
The third man had no smell. Unlike the two fellows beside him, who had soft but undeniable texture, this man smelled of nothing. Neither could Marianne hear his heartbeat; his breathing was similarly still. A sense of incongruity seized her as she observed this man with narrowed eyes, her battle-honed instincts warning her of a threat. This man was a higher Tier than her, but his exact Level was unknown. She attempted to use Analysis, but it was blocked before she could gain more than his name: Kulkiri Mist.
The three men noticed the half-dozen Vampires encircling them, and the fight began. Two nameless grunts lunged at the brothers, while another two engaged Kulkiri. Like Marianne, they had sensed he posed the biggest threat out of the three.
Aleksandros and her stayed back, overseeing their allies' fights with eagle eyes. At the first sign of weakness, they would pounce in and attempt to steal the XP. The Vampires fighting were aware of this, but had no choice but to swallow their indignation. Marianne and Arjax were the strongest people in the room; they decided the flow and outcome. Of course, leaving the two "alphas" together would lead to there own problems...
"Why are you just standing there brat?" Marianne suddenly spoke. Arjax narrowed his eyes at the lady and sneered back. "Why are you? Shouldn't the strongest lead the charge? Yet you're here instead. Are you scared?" he taunted.
Marianne grit her teeth as the urge to rip out Arjax's throat bubbled up. House K'sthalt and House Aleksandros were on opposite sides: her House worshipped Aenrys while his worshipped Navruavati. Followers of the God of Filth were shunned by the rest of the Blood Coven, and were only half a step above the Old Guard in status. Over the millennia, this sectarianism deepened into an unamendable chasm that threatened to rip the Blood Coven apart. Of course, the two Evil Gods would step in before that happened, but still...
"As the strongest, I need to stay back to interfere if one of our own are in danger" she lied in a light tone. "So you, the second strongest, should partake in the fight in my stead."
Detecting the subtle mockery at being weaker than her, Arjax grit his teeth as his claws began elongating. "On the contrary, you should fight before one of us needs aid. After all, being in the fray will mean this fight ends all the sooner."
As the two Vampire Nobles exchanged sparks, the fight progressed. The two humans with a Shadow Affinity were as elusive as their Element, always slipping under and around attacks. They covered each others weak points with near omniscient proficiency, always being in the right place at the right time. Despite being slightly outmatched, they held their own all the same.
The man called Kulkiri danced around his opponents, striking them whenever the opportunity presented itself. He hummed a tune to himself as he skirted around their reach, slowly bleeding them dry from numerous scratches. Despite their efforts, the two Vampires failed to land a hit in turn, Kulkiri transforming his body into incorporeal mist, only to reappear with a slash of his blade.
But the situation was being ignored by the two Noble Vampire.
"Listen here you bitch, this is Lord Kismet's territory. Why a dog of Aenrys was chosen is beyond me, but Lord Navruavati rules here. As a proud member of House Aleksandros, a vassal of Lord Kismet, I outrank you and order you to fight!"
All subtlety and sophistry had been thrown out the window. Arjax and Marianne were pressing their heads against each, their bloodlusts clashing. No longer bothering with appearances, Arjax had resorted to pulling rank to try and force Marianne to obey. However, his retort was met with laughter.
"Wow, how fucking braindead can you be? The only reason a fool like you got this post is because of base nepotism! While I, who was granted the Title of Baroness before becoming a Grandmaster, earned my position through pure skill!"
To Vampires, titles of nobility were of utmost importance. For Baron/Baroness was not just a title, but a Title. It was given by the System to the greatest of Vampires and denoted a Noble's standing. A Master would be a Knight, a Grandmaster a Baron, an Epic a Viscount, a Legendary a Count, a Mythic a Marquess, a Sovereign a Duke, a Supreme a Prince and a Sacred a King. As a Divine, Navruavati held the Tile Emperor of Blood.
Despite being just a Master (even if she was on the border of Ascension), Marianna had been bestowed the rank of Baroness for her contributions. Arjax meanwhile, was a normal Knight and therefore not a true Noble yet, even if his lineage was descended from one.
This reminder caused his eyelid to twitch as he ground his teeth together. They were now at an impasse: Arjax was of lower rank but shared blood with Kismet, the leader of this sect. Meanwhile, Marianna was of higher rank but was also an "outsider" in Kismet's group. This scenario was quite common with Vampires, as they often tried to force their prestige on lesser Vampires only to struggle to determine who is truly the "lesser" party.
And when Vampires can't decide by pulling rank...there is only one method left.
Claws of darkness sprung forth from Arjax's hands as Marianna pulled her rapier free in the blink of an eye. Just before the two tore into each other, Marianne detected a fourth presence coming through the portal on the wall. She and Arjax looked over as a petite figure made its way though. A young girl no older than sixteen ,with long silver hair in a braid, sharp purple eyes and snow white skin. She looked around her, taking in the four Vampires fighting and spotting Arjax and Marianne.
Sensing a chance, a smirk formed on Marianne's face as she grabbed Arjax by the cuff and pulled him closer. "How about this, you take care of her while I deal with that mist man over there. Surely you have no problem with beating a little girl like that?" she taunted.
Arjax glowered at her, his gut saying something was up, but ultimately held his tongue and shook himself free. With a bloody glare, he walked towards the newcomer before his figure blurred and vanished from the spot, reappearing just before the silver-haired girl and slapping her back.
Marianne clicked her tongue at his uncouth behaviour. 'Doesn't that brute know a lady should be treated better than that? I pity whatever gal ends up his wife' she mused, turning her attention away from those two and focusing on Kulkiri. He had looked over at that girl upon her arrival, but seemed uninterested in her beatdown by Arjax. Instead, he was twirling around and slipping his knives into the joints and soft spots of the two vampires. By now, they had been punctured in over a dozen places, though most of them were non-lethal.
'Wait' Marianne froze upon seeing that. She could tell Kulkiri was very skilled, skilled enough to have killed one of the Vampires by now. And yet both still lived, if only in horrible condition. 'This sick bastard, is he torturing them?' she frowned. While Vampires had a stronger pain tolerance than most other Races, being treated like a pin cushion would still hurt quite a bit. The two Vampires engaging him were turning woozy from the blood loss, allowing Kulkiri to impale them at a faster rate.
Deciding she should make her move soon, Marianna prepared to lunge at the ashen-haired Adventurer, she heard a deafening *snap* sound come from behind her. She just had time to look over he shoulder to see Arjax be turned into a donut, flying past her at supersonic speeds and smashing into the wall like a cannonball. He paused there, his body a bloody and battered mess, before sliding down like a slab of ham.
The silver-haired girl remained standing, though her skin as covered in a sheen of sweat and her breath was laborious. She and Marianne locked eyes before the latter made her move.
'I have no idea what just happened' she thought grimly as a ball of darkness formed on her pam. 'But I need to kill this girl quickly and then get back to that mist man.'
She lobbed the ball at the speed of a bullet and it zoomed towards its target. The girl panicked and tried to dodge, but Marianna smirked and snapped her fingers once it got close enough. It pulsed slightly and then exploded in a white blast. When the smoke cleared, a small crater was left in the ground and the girl was lying dazed on the floor.
'She's still alive?' Marianne quirked her eyebrows at the sight before putting it to the back of her mind. She decided to finish her off now, jumping forward and aiming to kill the girl in one strike. Her blade was inches from the girl's left eye when she regained focus. Time seemed to slow to an almost time still as the two made eye contact. As Marianna pushed with her rapier, the girl's mouth opened...and Marianne's world was crushed.