Northern Council of the One-Eyed Society, Orrius Forest, modern-day Barcelona
The camp was bustling and as dusk was approaching, one of the brujos followed by a team of night crawlers exited the cave leading to their hideout. He briskly went to the nearby village and interacted with the locals. When people saw him, he gave off a familiar feeling, as if it was common for him to appear in the land and hand out candies to the children, give medical advice to the elderly, and joke around with businessmen.
Then, he perched on a rock, near the entrance of the village. The children gathered around to see what tricks he would perform today. "I will not perform magic or tell stories today, but, I will let you hear a special song that forest fairies often play. Are you excited?"
The kids let out a chorus of Yes mixed with cheers. The girls, clutched their dolls excitedly while the boys tried to mask their excitement with indifference. The brujo then smirked and took out a flute from inside his shirt pocket. Then a lively jolly tune was played to him.
He rounded the kids three times before leading them to parade around the streets. His music not only entranced the kids but everywhere they went, the adults fell into slumber. The kids never paid attention to what the adults were doing and were set to follow the sound.
The Brujo then led them to the Orrius forest, through the fog, and then to the cave. The children just followed the sound with no protest till they all fell asleep inside the iron cages which they were led into. The Brujo then ended the enchantment and motioned for the nightcrawlers to carry the cages back to camp.
Meanwhile, back in the village, the elders and the residents told their relatives about this great man, who led the rats causing the plague out of the village just by playing a tune. Some uttered a prayer of thanks, others went out to celebrate.
Little did they know, that those rats in their memory were children. Their children, whom they failed to remember.
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10 Post Meridiem, Northern Council of the One-Eyed Society, Orrius Forest, modern-day Barcelona
There was a mini colosseum where their high rituals were being conducted. Surrounding the flat center are three high platforms. The lower is the place where the Elders and High-Priestesses can observe, the Second Tier is where the Prima and Primo Hechicera of the Councils sit and the highest tiers are reserved for the thirteen Council Heads of the One-Eyed Society.
The Prima Hechicera just observed the proceeding with her glowing red eyes. She sat on the seat reserved for her position. The Primo, was out for some council business so she was left alone supervising the Summoning. Their council head was away together with the Primo, she will await their arrival tomorrow.
Thirteen tranced children, thirteen tranced virgins, and thirteen tranced goats are placed in their designated slots in the drawn sigil. Satisfied by the preparation of her sisters, she patiently waited.
Their Sixth Manor's Priestess, a Spiritualist, and a Medium chanted the song to open the gates to Hell. She marked the sacrifice with the blood of the ram placed on top of the altar. Without faltering, she signaled for the members of the Sixth Manor to slit the necks of their sacrifice.
Their blood fed to the sigil drawn on the flat altar. As their blood was absorbed, the sigil glowed red, and at the center, where the Spiritual Medium is, a towering gate with flaming chains appeared. The gate slowly opened and a voice growled "Who dares summon the gates of hell?"
"It is I, Meridith, the Sixth Manor's High Priestess. I summon Regina Carviallo, the servant of The Great Tenebrio." She replied to the angry growl.
"Greetings human, descendant of The Great Tenebrio's gatekeeper. She will appear before you shortly. Make haste, the summoning can only last for thirteen minutes." The voice reminded.
What followed next was a rattling of chains before the silvery appearance of Regina appeared. In her belly button, there was a black chain that no one could see where it ended as it disappeared into the abyss behind her.
"Greetings Regina. Pray tell what happened?" Asked Meridith.
"Greetings sister. I believe that the Lightworkers have detected the Fallen Lord's presence. His movements were way too obvious and fast that they alerted them. I am not sure who arrived but what I can tell is that everyone, aside from the Fallen Lord perished and burned." Regina's soul told them.
"Before I went blind, I felt electricity in the air, then a great pressure descended on top of the hill where the Cathedral de San Martin is located. I could barely hold on, and I was lucky because the noble's house that I took over was located on the outskirts of the Kingdom already. Time stopped for everyone except me, then, scorching heat enveloped the mark of the beast on my chest and I was transfixed to the top of the hill. I could not move my head and could only go blind by the burning light that was emitted there. I only came back to my senses when everything calmed down and I could not detect everyone's presence anymore. Even the Fallen Lord's presence was faint. I could only use myself as a sacrifice to open the portal and return to the towers." she continued.
"Understood sister. We will avenge your death. Until we meet again." Meridith replied before closing the portal and gate in front of her.
After the gate descended back into the earth, Meridith collapsed weakly. The other priest and priestess assisted her to rest as everyone else dispelled upon learning the truth of what happened. Their hearts burned with anger, and they thirst for revenge.
Everyone left and only the Prima remained. She stared blankly as the bodies of the sacrifice vanished after the gates closed. The stone with mysterious runes glowing in her hands ceased to record the event after the gates descended. It remained cold on her palms, as she clutched it to return to her chambers.
She immediately sat on her table as she mechanically made a wound on her palm and dripped it into the shallow dish again. She calmed the furious and murderous thoughts in her head. Her sire, Vlad the Barbarian would be ashamed of her show of emotion.
She licked her wound slowly and looked forward to the reunion of the councils tomorrow. She wrote a short but concise message to the book.
"The Fallen Lord is Down. Situation Unknown.
Katalina
Prima Hechicera
Northern Council of the One-Eyed Society"