Here I go for perhaps the last time. If you are reading this, then I have succeeded in hooking you into the story with a snappy and intriguing summary, or you just randomly click on links. Perhaps you know, perhaps you don't. I don't know why I'm writing this, if only to give a description of a few of the characters contained in this story. Please read these descriptions and I promise the chapter will be extra-long. They'll help you picture these characters better and answer questions you might have.
Malice- Male, of 29. 6'. Pale skin, as he's half-vampire, half-demon, with blood red eyes and spiked black hair. His eyes hold no emotion and are black holes in and of themselves. He is thin, but strong. In heart (his is made of stone figuratively), mind (years of training and hardships) and body (vampiric and demonic nature). His powers are over shadows, metaphorically and realistically. When he does not want to be found, he will not be found. He can teleport, even turn someone inside out. In fact, he could wipe out entire cities. Except that these powers come at an extremely high cost to himself and he almost never resorts to them. His costume is whatever he happens to be wearing.
To clarify a few things. In vampiric myth, a cross pisses a vampire off, not stops him. Sunlight damages a vampire's sensitive retinas, it does not destroy them. If a vampire feeds you on, it does not mean you will become a vampire. Logically the world would be nothing but vampires, and it's not. It means you have some blood drained. Vampires are created many ways, but the most common is by letting the victim drink some of the attacker's blood. This varies, but is true most everywhere.
Now to clarify a few things about Malice. Sunlight does not hurt him. Holy water burns and destroys his skin like a volatile acid, because of the half-demon, half-vampire. Regular water has NO effect. A wooden stake through the heart causes him immense pain, but silver is needed to finish him off. Any wound inflicted with silver weaponry hurts him worse than a regular vampire. He has the ability to metamorph into 11 different shadowy demonic forms, and so long as he is not impaled through the heart, can reassemble himself.
Menace- Male, of 24. 6'3 dark blue skin (He is a Dunmer, or Dark Elf, and savior of a certain religion). His hair is spiked and black, while his eyes are alive (they're black as well). He is built much like Malice, but more muscularly. His powers are vast, and as long as he does not get killed in one hit, he will regenerate. His mana (ability to cast spells. You won't notice this really, but it's here) and stamina (We all know what that is. This just means his rest time to be fully recharged is around a minute or so) regenerate in much of the same way. His equipment is medieval style, but he can take much more punishment than your average bodybuilder. He wields the huge Colossal Blade, Destruction. In myth, it was the blade that destroyed the greatest of the demon gods, Nethronus.
Alexandria- Female, of 15. 5'8 with pale skin much like Malice's. She is his daughter, her mother unknown. Her build is, once again, skinny, with C-cup cleavage (These things have to be known. Just rest assured I won't delve very deep into anything intimate for her). Her powers are limited control over shadows, though she is a very adept user of Demonic Magics. But her main power is the ability to throw an enemy into a type of limbo, in which the victim is completely encased in a sphere of darkness, and cannot hear anything. This power, however, is extremely taxing and she cannot hold this state on any number of enemies very long. Her hair is shoulder-length and is a dark violet color.
Ashlie- Female, of 17. 5'3 with pale skin as well. She is the adopted daughter of Menace (Not officially, but she was a run-away he found. After their initial meeting, their friendship grew into this adopted state it exists now). She is also his apprentice and heir to everything he has, should he ever die. He is in the process of teaching her everything he knows, and she is learning quicker than he ever did. She goes with him everywhere and is an invaluable help to him in everything he does. Her hair comes down to about just above her waist and is reddish-brown. Her cleavage is a B-cup.
Now that that's out of the way, on with the story.
Chapter One: Waking the Fallen
Enter MaliceWe walked down the roads, she and I. My daughter, Alexandria was growing to be everything I could've hoped for. Smart, inventive, witty, and adaptive. Earlier this day, in the Wild Boar Tavern, she had asked me if I had ever raised the dead. This, in turn, raised some eyebrows, so we decided to keep it down. I regretted my decision to tell her that I had, but I had told her, nonetheless.
Why she wanted to raise the dead was beyond me. A despicable practice. I had done this in my days when I was careless. The dead deserve their peace, but I knew she'd never let me alone. So I had decided to show her. But only that, not to teach her. But we had forgotten to eat back at the last tavern, or more, she had dragged me bodily out. So now we stopped at a dark and dreary café that I forgot to identify.
"Alex, happen to catch the name of this place?" I asked as we walked in. I noticed I was the only adult, besides the cashier. That freaked me out a bit.
"Yeah, the Dead Rose."
"Lovely." I replied, looking for an empty table. I found one and we both sat down. A waiter who, I noticed with some relief, was an adult brought us two menus and allowed us to order drinks. We ordered and he walked away to prepare said drinks. We decided on what food choices we'd have before he came back. But then something unexpected happened.
A pale girl (everyone in here looked pale though, so this wasn't saying much) came over.
"Mind if I join you two?" She asked. Her voice was a tad scratchy and monotonous. She was about 5'1, and had purple hair and eyes. She wore a black leotard with a blue cape and matching blue shoe… slipper type things. I really wasn't sure what they were.
"Go ahead." I said, trying to sound personable.
"Thanks." She pulled a chair out and sat down. "Clan Sundrae." She said, looking intently at me. Now that threw me off. I had no idea she was that quick to identify a vampire and his clan.
"Wha…?" I was really at a loss here.
"You're a vampire from Clan Sundrae, correct?" She asked, a bit excited. I could see she had really done her research.
"Correct. You'd fit right in at Clan Voras." I told her, absently watching her.
"Why's that?" She asked, intrigued.
"Your attention to detail, your thinness, you excel in the mind, not body." I informed her. "You're more of their type."
"I only know of Clan Sundrae. How many clans are there?" She asked. I could see I was going to be here awhile, so I decided to go ahead with full detail. Who knows? It may save her life, though I'd seriously doubt that.
"Five. Sundrae, Voras, Hiurnum, Direli, and Filjur. Sundrae are the assassins and warriors of darkness. Voras are the mages and scouts, collectors of information. Hiurnum are the warriors of great strength and live to fight opponents. Direli are the warriors of pure magic. They hate physical combat. And Filjur is basically your all-around clan. Bit of everything and the most known clan. I'm surprised you'd never heard of them."
She sat, gaping for a few moments before she regained control. "There's five? But how's that work…?"
"Well depending on what clan a vampire belongs to when he makes you one, tells you what clan you're likely to become part of. Usually they specially pick their victims, as the victims can join any clan."
"Makes sense… so what else can you do?"
"The usual vampiric stuff, except I'm not so bloodthirsty I have to hunt every night. It's pretty complicated." I could see she was fascinated. Thank the gods I didn't have to deal with this everywhere I went.
"Can I see?" She asked, unexpectedly. She was absolutely spellbound by me. You'd think I was the first vampire she'd ever met. Perhaps I was.
"I'm nothin' special. Just your average vampire."
"No such thing." She replied, without missing a beat. "I can't believe I've met a vampire. From Clan Sundrae no less, the most mysterious clan." She really was obsessed. I really had to stop getting myself into these things.
"Do you really want to know the extent?" I asked, sighing. She nodded eagerly. "Raising armies of the dead. Try that and see how far you get." Her eyes widened. Why's raising the dead so hard, you may ask. Because it takes a titanic amount of willpower to control a few. Imagine about 500. Still think you can? I thought not.
"Armies… that'd be very useful." She stated in her monotonous voice.
"Yes. And if you'll excuse us, we must be going." I said, getting up. All this time I hadn't noticed Alex steadily eating whatever she had gotten. That was unusual, as she had managed to reach in my pocket and pay for the food, tip included. I suppose it was because I was, as well, fascinated with this young Goth.
"Wait! Where are you going?" She asked. I figured I might as well tell her. Hell she knew who I was. So no point lying now.
"To the nearby crypt to raise a few skeletons to satisfy my daughter's appetite." I replied truthfully. Her eyes went even wider, though that feat seemed impossible.
"Can I come too? I'd love to see this." She asked. I sighed. If I said no, I'd look like an asshole. Yes and I'd probably be in over my head. Again.
"Sure. But we're walking quite far." I informed her, leaving the Black Rose. Alex and I walked down the road, accompanied by this young Goth. "Well, what's your name? I forgot to ask."
"Raven." She replied, her eyes shining. "And yours?"
"Alexandria." My daughter replied before me. "And he's Malice. Don't ask."
"So you're his friend?" Raven asked, mystified. I don't believe she'd noticed Alex before. Actually I had forgotten about her too.
"Daughter." I replied. We were still walking, but could see the crypt now.
"Look daddy, there it is!" Alex exclaimed.
"Thank you, Miss Points-Out-the-Obvious-A Lot." I replied. She really did have a bad habit of doing that. We entered the crypt and found it, logically, empty. Actually there was one Goth blasting his ears out with Metallica, but he ran off. I shouted after him that Avenged Sevenfold was much better. I don't think he heard me.
They backed away a safe distance, just in case anything went wrong. As I prepared myself, I felt a soul touch my mind.
Who are you? Why are you disturbing our peace? An old voice asked. It seemed weary.
My name is irrelevant. However I am here to show my daughter what it is like to raise the dead. Perhaps you'd care to help?
I wouldn't. You're a necromancer, and just like all the others.
No, I'm not, and I meant if you'd help me steer her away from it.
Interesting. Even if you lie, it should be fun. What have you in mind?
Scare the hell out of her. How I don't care, but it should be sufficient to scare her away.
Now that's a deal I like. Go ahead and summon me.
That out of the way, I began the ritual and raised this mysterious voice in a skeletal body. Complete with rotting teeth, sword, and shield. I looked away at this point, and let my mind drift. It wasn't something I often did, but it helped a lot. I knew the skeleton must have been having a heyday, as I vaguely heard Alex scream and Raven try to use whatever powers she possessed. But I blocked her and Alex from using their powers.
I waited until the soul touched my mind again.
I'm done. They're scared shitless. Lemme know if you have anyone else you'd like scared to tears.
Tears? That's a bit extreme. Is Alex really crying?
One of them is. The other is close.
Ah. Not as far as I had wanted, but the job's done. I thank you, whoever you are, and release you from your mortal bonds.
Thanks for the fun.
And so I let him return from whence he came, and snapped back to reality. Alex was on the ground in a fetal position, tears flowing from her eyes, and Raven was sitting next to Alex, staring ahead.
"Hey Alex, ya have fun?" I asked, looking down. It took her a few minutes to stop crying enough to answer me coherently.
"No… I never realized it could be so hellish." She replied, stunned. That soul must've been vicious. Excellent.
"Well I hope you've learned something. Like let the dead lie in peace."
Hell yeah!
However, that wasn't the interesting part. What happened next was interesting. Jureeyn, a subordinate from Clan Sundrae appeared. He bowed before speaking to me. I waved a hand and he rose.
"You don't need that formality with me. I find it just stupid." I said.
"I am sorry, Champion, but it is required. I'd rather not take any chance, in case of other vindictive clan members might be watching."
"Well I'll make it a point to mention that to the leader next time I see him." I said.
"Keryui wishes to challenge you to your rank."
"Tell him to find me. That's his first challenge. Also inform him that his last is hand-to-hand with me. If he still wishes to challenge me after that, tell him the second trial will be much worse."
"As you will it, so shall it be done." Jureeyn disappeared. This was strange indeed. Keryui normally was quiet, and agreeable to everyone. Maybe he had an inner core. Maybe he didn't. Well it would be interesting to see how the future would unfold. Destiny? Ha. If we are given free will Destiny and Fate can't exist. It's logic. And that is the greatest gift we are given. Logic.
End
And now, if you have read this far, I commend you. I hope you found it interesting. I would like to note I do not own the Teen Titans. I hope you will review this. I hope you stay with me for this story. It may surprise you.
