First of all I would like to say that this story is based of campaign I made and ran for my friends based of the origin of Vampires in the Shadowhunter Codex. The player characters being of course Dorian, Brio, and James. I hope you enjoy this take on Shadowhunter history!
Brio Greymark stood just outside an old outpost between the village of Bistrita and Cluj in Transylvania. The outpost was once used by the guards of the nearby villages not long ago, but that was then and this is now. Now it was eerily quiet like most of the country Brio had seen so far, it was, interesting to say the least. Whatever was going on here in Transylvania had seemed to change the land itself, but then again Brio had no idea if that was true. He had never been to this country, in fact he had never traveled far outside of his home city of Alicante. He supposed the farthest he had gone was the woods of Brocilind forest.
Being so far from home Brio knew he was supposed to feel a pull or longing for their country as most Shadowhunters did when they were away. But all he felt was a dull annoyance at the reminder of it.
When Brio heard that a plague of demonic creatures had descended upon the institute of Cluj sprawling out into an all out war against the unknown threat, Brio had jumped at the opportunity to go. At only seventeen years old the Clave would never have agreed to send him if they weren't in desperate need for more forces, as it were there was even a debate about drafting young Nephilim into the battle zone. Little contact was being made between the institute and the Clave while Shadowhunters were dying in vast numbers by the unnamed threat. Brio supposed he shouldn't be so willing to throw his life away, but he was, well, bored. He could feel his muscles twitch at anticipation at the thought of fighting, putting his life on the line, finally using all that training for something. He remembered being regaled of the tales of brave Shadowhunters and their battles since he was old enough to hold a weapon, yet he had never been given the opportunity to put his abilities to use, until now.
Footsteps alerted Brio to the man behind him, as he turned, he realized the man was about as old as he was, a teenager really. Brio could also make out the faint pale marks that traced his neck, a Nephilim like him. Brio's eyebrows shot up into his dark hair as he took in the other boy's appearance, striking gold eyes and slightly pointed ears that poked out from his fair white hair.
Now that was interesting.
The boy glanced over Brio as he stood in front of him his eyes coming to rest on Brio's green ones. Standing up straight, a charming smile spread across his delicate face, his hand outstretched to shake his hand.
"Dorian Morgenstern, a pleasure to meet you." Brio suppressed a sigh at the boring pleasantries and shook the boy's hand. A little less interesting now he thought.
"You don't look like a Morgenstern." Brio's eyes lingered on Dorian's ears. The Morgenstern's were a prominent Shadowhunter family, but they mostly kept to themselves in their country house in Idris these days, now he knew why. A flicker of surprise crossed Dorian's face before smoothing over.
"No, I suppose I wouldn't." He said cooly. Silence fell between the two. Brio wondered if he should be bothered that he might have insulted the boy.
He wasn't.
"Do you know who we are waiting for?" Brio asked. They were waiting in the appointed rendezvous point for someone to take them to the institute, and Brio had been waiting for a few hours now, apparently he and Dorian were all that the Clave had to spare. Dorian was about to answer when the sound of hooves and the turning of wheels rounded the corner. In a moment an older man in a horse drawn carriage had stopped in front of the two. The older man looked down at the two sizing them up and grunted. The man looked to be in his fifties and his markless skin told them he was probably a Sighted mundane.
"Get in the back." He said agitated, jerking his head behind him in the direction of the hoodless cab. Brio and Dorian exchanged glances before heading over to the carriage and climbing inside.
"So that's it huh, two children, is that all Cluj deserves?" The man muttered as he turned the carriage around starting down the road.
"They'll see our need, they will." He said in a voice that suggested confidence in the Clave.
"Names Grann by the way, I work for the Institute." He said louder for them to hear,apparently remembering he wasn't alone.
"Are there many mundanes working there?" Brio asked.
"No, no I'm the only one left, after what happened." He said trailing off. Dorian's interest was piqued now.
"Tell us, what did happen? Contact with the Clave has been silent for a long time, and when we were contacted again it was by someone named Simon. What happened to the Sangemare's?" Dorian leaned forward interested.
"They're dead, killed. Now Rosewain is acting as the head, hmph, the upstart is an insult to Nephilim, the nerve." Grann's face contorted in disgust making his weathered face look more wrinkled. Dorian fell back in his seat letting the old man go off on his tangent. He figured the Sangemares were probably dead, but he wondered what Grann had against the new head of the institute.
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Night fell and hours passed, but the carriage still charged on, Grann apparently saw it as his duty to make sure they arrived in a timely manner to the institute and refused to slow down even for the horse's sake. It was still in the winter months in Transylvania and the early morning chill lingered waiting for the sun to come up. They were in a deeply forested area on a small gravel road Dorian guessed wasn't used much. The trees were bare, gnarled and twisted creating a thick wood that surrounded them on all sides. Suddenly the cart came to a stop with a jolt that rocked the carriage startling the two Nephilim awake. Poking their heads around the sides they could seen a few massive trees had fallen across the road accompanied by a variety of other debris that now blocked the path. Grann frowned mumbling under his breath as he uprooted himself from his seat getting out of the carriage.
"No point trying to use the road now, we'll have to go through the forest." Grann said as he headed towards the forest without waiting to see if the others were following him. With a shrug the boys hopped out of the cart and followed the older man into the forest. It was only a few feet in before the woods had become so thick it was impossible to see the road they had come from, though Grann continued on with confidence. Without warning, suddenly all three of them felt something tighten around their legs as they were flung upwards into the air. Dangling upside down from what appeared to be piano wire. Dorian searched his weapons belt for his seraph blade and whispered:
"Michael." The blade flared to life glowing in the darkness of the forest. A shadow of movement on the ground caught his eye, instinctively feeling his pockets for his witchlight, empty. The figure stepped into the glow of the seraph blade revealing a young man, about Dorian's own age, with dark brown hair that fell in his face almost obscuring his green eyes, he looked up at the three captured men hanging upside down with a mildly curious expression on his face.
"You're not bears." He said almost tonelessly.
" Who are you?" Dorian and Brio said simultaneously, Brio with much more obvious agitation. Grann had taken up to yelling angrily and flailing was impressive the branches were able to sustain his bulky frame as he thrashed about. Dorian lifted himself up and swiftly cut the wire suspending him, falling to the ground in a roll landing in a graceful crouch. Brio followed suit taking a knife from his boot that was trying to fall free and sliced the wire landing with precision but without Dorian's grace. Dorian held out his seraph blade in front of him but made sure not to seem to imitating to the mundane boy. Brio held no such reservations as he pointed his knife directly at him.
"What are you doing here?" Brio demanded, making a jabbing gesture with his knife.
"Hunting bears." He shrugged looking around surveying the scene with intense scrutiny. He didn't seem too concerned about the two weapon wielding strangers Dorian thought. He looked back up at the wire dangling down from the tree branches, he doubted very much these wires were meant to capture bears. The boy turned his gaze back to them, his eyes tracing their skin, a puzzled look on his face.
"Those marks, what are they?" He asked, Brio and Dorian looked over at each other.
"Who are you?" Brio asked again sharply, raising his knife.
"Brio.." Dorian warned.
"He has the Sight." Brio answered his warning, taking a step closer towards the other boy.
"I'll tell you my name if you shut him up." He said jerking his head up at Grann who was now shouting in Romanian, his face turning blue from the blood rushing to his head. Brio sighed and began climbing the tree Grann's wire was tied to, making it to the top in two swift movements. He pulled out one of his chakrams and threw it, letting it sail through the air severing the wire dumping Grann to the ground unceremoniously. Grann hit the ground hard, and laid still. Worried he had broken his neck Dorian ran to the man, crouching beside him he took his wrist in his hands and checked his pulse. He was alive, but unconscious.
"He's alive, if anyone cares." He muttered as Brio began advancing on the other boy.
"Well, your name." Brio demanded still pointing his knife at him.
Dorian gave a sigh at Brio's lack of tact. He had just met the other boy and he was already tiring his patience, and Dorian usually thought of himself as very patient.
"James Harker, I-" He was cut off by a rustling of leaves behind them. The boys turned around, Dorian standing up. A few feet away was a man standing uncomfortably still, his dark eyes empty, his shirt stained with a dark brown color. The clearing became unnaturally silent, a gust of wind blew through them bringing an unnatural chill.
"That's blood." James said quietly narrowing his eyes at the brown stains. The man's lips pulled back in a feral snarl and he let out a guttural sound, sharp incisors extended, puncturing his lips. The veins around his eyes began to pop, blue lines tracing his face. Dorian and Brio unsheathed their weapons, Brio holding his last chakram and Dorian wielding his estoc. James, who stumbled back in surprise, fumbled at his waistband unsheathing a rapier Dorian hadn't noticed before.
"What is that?" James breathed, his eyes widening in surprise just before the man sprang forward at an inhuman speed lunging for them. Brio jumped back grabbing James by the collar and yanking him back with him. The creature swung his claws out at Dorian startling him with how fast it closed the distance between them. Dorian barely managed to deflect it's blows as it lashed out at his throat. Dorian caught a glimpse of cold dark eyes, they had a frightening hunger to them. He made several attempts to attack but the man evaded them with ease. He began to sweat, the strain from keeping up with each blow catching up to him, it was a grave reminder of his lack of real combat experience. A chakram spun through the air between them forcing the man back, grazing his torso, flesh blood spraying his tunic. Dorian didn't hesitate to take the opportunity and thrusted his estoc down cutting deep in its shoulder.
When Brio had let go of his grip on James's collar to use his chakram, James, who came to his senses, dashed ahead before he could grab him again and drove his rapier into the things chest.
The man stood there with two blades pierced deep in his body. He looked up at the sky for a moment, his expression looked almost wistful, blood gurgled from his mouth as he tried to speak. To Dorian's horror he looked like he was trying to say a prayer. And after one horrible beat the man finally succumbed and crumpled to the ground.
Brio walked over to the body and kicked it over to look at his face. Dorian felt a sudden urge to push Brio away. In death the man looked nothing more than human now as he laid broken and diminished at their feet. Dorian's attention snapped back to reality as Brio knelt down, and without any hesitation, stuck his fingers in the corpse's mouth.
"Brio!" Dorian gasped, appalled. Brio ignored him, and with a hard tug removed his hand from the mouth revealing a long fang he pulled out, a mischievous glint in his eyes. James knelt down beside him holding a sketchbook he had pulled out from somewhere, flipping through the pages excitedly till he found the one he was looking for. James held out a sketch of a body, it was incredibly detailed with a list of notes down the page in reference to specific anomalies he had found on the bodies. He was pointing to two puncture wounds on the neck of the body, next to it was a note stating that the puncture wounds were present on every body found.
"Fangs explains what has been making these wounds." James said flipping the pages to show sketches of more corpses each with the same puncture wounds, some more precise and neat and some had been torn into bloody gashes on the bodies. Some bodies seemed to have multiple entry wounds. The two Nephilim looked at him with renewed suspicion.
He had a clear British accent, his skin had the complexion of someone who was accustomed to London's weather might be. So what was this British boy with the Sight doing with a book filled of sketches of murders doing in Transylvania?
" Ahem, James was it? Not that we don't appreciate the assistance, but what are you doing here?" Dorian tried again, shooting Brio a glance to make sure he wasn't going to start threatening him again. James began sketching the body in front of him on a clean sheet of paper.
"My father is a detective of sorts back in London. He takes on unusual and difficult cases, around a year ago he heard about the strange murders going on in Wallachia. After getting a few promising leads he left and I haven't heard from him since." He said without looking up from his sketch, his gaze held an intense focus.
"So you traveled all the way to Transylvania on your own?" Dorian asked.
"I'm quite capable, my father ensured I was able to defend myself and personally saw that my education was suitable for someone in his line of work." Finishing the sketch James straightened up brushing off his pants.
Dorian noticed a small silver chain attached from his pants link leading into his pocket. A pocket watch perhaps?
"What leads did your father have?" Brio said speaking up.
"He didn't tell me." James looked down at his feet looking abashed for the first time.
"Who were these traps for then really?" Brio asked retrieving his chakrams that were scattered about. James looked up with a small smile.
"To catch whoever made this ambush... him most likely." James looked down at the dead man with a thoughtful expression, Brio and Dorian stared back at him blankly. Seeing their confused reactions James stepped forward pointing towards the direction of the road they had come from and explained.
"The debris on the road that blocked you from the path. Didn't you find it odd that there was no hint of a storm? No debris on any other part of the road and what's more there was too much to possibly sift through and move out of the way. Someone blocked the road to force travelers into the woods." James concluded. After a moment of silence as they deliberated James' words, Dorian stood up and walked over to where Grann still laid unconscious.
"That's all well and good, but our guide is still knocked out." Dorian bent down lightly slapping Grann's face to try to wake him, his face twitching in response.
"I don't suppose you know where the institute is do you?" Brio asked James.
" I don't know anything about that, but I do know where all the traps are placed." James said with a less than innocent smile.
"You want us to take you with us?" Brio asked dubiously.
" You know more about what's going on then you're telling me, I'm curious to know exactly who you people are. Besides I think I've proved that I have valuable information." James looked over to Dorian lifting up a slowly rousing Grann to his feet.
"Well you can always try your luck getting past the traps on your own."
Brio looked as if he wanted to argue more but Dorian cut him off.
"Fine you can come, but Brio you should tell him as much as you can before we get there."
"Sure that'll be easy" He mumbled, "So James have you heard of Nephilim before?"
"What?"
Brio let out an exaggerated groan that Dorian ignored.
"Also…" Dorian helped Grann steady himself and looked over at the body. "I want to bring the body back. We could learn something." And give him a proper burial he thought to himself.
He would soon realize how naive his hope was. It would be the first of many dark revelations to come.
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Simon Rosewain was sitting at his desk in his office. A pile of books were stacked so high and haphazardly they threatened to fall on top of him and bury him. Smaller stacks were scattered around the room with scraps of parchment stuffed in the bookshelves. Several empty inkwells had fallen off his desk after he absentmindedly knocked them off and forgotten about them.
Cassandra had been harping on him to make his office presentable as any respectable Head of Institute should be. And whether anyone liked it or not, he was, until the Clave came to their senses, the Head of the Cluj Institute.
Simon tapped his quill against the letter he had been trying to pen, leaving a large messy ink splotch as he thought.
Somehow, he had found himself as a leader of a war effort the likes the Nephilim had never faced. Fate had a cruel sense of justice to place him in charge of so many lives, he thought as he looked over the requests once again.
The Brasov outpost was asking for reinforcements, of which Simon had none to offer. Despite the forces that had already been deployed other matters around the world had managed to convince the Clave that Romania was not as of much importance. Or perhaps they had given up hope.
The most recent offer of aid he was expecting to arrive was in the form of two young Nephilim, not even old enough to vote in a Clave meeting. He hoped for their sake that this Morgenstern and Greymark were capable fighters, least they throw away their lives for nothing.
Simon scribbled a promise of new weapons. It wasn't much help he knew when they didn't have enough fighters to use them. He also promised he would request for Hayo Ken Yu to depart for Brasov once he made it to the rendezvous point in Sibu after escorting the new arrivals to the institute.
He finished the letter by inscribing it with a rune, then holding it aloft as it burst into flames. He frowned as he thought, he hoped the fire message would give some consolation for the soldiers waiting for good news, though he knew it was unlikely.
A loud knock echoed through the institute.
Grann must have made it back with the reinforcements. He stood up preparing himself to greet everyone and regarded himself as he looked himself up and down. He wasn't exactly a sight that would instill confidence. He didn't look like a strong leader or even a warrior for that matter. That was probably because he wasn't one, always having preferred the weight of a book then a weapon.
Regardless of his looks, he had to do his best to fulfill his role the best he could he reminded himself, putting on what he hoped was a brave face and left the office.
He headed down the corridor, passing a the portrait of the Sangmares that Simon tried hard not to look at, which was ridiculous he chided himself seeing as he was the one who insisted it remained despite tradition.
The institute was rather small by most standards, only able to house around thirty Shadowhunters at the most. Cluj was never anticipated to be the epicenter of such a large epidemic and it showed in the first few years after the disease had spread. The Institute was bursting with the sudden influx of Nephilim coming and going but now there was hardly enough people to man the Institute let alone the remaining outposts spread throughout Transylvania.
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Simon opened the large doors to the institute and was greeted with the sight of three young boys who looked worse for wear and all too familiar and a rather disgruntled mundane servant. They were covered in sweat blood and one of them seemed to have a coating of ash down his front.
The retrieval must not have gone smoothly, Simon realized.
Grann pushed past Simon, knocking into his shoulder mumbling something under his breath, something about incompetence probably. He tried not to take it personally, though he knew it was, as he turned towards the three boys on the doorstep.
Simon felt his heart despair as he took them in, they seemed even younger now that he could see them. He wasn't much older himself, yet still, if he was afraid to fight these monsters how could they be expected to fight this battle before they even knew what it was they were facing?
That was when Simon noticed, two dark haired boys, one with curling locks and the other with longer hair that hung lankly in his face, and the other with fair white hair. There was one more person then he had expected.
"There are...three of you?" He questioned, and then blushed realizing how rude he must have sounded, interrogating them before even introducing himself.
"We found him on the way here." The one with curly hair explained, "He's a mundane with the sight."
The other boy stepped in front of them pushing the other dark haired one out of his way. "I can introduce myself. I'm James Harker, pleased to meet you." He said extending his hand.
"Oh, um..yes, I'm Simon Rosewain Head of this Institute. Pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Harker. It is unusual that we have a mundane as a guest, but as this is the safest place for you, you are more then welcome to stay as long as you like." He said trying for a gentle smile trying to reassure him but he just continued to stare straight ahead engrossed with his surroundings. The Institute with its delicate carvings of angels and runes was probably quite the marvel to take in for the first time.
"Morgenstern and Graymark I take it?" He turned to the other two.
"Dorian Morgenstern." The fair head boy said politely with a slight bow of his head. Simon noticed he had a slight point to his ears and tried not to stare.
"Brio." The other said simply.
Simon nodded. "Very well, follow me and I'll introduce you to the others, then we should speak." He motioned for them to follow him inside as he lead them to the old dining room.
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What was once used as a dining room now had several table pushed against the walls, weapons, and tools to repair them along with medical supplies littered the room for easy access.
Everyone seemed to have found themselves something to do in the room as they waited for the new arrivals with the exception of Grann who was nowhere to be seen, to Simon's relief.
The group stopped in the entryway as they waited for Simon to introduce everyone.
"Everyone, this is Dorian Morgenstern and Brio Graymark." He introduced, "And this is James Harker, our guest."
"He's a mundane? Simon, he shouldn't be here." Cassandra protested, her arms folded around herself looking defiant as usual. Her hair reddish brown hair was pulled back in an elegant ponytail that hung prettily over her shoulder,and she was using her usual makeshift gear.
"Nephilim are charged with defending humanity," Simon shot James an apologetic look, "of course your welcome here."
She pursed her lips looking displeased, but thankfully dropped the subject. He really did not want to get in an argument about this here. "Ahem, this is Cassandra Highsmith." He motioned towards her. "And Edan and Caelan Lovelace."
He introduced the two brothers. Caelan looked up from the arrows he was inspecting and smiled shyly at the group. Edan merely cocked his eyebrow, his eyes narrowed studying them, not moving from the wall he was lounging against. He supposed he shouldn't expect much of an introduction from those two considering their wasn't exactly a warm welcome but it could have gone much worse with his group, Simon reminded himself.
"Is this it?" Brio asked abruptly, looking around the room as if he expected a platoon to suddenly file into the room.
The room became uncomfortably quiet. Edan let out a small cough that Simon doubted was genuine.
"Yes well, the situation has gotten quite dire as I'm sure you've heard." Simon shifted a little uncomfortably. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation in my office?"
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The four of them filed into the office with Simon taking the lead. He sat down at his chair behind his desk and instantly remembered that he only had one other chair in his office for guests. James promptly sat down, as if he had forgotten about the other two completely, while Brio decided to turn one of Simon's book piles into a makeshift chair. Simon stared after him, debating if he should ask for Brio to leave his poor books alone before deciding that it would probably be fine. Dorian, thankfully, decided to stand politely, shooting Brio a glare that the other boy didn't seem to notice.
"Um..Right.." Simon started, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from Brio and his books. "Where should I begin?" Simon looked over at Dorian who's entire front was covered in ash, that might be a good place to start. "Dorian, would you mind telling me what happened to your shirt?"
Dorian looked stricken, as if he had a sudden urge to throw up. He looked down at his front, dismayed. "We were attacked..he- the creature, he wasn't human."
James perked up at the discussion of their attacker and pulled out a sketch book he had hidden somewhere and placed it in front of Simon. "It was what's been committing these murders. I took the liberty of sketching the body." He pointed to the mouth of the man in the drawing, his mouth open exposing two long incisors. "I've found consistent puncture wounds on all of the victims I've examined." He explained.
Simon nodded along. "And the body turned to ash as soon it was exposed to daylight, correct?"
"Y-yes."Dorian answered, still looking a bit pale.
Simon wondered why the destruction of the body of his attacker was bothering him so.
The three of them looked at him expectantly, it was time for some answers. "You have encountered the enemy then." He sighed. "Those creatures are what we've been facing here. It's been much more than a few murders, it's been an onslaught, a massacre." His face turned into a grimace as he remembered the horrifying fates of his fellow Nephilim, his thoughts turning back once more to the Sangmares. "I'm sure you have noticed they posses supernatural speed and strength."
The others nodded remembering their struggle to keep up with just one of them.
"Where did they come from?" Brio asked, leaning on his pile of books almost causing them to tip over, he jerked wildly for a brief moment before regaining his balance.
The other two glared at him.
"We don't know, there's just so much we have yet to learn about them hardly keeping them at bay as it is." He said sadly. "Perhaps a curse of some sort or maybe demonic possession on a mass scale?"
James cocked an eyebrow looking confused.
"What about disease?" James asked suddenly as if a more sensible conclusion was more likely than demonic influences. "Plenty of animals with teeth such as these carry infectious disease or venom."
Simon looked at him surprised, he was a sharp one, this mundane boy. "They do appear to carry some venom like properties that help subdue their victims but it seems to lack any contagion. We've treated substantial wound bites successfully without any signs of affliction."
James looked merely lost in thought as he processed the information rather than discouraged, as if he was adding another piece to the puzzle he was trying to solve.
"The main use for these incisors seems to be for breaking the skin." Seeing their quizzical expressions he continued, "They're blood drinkers you see, though we have no idea if it's merely a bloodlust or an actual need."
At this, Dorian and James's expression turned horrified, even Brio had the decency to seem mildly disgusted.
"In all honestly that is about all we know at this point."
They looked disappointed at that, James in particular looked quite disheartened.
The room became silent and Simon wondered if they were now just realizing how truely dire the situation was.
He wished he wasn't the one to inform them of that, he wished he could change their decision to come here. Especially James who was just a mundane and had no reason to suffer through any of this.
"I think you two should get some sleep. Tonight you will go out on your first patrol, you'll want to be well rested." He said to Dorian and Brio.
The two of them made to get up to leave but James remained seated after they left.
Simon felt a little uncomfortable wondering why James had stayed behind to talk to him.
As soon as the door clicked shut he said, "I want to talk to you about something." his gaze was so intense Simon couldn't possibly refuse him.
"O-of course what is this about?" A little startled at was so important that he wanted to speak with him privately away from the others.
James pulled out a pocket watch from his trousers and placed it on the desk.
The silver of the pocket watch glinted in the dim candle light but it was the carving on the back that stood out to Simon.
The Angelic Rune of Power.
"Oh," was all he said as he looked at James, a realization dawning on him.
Whoever James Harker was, he was no mundane brought here by chance alone.
Ok, so wow that was a long one, but I figured a story like this needed a proper introduction. SO! Please tell me if anyone is interested in this kind of story and more chapters will be on their way!