There are three domains in this world. Water. Air. Earth. Three great realms all with their own ancient races and myths. And yet it has been so long since these ancients walked, flew, and swum among humans. Death and misery had taken its toll and the ancient ones had retreated to their places of safety. But an oath was sworn many eons ago. Should darkness ever seek to overtake the serenity of this world, they would fight back. An ancient alliance made in blood and completely unbreakable. The time is long since overdue.
When the blood of Daratrazanoff and Dubrinsky melded together to destroy a horde of vampires set upon them by Xavier, they activated an ancient compulsion. One that dwelled in their very blood since before their father's father's time. Only in great desperation could such a power be unleashed. And only in such desperation could the call be issued. The call has been made…The Ancient Council has begun to rise…
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The mountainside crumbled slightly. All of the recent storms and slight quakes had dislodged the ancient stones that were gripped between the roots of various plants. The earth shifted again and an unnatural piece of stone thrust out into the air. It was sharp and perfectly ninety degrees; like a corner.
Lightening slashed through the sky, striking the corner with unnatural precision. The stone shattered slightly, leaving only enough room for a mouse to squeeze through, but it was enough. Mist streamed from the hole and almost instantly formed a column on top of the cliff.
A woman with long black hair twisted up into an intricate knot stepped out of the mist. She wore an ancient dress of red drapery held to her body with golden braids and revealed smooth, pale-as-the-moon, skin. Her dark eyes studied the landscape carefully. In the distance she could see a town. Her eyebrow shot up at the location, it was rather close to where her old home used to be. Doubtless the building no longer stood but still…it struck her as rather ironic.
She scented the wind. Only by two powerful bloodlines linking in desperation to fight off darkness could she have been awakened. Mentally she reached for the others and found they had not yet woken. She must have been closest then. Karpatii blood must have united then, how long ago she could not tell. Only that it had happened.
Hunger clawed at her. She had been so long without feeding. It wasn't remotely healthy. Two humans were nearby. Camping. She called to them a siren's call impossible to resist. The men started to stumble her way, a horrible racket but unavoidable.
If this threat was great enough to call to the Council then it was cause to worry. She knew that she had rested between her own people and the roosts of the Avariels on the other side of the mountains and yet…she could not feel their touch in the wind. She frowned; it was unsettling to say the least. Had they moved to more secluded ranges? How much more secluded could one get?
The humans stumbled forward; two males both wearing an obnoxious amount of some fabric she identified through their minds as flannel. She beckoned to the first and he came without hesitation. She nearly drained both of them in a matter of a few minutes.She was still hungry but she could do with the amount she had. She had to investigate this new world. She would start with these campers. She guided them back to their campsite, picking information out of their mind until she had exhausted the information that she could find. They weren't vastly educated men but filling in the gaps of her last memories to their first was quite an effort. Especially as she tried to leap the language 'advances' if they could really be called that.
She lowered the two men to their bedding and started back toward the cliff. She would fly down to the village and continue to figure out what exactly had caused her to waken. Her sandals made no noise as she crossed over logs and twigs. She was silent as a wraith and if she chose just as deadly.
She could feel Karpatii moving to investigate her lightening strike. She smiled a bit. Let them investigate; they'd never find her unless she chose it. Suddenly she stopped mid-stride. "Powers that be…" she breathed in the ancient language. She must be the oldest thing on the face of the planet. She felt so….old didn't even cover it. She was obscenely old. "Good thing I don't age." She grumbled to herself as she dispersed into mist and gently rolled down the cliff towards the town.
Several birds of prey that weren't birds at all swooped down and landed in branches of trees as she moved past in a completely natural fashion. Unfortunately this meant that she was still partially there when the birds started to take a different form. Men with dark hair and chiseled features. If she had a face she'd have smiled at them. Her Karpatii were still very much alive it would seem.
But still, it should not have been that easy to slip past them. They had lost their edge over the ages. She would have to remind them of it. Putting it out of her mind for the moment she sent her senses flaring across once familiar forests. So much had changed while she slept. And yet here and there she could recognize a rock formation or river that used to run a little shallower than it did now.
After a while the mist finally rolled over the town and she reformed in the shadows, making certain to mask her presence. It was a good thing, she found out a moment later, nobody here dressed like she was used to. Nobody wore the tunics and drapes that she was familiar with. Looking down at her own clothes she frowned a bit. Until she found something she liked she would have to deal with her current attire.
She called a few more men over to feed from, draining three to nearly the same quivering state as the two campers earlier. She had been hungrier than she thought, though when you're asleep for thousands of years she supposed it was understandable.
Crossing the road she entered a larger bustling building as a chilly breeze from the constantly opening door. Once inside she recognized the building as an inn. Standing in the corner she scanned mind after mind, absorbing information like a sponge. The innkeeper and her family seemed to have barriers though; ones place by a Karpatii. Under protection most likely. She didn't bother trying to get through the barriers; she was searching for basic information.
Once she was certain she knew the language and had grasped most of the customs of this new age she went back outside and clothed herself in more modern garb. A pair of black jeans that she had found many tourists wore (whatever a tourist was) and a rather old fashioned crimson blouse without sleeves and a bit of gold embroidery around the ribbed waist. She conjured herself a few large bags and grabbed them as she reentered the inn, this time completely visible.
She walked up to the innkeeper and gave a beguiling smile. "Hello there. I'd like to get a room if I could."
The innkeeper practically beamed back. "Of course dear! How long will you be staying?"
The ancient made a show of sighing, "Oh, I'm not at all certain…my family was original from this area a long time ago and I wanted to get back to my roots. Not that I really know what those roots are of course! I didn't much plan ahead I'm afraid. Spur of the moment as it were."
"I understand perfectly, my dear. My name's Slavica, if you need anything just be sure to ask." She said rooting around in a drawer until she retrieved a small brass key. "Room 3 is very nice."
"I'm sure it will be lovely."
"I'm sorry I didn't catch the name?" Slavica said.
"Oh! I'm sorry, what terrible manners of me. My name is Phai…Phai….Drake." She said, struggling for a moment to come up with a suitable last name. She had never had the need to use one before.
"Phai? That's a rather old name isn't it?" Slavica asked curiously.
Phai smiled kindly. "Very old…it's a family name or so I was told."
"Far be it from me to say anything about old families and their names." Slavica said with a laugh. "Come, Ms. Drake I'll show you to your room. My husband will carry your bags up for you don't worry about them."
"Very well." Phai said as she followed the kindly old lady up the stairs. It took minimal effort to make sure the bags were appropriately heavy so that Slavica's husband would not notice anything odd about them.
Where did this come from? I have no bloody idea. Perhaps my constant musings on what other races there were besides Wizards, Carpathians, Jaguars, and Lycanthropes. They did say there were many that had died out...well maybe the Carpathians aren't the only ones in hiding. But it is a continuation of my story Dragon Blooded where Phai made her first appearance. Review if you want me to continue if you don't well...I'll just let it go at this...