A/N: My first D&D fantasy non crossover story, the sequel will be a crossover. Oh this is truly how Xaphras' parents died so be nice OK?
Dark Tides
Chapter 1: Xaphras and Dana
On a hill near a dark forest a tall figure in black watched over the lands. Thoughts flew through his mind; memories locked within his mind were sorted. Faces of friends long gone. He sighed quietly before a loud cry of help broke the monotony of the night for him. In a part of the forest, a red haired, green eyed sorceress fled from her pursuer. She chanted off a quick spell as four glowing rays of flame impacted the bipedal werewolf chasing her. It howled in pain and rage as it was flung back slightly, giving the sorceress another chance to cast the same spell. This time the flames forced it over the edge of a ravine it and she had jumped over.
The man turned and his gaze picked up the running forms of a woman and two werewolves chasing her as they broke from the woods. One was scorched by multiple fireballs the other bruised, obviously by magic missiles considering the spell the woman tossed at it. The five orbs of pure energy beat the bipedal wolf back. A small smirk graced the man's face as he transformed into a Dire Wolf. It would be a change from the loneliness he had been experiencing for a very long time. He charged down the hill and tackled both wolves, rolling away from the snarling beasts as his black sword unsheathed itself from his gloved hand. The sorceress tripped and rolled with a spell on her lips. A blade unsheathed itself from her gloved hand as she prepared herself to die only to find a tall black cloaked man decapitate one of the wolves. The man jumped back before leaping forwards, piercing the wolf in the heart causing it to drop to the ground with a howl and a gurgle. The man decapitated the wolf he stabbed, smirking as he did so.
The woman gasped for breath as he offered a hand. "Many thanks for saving me."
A soft voice answered her. "Not a problem my dear. Might I have the honor of your name?"
"Dana." She replied.
The man cocked his head before shaking it, almost as if he were shaking off a thought or memory.
"I am Xaphras." He said bringing her hand to his lips. Dana the sorceress gasped before giggling, her emotions still running wild. "Why were the wolves chasing you?"
"Thank you Xaphras, I was out looking for spell components and herbs."
"Ah, a necessary part of spell casting. Besides, regardless of what some might think of me, it would be wrong to have left you to the mercies of those beasts."
He was careful to not let her see his face within the cowl of his cloak which was pulled over his head.
"Might I see the face of the man who saved me?"
He sighed. It was a cold night and yet she noticed no cloud of air around his mouth. Either he was holding his breath…or not breathing at all.
"Very well." He said, pulling down his hood.
Dana's green eyes met gleaming red and her eyes widened in astonishment and fear. His skin was pale as death, his features almost lupine in grace, and in his mouth which was bared in a half smirk, half grimace, showed elongated canines.
"Vampire." She gasped. Her hands came up and she chanted a spell. He responded with a motion she recognized as a clerical spell and his power dispelled hers, causing the magic to fizzle.
"Yes I am. That was not very polite to throw a fireball spell at your savior; you had no problems with me until you discovered my race. Regardless of the fact that I am undead and viewed as evil, I am not interested in killing you. Would you please stop your hostile motions, I am no threat to you currently. I merely wish for some company."
"No threat to me currently." Dana sneered, taking a defensive position as she moved with the grace of one who had trained many years with a blade. "What about later? I am not interested in becoming a thrall or a spawn. Be gone undead or I shall destroy you!"
Xaphras sighed. It seemed he would have to subdue her to at least make her listen to him. He moved quickly into sword range knowing she could not risk casting a spell with him so close. Moving with the unholy speed he was blessed with, Xaphras struck a blow that made Dana cringe, his long sword clashing against her smaller short sword. She swung for his neck attempting a decapitation but it was parried with ease; the vampire had attained a mastery of arms while alive three centuries prior and his skills had only increased over time. He swung for her legs but she jumped over the swing. Minutes passed as the two battled back and forth. Xaphras' next blow, however, was a two handed blow that hit the glowing blue force shield that sprang into being on her arm. Her return strike was blocked by a similar shield. Xaphras's blade clashed with Dana's again and twisted into a sword lock, tearing the hilt from Dana's grasp. He lunged and grappled with her, quickly making eye contact. His will lashed out in an attempt for dominance but the will of a sorceress was hardly weak. Both minds struggled before Xaphras grimaced and backhanded her carefully, holding the majority of his strength back. Dana struck her head on a rock and the world went black for her.
Xaphras smirked again; it would be so easy…but no it was much better to feed when they were willing. Absently, he noticed a greater power he was quite familiar with swirling around him, watching him. The vampire pulled some rope from his pack and bound Dana tightly, binding her wrists to prevent any wiggling or utilizing the somatic components for a spell. He gagged her as well as some spells could be cast merely by speaking the incantation alone.
"Xaphras."
The dark presence heralded the lord of death and Xaphras' patron god Nerull,
"What is your will milord?"
"Why have you not killed or turned the woman yet?"
"I was hoping the slaughter of the wolves would please you enough to let her live. I am lonely and another sorceress would not go amiss among the ranks of your followers milord."
The form taken by Nerull was currently a lich, a skeletal mage.
"You believe she could be convinced to follow me?"
"I am hopeful of it. As you most likely have noticed milord, she is a skilled swordswoman."
"Indeed. To hold back a vampire as powerful and well-trained as yourself for five minutes is impressive." Nerull admitted. "Very well then. I hope you convince her to join us, for her sake."
Xaphras bowed. "By your command milord."
Nerull faded, his attention diverted elsewhere, allowing some freedom of thought to the vampire.
'Convince her? Well it would be a shame to waste such beauty. Why is it that the one girl I find that seems my type is from another world?' Xaphras growled in his mind, his memories turning back to his time on his old world of Earth and how he had come to Faerun in the first place. He picked up Dana and threw her over his shoulder before returning to the ruins he had stayed in for the past twenty five years. The ruins were once part of a way station to the long abandoned Elven city of Myth Drannor. The inn ironically was the most intact building, the rest of the waystation had long since collapsed or was on the verge of collapse. About three-quarters of the inn was still inhabitable, and Xaphras had modified one of the lower rooms into a prison, A deep pit was dug inside and a dug out area was added as a latrine with spells to keep it fresh and clean.
Xaphras set the unconscious redhead down in the pit, one enchanted to prevent the casting of magic within. His mind turned back to what he once was, his living name long forgotten. In his chambers within the ruins were hallmarks of his other world of Earth: a device called a computer and a phone, both enchanted long ago to repair themselves and never needing a power source. He drained the last of a goblet of blood and thought back…
October 31st 2013, 300 years prior"Hi guys." The living Xaphras said to his parents though no answer was forthcoming as expected as he read their tombstones.
Both had died in their 40's. His father was from the United States of America, a soldier. His mother was a computer technician from Canada who had once owned a company that dealt in high tech locks before it was bought by the government.
"Sorry I didn't come to visit lately, school was killing me. I finished my bachelor's degree in Psychology today; I'm moving on to graduate studies now. Oh, how did I do? Well I finished in the high 'A' range. 4.23 GPA as I ended…Gods I miss you guys. It's not fair… not fair at all." He snarled.
Both had been killed by a drunk driver in a car accident having been rammed head on by a truck going 120 in a 50 zone. He cried quietly, lulled to sleep by sorrow and the quiet after having a long and stressful day. He wished for power, the power to change life as it was. When he woke, he had found himself in a dark set of ruins before a beautiful woman attacked him, biting him. He had managed to decapitate her by slamming her head into a doorway and slamming the door on her trapped neck with all his considerable might. But the wound in his neck and the venom in his blood claimed him, lulling him to sleep. When he awoke he had become a creature of the night, a vampire, immortal but never able to walk in sunlight again.
Eric, Mike, Ryan and Alex, his old friends, he could still recall their faces now; he has an eidetic memory as such he would be forever able to remember all that happened to him.
Xaphras snarled to himself as he broke free of his memories. Returning home was his wish and he had joked about similar things with his friends; two of them promised that such a change would not bother them. But if he did return, in the words of his old self, he wanted them to put their money where their mouths were. He had done terrible things in Nerull's name, and what he wondered most was, was there anything of the friend they knew left in him?
"Ok Nosferatu, stop the pity party." Xaphras snarled jokingly to himself. He walked to the prison pit where Dana had awoken.
"Spells won't work there, it's an anti-magical sphere." He called down.
Dana just glared.
Xaphras turned to mist and floated down to where Dana lay on a mattress that he put there for the comfort of the occupant. "If you be nice and cooperate I will ungag you."
Dana still glared but nodded.
"I'm sorry I had to remove your gear, but I do not wish to fight."
"Let me go please?" Dana asked quietly, realizing she stood no chance against him.
"Soon." Xaphras promised. "I've been alone for three centuries. Can you begrudge me a little company? I've been alone since I was 17 when my parents were killed in a…wagon accident of sorts at high speeds."
Dana's gaze softened a little; she was kind-hearted person and could at least sympathize. Her father had physically disapproved of her magic and had been nearly killed by Dana's untrained powers as they lashed out in anger and protection. So she had fled. Her parents, if they still were alive, resided in a different land than the one she now called home. The vampire healed the cut on her head with a quiet apology.
"What do you want of me?"
"Just somebody else I can talk to and perhaps engage your arcane services in time when I grow to trust you." Xaphras shrugged.
"Can I be untied?"
"You might have something I missed; I can recognize a rogue after all this time. You trained your powers and skills at the same time. I am impressed; there are not many who can."
Dana blushed a little at the truthful compliment.
"So until I can fully trust you… no." Xaphras stated.
Dana sighed and shifted, mentally cursing as she noted the dagger missing from her boot.
"And I am a great reader of body language, so no; there are no daggers in your boots." The Vampire grinned playfully before he noticed Nerull's presence gathering again.
"I will be back soon with some water for you." He promised as he turned into a bat and flew away.
"Yes milord?"
"Just a preliminary check on her." Nerull's voice answered.
"It will take time milord; time I'm certain we immortals have. I need to build her trust in me and I am building a plan as we speak."
The voice gave an acknowledgement before fading again.
"Oi! Can't get a moment's peace." Xaphras muttered to himself.
He collected a bottle of fresh water for Dana and brought it down for her, letting her drink. He checked her for a concussion and then let her sleep before retiring to his coffin for the coming day to rest.
A/N Well here's the first chapter of Dark Tides… Any thoughts anyone? Constructive criticism and praise are welcome if you flame, they will just be used to fuel the sun's solar furnace.
SE