Order

Ch.1 Angels Benediction

A bolt of light streaked across the silver moonlit sky. As loud as the crash of thunder it broke through the atmosphere and with a tremendous bang it shook the earth for miles around. Smoke drifted upwards from the site of the collision and a series of small fires burned around the epicenter. Troops from the nearby hold of Perishdon we're quick to the scene.

Commander Carolette Hawkeye was the first to arrive by horseback. Her quick assessment of the area was that of a meteor site, but upon closer inspection the strange light omitted by the unknown object was not that of a meteor. She was cautious and did not approach. Not long after that Lord Byron arrived.

"commander Hawkeye" Byron summoned his charge calmly his militia quickly taking formation around the crash. " status report."

"sir." she knelt before him as he dismounted his midnight black stead, "I'm sure it's not like anything I've ever seen before."

Byron frowned intensely, the dark circles around his eyes seemed to make them look sunk in like black holes. "that's very nice, now tell me something useful before I tire of your presence." he sounded irritated. he inspected the crater created from impact as well as the smoldering center point, still to concealed to make anything out except for the white glow put off by it, whatever it was.

Byron walked past Coralette and so she stood at attention, back erect she was still well over a foot shorter then his dark looming figure. "well sire, I'm afraid thats all I know at this point. I will investigate promptly if you so desire." the nervousness in her voice didn't show on her face, she appeared as any soldier would. Her blonde hair was braided down her back on the inside of her protective steel plate armor. Her eyes were sharp and fierce like a jungle cat. Outwardly she showed no fear but her voice betrayed her uneasy feeling.

Byron paused, he turned on one heal to face her, his face was expressionless, like a mannequin. His long silver hair swirled around the sharp angles of his jaw whenever a gust of wind blew by. His pitch black eyes, a sharp contrast to his pale hair and skin, dug into her like daggers. He bent down to look his commander in the eye, their faces only an inch apart. "that is not what I desire from you." his breath brushed her face and her back straightened even further as she swallowed her fear, desperately trying to maintain the ability to withstand his cold black stare. He smelled like death. "you are useless." he brushed back a stray strand of her hair almost affectionately. "normally I'd have more patience for your stupidity. but you've caught me on a bad night, you see, this incident interrupted my dinner, and I have not fed my hunger in over three weeks now.

By the time her brain processed what was being said to her it was to late to run, he locked his hands in the neck of her armor and wretched the very steal apart, it screeched and bent like an aluminum can. Her eyes went wide at the spectacle and before she could let out a scream her whole body became frozen as the venom from Byron's fangs, which were now imbedded into her necks vital artery, paralyzed her. Her pulse raced and mind whirled until both came to a slow stop. He released her corps, it fell to the ground with the clang of her metal armor.

Byron receded his fangs and wiped the remaining blood off his face, he hadn't spilled a single drop on his cloths or the ground. He looked torn by what he had done, "forgive me.. It really was unfortunate for you to have gone ahead." he frowned sadly and his eyes, now a light almost golden brown, closed for just a moment as he sent up a silent prayer for the woman who's life he had just taken.

"ah sire, good of you to join us, I tried speaking to you while you were dining but you seemed to be in a bit of a trance."

Byron turned away from his former commander to see Siren smiling his snake like smile as per usual, his honey sweet voice was ruined by his less then appealing flat face which always seemed to be twisted in a sneer. "poor thing." Siren continued in mach sadness, "she was quite talented, but she had no boundaries, always running off on her own ahead of the rest." he shook his head. "she deserved everything she got."

"quiet Siren. You know how I feel about my nasty habit, she had potential."

"yes well in your daze sire it seems the smoke has cleared and we can attend to the matter at hand." he responded, changing the subject.

Byron turned to face the large rock that sat in the middle of the crater. "that's odd."

"what sire?"

"I could have sworn I saw a strange light coming from there. It was not a rock."

"are you sure you weren't imagining it in your hunger driven histaria? You really should feed more often sire." Siren jested.

"I'm sure it was real." Byron ignored Sirens smart mouth and gracefully made his way down the steep edge of the impact site to examine this rock more closely.

"careful sire!" siren warned. " I'd hate to have to break bread with a new king."

Byron approached the rock slowly, it was as large as a farm raised heifer and it radiated heat still from its trip through the atmosphere. He stretched out a hand and carefully stroked the outer layer, once he deemed that it was not to hot to touch he placed both palms flat on the uneven surface. it was hot but to him it was less painful then the time he spent as a daywalker. He found a small crack in the rock that was large enough for him to fit the tips of his fingers, he looked in but there was only darkness.

"sire?" siren called. "it is just a space rock, come, we have other pressing matters to attend to. It seems your in need of a new commander." he snickered glancing at the dead body that lie pale and motionless near the edge of the crater.

"just a moment." Byron examined the rock once more and then put his fingers inside of the crack. "at the ready men. I'm going to pry this open... There's no telling what might be inside." Byron said imagining some great foe.

His troops drew their swords and surrounded the crater ready to charge should the need arise. Siren crossed his arms in annoyance. Byron took a deep breath and began to pry at the crack in the rock like a giant clam. He pried harder and harder exerting his full effort until finally small bits of rubble began to crumble away and a rumbling sound erupted around them. Byron let out a war cry, pushing himself to his limits.

As the rocky walls crumbled away a blindingly bright light began to shine through the opening being made. The troops pointed their swords and Siren looked with amazement and disbelief.

The crack spread across the whole rock splitting it into two pieces that soon fell apart from each other raising more dust and light as bright as the sun. Byron and his troops all shielded their eyes and some shied away from this reproduction of their worst enemy.

The light faded and as it did Byron drew his own sword trying to see through the haze. The dust cleared and light gone now Byron couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him floating where the center of the rock once was, was a girl no older than seven, floating in mid air with her petite arms wrapped around her knees, her black eyelids were covering her eyes peacefully and her black lips parted softly and formed syllables but no sound came out. Her long hair as white as fresh snow hung around her defying gravity. as the diamond shaped mark on her forehead dimmed she began to fall to the ground

Byron processed this and lowered his sword stepping forward quickly to catch her before she could hit the hard ground. Once the mark turned fully black, all the light was gone and the strange girl lie limp in his arms.

"sire!" siren called as he stumbled his way to Byron who stood dumbfounded by the child he had just pried out of a rock that only moments ago fell from the sky. "be careful!" his voice now held real caution and mild panic. "who knows what kind of danger it might pose!"

"it's just a child." he said calmly, he shifted her to one arm then the other and striped his fine jacket to wrap around her. She sighed softly in her sleep and clutched it tightly. The innocence before him struck something in him he did not understand. "what danger is a child?"

"it's not a child! Its.. It's.. It's not a human, it's not one of us! It's not anything from this plain or the next, it's an unknown, and a danger!"

"quiet!" he glared at his advisor. "if she becomes a problem, I will take care of it." he looked back to the child and brushed her hair from her face, he leaned close to her and inhaled her scent. "she smells human... Nothing more, maybe this is nothing more than magic. In which case, she is still a human and with such power, maybe even a plainswalker."

"sire, what are you proposing?"

"we will care for her, I will raise her."

"please, tell me you jest."

"no such luck. come, it's time to go home." and like that they departed. Strange things happened so often in Byron's life he rarely took to long to think about them any more, he had come to accept the fact that some things were unexplainable, though his advisors did not accept such facts so easily.

Ch.2 Sera Angel

3 years later...

The day was a busy one. Paperwork to read and sign, disputes to handle, and a kingdom to run. The days spent in constant work were countless now with countless more ahead. The moon waned high in the sky, beginning it's decent. Byron stared longingly at it, his chair no longer felt comfortable and he became restless.

He sighed in frustration, "I was not meant to spend my eternity behind a desk." he examined the seemingly never ending pile of paperwork that loomed in front of him, mocking him. His lack of freedom was daunting, he now felt claustrophobic, the dark ascetic life he had spent in these four walls closed in around him and smothered him. For the first time in his life this room seemed too cramped, and far to depressing for him to remain in for a moment longer.

He stood and stretched his back, popping it in many places. He then adorned his coat and quickly escaped the room that was beginning to feel like a prison to him.

Any servant or noble he passed in the hall bowed to him though he ignored them all, he had a goal now. Freedom.

He knocked on one of the doors in the hall. No answer. "Seraphim?" He called inside but still no response. He opened the door slowly and stepped into the room looking around but there was no sign of anyone. "I'm not in the mood for games today child."

After a short pause there was a quiet rustling in the direction of the closet. Byron smiled devilishly. "well, I suppose she's really not here... I'll have to get one of the servants to help round up the escaped horses." he turned to leave slowly.

Before he could take a step, out from the closet burst a small figure with pale hair and skin, and pitch black eyes and lips. "no!" she said. "I can do it! Those useless fools don't know how to treat animals! They probably let them out intentionally so they could have some excuse to eat the poor things!" she ranted in the sweetest voice.

"seraphim." he responded, instantaneously he scooped her up in his arms and propped her upright to sit on his shoulders. "the horses are well and safe, in there pen."

"but you said they were loose.."

"and you said nothing. I called you, you are expected to come. You know this." he scolded in a voice that may have terrified the strongest men of his court but the child was unfazed.

"I wanted you to find me.. I've been hiding all day, and six days before that, only coming out to eat." she pouted wrapping her arms tightly around locks of his hair.

Byron chuckled loudly at that. "you had the help worried."

"let them worry! They want to eat me."

"not everyone in the castle is out to eat you child. Do not worry, I would have their head before they could even think such things."

"then prepare stakes for the lot of them." she held on, loosely running her fingers through his long silver hair. "or hire humans. Their much easier to get along with."

"you must grow more accustomed to your surroundings." although he looked mildly ridiculous traipsing around his domain with a young sweet looking girl perched on his shoulders he maintained a serious, regal, disposition. Even as the girl began to twist small locks of his hair into braids. "you are my daughter now. This is your life. We are what we are and despite some that give our kind a bad reputation we are civilized, or, this coven is at the very least. There are some who conduct themselves in a much less... Dignified manor."

"I know..." she said wrapping her arms around his head making a crown of sorts.

Over the last three years since Seraphim's arrival lord Byron had grown more and more attached to the child and, according to his advisor, more and more soft. When she first arrived she was fearful and shy. Soon though she became fond of the lord despite his rakish fearsome appearance. She was treated well and taught by Byron the ways of this world of which she was completely unfamiliar with. She had no past, or none that she could remember. Not even Byron could fathom where she could be from or how she came to be in that fallen star. He called her Seraphim, named for the highest rank of the nine kinds of angels, because although he himself had never laid eyes on such a divine being, he thought that with her innocence she must be the closest thing to their likeness he'd likely ever see. Although he was busy he always made time for her and although he seemed harsh, cruel even, around her his attitude seemed to change. Over time they developed a strong bond and each of them gained something. A home for one, and for the other, a reason for existing.

Byron and Seraphim left the castle grounds on foot, with his speed it was only a few minutes sprint into the village. When they arrived the guards at the gate bowed but he waved them off, telling them not to announce his arrival as per usual custom. Although feared across the land few outside the castle walls knew his face, and so he could venture out without being hounded by fearful subservient underlings or attacked by one of the many who'd love to see him dead.

He walked the moonlit streets casually, his nondescript black coat was the only thing keeping him from being discovered. He was hard to miss, towering more than two feet taller than even the tallest man here with the added height of his companion. Many others wandered the streets, in this hold everyone, even the humans, rose at night. Seraphim didn't question where they were headed although she had no idea. A few of the shadier characters spoke in hushed tones gesturing discreetly to Byron. He payed them no mind.

Byron stopped and knocked on the door of a wooden shack, there was no porch light and the darkness on the inside of the dusty window gave the appearance of vacancy, but he knew better. After a moment the door creaked open ever so slightly. Seraphim leaned to the side but all she could see through the crack was a single almost glowing red eye. She shuddered and gripped Byron's hair more tightly. He made no move to console her.

The eye looked straight ahead for a face, then slowly drifted upwards until it came to rest on the stern visage of Byron. Then drifted slightly upwards again to that of seraphim. Just the look made her feel uneasy.

"my lord." the quiet voice behind the door said in recognition. "how may I serve you this fine evening?"

"I require an escape" he said calmly. "for both of us."

"very well then." the door creeped open and but behind it there appeared to be nothing but darkness. "come right in." Byron stepped in, he was able to see his way easily through the dark. The shack smelled dank, wet like mildew. Seraphim kept her mouth shut, not sure if it was safe to speak or not. Unable to see the figure of whatever it was the red eye had belonged to. There were two sets of foot steps then the creaking of a door. She could tell they were headed down stairs now. Cold air rushed around them and Byron ventured forth accompanied by the pair of red eyes that turned back every now and then to check on them. She was beginning to shiver, the cold and darkness made her feel sick. Byron noticed this time.

"a little light would be much appreciated."

There was a soft chuckle. "turning back into a day-walker are we?"

"the light isn't for my comfort."

Still walking The strange figures' bright eyes drifted upwards to appraise the small girl on his shoulders. "right. How insensitive of me. The human can't see a thing can she? I'm not used to having human visitors. It's an odd feeling, like letting your cattle sleep in your chamber.. Not that she's cattle!" he caught himself before Byron could react.

once they reached flat ground again a moment later a switch flicked and dim light began to spread across the room from tube-like fixtures in the ceiling. The room was somewhat cramped, filled to the brim with metal machines some with monitors that remained off for the moment. There were buttons everywhere and the room looked at least six times bigger than the shack appeared from the outside. Seraphim's mouth hung open slightly in were countless viles and tubes filled with liquids of all colors and some odd looking things in jars that moved and squirmed like living things.

"my lord, how long will you be gone?" said the now visible stranger. Seraphim was surprised to see that it appeared to be no more than a child her age. A young boy with bright red, now almost violet, eyes and curly blonde hair.

"a week, no longer." he said "can you manage that?" they followed the sweet looking blonde boy down a long hallway created by tall shelves of various unknown content. The shelves ended at an open area with a thick looking metal door on the far side. The boy unlocked the door and stepped inside.

He returned a moment later smiling. "will this do?" trailing after him was another man that looked exactly like Byron, and on the mans shoulders it looked like a small wooden doll, the same approximate size as Seraphim.

Her breath caught in her throat. "a... Clone!" she exclaimed pointing to the Byron Doppelgänger. Her surprise was ignored.

"I will of course require a sample for the other one." the blonde continued, business as usual.

"of course." Byron said lifting Seraphim off his shoulders and placing her on the floor. She looked up at him nervously. "that." he pointed at the lifeless mannequin on the shoulders of the Byron doppelgänger. "is called a guest. It takes the DNA of any person and creates an exact model. Right down to personality."

"it can do all that... With DNA?"

"with blood." He kneeled down so he wasn't to so much taller than her. "I'm going to cut you. Give me your hand." slowly but obediently she did so. He held her hand, palm upwards, and quickly sliced it open with a flick of his nail. She inhaled sharply but nothing else. The doppelgänger took the mannequin from off his shoulders and handed it to Byron. He held Seraphim's wrist and pressed her palm against the forehead of the doll, smearing it with blood.

Soon it began to glow and shift, like water or wet clay it molded itself growing hair and other defined characteristics. Soon eyes appeared and like magic it seemed as if seraphim was starring into a mirror.

"it's quite useful," Byron mused. "for all sorts of things, escapes, assassination attempts, so on. Ryan has a very unique skill set. He once tried to overthrow my entire empire."

"and nearly succeeded might I add!" the boy said smiling. "but in the end I conceded defeat, not because I doubted my ability to triumph, he simply made me an offer he knew I could not refuse." he laughed, looking like nothing more than a sweet child. Seraphim found it hard to believe such an innocent kid could be a force strong enough to nearly overthrow Byron.

"in exchange for his quiet surrender and future assistance, I promised him his safety and access to any resources he may ever need... Everything in this room is funded by me." he explained. "He may appear 'cute' but his age is more than double mine. He is indeed a genius."

"It's not as if I were born or reborn this way, you'd be surprised how much knowledge you acquire in just shy of one millennia." he jested.

This was not anything to new to Seraphim but no matter how many impossible things she found out each one still shocked her. Byron stood and lifted seraphim back up onto his shoulders. At the exact same moment the doppelgänger did the same with the fake Seraphim. It was so strange to see.

"does this mean we're going somewhere?" she asked trying to avoid noticing the oddities in the room.

"it does." he then turned to address Ryan. "Your payment will be discussed upon our return."

"very well." he smiled following them back down the hallway and then up the stairs. When they got to the door Ryan stopped Byron, "may I speak with with you for a moment in private?"

He was sucpitious. "alright.." he put seraphim on the ground and nodded for her to go. "start back toward the entrance of the village, don't speak to anyone." she paused but nodded reluctantly and did as she was told. "what is it?" he asked as he watched her walk away.

"what do you plan to do with that girl?"

"how is that your business."

"it isn't, but your mental stability is."

"what are you suggesting?" he became defensive looking Ryan in the eye incredulously.

"in her state, she's not likely to survive." he shrugged. "She's to innocent. Crush her now and she will be far more likely to see her better years. In our world, such virtue comes at too high a cost." he frowned crossing his arms.

"I will protect her from the harsh reality of this world." he lowered his voice and spoke adamantly.

"you can't protect her from everything, she's only human, and humans are fragile creatures, they have to die sometime and she is no exception." he lowered his voice as well and turned back into the darkness. "heed my warning or not, if you continue down this path, the way you treat her will send her to an early grave."

Byron had had enough. He left slamming the door behind him without saying another word. Ryan had no idea how thorough his determination was.

Ch. 3 Gruesome Deformity

Seraphim walked timidly down the road. She was scared and the forces around her sensed it quickly. Bright, threatening shadows eyed her, she tried to avoid acknowledging them. Her heart beat faster and the darkness made it hard for her to see anything. All around her the night whispered and plotted, making her nervous. The fear growing inside of her made her want to run but she knew better, they were like dogs, if you run they will chase.

It was to dark to see much, but what she could see was a figure standing in the middle of the path before her, it's calculatingly cold eyes were glued to her. She kept walking, not wanting to slow down. As she passed by the figure she attempted to give him a wide berth of space. somehow she ran straight into him.

"young miss, what could you be doing in a place like this, your far to... Beautiful to be walking on your own." the man said, his voice was honey sweet, that paired with the glowing eyes Seraphim knew exactly what he was. His face was shadowed by a hood concealing his appearance though.

"I-I.." she stammered. "my lord is coming soon, he's a terrifying man of more than seven feet tall with claws that could make a mountain rend." she said hoping the image would scare this man away from whatever he may be plotting.

"really?" slowly he turned his head looking back and forth, "I haven't seen such a man, you should stay with me, introduce me like a good little sacrifice." he chuckled darkly and reached a hand out to grasp her shoulder tightly.

The second his cold skin touched hers she panicked, she tried to push his hand away but he latched on with his nails that seemed more like claws. She didn't even think to scream. "get away!" she demanded.

"now now, thats now way to talk to someone who holds your pitiful life In their hands." he grabbed her by the hair and threw her, she hit the ground hard and skidded a few feet, stopped when her head slammed into the hard stone wall of a nearby building. She tried to sit up but her whole body hurt, she looked down and saw a long cut on the outside of her left arm. She was bleeding and within moments the one threat turned into many. Attracted by the scent of her fresh hot blood they gathered. Dark figures, glowing eyes, hungry fiends. They approached rather quickly, like gulls descending on an abandon picnic. However the first one, the one who had thrown her stood closest facing the hoard crouched protectively and growling menacingly.

"this ones mine! Back off!" reluctantly they obeyed though none took their eyes off the girl and him. He stood up straight now and laughed smugly. "I wanted to enjoy this." he turned to face her. "but there's no point with such an audience. So fear not love, I'll make this quick."

But he never got the chance, just as he finished his words of reassurance he found himself immobile. Through where his heart was, or should be, a long sword ran. Seraphim hadn't seen it happen and based upon the surprised gasp of amazement from the crowd she assumed none of them had either. The blade now seeped and dripped with black blood and the chichkabobed man coughed, blood gushed from his mouth and eyes wide his hood fell back revealing a rather handsome visage now contorted in agony. He turned his head in slow jerky movements to look behind him, to see who the culprits was.

On the other end of the very long sword was Byron, looking more frighteningly malice than usual. In one quick easy motion He twisted the blade inside the handsome man and moved then once he had flipped the blade with one elegant powerful thrust upwards the handsome mans entire upper body was completely cut in half. The corpse fell just shy of Seraphim who cowered in fear.

"she told you I was coming." Byron put simply. Then he turned to address the crowed of horrified spectators. "let this be a warning to you all, don't touch what doesn't belong to you." his voice was terrifying. "now leave or ill drive this blade through all of you until there's no one left standing!" he commanded and all who had gathered to watch scattered in fear.

Seraphim still sat cowering against the wall, she couldn't take her eyes off the ever growing pool of blood in front of her. Tears streamed down her face for that first time in her known life and also for the first time she was truly afraid of Byron. The tears bubbled into sobbs and soon she was completely hysterical. Byron came to scoop her up, planing a hasty retreat. When he came closer she scrambled away some huddling against the wall covering her head. He paused, surprised by her reaction. He had saved her, she should be grateful.

"come child." he demanded but she made no effort to come. Frustrated and somewhat hurt by her reaction he reached out and pulled her up by her arm cradling her like an infant then dashed away. She was terrified and he could sense it. That and the smell of her sweet blood pushed him to his wits end.

He stopped once he was a fair distance from the village and set Seraphim down against the trunk of a tree. She had passed out from the mix of terror and lack of blood. He gently grabbed her arm and tore off a piece of cloth from his inner jacket to wrap the wound securely.

His hands and coat were covered in her blood and that made it hard for Byron to concentrate on anything but that scent. He stared at his hands once he had stopped her bleeding. He fought with himself but in the end his instincts triumphed over his nature. He had to taste it, and one taste was all it took, he cleaned his hands, his arm that she had lain in, and then her wounds, careful not to make contact with the cut directly. It took all of his will power to stop there. He wanted more, not because he was hungry, he had just fed yesterday. He wanted more because it didn't taste like anything he had ever tasted before, it was so much better.

Then it hit him, how could he protect this child from the world when he struggled to even protect her from himself. The urges stopped as the logical part of his brain began to reason through the facts. What Ryan said was correct, she was only human, the memory of how she had looked at him earlier flashed through his head. "She is fragile... And unfamiliar with the way of this world..."

And so in his mind he was set, she would become strong enough to protect herself and he would be the one to make sure of it, even if it meant becoming the monster she feared he had become. He knew what this meant, that one day she may grow to resent him, but it seemed like the only reasonable solution. Only a bit better than throwing her into the world, he would become just as cruel as it, at least then he could control the situation.

He picked her up gingerly and cradled her against his chest. He set corse for the border of his land, it was not his original intention but now he felt it was time to pay his dear sister a visit.