A Time For Learning --
Tyrian led Dakkon through the alabaster hallways to a room filled with tables and chairs. The walls were lined with banners and standards covered in all manners of filth. Along one wall were large casks recessed in the stonework. Tyrian approached the casks and drew two mugs from a crate nearby.
"We brew a rather good ale if you'd care for something to drink," she offered, tilting her head towards the casks.
Dakkon, staring at the wall ornaments, was lost in thought. Since he relearned his name he had regained his memories; the weight of a thousand years of actions was heavy on his marred soul. From the corner of his eye he saw Tyrian staring at him expectantly.
"What? Ah, no. I don't need drink."
She shrugged and poured a mug for herself, then beckoned for Dakkon to join her at a table. They were alone in the room so she allowed herself to stretch out.
Dakkon waited in silence as she drank deeply from the glass. Finally he couldn't stand it any longer.
"Where are we?"
Slowly, Tyrian set down the mug. "A Demi-plane. A second home, if you will."
"Then who are you? And who are these people I see walking in the halls? They look less like celestials and more like - vampires."
"Ah," she sighed, "one question at a time. I assume you mean what am I in this realm?" He nodded. "I am their leader, in a fashion. In short, I rescue vampires from their destructive urges and enlist them in a hodgepodge army. We then accept tasks in exchange for monetary compensation."
"I was rescued by a mercenary angel?" Dakkon exclaimed.
"Hardly. We have our own agenda, but having a source of income makes forwarding that agenda much easier. Continuing with your questions, these people are vampires that I've rescued and decided to stay with me."
"You mean I have a choice in the matter?"
"Of course," Tyrian said, sitting forward and leaning her elbows against the table.
"What did you do to me?"
Sitting back again, Tyrian rearranged her wings and pondered the question for a moment. "Rescued you," she stated simply and held up her hand to prevent Dakkon from speaking. "I'm unsure how it works, precisely, but by channeling the holy energies that are inherent to me, I can remove the most destructive and chaotic urges of a vampire. In essence, I destroy what makes a vampire a vampire."
"But I don't feel like I did when I was mortal," Dakkon held up his pale hands for emphasis.
"Of course, but then you wouldn't be useful. Vampires have certain abilities that compliment a small army. In general, they're faster, stronger, and smarter than mortals. There are other abilities that they have, but many are lost in the conversion."
"Such as?" Dakkon asked.
"It varies between individuals. Some keep all their powers, some lose them all, and some have partial powers."
"Great," he said glumly, slumping in his seat. A thought came to him and he looked up at his odd companion. "Why aren't we in Celestia? Aren't there more celestials involved in this project?"
Tyrian couldn't keep the pained look from her face. "I was banished from Celestia."
Dakkon sat forward, interested in this development. "Why was that?"
She sighed and settled in her chair. "It was almost two hundred years ago when my sisterhood was sent to assist a cleric in destroying a village that had been taken over by a vampire enclave. As we fought the pathetic creatures that had been the villagers, I began to wonder if there was some way to save them. In the third day of fighting I tested a method. It failed, but for a moment the vampire was freed from the bloodlust. After the battles I continued to experiment with varying degrees of success. Finally I stumbled upon success and freed my first vampire. Somehow word traveled to the Grand Arbiters and I was called before the Tribunal. They ordered me to cease my attempts to redeem the vampires and 'return myself to the ways of justice.' I thought I could convince them otherwise and tried to explain my intentions. All that earned me was a censure and banishment. But that is all in the past now."
"They didn't hunt you when you continued?"
"They tried," she said with a grin, "but the first vampire I rescued was a powerful wizard. He created this demi-plane and erected several wards and protections. As long as we're here, we cannot be tracked or found."
"And when we leave?"
"We carry protections with us. The point is that we haven't made any friends despite keeping various forces of ill-will in check."
"What about my companions, where are they?"
Tyrian looked uncomfortable for a moment before answering. "Your - friends - were manifestations of your madness. As far as we can tell, as you descended deeper into insanity, your various psyches became tangible, in a sense. They were visible only to you, but could interact with the corporeal world. As you grew in power, your arcane magicks fueled their forms."
"Behold the power of an active imagination," Dakkon commented with a wry grin.
"Indeed. Your real companions are staying with us." She held up a hand before Dakkon to speak. "In fact, it was they who sought us out to save you. We were planning on taking a bounty on your head, but that female you kept company with convinced us otherwise."
"When can I see them?" Dakkon blurt when she was finished.
"In a moment. Are you in?"
Dakkon pondered it for a moment. In reality, he had already made up his mind, but he decided to continue questioning Tyrian.
"What do I get out of it?"
Tyrian barked a short laugh. "Always looking out for yourself! You get protection, food, housing, and all the drink you could possibly imbibe."
"Fair enough," he said slowly, "I'm in."
"Excellent! Welcome to Tyrian's Irregulars," she said clasping his shoulder from across the table.
"'Tyrian's Irregulars?' Who came up with that name?"
"The first group decided that we needed a name and it just fit," she shrugged dismissively.
"Now, where can I find them?"
"They're probably in the desert arboretum, they seem to spend most of their time there."
Dakkon concentrated for a moment, then looked disappointed at the crystalline bands. He tapped his wrists together for emphasis. "May I have my powers back?" he nearly begged.
Tyrian waved her hand and tendrils of silver magic shot from her hand and into the joints on the bands. Before they could hit the floor, Dakkon was gone.
-- A Time For Gathering
Tyrian led Dakkon through the alabaster hallways to a room filled with tables and chairs. The walls were lined with banners and standards covered in all manners of filth. Along one wall were large casks recessed in the stonework. Tyrian approached the casks and drew two mugs from a crate nearby.
"We brew a rather good ale if you'd care for something to drink," she offered, tilting her head towards the casks.
Dakkon, staring at the wall ornaments, was lost in thought. Since he relearned his name he had regained his memories; the weight of a thousand years of actions was heavy on his marred soul. From the corner of his eye he saw Tyrian staring at him expectantly.
"What? Ah, no. I don't need drink."
She shrugged and poured a mug for herself, then beckoned for Dakkon to join her at a table. They were alone in the room so she allowed herself to stretch out.
Dakkon waited in silence as she drank deeply from the glass. Finally he couldn't stand it any longer.
"Where are we?"
Slowly, Tyrian set down the mug. "A Demi-plane. A second home, if you will."
"Then who are you? And who are these people I see walking in the halls? They look less like celestials and more like - vampires."
"Ah," she sighed, "one question at a time. I assume you mean what am I in this realm?" He nodded. "I am their leader, in a fashion. In short, I rescue vampires from their destructive urges and enlist them in a hodgepodge army. We then accept tasks in exchange for monetary compensation."
"I was rescued by a mercenary angel?" Dakkon exclaimed.
"Hardly. We have our own agenda, but having a source of income makes forwarding that agenda much easier. Continuing with your questions, these people are vampires that I've rescued and decided to stay with me."
"You mean I have a choice in the matter?"
"Of course," Tyrian said, sitting forward and leaning her elbows against the table.
"What did you do to me?"
Sitting back again, Tyrian rearranged her wings and pondered the question for a moment. "Rescued you," she stated simply and held up her hand to prevent Dakkon from speaking. "I'm unsure how it works, precisely, but by channeling the holy energies that are inherent to me, I can remove the most destructive and chaotic urges of a vampire. In essence, I destroy what makes a vampire a vampire."
"But I don't feel like I did when I was mortal," Dakkon held up his pale hands for emphasis.
"Of course, but then you wouldn't be useful. Vampires have certain abilities that compliment a small army. In general, they're faster, stronger, and smarter than mortals. There are other abilities that they have, but many are lost in the conversion."
"Such as?" Dakkon asked.
"It varies between individuals. Some keep all their powers, some lose them all, and some have partial powers."
"Great," he said glumly, slumping in his seat. A thought came to him and he looked up at his odd companion. "Why aren't we in Celestia? Aren't there more celestials involved in this project?"
Tyrian couldn't keep the pained look from her face. "I was banished from Celestia."
Dakkon sat forward, interested in this development. "Why was that?"
She sighed and settled in her chair. "It was almost two hundred years ago when my sisterhood was sent to assist a cleric in destroying a village that had been taken over by a vampire enclave. As we fought the pathetic creatures that had been the villagers, I began to wonder if there was some way to save them. In the third day of fighting I tested a method. It failed, but for a moment the vampire was freed from the bloodlust. After the battles I continued to experiment with varying degrees of success. Finally I stumbled upon success and freed my first vampire. Somehow word traveled to the Grand Arbiters and I was called before the Tribunal. They ordered me to cease my attempts to redeem the vampires and 'return myself to the ways of justice.' I thought I could convince them otherwise and tried to explain my intentions. All that earned me was a censure and banishment. But that is all in the past now."
"They didn't hunt you when you continued?"
"They tried," she said with a grin, "but the first vampire I rescued was a powerful wizard. He created this demi-plane and erected several wards and protections. As long as we're here, we cannot be tracked or found."
"And when we leave?"
"We carry protections with us. The point is that we haven't made any friends despite keeping various forces of ill-will in check."
"What about my companions, where are they?"
Tyrian looked uncomfortable for a moment before answering. "Your - friends - were manifestations of your madness. As far as we can tell, as you descended deeper into insanity, your various psyches became tangible, in a sense. They were visible only to you, but could interact with the corporeal world. As you grew in power, your arcane magicks fueled their forms."
"Behold the power of an active imagination," Dakkon commented with a wry grin.
"Indeed. Your real companions are staying with us." She held up a hand before Dakkon to speak. "In fact, it was they who sought us out to save you. We were planning on taking a bounty on your head, but that female you kept company with convinced us otherwise."
"When can I see them?" Dakkon blurt when she was finished.
"In a moment. Are you in?"
Dakkon pondered it for a moment. In reality, he had already made up his mind, but he decided to continue questioning Tyrian.
"What do I get out of it?"
Tyrian barked a short laugh. "Always looking out for yourself! You get protection, food, housing, and all the drink you could possibly imbibe."
"Fair enough," he said slowly, "I'm in."
"Excellent! Welcome to Tyrian's Irregulars," she said clasping his shoulder from across the table.
"'Tyrian's Irregulars?' Who came up with that name?"
"The first group decided that we needed a name and it just fit," she shrugged dismissively.
"Now, where can I find them?"
"They're probably in the desert arboretum, they seem to spend most of their time there."
Dakkon concentrated for a moment, then looked disappointed at the crystalline bands. He tapped his wrists together for emphasis. "May I have my powers back?" he nearly begged.
Tyrian waved her hand and tendrils of silver magic shot from her hand and into the joints on the bands. Before they could hit the floor, Dakkon was gone.
-- A Time For Gathering