As a few of you might know, I've been replaying Ahriman's Prophecy lately, and there is one minor character in the game that I've been intrigued by; Avhren. According to the dialogue in game, she is a vampire, and not only that, but she calls the underworld her kingdom. So, I started to think. If she is the Queen of Vampires, then there is a good chance that she knows Te'ijal and Gyendal. That was when the idea for this story hit me!
The Dark Cathedral was filled with the sound of chatting, mixed with the music that was being played on the organ in the background. Every vampire in Ghed'ahre had gathered for the annual Midnight Soiree, which was the grandest and most extravagant social event to ever occur in the underworld. In the past, the witches to the east had always tried to crash it, but this year, extra measures had been taken to ensure that they couldn't enter town. Rashnu, the Druid of Darkness, had placed a magical barrier around the entire town. No one could go in or out for the night, and that was perfectly all right with the vampires. They had absolutely no desire to leave.
For the vampires, who were more often than none, bored out of their minds, a party was exactly what they needed to let loose and have some fun. Most of the vampires could be found either slow dancing with a partner, or just by themselves, as Rashnu was, but a select few vampresses remained on the sideline, gossiping as they filled their glasses with blood from the blood fountain.
You see, Avhren, the queen of all vampires, had finally returned after centuries of guarding the powerful Death Relic, and it was rumoured that she was planning on making an appearance that night at the midnight soiree. Avhren was the talk of the town. There wasn't a single conversation to be had that wasn't in some way about her. Everyone wanted to look like her, and anything she wore was sold out in the dress shop soon after.
"I heard that the queen will be bringing her new lover as an escort tonight," said the vampress, Arcadia. "I wonder who he is."
"No one knows who he is. Everyone is calling him the Mystery Suitor," replied the vampress, Viviane.
"You don't think it's Rashnu, do you?" asked Arcadia.
A single glance at Rashnu was more than enough to prove that he was not the queen's lover. He may be powerful, but he was one of the ungraceful vampires in the whole underworld. All you had to do was look at his sloppy dancing. He kept tripping over the train of his own robe. The vampresses rolled their eyes, returning their gazes to one another.
"Well, if it's not Rashnu, then who could it be?"
The third vampress, Te'ijal, couldn't help but let out a small giggle. You see, Te'ijal was the only one in Ghed'ahre who actually knew the identity of the Vampire Queen's lover. However, she chose to keep the information to herself, far too amused by how utterly dumb her friends were. She had dropped several tiny hints as to who the mystery lover was, but they had failed to pick up on them.
"It seems that you won't have to wait much longer to find out," Te'ijal remarked, turning towards the entrance, sensing their presence.
Everyone became silent as the door of the Cathedral suddenly flung open. The queen's minions rushed through the door, motioning for everyone to move to the side, thus creating a wide spread path straight up to the organ. No sooner had the path been cleared, then the queen, in all her magnificence, stepped into the room.
The vampresses were all left in awe of her as they craned their necks to get a better look. She was what every vampress aspired to be like. Her shiny black hair was styled up in the latest style, a glistening golden crown set a top her head. Skin as white as snow, and eyes as red as rubies. Perfectly sized fangs. She was perfection itself to her loyal subjects. They worshiped her every move.
However, as suspected, she was not alone. She glided across the polished stone floor on the arm of a tall, dark haired gentleman, dressed completely in red, which symbolized power. In addition to this, the man bore a crest that almost everyone in the room recognized. It was the Ravenfoot Crest. Both Arcadia and Viviane turned to their friend, their eyes widened as they realized that they were standing next to the sister of that very man. It did not take them long after to notice the fact that she too was dressed in red. Feeling humiliated, the two vampresses curtsied respectfully and slowly began to back away.
As the queen and her lover took their place on the raised podium at the front of the Cathedral, Avhren motioned Rashnu over, handing him a small folded up piece of paper. "Her majesty, Queen Avhren, would like to make an announcement!" Rashnu declared, before backing away to allow her to do just that.
"Citizens on Ghed'ahre, as honored as I am to be able to join you on this occasion, I have not come out of desire for my own personal pleasure, but rather I have come to address the tragedy which recently fell upon our town." Avhren began to speak. "Many of you lost friends and loved ones in the recent human infestation, and I would like to express my sympathy to those of you who have."
Many cried out for the queen to bring her wrath upon humankind. A few of them got so worked up that the queen's minions had to come forward and hold them back, as they had tried to reach out to the queen. After a while of listening to the vampires complain, Avhren stretched out her staff, causing everyone to become silent again as an eerie dark blue glow to washed over the room.
"I know you are angry at the humans for what they have done, but it is my job to ensure that my subjects remain safe, and so I have decided to lock the entrance between our two worlds, thus preventing the human hunters from staking anyone else," Avhren continued.
"What about food? Do you intend to have us starve?" one of the vampires asked.
Avhren shook her head, motioning for her lover to step forward. "I have appointed Gyendal Ravenfoot as the Lord of Twilight. He has spent the last several months stocking up on blood in preparation of this, and will be in charge of distributing rations as he sees fit. I regret having to do this, knowing all too well how it feels to go without a drink for several centuries, but it is the only way to keep you all safe, and so my mind is made up."
The vampires didn't seem too happy about the decision, but bowed to her in submission regardless. Everyone quickly returned to what they were doing before, eager to make the most of their entertainment while it lasted, knowing that it would be short-lived. They began to rush back and forth to the blood fountain in between dances, indulging in as much of it as they wanted, and before long it was bone dry. Rashnu sighed as he began dragging the empty fountain out of the way. As always, Rashnu was the one stuck with cleaning duty.
Meanwhile, Te'ijal remained on the sidelines, slowly sipping on her drink. Unlike the others, she preferred to savor the taste, which quenched her thirst much more effectively than if she were to quickly gulp it down. She had tried explaining that to many of her friends, but they didn't seem to care. They were nothing but greedy vampire pigs.
"How pleasing it is to see that, despite everything that has happened, you still manage to uphold your dignity," Gyendal said, coming up beside her. "Although, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. After all, you are my sister."
Te'ijal glanced over at him with a smirk. "I'm surprised to see that you were able to tear yourself away from Avhren. Have you grown tired of her already?"
"Our affair was initiated solely for the benefits we would both receive as a result. Avhren is well aware of my motives, just as I am well aware of hers," he explained. "She sought the pleasure that I could give her, and I sought the power she could give me. There is nothing more to it than that."
Te'ijal rolled her eyes. "A part of me had hoped that you might be persuaded to settle down for once."
Gyendal chuckled. "We both know that is not going to happen, dear sister. You should be pleased about this, for it means that you will have no competition for the role of Lady of Twilight. Think of it ... You could rule alongside me when I take over the world."
Te'ijal considered the idea. She knew exactly what her brother was planning to do with the power. It was his desire to free vampires from their oppression, and in turn enslave humankind. He hadn't quite figured out how to do that yet, but there was no doubt in Te'ijal's mind that he would eventually find a way. The idea of one day being able to freely roam the lands above did greatly appeal to her. As much as she loved living in Ghed'ahre, there were many times that she had become bored. She longed for more than what the underworld could offer her.
"You make a good point," Te'ijal replied. "I shall try to remember that next time I am tempted to set you up on a date. However, you had better hurry up and find a way to free us. You of all people know that I do not like waiting."
Gyendal grinned. "Don't worry, I shall begin my search as soon as I can."