Chapter 22

Ewoden

In the dungeons and other dank chambers below the Mansion lay the present base of operations for the Cabal, the vampire resistance. Even with the Sarafan Lord dead, the Order did not disappear as first theorized and so the resistance had had to adapt itself to the reality of the situation.

Scattered through Willdendorf were many safe houses and places to hide resistance activity from the Sarafan, but the real activity took place here. Ewoden sat and watched it all from a distance with an unreadable expression on his face. That was feigned, what he felt inside was an awed respect for it all. He was from an age where the Sarafan, backed completely by all of Nosgoth mercilessly hunted the vampire race to near extinction. Not once had he ever expected to find humans and vampires collaborating together for any purpose, yet it was all right in front of him. Humans spies working for Vorador were here in their dozens. Some had been rescued from execution while others had had to leave their safe houses as Sarafan power grew in the east.

"Ah you must be the Ewoden I've heard so much about." A voice began. The former knight looked around to find a fledgling vampire walking in his direction. He appeared to be about twenty with pale grey skin, untidy raven black hair hanging form the top of his head. At his side were a pair of curved swords in a sheathe that crossed each other in his belt. "It's not everyday I meet an actual Sarafan defector. Stories pass of a few who defect, but they always end with them being hung for treason publicly. I'm surprised you're still alive."

"Sometimes, so am I." Ewoden replied with a short sigh. The vampire regarded him callously for a moment with a disconcerting eye. "And just who are you?"

"My name is Archimedes." The vampire replied flatly. "As one of the Cabal's best infiltrators I'd like to know exactly how much of an asset you're going to be." Ewoden did not reply. He kept his gaze locked out in front of himself, his flaming red hair hanging over his face. "You should be able to see by now we've little reason to trust Sarafan, even deserters." Yes, he had noticed that by now. Even the humans working in the Cabal cast him scared glimpses now and then, terrified by the sight of him.

Even if it was outdated, the armour he could was clearly that of the Order. He almost began to wish he had kept the Wraith armour Vorador had leant him.

"Perhaps I'll surprised you." Ewoden told him. Archimedes managed a smirk.

"I'd like to see that." He replied, before walking away. Ewoden watched him go before sighing. He didn't fit in his in century, not at all.

What bothered him the most was his new…condition. Strangely the notion of being a werewolf itself did not frighten him as perhaps it should. What worried him the most was that excitement that came with the change. Caught several times out in the full moonlight, he had come dangerously close to transforming completely. During these stages he had felt a pull, a need and strong desire. There was hunger for flesh there, but overshadowed by the adrenaline running through his veins. He had wanted to hunt so badly it hurt when either Sally or Vorador had dragged him out of the moonlight.

What the alarming thing was that even now, the nearest full moon weeks away, that pull was just as strong as ever. He doubted, when the time came, he would be able to stop himself from walking willingly out into the light of the full moon.

"There are worse curses you know." Sally told him through the link they shared; her thoughts projected into his mind by use of the Whisper. He looked up and sighted her across the chamber helping to organise some of the humans with new destinations and tasks. "Besides, It's all about perception. It's not a curse unless you view as such." Before he could answer telepathically a hand laid itself on his shoulder.

Looking up, he saw Vorador standing behind him.

"Come with me." He said simply and walked towards the stair leading up into the manor itself. Without saying a word Vorador followed. "There is something I think you should see." As soon as they were out of sight of the others working Vorador laid his hand on the former Sarafan's arm and instantly the two of them were engulfed by the white haze of a translocation spell. The nothingness dissipated and Ewoden found himself standing in a very different location.

Vorador had taken the both of them to one of his outposts. The forest and swamp were littered with ancient vampire ruins and the battlements from one of these was still intact on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the eastern edge of the forest. Most of it was covered in thick moss and vines, the only evidence other than the stone floor beneath their feet that anything had been built here was a stone rail on the edge. One of the ancient vampires' lookouts, a fledgling wrapped in a thick black cloak to protect himself from the setting sun crouched on the top of a crumbled stone base looked back as soon as they arrived and then bowed in the presence of his sire.

None of this was what drew Ewoden's immediate attention. "What do you make of this?" Vorador asked looking out towards the wastelands north and east of the forest edge.

An army on the march, the sounds of their in time foot steps resonating across the sky as they got closer. There had to be at least ten legions of infantry in that walking mass, escorted on either side by Calvary, those at the front horses brandishing pikes and those at the back with ordinary swords Every horse laden with ceremonial colours of the Order.

The rear infantry were Elites, their red capes easily identifiable even from this distance. Behind them were unarmed men dressed in robes, mages definitely, probably no more than fifty of them. Mixed in amongst those on foot were marksmen, all armed with either long bows or crossbows.

Their path would bring them into the northern canyons, right on the fronts lines and a near stones throw from Dark Eden. Ewoden had only see this many soldiers assembled in one place once before, when he himself took part in one of the original Order's campaigns. There had to be over half of the Sarafan's whole army there. They must have emptied every garrison north of the city province to get that many. They wouldn't risk deploying that many men, weakening their own hold in the east unless they knew for certain where Kain and his army were hiding. The vampires were going to have one hell of a fight on their hands if that behemoth of men reached the front lines.

"They intend to crush an enemy and quickly." Was all Ewoden could say, which of course was a no-brainer.

"Most of them appear to be regular infantry my lord." The scout told Vorador, balanced perfectly on the edge of the obscured battlements. "I can also see several squadrons of Glyph Knights."

"What about Sunlight Warriors?" The ancient asked. Those armoured barbarians had decimated the vampires armies, forcing them north and into that hole. If there were any more, then they wouldn't need all those men to inflict damage. The scout looked out again, then shook his head.

"I can't tell from this distance sire." Ewoden looked out at that impressive display of imperialism and he was reminded intimately of what the Sarafan were all about. Establishing order, their order, at any cost. Vampires, Werewolves, even Hylden simply provided a convenient excuse for them to strengthen their armies and oppress the citizenry. They spoke words of peace, security and prosperity when behind closed doors they were power hungry barbarians.

"Er… Vorador…" The former knight began, catching sight of some activity. Vorador followed his gaze to see that some of their number had stopped on the outskirts of the forest while the rest had marched on. There had to be a hundred infantry in that group and those with the red capes, those Glyph knights, there were about ten of them. A group of men joined them and judging by the fact they wore leather armour instead of chain mail; they had to archers and crossbowmen. A relatively small group compared to the rest of it.

"What are they doing?" Vorador wondered out load, looking puzzled. Suddenly, about ten of them approached the trees and raised their hands simultaneously. Instantly, their body were surrounded by a blood red glow that pulsated in the dim light.

"Mages…" Ewoden muttered. The Sarafan were not against using magic to defeat their foes and often their companies were escorted by sorcerers. The Mage's made some gesture with their left hands and instantly the warriors around them began glowing, their forms engulfed by a soft yellow glow. A protection spell, to shield their men from long rang attacks such as arrow bombardments or destructive magic. They were preparing an attack, but on what? There was nothing here….accept them. Ewoden caught a frog in his throat at the thought.

"You don't think they know we're here?" The scout asked Ewoden, sounding a little nervous. Vorador shook his head, although his expression showed that he too found this puzzling.

"If they do, then why mount an attack in twilight and with such a small force?" He asked, but clearly he was talking to himself when he did. Sarafan attacked vampire targets during the day so whatever force inside would be weakened by the light. "That march would have attracted attention for miles around. If they wanted to attack us as well they'd have tried to take us by surprise, not give us warning and time to prepare, and then try to insult us with that few a men." The first of the infantry entered the trees; a stead march in rows. The Knights came second with the Mages and Marksman taking up the rear. They did not try to conceal their presence at all. They simply began hacking their way west through the trees. In the general direction of the mansion. If they made any more noise they were going to attract all the mutants that lurked in the undergrowth. The Sarafan, barbarous as they were are better tacticians than that. "A military blunder like this don't make any sense unless…" He paused, horrific realization suddenly flooding into his eyes. Ewoden read the expression and suddenly that realization became infectious.

"It's a division!" Snapping around Vorador stared off towards the spires of his manor in the distance. Then he grabbed Ewoden and instantly the two of them disappeared into another translocation spell.

Nearly at once they reappeared in the grounds of the estate. The humans and vampires who could stand the faint light were already out. The march had attracted their attention and were already fortifying the place as best they could.

"We set up the barricades sire." Archimedes said as soon as he saw Vorador, gesturing behind him to the thick row archers posted long the eastern wall of the estate, concealing themselves as best they could. The force moving through the forest towards them was too large to take on directly. Their tactics would be to snipe them from their hidden positions before engaging in stealth, luring several off from the main group at a time to lower their overall numbers. They could see the approaching small army from here and where preparing for it, swords, axes and other weapons were out at the ready. Even human Cabal collaborators were there arming themselves to fight along side the vampires. "If they do attack, then we'll be able to hold them off long enough for the supplies and agents in the tunnels to escape."

"The attacks coming from two sides." Vorador hissed angrily. "It's a division! They'll be marching on us from the West as well!"

What happened next was a blur, all happening so fast it was impossible to prepare. The attack came so swiftly over the back wall there could have been no way to defend against it. No arrows or swords came rushing towards the unsuspecting vampire resistance; but rather a furious whirlwind of darkness. Blood arched into the air and fell like rain and those lucky enough not to be at the back of the line turned their attention away from their barricade to the attack coming from the rear. Their attackers were not human and they were moving so fast no body could see what they where. One brief flash of shadow and trailing darkness broke through the gore that was quickly consuming those trying desperately to defend themselves. A triad of glowing violet eyes glared at them all from out of the gloom.

"Shades!" Vorador declared as he drew his sword; the blade hissing angrily as it was released from it's scabbard. Their numbers went into the hundreds before Ewoden could reach for a weapon. Within seconds seven vampires lay dead on the ground while the other defenders were being forced back towards the manor house itself.

"How did they know we were here?" Sally screamed, her throwing daggers lancing through the air; striking two of them directly in the middle of the head. To her horror the objects just passed right through them as if they weren't even there. "We've been betray…" A voice cried out, before being silenced with a short screech as the speaker was cut to ribbons by sharp almost invisible claws.

"Get the agents out!" Vorador commanded, jabbing a talon towards the mansion. "Use the tunnels, run!" A second later, a loud crash resonated through the air and Sarafan Warriors began pouring into the estate through the demolished front gate, their swords drawn. The Mages that accompanied them separated into two groups, two of them maintaining the magical shields around their comrades with several others marched forward and began firing fire balls spells directly into the retreating vampires, ignoring the shadow creatures completely.

"There is the Fiend!" One of their Elite stated, pointing off towards Vorador as the ancient fought against several Shades all at once, but even his skills were having trouble keeping up with so many.

"Fell the beast!" A second stated, gesturing to the crossbow men at his side. Instantly they raised their weapons and took aim. Vorador looked up just in time to see the silver bolts an inch away from him and half a moment later, they struck; two sinking their sharp ends into his leg; another into the side of his head and three more down his arm. The impact knocked him sideways and left him open to an attack, the Shades were on him instantly, claws tearing his clothes and flesh.

"Vorador!" Archimedes cried, rushing over to his sires side; running through one of the creatures with his sword in the process; slicing others aside with a swing of his second blade.

"Die vampire!" A voice declared behind him and before the young fledgling could beat a path to his master, a thick rune encrusted sword rammed itself through his stomach; the tip blunt tip bursting forth through his front.

"Get off him!" Ewoden yelled as his axe Malice came slamming down hard against the Elite, the curved edge sinking into the knight's shoulder. The Sarafan staggered back, gagging blood and was forced to wrench blade free of the young vampire. Archimedes collapsed to the ground, dropping both his swords; trying to stem the thick flow of blood running out from him.

"Collaborator filth! You dare fight for the vampire scum!" Another Elite declared, coming up behind Ewoden with his own thick blade drawn. Ewoden side stepped to avoid a swing, then made a sign in the air with two fingers; calling forth one of the spells Janos had taught him. Elemental water cooled the temperature dramatically around him, the water in the air between the joints of the knight's armour freezing solid in seconds. Trapped in his own armour, the warrior left himself open to a swing as Havoc came arching out. The torso was separated from the waist and another Elite went crashing down in red.

Everything suddenly became a maddened blur as the infantry rushed them and Ewoden was caught in the middle of the fray, swords lashing out at him from every direction. Most blows were absorbed by the armour he wore, but a few swipes cut him across the left cheek and on the right hand. His grip weakened, he dropped the Axe Malice when one of the soldiers tackled him to the ground.

Desperately he struggled against him, but it was quickly over as something hit him hard on the back of the head. There was a moment of stunned detachment an suddenly the world around him shrank away until finally it vanished altogether. Darkness consumed his line of sight and all he managed to glimpse for vanishing altogether was Sally and several other vampires dragging the injured Vorador and Archimedes back into the manor while others laid down a cover fire of arrows. After that, there was nothing.