Disclaimer:

I own nothing BUT the human...or...what's left of him. --; Damn Turel and his Anger Managment Issues...

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It was the simplest of plans. So simple, not even the two hundred humans involved could mess it up. Turel did indeed have his moments of sheer brilliance. So much so, Kain even submitted to the orders given to him! With two hours before things needed to happen, Turel had gathered his brothers in the inner sanctum of the Sanctuary for one final rev-up.

The air hung thickly. To Melchiah, it felt as if he were trying to move through water, so to speak. Not the burning sensation that Vampires normally felt. But the fact that everything seemed slow. It was taking more effort to move his arms. Legs. His mind was clouded with both rage and despair. To him, this whole plan seemed like just an excuse to kill off more of his Clan. But who was he to question anything? A glare was on his face as he pulled up his seat at the table in the middle of the room. He sat before both Turel and Kain. Seriously disrespectful, but at this point in time, Melchiah didn't really give a stuff.

Turel turned from Kain as he saw the youngest sit. Heavily. He didn't have time for this sulking that Melchiah seemed so fond of doing. They were all playing their part. They would all take losses. Turel didn't tell Melchiah this, but Kain was going to bequeath him Raziel's Clan area. But the chances of that were looking slim now.

Moments later, the three other Brethren entered the room. Seeing Melchiah already seated, they assumed it was fine, and took their seats also. Kain rolled his eyes, sitting at the head of the table, while Turel remained standing. Fiddling with a dagger, the now eldest regarded them all. Wondering just what he should say...Raziel's style was very team-orientated. Lots of :

"Now men, we are in this together. If one of us goes down, we all go down. You watch each other and we never leave anyone behind."

Should he take that road? Should this be about the whole? Turel opened his mouth to speak, but he was uncertain. And that uncertainty shut him up again. If he was uncertain, then what he was about to say was clearly the wrong thing. The others remained silent. Letting Turel go through whatever process he needed to go through. It was a huge step to everyone; after all, Dumah was actually more suited to leading. Not Turel. So it came as a shock when Kain declared Turel to take Raziel's place. A shock most of all to Turel! He didn't know the first thing about how to get them motivated in to doing the impossible. Raziel had this charisma about him┘.he could talk his brother's in to diving in to the sea if he wanted. He made everything sound righteous. Noble. Even though pretty much nothing they did was that. When it came down to it, the Vampires and humans were the same, in motive; only the vampires were stronger and better at playing God.

The world around Turel melted away slowly. The stone walls, with all of their hand-painted art disappeared. The table with his brothers and Lord disappeared. The floor faded away. All he saw was the dagger in his hand. It was about the length of his forearm, all up. The blade was slightly curved and clearly well used. Blood stained with a few chips in it here and there. Though it was still as sharp now as the day that he made it for himself. The handle was made of stone with worn brown leather wrapped around it tightly, making it easier to grip. This was the first weapon he'd ever made. And the only one that has never broken. And for some reason, this was the small thing that inspired him...

"This is it." He said simply, holding the dagger up. "This is all there is. When we get out there, it is you and your steel. This might possibly be the hardest thing any of us have had to do..." In more ways than one, and they all knew it. "...but when we get down to it we are alone. If one of you messes up, nobody is going to abandon their part to assist. If something goes wrong, you fix it. End of story. No excuses. No failure. There is no room for it. No room for error. The Enemy is strong. He is motivated. And he will not take to this lightly. You all know that every single one of them is a mighty force..."

Turel suddenly plunged the dagger in to the wooden table, causing Rahab (who was seated just to the left of this) to jump a little. None of them were expecting this kind of fire from Turel, of all people! Kain only had a hidden smirk on his features. A knowing smirk. Like he was re-watching a favorite part of a favorite play.

"But we, Brothers, are mighty, also. And this is our time to prove it!"

Turel straightened up, eyes burning with rage and excitement and fear. A deadly cocktail in a vampire. More so in one trying to prove himself. The sight would have been a little more impressive if Turel were not still in the robe he wore that evening. After the initial meeting, he spend a good three hours organizing thing with Zephon and Dumah. And once they were sorted, he and Morlock spent a while trying to figure out how to move the bulk of their fighting force from the farthest point of the Empire to the Sanctuary, in less than six hours and without being seen by any Razielum scouts. Needless to say, that was an almighty head ache. But it was done. In fact, at the very moment that Turel was speaking, Morlock was moving soldiers in to position. By the time everyone was in place and advised of what was happening and the humans were where they needed to be, it was time for this very meeting. So while everyone else was dressed in their amour and with their swords and cloaks and their bows and their axes...Turel was still in his robe, with his hair half falling out of the ribbon.

"Dumah, are your men in position?" Turel turned to his closest brother, the warmth that normally radiated from Turel was long gone. And Dumah both feared and respected Turel for this. It showed on his face. The way he stood, proudly saying his piece to his Captain.

"Yes Sir. They are ready to move in when you give the word. We will not fail you, Sir!" Dumah nodded. Only sitting when Turel nodded back. Happy with what he heard.

"And the rest of you? Any failure will not go unpunished, I trust this is understood." A look was tossed in Melchiah's direction. It was met with a glare, but only for a second. The rotting, youngest brother lowered his gaze. Defeated once more. Satisfied, Turel pulled his dagger from the table, giving a quick nod to Kain, before just leaving the room. He was exhausted, he was hungry and he was about to kill the children of his eldest brother. He needed a few moments to himself. A few moments to convince himself that HE could do this. Bugger the rest, their part would not be an issue. He and Kain both knew that. In the end, they always pulled through...that was, at least, a comforting thought.

Upon entering his chambers, he found Leith sitting on their bed, a strong looking human male tied and gagged beside her. Her gift to him. She only smiled as she stood, walking silently across the room to greet him. No words were exchanged, as she reached behind his head and removed her ribbon. Nipping his lower lip lightly, she then moved past him and out the door, closing it behind herself. She knew him well enough to know when to leave him the hell alone.

Setting the dagger on the table, Turel walked over to the human (who was struggling like mad to escape. Or at least get loose to defend himself) slowly. The human looked to be about thirty. A good, healthy male. Possibly a husband. A father. A brother. Possibly with friends. People who will be worried at his absence. People who will cry when he is gone. As Turel mulled over this, he removed his robe and pulled on a pair of baggy pants. It was just more comfortable. That done, he sat next to the human, then did the unthinkable...he removed the gag and untied him! The human sat up, gasping, before running to the door. He may be human, but he was not stupid...well...almost.

As he ran, Turel lifted his hand toward the human, and flicked his fingers back toward himself...Turel's Dark Gift was that of Telekinesis. And boy, was he good with it. The human went flying backwards and crashed to the floor. A sickening crunch was heard as a bone broke. A howl of pain followed. Letting what little shred of humanity remained in him slip away, Turel rose from the bed and slowly stalked toward his prey. His eyes flooded with blood as his fangs grew out to a full three inches. His claws grew out, also. Shiny and sharp. Turel's breath was more ragged. Chest rising and falling in jerky motions. The animal inside of him was coming out, as he let the Blood Lust cloud his mind. Vampires are not capable of any rational thought when this happens. But sometimes it is necessary...

An hour later, Leith slipped back in to the room, Turel's Clan cloak in her arms. She smiled at the sight before her; the stone floor was slippery with blood. A few odd bits of human entrails were scattered about. Something that looked like a leg bone was near the door. She delicately stepped over all of this, kicking the torn-off head out of her bath as she made her way to the balcony, where Turel was. She found him sopping in the life-giving liquid, licking his lips in a satisfied manner. There was still a growl in his chest. He was still worked up. And this was just how it needed to be. You can do more, go harder and suffer greater if you had more adrenaline rushing through you. And they'd all need their share of adrenaline rushes by the end of this night.

Softly, Leith took Turel's arm and turned him around. Her calmness calmed him enough for him to listen to her. Enough not to attack her and tear her limb from limb like that human...or what's left of that human.

"Come, my Lord...let us get you cleaned up. They are waiting..."