I realise this is repetitive, but I have to run through the six Falls.

The Fall of Dumah

And then they were alone. What needed to be said, had been said, so they were silent, each contemplating their fate. Then, the screams of pillar guardians brought them out of their thoughts. Dumah, unconsciously expecting something like this, sprang to his feet.

"This has the appearance of a betrayal! He choreographed thing so that we would await our assassins to rob the guardians of any protection, to purge the circle of rivals!"

Rahab shook his head. "No...Malek is with him. He would not alow such."

"Malek may be bound to his word." Rahab eyed him strangely at that. As ward of the circle, Malek's duty was to protect the circle, not to obey them. Rahab hadn't been present in Moebius chamber that day, so Dumah's statement appeared odd.

"What could he gain by it?"

Little," Dumah conceded, "A weakened circle would give the vampires the ideal opportunity to revive, but... have you ever known Moebius to order something when he didn't know the consequences? He may have other motives."

"Well, one was hardly to rob the circle of our protection. That was Vorador's voice. Only Malek could stand against him."

"And where is Malek? With Moebius. That is hardly happenstance."

They were interrupted by the sounds of a heavy gate crashing down, and voices raised in challenge.

"Come to take your revenge, demon?"

"Back to hell with you!"

Steel clashed.

"Vorador?" Rahab asked, uncertain.

"No...he could not bear to fight in silence. This is another."

"So Moebius spoke some truth."

"Some, yes. So...Vorador strikes at the circle, while another, lesser power, strikes at us in a concerted attack designed to cripple the circle and the Sarafan, hopefully demolishing us."

"And will it?" Rahab asked, hope in his eyes.

For an instant, Dumah was tempted to tell of what had happened with Moebius and his God. But he decided against it. He'd learned long ago that if Moebius knitted a snare for you, you never saw it until it closed. The only way to escape was if another took pity on you and intervened. There was no need to discomfit Rahab in his final hour.

"Truthfully?" Dumah lied, "I know not. But we will not fall lightly!"

After a time, they heard one of their brethren fall. He'd held his assassin ridiculously long for one who was only defending himself to put up a show.

"They held him well," Rahab noted, an instant before the other brother resumed the attack, and the sound of battle resumed.

Eventually, the second Sarafan general fell, accompanied by the creak of a rising gate. Dumah stood up, donning his helm.

"He comes."

"Regrets?"

"No...we built an order that brought our former rulers to their knees from a ragged band of bandits, and I saw the father of all vampires gutted like the worm he is. What of you?

"Well, Rahab is a woman's name, but none of you noticed, so it mattered little."

Dumah couldn't help but laugh at the thought, even as he heard their slayer approaching. Then he was among them.

As soon as Dumah saw the Reaver, so recently gained from Audron's accursed Aerie, he knew Moebius had betrayed them, and this was all a game of his. The betrayal stung, and stung hard. Deceitful creature though he was, Moebius had always held the best interests of the order in mind, up to this day. Which made his final betrayal all the more disgusting.

He had intended to question his assassin to understand his purpose before he died, but the shock of seeing the weapon numbed his mind, and all that emerged in his challenge was a weak challenge not dissimilar to Zephon's.

"Have you come to reclaim the monster's black heart?"

This sounded ridiculous, but Rahab leapt in to save him with "You'll have to get through us, first." Said as though they truly intended to be obstacles.

The monster paused briefly, looking at them almost in recognition, then lunged into the attack. There was skill there, but it was as though it was long dormant, only now rising to the surface after centuries of neglect. An attitude found in vampires often, as they relied on speed and strength over skill. Had he been a normal opponent, Dumah and Rahab would have cut him to pieces, but they couldn't create a lasting wound, his regenerative abilities beyond even that of the vampires the Generals had made a career of destroying. Nonetheless, the attacks that struck their assassin apparently caused pain, as he eventually fled their blades, as though attempting to escape towards Turel, but the gate was securely sealed, and he was forced to turn back to face them. Apparently, he then attempted to discard the blade in order to use a projectile, but the blade was somehow fused to his arm, as repeated attempts to drop the blade failed. With no option left to him, their assassin charged again to meet the slowly advancing generals.

They met him with blades, and by now Rahab had clearly tired of the charade, his movements lazy, resigned. Dumah affected similar disillusionment, masking growing rage at what had been done to them. He didn't wish his brother to know that something was wrong, not in his final moments. Each strike that drew blood from Rahab caused Dumah akin to pain himself, as he was forced to watch his brother die. Indeed, he let strokes through that he could have blocked, contributing to his comrade's fall, which made his torment all the more painful.

Then Rahab fell, his final painful cry as the Reaver punched through his armour a lamentable sound. Dumah, freed of the need to stage a mummery for his brother, struck out with his full strength, driving the monster back with his ferocity. Apparently shamed by being outmatched by a mere human, the monster launched a ferocious attack of his own, forcing Dumah to defend himself. An attempted overhand slash by the monster was easily dodged, and his counter of three heavy strikes across the jaw all struck home, capable of splitting the skull even of a vampire. The monster, clearly no vampire, fled again, towards the main entrance to the hall, which was also sealed. Then he turned, advancing on Dumah with caution in his stride. Now, he used craft in his defence as well as attack, ducking and dodging. The skill level in the duel rose sharply, but Dumah took great pleasure in breaking the monster's defence now and then anyway.

I've taught you respect, demon. I leave it to Turel to teach you manners.

He played with the creature for another few minutes, before letting himself be impaled.