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 Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 7:56 pm
The grounds of the cemetery seemed to forebode dark doings. Menacing clouds loomed overhead, giving the strong threat of storms. Bathed in an ominous haze the old graveyard sat silent, holding its breath for what was to come. Moving slowly along was both a white figure and a black figure. The white figure carried a single lit candle in one hand and a book tucked under one arm while the black figure carried another candle and two books. Burning brightly the candles pierced only a fraction of the darkness given off by the surroundings like two stars in space. But despite the dark clouds and eerie feeling of the graveyard the two figures pressed on towards the large stone buildings near the center of the cemetery.
Upon reaching the doors to one of the large stone buildings the dark figure raised a hand to the doors and pressed her hand into the symbol. It began to glow with the feeling of her dark powers and she mumbled something to the insignia. Slowly the door creaked open, allowing the two figures to slide through carefully. Moving inside the dark figure used her candle to light the oils on one side of the small room. The oils ignited easily and revealed a side of stairs that spiraled downward gently. “Watch your step,” she noted to the other figure with her as she began to make her descent down the stairs. The light figure followed suit by lighting the other side of the stairs and starting down them. The creaking of doors could be heard as the front doors grinded shut despite their old age.
Down the stairs went, circling slightly as it went until it opened up to a large open room. Within it was a semi-circle of above ground coffins, four of them with their lids opened to reveal the bodies within. The bodies were of the four ancients and they all seemed to just be peacefully sleeping, waiting for the right time to rise and walk once again.
Moving down onto the main floor the dark figure moved towards the center of the room where there was a dark symbol on the floor. She bent and set the books down on one side of the circle before leaning with the candle and lighting the symbol on the floor. The oils within the symbol hissed and crackled as they lit, revealing a very intricate pentagram symbol with a bunch of other symbols and writing in it. Standing up again the figure turned to the white figure and nodded. “Welcome to the sacred burial grounds of the Vampire Ancients. Take a spot across from me and we shall get started with the ritual,” Nar purred to the figure with a smile. She turned and swung her black cloak off her body and onto the floor. Under it she was wearing black robes with green swirls embedded into it that showed with the light in the room.
The white figure followed suit by removing his cloak and placing it in the ground nearby. His robes were similar but white in color with hints of blue fire running through them. He breathed uneasily as he stepped forward and set his book and candle down before standing nearby. His eyes kept jumping from the symbol on the floor to the coffins on his right. “How does this work?” he asked, sounding a bit nervous as he pulled his focus back to Narssissuss who was across from him. “And what about Hathern?”
Nar gave a light laugh and replied, “It’s all in the book, Kahn dear. And Hathern will have to be revived before the ancients just in case something goes wrong and I need a stronger shaman. Otherwise I will have to anger you so your reaper side comes out, which I do not want to do.” She moved one of the books so it was sitting in front of her and opened it before flipping through the pages gently and stopping on one page in particular. Moving away from that book she stepped over the fires and stood in the center of the pentagram with the other book, this one with green engravings on it. She flipped a few pages and stopped before turning to Kahn and with a smile asking, “could you retrieve the bones and place them on the alter? Once you are done please stand on the other side of the alter and remember what I have taught you. You will know when to start.”
Giving a nod Kahn set his book down and reached into the saddle bag he had brought with him. From it he removed first the skull then ribs and other bones from the bag and began to arrange them on the alter in the proper order. It took awhile but eventually he had them all laid out on how they should be and he stepped back to look it over again to make sure. He turned and moved so he was on the opposite side of the alter from Nar and stood still with his hands free, waiting for the ritual to begin.
As Kahn was working on putting the skeleton back together Nar had bent outside of the circle and flipped to the right page of the shaman book before standing up again and turning so she was facing the alter herself. When Kahn took his position she began to read aloud from the book, “From the Earth we spring to life, and in death we merely return to it. The winds of time are ceaseless but the tides of change rise and fall in opposition. I call upon the spirit of Hathern the Hellion Shaman to return on the winds under my control to rewrite history and rise with the changing tides. With the three sacred books comes the offerings of life, death, and change; and within those willing to give life for death and death for life we unite our powers to return this soul from the beyond worlds to his body in our world.” As she read the fires in the pentagram began to grow and dance as they gained hews of green. And as she finished they jumped out of the circle and onto the alter, dancing around the edges playfully before leaning in and circling around the bones themselves. Nar moved out of the symbol and to the alter before looking at Kahn and waiting for him to do his part.
Kahn took a deep breath and let his shaman spirit come out in him. Sectioning off a small section of the life force he had collected he gathered it into an orb and let it fall to the body. “The book of life sacrifices an essence of life to Hathern the Hellion Shaman.” He watched the orb be absorbed by the bones and watched as they began to form flesh around them. He looked up to Nar and waited to see what she had to offer because she was the keeper of the other two books.
When Kahn finished Nar slid into her reaper form. She did a similar technique Kahn used but for the death essence she had collected over the years. “The book of death sacrifices an essence of death to Hathern the Hellion Shaman.” She watched the orb fall to the body and be absorbed as the mass of flesh became more defined and gave a balance to the life that had been added already. All that was left was the sacrifice from the book of change. She levitated her book as she took a claw of hers and slit her palm so the blood began to pool in it. Letting the reaper form fade she stood with her strong vampire senses at work and as she turned her palm over to let the blood drop to the body she stated strongly through the small tears that had formed in her eyes, “the book of change sacrifices the blood of the willing time keeper. May these three gifts mix with the remains of the fallen and the living spirit to give rise to new life.”
Kahn swallowed hard and shivered slightly as he felt an icy chill fall over the room. He could see the spirit of Hathern appear and lay down on the alter to fuse with the body. When he was sure it was time he cleared his throat and holding his hands out over the body he stated strongly, “Rise from the dead Hathern the Hellion Shaman and begin life anew.” He watched and waited breathlessly to see if the ritual worked.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 4:23 am
-I do hope you don't mind me coming in and finding this by myself. Lovely post btw... >3 Now the fun starts... again!-
Small shifts in the figure notified the life returning to the body. The flames still danced around Hathern's figure, and with them being his Natural Shamn spiritual color, they came down to his body and laid themselves out, presenting his markings. As they were finishing, a deep breath came into the man and he flung up. Gasping for breath, he swayed slightly as his marking glowed strongly and then faided under his skin once more. His naked figure sat atop the alter, grasping the sides with his hands so hard his knuckles were white. His eyes closed, and his breath still uneven, his mind was trying to figure out what the hell just happened. But with a large buzz in his ears, and the dizzy feeling still left in him, it was hard to grasp what just happened.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:06 am
Nar gave a huge sigh of relief as she turned as she forgot about the pain in her hand and brushed a few strands of hair away with it. "Give him some clothes and give him whatever he wants. I should have some snacks and drinks and a pair of his robes in my saddle bag," she told Kahn as she walked away from the two shamans with a light feeling in her body. She got to her saddle back and flipped it open to pull out a water bottle filled to the top with blood. Moving away she went to sit by her brother's coffin as she opened the bottle and took a swig of it. If I am already dizzy I cannot imagine how I am going to feel doing 4 at a time. Nickolas, you dirty whore, you failed to mention how trying this ritual is on the body....though you probably didn't so I would go through with it and not back out.
Kahn stood with his hands rubbing his temples. Giving a goofy grin to Hathern he stated, "welcome back, Hath." He then moved from the alter to where Nar's saddle bag was and bent to retrieve some crackers, a bottle of fruit juice, and the robes Nar mentioned before returning to the other shaman and laying them all out next to him. Turning his head he looked back at Nar, who seemed to suddenly seclude herself from them and he raised an eyebrow. Why is she acting strange all of the sudden? Shouldn't she be happy to have him back? he thought quietly to himself as he took a seat near the alter and sat examining the pentagram on the floor. The fires had died down and returned to a normal heated color and he could see the markings more clearly.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:46 pm
Hathern looked at the boy who had adressed him, and the woman. Gaining his senses, he realized that he was in some room with Kahn and Narssissuss. What just happened, he wasn't sure, but something about being back... Was he alive again. Swallowing a bit, he looked at the robes and down at himself. I... I am alive again... Why else would I be clothless on an alter... Sighing to himself to even out his breathing, He turning his torso slightly to grab the robs. Sliding his body through them, he allowed his feet to dangle over the side and pick up the offered drink. After the refreashing taste of some real liquid, he turned to Kahn. "Thanks.." He said a bit horsely before he cleared his throught and tried again. "Tiss an interesting feeling... coming alive again.." He wanted to look over to Nar like the boy was, but felt like the woman just needed a moment... that and he wasn't sure if she was in the mood for such a meeting again if she was in a deep concitration.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:57 pm
Nar set the bottle of blood down near the coffin as she shook slightly. Running both her hands through her hair with a deep breath she forced herself to stand up and walk back to the center of the circle. "Come, lets get this done," she growled at Kahn as she picked up her book and took up her position once more, only this time facing the coffins. "Stand on the other side of the closed one, and we will repeat what we just did on a larger scale," she informed Kahn as she breathed again and ignored the slight shaky feeling her body was experiencing.
"I bet," Kahn replied with a smile as he looked at Nar when she returned. Something seemed very off but she looked determined to do what she had set out to do. Getting up he moved away from the alter to the other side of the half ring of coffins before coming to a halt on the other side of the closed one. "Are you really up for this, Nar?" Kahn asked, sounding very concerned. He had noticed her slight shivering and knew that this was not like her at all.
Nar gave a long glare to Kahn and replied sourly, "I am fine. Lets just get this over with." Even if it kills me, she thought darkly as she breathed deeply and closed her eyes, trying to gain her composure and power for this.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 7:03 pm
Hathern gave a sigh, and rubbed his face. "Let me help Nar... Let me take over the reaper part. I can control it long enough, and even if you just leave me here till I wake, you shouldn't have such a strain on yourself.." He slid off the alter and looked to the woman, his stance serious. "As much as I know you don't want me to have the book, I promise I will give it back..." Hathern gave her a playful grin as he crossed his arms across his chest.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 7:37 pm
"No!" Nar growled, turning quickly on the spot she stood. The flames in the symbol around her flared up with her sharp reply and she stood glaring at the man. "I have to do this. The ritual requires a Shaman, a Reaper, and a Necromancer to be completed. One gives the gift of life, one gives the gift of death, and one gives the gift of change. This is my bretheren so it is essential that the remaining ancient be apart of the ritual. Now sit down and stay out of this! You are not even 5 minutes old yet and you want to use your powers."
She turned back around sharply and clung to the book she held. Breathing deeply she began to recite the ritual again, this time using the tongue of the ancients. She clung to her sudden flare of anger for her support and it showed as the flames around her danced higher than before with their ominous green glow. But as she finished the first part of the ritual the flames began a dance of their own. The flames separated and centralized around each of the five points where the symbols of each ancient was. The flames changed to the color associated with the power as the spirits of each ancient suddenly appeared upon their corresponding symbol. Moving out of the center of the circle Nar took her place on her symbol and started a new part of the ritual, one that had not happened with Hathern. The flames danced around each spirit strongly as she spoke the words needed for the ritual before finally the fires shot out from the symbol, traveling through unseen veins in the floor until the room was aglow with the different colors. The coffins were each lit up with the colors as well, even the empty one. Turning to look at Kahn now Nar gave a nod as if to signal him to start his part.
Kahn was amazed at the light in the room from the fires. Never in his life had he seen something so colorful and so powerful before. He saw Nar give a nod to him and he shook out his arms as he stepped into the spirit world. He could feel the tension of the spirits as they waited to be put into their bodies and he breathed to brush away the slight amount of nervousness he had. Dividing what remained of the life spirits he had collected Kahn had to tap into his own supply to give the proper amounts requested. Strongly he called upon his voice to carry over the roaring of the blood in his ears, "The book of life sacrifices four essences of life, one to each of the fallen vampire ancients." He sent the essences of life out through the air and watched as they floated like bubbles along until coming upon the lifeless bodies and being soaked up into them. Feeling the fatigue coming on he lingered in his shaman form as he watched Nar finish the ritual.
Nar breathed deeply as she let her full reaper form come out. It was an all-or-nothing ritual now, and she planned on giving it all if she needed to. Standing erect she did the same with her death spirits, divided them so there was the proper amounts for each body and sent them out. Now was time for the sacrifice of change. She could feel her body shaking more now and as she let go of her reaper form she swayed dangerously, but caught herself. She forced herself to levitate the book as she drew the dagger out once more and slit both her hands long ways, letting the blood flow strongly now. She shook violently and bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain as she held her hands out towards the coffins and strongly belted out, "the book of change sacrifices the blood of the willing time keeper. May these three gifts mix with the remains of the fallen and the living spirit to give rise to new life." But as the blood mixed with the other forces a massive wave of cold wind rushed through the wind, blowing out all the fires in the area so everyone was left in complete darkness. A bang could be heard followed by the dull thud of something heavier hitting the ground. Then there was silence.
Kahn fell to his knees, knowing the ritual was almost over. He felt sick from having the air taken right out of him and he coughed violently. But he fought back the sickness he felt in the pit of his stomach and stated softly the finish to the ritual, "Rise from the dead fallen vampire ancients and begin life anew." His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out from all the stress on his body.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 3:09 am
Hathern had exited the circle before this had all started, and watched it all happen. As the room went dark and thuds could be heard, he had to duck as a coffin lid came his way. Rolling off to the side, he had taken a knee and balanced himself with one hand on the floor. With it being black in the room, Hathern waited for a second for his eyes to adjust before making any more movements.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 12:28 pm
Some movement could be heard within the empty room. At first it was very light, but the sound grew as it seemed like people were stirring. There was a soft grunt as someone pushed themselves out of one of the coffins in the dark and looked about. Some similar sounds were heard as the ancients began to stir from their graves and walk again. "Raz, light," barked the hoarse voice of Nickolas from the far coffin of the room.
A flame was created that illuminated the face of the pirate as he went to the vein against the wall and placed it on top. The room suddenly lit once again to show the scene. The three books were on the floor closed so the glowing covers could be seen. On the symbol of time lay the crumpled body of a woman with long dark hair. She seemed lifeless as she lay there not breathing at all with her eyes closed. Behind the coffins Kahn was curled up holding his stomach, but he was still breathing in his unconscious state. The fires in the emblem were out as well and the bottle of blood had been spilled and the blood evaporated into the air.
Moving quickly Nickolas was at the side of his sister. He scooped her up in his arms and rested her on his lap as he brushed away the strands of hair from her innocent face. Looking at the other ancients he began to bark orders to them. "Fetch my ring from the bag. Get some blood as well. Make sure the boy is alright."
The other ancients began to move about quickly, moving to get the items Nickolas asked for. Each one seemed to be sluggish than usual, but that was expected from being dead for so long. Kashmir took the ring from the bag along with a bottle of blood before returning to Nick's side and handing him what he asked for. Once Nick took it he took a few steps back to give them some room before watching what was happening.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 12:33 pm
Hathern stood up and watched this all happen, deciding to let them all work together as the five ancients for a bit before butting his way in. Folding his arms across his chest, he gave a small snap and held the book of life in his hand as he leaned up against the wall. The book gave him more energy as he watched, as he would soon offer to give it up to help the two who were down on the floor.
-bah... that seems really lame... *sigh*-
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 1:55 pm
Retrieving other things out of the bag as well Herman returned to the other ancients their talismans before going to Kahn who was on the floor. Squatting down he rested his hand on the man's shoulder and let some of his energy flow through them, hoping that the man would wake up with just more energy and that it was not something serious. He felt the boy begin to cough and so he stepped back with a smile before turning and moving back to the other ancients.
Once getting his talisman Raziel activated its power within, causing the soothing song of the sea to flow throughout the room. He rested the opened and colorful orb on the floor and sat behind it watching Nickolas.
Nickolas took the items and set the blood bottle down on the ground beside him as he slid his ring on. Feeling his power level rise he began to work on drawing life from the plant roots within the walls of the room and feeding it to Nar. But her body was rejecting it, a sign that she was not trying to fight the inevitable death that was creeping upon her. He continued to trace her face with his fingers as he worked and softly he began to purr, "Come back to us, sister of darkness. You need to fight back for me to help you. Fight back against the dark hold of the grim reaper and come back to me." He waited as he could feel the change of his words affecting the body in his arms. He watched as his sister rolled on her side and began to cough violently, letting the blood drip out of her mouth as she did. He quickly went to work with the vitality flow and soon she had color back in her cheeks. "Good girl," he purred gently as he stroked her face again and wiped up the bit of blood on her lips.
Nar weakly opened her eyes after coughing violently and looked up through a foggy haze at her brother. She gave a weak smile and said, "Nick.....I tried.....I love you and.....I'm sorry......"
Giving a soft chuckle Nickolas purred gently as he hugged his sister tightly, "you did well, sis. We are all back together as one now. Time for you to rest, you deserved it." Taking the bottle of blood beside him he held it as Nar drank from it to regain her strength.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 1:58 pm
Hathern's attention had turned sharply to the twins as Nar started to cough. Both of the ritural givers were now stable, and would recover their strength in time. Giving a sigh of relief, he relaxed his body and leaned back up against the wall, tapping the book to his side watching the ancients move around yet again.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 3:54 pm
Nar groaned weakly, but smiled anyways knowing that the ritual had worked. She grasped his half-opened shirt gently and let her head lean against his arm. Closing her eyes she purred softly as she let her body rest in her brother's arms. But remembering Kahn her head rolled to the side as she looked back towards the dragon prince. She moved herself out of her brothers hand and began to drag herself along to Kahn's side.
Watching Nar drag herself across the floor Kashmir intervened and picked the woman up. He carried her over to where Kahn was and set her down so she could see that he was alright as well. He remained there watching the two to see if Nar needed any more assistance.
Getting to Kahn now Nar was set beside him and she began to stroke his hair softly. He stirred and looked up at her before sitting up. Pressing her head against his she whispered, "thank you, Kahn. Thank you." She lay a soft kiss on the dragon's forehead before climbing back up into Kashmir's arms and snuggling into his shirt. She purred as she clung to him and closed her eyes, letting her body go into a sleep-like mode.
Kahn sat rubbing his eyes, taking all of this in as if it were all a dream. But he knew it wasn't because he had seen Hathern come back to life before the rest did. Pushing himself to his feet he felt a bit weak but he managed to make himself walk back across the room to where his bag was. Not caring about the shaman book he picked up his bag and his robes and began to head out of the room. His job was done and he was ready to go.
"Now what?" Raziel asked Nickolas as his focus shifted from one twin to another. He touched his orb to deactivate it before sliding it into his pocket.
Giving a smirk Nickolas took the bottle of blood beside him and and drank some of it. It was warm blood for a change and he grinned as it seemed to give him new life. He capped it and passed it to the pirate, "we rest and build our strength as well." He stood and walked over to where Nar's stuff was and picked it up. As he walked a pair if big black and red bat-like wings appeared on his back and his features darkened with them. A set of horns appeared on his head and his eyes darkened to a deep red color. Ruffling his wings he strutted over to the shaman on the floor and giving a cold smirk he replied, "guess your innocent little woman is innocent again. But we shall see how long that lasts." He chuckled to himself as he turned and walked back to the group while still showing off his reaper form. "Ah, it feels so good to be alive again."
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 4:05 pm
Hathern's eyes narrowed at Nick and what he had said, but knew he wouldn't let the man harm her any more, not if he had a say in things. Standing, he went over to Nar and Kashmire. "Are you going to take her back now?" Hathern was choosing to completely ignore Nick and his boasting of his returned strength.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 4:11 pm
Herman gave a wicked cackle as he watched Nick prance about with his form. He decided to let his vampiric taker form come out as well. His body began to elongate as his limbs disappeared and bright orange wings sprouted on his back. His skin formed scales and he continued to grow until finally getting to his final taker form. He fluttered his wings as well and curled up on the floor all around the room while watching the others.Kashmir could feel his god-like powers return, but he did not brag about them nor show them off like the others were. "Yes, she needs to go back to the estate to rest, just like the rest of us should," he told Hathern as he brought Nar closer to the others. "I know she has given you part of the estate to do as you please with, so I do not need to invite you back. But if you would like to travel together to make sure she is alright that can be obliged." He smiled at the shaman as he kept Nar close against him, feeling her breathing on his chest."Well you guys can all go back," Nickolas pointed out as he let his reaper features begin to fade back to a tame state. "I promised someone that I would come back to see them after my 'journey' to the 'other worlds'. You guys have fun and be good to her, or your heads are mine." He smirked at the others to show that he was having a bit of fun with them before he opened a portal and went through it to the dragon realm.
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