Firiona Vie Everquest

So it was that Stormfollower, his wife and his band of companions sailed the Goblin Queen into the busy Qeynos harbor, there to embark on a bitter hunt for Remis the jaded son of Stormfollower and Jetamio. His turning to ways of evil and subsequent attempt on the life of his father had brought them to a head on the high seas and though they thought him perished by the will of nature they now knew that he had survived and was held up somewhere deep within the catacombs beneath the Qeynos streets studying the witchcraft of bones and specters. Remis had become a necromancer.

The shaman docked his small ship at the berth and deftly tied it off. Patting it fondly on the bow he looked over at his friends on the deck.

"I will be off now. Take care of yourselves and keep an ear to the ground for news of our wayward son. It is my plan to head to the last known gathering place of the Raventear tribe, Nedarias Landing. Hopefully they will be able to shed some light on this most troubling of tribulations."

The line jerks in her pale hands as the fish struggles against it. She reels it in, pulling and releasing the line in slow, drawn out waves just as her Benefactor had taught her. She remembers a time when there was too much to do in the world and he had her sit there,,,, fishing. Of all things,,,, fishing? How was she to become a powerful Necromancer if all she could do was fish? She would even volunteer to do extra studying or scribing, anything to get her out of fishing. But there she sat with him, minute after minute, hour after hour, with the impatience of youth eating away at the time.

When he had noticed she could not sit any longer they would return to the estate where she learned to clean what they had caught. While the thought of menial kitchen chores, such as cooking, was annoying she didn’t seem to mind so much when he taught her how to use the blade. He would take her tiny hand in his showing her how to work the edge of the blade filleting out the fish with perfection. Though his being so close was a distraction, she learned this skill as well. She had only just realized the many lessons he had taught her without her even knowing.

A small boat approaches the end of the dock causing her to pull her line in a bit as she watches the crew on board. The largest of them disembarks the boat patting it before yelling back to his crew. She knew that voice and turned around to see Stormfollower, and the crew of those she knew on board. Only the side of her pale face showing as she turns slightly as if to hide her complexion, as human as it may be at this time. She listens to the conversation as she kneels by her pack, her long dark hair falling over her shoulders and into her way as she fumbles through her pack pretending to look for something. Miscellaneous fishing items fall aside her and roll around her knees as a whispered, angry sigh slips past her lips. Oh how she hated this human form.

At the loss of her healing power, the vampire had fled underground. The once High Priestess of Dalharen d'Phlith could no longer cast even the simplest of healing spells, though she could now heal herself by draining the lifeforce of others. She did not entirely understand what was happening to her, but had noted that it had coincided with her rapidly increasing sanguine abilities. While she mostly welcomed the growth, it also saddened her for it meant that wherever her Sire was, he was not coming back anytime soon. She was now head of her Bloodline... though unfortunately the only one left for the moment.

Her vast knowledge of curing various poisons and diseases gave her an advantage when learning Necromancy, and in Qeynos catacombs and sewers there were many to learn from. Most of them were Human, but Tajer had been brought up in a mixed environment and was far more tolerant of other races than most Tier'Dal.

She was talking to one such human when she spied the newcomer. By the size of him she guessed he was of Northern blood, but he had an unconcious grace of movement, even malnourished as he was, that there had to be some elven influence in there. Excusing herself, she moved a little nearer to watch him. She knew she had never met the young man, but there was something strangely familiar about him. For some reason, he reminded her of the young Paladin who guarded Arien de Kaane.

Intrigued, she watched him subtley from a distance.

Remis looked around contemptuously. He had expected to be confronted for his crimes when he returned to these dank halls but of course no one suspected a thing. He was too smart. He had made sure no one had seen him on the night he killed his master. Likewise he had used others to kill for him or even to kill themselves as his mastery over their dreams grew stronger. His murderous spree went on without anyone suspecting him in the least. But now all that had changed, on the surface world anyway. He had taken on his father and mother too soon, he should have prepared things more cautiously and struck when they were further apart. Now the surface world would be crawling with those searching for him on his fathers behest.

For now he must remain hidden, down here the maze of tunnels and back exits would serve him best if any came poking around down here for him. And so he must suffer the rules of this dark indoctrination.
"At least the necromancers here had it more right than the shamans of his families tribe" he thought.

His stomach growled again. Much to the disgust of his teachers his mana for the spells of necromancy had diminished as his physical form had. Remis had discovered the less he sustained his real world form the stronger his dream self grew. Something he had learned from his great uncle Oxbalm as he had foolishly tried to teach him the path of a shaman and the ways of fasting. The full realization of this power had come to him while he drifted on the waves, cast off as worthless in a raft by Stormfollower. A raft mysteriously without the granted provisions that were always aboard such vessels.

He knew that by now that his father, the great shaman of the wolf tribe, Stormfollower must have received his bloody gift. He winced a bit and put a hand over the patch on his eye remembering the pain of striking it out. This would make him and easy mark, someone who would stand out in a crowd. He knew also his fathers empathy and pity would be peeked by such a cry for help. His only regret was that his sister had managed to step around his dream trap..."or had I let her go". He was wracked with a momentary confusion at the thought of her but the cool darkness welled up within him quickly, bringing him back to its stolid logic.

"Let them come to me" he thought "That is how I will draw them into my power, and there destroy them".
He chuckled a little as he inserted himself into one of the basic classes, pretending to be fascinated with the lecturer. "Dross" he thought as his eye, quickly and with perfect recall, scanned the room for another prospect. His hungers would need to be sated soon... all of them.

Tajer also sat in that class, and sat herself in the row behind him. She closed her eyes a moment as she filtered out all emotions floating around the room until she felt only his. She opened her eyes and studied the back of his head. Such determination, clouded only by the tiniest hint of regret...but not remorse. But she could not say why, for the only way to actually read his mind was to drink from him. But she was not ready to kill him yet, not while he still intrigued her so.

She concentrated her gaze on the back of his head, making the hairs on his neck stand up. When he turned around, she smiled at him and met his eye. This close up he was even more familiar, but surely no child of hers would be here...would they?

"Dark Greetings to you, you are a new face here are you not? I am Tajer Vlos d'Vesdrac..." She offered her hand in the customary human way.

Gathering up her items quickly she takes one last look at the ship noting it’s crew and made a mental note of how many she would need to hire. They had taken Yolinir and returned him to a weak state of which she, of course, highly disapproved. Losing didn’t sit well with her at all and she had intended not to lose this time. Her long hair falling over her face covered her human lips that curled into a wicked grin. “A son…?” she thought to herself. “How perfect a toy.”

Straightening her body her boots thump on the planks of the dock as she walked quickly. She had little time to recruit mercenaries young, and stupid, enough to cause a distraction for the older Norseman to slow him down thus allowing her time to recruit even more for when she had caught up with them. She wasn’t quite finished with this family that would deny her the desires the hungry beast demanded.

Weaving her way quickly through the city she finds her way to the depths of its bowels quickly. Nasorin had shown her many entrances to the places where she could be safe. Slipping the crown off her body shimmers for a moment as she returns to her native form,,,, Teir’Dal. A pleasurable grin tickles her lips watching the pale skin return to its normal blueish hue.

A few minutes of navigating the paths underneath the city and she finds herself amongst a crew of misfits looking for trouble. The terms are set, partial payment provided and false promises of glory and pleasure are enough to set them on their way following after Stormfollower. Grabbing the shoulder of one she stops him, her reptilian eyes glaring into his, “Not dead.” His eyes roam over her body before flashing a dirty smile and nodding before jerking his shoulder from her walking off. His action alone saving him from the beast within who sears from her belly and up her throat searching for its feast.

As he walked away she braced herself against a wall closing her eyes to take a deep breath. The hunger of the beast claws it’s way up her throat growling low as she exhales slowly. She places her tiny fingers over her lips to contain the growl, and the beast that grows ever stronger. She was unsure how much longer she could keep it contained, for now it seemed any time anyone was near the hunger grew with each heartbeat resonating in her mind.

Soft whispers summon her thrall who quickly supports his Mistress upright. She waves him off weakly as she begins to regain control of herself, and the beast who begins its reluctant decent. Looking over her left shoulder she spots Tajer who lurks silently, her eyes fixed like the hunter she is. Cerissa slides across the wall ducking into a corner looking the direction which has Tajer so interested. She watches the two enter a room and dares to follow. Placing the crown back upon her head she returns to the previous human form pulling the hood of her long cloak over her head covering her reptilian eyes which refused alteration in the shadows therein.

She didn’t have time for this, but curiosity had gotten the best of her while she slipped into the room. Choosing an obscure location she watches the two exchange words her darkened lips curling into a grin.

(( My apologies for the lack of decent editing, I'm at work and I swear I need a revolving door! :p )

Remis turned around to meet Tajers gaze. He was struck instantly by her dark and alluring beauty and he took in the sight of her slowly and without concealment, savoring her form as a predator might upon first sighting the victim of a hunt. . His eyes ended on her outstretched hand which he left hovering, unreceived. His eyes narrowed

"Tajer Vlos d'Vesdrac." He spoke her name slowly and he tilted his head. The name was unique enough to stand out in his memory. The connection came to him slowly at first, in steps from a distant and lost childhood. He had heard this name on lips he had kissed. His mother had spoken of her once in a tale beside a Wolf Cult foraging camps fire. She was related to him through some previous coupling. Her daughters daughter, his step niece in human terms.

"Does she know who I am? " His thoughts quickened "They have sent her here with my description." He knew she had become a vampire and was estranged from the family but that did not preclude a trap set to snare him . "Did Mother use her apron strings to reign her in to be used in my abduction?"

He could tell nothing from her eyes and so he would have to try to bluff some information out of her. He calmed himself and set his brilliant and manipulative mind into action.

"I have been ill and just recently returned to my studies of the dead." He ran his eye over her once more, intrusively. "I don't recall your face either but I do know your type." His tone was confident and without fear.

The Tier`Dal Sword Maiden makes her way to the gathering of students, unseen and unnoticed by all. Her cloak keeps her from the prying eyes of both undead and the living. She sensed the presence of the Sanguine long before she arrived. She draws her bow slowly and silently. One of her arrows through the heart of the creature would end its un-life quickly. D`Narr recognizes the young man that she was sent to find as he is conversing with the Sanguine so she lowers her bow and stores the arrow. Bring him out alive was her task by whatever means... D`Narr moves in closer so she can hear what they are saying...

Tajer cocked an eyebrow in amusement.

"My type?"

She had seen his appreciative look, and even the fleeting look of panic before he seemed to regain control of himself. This man was hunted, she was sure of it, though he also played the part of hunter. Returning his intense gaze with one as equally intense, she sensed his power...and his problem. She took her untouched hand back, but did not seem offended and smiled darkly.

She was about to speak again but suddenly stopped. She caught a familiar scent, the intoxicating scent of her favourite prey, mixed with the reptilian odor that repulsed her so. She knew that scent and wondered if Cerissa had come looking for her in response to her letter, but she didn't seem to want to make herself known.

But it was not Cerissa's hidden presence that bothered her. Since rising to her new station, she had found her empathic ability growing in leaps and bounds. Everyone in the room had dark intentions, but there was generally an unspoken truce in the sewers. But Tajer sensed a more hostile intention and she glanced around with a frown. Seeing nothing out of place, she turned back to the young man who was studying her. His expression was enough to remind her again of the young Paladin studying or praying in the Castle's small chapel, and suddenly she realised that she did know this young man. She had known there was a twin for she had seen them once as infants, but she would never have expected to find him down here.

Her expression turned suddenly serious as she stood up. She eyed him as though evaluating his worth, then nodded slightly to herself.

"I hope you have already learned the lesson of Shadowstepping, for you will need it if you intend to remain free this day. I can help you... Dreamspinner."

"So you know who I am" He sneered. "...Yes I can shadow step." Speaking softly now his senses were on full alert. He stood with Tajer. "I will meet you near the shark tank."

He stepped into the warmth of his own shadow. Its dark nothingness engulfed him and chose its path through the unseen chaos of the shadow world . Whispers reached him from the gathering shades, tales of untold scenes all intermingled unintelligibly in his head vying for dominance, each one desperately attempting to impart their secrets to no avail. Then and Instantly they transported him nearby knee deep in filth in a tertiary sewage tunnel. Cursing he got his bearings and headed for the shark tank.

Sitting in silent anonimity Cerissa watches as the two converse, placing a hand over her mouth and nose as the fresh scent of the living fills her nostrils. She wondered their relation as the two seemed to recognize each other and the conversation carried on. A single brow raises as Tajer announces, “I hope you have already learned the lesson of Shadowstepping, for you will need it if you intend to remain free this day. I can help you,,,, Dreamspinner.”

Why Tajer had wanted to help him she was unsure, it would seem extremely uncharacteristic. However, through their conversations she had become aware of a softness within Tajer that sickened her. “They waste the power they are given.” she thinks to herself. Any emotion that would create a creature to actually care was tossed aside at her willing hand.

The fresh scent of living creatures slip between her fingertips, slipping around the protective barrier her fingers had attempted to create. Her eyes flutter closed while the scent of those within the room wake the beast within. Hardening of her lips keeps the beast encased within the tomb of her chest. Slowly she opens her focused gaze on the two, the clangorous sound of the heartbeats in the room a resounding symphony of hungry desire. She ducks quickly out of the room into the depths of the city, her boots tapping in hurried steps which sink in size with her strides as she reclaims her Teir’Dal form.

Not realizing who he was she returns her thoughts to her tasks at hand. She has found the crew of mercenaries that she needed and did not necessarily need to concern herself with this male. In her haste she turns a corner running directly into the male who’s size nearly topples her diminutive frame over.

Remis grabs her shoulders strongly, steadying her briefly, then lets her go. He eyes the group of hooligans who escort her and takes a step backwards preparing himself to run. But her mysterious form makes him stay. His good eye runs over her. He likes what he sees, but he notes her reptilian eyes and senses the lurking ferocity behind them. He is more than a little intrigued. It appeared he had not only raised the ire of those aligned with his parents but also the curiosity of their enemies.

"Come here often?"

D`Narr watches the young man disappear and noted the small wisp of shadows left behind. He Shadow stepped... He would not have ported very far. D`Narr caught enough of the conversation to know that he would be heading to meet the Sanguine. D`Narr silently moved through the tunnels keeping on the trail of the vampire. She would have to figure out a way to either separate the two of them or she would have to capture him by force and kill the Sanguine in the process. This latest request from her sister on behalf of the pales was not a task that she enjoyed. Bringing him out so they could try to turn him from the darkness went against every fiber of her being. She would have much rather brought him to know the true power of Hatred but then anything was better than serving the God of Disease. The very thought of it made her skin crawl.

The surprise of running into him pulls a quick hiss of the Iksar from her lips. Her reptilian eyes narrow up at him as the beast catches the scent of his flesh and attempts to claw its way up her throat. It thought it had found its chance of escape, to consume its utmost desire and satisfy its hunger. The sensation of the darkness within his heart seduces the beast to a strength she had not yet experienced. As he releases her, her tiny fingertips return to her lips attempting to hold the beast in its dark place while she attempts to soothe the inclination to relieve the growing craving.

Holding up a single hand she calls down the disagreeable hired muscle who reluctantly sheath their blades. In unblemished unison Cerissa and Remis rake over each others form, and for this one moment she allows the grin desire to curl her lips upward. The hunger of the beast subsiding she finally realized it was him, the male Tajer had been speaking to.

How utterly perfect to include him in her scheme against Stormfollower and his family, unknowing he was the son they sought all along. She could keep him close enough to protect this perfectly shadowed soul from Tajer’s gentled ways, while using his skills to her advantage. That would be, if he survived either the battle or her touch.

The appealing and deadly smile of the Teir’Dal cannot camouflage her dark desires as she responds to his inquiry, “Actually,,,, yes. I live in this city.” One eye slowly winks as a single finger beckons the leader of the crew of mercenaries to step up behind her. Without removing her approving gaze from Remis she whispers softly to the leader who nods calling his crew behind him as they march on to their purpose of following the previous bunch of mercenaries who track Stormfollower.

While attempting to keep her desires under control she feigns a pleasant smile tilting her head slightly, “I should ask though,,,, do you?” A sound down the tunnel catches a glance from her as she steps back against a wall. Quickly she returns her eyes to him with a serious expression, “This way, if you do not want the desires within your soul extinguished.” She extends a hand out to Remis as she takes a step back disappearing through a false wall her Benefactor had explained little few knew of.

He was not at the shark tank when she arrived. She waited a minute then scowled. Surely he can't have got lost in so short a distance. Her acute hearing picked up voices down a hallway and she headed that way, rounding a corner only to find Remis with Cerissa. She frowned, wondering what Cerissa could possibly want with him, but at least she knew he would not be turned into his family with her. She came up to them, eyeing Cerissa especially. She sensed what she had before long ago, when the girl had requested the Gift, only now it was stronger. How much longer could the girl resist? A small smirk came to her lips; she still remembered the harsh words spoken to her during the Yolanir incident. She had not retaliated, for the girl did not understand her reasons for not getting involved. Yolanir had nothing to offer Tajer, and he had been Turned without her approval by her Sire out of spite.

"Looking for something Cerissa?" she said in her velvety voice, her own dark eyes meeting the reptilian ones. "Are you hungry yet Cerissa? Does the beast cry for freedom Cerissa? Will you remember your own name after you have taken his blood to release your heritage? When you become nothing more than the mindless minions of Mistmoore's Catacombs, succumbed to the Thirst with no shred of humanity." Her tone turned deadly serious. "You can think what you like of me Cerissa...I see your disdain when you look at me, at the Power 'wasted' upon me. But without something to hold on to, something or someone you feel so strongly for to keep you sane, you are doomed. You will never be Sanguine, only a monster intent on destroying everyone... you will even kill Nasorin."

Taking her eyes from Cerissa she looked at Remis. "You can go with her if you wish. You will likely be safe from your parents, but thats about it. You have a powerful gift, but it will likely kill you soon..." she ran her eyes over his malnourished, though still ruggedly handsome form. "...without help you will never reach your goal."

She said no more, and simply stood awaiting his response. She kept her expression blank, but her dark eyes stayed on him.