The Blood Moon

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Ruko

Professional Otaku
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
Writing Levels
  1. Elementary
  2. Intermediate
  3. Adept
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
Genres
Fantasy, Magical, Horror
It was an hour after sunset when the train pulled in at the station. It was an old thing, with a horrendously outdated diesel engine. It ran on rusty steel girders laid on rotten wood. The station wasn't much better either. It was little more than a platform, a raised bit of land covered in stones to allow people to more easily get on and off the train. The carriages were wooden, and crudely built. The glass barely held in the frames, and a chilling wind blew through the gaps in the planks. It was a wonder people remained in Bedrock at all, Shiro thought. She stepped off the train and watched it leave before turning to the street. The platform was situated at the edge of the town, and one had to navigate a few corners to get to any recognisable location.

It was Shiro's first time in this town. She had visited Churchtown before, but she had never had much reason to come to Bedrock before. This would be her first Blood Moon too, so it was quite a coincidence that her work had happened to bring her to one of the few locations where it would be visible. She didn't really know what happened at a Blood Moon, beyond rumours that vampires became significantly more powerful in their presence. She glanced at the sky. The light pollution here was average, but worse than her homeland and she couldn't make out many constellations. The moon was still low, but by the size of it it looked like there was still a week or so before the Blood Moon would occur. Plenty of time to get orientated.

As she looked around, she caught a glimpse of a small gothic style shop on the corner of the road. It was more like a front room than a proper business, and if she hadn't been looking for it, it would probably have escaped her view completely. On a black wooden sign above the door was painted "Sarah's Odds and Ends". She opened the door, and a small bell tinkled lightly. A kindly old woman turned to greet her from behind the counter. The room was completely full of miscellaneous items, most of which were clearly fakes, though she could make out a few genuine artifacts too. Those weren't the main reason the shop existed though. They served more as a distraction to validate the building's existence to the human eye.

"Sarah Winsthorpe. A pleasure to meet you."

"And who would you be?"

Shiro did not give a name, instead choosing to conjure a small flickering flame in her outstretched palm. It glowed with a ghostly violet blaze. The elderly woman recoiled a little upon seeing fire, but quickly regained her composure.

"The Violet Flame. The pleasure is most certainly mine. So, how can this ancient one help you?"

The exchanged light conversation, before getting down to business. It wasn't often that two legends of the Spiritual world encountered each other seemingly by chance. After a while, money was exchanged and Shiro left the store, the door bell tinkling once again. She looked down at the map she had just purchased. It seemed to be a simple enough route to her destination, and she set off.

The Castle was a rather nondescript building. Both it's interior and exterior design suggested that it was a generic hotel with an out of place name. She walked towards the reception desk after looking around a little, and asked in a whisper for The Prince. She couldn't tell if the receptionist was a vampire. If she was, her signal was incredibly weak. She was probably a Thrall, considering that most normal humans wouldn't be able to work if they knew a council of vampires resided in the same building as them. She was directed to a side door, that had a 4 character code electric lock protecting it. She inputted the numbers the receptionist had told her, and headed through. On the other side was an elevator, whose doors were made of a thick silver metal and inlaid with gold. She knew the metal couldn't actually have been silver though, since there was no way a vampire would be able to withstand that much sheer death. Silver radiated a strange aura that acted like a strong poison on the bodies of most supernaturals that came close enough to it. She entered the lift and pressed the solitary button, labeled with an up arrow.

The lift began to slowly ascend, the journey taking enough time that if another person had been in the lift it would have just begun to get uncomfortable by the time it stopped. The door opened and she walked out, finding herself in the presence of 10 very intimidating monsters. She stepped up, and as she did so, one of the 3 standing people turned around. He was dressed in black robes edged in crimson and gold, and he wore an obnoxiously large solid gold cross on a chain around his neck.

"Cardinal. It's been a while. I heard about your exploits in Russia. I must say, for a generation 11, you really do know how to kill things."

"Well, you know humans. Rather prone to exaggeration. It seems we'll be working together for a while."

With that, the Cardinal turned to leave. No one tried to stop him. Shiro approached the council. It was very obvious who the Prince was - he wore a crown of a similar silver metal to the lift doors. It was probably to try and trick more stupid vampires into thinking he was powerful enough to resist Silver.

"I've been expecting you. Don't tell me. The train was late again. It always is..."

Shiro thought the man looked really rather American, though there was no denying he spoke in a British accent. She wondered if it was handed down through the Gilded bloodline. She hadn't met a gilded so far that wasn't posh.

"Well, I guess if you were expecting me then there's no need for me to announce my presence."

"Indeed not." He stood up and moved to where Shiro stood, before turning around to view the rest of the council. "Friends, trusted advisers. Let me introduce to you, the Violet Flame. She will be working with us until the current issue is sorted."

There were a few shocked gasps from the members, as well as a few doubtful mutterings. Shiro wasn't psychic, but she knew what they were saying. "The Violet Flame is so young?" "What would she be doing here?" "That's really her?" "Has the prince gone mad, inviting her here?"

"I assure you. This is no mistake. This IS the Violet Flame, and she is my personal guest in Bedrock. And, contrary to popular belief, she is not a vampire hunter. She hunts who she is told to hunt, not just any vampire."

Shiro smirked as she turned to leave. It was fun seeing powerful and reputed rulers left speechless.

"Oh, but one thing, Violet Flame. You may be my personal guest, but the same thing applies to you as applies to everyone who enters this city. You will not enter the Black Tower. If you do, you will have a Blood Hunt placed on your head. And it doesn't matter how powerful you are. Even you cannot stand against 6 entire clans."

"Understood."

With this, she abruptly left.
 
As the train pulled into the station a girl with long black hair and red eyes walked off onto the strange platform. She couldn't help but notice a girl who had a strange aura around her. It seemed that she wasn't a vampire nor a human. Rei watched her go from where she stood on the edge of the platform before she walked off herself. All who were on the streets stopped what they were doing as Rei passed, her footsteps silent and her moves graceful. She had been away on another death mission. Quite tiring work. As she reached a light brown average house she pulled out a fake silver key. She inserted it in the lock then turned it to her left and opened her door. Rei walked into her home and took the key out. She shut the door and made her way to the bathroom where she took a quick shower to get all the blood off of her from the mission. When she finished she dried of quickly and put her clothes in the laundry hamper she had. She slipped on a new outfit then out her shoes on and grabbed a piece of buttered toast before she left.

Rei finished her toast just before she reached the castle where she had business to attend to. She walked into the beautiful building and nodded to the women at the desk as she walked past. Rei reached the elevator and put in the password. The large metal doors opened and she walked into the lift and pressed on the button with a single upward pointed arrow. The doors closed and she could feel the lift as it made it's was upward. She waited patiently until the lift stopped and a minute later the large doors opened. Rei stepped out and nodded to the men who were speaking to each other. They nodded back to her but as she walked on she could feel their stares on her back.

The doors opened just before Rei was about to knock and the girl from earlier walked out. Rei didn't move and felt the girl's arm brush her own. Rei silently yet gracefully walked into the room and noticed the prince wasn't with the members of the council.

"Prince. The mission is complete. Do you have any other missions for me?"

She asked him. Rei walked over to the prince and bowed to the council before standing up straight and turning her gaze to him. She didn't like that he was taking his time to answer and was tempted to ask again but louder.

"No. You may take a break from your missions. Even you need a break, Blood Princess."

He told her, using the name she was known as almost everywhere. Her eyes became cold as he used her nickname but shrugged it off, her mysterious aura coming back to her.

"Thank you Prince. If you ever need me again, you know where to find me."

She told him and with that she left the room.

 
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Amaranth Blanc
Mask, Generation 8


A young girl of about fifteen in looks looked around the street quietly, two adults flanking her. With light pink hair that deepened into an eye-catching magenta and glimmering red eyes, the girl was striking, though her face was still caught between childhood and adulthood. Soft features, with delicate cheekbones, a small nose, and full lips gave the girl a feminine sort of beauty, her small chin and frail-looking jawline giving her the impression of innocence. She was wearing a black and red dress ending just above her knees, sleeveless and revealing much of her milky white skin. The adults that stood with her made her petite frame stand out even more. They, compared to their charge, looked relatively normal, with the woman having pale blonde hair and brown eyes, the man having dark red hair and blue eyes, both looking to be around their late forties.

"Are you sure this is where your boss wanted to send you?" The woman eyed the unpromising looking town around her hesitantly, before the man placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Though he himself looked unsure, the seeming 'father' of this small family coughed and nodded. "I'm sure. Maybe we should ask if Amaranth herself is okay with this temporary move?" They both looked towards the girl, who gave a faint smile and nodded.

"Of course, father. I'll be fine; you don't have to worry about me." The girl murmured warmly, voice soft and girlish as she smiled up at them. The two smiled back, looking relieved. "I'm sure I'll find something to do," the girl that was known as Amaranth said, an undertone of humor in her voice that was completely missed by her parents, who, now that they were assured that their daughter had maturely accepted such a sudden move, were now talking on what they should first do. Being a well-to-do family, the three had gotten a small house to move into soon, completely furnished. They were only now carrying their suitcases and other belongings, walking along the street to where the house would be.

Eyes peered at them that made the adults slightly uneasy; Amaranth felt the stares herself, but merely returned an even glance at those who continued on doing so. As soon as they reached their temporary living place, the parents placed their belongings inside and bid Amaranth to bring up her clothes and bags to her room and set it up, or if she wanted to, take a look outside. They would be looking for a place to eat and talk to the other locals, so she had the evening to herself.

So, as soon as she was able to go out by herself, Amaranth set out for the Enclave. She had been told by the elders to see who would be going to the newest Blood Moon. Because Blood Moons brought with them opportunities for power, knowledge, and territory, with so many supernaturals gathered in one place. Amaranth herself hadn't really wanted to go, but she had been ordered to. And as always, she obeyed.

 
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Somewhere deep in the Transylvanian Mountains

It was a dark night. Despite the lack of light, no celestial bodies were visible, not even the moon. But he knew it was there. Everyone did. A booming thunderclap echoed through the ceiling of the great cathedral, temporarily drowning out the noise of the heavy raindrops landing on the slate roof tiles. The Cathedral was well known for it's occult history. A bolt of lightning struck the ground directly outside the Cathedral's door, shattering the glorious stained glass murals inwards and marking the event that everyone inside the cathedral had been dreading.

The centerpiece of the Cathedral, acting as the altar, was a monumental stone coffin. It was 8 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall, and carved from one solid block of grey marble. It was engraved and inlaid with 100% pure silver, enough to kill a lesser vampire in a matter of seconds simply by being close to it. The silver glowed now, a bright light as strong as the sun radiating from every atom of it's shape. Floating a few centimeters above the coffin, a complex circular crest spun slowly, made of magical energy and glowing just like the silver was. It was a powerful seal indeed, refreshed on an annual basis, now a ritual and festival for 500 years. Inside the coffin, a pile of bone coloured ash lay waiting. It was finally time for the vampire Dracula to rise again. Slowly, as if carried by a faintest breeze, the ash began to float, taking the shape of a skeleton. It solidified, marking the doom of everyone in the cathedral. Equally slowly, more dust from inside the coffin began to flow towards the skeleton. It flowed like a liquid, carrying itself along the surface of the bones until every bone was completely covered in the crimson liquid. This contracted and solidified, forming tendons and cartilage at the joints, and bestowing a terrifying red glow in one of the eye sockets of the skull. The other remained empty.

The inside of the coffin was made entirely out of silver, and a glowing white cross of the same magical energy as the seal floated above the skeleton's chest. The skeleton's arm rose to touch it. It laid a finger gently on the cross. bright white energy flowed down the arm, enveloping the entire skeleton in it's purging glory. Enough holy energy was present in this one coffin to slay even a generation 2 vampire. But Dracula was far more powerful than any generation 2 had been before. His hand clenched around the cross, and the magical glow enveloping the bones was abruptly cut off. Crimson cracks appeared on the magical cross, more and more until the cross shattered completely. As if the might of a single dying god would stop him. Even without organs or flesh, he was capable of mocking the aged deity. Outside the coffin, the spinning disc had stopped as if it were a record jammed on the turntable. The same crimson cracks began to appear on it and it too shattered. The silver on the outside of the coffin began to hiss, emitting a silvery mist as they evaporated. Another lightning strike hit the ground, accompanied by a thunderclap. The storm was directly above them now. The 200 people inside the cathedral recoiled in terror as the coffin lid broke cleanly in half, and the corpse slowly stood up.

It cast it's gaze across the room, glaring at the army of paladins come to destroy him. If he had skin, he would have smiled. It had been a long time since he had last feasted. A brave priest, obviously high in rank - probably an arch-bishop, stepped up to confront the skeleton. He began to chant furiously in Latin, holding a gold and silver crucifix in front of him. Glowing runes, the telltale sign of Holy Magic, began to float in the air around both the man and the skeleton. It stood and watched the man for a short time, evaluating his first prey. While he didn't need a kill to regenerate, he liked to think it made him look cooler. After all, one can't become the most feared monster in history without keeping up their appearances. He opened his boney jaw wider than any human could, twisting his neck to an impossible angle, before biting down on the priest's skull and crushing it between his fangs. The man went limp, the cross falling to the floor, clattering as it collided with the cold marble. The skeleton reached it's arms around the back of the priest, as if to hug the corpse, but instead dug it's fingertips into the priest's back along the spine and ripped the man in half, dropping each half to the floor beside the cross and the flattened cranium.

The blood began to flow from the body parts, quickly draining the corpse, which shriveled up and turned grey. The blood did not pool however, instead being drawn into the empty chest cavity of the skeleton. The heart formed first, a chunk of unbeating flesh hanging precariously from the rib bones. Lungs formed around it, followed by most of the remaining organs. Eyes were the last of the organs to form, each a ball of white, with red irises and pupils as black as night. He gazed around once more. Some of the paladins looked disgusted, some scared and some had a look of horror on their faces. But then, that was to be excused. Anyone would feel faint after watching a skeleton rip their leader in half and use their blood to build organs. He left the muscle formation out for a little longer, choosing to form the blood vessels and nervous system first, just to add a little final horrific factor. When he finally finished reconstructing his body, he summoned a set of dramatic crimson robes, and crowned his head with long black hair. As he began to walk calmly towards the crowd, the ranged paladins all simultaneously opened fire. Silver tipped, blessed bullets, he assumed. He expected nothing less from the most reputed demon hunting organisation in the world. He allowed the bullets to pass through him, not even attempting to dodge, regenerating the damaging faster than it could be dealt. He waited until every paladin was out of ammunition before taking his turn. In an instant, he had disappeared, replaced by a crimson mist that reeked of death. It spread out to fill the whole area, causing screams of pain and terror as the paladins slowly asphyxiated and dissolved. When the last cry had been silenced, he regained his form and watched the pathetic spasming masses of bodies. None of them were quite dead yet. He always preferred to keep his victims on the edge of death. Live flesh tasted so much better than dead flesh.

Bedrock

In the chambers of the Prince, a young-looking woman, aged 20 at most, awoke from her slumber. She wore goth-like clothes, but her shoulder length hair was green, something the Prince chose to ignore.

"It seems the Dragon has finally returned."

"After 500 years? Looks like we could be in for quite some entertainment then."
 
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Arata peered at the small town. Not exactly the grandest place for a blood moon. But perhaps this was for the best, vampires are "supposed" to stay to the shadows.
"Now, where am I going?"
He lifted his hand to his eyes whispering words in an unkown language that would roughly translate to 'Clairvoyance'. His eyes shone blue a moment and he looked around. Dark Magical energy was pouring out of one building.
"I see, very well then."
The generation 7 vampire walked towards this 'Castle' a very deceiving name he thought. As he stepped inside he took a deep breath, he could smell it, there were definately other vampires here, strong ones at that. He walked up to the receptionest and simply stared a moment, confirming for himself she was a thrall. He bared his fangs then closed his mouth, speaking
"I beleive you know why I am here."
With that, she took him to the lift and opened it. Upon entering he looked at it's interior
"Ah Princey, flamboyant as always." He smirked as the lift finally came to a stop, the doors opening, he walked in and said
"Your days all just got better friends, I have arrived." He said proudly.
 
The prince stopped talking to the Eye with the green hair and turned to the newcomer. He instantly took a disliking to him. He made a silent motion behind his back with his hand.

"And you would be...?"
 
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