Lucinia travels Sylvania, encountering many creatures, but upon her return to her home at Hawk's Tower learns that a high price will be required to free one of her closest friends.
Chapter One
Lucinia traveled the moonlit road from Hawk's Tower. She intended to leave the road soon and find some caves where she imagined dangerous beasts to reside, but thought that she would need to gather her strength first, so searched for a crossroads and waited for unwary travelers she could challenge and kill.
When she was satisfied that she had taken all the blood on offer that night, Lucinia searched for a cave, both to find monsters and to avoid the breaking daylight which she didn't want to touch her skin. The blue-eyed Blood Dragoness was 50 years old, but the sun still hurt and weakened her, and being a Vampire it was an instinctive fear.
Lucinia approached a cave entrance. It was large and dark. She smiled. She liked the dark, being what she was, and knew monsters did too. The red-haired Blood Dragoness moved deeper into the cave, discovering it split off into multiple tunnels. Suddenly, she thought she saw something. There! A flicker of movement she would have missed if not for her Vampiric eyesight. Lucinia stared into the tunnel, waiting for it again. Something approached. Something that looked like a man, if a man was naturally hunched, possessed claws, and looked monstrou with gleaming eyes and overlarge teeth. The sight gave her pause for a moment. Then she bared her fangs, and drew upon her inner bestiality, turning from a fair maiden into a terrifying Vampiress for the first time in far too long. How she missed this side of her. How she missed it...
Roaring, she charged at the thing, and supernaturally fast as she was - even if compared to a Lahmian - avoided its claws and teeth before striking a fatal blow. Then she plunged her fangs into it - and recoiled. It tasted disgusting, so much so that she kicked it as far as she could, and her bestial appearance was replaced by one of revulsion. It was disgusting! Whatever it was had blood that tasted like...something she wouldn't want to taste again. Hopefully there would be something better tasting deeper in the cave system.
As she progressed, Lucinia avoided any more of the things she encountered. They were no match for her, but she didn't want to drink their blood, and there was no need to fight something she had no intention of drinking from.
After a while, Lucinia came to what appeared to be a nexus, with tunnels branching in many directions. Cautiously, she stepped into the centre, and saw upon a barbaric mockery of a throne a mound of flesh that Lucinia's senses insisted were a Vampire, or at least undead. That confused her. What was a Vampire doing here, devolved, and ghoul-king? She swallowed as the realisation hit her. This was a Ghoul-king, a devolved child of Ushoran. Ever since learning of this line of the lords of death she had wanted nothing to with it. And now, it seemed, it had forced an encounter.
The Strigoi jumped off its throne with more agility than its size should have allowed, and landed with a growl. Then Lucinia herd many feet and saw a horde of the things - Ghouls, presumably - pour out of tunnels. Emotions warred within her, pity for what the Strigoi must have gone through to become this, revulsion for what it was, and fear of what it and its horde could do to her. The only thing that stopped her from stepping backward was the knowledge she was surrounded. She really should have done more practice against humans and lesser creatures, she scolded herself.
The sea of flesh parted to allow the Strigoi through. Up close, it looked even more horrifying, to the point where Lucinia suspected it didn't have a human mask as she usually wore.
Then it spoke, in mocking tones that agonised Lucinia's ears.
"Little Blood Dragoness... You wish for a challenge? Have it..." Then it leaped at her.
Chapter One
Lucinia traveled the moonlit road from Hawk's Tower. She intended to leave the road soon and find some caves where she imagined dangerous beasts to reside, but thought that she would need to gather her strength first, so searched for a crossroads and waited for unwary travelers she could challenge and kill.
When she was satisfied that she had taken all the blood on offer that night, Lucinia searched for a cave, both to find monsters and to avoid the breaking daylight which she didn't want to touch her skin. The blue-eyed Blood Dragoness was 50 years old, but the sun still hurt and weakened her, and being a Vampire it was an instinctive fear.
Lucinia approached a cave entrance. It was large and dark. She smiled. She liked the dark, being what she was, and knew monsters did too. The red-haired Blood Dragoness moved deeper into the cave, discovering it split off into multiple tunnels. Suddenly, she thought she saw something. There! A flicker of movement she would have missed if not for her Vampiric eyesight. Lucinia stared into the tunnel, waiting for it again. Something approached. Something that looked like a man, if a man was naturally hunched, possessed claws, and looked monstrou with gleaming eyes and overlarge teeth. The sight gave her pause for a moment. Then she bared her fangs, and drew upon her inner bestiality, turning from a fair maiden into a terrifying Vampiress for the first time in far too long. How she missed this side of her. How she missed it...
Roaring, she charged at the thing, and supernaturally fast as she was - even if compared to a Lahmian - avoided its claws and teeth before striking a fatal blow. Then she plunged her fangs into it - and recoiled. It tasted disgusting, so much so that she kicked it as far as she could, and her bestial appearance was replaced by one of revulsion. It was disgusting! Whatever it was had blood that tasted like...something she wouldn't want to taste again. Hopefully there would be something better tasting deeper in the cave system.
As she progressed, Lucinia avoided any more of the things she encountered. They were no match for her, but she didn't want to drink their blood, and there was no need to fight something she had no intention of drinking from.
After a while, Lucinia came to what appeared to be a nexus, with tunnels branching in many directions. Cautiously, she stepped into the centre, and saw upon a barbaric mockery of a throne a mound of flesh that Lucinia's senses insisted were a Vampire, or at least undead. That confused her. What was a Vampire doing here, devolved, and ghoul-king? She swallowed as the realisation hit her. This was a Ghoul-king, a devolved child of Ushoran. Ever since learning of this line of the lords of death she had wanted nothing to with it. And now, it seemed, it had forced an encounter.
The Strigoi jumped off its throne with more agility than its size should have allowed, and landed with a growl. Then Lucinia herd many feet and saw a horde of the things - Ghouls, presumably - pour out of tunnels. Emotions warred within her, pity for what the Strigoi must have gone through to become this, revulsion for what it was, and fear of what it and its horde could do to her. The only thing that stopped her from stepping backward was the knowledge she was surrounded. She really should have done more practice against humans and lesser creatures, she scolded herself.
The sea of flesh parted to allow the Strigoi through. Up close, it looked even more horrifying, to the point where Lucinia suspected it didn't have a human mask as she usually wore.
Then it spoke, in mocking tones that agonised Lucinia's ears.
"Little Blood Dragoness... You wish for a challenge? Have it..." Then it leaped at her.
Last edited: