Tag: vampire

#Lore24 – Entry #188 – Supers Month II #7 – Conversations on the Trails into the West

From the journal of Abigail “Sassy” Dawson, Mage of the Order of Hecate

Once I’d calmed myself down and gotten over my shock at seein’ the pair alive and kickin’, I was of a mind that they were out to get revenge on me for it.  But that weren’t the case, cause neither of them held a grudge, even admitted to havin’ died plenty of times before.  I’ll admit, that one threw me a bit.  So, I took a seat and started askin’ the tough questions. 

They weren’t shy ‘bout talkin’ to me ‘bout themselves, since I already knew they weren’t what you’d call “human”.  Turns out they were only half-human, the other half bein’ genie.  Found that one hard to believe, but they was dead serious ‘bout it, and they’d been around for centuries.  Back when the great mage Scheherazade (always thought she was just a character in them “Arabian Nights” stories till I met these two) had first whipped up the true genies, breedin’ was one of the first things humanity felt they had to do with ‘em.  Here I thought modern times was right indecent in that way, but turns out, ain’t nothin’ had really changed.  So, they was amongst the first of the half-genie children that were made, and some of the few still roamin’ around on Earth.  They had taken up the duty of guarding the planet, they told me, from all kinds of supernatural evils and the like. 

You could say I was doubtful, but that would puttin’ it mildly given what I’d seen the two get up to in the town they’d very nearly destroyed.  That they shrugged off as just one of their “little arguments”.  They’d been huntin’ a particular vampire that had been roamin’ the town, they said, one with a taste for children, so Assane had gone and changed up her appearance to that of a child as bait.  When the deed was done and the vampire was dusted, she’d decided to stay that way for a bit, and this got Richard all riled up cause he thought she wasn’t attractive when she looked that way, and then it had spiraled out of control, she’d gotten drunk, lost control of herself for a few days, and then the rest was as I explained it earlier.

Apparently when you live forever, time don’t mean much, so what’s a few days or weeks in a drunken stupor? 

Anyway, they’d been married early on, sometime during the Crusades I reckon, though I don’t rightly know which one, both bein’ of royal blood and all.  And apparently, they’ve been causin’ trouble all over the world ever since, whenever they get into arguments or if they ain’t too careful in who they cozy up with.  Turns out these two might’ve been responsible, well, more or less, for more than one tragedy one the centuries, but that ain’t a story I’m tellin’ here; you want to know, you ask them about it.

With them revelations out in the open, I started askin’ them ‘bout how they did their magic, cause it was a good ways beyond what I could manage back then.  Turns out most of their powers came natural to them, given that they’re elementals to some extent, given their genie heritage and all, though they’d learned plenty of spells and rituals beyond what their elemental nature let them do.  I got the impression they felt I was about as capable as a newborn babe on the scale of our magic talents, but I ‘spose they saw somethin’ in me, cause as we’d travel further on, they’d teach me plenty that Granny Opal had never even imagined, or at least, had never bothered to mention.

After ridin’ down the Mississippi for a while, we disembarked in St. Louis and started headin’ west.  We didn’t have much in the way of a goal at first, cause all of us were curious to see the new side of the country that had opened up, and to get away from the nastiness that followed the war.  They hadn’t been in America too awful long themselves, just a few decades, and most of that was spent on the east coast.

Turns out there was plenty of things to keep us busy out there.  My eyes were opened up to all kinds of things I had only thought of as fanciful stories or myth till I started hangin’ round these two.  First night in St. Louis we wound up takin’ down another bunch of vampires (they just love the city life, good food supply), and it weren’t a week later we were trackin’ down a right ornery bunch of werewolves that were terrorizin’ the people travellin’ out west.  For all their rash behavior and dang near childlike antics at times, they were mighty impressive to watch when they worked.  They’d always try to make introductions and handle things peaceable, even when we came up on that pack of werewolves while they was in the middle of eatin’ their most recent kills.  Basically the choice was to get the hell out of this world and off to another one, or die where they was standin’, and bein’ pretty sure of themselves, lackin’ proper arcane trainin’ and all, they had no clue what they was facin’.  Guess the ways of the Old World weren’t so well known in these parts.

And so things went for the better part of the winter months that year, more or less without misfortune, movin’ on from one town to another on the trail of some maneater or troublesome fey or some cult doin’ magic they had no business delvin’ in, the kind dealin’ with elder bein’s from beyond, that kinda foul thing.  I had to act as mediator between the two half-genies a few times, and they’d manage to rope me into some rather…intimate affairs I ain’t gonna speak of here.  They’re nothin’ if not passionate, I’ll say that. 

Our good deeds wouldn’t go unnoticed, though, and soon enough we’d find ourselves bein’ the ones that were getting’ hunted.

#Lore24 – Entry #172 – Wild West Month #21 – The Dead That Do Not Rest

As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra

Be ever aware of the smell of death, for one cannot ever be certain that what lies dead will stay still upon the Bitter Frontier.  Dark sorcery, perhaps lingering from the times of the Devil-Wardens, can steal the body once the soul has gone, using it as a vessel to consume the living.  Such things are often the work of the Reaper Spirit, for once the soul is consumed, the bodies that remain are but tool for it to use to slay more of the living.  These are the Dead That Do Not Rest.

The Corpses that Walk are the lowest of the Dead That Do Not Rest, shells of the living that still move and have a fierce hunger for fresh flesh.  Without a soul, the body is as a puppet, controlled by this hunger, doing all that it can to sate its unrelenting with fresh meat.  They are not always easy to kill, for a dead body feels no pain, but a well-placed arrow into their heads is best, or crushing or removing the head entirely; fire is also effective, but best used when the Corpses that Walk are many.  The greater threat is their numbers, for they carry a foul sickness with them that will weaken and kill almost anyone who is bitten by them, and those who succumb have their souls consumed by the Reaper Spirit, their bodies turned into its vessels.

There are more fearsome Dead That Do Not Rest, those who have once served the Reaper Spirit perhaps, thinking they could control it, or who have succumb to their own dark sorcery.  These Dead That Do Not Rest, while having no souls, still have a shadow of their former living souls within them that grants them deadly cunning in addition to greater power.  The Corpses With Bloody Claws and Fangs consume flesh like the Corpses that Walk, but still think and attack from ambush, or, in some cases, consume the recently dead as would any scavenger; if there has been a great battle, be ever cautious, for these are likely near.  They are fast and deadly when one is not prepared to face them; holy magic from the Great Mother will work well against them, as will it against all Dead That Do Not Rest, as does fire, or cutting them to pieces through strength of your warrior spirit.

Even more powerful are the Corpses that Drink Living Blood, for they are the most powerful and cunning of the Dead That Do Not Rest, for they are the users of dark sorcery who have willing brought the Reaper Spirit into them.  They can appear as they did in life, hiding their true nature and using their dark sorcery to control the minds and bodies of animals and people alike, luring them close so they may consume the blood that flows within their veins using their hidden fangs.  Those so chosen by the Corpse that Drinks Living Blood can remain as a cow does, a constant supply of blood, until their body finally fails, which is when they too become a Corpse that Drinks Living Blood, albeit weaker.  However, they can live for many, man years if they are smart, so their power will eventually become the same as the one that spawned them.  These are weakest during the day, and should they touch the light of the sun, they will burn.  It is best to try to paralyze them with a wooden stake to their hearts and drag them into the light of day, or use much fire, for their bodies are strong and hard to hurt without holy magic.  Great care must be taken when dealing with these abominations.

LORE24 ENTRY #31 – Holy Order of Rashnikova

Category – Organization

Founded during the Age of Legends to combat both a resurgence in demonic activity and an upsurge of undead and other supernatural threats, this holy order was originally founded by the paladin Melisande no’Synstralia de’Rashnikova of Arcavarlon, upon the planet Andyllion, originally under the divine guidance of the goddess Lashana and her drive to punish evil in all its forms.  The Holy Order has survived to modern times and has since opened its doors to those of other faiths who have dedicated themselves to combating supernatural evil.

Though not a prerequisite, nearly all of the Order’s membership possess divine or natural magic abilities, divided mostly between the clergy and the paladins, with the paladins being the ones most often sent to the frontlines to deal with the threats, while the clergy handle healing, more complex rites of exorcism, and research.  In the current times, the most common threat the Order faces are the undead, though lycanthropes and other evil shapechangers and similar spirits are not entirely uncommon.  On rare occasions a true demon has been encountered, requiring a much more significant response to deal with.

Though a relatively small group, they are backed by multiple organizations and individuals across known space.  As such, the Order has access to some of the best craftsmen, mystics, and technology available to perform their holy exterminations, with its members possessing some of the most highly enchanted arms and armor available, including their customized Fenrir assault rifles, now something of an iconic weapon.  Trained in all forms of combat, not just firearms (because some creatures simply won’t die until their heads are removed with a silver blade or a stake to the heart), many of their members come from related backgrounds, such as mercenary or military groups, often with a particular incident they managed to survive driving them onto their new path as a holy slayer.