House of Shadows (Vlad/Open)

[Vlad Drăculea]

Looming over the ritual like a shadow, Vlad watched as Corvin channeled his power. The aura in this room was black and would corrupt those who entered if they were not strong. The magics done here this night were of the darkest you could imagine. Even the creator himself would not have performed such a spell to bring back the mortal enemy of Samael. In all of it's power they created a plague that would sweep this world should control be lost. Nergal was more than just a dragon now, he was a sickness, a blight upon this world that Vlad intended to use to fulfill the promise of his vengeance upon dragon kind. To destroy them he would cull all of those who stood in his way, even his allies, as they could simply be raised once more to fight for him.

Watching as the beast devoured the member of the royal guard, he raised no hand to aid the man. Instead he waited for it to be finished and to demonstrate the point made by Corvin's shout, Vlad would wrack the beasts body with unimaginable pain. Taking slow, deliberate steps towards their new pet, Vlad came to a stop just before him as he looked down on Nergal. Extending a hand he would force the mans feet from the floor as he examined what it was they had brought to life for himself. Such a dark power beat within his breast, one that he had never encountered before. Even death could be impressed with new dark magic, even if he was the source of such a thing.

"You will have your sons head in due time, dragon. First you will prove to me that you are worth the essence we have bestowed upon you." he stated. His voice flowed from him like a reverberating whisper that chilled the soul, even his voice was a weapon now. Even though he did not speak the language of his enemies, Vlad's words could be understood by all even if they did not speak his language at all. Death was something everyone understood and so there was no barrier that prevented Nergal from getting the point.

Dropping the man back to the floor, Vlad pointed out the window towards the mass of shambling corpses, angry spirits and armored vampires. "You are in the heart of darkness, Sylthanus, the cursed wood. You were brought here to lead my armies to victory against your son who has grown arrogant in his power. He will know the torment of the abyss." Vlad stated with venom dripping from his every word. This he knew Nergal would understand and surprising enough that he knew of the void would explain to him what he was dealing with. Walking towards the window, Vlad stopped for a moment just before the opening to take in the sight.

"Bring me a victory and I will break your chains. You will be free to destroy or rebuild your empire as you wish. Fail me, however, and I will send you to the abyss with the rest of your kind. Mass extinction has been done before to purge a species that has grown out of hand, so it may be necessary to do so again." he said.

[Nergal]

The voice of Vlad flowed through Nergal’s ears like a river. It hurt at first, but soon, his words formulated into a something he understood. When Vlad spoke, pain wracked in Nergal’s body, but he was unable to move within Vlad’s grasp. Never had the dragon felt such strength. Not since his son overpowered him and ripped his upper body from his lower body long ago. The power that his son held was unreal, the way it made him unstoppable in combat. Nergal was a practitioner of the dark arts of the dragons. He had worshipped the dark gods for power, and that power allowed him to rule a vast kingdom for hundreds of years, unopposed and unmatched. Yet, Samael challenged Nergal and barely even breathed in his combat with his father. Samael finished Nergal, despite the Tyrant’s best efforts to defeat his son. Nothing stopped him, and in the end, he finished Nergal and the last thing his eyes saw, was his son’s taloned hands digging into his sockets to gouge out his father’s eyes. Then came the Abyss.

Whatever power this man held, it was familiar to Samael’s, but different. Like kin in some way. Looking into the blackness of the Reaper’s hooded form when he dropped Nergal back to the ground, the dragon lurched forward as he looked out the window at the legions below. Abominations in Nergal’s eyes, but as Nergal looked at them, he felt more of a kinship with them now, than he did with dragons. The way he fed on that guard was unlike his former self. He even felt different. In fact, he could not feel anything at all on the inside. He was as hollow as an empty vase, and his body felt old and crumbled like an aged case. His own flesh did not even feel attached to his body, and his insides felt cold and decayed, and dry. Although he tasted the flesh of the guard, it was like dust in his mouth. He was like these beasts below now.

But these beasts offered him a chance at revenge. His son took everything from him and more. His honor, his glory, his power. He ruled over a mighty kingdom, and he ruled unopposed. Any that tried knew his wrath. Now, he was King of nothing. He was only silent momentarily before he uttered, “Mindoraan…” Nergal’s mouth flashed a dark purple for a moment, but once he spoke again, it would be in their language. “If my son is involved in your conquest, then you only needed to ask,” he said, facing Vlad, “point me to where you want me to go, and I will be a blight on the existence of many.”

Whatever it took to get to Samael, Nergal was ready. Although he was dead on the inside, he at least remembered anger, and it would be the mere memory that would be enough to guide his hands to Samael’s throat.