559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTT46cM18qc
Long ago, before the Golden Age, there was a time when the gods turned their backs on their creations in the northern-most landmass beyond the Faridat Sea of Ludrion.
The realm of Jeildrai.
As a result of such an occurrence, famine, pestilence, and strife struck the lands in the Huilium Vale. All those living within those boundaries succumbed to desperate and devilish behaviors causing a terror to reign for centuries.
It was at this time that the Quavis-enslaved and the bloodbound immortal beings of that land came to feud. The vampires ruled over the Vale with an iron grip and, of course, the lycans grew tired of being treated as if they were lesser beings by their supposed oppressors. But, it was not always this way.
The weres of lupus and sanguisuges, being their first creations, were likened to be their children in the eyes of the gods. Naturally, as children do, they desired to please their begetters and found a way to coexist with each other. However, there came to be a sect of powerful beings from another world whose sole purpose was to sow seeds of destruction upon Ludrion. The two species were then pitted against each other and ever since, there was always bad blood between them. Thus bringing forth a series of events that even the gods couldn't, and wouldn't, stop.
"I do not wish to visit the Great Stag," the queen said pulling back on the reigns affixed to her steed, effectively stopping their journey abruptly on the outskirts of the Kish Forest. She turned to her husband and gave him the most imploring look she could muster. "The countenance of it frightens me so. Oh please, my King. Allow me to go back to the citadel to await your return."
King Mavrenth rolled his eyes at his wife, as always her theatrics knew no bounds.
"Melarie Rionei, my love. Sweet Melarie, I will go to the ends of Ludrion to protect you. My life is forfeit without you, you know this. There is no need to fear the Great Stag, therefore we will be visiting him. This night. The fate of all vampire clans in the realm rests in our hands."
The queen sighed and allowed herself to be led into the forest.
At the same time, a lone lycanthrope came to be foraging around the edge of the very same forest when he stumbled upon the most interesting conversation. Creeping closer, the were peered through the shrubbery to see a man and a woman in royal garments. He realized that the couple was, in fact, the so-called king and queen of the realm and the vampires. Shifting back to his upright form, he followed them hoping to learn something important to take back to his superior.
"My dear, how much longer?" The queen asked. She had grown restless in her nervousness to see the Great Stag.
"Do not worry, my sweet. When you see the large emerald and jade rocks, you will know that we have arrived." The king grabbed his wife's dainty hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze before they continued on their trek in search of answers to their growing problem with the lycans.
They traveled under a cover of darkness which obscured their tracks to an extent. Soon enough they came to a large cave of emerald and jade rock with huge boulders on each side of the opening. After noticing how narrow the pathway was, the two vampires dismounted their steeds. The king and queen walked inside, trailing each other in single file. If they had tried to enter any other way, they would not have gotten very far.
The deeper they went into the cave the colder it got in temperature, so much so, that they could just see the wisps of air that their breath created leaving their mouths.
The pathway finally opened up into a lush oasis. It was truly a sight to behold, such magnificence can only be the result of the gods. Maybe they hadn't completely given up on this realm. This place of hidden beauty was the home to trees of all kinds that bore many fruits and flowers more beautiful than those in all of Jeildrai.
Running water could be heard and soon the couple could see a lovely waterfall pooling into a small lake where a massive creature had been taking a drink. It took its time before raising one of its heads and looked directly into the eyes of the queen. She held its gaze as bravely as she could while her husband lifted a heavy satchel into the air.
"A gift in exchange for your wisdom, oh ancient one," he said.
King Mavrenth stepped forward and deposited the contents of the bag onto the ground. Both he and his queen stepped back a few paces to kneel down, waiting on the Great Stag to either accept or deny their gift.
The creature came forward. It appeared that the gift was worthy of its time.
"You may speak."
The queen's eyes grew wide with shock for the stag spoke with many voices. One head was as black as night and its voice was more feminine, while the other was as white as light, the tone of its voice on the more masculine side. It seemed as if the oracle was composed of two beings and they spoke as one. The divine entity stood tall with intertwining antlers that towered into the sky. As the heads connected into one body, the colors of its hide blended into an ethereal silvery grey.
When she noticed her husband had not yet said anything else, she prompted him to speak.
"The unsteady peace between lycans and vampires is continuously growing thin. I fear that at any moment it could break and that war would consume the land, including all of its inhabitants." The king looked down at his hands in anguish. "I am unsure of how to lead my people during a time of such unrest."
The Great Stag was silent for a while before it came to speak again.
"Your fears are valid, my child. You indeed have some hard choices to make in the coming days. Back when the Jeildraiyan realm was still new, there came to be two prophecies out of the mouths of mere babes. The first spoke of the near future, of a time where the reign of the bloodbound will end and the race will nearly be eradicated. The Quavis-enslaved will come to rule in their stead and an epic battle will decide the fate of the living. The second spoke of a future that would come to fruition long after you both have left the Ludrial plane. It has been said that the Bloodhound will rise and take back the kingdom. It will unleash its terrible wrath on those who threatened the lives of its ancestors, nearly sending them into extinction."
The oracle finished its speech and looked to its audience, King Mavrenth Brixton and his queen, Melarie Rionei, of the Danu clan.
"The Bloodhound will descend from you, Mavrenth. You must find a way to preserve your bloodline or there will be nothing left of your family and the future will forever remain bleak."
The king and queen left the sanctuary of the Great Stag, the Oasis of Kaidris, with slightly more hope than they arrived with. Little did they know, a lycan commander of the Darmone pack overheard everything and reported it all back to his alpha.
"You heard what the oracle told us. How will we relay this information to our people without terrifying them? Our clan... I... I hate to say this, but the other clans weren't mentioned in the prophecy..." the queen trailed off.
"We will have to be strong. The Great Stag was right in saying we have hard choices to make." The king said with a sigh.
They had come to be laying in post-coital bliss after such a long journey back to their lands, to relieve some of the stress that came with the making of the coming decision. Mentally exhausted from trying to decide on what course of action should be taken regarding the fate of their people, Melarie came to speak again.
"I know I was apprehensive before meeting the Great Stag earlier today-
"Apprehensive is an understatement, my dear." The king turned toward his wife with a teasing smile on his lips. "However, I cannot fault you for it. I, too, was overcome with the same emotions when I finally looked upon the countenance of the mysterious oracle. I've heard the legends many times over, yes, but it did not prepare me for what I saw."
"So that's why it took you so long to speak," she said with a teasing smile of her own.
"Yes," he said simply.
"Well, as I was saying, even though I was acting like a child, I want you to know that I am fully on board with trying to help our people."
"Oh?" He raised himself into sitting position to gaze fully at his wife. "Consider me intrigued, do go on."
"Why don't you treat with the alpha of the Bloodrose pack. I am certain he will help us. I will consult the Grand Witch in the Draguignane Pass and see if she will agree to a summit here in Castle Danu of Ihsgedasgård."
"My queen, what exactly do you have in mind?" Mavrenth asked, clearly seeing the cogs turning in her mind.
"I have the beginnings of a plan forming but it needs to be handled delicately and quickly. I would love to know your thoughts on it. Unfortunately, it includes playing into the hands of the enemy. Some of our people..." she trailed off sadly.
"I understand where you are going with this sentiment completely, my love. Our people must die, so that we may live."
In the days that followed, the king and queen's anticipation grew the closer it came time for the summit to be held. The Bloodrose alpha and the Grand Witch agreed to meet because of the history between the three races.
Over a millennia ago, the gods blessed the Danu clan with the ability to shift into any creature they wished, which was the cause of a strong bond to be formed. The relationship between the Bloodrose pack and the Danu clan was bread by an ancient accident. Two children, one a child of the night and the other a slave to the moon, had been playing in the woods when Quavis was full, which was known to be a dangerous time. They were having a joyous adventure as children often do, when the bones of the lycan babe began to crack in odd places. The vampire child stepped back not in horror, but in extreme curiosity. His companion no longer stood before him in her upright form, but as a large four-legged creature instead.
The parents of the two children had been frantically searching for hours for them before they came upon a peculiar scene. The lycan child had already turned because of the moon's pull on her blood and soul. The child that was clearly of the night came to pet her without fear and had just closed his eyes. Moments later, another lycan took his place.
Both sets of parents were amazed and slowed their anger. The two cubs continued to play with each other as if nothing strange had occurred at all.
Later on, as Xaitis rose into the sky bringing with him the dawn, the child of the night began to whine in his sleep. His companion, immediately knowing what was wrong, took him into the shade where their parents were surprisingly waiting for them together. Once the boy relaxed, he was able to shift back into his true form.
A bond between families was formed that day and the bond between witch and vampire soon followed after that. The longer the queen thought about these histories, the clearer a way to save their clan became.
"Come, Melarie. They are waiting for us."
The king and queen trekked deep into their castle to where the summit would be held. Below the dungeons, there was a network of caves with the sacred pools of renewing called the Waters of Bhaenyra. A way for those who chose to follow the path of light to commune with their patron goddess and renew their vows of servitude. It was here where a plan to save the Danu clan was forged in blood and magick.
Once inside the divine caves, the royals came upon their audience.
"Aquilan, Branwynn, we give an abundance of gratitude for agreeing to see us in such haste. We fear for the lives of our clan and our people." Queen Melarie spoke first. "As you know, the peace between lycans and vampires is steadily becoming even more fragile than it ever has been before. It will break soon, we are sure of it. The king and I traveled to the Oasis of Kaidris to barter with the Great Stag for guidance, which is what we received."
"Needless to say, the oracle told us that the vampire race will nearly be eradicated in the war to come unless I devise a way to save the bloodline that is the Danu clan," the king continued explaining. "This house is the only one prophesied to survive in any capacity. The rest of our people will die."
"How would you have us help, Your Majesty?" Branwynn asked.
"It is no secret to us of House Danu that the blood of a witch will allow a vampire to bask in Xaitis' gaze. If your people would be willing to aid us in the creation of a more permanent solution to our issue with the red sun, we would be in your debt thousands of times over."
"Mavrenth, Melarie. You know as well as I do that we would do anything for your clan, we are already in your debt. You have protected us from lycans and from vampires alike. Because of this, you have become like brothers and sisters to us, learning together the secrets of the gods through arcane knowledge and expression. However, if this elixir you speak of can be created, your lycan problems are not yet dealt with," the Grand Witch stated.
"I do believe that is where I come in, correct?" Aquilan asked.
"Indeed, old friend," the king said turning to him. "For us to survive we now turn to you to teach us the ways of your people."
"Ever since the bond between our families was forged all those years ago, you have already been acclimated to our way of life," the alpha said. "What more do you need of us?"
"We need to be able to eat, sleep, and breathe the Bloodrose way. Because once the elixir is taken, we will abandon the vampire way of life for a time. It is our wish to join your ranks," King Mavrenth said. "We will turn as you do, we will worship the gods as you do, we will essentially become as you are, lycans."
"Once the threat against our kind has died down, if you wish, we can take on a new name and settle in lands away from your territories," Queen Melarie said. "We do not wish to overstay our welcome with your people."
"Think nothing of the sort," Aquilan said. "We too have become like brothers and sisters. Some of our people have already intermarried. Of course, we will welcome you into the fold. However, I do have reservations about this plan of yours."
"Ask away. You too, Branwynn. We wish to relieve any doubts you may have before moving forward," the queen said.
"I am a proud man and an even prouder lycan. But, I am not blind to the fact that the Bloodrose pack is not the most powerful. Great in number we may be, Articsylver and Darmone overpower us tenfold. How will your clan joining mine not raise suspicion?"
"And what of the blood?" Branwynn asked. "How will you acclimate to the lycan way of life when vampirism is ingrained into the essence of your very being?"
"Ahh, the blood. It will be difficult, yes," said the king. "Lycans and vampires both feed on the flesh of humans, but we all can survive on manmade sustenance. While eating as they do when Xaitis reigns during the day, we will hunt as we always have at night. The difference being, it will have to be in lycan form. It will definitely take some getting used to, but it has to be done."
"As far as your numbers are concerned, Aquilan, in the grand scheme of things combining our great families won't raise as many suspicions as you might think." The queen paced as she spoke, the wheels still turning as her mind raced toward a reasonable answer. "I foresee division in our clan. Not everyone from House Danu will be agreeable to turning their lives upside down to survive. I suspect many of them will die. Only those committed to the cause will be allowed to live."
"You really think some of your people will refuse this offer for survival?" The alpha asked.
"I know for a fact that some of them won't want to turn," Mavrenth answered. "They have become pompous over the years, considering themselves superior to all beings of this realm. Why, my own cousin, Dragulia, abhors your kind. She has never shifted into anything other than a dragon. My own mother would rather die than see herself in bed with lycans, and my father? He will follow her wherever she goes. So you see, joining you will bolster your ranks to an extent but no one will be none the wiser when they see vampires of Danu amongst the dead."
"How much time do we have to make the necessary preparations?" Branwynn asked.
"It is best to assume that we have no time at all for I fear the forest has ears," the queen said. "I picked up on a scent as we left the oracle's sanctuary which means, the prophecies we learned there are already known across the realm."
"Then we will begin posthaste," Aquilan said. "I will not stand by and watch you become exterminated like vermin."
And so they did. Three different races working together to ensure the survival of a bloodline that was doomed from the dawn of time.
War waged on for years and finally, all the vampires were destroyed... or so the lycans thought. For the very vampires they were trying to annihilate, were hiding in plain sight and would do so for a very long time.
ns 18.68.41.179da2
