the wastes of the land were as barren as vladimir remembered, the land itself was kissed by flame centurys ago and since then nothing had grown. in the distance where the high pillar like stones were the coven of vultures lived. the stones rose up from the land all around like shaded oasis among'st the dead bushes and trees. the air stank of ash and sulfer. he hated this slab of earth, the ground beneath his feet was so dry it cracked agaisnt the heat of the burning sun that plagued these lands. once it was a beautiful vally of rolling hills and great trees of oak...that was long before the war, vladimir leaned down and touched the hard cracked surface of the ground feeling the gritty texture of the dead soil. when he first set foot here it had been to conquer the coven of talmorah who later became the vultures they were now... 113Please respect copyright.PENANAkFmKRAY1M9
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flames soar over the battle feild burning red and vibrant as they lit the trees like torches in the night. i single man came in to these lands and a single man came out. admist a mound of bodys at least 30 deep vladimir emerged victorious over his foes as he ripped through the last of their gaurd mercilessly before coming face to face with his true enemy. three men, the tallest one was named elmyron his hair was a deep burgandy held in tight curls against his head, his features often reminded vladimir of a shrew with his beady little eyes sunk in to their too small sockets paired with the longest nose he had ever seen and oddly shaped mouth. it was a wonder he was married, vladimir smiled he had recalled quite clearly the mans nasally scream as he tore his wifes head from her body. elmyron hated vladimir more then most and for good reason. the leader of the group was amun, snarky little shit he was deserved more then a few dozen beatings. he was short and pudgy for an immortal spent most of his human life being served as he was born into wealth rumor had it at one time his families coffers were overflowing with coin. when one becomes an immortal they become more attractive then they once were, it seemed to have failed with these men as amun was balding at the top of his head and his hair hung in greasy strings with twisted teeth polished and sharpened in to the weapons they were. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAUyxrVYvqHF
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the third leader of telmorah was less of an eye sore then the other two with his jet balck hair and pale skin, jakarius was a quite man of intelligence rarely speaking on violent matters and often choosing to remain peaceful and remain more level headed then the others. his face was not misshapen or unnattractive other then his hooked nose that resembled a parrot in a flattering way. all three men bent their knee to his rule 175 years before he wondered if they still held those same loyalties with numon around...since their kingdom had fallen they had become almost like savages. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAtSIkDmJFDa
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before he made it halfway to the pillars he was greeted by two shirtless men, stocky and built like barbarians with skirts of leather hiding what swung between their legs. on their feet were peices of cotton tied over their feet with leather straps. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAcbnSFb7bOi
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"you are not to go further sir" they said staring over his head as if he was not enough to kill them both were they stood. 113Please respect copyright.PENANA9bCf7OZKwV
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"excuse me?" he said raising a brow "do you know who i am children?" he called them children knowing they were changed after the war of the drowned inferno. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAoupB9xd9D9
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the two looked at one another and scratched their heads making runting sounds to one another it was at that moment vladimir understood and began to chuckle these two were complete imbeciles he wondered how the choice to create them as humans even came to exist. "clearly not, well."vladimir clasped his hands together and his eyes grew darker "let me give your masters a reminder." he unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve growing rather amused at the odd looks these two giant idiots were giving him as he began to roll up his sleeves. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAy24CbjlPmo
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one of the big guys let out a gruff laugh as he bumped the other with his elbow " it seem master amun was wrong, this here stranger dont seem a danger clyde" 113Please respect copyright.PENANAaEhisyhKHv
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clyde guffawed at his master being incorrect " maybe he one of the masters pretty boys waylon.."113Please respect copyright.PENANAZPkGJw61lS
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vladimir simply shook his head and gripped clyde by his throat and forced him to his knees, when waylong tried to intervene vladimir gripped him by the back of his head and sunk his teeth in to the stony flesh ripping his throat out in a rain of fragments as he turned his attention back to the man in his grasp that clawed at his arm he turned to him with a grin on his face "you should have disobeyed, they sent you out here to your deaths knowing i would slaughter you." as he finished his statement he ripped the mans head clean from his body and walked onward to the pillars. he walked at a slow pace hearing the sand crunch beneath his leather shoes. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAwNK5Pfp2Ax
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once he reached the shade of the pillars the sun was beginning to set to the east behind the pillars casting their shade across the lands. he was greeted by the three foul leaders at the enterance it was amun that had approached him first, "king vladimir, what is so urgent that you must kill my gaurds at the doorstep?" amun said his nostrils flaring in anger. he kept his tone calm as he knew better than to insight conflict with vladimir, he would slaughter them all thoughtlessly. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAhqXt6y3MhM
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vladimir clasped his hands together in front of himself at his waist " many years ago i came here and burned your kingdom to the ground and you swore an oath upon a bended knee to help me in my hour of need did you not?"113Please respect copyright.PENANACXgvhW43g7
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amun barred his teeth and snarled " what of it."he bit at him 113Please respect copyright.PENANAoYwHxli8qs
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vladimir raised his hand and wagged a finger at him "tsk tsk tsk." he said clicking his tongue in disapproval " from your tone and the attempted restiction am i to assume that you amun the unbending are an oath breaker?" vladimir said the corner of his mouth tilting up in a half-grin almost begging him to say yes. 113Please respect copyright.PENANA1feDYz3PZz
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jakaris stepped forward before amun could respond and bowed to vladimir "sire, you must forgive amun, he tends to forget his place. of course we will aid you in whatever endevours you may need our assisstance with, after all it was you who so graciously granted us the mercy to rebuild our once proud coven." jakaris kept his hand upon amuns chest who tried to protest in his defense. before a word could slip past his lips elmyrons hand slipped over his mouth. amun tried to fight back against him only to be greeted by his brothers sharp tongue " you forget your place amun, if you value our lives or this coven do not spill vile from your lips that will cost us what mercy we were once granted."elmyrons eyes meant vladimirs "younger brother jakaris is speaking truthfully, we will fight beside you and assist you in whatever you may need. " he said bowing his head to vladimir. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAffPprH7jhW
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"good. i have a war to fight and will need as many newborns as you can spare. id perfer them already made but if i must i would ask you spare me half of your humans to change to fight in my army" 113Please respect copyright.PENANAoXj6jWGA41
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"amuns hand gripped elmyrons hand prying it from his mouth "half! are you out of your damn-" elmyron tried to stop amun from speaking only to get elbowed in the stomach by the short pudgy little man " have you lost you goddamn mind!? you expect me to sacrifice half of the humans in my villages to your cause and allow my own to starve! boy king indeed. numon was right when he came to us, vladimir the conqueror is a thing of the past what stands befo-" before he could finish what he was saying vladimir gripped him by his shoulder shoving amun to his knees with a grin slamming his hand in to his mouth and the other in his hair and pulled back until until her ripped his lower jaw off like pulling off the lid of a jar exposing his long flapping tongue. vladimir gripped his tongue in his hand and yanked amun to face him his lips pulling back over his razor sharp teeth 113Please respect copyright.PENANA0YTCD96SKK
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"i am still the same ferocious beast i always was you dumb prick, the only difference between then and now is now i will show no mercy to those who would stand before me and claim loyalty to that overgrown abortion" the blood within amuns blood was black and sludgelike as it oozed down amuns body, the small fat little man flailed around garbling on the tar pouring from the seam of the removal of his jaw. "he took something of mine, something more precious than anyones lives in my eyes and if you were not useful to me id kill you all where you stood." he spat. he smiled at the men setting back upon his knees and taking his jaw in hand tossing it in to a nearby torch. " now then, shall we?" he said gesturing his hand to the enterance to the pillars. 113Please respect copyright.PENANApN3nyyEP6Y
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the two men stared at him with fear in their gazes, since the war they had only ever seen vladimir on peaceful terms. this cruelty was no surprise to them as they had lived through it before, but it never failed to strike fear in to the hearts of his enemy's they moved aside to allow him in.113Please respect copyright.PENANAQuIp68pdsD
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vladimir laughed at the shaking form of elmyron. gripping amun by the back collar of his shirt dragging him behind him as he entered in to their hidden oasis. the pillars reflected off the translucent surface of the water pooled in the center of the jagged stones. these werent just pillars this coven had found a way to farm and live out here with their humans carving in to the stone and providing them with homes. on the oppisite side of the pool was three stone thrones for the three leaders. behind that was what they called their palace carved in to the pillar. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAUYK6iO8BZm
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"so numon was here, and what is it pray tell he requested jakaris?" 113Please respect copyright.PENANAyAqKiUi2gb
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jakaris cleared his throat keeping his eyes to the ground, he had to consider his wording wisely " he wanted us to bend the knee to him." he decided it was better to be honest with vladimir and straight forward rather then attempt to recount the meeting, "forgive me my lord, it was not a conversation i was interested in having." 113Please respect copyright.PENANA12wLTbvSAt
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vladimir raised a brow curious as to why they showed him any loyalty after all he had done he looked to elmyrom for answers "elmyron you take lead in advising amun, though he is younger then you if i am not mistaken?" 113Please respect copyright.PENANArsAtcawiAD
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" yes my lord." elmyron answered keeping eye contact with vladimir he always felt that vladimir could always tell if someone was lying by the look in their eyes, he was the only man who was capable of instilling fear in elmyron. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAWLsKWxJMis
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vlad tugged amun to the throne seeing chains attached to the base of amuns chair in the center. this made his upper lip twitch. he was more then aware these were for amuns sexual amusement he tended to like punishing the woman who found him unsavory by chaining them at his side and forcing them to please him. 113Please respect copyright.PENANA3aLvW1uch2
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vladimir picked up the heavy chains feeling them burn his flesh like boiling water and smiled. he had to give it to amun he did have a sick way of punishing his immortals with vervain oil. he licked his bottom lip and chained amun to the throne and sat down in it turning his attention back to elmyron as he slid a bowl of dry crusty blood at amun as if scraps for a dog as the man was on his hands and knees die to the restricted movement of the restraints " sit boys, you act like im gonna hack you into peices any moment but i have yet to even remove my sword from its sheath." he said gesturing at the ground at his feet. "tell me all about this visit, if you lie i will remove more peices of your brother so be sure to be truthful." he said sweetly. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAlVQ8paLkYF
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it was his tone that truly frightened jakaris, he used that same tone with elmyron right before removing elmyrons mates head with his bare hands. he looked over at his brother and friend who seemed rather uncomfortable. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAVHaILQDhoY
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elmyron may have hated vladimir, but he later learned it was for the best. he harbored a secret he kept from his own coven regaurding his wife as to not taint her memory. she had plotted to kill him and take control of talmorah, vladimir saved his life without intention and for that he would always have elmyrons loyalty whether others knew it or not " my lord, i have no intention of lying to you. as for amun, you could kill him and i wouldnt dare to stop you...i ask only that if you wish to dispose of our coven you spare jakaris, he is my half brother and i know stefan would find his gift useful"113Please respect copyright.PENANAkVqanjQE3J
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vladimir smiled "elmyron i do not soon forget the loyalty my subjects show me, i will kill no one here today unless i need to, my goal here is not to kill my allies but rally my forces and grow my armies" 113Please respect copyright.PENANALb8yzq2oxL
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elmyron nodded "of course my lord, numon came to us in the dead of night begging for an audience with the lords of talmorah. we knew not his intention for the visit, but as he plead his case amun was more than willing to rise up against you and stefan. jakaris and i were discussing this right before you arrived. numon spoke of a weapon he possessed that could immobilize your entire army and i suppose amun wanted to place his faith in the winning side. however, he seemed to only know a portion of your capabilities he seemed genuinly shocked at the covens under your control. we...well jakaris and i attempted to inform him that while the battle for the throne of dacia was brutal and bloody it brought a century of prosperity, peace and harmony within our communities and the humans in them. he seemed to believe we fallow out of fear and that we were all simply cowards that bent a knee for a foolish dream of peace, said that peice was a delusion and that it would never truly exist..." elmyrons eyes met his, he was being sincere and honest. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAn383zpltnS
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vladimir nodded "so that is the truth of things..."he tapped his bottom lip "well, that explains more then enough for me." he said stretching his legs out as he stared up at the now rising moon " natalie is alive." it felt good to have it in the open even if they already knew though it seemed to be the oppisite as their eyes widened in astonishment. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAwMxGCy1tpJ
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" what!"both jakaris and elmyron said in unison. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAidRyPzQAML
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vlaimir nodded looking up at the clear desert sky. the pillars casting ebony shadows where the piercing white beams could not shine through. " i was quite suprised myself, even more surprised that she infiltrated valhalla and manipulated aribella, but now i see why...she wants my throne, numon is simply a pawn in her game..." 113Please respect copyright.PENANAv45yWKQ5Du
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elmyrons ability was as an empath, as a human he could feel every emotion from those around him as if they were his own, as an immortal he could reach out and feel a specific persons emotions pulling them in to himself the other persons perspective.." you lost someone dear to you.."he said without thinking. he couldnt help it, he tended to speak his mind openly. 113Please respect copyright.PENANA4N1Ldu9GOu
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vladimir nodded "i did. shes magnificent, ive never been so enthralled with a human before but..."113Please respect copyright.PENANArXzt51Ny8A
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jakaris mouth parted as his hand flew to cover it "you found your mate...he didnt..."113Please respect copyright.PENANAsagPEfWtue
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vladimir shook his head "i dont know, i hope not...shes his weapon."113Please respect copyright.PENANAADrGxg6n4v
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elmyrons nose flared as he stared at his own brother "then lets get started on your army, you may also have me jakaris and our people behind you." he said as he stood turning heel to head to their southern villages. jakaris nodded and headed north. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAwMd6Rrbb11
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vladimir pet amuns head "so i was right, you would sooner betray me...it is rather sad that this is your choice amun..."he would get up and whistle rounding up all the humans in their fortress bringing them before the throne. "line up." he said watching the humans shuffle in to a line he began to number them off " one...two...one...two"he continued to number them advancing to the end of the line " ones go back to your homes." he commanded watching half of the humans run for their homes away from him before his eyes grew a dark crimson. 113Please respect copyright.PENANA2jZwGc8I09
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he snarled as he ripped in to one throat after the next dropping 57 body's at his feet once he was done with the half he had chosen. blood ran down his chin and face and down his neck absorbing in to his shirt as he approached amun. " i think i will leave a little gift for numon, i assume he is waiting on an answer to his proposal...i intend to give him one. he grinned, then began to laugh as if he was a small boy. he clutched his stomach which hurt a little from how hard he was laughing "sorry, i just could not help but recall your screams of agony as i killed your mother and cousins the last time i came here in the exact same fashion i wish to kill you." he pressed his foot on to amuns shoulder and gripped the edges of his shattered flesh. vladimirs fingers squishing in to the mangled part of amuns lower jaw "i think i will be a bit more creative this time" he instead kicked amun on to his back on the ground. amun tried to scream only to make suck garbled sounds as he thrashed his body around "lemme guess, your saying...your grace im sorry for being a sorry sack of shit please oh please dont kill me!" vladimir said mockingly. 113Please respect copyright.PENANArs5QWnRWAU
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vladimir walked behind the throne unhooking the second set of chains and positioning amun so that his body was displayed like an x. "dont worry amun, this is only the beginning of our fun."he said with a smile as he knelt down and tapped the mans cheek with his fingers. he gripped his dagger on his hip and masterfully removed amuns clothes exposing his nude pale body to the moonlight around. 113Please respect copyright.PENANAxQu0zcTgex
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he stepped over to one of the many metal basins that lit the oasis and shoved the iron bar in the flames that had once held the chains to the back of his throne pulling the bar out only when the end of it was blazing yellow...dragging the hot metal over amuns skin. his body convulsed under the pain as his back arched vladimir took just a moment to savor the chorus of screams that rang forth from amuns mouth.113Please respect copyright.PENANAqIOX76kGYX