Completed Book Zero. Nosdyn Saga.

[Deleted member 2578]

A few nights later...the three Vampires were busy preparing.

Nosdyn received one last communication from the old fort, and he'd been told that The Vampire Lord Grendric was on the move.

The snare was now set they would catch a huge prize or die trying.

Parts of Nosdyn changed with the Vampirism but other parts became more obvious to his unique personality. Because of his heightened senses he'd grown a capacity for stealth and sneaking in the shadows.

He'd seen Velera use the shadow movements before and was able to mimmic some capacity of that power. Though young as a Vampire Lord, Nosdyn was learning quickly. They had a fortress and full of vassals, the ones who stayed and joined Nosdyn when they first took the fortress over and he spared Velera's life.

It had all come full circle.

Then one night...

One of the Vassals walked over towards Lord Nosdyn. "My Lord, it has begun." Nosdyn gathered his finest Vassals and his two women.

"He will attempt to come at us at an angle...we must be ready."

 

[Velera]

“He should be arriving with slight announcement. A demand that the doors be opened. I should probably be waiting for him in the hall as bait, I’m the one he’ll want to speak to.”

So she was meant to bring him in for ambush, while Nosdy and Anya, one being both a vampire and experience do vampire killer as we’ll as a master vampire, they would prove more than a match for him, but whether or not they would manage to kill him before he escaped and declared war was a matter of chance.

 

[Deleted member 2578]

It was a good plan.

He hoped their preparing would work this one time, this one time of many to come. He held his wife close to him in a shadowy corner where the ambush would begin. I'm scared too. The young Vampire telepathecally told his wife. There was a plan in place and the hour was rapidly upon them. He would have to trust Velera to do her part, he'd bound himself t her and freed her from Grendric's command. They just had to defy fate one more time...

He held his woman close to him. His hand on her stomach gently, touching her belly softly. He was reminded of the child he could never give her. But perhaps it was fitting that she'd be his first sireling and perhaps his only one. To have power over Grendric they would have to use all of their resources.

He held his woman close to him. He observed the front doors from their position in the shadows.

Wait for it my love...we strike together....when the moment is right. He whispered in his wife's mind.

As he observed the fear reminded him of what could be lost...

The whole situation was a construct of light and heat to him.

He kept his sight on Velera watching her, depending on her loyalty he would save her as he promised...that much remained true. But another part of the Vampire's blood his desire to be a good person was facing rapidly...he only wanted to inflict great harm on Lord Grendric...he hated the waiting of it.

 

[Velera]

Loyalty had nothing to do with it, thanks to the enchanted collar that made her the equivalent of his dog in addition to his new status as Vampire Lord. So she sat on the chair that was once hers, and was now Nosdyn’s, and waited for the lesser vampires that now manned the castle to open the gates for the Vampire lord that came for them, Lord Grendric.

The gates opened and a towering pale man, even bigger than Nosdyn, came through the gates, clad in black plate armor and carrying a huge two handed sword. “Velera! Your silence isn’t unacceptable. Explain yourself.”

“Apologies Master,” She said stepping forward and bowing. “We’ve been having difficulties dealing with a new enemy that has been intercepting all of our messengers.”

He seized her by the throat and picked her up with one hand. “And what have you been doing to deal with this problem?” She was thrown to the ground in front of him, thankfully the collar had kept her throat from being crushed. “Why has it not already been dealt with?”

“They are strong, Master, much stronger than the Empire’s men and far more determined.” She said, staying down, “we haven’t been able to break their offensive.”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

He watched Lord Grendric assault his instructor. It made his eye twitch and he was starting to loose his temper at the display of violence. But he would need to be completely calm.

He held his woman close to him. Wait for it...we strike at just the right moment... He hated the knowing his woman was getting hurt as well. Velera, he would make this up to her after.

He watched in silence seeing the scene unfolding. If it came down to it, he would stay Grendric's fist himself, Vampire Lord Nosdyn was a brawler first and foremost.

He waited a little longer until the opportune moment would present itself. But he knew he would and could not place Velera in anymore danger than was necessary. His eye was twitching the entire time even in his blinded state.

 

[Velera]

Velera wasn’t terribly harmed. She was just afraid, as she should be, of Grendric, the huge man that could easily rip Nosdyn’s arm off and beat him to death with it in a straight up fight. The ambush made it a little more even, but she was still very worried. “Please Master, help us with this enemy. They’re too strong for me to handle on my own.”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

Nosdyn was without fear, in addition to the presence of Skotadi in his blood...and a few other elements that were in place. He watched the scene unfold. This is a Vampire Lord? He thought to himself angrily. A moment later, he had a flash. He remembered the Vampire Lord he fought in the mines with Anya. He'd killed that Lord with his bare hands. He knew he had to wait just a little bit longer.

He could feel his anger and rage building up within himself.

His instructor, a part of his inner circle, his companion was getting hurt.

He knew he couldn't be patient much longer. But for the sake of the plan he waited just a few more seconds for Velera's part of the plan. The signal...

 

[Velera]

The aforementioned signal would be her tapping her foot on the floor, which she did. The opportune moment was now. She was on the floor, as far down as one could go, and he was standing over her, an easy target to hit.

 

[Deleted member 2578]

He saw it and could not wait anymore.

Now. He mentally told his wife, Anya.

At that point, he shadow stepped directly in front of Lord Grendric. "I've come for everything you own." Nosdyn said angrily. Memories of the slave drivers hitting his face over and over, torturing the Blue Orc.

"I am the threat you are after I am going to KILL you for what you've done to Velera." Nosdyn was angry, there was no pretense there, he was angry.

Lord Grendric made one fatal mistake, he was going to strike Nosdyn with his fist.

Nosdyn caught it with the skill of a tactician and a military mind. "You are going to die." Nosdyn promised.

 

[Velera]

Lord Grendric didn’t make one mistake, but so too did Nosdyn, his mistake was to assume that he was only going to attack once. Grendric punched a second time, this time hitting Nosdyn square in the chest, and sending him back a few feet. Just in time for him to block Anya’s estoc with his own Maximilian zweihander sword.

“Foolish children.” He says with a laugh, pushing her back just as easily. Then he looked down at Velera, “So you have chosen to be this idiot’s dog? Shameful.”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

He held his ground.

Grendric was powerful, he made no mistake about that.

But there was an advantage Nosdyn had...he was blind and could see the heat signature Grendric gave off.

He had already adjusted to Grendric's fighting style much the same way he'd done when he first encountered Velera that night...when he'd saved his instructor.

Nosdyn took Grendric's hit square on.

"You're weak." Nosdyn suddenly said. "My children that I've turned can hit harder than you, pansy."

Nosdyn stood before Grendric once more, challenging him. "Is that the best you can do?" Nosdyn asked. "The slavers hit harder than you and I took their abuse too."

 

[Ser Anya Kinniger]

"Is that the best you can do?" Nosdyn asked. "The slavers hit harder than you and I took their abuse too."

“Such pride. It will destroy you child.” He said calmly, then turning around he punched the gates, that had been locked, off of their hinges and they flew several feet away. “I will destroy you, child. But not before you watch me destroy everything you hold dear.”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

"No." Nosdyn suddenly said.

"SKOTADI I COMMAND YOU!" Nosdyn allowed Skotadi full control over his body at that point.

He blanked out for a moment. Destroy Lord Grendric my Master. For the first time, Nosdyn acted in complete harmony with Skotadi and he showed he could command the situation.

Nosdyn's aura flared out brilliantly around the blind Vampire.

No harm would befall his friends and his inner circle. He'd see to it himself. Skotadi and Nosdyn would protect them all from Grendric. Nosdyn cried blood and yelled loudly with the rage he felt.

 

[Velera]

“You aren’t the only one with an Old One union, boy.” Grendric said angrily, catching Nosdyn by the throat as he attacked him. “You are little more than a parasite. You and your pets are nothing. You will watch them die, and only when you have lost the strength to beg for death will you have my permission to die.”

Nosdyn was thrown back with strength far superior to his own, and Grendric was gone.

 

[Deleted member 2578]

Nosdyn knelt down at that point...he'd done all he could.

His aura flared downward at that point. There won't be a next time..next time you just die, coward. He'd caught a hint of the fear in Grendric's voice. Grendric was afraid.

He gasped with the amount of power he'd used to save his companions.

"It wasn't enough..." Nosdyn whispered in between gasps. He was trying to center himself. The blind Vampire looked at Velera and Anya. "It wasn't enough. We have to be ready if there's a next time." Nosdyn said calmly. He finally stood up.

 

[Ser Anya Kinniger]

His aura flared downward at that point. There won't be a next time..next time you just die, coward. He'd caught a hint of the fear in Grendric's voice. Grendric was afraid.

Oh he wasn’t afraid, not at all. He was excited to take down an original bloodline vampire. He was going to come back, and he’d definitely be a huge threat.

"It wasn't enough..." Nosdyn whispered in between gasps. He was trying to center himself. The blind Vampire looked at Velera and Anya. "It wasn't enough. We have to be ready if there's a next time." Nosdyn said calmly. He finally stood up.

“We will be.” Anya said confidently.

Velera wasn’t so sure. She was on her knees and wrapped in her own arms. “No, we won’t be. He’ll always have something that will catch you off guard. We need more than preparation. We need a lot more than that.”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

He walked over towards Velera, and knelt before her.

He ran his hand gently through her hair. "I'm so proud of you for what you've done." Nosdyn said to her. "I dind't doubt you but Skotadi did." Nosdyn explained to his instructor. "We did the best we could and held our ground against a far superior opponent. We will find a way to defeat him."

He wanted them both to know what they were dealing with in Skotadi. "Skotadi is still maturing in my own blood...that was the first time I Let him have control."

He was trying to explain how it all worked. "Maybe with all of our planning he realized he didn't have power over you anymore." Nosdyn mentioned of Lord Grendric. It was satisfying to know they'd pissed him off.

 

[Velera]

She looked at Nosdyn. “You let him control you?” She said, almost more afraid of him than she was of Grendric. “You are Master Nosdyn right now, right?”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

The blind Vampire didn't like her response.

They are afraid of you... Skotadi said calmly.

I know... Nosdyn sighed as he accepted it.

"I don't know how much further I can explain the nature of my relationship with Skotadi. If you're afraid so be it." He sighed and stood up. "I'll be in the library I need to think."

 

[Velera]

“It isn’t you I fear, Master, it’s him. It was always him. The Old Ones always bring fear, especially Skotadi, he is fear. Please, don’t let him control you again.”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

But he'd already gone to the library.

He knew the nature of his relationship with Skotadi....he wasn't given a choice in the matter as most of his life had gone.

He sat down for a moment and allowed himself, since the first moment with his battle against Lord Grendric...he allowed himself a chance to cry. Not out of sorrow or defeat, or anything like that. He simply cried because it made him feel somehow more mortal.

Back when he was just a lowly miner...back when nothing mattered.

He noticed Ilia in the library watching him. "Please come sit with me." He asked of Lady Ilia. There was anguish in his voice.

 

[Velera]

Ilia came forward. She hadn’t followed Velera’s example and had, with Anya’s help, acquired and donned a sheening steel collar that hugged her neck snugly, not enough to choke her, but not so loose as to move easily. “Whats wrong Master Nosdyn?”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

"We fought a difficult battle." Nosdyn explained to her. "Just needed time to think. Crying is a good stress relief you know." He smiled at his child. "How are you liking the library by the way my young one?" He asked of her.

"It has many old books. You've become an avid reader. The collar does look good on you thank you for choosing to wear it." Nosdyn told her kindly.

 

[Velera]

"We fought a difficult battle." Nosdyn explained to her. "Just needed time to think. Crying is a good stress relief you know." He smiled at his child. "How are you liking the library by the way my young one?" He asked of her.

“I’m loving it Master Nosdyn. It’s a true well of knowledge. I’ve been able to learn some magic, and I know that I’d be able to do better later on.” She said gladly. She wasn’t really his child, while technically made by him, she was far closer to what Velera was to him, a willing slave and lover.

The collar does look good on you thank you for choosing to wear it." Nosdyn told her kindly.

“Thank you Master.” She said with a blush. “It’s surprisingly comfortable. And Mistress Velera explained that all of your willing slaves have one, even Mistress Anya.”

 

[Deleted member 2578]

"It is a connection to me." Nosdyn explained. "If you want to be connected to me you wear the collar." He explained calmly. "It looks good on you." He liked seeing her blush. They had not held physical union but he was waiting for her to settle in first.

"The collar was constructed by Anya." Nosdyn explained. "She keeps those manufactured for that purpose. As a way to connect all of us." He would teach her. He extended her hand towards Ilia. "Come with me my young one there is something I want you to see."