Completed The War of The Kinniger Duchy

[Duke Remmond Kinniger]

Remmond looked over the three women with an icy, judging gaze. Up against the table beside him was a greatsword that reached his chin from the ground. A zweihander to be specific. It's blade being unusually thin for something so large, but no less strong for it. It's handle was wrapped in black cord, and the pommel was the face of a snarling dog. He left it alone.

He cocked an eyebrow at Broke as she saluted, and noted Ferelith's attempt at comforting her. And he definitely didn't like Kyla. He noted the manacles, and he came to a conclusion that he was sure of, and accurate. "A fallen knight. That I might be able to work with. But these two, they are either criminals or slaves, neither of which we can trust, the first thing they'll do is stick a knife in your back. How can you trust them boy?"

He was unaware of Eberwolf's main motivation for having them freed, but he would find out. And when he did, he just might be persuaded to allow them to join the struggle. A messenger came in that very moment, and the Duke was reminded of his duties. "Consider this their probation boy. Keep them on a tight leash, and they get one warning, no more. Now begone. I have work to do. I expect you to be at the front by the end of the week."

 

[Kyla Scathach]

“Ha.. Slaves or criminals? We have been both and now it seems we are now trying a mixture of the two. Now it seems I’m to decide if I should be insulted because he’s limiting us to one or the other or encouraged that he thought we would be suitable for anything but his executioners block.” Kyla said nudging her sister who gave her a slight look of dislike and scooted closer to Heike on instinct.

This action however led her sister into further trouble as she seemed to notice her action and was left to simply distance herself from both women with an awkward shuffle of discomfort.

Good.

Turning to her only “ally” as it were..the knight she would shuffle over to his side. Her manacles clinking in the silence of the room. The guards eyes on her as she simply stood by his side. Her voice a dejectedly gentle whisper of a girl suffering deep sadness and stress.

“I would like to see where you exercise and spar hand to hand I do not wish to be armed...please...” She said staring at the ground.

In her eyes the jaded look of someone who felt trapped and distressed but was laboring to force it from her damaged soul and it’s thought from her mind. Kyla’s smirk only grew to an icy grin of satisfaction. It seemed things were continuing to go her way.

She had heard Heike snap at her sister. Saw the damage the weight of her truth had damaged her. Keeping her dejected and broken was how Kyla had always kept her.

Ferelith was never easy to manage unless she was so. After Kyla had left the thieving and cut throat life of crime she had wanted Ferelith to do the same. Like always Ferelith had, but in her soft living and now gentle touch her sister had become rebellious.

Unbroken and full of her own ideas. They had clashed. The tool no longer wanting its owner and it’s owner not knowing how to lay down the tool. But now...She had a chance.

Life had broken her sister once again and now Kyla had a chance to put her sister back under her boot. She would have no lover, no duke, and no monster come between her and her goal.

“That is if her lover is done playing pretend and wishing for the days of old before her tragic fall from grace into the shit pits with the rest of us. At least it’s cute when she salutes like she has a fist full of daggers..” Kyla said with a snort.

Ferelith glanced up slightly only to shift her gaze back down.

“Please?”

She repeated to the knight in an even more downtrodden tone. “Just us.” She clarified.

While in most cases this would be a strange and even dangerous request for a captor to go someplace one on one it seemed she wasn’t referring to it being just them by way of number of people. But just them in the way of not being close to her sister or lover for the moment.


“I however am exhausted from the journey. Show me to where I’m to sleep if you would.” Kyla said politely.

 

[Heike Eisen]

They had not been brought here for their decorum, Ferelith and Kyla--the latter, the elder of the two sisters and the one who ought to have known better, being the insolent one in the exchange. They had been brought for their prowess, as Sir Eberwolf said.

The exchange progressed, and Heike only dropped her salute when Duke Remmond said "Now begone."

Heike refused to lose her composure in so formal a setting as the Duke's courtchamber, so she did not spare a glance--reproachful or otherwise--back to Kyla. Frankly, Heike didn't give a damn about Kyla's opinion about her knighthood. It was a haughty thought, to be sure, but Heike considered Kyla's opinion worth as much as the metaphorical "shit pits" she had mentioned. Kyla was simply unworthy of judging her.

It was Duke Remmond's words that truly hurt Heike. That truly challenged her ironclad belief in herself and her station.

Fallen knight.

Even Ferelith's comforting shoulder pat did little to help assuage this feeling in the present. Thoughts of all the innocent men and women Heike had fed upon...preyed upon...that crack in the foundation of her Oath of Justice.

Heike stood as she was for a moment longer, relaxing the rigidness of her body only to a small degree, fighting like hell to keep her knightly bearing, the stolid expression on her face. She turned her head just enough to see Sir Eberwolf in the corner of her eye when Ferelith, oddly, asked where a sparring ground was. Prompting, odder still, for Sir Eberwolf and her to go there--just the two of them.

Heike said nothing.

She merely watched Sir Eberwolf; she--like Kyla, as it so happened--was a guest here in the Citadel, and would need to be shown to her quarters for the night. And Heike was absolutely loath to go wandering around the Citadel by herself.

For obvious reasons.

Sir Eberwolf Kinniger Ferelith Scathach

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

"I'll bring you to it." He says after they left the courtchamber. "But I suggest that you keep your tone in check Kyla, I have no wish to deliver punishment, but I will not hesitate if you cross the line. But first, came with me, all of you."

He brought them back outside, and he retrieved a small sachel from the cart. There was the clinking of metal when he picked it up. He opened it up and pulled out a fifth manacle, too broad to go around any appendages, but to narrow to go around the body, this was a collar. "I had hoped to avoid using these, and I still do. But judging by what you've shown me so far," he gave Kyla a glance as he said this, letting her know that he meant her more than Ferelith, "I might need to. You both are receiving one warning, cross the line, and this goes on. Are we clear?"

Once that mess was settled, he brought Kyla to the sparring pits. Moderately sized pits filled with sand, to show how much blood was spilt. He began to remove the plates of his armour until he was clad only in his arming doublet and his arming trousers. A gambeson jacked and pants with black ringmail at the armpits, the inside of the elbow and the back of the knee. He too abandoned his sword to join her.

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

“Psh....Kinky..” Kyla said with a wink, but took it no further. She still liked this man quite a bit after all and it seemed that in respect to him She would comply with what he asked within reason. “I...I understand. You will get no more trouble from me..” Ferelith said before following the knight.

“Thank you..” Ferelith said with a slight bow of her head in appreciation. She dropped down into the nearest pit. It was full of training dummies and sat between the two empty pits devoid of anything but sand.

Stripping to only her chest wrap, pants, and boots. Her chest wrap left little to the imagination. Her skin tight leather pants rode low on her stomach leaving even less. She knew others were watching.

Bored guards, and the like. She didn’t care.

A few dummies sat in various spots dotted around the circle. In the inner circle each was padded for hand to hand and further on the outside of this smaller group sat dummies clad in old plate armor long since decommissioned for its weight and bulk ,but still incredibly thick and durable making it perfect for the purpose of allowing trainees and seasoned veterans alike an opportunity to transition from close hand to hand to sword play.

She walked up to the nearest plate armor dummy and stood for a moment. Before a punch was fired savagely into its chest denting it’s chest plate.

Her eyes held danger in them as she began to smash the armored dummy’s with a will. Punching kicking, rolling and obliterating each target in turn Before grasping the final dummy by the shoulders and using them as a way to pull herself up to the dummies head height and head butted the helmeted dummy.

It’s head flew off like a rocket landing at the feet of sir eberwolf with a massive dent splintering the dummies wooden skull. Ferelith stood in the wake of her havoc. Breathing heavily and tears beginning to stream down her face.

She wiped them away viciously. Glaring like her anger alone could contain her rampantly shifting emotions.

She had had plans for the future, she had finally gotten enough money to quit the life she had grown to love them despise on a path she had once so fondly followed. Nope. Couldn’t have that. Had to be drug off to some tower to avoid getting locked up.

Finally the last week of her duty rolls around when Heike and a dragon man show up. Wreck the place..turned her into a vampire and stole her heart whether she had known it at the time or not.

Then come to find out her new love interest decided that it best to lock her up. Something she had stumbled into when trying to avoid that very thing.

She then out her with her manipulative, scheming sister for months then drags her from her cell. Finally after months she not only had a chance to lighten her sentence but spend time with Heike as well. Her love finally professed. And in the shroud of night her lover accepts and even returns her affection.

Even kisses her.

But in the light of the morning the sham was revealed to be what Ferelith had deep down known it was.

Shackles her and then marches her up into a fortress of a man threatening and belittling the few good hearted people willing to come to his aid. Now her sister hated her for her love. She had always loved Heike for her lack of judgement.

Ironic giving her title as a bringer if justice. Heike was fair however. Regardless She treated Ferelith like a person.

Not a tool like Kyla, or property or entertainment like the promoters and slave masters. She treated her fairly and looked upon Ferelith with a look in her eye that made Ferelith stand a little taller, and smile a little more. She brought out the best in her. Heike the shield to Ferelith the blade.

Alas.

She hadn’t seen that look in her eye since the incident that morning. She hoped desperately for Heike to cool and hold her again.

She hadn’t.

now stuck between a sister that she was beginng to hate and a lover who seemed to be beginning to hate Ferelith herself

It was then she noticed the knight. Runes beginning to glow on the dummies pieces as the magically reformed piece by piece until ever splinter was in its proper place. She wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and her breathing steadied.

“I-I needed that..” She said with a blush of embarrassment. Feeling the eyes of those around watching her with awe. Many had begun watching simply because her beautiful and pleasing form was an eye grabber in sparing pits usually populated by sweaty men snapping each other in half.

Honing skills, and learning new ones. This lustful interest had turned to the silent awe displayed now. “Would you like to spar?” She asked calmly gesturing to an empty pit devoid of dummies on her left.

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

“Psh....Kinky..” Kyla said with a wink, but took it no further. She still liked this man quite a bit after all and it seemed that in respect to him She would comply with what he asked within reason. “I...I understand. You will get no more trouble from me..” Ferelith said before following the knight.

"Only to a certain point of view. If you want me to put it on you now, I'd be more than happy to oblige." He says with a grin under his helmet, the seriousness turning into a tease. When Ferelith acknowledged this he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. But he didn't say anything.

After watching her obliterate the training yard he was impressed, even when her strength was limited to her natural capabilities she was strong. Then he saw the tears in her eyes. He had to resist the urge to go comfort her, that was Heike's job. He took a mental note to tell Heike to talk to Ferelith later. He had a feeling that they needed to talk, alone. So he planned to give them the same guest room, that way they could work things out without having to worry about duty.

When she asked if he'd like to spar he responded with. "Do I have to take my shirt off too?"

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

“Maybe later then.” Kyla said with a wink. “Well let us be off to our chambers then.” She said with a a smirk. Before letting them go on their way.

“I move quick. Anything that could obstruct my vision must be removed for effective combat. Rule six in the slave arena. Those who are modest die third. 2nd rule Those who show mercy die first. 1st rule you do not rule the crowd. The crowd rules you.” She said in succession in an almost lightly trance like state.

Those rules had been branded in her head by her sister since they entered the slave pits. “ She stood in a lightly ready stance shaking a right hand of healing broken fingers.

Her bones shattered by every dent she delivered only to heal. She welcomed the pain of traumatic damage she knew all to well. The death and the returning to reality in the span of moments. It blocked out the real pain in her heart.

“I-it’s a simple habit is what I’m trying to say..I needed to blow off some steam.” She said snapping from her slight trance of recruiting what she was conditioned to remember and recite when asked. Blood ran down her forehead from her fatal skull fracture that slowly closed. Her blood remained however leaving her covered in crimson traces of its presence.

“Feel no need but do what you find comfotable.” Ferelith felt better having expended some rage and tested the limits of her vampiric strength leaving her slightly super human, it after seeing its limits it truely was hampered by the lack of her suppressed arcane strength gifted to her by blood and alchemical transfusion as well as tunes both of which being extremely susceptible to the suppression effects and were being suppressed effectively.

“Unless your....Chicken..” She said with a half heartedly playful smirk. Her personality returning slightly showing proof the death and massacre of the dummies had not been in vain.

“ooo..” one guard from his post said despite himself having been pretending to not pay attention and was quickly elbowed into silence and reinstating his vigilance.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike followed Sir Eberwolf out of the courtchamber and to the cart. Kept to herself. She harbored a small relief that Kyla at least seemed pliant to Eberwolf's wishes. Yet even this promise of renewed order did not bright her mood. Heike remained pensive, silent, arms folded across her stomach and hands holding her elbows.

A mostly absent-minded following of Sir Eberwolf to the sparring pits, for it was his decision to go there first. With Eberwolf being her sponsor here in Castle Kinniger, she'd little choice but to follow.

She expressed no interest in what was happening in the sparring pit. Nothing of Ferelith and nothing of Eberwolf. She had wanted privacy, Ferelith had, and in a way she was getting it. Heike just stood near the entrance to the Castle's sparring area, her back to a wall and her head lowered and brow furrowed and mind stewing in contemplation.

Fallen knight. Heike had never considered her knighthood revoked by the woe of her affliction. Even in her hellish undeath, she still accorded herself to the Oaths she had sworn and to the proper decorum of the station she had earned. Allowing herself to slip from the honor of her knighthood was to let the vampires--the monsters--claim final victory, and this she could not abide.

Yet...she tortured her Oath of Justice, convincing herself that it was "necessary" to feed upon the innocent when she had no other choice. She did not live up to the true spirit of the Oath of Truth, which forbade her from speaking falsehoods, yes, but how many lies had she told through omission and pretense? And worst, her ultimate failing, the Oath of Honor...her undeniable failure to uphold her duty, to defend Reikhurst with her life in its most dire hour.

Duke Remmond was not wrong. Heike thought herself a knight...but she knew in the disquiet dark of her mind that, if judged, she would be found wanting.

Ferelith Scathach Sir Eberwolf Kinniger

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

The guard who had oooed was clearly a younger man, who had never seen Eberwolf in action, and didn't know how capable he was. Even with her healing, if all she had was her vampiric strength, she stood little chance. Her practiced monologue seemed strange to him, and he simply replied by removing his shirt once she was done, and there was much to be impressed by.

He looked as though the only thing that he was made of was muscle and bulging veins. Though they weren't overly large, they were as hard as cast iron and we'll maintained. The most dangerous thing to her wasn't his strength alone, but that he knew where to apply it for maximum damage with minimal effort. In this way, he would seem tireless. If he were to grapple her, he'd take away her strength advantage by getting her off the ground, or put her in a hold that meant serious injury if she were to resist it, sure she'd heal, but a broken elbow was no laughing matter, and a temporary weakness was a weakness still.

He stood eight feet from her, his bare chest showing off the hard earned muscles adorning his torso, arms and abdomen. "Whenever you're ready."

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

“Fair enough.” Ferelith said with a slight smirk and a wink she shifted into a more offensive stance.

A few moments later a crash and the clatter and grunts of fierce combat would ensue for a about 4 seconds before Ferelith sailed through the entrance past Heike and landing in a heap.

Pulling her self up she wiped the blood from her nose as it stopped bleeding and spat out a tooth as a new one pushed out to take its place. Her shoulder lurching as it popped back into socket. “Stupid knight. That was a nasty trick..” She grumbled to herself. She knew what she was fighting now though. Their next round was going to be different. She turned and sped walk through the entrance pausing as she noticed Heike.

The vampire she chose to love seeming slightly troubled but unconcerned with her entirely. “I-I...I let him win..” She said skiddishly stepping back from Heike and brushed her self off nervously with a blush of embarrassment at being seen in such a state by someone bringing her along for her combat prowess.

This was exactly why she hadn’t want her around. She braces for the possible sharp comment or being completely ignored. While it felt like Heike was all she could think about.. Ferelith knew she held no such high regard in Heikes mind. This compounded with their current status as handler and criminal made her heart ache just to look at her. The way her hair fell in graceful silvery gray swoops the way her eyes glowed in the night. Many found it unnerving. Ferelith found it charming. She could always look into her lovers eyes even in the darkest void. She remembered the kiss. A dull throbbing pain entering her chest she didn’t look her in the eye when she spoke.

“I...I owe you an apology. I never should have professed to you. It was selfish and it was done with no regard for what position it put you in as an honorable knight.“ Her eyes glistened slightly but she set her jaw.

“Nor did I see what a vice it would place you in morally. I’m...” Her voice caught but she stopped a moment and swallowed her emotions.

“Sorry.” She finished. Leaving at a quick pace before the crushing weight of the possibility of being ignored or a sharp response.

She didn’t trust she was high enough on Heikes priorities to spare her any pain. She hoped back into the ring. Her wolf tattoo glistening with blood and sweat. “Ok. Warm ups done kid. Now YOU come at me.” Ferelith said sinking into a ready stance with a crooked smile.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Something pulled Heike from her thoughts. A clattering, loud and jarring. Heike looked up halfway, in a bewildered sort of "What did I just hear?" fashion, then all the way. Saw only Eberwolf in the sparring arena. She looked to her left, likewise seeing the two guards stationed on either side of the entrance looking back and through the archway.

Ferelith emerged then. Speaking to her and going red with embarrassment. It took Heike a moment to turn her wagon around, so to speak; to shift from the weightiness of dwelling on her own torments to being in the present with Ferelith and her bashful concern. Heike had never put much stock in duels and sparring and the like between allies and comrades; it was useful for training, of course, but ascribing merit to the outcome was a misuse of one's energizing pride. A fellow knight could "lose" every duel with his fellows he had ever taken part in, but if he slayed the most monsters and foes of Reikhurst out in the field, then of what use was such a clutching pride in "winning" said duels? The hypothetical knight in question had proven his worth when and where it counted.

"It's alright, Ferelith," Heike said. Her tone level and her face neutral, not much able to go above such at the moment. "Accolades are earned on the battlefield, not in the sparring arena."

But that was not the only thing on Ferelith's mind. And Heike's face sank slightly with an encroaching worry as she listened.

Sorry.

She made for the sparring arena as soon as she said it, and Heike could only reach her hand with a futile and half-hearted effort toward her and utter, "Fer--" before she was already gone. Heike looked down for a moment, then back up, then she lowered her eyes again and her hand and folded her arms across her stomach once more.

As Ferelith and Eberwolf continued in the sparring ring, Heike stayed where she was. Pensive, once more. Her anxious brow softened to neutrality before narrowing in a slight anger, thinking of the vampires--both here and years ago in Reikhurst. Then, after a long moment, a subsiding in the anger. A smile, even.

Ferelith had called her an honorable knight. And this, at least--despite the turmoil both she and Ferelith and hardly even to mention Eberwolf and the whole of his Duchy were in--brought Heike some small measure of joy.

Sir Eberwolf Kinniger Ferelith Scathach

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

When she got back in, he spoke. "Your rules of single combat are interesting. We have our own. Rule 1: your opponent is always stronger and faster than you are. Rule 2: do not rely on one or the other. Rule 3: know your enemy's weaknesses. And Rule 4: victory is worth any price."

As she said, he attacked this time, in three different places. His right fist came around as a hook, and his left simultaneously came up at her throat, if both were blocked or either hit, he then kicked her knee in. After that, he'd attempt to grab her shirt, and throw her as he had before.

He had heard her conversation with Heike, and knew for certain that they needed to talk, so same room it was for them. After the grappling/maiming match was over.

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

Ferelith was not the brightest person. Her hand writing was messy. Her sentences looked like fragments a toddler would write, and mathematics scared her so badly she once cut a mans head off for trying to show her fractions.

Kyla was the one who could encapsulate an entire books knowledge by a single quick read, could solve mathematic equations, apply averages and logic to make the numbers and words of life work for her. However Ferelith was one thing Kyla wasn’t. Kyla was strong, had learned many fighting styles, but was quite set in how she fought. Ferelith in the other hand was adaptable. Able to take the knights words of fighting wisdom and apply it to her own code and adding that to what she had already gathered from her observations and fighting him the first time.

This meaning when he came for her a second time she was a far more prepared individual. Many people thought they killed or beat Ferelith after many by gone first engagements. They were always very wrong.

She blocked the hook by the knights fist catching with her hand and flinging it away as well as ducking the throat strike and blocking the leg going for her knee and pushing it aside as well with enough strength to spin the knight slightly to have his back facing her. She would then hop on his back wrapping her legs around his middle and her arms in a choke hold around his neck she would squeeze his middle with her incredible strength as well as slamming her heels into his stomach when she got the chance.

Going none too easy on him, but not using her full strength reminding her self that while equals (or maybe he was her better?) She could come back from being torn in half or her neck broken. This man could not. So she simply locked in the hold and allowed him to struggle. “Yield? We’ll be even for you throwing me and you can stop trying to break everything I have in me. It still hurts you know even if it heals..” She panted with good natured humor in the heat of battle.

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

When she blocked or dodged each of his attacks he found himself impressed with her quick adaptation. When she spun him he had intended to go straight into another kick, but she was just a little too fast for him. She'd find it difficult to hurt him by squeezing his midsection, and he had barely managed to get his arm in front of his throat to keep the choke at bay. But he also knew that she wasn't going to give up easily, and yielding? That was breaking the fourth rule, victory is worth any price. So he thought quickly and charged headlong at the wall, and turned around at the last second, slamming her into the wall first, between the hammer and the anvil.

They kept at this sparring for a good few hours, usually it was a stalemate, a constantly changing one too, each warrior adjusting to the other. Occasionally one would defeat the other, though that only happened four or five times. By the time the sun approached the horizon, both were drenched in sweat and blood, and Eberwolf had thoroughly enjoyed himself.

"Wow, that was fun. Perhaps we should do it again sometime?"

After this was done he found Kyla and Heike, and brought them into the central keep. There he gave each of them a room, and once Kyla wasn't looking he pointed Heike towards Ferelith's room and continued.

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

“Yeah maybe..” Ferelith said with a slight gasp in her tone as she regained her wind. She used the facilities many of the guards used to clean her self up and change into the only other fresh pair of clothes she had on hand. Still a bit exhaust she wore a crop top and her normal black leather pants.

Yet she decided to go barefoot. She then had followed the group and taken to her room without a word to Kyla or Heike.

The vampire scared her and her sister disgusted her. She laid out on the bed with a tired groan as the aches and ghost pains of a few nasty injuries left her happy for the softness of the bed.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Those hours of Ferelith and Sir Eberwolf sparring went by, and through it Heike's perturbance from Duke Remmond's comment and her simmering anger toward the vampires of present and past and the small gem of joy from Ferelith all leveled to a passive neutrality of emotion that often preoccupied her in the long hours of waiting that had become far more regular with her affliction. She crossed these great gulfs of waiting as she often did--simply reminiscing. Taking her mementos out of the treasure chest in her mind where she had them locked away, reliving small moments from her childhood in Reikhurst and her squiring in the Golden Blade and her Accolade before the King himself and her few years as a proper knight with her fellows, reliving moments with her parents and Maria and even Gunther, who had not approved in the slightest of Heike's aspirations to become a Citizen and Warrior, a Knight of the Golden Blade.

And then they were done, Ferelith and Sir Eberwolf, and the latter showed them to their rooms within the central keep. Notably, he had gestured for Ferelith and Heike to share the same one.

Heike stepped inside after Ferelith. Modest, the room, as one might well expect from a keep; serviceable, not luxurious, which Heike was very much used to. A bed, basic amenities, this was more or less a barracks, certainly not a noble's palatial master bedroom.

Ferelith was on the bed, Heike standing by the door.

And she said, "Ferelith."

A moment, then, as she tried to collect her thoughts. Everything that happened, everything that was happening, and how it all related to them. The night before, and Ferelith's apology hours ago. The challenges ahead. There was almost too much to adequately process.

So Heike walked to the bed. Sat on its edge, leaned over and with her elbows rested on her knees, clawed fingers entwined. Said, "You have your past, as do I."

A pause.

"And I am beholden to my sworn oaths."

Another pause, but after it was done, Heike glanced over to the woman she loved.

"But my feelings for you are true. No matter what happens...this will always be so."

Ferelith Scathach Sir Eberwolf Kinniger

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

Ferelith tensed at her voice. She had not expected to be sharing a room. She rose from the bed and turned slowly to sit on its edge next to Heike as her lovers voice continued to meet her ears. She sat quietly until she finished.

“I see...” She said taking a moment to gather her own thoughts. Noticing suddenly her own lack of covering. She drew one some of the beds blankets around her.

Her ways were odd. She had been wearing far less in the pits with the eyes of the guards some younger and lustful some older and watchful, but regardless it hadn’t mattered yet in a private setting with some one she truly loved her appreance meant much more to her.

“My sister won’t approve...It will make your job far more difficult...People will think less of you, and those that don’t will think you mad or naive...” She said not in a harsh way, but almost speaking in warning of what Heike May revive for even being associated with her..Let alone loved by.

“I..I know how much the dukes words hurt you..I wouldn’t want you to feel compelled to open yourself up to more pain on my account..” She said quietly.

“But if you wish to be mine regardless...My heart beats to fiercely for you for me to deny you..” She finished. Uncovering her self slightly she would put her hand close to Heikes and leave it there for her to reject or accept. Her face tilted down yet close enough to see the slight fear she held in her heart at her lovers reply.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike had her mask down; her smile readily apparent in the wake of all that Ferelith had said. She untwined her hands and reached for Ferelith's own, taking great care to be cognizant of her claws. And it was nice, so very nice, to be able to look at someone without her gaze by necessity being hardened to steel; that she could actually allow herself to be openly caring, to allow in her eyes and in her heart a softness and tenderness that she had for years forgone, was a blessing. It was akin to finally be able to take off her armor after a long march and pitched battle.

She placed her hand in Ferelith's. Said, "I have faced such disapproval and derision before. My fellow knights, my own mother, Reikhurst in general and as a whole...they looked down on a woman who would love another woman. Yet I followed my heart then, and I will joyously do so now."

Heike leaned in slowly and kissed her. Held it long, as if all who would cast such disapproval upon them were watching and Heike's passion was only further enflamed by her stark defiance.

She pulled back. Blinked in a slow and satisfied manner. Turned her legs and her body just so to face Ferelith a bit more directly. And she said, "Fear not for me. The Duke may have wounded me with his words, but this is a small scar joining a legion of the same, and yet I will endure still. I am a Knight of the Golden Blade until my dying day, and nothing shall take that from me."

Heike smiled again, and it was joy tainted by a touch of sorrow; tiny gatherings of tears at the corners of her eyes followed. And she leaned in again and wrapped Ferelith in a loving embrace, the warmth radiating off of the woman she loved more comforting than anything else across the whole of Arethil.

Said, "I know that you bear your own legion of scars. That the world has been cruel to you." Heike squeezed just a little tighter, the tiny pressure of I'm here for you. "But things can be better. For you. For me. I know they can."

Ferelith's heart. Beating for the both of them. Felt once again.

And Heike said again, "I know they can."

Ferelith Scathach Sir Eberwolf Kinniger

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

Ferelith stared down at her own feet dangling from the bed. It was then she felt her loves clawed hand carefully clutch her own. She heard her love speak and her words seemed to fill Ferelith’s heart with renewed vigor. “Heike I don’t..Are you su-“ was all she was able to begin to reply when Heike stole her breath and words with a kiss.

A deep longing kiss that left the blonde mercenary breathless with its sheer passion. Tears pushed the corner of her own eyes as she saw them begin to glean in Heikes. They were tears of a true love. A love that many who sought for it were relieved to find after years of thinking they will never have it again. The love of someone who thought they would never love again. She was taken aback by the embrace but accepted it.

Feeling the reassuring squeeze as her lover continued. Tears fell on the vampire neck then. Cradled against as she was Ferelith’s cheek met Heikes pale flesh. She pulled away and cupped her hands around her lovers cheeks and smiled with the same fangs Heike had herself. But her eyes weren’t on Heikes flaws. Her gaze spoke of peeling away such things and only seeing the good.

“I’ve been frightened my whole life..” She sniffled but refrained from sobbing like a child through sheer force of ironclad will. “But when I’m with you..I..don’t feel that way..Giawah..My Hunter..” She said

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

So things got mushy and romantic in the room where Heike and Ferelith were staying, not surprising, and it made him glad to know that they were going strong. He brought Kyla to a room for herself, much like the one Ferelith and Heike stayed in, and retired to his own quarters, which were even less furnished. The Kinniger family followed a tradition of strict and constant discipline, so their beds often weren't more than padded tables, and their food bland but healthy. So his room was little more than a closet. But it was a little bigger than closets would be, to accommodate the huge dog that stayed with him.

Kerberos, a three headed bearhound the size of a pony that Eberwolf had grown up with tackled him as his door opened. After that happy reunion he got to sleep, waiting for the next day to come. The following morning he woke with the sunrise, as he usually did. He fed Kerberos and left to prepare for the journey. He saddled Thunder, and three other horses for each of his companions for departure. Kerberos came with them, as dogs often followed their masters, and he would prove to be one of many on the battlefield.

They would embark on a three days ride to the frontier, where a battered but strong fort looked, flying a white banner, bearing three black dog heads, joined at the necks. The gates opened to welcome them. A perfectly gridded camp was inside the wall, tents set up in an orderly fashion and soldiers in black armour identical to that of the armor worn at Castle Kinniger, only more battered. Each man watched Heike and Ferelith with suspicion and care. Though none looked afraid. A man approached them, whose helmet bore a horsehair crest of white, and spoke to Eberwolf.

"Welcome back young Lord. I hope that your mission was successful."

"Yes, but not how we anticipated. What's the situation?"

"We're outnumbered two to one, and one sixth of our men are too injured to fight. We need a plan, a good one and fast."

 

[Heike Eisen]

It had been a journey for them. From mortal enemies to now, and still there remained the challenging road ahead. They both had to survive the upcoming battle, and the authority of Alliria and Elbion might be as strict in their beneficence as possible with regard to lessening Ferelith's sentence. Heike, as well, was compelled by her Oath of Justice to pursue the Slaughtern vampires and Jürgen Kaiser once this was done.

But, for at least this one night, everything was alright. And where Heike usually found it difficult to find sleep in the wake of her affliction, when she closed her eyes and lay next to Ferelith it came easily.

Peacefully.

* * * * *​

A three day ride to the front. Unremarkable--distance necessary to be traveled--though there two things. First, Sir Eberwolf's...dog had taken Heike aback when she initially laid eyes on it. In that moment, Kerberos was to her what she was to the normal folk of Arethil. But over the course of their travel, Heike became accustomed to the massive, three-headed hound's presence. Its appearance was intimidating but it was no monster; perhaps there was a lesson in that.

Second, Heike's thirst deepened in those three days of riding. Weakness and fatigue had not yet begun to settle in to her muscles, but it would--especially if she exerted herself to inhuman strength and speed, which seemed inevitable with the coming battle. She wrestled mentally with the merit of just asking Sir Eberwolf for some manner of...solution. But the thought of it disgusted her to the point of harshly banishing the possibility each time it crept back into her mind. Hell's fury, she was here to help Sir Eberwolf, to help the people of the Duchy, not feed on them. She would just have to endure for now.

They arrived at the embattled fort. The banner of which displayed the icon of the three-headed dog; were these hounds native to this land? Seemed so. Heike had never seen a dog quite like Kerberos or the representation on the banner before coming here.

The men of the camp were well enough, even if their gear was worn through pitched combat. They were stolid and disciplined, and such reminded Heike even more of Reikhurst and the fighting men and women, the Citizen Warriors, who shared in that same spirit.

It would be all Heike could do to endeavor that the Kinniger Duchy, that these fighting men, did not share the same fate as Reikhurst.

Eberwolf spoke with, presumably, the local commander of the fort and the forces stationed therein. Heike stepped forward, stood beside Sir Eberwolf, and greeted the commander in the same proper manner as she had the Duke. She stood rigid and offered a salute (careful not to cause her hood to fall back) and introduced herself, saying, "Herr Heike Eisen, Knight-Valiant of Reikhurst."

She dropped her salute. Continued, "We may yet avenge your injured men, and all else who have fallen, soon. What are your observations of the vampires and how they fight?"

Eberwolf had already explained their thralls before; that they were more or less a conventional army. But the vampires themselves would surely fight differently and harbor different weaknesses based on their strain. And Heike, having read through the Monster Hunter compendium on vampires, had an awareness of many of them. A frightening thought, to think that these monsters were so plentiful as to have so many various strains plaguing Arethil, but such was the awful lot in which the good men and women of the world found themselves.

Sir Eberwolf Kinniger Ferelith Scathach

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

A three day ride to the front. Unremarkable--distance necessary to be traveled--though there two things. First, Sir Eberwolf's...dog had taken Heike aback when she initially laid eyes on it. In that moment, Kerberos was to her what she was to the normal folk of Arethil. But over the course of their travel, Heike became accustomed to the massive, three-headed hound's presence. Its appearance was intimidating but it was no monster; perhaps there was a lesson in that.

Kerberos, as it turned out, took a liking to the three new friends. Though skeptical about them being vampires, once he had their scents, he recognized them as friends. Kerberos, despite being gargantuan in size for a dog, was quite affectionate, and loved nothing more than a scratch behind the ears. But he, like his master, could be merciless and vicious when the situation was right.

Second, Heike's thirst deepened in those three days of riding. Weakness and fatigue had not yet begun to settle in to her muscles, but it would--especially if she exerted herself to inhuman strength and speed, which seemed inevitable with the coming battle. She wrestled mentally with the merit of just asking Sir Eberwolf for some manner of...solution. But the thought of it disgusted her to the point of harshly banishing the possibility each time it crept back into her mind. Hell's fury, she was here to help Sir Eberwolf, to help the people of the Duchy, not feed on them. She would just have to endure for now.

Eberwolf had already worked out how to feed Ferelith and Heike, that being to feed them prisoners of war. Many of the surviving Thralls were beyond recovery, and since they couldn't afford to feed more mouths than pulled their weight, they simply ended their misery. Now they would be able to give Ferelith and Heike almost daily meals. So they only needed to arrive and they'd likely be able to feed.

Eberwolf spoke with, presumably, the local commander of the fort and the forces stationed therein. Heike stepped forward, stood beside Sir Eberwolf, and greeted the commander in the same proper manner as she had the Duke. She stood rigid and offered a salute (careful not to cause her hood to fall back) and introduced herself, saying, "Herr Heike Eisen, Knight-Valiant of Reikhurst."

She dropped her salute. Continued, "We may yet avenge your injured men, and all else who have fallen, soon. What are your observations of the vampires and how they fight?"

Eberwolf had already explained their thralls before; that they were more or less a conventional army. But the vampires themselves would surely fight differently and harbor different weaknesses based on their strain. And Heike, having read through the Monster Hunter compendium on vampires, had an awareness of many of them. A frightening thought, to think that these monsters were so plentiful as to have so many various strains plaguing Arethil, but such was the awful lot in which the good men and women of the world found themselves.

"Ah, yes, the new knight on the field. The vampires behave as knights do, and commanders. So far we think that one vampire controls one hundred thralls, and units of vampires behave as guerillas and night-fighters. They have good infantry, moderate archers but no cavalry. Even so, they are tough to beat."

Eberwolf spoke. "Get the men ready to defend the fort, and make sure that we have dogs at each gate. I have to get these three sorted into their tents."

Ferelith Scathach, Kyla Scathach, Heike Eisen

 

[Ferelith Scathach]

“I love you sweet heart...“ Ferelith muttered as she too drifted off to sleep. Her arms wrapping around Heike and pulling he close as she rested her cheek against the back of Heikes neck. “I always will.”

.................

Ferelith had been ready to leave. Not that the place wasn’t beautiful. Her eyes had never seen such beautiful architecture...But the feeling of the place just left her with a sense that she didn’t belong here. This was where men and women of good standing and high morals fought and trained to protect their people.

She was a merciless cutthroat thatCrawled from the gutters to kill for money. She belonged here no more than a whore at the

The introduction of the dogs made Ferelith nervous. Even as the three headed dog was friendly and even playful. Animals had always been Kyla’s thing.

Her suppression held for most of the time but as they arrived she began to feel it slipping. Her hunger while suppressed along with the rest of her vampiric side effects always began to creep back first when her suppression’s began to fade.

And it came back with a vengeance. She kept this from Heike. The woman undoubtedly had enough on her plate.


However as she stood with Kyla and let their handlers talk shop she did gently place her hand on her lovers shoulder only to suddenly lean against her as a pang of hunger left her weak and light headed for a minute. “I..I need you at the tent we are assigned..” She said with a strained breath. Her slowly forming claws digging into the clothes covering her loves shoulder.

“Eberwolf would you please show us to some tents and umm.. “food..” please..” She said as she closed her eyes and her grip tightened once again each pang growing more frequent and severe with every minute.

She squeezed her eyes shut until the pang faded and yet as she opened her eyes once more a single blue met them as her other opened to reveal a glowing yellow like Heikes. Her blue tattoo slowly turning darker as pieces of it had already turned completely black and was spreading.

 

[Kyla Scathach]

Kyla had been silent. Her face spoke of someone ready to preform a task. She spoke little and slept even less. She knew what was coming and she needed every ounce of her focus to make sure everything was going to work out right for her and her sister.

She cared little for most people but this little group had really started to grow on her. Especially Eberwolf. His dog had fascinated the firey mercenary and she insisted they play at every opportunity. “Who’s a good three headed war machine? That’s you! You are!” She said in a voice she once split a mans skull for laughing at.

“You can crush a femur with those jaws cant you? Yes you can!” She said snuggling, scratching and generally rough housing with the dog as he was introduced. “It’s like having three dogs in one! Can I have one?” She had asked as they loaded up for the journey.

and yet that was the only moment the stone of her expression had cracked. As they arrived at the battlefield it only deepened. This was not going to be an easy fight. She thought that they may at least have numbers on their side. It appeared they did not.

Great.

She then noticed her sister approach Heike. No doubt her suppression was wearing off. It had lasted longer than usual, or maybe Ferelith was just getting better at keeping the pain and changes under wraps. Either way it didn’t helpKyla’s stormy mood and stone expression. “So...guess this is an execution then. No wonder they let us out.” She said but she said it in a way like it was almost to herself, and

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

She cared little for most people but this little group had really started to grow on her. Especially Eberwolf. His dog had fascinated the firey mercenary and she insisted they play at every opportunity. “Who’s a good three headed war machine? That’s you! You are!” She said in a voice she once split a mans skull for laughing at.

“You can crush a femur with those jaws cant you? Yes you can!” She said snuggling, scratching and generally rough housing with the dog as he was introduced. “It’s like having three dogs in one! Can I have one?” She had asked as they loaded up for the journey.

Her immediate attraction to Kerberos did a great deal to amuse Eberwolf, and Kerberos ended up liking her a great deal. At the 'good three headed war machine' statement, Eberwolf laughed, this was just too much. "Indeed he is, he a very good three headed war machine. And he absolutely loves giving kisses after tackling you."

Then she asked if she could have one, and he answered, "maybe."

“I love you sweet heart...“ Ferelith muttered as she too drifted off to sleep. Her arms wrapping around Heike and pulling he close as she rested her cheek against the back of Heikes neck. “I always will.”

.................

Ferelith had been ready to leave. Not that the place wasn’t beautiful. Her eyes had never seen such beautiful architecture...But the feeling of the place just left her with a sense that she didn’t belong here. This was where men and women of good standing and high morals fought and trained to protect their people.

She was a merciless cutthroat thatCrawled from the gutters to kill for money. She belonged here no more than a whore at the

The introduction of the dogs made Ferelith nervous. Even as the three headed dog was friendly and even playful. Animals had always been Kyla’s thing.

Her suppression held for most of the time but as they arrived she began to feel it slipping. Her hunger while suppressed along with the rest of her vampiric side effects always began to creep back first when her suppression’s began to fade.

And it came back with a vengeance. She kept this from Heike. The woman undoubtedly had enough on her plate.


However as she stood with Kyla and let their handlers talk shop she did gently place her hand on her lovers shoulder only to suddenly lean against her as a pang of hunger left her weak and light headed for a minute. “I..I need you at the tent we are assigned..” She said with a strained breath. Her slowly forming claws digging into the clothes covering her loves shoulder.

“Eberwolf would you please show us to some tents and umm.. “food..” please..” She said as she closed her eyes and her grip tightened once again each pang growing more frequent and severe with every minute.

She squeezed her eyes shut until the pang faded and yet as she opened her eyes once more a single blue met them as her other opened to reveal a glowing yellow like Heikes. Her blue tattoo slowly turning darker as pieces of it had already turned completely black and was spreading.

He had noticed how much worse she was getting, and he knew that Heike and her were in desperate need of blood. "Captain, where are the captured, unrecoverable thralls? Still in the stockade I'd assume."

"Yes sir."

"Alright, Ferelith, Heike, follow me." He says bringing them along through the fort. "We make an effort to bring in the thralls who survive the battles, if they can be saved from their thralldom, we send them home to the professionals. But sometimes they cannot recover, so we put them down, it is these thralls that will keep you fed. I know that it isn't the best option, but it's the most practical."

They came to a large wooden cage, where several pale, malnourished men and women either sat, stood or slept. These were captured thralls, waiting for orders that would never come. "These thralls haven't spoken at all, this is how we tell, they no longer have their minds. Go ahead, the cage is latched but not locked, drink your fill. You need it."

Once this was done, Heike and Ferelith were given the same tent, the inhabitants having perished. Kyla was given a separate tent, with a simple soldier as a bunkmate. Eberwolf slept in a single-person, small tent near the central command tent.