Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

The older noble only seems to get angrier because of the communication barrier between Mikalis and himself. Pointing to the wall he shouts something threatening and Mikalis has to fight down the urge to vomit as he looks at the wall. Mounted on the wall is the almost unrecognizable head of the old gypsy Shandor. It seems horribly twisted as though the old man had been changing at the moment he was beheaded.

Suddenly they are interrupted by the angelic voice of his fellow prisoner speaking in the same tongue as the nobleman. The woman is indeed beautiful as she comes calmly walking towards them with a charming smile on her face.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis remains kneeling on the ground until the old nobleman points him to the wall. When he sees Shandor's head mounted like a trophy, he can feel the bile welling up inside his stomach as he holds his mouth to prevent it from escaping.

When he hears the other prisoner's voice speaking a foreign language, however, he averts his eyes from the wall and focuses back on the old noble, praying that the woman would calm him in some way.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

The woman's words seem to have little effect on the old nobleman before him as he signals his guards to attack. Strangely though the guards rush forward they seem to stop and simply stare at the beautiful woman. She smiles almost devilishly as she brushes right past the two guards to stand beside Mikalis. All the while she keeps speaking to the older man, who simply seems to grow angrier.

He can feel her hand drop to his shoulder comfortably as she straightens his cap and then he can feel her urging him to stand. Despite his anger the old man doesn't rush forward merely locking eyes with the woman. They stand there staring at each other intently as if some great battle of the wills is taking place.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis stands, still shaking with fear as he wonders just what in the hell is going on. As he watched the two stare each other down, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he had wandered into something paranormal, something that most mortals could only dream of being a part of.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

The guards simply stared at the woman as she stared down their master, almost as if they were awed by a work of art. Even Mikalis felt drawn to look at the woman who was helping him.

As he turned his head to look up at her angelic face he could hear her voice in his head. It wasn't as if he rally heard it so much as he knew she was the once speaking to him in his thoughts. It took a few seconds to realize what she was saying as the words seemed to come to him in pictures.

"Use the stake. Stick it through his heart. Do it quickly. Count Jaromir's will is very powerful. Now is the best time to strike."

Unconsciously his hand moved to his tunic where he could feel the stake of rose in a pocket. The voice seemed to beg him and seemed to weaken as he stood there watching the battle of the wills.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis looks down at his hand as it clenches around the stake, and draws it from his tunic. It was then that he realized exactly why he was given the stake. With a cry, he charges at the Count and thrusts the stake forwards towards his chest, trying to aim for where he thinks the noble's heart is.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Count Jaromir is too distracted with Mikalis' savior to react in time to stop the attack on himself. His guards begin to rush forward but they stop as Constance drops her battle to hold them back with little more than a look.

As the stake pierces Jaromir's chest his eyes turn with a look that could melt steel to Mikalis own. Though they quickly close as his body falls back into the throne seemingly dead. The wound is surprisingly bloodless as Mikalis looks on surprised by what he has done. In the background he can hear Constance saying something to the guards in their own tongue and before long he can hear them leaving the throne room.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis stands, holding the stake in his hands for a few seconds, before releasing it and stumbling back a few steps, falling flat on his tush and gaping at the now-deceased Count Jaromir, his hands shaking as he looks down at them. "I just killed a man. With my own hands." he says quietly as he buries his face in his hands. "What is this mad tapestry I have been woven into? I'm just a simple painter!" he exclaims as tears begin to flow down his cheeks.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

With the guards out of the way Constance turns seductively and begins to sashay her way over. She ignores Mikalis for the moment and leans over to inspect the count as he lays in his throne with the stake still protruding from his chest. She leans in close and seems to whisper something to the seemingly dead man before taking and shoving the stake further in.

"We wouldn't want you spoiling my plans now would we Jurgen. I told you it's always best to just give a girl what she wants."

She turns back to Mikalis with a lascivious grin on her face and sashays back to him. Something about her words makes Mikalis heart burst with feelings of passion as she speaks to him.

"Now, now my dear childe. You have to work a lot harder than that to kill one of our kind. In fact he can see everything that's going on before his eyes right now. Maybe we should give him a little show before I end his existence, hmm?"

She says leaning in closely with a wink before her lips crush against his hungrily. Mikalis can't help but notice the utter lack of warmth in her body as he is kissed.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis takes his hands from his face as Constance kisses him full on the mouth. He can feel the lack of warmth in her flesh, and immediately draws back away from her, pushing back and scooting across the floor in horror. "You're........The stories can't be true! You can't possibly be a real vampire!" he exclaims, his arms out in front of him, clearly frightened from all of this. "This is sheer madness." he says a bit more quietly, as he then falls over flat on his back and closes his eyes, trying to pretend he had fainted.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Constance allows Mikalis to scoot away from her with a bemused look upon her face. She even laughs mirthfully as he faints away to the ground though his faint doesn't seem to have deterred her as she straddles him and pushes his arms to the floor forcefully. Leaning in close she breathlessly scorns him.

"Now, don't be like that. As I told Count Jurgen just the other night, I get exactly what I want and when I want it. Just think of it as my way of rewarding you for your excellent services, after all don't you want to be able to paint for the rest of eternity."

Before Mikalis can do anything more he feels a fleetingly sharp pain in his throat followed by an almost orgasmic feeling as Constance drinks every last drop of blood from him. The feeling is so intense that he can't even struggle against it even as he realizes that she is taking his life from him. His thoughts begin to fade as he lays there dying on the cold stone floor.

The last thing he feels is Constance leaning over to kiss him on the lips, something warm passing from her mouth to his and then his thoughts fade as he dies.

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Suddenly Mikalis eyes flicker open, he's not dead after all. He can barely reflect on this as his normally peaceful mind is assaulted by an incredible feeling of hunger for blood.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis struggles what little he can against Constance when she straddles him, but when he feels the pain in his neck, everything begins to drain away with his blood.

As he awakens, and realizes he isn't in heaven yet, he suddenly starts to look around, his mouth open and a throaty groan escaping his mouth. "Blood....." is all that he manages to mouth as the groan escapes his mouth, and he begins to pant, trying to focus on driving away this unbearable hunger that now gripped him.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

His throaty growl doesn't even seem to make any sense to the small portion of his mind not controlled by the beast. It's as if some alien entity has taken control of his body causing him to crawl forward towards the strangely sweet smell of blood. He can think of only how sweet the blood will taste when he finally fills himself with it, the beast managing to suppress even the thoughts of his one true joy in life, painting.

Finally his hands brush against something as they pull his body across the floor. The still staked body of Count Jurgen sits there before him, though Mikalis sees it only as sustenance. With little control over what he is doing he sinks his fangs into the counts neck. The sweet powerful taste of the blood in his veins fills Mikalis with an intense euphoric feeling as he gorges himself on the torpid vampire.

Finally the beast that had this strange control over Mikalis mind is sated and it slips to the back of his mind. Mikalis' senses suddenly return to him and with a growing sense of horror at his new fate he looks down at the count. A strong feeling of sorrow and loyalty fills him as he looks at the count who not long ago was angry with him.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

As soon as Mikalis finishes gorging himself on Jurgen's body he begins to regain his senses, looking around and placing his hands over his mouth, feeling for fangs as his awareness of just what he had become began to sink in. He had heard the stories, the legends of vampires, but now he was one of them. And that shocked him, scared him out of his wits. "If only I had decided to continue on that night with the gypsies. Fate be damned." he says to himself as he stands and wipes his lips as best he can, then begins to walk towards the mounted head of Shandor, and he begins staring at it, as if a new found inspiration has struck him for a painting.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Shandor's head seems clearer now in Mikalis' mind, as though some supernatural veil has been lifted from his eyes. It seems strangely beautiful as Mikalis' stares at it, the way the features of a wolf are blended with the old mans. It's as if he had been beheaded midway between some horrific change. Mikalis can do nothing to pull himself away from the horrid yet strangely beautiful decoration on the wall.

Suddenly the alluring voice of Constance comes from close beside him, whispering into his ear softly. Her hands smoothing the collar of his woolen shirt as she pulls him out of the strange fugue state the head has put him in. He doesn't quite understand the strange feeling of loyalty he feels for her as he turns his head to look out beautiful features.

"Why do you stare at such an ugly thing, my childe. Come now tear yourself away from it for we have things to do while the night is still young."

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis closes his eyes and turns away from the mounted head, before opening them to stare at Constance. "You.......You did this to me. Why?" he asks, before his stare turns to a glare. He was clearly upset by the recent turn of events. "If the legends are to be believed, you've turned me into a vampire. I can never see the beauty of a sunrise again. Never feel the warmth of the sun on my body. WHY?" he seems to start pacing as he does so, his psychological state clearly in flux.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Constance actually looks saddened for a moment as Mikalis mentions never being able to see a sunrise again. Though she does her best to push the thought from her mind and takes him by the hand kindly.

"It is true I have taken those things from you. Sunlight is deadly to our kind as is fire. If you but think of what I have given you in return you may feel a bit better. I have given you an eternity to learn your craft, to paint, to create things of beauty. Normally I would have given you the choice of receiving the embrace but I simply had to save you in anyway I could. Count Jaromir would have had you killed for he thought you had something to do with the death of his childe at the hands of that Lupine."

She pulls him close and looks down with him at the body of the count where it lays the stake still protruding from his chest. Mikalis can't help but believe her words are sincere and though reassuring his doubts still remain to a lesser degree. Looking down at the count he feels a strange pull of sympathy for him though he doesn't understand why. He feels Constance's arm drop away for a moment as he stares down. Constance calls for Mikalis to stand back from the body and as he does so tosses a torch onto the body, which immediately ignites into flame. The sight of the flames fills Mikalis with a horror the likes of which he has never felt.

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

"Lupine. It is strange. I see him as Shandor, the gypsy. He was quite kind short of the violence Jaromir's men brought upon them." Mikalis seems to say more to himself than to anyone, then watches as the torch makes contact with Jaromir, his face twisting in horror. "He's.......He's dead now, isn't he? And that could be me if I'm not careful?" he seems to ask, a lump forming in his throat, though he does his best to swallow it. "If I really am one of the night, now.........Then......teach me. Please, teach me what I am now." he pleads, turning to Constance and clasping both of his hands together in front of his face.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Constance takes him by the hand as the fire that was once Count Jaromir burns out and leads him away from the horrible flames. She takes him up some stairs and down a hallway as she does her best to continue explaining his new unlife.

"Unlike the lore of the kine says a wooden stake through the heart does not kill a Cainite, it merely paralyzes us. Only fire, sunlight, the claws and fangs of other Cainite's or the Lupines, and beheading can truly kill us. You could even be beaten into torpor and you would still not meet final death until one of those things occurred.

This Shandor may have seemed kind while you were amongst the kine but he would swiftly destroy any Cainite including you. Thankfully they do not come to the cities where we live for they are fearsome creatures."

Stopping at a heavy wooden door near the end of the hallway she pulls a key from her pocket and opens the door. The room beyond is dark though Mikalis finds his now keener sense enable him to see well enough without the light. The room seems to be a gallery of sorts filled with artworks though none of them seem all that good and there seems to be little of interest in the room.

"I will teach you everything you need to know to survive amongst the kindred but first I must retrieve what I originally came to see Count Jaromir about."

 

[Caulder]

Re: Prologue: Mikalis Von Daphni

Mikalis follows Constance as he listens intently. "So. I am indeed one of the Night. I feel as if I should be happy, but I am saddened. This is just too much to accept all at once." he states, before she opens the door to the gallery, the paintings inside easily visible to Mikalis as he stares into the room before realizing it was actually dark inside. If Constance listened closely enough, she might hear him reciting a short prayer beneath his breath, something along the lines of asking forgiveness.