Valerik trodded over the desert sands, the harsh winds beating against his body. The sun shone harshly over his back, and onto his hatchling's back, Akor. table height dragon gave out a small moan of pain, and continued to lift his feet wearily. Valerik had embarked on a journey out of the misty forest, and towards the Angband, the Stronghold of Theives. Unfortunatly, he had to cross over a large portion of the desert.

Another grunt of exhaustion escaped the mouth of Akor. His elongated neck craned up to see him, his glossy eyes coming to meet his. "It's okay," he said in a soothing voice. "We'll reach the forest in no time," Valerik had wanted to go to the Iron Prison for one reason alone: to see if the place was as rotten and horrible as its reputation had given it.

The little dragon was not so little anymore. He had grown from the size of a cat into the height of a fairly high dinner table. He was devolping many battle tactics, and even his breath weapon. He would occasionally spit out some gas. Luckily for Valerik, he was unaffected, for he had no need to breath. His vampiric nature was a great blessing in a many numbers of ways.

He climbed up a sand dune, hoping he was still proceeding in the correct direction. Luckily enough for him, when he peeked over the 'hill' a speck of rusty brown was poking over the horizen. It was Angband, the Desert Stronghold. He pointed to Akor, who chirped with glee. He slid down the sand dune, and with renewed vigor, proceeded to his destination.

When he reached it, he was greeted with by large, iron gates. He pushed them open, revealing a series of shabby houses and bars, and several hooded figures moving around shadily. Akor looked up, jumping up in front of Valerik. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," he said.

Ladislaus had been walking through the desert for several days now, with little money and no water. Trudging over the dunes, he desperately searched for a source of water, and he realized he could not continue on for too much longer. Stumbling over a particularly high dune, he say a grassy oasis, with several small ponds, and a few small citrus trees. Practically sprinting down the hill, he walked, gasping for breath into the oasis, falling on his knees, and drinking his fill of the cool water. After several minutes of resting and eating some of the fruits, he decided to keep walking. He had almost dehydrated back there, and he knew he would of died a lonely, painful, long death if it weren't for sheer luck. However, he decided not to dwell upon it. He continued to trudge over the dunes, looking for any sign of civilization. The heat was unbearable, and he could feel his skin blistering under the scorching sun. Scaling another nearby dune, he noticed a small camp, a few miles to the southeast. There was no motion at the camp, and Ladislaus feared that the camp might be abandoned. He continued, walking up the sand dunes, and down the sand dunes, in the repetitive motion that he had been going through for the past few days.When he was about half of a mile away from the camp, he saw someone moving. He looked incredibly thin, and had a dragon hatchling behind him. He really hoped this was his ally, as he had no will to fight the man and his pet. The man walked through the gates, into the camp, and suddenly the camp was robust with movement, an uncountable amount of shadowy figures bursting through the air. The man drew his weapon, and said something to his dragon. Ladislaus knew that this man was no chance to these demonic beings. He rushed down the dunes into the camp. It was time to rumble.....

Valerik took a step into the shadowy city, ignoring the dark figures circuling around him. He saw about fifty feet away was a building, with a shabby sign hanging down from a post. It read, 'A Pub' in very crude letters. Then, the words were repeated in another language, probably orcish. Valerik headed towards it, ready to get a drink.

But a figure slid in his way, and hissed beneath a hood, "I'll be taking all your gold," Valerik smirked. He was a bit deprived for blood, and ready for a drink from his fountain of youth. He reached his hand to his longsword, only to notice at the corner of his eye a man using a swiping motion directly behind him. He was grabbing something, and at the dragon hatchlings first chirp of distress, Valerik knew what it was.

One of the theives had stolen Akor while the vampire wasn't looking. Immeadiatly, in one fluid motion, Valerik drew his longsword and swiped at the mans neck. A stream of blood flew out of his neck, turning his cloak into a ribbon of blood. Instantaneously, Valerik swerved behind him and dashed at unnatural speeds towards the theif.

The vampire was immeadiatly cut off by a ring of bandits, twenty seven of them in total. Valerik slowed, and brought his sword to a defensive stance. The theif was running away, and towards to what seemed like a lone warrior. Perhaps he could help him. "HELP!!!" he roared, and turned back to his present predictiment.

He lunged with unnatural ferocity, and cleaved one of the slower bandits shoulder. He crippled in the ground in a pile of blood. Valerik swerved back only to be greeted by a lunging bandit. The vampire jumped back, skidding backward ten feet away.

With that manuver, he managed to break away from the circle formation. Now, the twenty six bandits were all running in a channel, easy pickings. Valerik channeled his mana, and focused it onto one spot on the ground, where the nearest bandit was now approaching. Blue runes appeared around the spot, and a cloud materialized parrallel to the spot. The bandit was now directly on the runes, and a flash of lightning came hurdling down.

The bandit was paralyzed, quaking on the ground, dying. The next bandit tripped on the first's unaccepted fall. Valerik took a massisve step forward and plunged his sword into the back of the fallen warriors back. He lunged backwards, gaining even more distance from the mercanaries. It was now twenty three to two, possibly only one. Valerik was unsure of the lone warriors allegiance. The lone warrior was now left to face the bandit with Akor as well, now. The odds were slim, but Valerik would fight to the death for his dragon.

Ladislaus had been following the man through the gates, and realized this place was alot bigger than he had expected. In fact, it was huge! Nevertheless, Ladislaus continued on, and noticed that the shadows did not appear to be attacking the man. He sheathed his blade, reasoning that there was no harm present. He continued onwards, until the man entered a run-down building. He observed the weathered sign above the door. "The Pub" it read. "Not a very original name," He mumbled to himself, deciding to continue on instead of waiting at The Pub.

Ladislaus had been wandering around, looking for a shop that might be dealing shields, when suddenly, he heard a large amount commotion behind him. Turning around, he noticed the man he had seen earlier had come bursting out of the bar, along with about two dozen other people. He could tell something important was about to happen, so he drew his blade, and once again found himself begging the gods for a shield. In a flash, he noticed that one of the rogues was holding the dragon he had seen earlier captive. He dashed after the rogues and swung his blade in an arc, eviscervating one of the rogues throats, and stunning one of the rogues by snatching thier weapon and bashing it into thier face. He realized that they needed to turn this fight around quickly, or they might end up stealing the man's companion. He recalled the spell a traveling merchant had taught him to aid him in his journeys, and quickly recited the incantation. Illuminate the path! He bellowed, holding his blade in the air on the final word, releasing an explosion of blinding light, and rendering all of the bandits disoriented. He continued mowing down the bandits, not paying any attention to his own defense. All of a sudden, a blast of pain rang through his right shoulder. One of the rogues had managed to sneak up behind him, and send a piercing blow through his right shoulder. Ladislaus fell onto his knees, but not before sending a crippling blow to the side of the man's head, virtually slicing his head into two halves.......

Valerik had to choose, the fight or Akor. The man holding his dragon was fleeing, but luckily, the lone warrior had joined his side, and had managed to kill a few. Valerik turned his back to the mob and dashed after the man holding his hatchling, who just disappeared behind a dune.

But instead of seeing a fleeing speck on the horizen, Valerik saw Akor devouring the fallen body of his first human causalty. The vampire grinned a toothy smile, very proud of his comrade. Valerik turned around and dashed back towards the fight. Akor was pouncing behind him, a look of rage wiped across his face.

Valerik met one out of the twenty strong bandits, and slashed his longsword. The blade flew out in an arc, creating a large laceration on the mans side. He crumpled to the ground in pain. Valerik turned to see where Akor had gone to. The hatchling had pounced upon on unsuspecting bandit, raking his claws along his front.

The man fell to the ground, his body pushing another bandit to the ground. Valerik took the oppurtunity to plunge his sword in the one mans heart, while the other was devoured by Akor. Suddenly, Valerik was emeresed by immense pain in his stomach.

He was kicked by a bandit while he stepped to stab the fallen warrior. He flew backward, flying on his side, sand and dirt being kicked up around him. He slowed to a stop, still doubled over in pain. Slowly, he lifted his eyes, expecting to see a crowd of theives to kill him. But Akor had used his most powerful weapon.

One bandit had only noticed the vampire's departure, the one who kicked him. But Akor had opened his mouth, making several strange coughing noises. Black poisen spewed out directly into his face. He fell to the ground, dead. Akor jumped back, gliding with his wings open to make his retreat graceful. He ran up to Valerik's body, and chirped.

The vampire got up, and ran to re join the fight. It was now sixteen to three.

* Italics signifies unconsiousness


Ladislaus was trying to get the composure to stand up, but the fact that his already scarred arm had just been completely penetrated was a bit much. Suddenly, Ladislaus felt a burst of power going though him "This is how my family died....... alone and defenceless........ I will NOT DIE LIKE THEM!!" he roared, springing to his feet, and going on a rampage, swinging his scimitar wildly, devestating 3 of the bandits in one slice of his blade, slashing them and letting thier entrails fall out of their bodies. He felt his soul blacken with each slash of blade, and with each mortality. The enemies continued to assualt him, but he refused to let the pain get to him. The man with the dragon was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't care. He had his sword, and for brief moments, the bandits had his blade too. He had just slaughtered 6 of the bandits in mere seconds and the amount of adreneline flowing in his brain was incredible. As the adreneline rush began to fade, it dawned on him that helping the dragon's owner should be his top priority. He dashed in the direction of the man, and reaching the top of the dune saw a gruesome sight. The dragon was feasting on the remains of one of the thiefs, as the owner stood there with a proud look on his face. Deciding he didn't want to be there when the dragon finished its meal,he jogged back down the dune, towards where the bandits had been. The pain was starting to show its face, and it was easy to see that Ladislaus couldn't carry on fighting too much longer. He had many wounds, covering his front and arms. By now, the man had come back into the fray, along with his dragon. They were fighting with great zeal, but Ladislaus failed to notice, as loss of blood was causing his vision to blur. He knew that he couldn't continue on, so he stumbled away from the fight, into the unforgiving desert, trying to find a way to get help, a medic, or even a first aid kit. For a few minutes he stumbled along in the desert, before collapsing on top of a dune. As he lost consiousness, the only thing he felt was the heat.....
Dmitrii................you will pay for what you've done............

The murmillo had joined the fray, killing an amazing six bandits. Ten more remained, and the lone warrior had disappeared. Valerik did not care, and focused back on the fight. But something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. It was red, crimson. Blood. I want blood!, thought the vampire. Feasting, feeding, hunting, that was all he could think about.

He swung his sword in an underhand arc, completely severing one of the bandits leg from knee down. He collapsed in a cry, falling to the ground. Valerik merely stepped forward onto his body, and continued to fight, parrying a blow and countering with a successful slash to the neck.

Just barely at the corner of his eye, Valerik noticed a bandit raising a hatchet above the vampires head. He ducked, rotating his body and swinging his sword simultaneously, slashing his shins. Valerik stood, letting the man fall. He swung around all directions, looking for more prey, but sadly only saw Akor finishing off the last bandits.

The dragon was bleeding in several places, but unharmed. Valerik had been slashed several times, but had suffered no serious injuries. Suddenly, the vampire saw a line of blood leading up a dune. 'An escaped bandit? Alive?' he thought hopefully. He began to ran, but to overwhelmed with fatigue, began to walk.

It was a man, unconcious. Valerik bent down, to bite his neck.....

Ladislaus found himself in a familiar place. His hometown of Belfort. Everyone was there, walking, talking, trading, and just overall having a good time. Ladislaus walked down an old road, towards where he had beenn born, where he had been raised. His home. The one place he had only ever lived, been a part of. As he opened the door, he noticed immedeatly that something was wrong. The windows were smashed, the furniture toppled, and the doors splintered. Ladislaus reached to draw his weapon, but realized it was gone from it's sheath. He walked through his home attempting to be completly aware of his surroundings. All of a sudden, he noticed the walls had disappeared, along with every other aspect of his home, and were replaced by an arena. He noticed his sword was back, but as he looked around, he saw a familiar face. Dmitrii. He was back. Why had he come back? No matter, Ladislaus realized that he had to kill him quickly, or else he may never have the chance to do so again. He drew his sword, and lunged towards Dmitrii, attempting to decapitate him. The moment his blade passed through Dmitrii's neck, the sky turned blood-red, and Ladislaus noticed he had disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Turning around, he saw Dmitrii smiling, and holding the same axe that was, no doubt, used to slay his parents and everyone else he cared for. Dmitrii however, fell onto his knees and slowly lowered his mouth to his neck. Ladislaus found himself paralysed. Attempting to move, scream, or pretty much anything, he managed to spin and kick the phantasm Dmitrii away, who disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Immedeatly, the sky started to turn to blue, and his surroundings into a desert

Ladislaus awoke, once again in the desert, only this time with the dragon's owner sitting on the floor, across from him, with a stunned look on his face.........

Valerik had been leaning down for the kill, only to be swept away by the murmillo, kicking up dust behind him. Akor's face was filled with shock, as if his all invincible master had been defeated. Valerik stood, wiping the dust off himself, still shocked of what happened.

'I have to make myself decent to apologize!' he thought, still partially in a blood frenzy. He saw his oppurtunity, a bandit with a severed leg hobbling towards the city. Valerik dashed, tackling the man to the ground, piercing his neck, drawing blood. The man squirmed and squemed, and finally let out a final groan, falling to the ground dead.

The vampire did not plauge people with his curse. Every time he feed, he drew most the victems blood, causing them to die. Only people who truely desired the curse would be afflicted by Valerik. And no one to date wished vampirism upon themselves.

Valerik had grown to appreciate his curse, and actually began to see it as a blessing. He was stronger with it, filling his ultimate goal, power. All he wished was power, money, strentgth. With his newfound alliance with Vencrest and Saeborn, he was closer to his goal than he would ever be.

And this murmillo was an eligable canidate for a partnership with the DragonForce. Of course, he could not really be one of the trilogy, but he was capable of being in a parrallel alliance with them. Valerik swiftly walked back up the dune, wiping his mouth off, clearing the blood surrounding his face.

He saw the fallen murmillo, and offered his hand to help him up. "Thank you for saving Akor, my hatchling," he told him, "I'm Valerik, a vampire, if that doesn't bother you. And so sorry for attempting to bite you, I went a little on the crazy side," he chuckled.

Ladislaus had just bashed the vampire away, and was still trying to catch his breath. "That dream............it seemed real..........almost as if.......he was here" Ladislaus thought, trying to decipher the meaning of his dream. He lifted his head, looking at his former ally. The vampire pulled himself to his feet, and turned around, standing perfectly still for a moment. He started to move down the dune, soon leaving Ladislaus' field of vision.

"Dmitrii......... what does this mean?................" Ladislaus wondered, attempting to piece the puzzle of his memories together. "What could this possibly mean.........". His vision started to blur again, but this time not from loss of blood. His vision turned black and white, and he heard a voice, calling from what sounded like all directions. "Destiny awaits.............do not..........for it will be by............his demise..............your choice........time........" The voice said, cutting off in several places. Ladislaus observed his surroundings, trying to find the voice's location. "Beware.............it lingers...............silence........" Ladislaus was now was desperatly trying to locate the voice. "Hurry........... time is.........death....." The voice faded off at the last word, leaving Ladislaus to wonder what had happened, as his vision returned to normal.

As Ladislaus tried to gather his composure, he heard some footsteps on the other side of the dune. "The vampire....... was he the one speaking......?" The vampire made his way to the top of the dune, then started to descend into the ravine. Ladislaus noticed that the man had his arm in front of his mouth. He wiped his mouth and started to speak to Ladislaus. "Thank you for saving Akor, my hatchling, I'm Valerik, a vampire, if that doesn't bother you. And so sorry for attempting to bite you, I went a little on the crazy side," he said with a laugh, as he pulled Ladislaus to his feet. "I owe you my life, friend. If you ever need any assistance, don't hesitate. By my word as a murmillo, I will aid you." Ladislaus swore, trying to be friendly. "By the way, did you hear a voice as you were walking up the dune? I thought I heard something," Ladislaus asked, trying to make sense of what had happened. "I guess it was nothing............." Ladislaus said, with a trace of doubt in his voice...............................

(Out of Character: try not to power play, :lol:)

Valerik was puzzled by the murmillo's words, not sure of what he was talking about. Voices, apparently, as if someone other than Valerik had been talking. Valerik shook his head, not sure of what the man was talking about. But he was a friend.

"Murmillo, tell me your name. I do not care for most people, but someone who saved Akor, and helped me defeat these foes without knowing prior to it, is a friend of mine. So, friend, give me a name to call Akor's savior by, for I feel we will meet again," he told him, eager to hear such a strange figure's name. The murmillo's name would give clue on his origin.

Valerik wanted to know this character more, and decided to share some information. "I am very old, as you may know. Being a vampire, I am immortal, and have been around for quite some time now. But only about a century ago did I truly embrace my curse. You see, my life has been a tragic one, and I haven't had the best of luck until recently. That is, I found my dragon, Akor," he said, gesturing to the dragon.

"I am an aspiring dragon rider. I wish to rule the skies, bending lighting upon the back of Akor, with my other allies, Vencrest Kianthis and Saeborn. Lightning magic is my calling, for it is a very powerful tool in the sky. My goal: power and wealth, magic and strength. I even am hunting a weapon, called the Blood Glaive. It is a perfect weapon for my kind, that is, a vampire." he said, adding a light chuckle.

He stopped and paused, thinking momentarily. This murmillo was a very skilled fighter. No doubt he had previous training, for he sliced through the bandits with great skill and impressive talent. He was noble, helping a vampire. Arda had been cruel to Valerik, not many of its inhabitants took kindly to the undead. But this fellow had helped the vampire, given him a chance.

Normally, the vampire was very untrusting, even to a savior. He would show appreciation, buy the person a drink or dinner, even do a favor. But Valerik had a feeling about this fellow, a good feeling. He was powerful, even friendly. This murmillo had great potential to become a good friend of Valerik, even an ally of the DragonForce.

Valerik had just introduced himself to Ladislaus. ""Murmillo, tell me your name. I do not care for most people, but someone who saved Akor, and helped me defeat these foes without knowing prior to it, is a friend of mine. So, friend, give me a name to call Akor's savior by, for I feel we will meet again" he said, with a look of eagerness on his face. "Ladislaus" the murmillo answered. "I am very old, as you may know. Being a vampire, I am immortal, and have been around for quite some time now. But only about a century ago did I truly embrace my curse. You see, my life has been a tragic one, and I haven't had the best of luck until recently. That is, I found my dragon, Akor," the vampire continued on, paying little heed to what Ladislaus had said.

"I am an aspiring dragon rider. I wish to rule the skies, bending lighting upon the back of Akor, with my other allies, Vencrest Kianthis and Saeborn. Lightning magic is my calling, for it is a very powerful tool in the sky. My goal: power and wealth, magic and strength. I even am hunting a weapon, called the Blood Glaive. It is a perfect weapon for my kind, that is, a vampire.". the vampire explained. "Wait....... Saeborn? I know him. The elf. He has the dragon Kira. Correct?" Ladislaus questioned. Valerik appeared to nod his head.

Ladislaus thought for a moment. He didn't know any other vampires, and did not know if he could completely trust him. He had, however, proven his worth as an ally by fighting along side of him instead of just running after his dragon and abandoning him. He truly was grateful that he had saved him. "Thank you, Valerik. Perhaps you are right. I believe we will meet again also."

"Laudislaus" he replied, giving Valerik his name. "Wait....... Saeborn? I know him. The elf. He has the dragon Kira. Correct?" Ladislaus questioned "Thank you, Valerik. Perhaps you are right. I believe we will meet again also." Valerik was stunned that Saeborn had come in contact with this individual as well.

Valerik nodded, a slight smile, possibly a smirk, spread across his face. Sweat set on his brow, the desert heat still pressing hard on his back, the sun high in the sky. The sand glowed a orange color, the soles of Valerik's boots hot with the intense heat absorbed by the sand.

"Amazing how you met my ally, Saeborn. He is one of my true friends, and my only true friend in centuries. Ever since...... she died," he said, choosing not to elaborate further. Jeska, why? Why did he kill her?

Valerik had fallen in love, with a neighborhood barmaid. She was nice, smart, and even took a small liking in magic. Then, Valerik was bitten by his father's indirect doing, and hid for some time. His lover took him back, as long as he agreed not to feed on the living. But this was a fatal flaw, for one night, in a now common blood frenzy, he bit her, killing her. After centuries of misery and agony, he finally erupted from hiding and joined the dragonforce.

Valerik began again, "Well, fare you well, Laudislaus. I hope we meet again," he said, and with out waiting for a response, he turned away and left.

"Amazing how you met my ally, Saeborn. He is one of my true friends, and my only true friend in centuries. Ever since...... she died," Valerik said, with a sign of mourning in his voice on the last sentence. Ladislaus wondered what the vampire had meant "Since she died.....? Who?" Ladislaus thought. Ladislaus turned his attention back to Valerik, who was looking into the distance, with a look of despair in his eyes. Valerik looked back at Ladislaus. "Well, fare you well, Ladislaus. I hope we meet again," He said, turning around, and walking away towards the horizon, his dragon following behind.

Ladislaus stood there for a moment, wondering what to do next. He had wanted to ask his new ally if they should meet up somewhere, but it was too late now. "Valerik.... I have to remember that name......" Ladislaus said to himself. He continued through the desert for several hours, before deciding to make camp. He had a few gourds of water he had salvaged from the stronghold, as well as some food. As he dug a small pit in the ground to sleep in, he excavated a large rectangular box. Curious, he inspected it. It had no lock, yet it did have some runic inscriptions on the top. It was wooden, with a leather cover. He opened it, and to his surprise, inside was a shortbow, as well as some other equipment.

He examined the contents of the chest. "One shortbow....... A quiver of arrows........... a jar of....... poison?" he thought, intrigued by the small porcelain jar. It had a small skull on the lid, as well as the runic word for "Death" on the side. "Hmmmm........ this will be useful......". He slung the bow over his back under shield, and put his quiver on his belt, and rested.....................