[Transylvania] Castlevania

[Bloodedge]

"There you have it, Baron," Sorin chimed in at the end of Kasmina's speech, and the beginning of Costel's departure. "As a favor to yourself, I may suggest steering clear of taverns and card tables. There will be no help for you here," he concluded. It was a downright pity to see the father of his wife in such a state, but he frankly felt nothing of it. The Baron had brought this upon himself and his house, and the latter deserved neither the misfortune nor the man who sowed the proverbial seeds.

Once the Baron was out of his sights, Sorin shut his eyes. A prayer in his thoughts went out to those who had to deal with Costel Dacian. "I pity those who see misery at the hands of the Baron, and rejoice for those who find some form of mental salvation from his transgressions. I will personally see to it that the child and his mother lead a life of happiness by whatever means I am fit to provide. May my prayers reach their hearts and minds, that they may not be driven mad by Baron Dacian in the meantime."

Continue the story here.

[Apollymi]

The night after her initial transformation, and after dealing with her father's rather pitiful plea to be saved from his gambling troubles, Kasmina sat by a fire in a rather extravagant looking sitting room. A deck of cards in her hand which she shuffled with untold grace, as her fingers moved over the cards she found herself smiling at the thought. She'd once hated playing this game, she hated having to save her father from his mistakes for the sake of her own continued happiness. But here she was, rather happily shuffling this deck of cards. "I must thank you for acquiring these for me, do you know how to play?" she asked. There was something rather devilish in her appearance. As if she was tempting someone with the offer of a game. Whatever the case the young Countess could hardly be called unhappy even in such a regular moment as this. Her wedding had been beautiful. The night after engaging, then annoying. The morning after filled with her father's annoyance but all the time since nothing but happiness filled her. She could get used to this level of comfort and lack of worry in all things.

[Bloodedge]

In a chair on the opposite side of the fireplace to that of Kasmina, Sorin sat with his legs crossed and his hands clasped together in his lap. Since he faced the woman, he let his gaze remained fixed on her while she shuffled the recently-acquired deck of cards. It was an interesting thing to watch, but Sorin was soon asked if he knew how to play. "Think nothing of it. If it is something you truly enjoy, it is my pleasure to see to your ability to continue the hobby. I myself have never played or learned to play, but I am certain you would be an apt teacher."

At about this same time, a human soul approached Castlevania. Gregor MacLaird, the Vampire Hunter from Scotland who'd previously been a suitor of the Countess Kasmina, approached the castle on the back of his trusted warhorse. He did not stop upon reaching the gates. No, instead he continued forward, brandishing his holy broadsword to shatter the wooden gate in his way. This allowed him to continue riding through the castle. "Phantomhive! Face me, ye bloody vampire!"

[Apollymi]

The cards in Kasmina's hands kept moving for several seconds, each time they mixed together she changed their formation and did so again. "It is truly something I enjoy, and I take no issue teaching you this game. I dare say it will be more enjoyable this way," she said with a grin coming to her face which revealed the fangs in her mouth. "The man who taught me to play, says this game is 90 parts skill and 10 parts luck," she said as she prepared to deal a hand to both of them, but before the first card left her hand to land in front of the man before her, she heard yelling from the castle grounds. Her eyes widened as she recognized the voice and accompanying accent. "Christ in Heaven, why? Just... why?" she asked of God and the universe at large. She'd been married no more than three days and she'd already met the Convocation of Vampires and now was dealing with a known Vampire Hunter interrupting what would have been a fun and normal card game between her and her husband. "That sounds like the Scotsman, he seems upset," she managed her face becoming rather stoic in this moment as if she was already playing the game for which she'd paused dealing cards. "A small intermission in this lesson, then?"

[Bloodedge]

Sorin was reaching out with the intention of claiming the cards that would make his hand. An interruption was fated to occur, though, and by the hands of none other than his former "competition" for Kasmina's hand in marriage. Apparently, knowledge of Sorin's vampirism had somehow reached the Scotsman's ear. How, he did not know... but he would have to find out. With that in mind, Sorin stood and sighed. "I suppose an intermission will be necessary, yes. It seems you have no fear for this encounter. Let us embark on another lesson of sorts, for now. First... Mistwalking. Envision your goal, and move as normal. With only a small amount of focus from a vampire of our caliber, our innate magical abilities can easily carry us great distances. Let us meet in the hall," he said while taking a single step forward, which transported him to the entry hall.

Gregor extricated himself from his horse just in time to see the lord of this castle standing before him with glowing eyes - eyes only a vampire could possess. "I knew it. Ye took the Baron's daughter for yer sick vampire needs! Ye shouldnae have done that; now I'm gonna slay ye!" Upon hearing this proclamation, Sorin raised a brow. This man had certainly been misinformed as to the nature of his marriage, but he seemed the type to try slaying any vampire he could. "You're going to slay me? And on whose authority have you entered a Count's domain with such accusations?"

[Apollymi]

A smile came to Kasmina's face as her husband agreed an intermission should be necessary. But beyond this point it seemed that the Scotsman's interruption would be nothing more than an opportunity for Kasmina to explore her vampire powers. "To be honest, there was never much I feared in the first place. If there is something I should fear though, be sure to let me know of it," she explained. Only to have him instead explain the idea of Mistwalking to her. Such seemed to only require her to think of her destination and take the step forward before she'd find herself there. She nodded her agreement to meet him in the entry hall. "I will meet you there..." she said as he left. She took a moment to envision the entry of their home and used her new magical abilities to move herself there. Upon taking a step forward she would find herself in the hall a few steps behind Sorin though she casually stepped forward to be at his side thereafter. Given her enhanced senses, she'd even managed to hear the accusation flying from Gregor's mouth. "Sick vampire needs?" she questioned this particular phrasing with a raised brow her hands clasped together before her. She could only wonder what information he'd received to get him here.

[Bloodedge]

"On the authority of man! Your kind ain't deserving of a thing called respect. I came to kill ye, not have a chat!" The Scotsman was outright repulsive at this point. Sorin had recently only seen such blatant disrespect by one person, and that was the father of his wife on the previous day. "How rude. Even lesser vampires refrain from entering a home without prior invitation. What does that make you equivalent to, I wonder?"

Gregor's sword was already drawn. He cared not for further talking to this creature of the night, but the sudden appearance of Kasmina alerted him to a more important matter. "Took her as one of yer camp, did ye? Despicable. It's a cryin' shame I'll have to kill the hen as a result of killin' you, but I do what I must." With that said, Gregor began the charge toward Sorin, while the latter looked on in confusion. "... Hen?" he questioned. A lunge of the hunter's sword met thin air, as opposed to its target of Sorin's heart. The vampire had shifted to his rear before one could even blink. 'Alina!' he exclaimed in his mind, expecting the demon maid to hear his call and bring forth his sheathed long sword. Her doing so would result in Sorin holding out his right hand, and telekinetically pulling the sword from its sheath into his open hand, which would then close around its handle.

Gregor realized his assault on the vampire had been for naught, but before his mind could even finish processing the fact that Sorin no longer stood before him, his rising blade was met and halted by Sorin's from behind. Only then did Gregor realize where the vampire had gone. "Your earlier rudeness aside, I would ask that you please not refer to my wife as poultry." Suddenly, Sorin withdrew his blade and channeled his energies through it. The weapon gained an ethereal glow as he slapped Gregor's arm with its flat end, launching him aside for the time being. The redhead hit the ground with a mighty thud. He knew already how he had underestimated the power of this vampire. He could not win this through combat alone. "Stronger than a wee Ghoul, eh? Then I leave ye in the Lord's hands," said Gregor, who went on to retrieve a bible from within his tunic.

[Apollymi]

Alina whose name had not been spoken aloud appeared behind her master with his sword in her hands. "Many pardons Master, I went to fetch it as soon as this one made his presence known," she managed before she disappeared from his side and took instead the position at Kasmina's side. Kasmina found Gregor's mention of what would happen to her as a result of Sorin's supposed death to be eye widening. "That sounds like a horrible thing to do to someone else. He believes if he kills you it will result in my death as well?" she questioned. Though her eyes were intently watching the movements of her husband as compared to those of his supposed vampire hunter. In this moment Kasmina now completely understood why Sorin hadn't been the slightest bit worried by the information she'd come to give him the night after meeting this man. 'Obviously he had nothing to be afraid of in the first place,' a small smile crossed her face as she watched and saw that after being outmatched physically, it seemed that he wished to turn to the words of god to help him defeat the man. Kasmina continued to watch but Alina opened her hands and offered her the sheathe of Sorin's weapon. "Forgive me Mistress, but such words give me a headache. If you'll excuse me," she offered which made Kasmina nod. "Of course, Alina. Thank you," she said as accepted the sheath of Sorin's weapon to go on to watch what would come next as Alina disappeared instantly.

[Bloodedge]

"A truly sired vampire is tied to its master. Kill the master, and those who serve them die as well. Such is the case for vampires of a... lesser quality," Sorin said to give clarity to his wife. In the meantime, Gregor sheathed his sword and held out a cross half the size of his large torso. It was aimed in Sorin's direction, and the Vampire Hunter used it as a catalyst for the bible's holy power as he chanted his prayer.

"Christ lives. Christ reigns. Christ will protect you from all evil. Demons, cursed and excommunicated for dishonoring God by your wretched deeds and names!" As Gregor's prayer took place, Sorin smiled and stepped forward. He tossed his own sword to the ground, knowing he never really needed it from the start. "A paladin's prayer? Something like that holds power that may be even beyond your faith, Scotsman," he said during his approach. "Mesias, Emmanuel, Sohter, Sabahot," In the midst of Gregor's prayer, just as the light of God emanated from the cross, Sorin did something which made the Vampire Hunter's eyes widen to their limits.

He joined the prayer.

"Agios, Inchiros, Athanatos, Jehova, Adonai." The words were spoken simultaneously by the two, with Sorin's voice beginning to pass his lips before Gregor's. The vampire knew this prayer, and both his knowledge and understanding exceeded that of the hunter. Gregor fell silent not because of this, but because Sorin's hand fell upon the cross, filling it with his own faith in God. Even with the hunter silenced, Sorin continued.

"Wherever these names and those loyal to God will be, we will be able to siege the initiative from you! And we will bind you so you may never have power through calamity. Nor will you, using some form of witchcraft or spell, ever bring harm to Him. You won't hurt His spirit nor His body. Amen!" The moment he spoke the word "amen," Sorin's faith exploded through the cross, sending a wave of holy light throughout the entry hall and a great deal of the rest of Castlevania. Gregor was in disbelief. For a vampire to have faith at all was unbelievable, but this one easily made use of a prayer that even his faith barely allowed him to utilize. This was impossible.

"Understand, Vampire Hunter of Scotland, that your faith has no power over us. My faith in our Lord is unwavering. Perhaps Transylvania was not the place you should have moved to. Other vampires local to this area would kill you where you stand after showing such weak faith."

[Apollymi]

"Ah, that clarifies things then," Kasmina said. It was obvious by this line of thought that, Gregor had yet to face a vampire of the caliber of those who were members of the Convocation. He was rather ill-prepared to deal with one as distinctive as Sorin, what with his ability to resist religious things mostly through the retention of his own faith. Such a showing of this faith came very soon, as Gregor started a prayer which he apparently barely had the faith to use.

Kasmina had never heard this prayer before, but was completely unaffected by it. If anything she felt the warm enveloping light of God as she always had with no harm to her physical person and no actions taken other than crossing herself and a single utterance at the prayers completion. "Amen," at its completion. Such was her way whenever she heard a prayer, but she also took the time of this prayer to notice that Sorin had his hand on the cross which was held by the man who'd come to kill him. "So, for the sake of clarity, he came here to kill you... but has less faith in God than you do," she summarized the event which had taken them from a leisurely activity. "It's no wonder you found me coming here to speak with you to be wholly unnecessary," the Countess said seeming to find this whole thing to be ridiculous. "Why did you come here, Baron MacLaird?" the young woman asked, genuinely curious about the reasoning that would drive a man to walk into what could have been a death trap for him regardless of the vampire he would have found here today.

[Bloodedge]

Gregor was virtually speechless. A vampire, the thing he'd sworn to remove from the face of this planet, had made use of the one thing he'd always thought them fatally weak against. He found himself wondering if the god he believed in even existed anymore, if that existence was ever real to begin with. Sorin could sense the wavering of his faith, and thought to clarify a few things for the man. "That is why your power is lacking. If you choose to fight using faith, how do you think God will react if something like this is enough to make you question Him? Our God is not so fickle as to forbid someone like me from believing in Him. Keep that message with you, hunter."

Sorin removed his hand from Gregor's cross, and walked away from the man. In the meantime, Kasmina questioned his arrival here, prompting Gregor to look her way with judgement in his eye. "I... I don't understand. Sorry, wee hen. I came here to save you from a monster so you could go back to your old da. We thought ye were entranced by this creature, but... you're a creature too. Either way, if it'll take a stronger faith than mine to kill you lot, then a stronger faith I'll get!" Upon saying this, Gregor made a quick reach for the reins of his mare, which he intended to use for a hasty escape of this castle. He would be sure to return one day, but he knew now that he could not do anything about this sort of vampire presence alone. He needed help, and more importantly... he needed understanding.

[Apollymi]

It became obvious in the passing moments that Gregor was questioning his faith. It was apparently incomprehensible to him that one such as Sorin could use faith, stronger faith even. Sorin had nothing but a lesson in store for the man about the nature of faith which was surprisingly a nice thing to do, considering the man basically stormed his castle in the hopes of killing him just a few moments prior to this one. Beyond this lesson though Gregor was soon looking at Kasmina and she met his gaze unwaveringly despite the judgement found there, in so doing as he answered her question, she looked into his mind and saw the conversation in the tavern with her father which had led up to this particular ride against Castlevania. The young woman stood, wanting to be shocked by the information but more or less annoyed. She held herself startlingly still as she took a deep breath and watched as the Scotsman rode off, apparently going to find his faith. When she spoke again it was after Gregor left. "The Baron MacLaird was apparently swayed by a story fed to him by my father about what a fiend you are. His words about you, led that man to believe you'd bewitched me, so he thought to free me from your control and send me back to my father," she said very calmly, though she'd still not moved or opened her eyes. But her thumb was spinning her ring around her finger as she fought not to move. She did this mostly so she wouldn't immediately move to her father's house and rampage while there. She prayed for the strength to forgive and to maintain her calm, but she was utterly furious, and beneath that very disappointed in her father.

[Bloodedge]

On his path toward Kasmina, Sorin willed his sword to rise from the floor and enter its sheath. Once that was done, he held out his left hand to request its return by Kasmina. "Holy and Unholy powers are ours to command as we wish. God forgives, so long as you remain loyal to Him. Trust in me, as well; I will never lead you astray. Keepe Faith Till Death," he said, reaching out with his right hand to touch the left hand of the female vampire.

Of course, Sorin was also privy to the fact that Gregor had been sent by Costel Dacian. He had at least made the assumption the moment he discovered who it was invading his castle. Kasmina didn't seem to be taking this knowledge well, and he didn't blame her for it. "Worry not, my dear. All will be made well. Tell me, though... do you believe this was also done for the sake of your brother?"

[Apollymi]

With Sorin's approach, Kasmina's eyes opened, if not for his physical presence, then because of the weight of the sword now in her hands, not that it felt like much to her. With his left hand open to accept his weapon she placed it there, the turning of the ring on her right hand coming to an end as she made peace with the nature of her father, while listening to Sorin's words about the nature of their pairing as beings. "Of course, my faith in God does not tarry and I trust you completely," she said this much should of course be obvious by how she chose to act around him. Though she was still ill at ease about her father, Sorin reaching out to touch her own seemed to make her feel a great deal better than she'd managed to feel previously. She took one final deep breath and exhaled seeming to release tension from her person as she did, before looking up and into Sorin's eyes to answer his question. "I do not worry that all will be set right. But on the matter of my father and what he may or may not have done for the sake of my brother..." there was a pause but there was nothing but honesty to come from her in these moments alone with her husband. "I am remiss to say it is doubtful, that this was purely a selfless act. I can not be sure of my father's intentions, he is quite obvious in the child he favors. But my brother is already taken care of, he knows this as fact. This just seems spiteful because he felt slighted that I would not simply bail him out of his agreement with Hendryck," she mentioned of their previous meeting with her father. "Not that I ever truly did that in the first place. He probably sought to benefit in someway," she said, never one to underestimate the avarice of a man like the one who raised her. She wouldn't be surprised to find out the thought he could get something out of the potential death of her husband for himself.

[Bloodedge]

"... I see." Sorin understood all he needed to. In all his years, he'd never met one so taken by the cardinal sin of greed as Baron Costel Dacian. For him to be called a Baron, a father, a man of the church... it was all absolutely ridiculous. Sorin was no man of hatred, but he felt a strong distaste for his bride's father. If he wasn't stopped, how far would he go? If anything, Sorin felt as if he'd rescued his wife from an existence filled with this man's influence, but the Baron continued even now. She did not deserve this mental strain. "If that is the case, may the Lord give me the strength to restrain myself once more. This all ends tonight." As Sorin spoke, a conjured wind blew through his hair and clothes. A stronger form of traveling than Mistwalking was upon him, and he used it to teleport himself away, to the Baron's home. He would have words with the man, and the outcome remained unknown even to him.