Blood Hunter

From the bowels of darkness a woman screams, a scream that echoes through the valley and reverberates off the mountains. As the echo fades, a strange voice that sounds like rocks grinding together is heard saying “It will…rain blood!” Followed by a laugh so evil that anyone who heard it pulled their cloaks a little tighter, grabbed their children, and locked their doors.

The gate swings open on its rusty hinges, opening a path into an overgrown grassy area that looks as if it has seen recent activity. Walking into the grass a man kneels down and inspects the tracks. “Just a few days, I may not be too late.” He is dressed in leather armor, a backpack on his back, a cape draped across his shoulders, a dagger sticking out of his belt, a couple smaller packs on his hip, and a longsword in his hand. The sword has runes all down the blade, and a large sapphire in the hilt. The sword, radiating its own light, acts as a torch for the warrior. He stands and surveys the area, in front of him is a path that leads through the cemetery directly to a large black marble building. Bent and twisted trees are scattered randomly throughout the courtyard, the only sound that can be heard is the rustling of wings as a barn owl stretches in the distance. He stands there a few moments, gathering his courage before starting the last leg of his journey into the cemetery. His armor creaks, his weapons clang on his legs, the barn owl screeches at him as if trying to warn him. He takes a few steps, as he does the light seems to leave the cemetery and darkness creeps in, only the light from his blade is seen. The wind picks up and the noise of the forest dies. No birds are heard, no crickets, nothing except for the wind. As the shadows start to overtake him, a howl erupts from the darkness. Soft, padded footfalls can be heard all around him. The light from his blade flickers out, he sees nothing, looking up he shouts “Bring out your minions Samuel! The more evil I destroy in this world, the better off we ALL shall be!”

As he finishes speaking a large wolf leaps out of the trees and knocks him to the ground, his sword flying out of his grasp. He tries to spin out from under the wolf, but it swats him back under. He reaches up and grabs the wolf by the ears trying to turn its head away from his face. The wolf stops snapping and stares straight down at him, looking him square in the eyes. Its eyes squint and it seems to smile, in a deep and grating almost growling voice the wolf speaks. “You truly think you can defeat the Winged Death?” Struggling under the weight of the wolf, and working on getting his legs into a new position he tries to keep it talking. “The Winged Death? So that’s what he calls himself now?” He thrusts up with his legs and kicks the wolf off him, he spins to his feet in a crouching position and looks around for his sword. The wolf charges back in and stops short, they square off against each other. Both circling, looking for an opening.

The wolf stops circling and crouches down on his front legs, “He has many names, but is currently favoring that one.” The wolf springs, the man dives forward grabbing his sword in a roll that ends with him crouched. The wolf lands behind him, it instantly turns and pounces again. Not realizing that the man picked up his sword, the wolf gets impaled on the blade. The sword flares with a renewed light as the wolf gives it final howl. He shoves the corpse to the ground and wipes the blood off the blade as he watches the wolf revert back to human form. “Be at peace brother, your darkness shall not see another day.” He moves forward through the darkness, working his way through the cemetery. As he gets closer to the marble building howls erupt all around him. He starts running for the doorway, a huge wolf steps out of the woods directly in front of him. Two smaller wolves come in behind him, he is surrounded.

He holds his sword out in front of him and shouts, “All creatures of the night shall perish this evening!” He raises his sword in a warriors salute as the wolves dive in. He steps back and to the right while spinning left, and chops down with his sword. Severing the head of the closest wolf. The second wolf lunges for his throat, he jumps back and spins, punching the wolf in the skull with the hilt of his sword. It staggers to the side and he jumps up and over its back, doing a flip and stabbing down through the backbone of the wolf while in the air. The sword, flaring up with its inner light, sticks in the wolf and he lets go as he lands. He faces the last wolf, the largest of them all, unarmed. He spins and drops into a low crouch reaching into his belt and pulling out a gold disk, throwing it at the wolf in one fluid motion. The wolf stands up on its hind legs and lets the disk strike it. The disk sticks into the chest of the wolf, who looks down at the disk and laughs. “You truly believe this little disk can harm me?” He says as he pulls the disk out of his chest, staggering a little, “I am Horetak! Leader of the Wolves of Darkness! Father of the Pack!” He tosses the disk to the ground and falls over dead, face first to the dirt. Reaching down and picking up the disk the man looks as the corpse begins its transformation, “Leader of nothing. This disk was blessed by the Father Monk of Chauncey Abbey.” After grabbing his sword, he walks up the steps to the building, ignoring the final transformation.

He stands at the top of the steps and looks around. In front of him is a large wooden door with a golden handle. The door itself is plain, but the handle has a red almost glowing inscription. “May the light guard all that enter, and the darkness fade away” He reads the inscription out loud, and once he is done he hears grating laughter. The laughter seems to be coming from all around him, when the laughter dies a voice speaks “Trystan Klisdale, do enter my domain! Come and see me, the Master, the Father, Destroyer of the Light, The Winged Death!” The wooden door swings open and Trystan enters, sword drawn and at the ready. Once he steps past the entrance way, the door slams shut and latches. Try as he might, Trystan cannot get the door to open. He turns from the door and looks around.

He is standing in a large room, there is a door to his right and one to his left. Directly in front of him is a stairway that leads to a balcony. Beyond the balcony is darkness, the doors are all closed. “Lord Maundrell, I have traveled the breadth of this world. Across the Great Sea, over the Peaks of Eternia, and through the Dessert of Endless Sands to see your reign of terror ended. Your time has come, now face your destiny!” Trystan shouts to the darkness. Appearing at the top of the balcony is a man, he seems to appear from thin air. He is wearing a long trench coat with runes all over it, his skin is bone white, and his eyes glow faintly. He is laughing, “My destiny? Do you truly believe you are the only Hunter I have faced? I have lived three hundred years! I have slain countless of you so-called Vampire Hunters! I have made armies of walking dead through the follies of these….hunters.” He scoffs as he says the word hunters, “You are no different than all the others. My destiny, as you put it, is to bring darkness to the world. Lay down your infernal weapons, and join me. I will save you from a horrible death, I will allow you to command my armies. I will give you eternal life! This offer I make only once, choose wisely.”

Trystan looks up at the vampire before him, his blade ringing with light. “Your army is no more. I have ended the regime of Maundrell. My blade, Lightbringer, has severed the arms and legs of darkness. All that is left is the head!” He points his blade at Lord Maundrell. Lord Maundrell’s eyes light up with an inner fire, “I, the Winged Death, will rain blood upon your feeble corpse! My darkness will cascade over your light as if the sun has slipped from the sky!” He leaps off the balcony and grabs Trystan by the throat, it happens so fast Trystan is taken by surprise. Lifting Trystan off the ground, Maundrell throws him, one handed, across the room. As Trystan is flying across the room he draws his Disk and throws it before slamming into the wall. The disk flies with perfect accuracy, heading straight for the neck of Lord Maundrell. Just as the disk is about to strike his neck, Maundrell waves it aside as if it were a feather. “Your weapons are no match for my power mortal!” He is across the room and has Trystan by the throat again before Trystan can even register it. Maundrell throws Trystan the other direction, who lands with a roll and comes up to his feet.

Trystan looks at the vampire with disdain, “You cannot defeat me Samuel, I am the choo..” Cutting him off, Maundrell screams “I AM THE WINGED DEATH!” He springs forward at Trystan who dives to the side and picks up his sword he dropped while flying through the air. Lord Maundrell charges in as Trystan turns to face him. Trystan brings his blade up just in time, and the sword goes through Maundrell, completely impaling him on the blade. Maundrell stumbles backwards, a look of disbelief on his face. The sword shines with a light so bright, Trystan has to shield his eyes. Samuel Maundrell, the Vampire Lord of Darkness, looks at Trystan Klisdale with shock and awe. “This…it cannot be! I…I..cannot be slain…by a…mere mortal!” His words are a struggle to get out. Trystan stands tall and looks at the pitiful vampire, “You were not, actually. My mother was seduced by Mirimac, and I…am the offspring.” He bows low. Samuel is now on his knees, his breath labored, “Mirimac! Mirimac! The…God of Darkness! The Creator!” Trystan shrugs, “Yes, my father.”

Samuel’s eyes squint as he stares at Trystan, he stands and starts laughing. His breathing is strong, his laughter echoing throughout the chamber. He pulls the blade from his body and tosses it to the floor. “Your weapons have no effect on me. I am Darkness, I am Destruction, I am Chaos. I AM the Winged Death!” As he is saying this, Trystan spins and draws a wooden stake from his belt. He springs at Samuel and drives it towards his heart. “A wooden stake?” He laughs some more as he yanks the stake from Trystan’s hands. Spinning it around he stabs it through Trystan’s heart. He grabs Trystan by the face and stares into his eyes, “You should of taken my offer, now the World will bathe in my Darkness!” He throws Trystan to the floor, Trystan lets out his last breath as the light fades from his eyes. More laughter is heard, the grating laughter that echoes through the chamber, out into the cemetery, and down throughout the valley. Outside the sun is rising as the world prepares for another day, when the laughter dies…a large dark shadow passes over the sun.