vampyre

the end of the beginning

The Burning

 

            As the towns people slowly bustle their way around the man made structures performing their daily task at hand like ants on a small dune , from the steep overshadowed hillside in the far silenced distance. A band of dark cloaked leather clad rider sit nestled peacefully on the top hidden amongst the tall lush but fully blossomed leaves of the  blushed dark green  trees, who is closely followed by a leather clad rider shrouded in his darkened flowing cloak approaches on his darkened steed as the flanking soldiers approach silently drawing a large iron clad cage  with the imprisoned constructed wagon as he is flanked by twelve leather clad and heavily suited with ovaled darkened deadly shields and large broad swords hidden but sheathed .awaiting to be drawn and utilized  .

            As the young small pheasant girl shrouded in a dark cloak peeers upon the far distant hillside as she sees the slowly moving images of darkness as she quickly turns and runs into the main central base  of the village screaming at a high pitched surreal screech  , “ Dragon Soldiers approaching !”, as her frail slender hand moves in slow motion with one exerted finger pointing toward the eastern direction toward the arrival of the riders,  as the villagers  both male and female gaze onward  into the  unexpected horror  frozen in time as the riders rapidly approaching downward like the fiery of an approaching storm cascading over  the grassy nobbled country side with galloping horses hooves thundering through the airwaves as riders with shields ready as others with broad swords waving high into the morning skyline with the morning sun glimmering off the blades with the creaking of the large wagon swaying peacefully back and forth with indecisive moans of resistance  from the under carriage and wheels as it lumbers down the hillside lead by the two darkened steeds that are escorted by the parallel riders mounted on their own horses on either side .

            The  battalion followed by the large wagon breaks violently through the two opened gates made of  wooden planks as the two men try to close it only to be thrown off into the two opposite bails of hay and stray , crashing into the center of the settlement as the side of the large behemoth wagon impacts with the small silhouetted image not seen by the two riders as knocking the small fragile child off to one side into the darkness reaches amongst two larger bails of straw as leaving her lying unconscious near an open fire built upon small twigs and logs as the villagers sacredly huddle in the silhouetted dimmed shadows that seem as to be hiding from themselves , as the large lead leather clad soldier transcending his shadow leering down across the ground like a wave crashing over the shoreline as he halts his over looming ebony steed and slowly dismounts with ease leaving the rest of his men to remain mounted . The large muscular soldiers steps forth two feet ahead with vibrant thundering steps away of the his steed that sniffs the fresh breeze passing through on a gentle breeze as he reaches back to the strapped side pouch on the right behind the hard leathered saddle as still harshly eying the cowardly huddled masses of the villager. He blindly removes the leather binds with his leather gloved hand of the over lapping flap and pulls forth the tightly rolled parchment creed scroll . As with his behemoth leather clad hands  firmly grasp at both ends of the royal creed , as it is unfurled as he heard harshly voice bellowed loud and firmly for all to hear , “ as consummated by the Dragon Lord , all the women are to be collected and acquired to fulfill the Lords request of baring his off spring , and anyone who refuses to comply will be punished severely  in the results of death by impalement  ! ”, as he refurls the parchment .

            The soldiers dismount in unison as they all touch down on the earth below at the same time as the  villager cringe deeper in fear of the over shadowing soldiers as they work their way violently through the interior shambles of the small hut like village . Violently grasping the cowering screaming women either by an available limb or the long protruding hair as they violently take  the women as the males cower down cowardly for knowing it is foolish to resist the dark hand of the Dragon with death watching from the opened widespread blackened wings. The woman's scream and slightly resist in a reverse tug of war that is futile under the hands of the powerful soldiers who do not budge while under watchful eye of the stranded fearful males as they watch the women who are violently loaded upon the rapidly filling swaying wagon as they are pushed forth violently by the large leather clad soldiers ,

 

 

2

The Awakening

            slowly the warmth of the midday sun cascades downward with unconditional warmth upon  her small slender body shrouded in the slightly brownish charred cloak , as her eyes slowly flutter to life with each shutter as they are filled with a clearing remnant filter of  blurred vision of the smoldering structures with wispy flares of smoke rising toward the heavens as the fluffed cloud numbly gaze back down to her with no response as the  charred remains of the lifeless corpses lay lingering in a medium sized Heep of smouldered ash of human skeletal remains in their ash ridden cloaks peer lifelessly outward upon the realm of the living forever more. The searing  and violent excruciating pain reels through her body like a surged uncontrollable violent tidal wave with a high pitched gut wrenching shrilled screams with intensity of deeply charred burning flesh still smouldering with darkened gray vapors embedded with reddish ambers amongst the wrinkled and charred layer of her left side of her face , followed by gasping for air that burns deeply inside her slightly grayish charred lungs of pure anticipated pain swelling upward bringing teardrops to swell upward upon her face as the trickles down through the burnt crevasses as she slowly moves forward to a nearby puddle of murky brown water laying dormant and unscathed .

            The ripples spiro outward from her the implanted vibrations of both of her hands on either side of the untouched puddle as she gazes forth into the murky rippling image as she slowly pulls back her wet tattered and matted hair bypassing a few clumps of dirt clinging amongst the hay and straw as  to her astonishment as if she gazes at what was the is last remnant of her life , there she sees the disfigured images standing in the distance starring back at her with deshelved and rippled eyes of extreme  coursed pain or agony , as a tear drops down her right check and rolls forth free falling downward in slow motion as it hits the rippled waters outward sending small ripples to the outer edge , as anger fills her inner souls with hatred and darkness as the light shimmers and fades away .

            Streaming forward through the blurred vision of hatred and tears that still loom on her cheeks  like a darkened silhouetted cloud of despair veils down around her , there is the far distance stands the blurred mirage of a shadowy tatter cloaked illusionary image which looks like it might be gazing upon her slender distraught frame .

           

            the darkened shadowed image stands in a distance with its tattered cloak gently flapping in the gentle breeze of the wind in the realm of the silenced hollow of the charred village , as the little girl gazes upon the eerie partial skeletal stranger . As it draws closer but like to float on the unforeseen winds , as it comes closer to her with a deepened shallow voice streaming wild and unattainable in her inner mind as the voice vibrantly echoes in her inner ear , “ come with me and I will make you complete and in return you will do my bidding for eternal longevity ! ”.

 

 

 

          The Journey

            The treacherous overpowering layers of steep aged and haggard multilayer of fragmented wrinkled stone face of ages of well formed granite peered outward upon the haggard wilderness.

             Layered upon one another as the cold bone chilled winds howl down around the darkened steeples of massive uprising sheer cliffs and haggard twisted passageway with intense severely sloped drop off plummeting to a sheer death and endless silhouetted darkened abyss's  transcending into the multiple lower realms of darkness. Transcending down the steepened narrow path embedded with sheer slippery and steep haggard and staggered overlooking rocks walls of either side cascading upward toward the heavens as eying the passerby's lurking below them , slowly transcending upward to the outward into a larger coliseum of more overpowering looming angered and large sheered rock formation with a small twisted path leading down and outward at an angle with a mild twist and turn transcending onward into the silhouetted dangerously haggard gapping mouth with descending stalagmite teeth protruding downward of uncertain fate that unforeseeable awaits the unexpected visitor.

 

 

            Standing at the threshold of the dark stalagmites cave with the opening stretched wide like a gapping hole waiting to consume what ever it desires with vibrant colors of darkened black to an eerie lime green, standing frightened and firm the cloaked transcending down around the frame of the small girls as she stands unmoved by the impaling serene darkness broken by shades of shimmering gray and brown. The darkness is broken by the shallow voice of echoing silhouettes , “ as I promised , you must drink from the pool in order to ensure your pain and suffering ! ”, as the image gestures with  it's right skeletal hand as she slowly makes her way into the looming eerie darkness as it looms over her like the angel of death spreading it's elongated  wings .

            Transcending deeper into the abyss of darkness , only to hear the sounds of silence echoing of the cavernous walls like distant whispers trying to avoid her hearing them with vaporous images drifting freely , as the small trickles sends a screaming shiver up her spine like and invisible spiny finger runs free up he spine , while she draws deeper into the lowering abyss.

            The  shadows trickle with the hidden lair sound of splattering water seeping from the small hole in the curvacious wall with spider webbed fragment of crackled filaments with stained with downward streams of transparent water . As her vision gradually adjust to the serene darkness  , there standing alone by the small pool is the silhouetted image that's invisible eyes gaze her from inside the twilighted darkness , as she moves closer eying the darkened image as the image's skeletal hand reveals the nearby dark spirochete pool cascading in reverse from the droplets hitting the small deepened pool of scarlet ebony liquid.

                                       As the small slender girl draws closer to the small darkened abyss as she sees the small swirling pool of murky water , under the watchful dead panned eyes of the over seer-er as she slowly places a finger into the small pool as swirling it around still watching the darkened tattered cloaked image standing vigilant . As she takes her slender right hand and scoops up small pool of the darkened murky water sloshing in the palm of her hand with droplets trickling through the cracks of her fingers as she still observed by the descending image still eying her , as the foul smelling water touches down upon her slightly pale lips as she tries not to breath in the fowl smell lingering at the forefront of her nostrils.

            The fowl liquid trickles down her throat like an opened flood gate with a burning sensation that takes her every breath away , with widened darkened eyes of intense fear of suffocation draws every last breath from her body , as she reaches forth with both hands outstretched like a newly spun spider web , with tearless dead panned eyes flocking toward the darkened image that fades away from her views as all goes dark cascading down upon her rapidly decommissioned body falls limp onto the cold mountainous ground  under the dead outreached eyes of the tattered stranger .

           

            The darkness lays still as the small shimmering shadows form the crescent moon transcend inward breaking the looming shadows , “suddenly ”, her eyes shoot open wide  like and angry beast being released from the darkened abyss searching for it midnight prey ,as they fixate wide and full as a newly born large moon as quickly jerking upward  like a rabid dog sniffing the sent of blood in the air , crouched downward with her feet and hands planted firmly against the cold ground as she jerks her head back and forth searching for a prey to feed her unexceptional hunger .

            Drawing closer to the outward coldness breaking into the twilight's darkness , to peer out amongst the silhouetted darkness in search of a midnight prey . There in the far distance lies a almost silenced shuffling quickly drawing her attention as she sees the small animal trying to be motionless but yet moves , the shrew moves more quietly amongst the downed trees and overbearing bushes . As the small gray creatures quietly moves forward under the watchful eyes of the cloaked female ,” suddenly “, the small shrew quickly dart from it's hidden lair to the other side  in full stride as quickly an unforeseen hand grabs the small creature and quickly spins it around rapidly sinking her teeth into the small creatures next with a high pitched wales pierce the night skies sending locked of dark masses of birds fleeing into the night to seek sanctuary of the unforeseen horror.

            The silence of the cavern lays motionless as her vision succumb the eerie silence , there in the far distance lies the tall skeletal figure of the cloaked images , as she eyes it from a far as it speaks to her in a low toned harsh but demonic vibrant of a deepened voice , “ you will succumb to the way of the darkness over a period of time , as you will be the guardian of the mountain and only you can be released by that of a human hand “, the tall dark cloaked figures leaves her abandoned and alone with the only company of extreme darkness .

           

 

 

 

 

The Plague

 

            The stench of death lingers like a dense filled  fog looming over the village like an unforeseen gloved hand as the nearly dead lay moaning of intense pain and agony into the midday coldness with the sun barely visible looming above the fluffed  ivory clouds , while Byron stands firm and shaken with his dark wrinkled trouser suspended by faded black suspenders covering his white but dingy shirt neatly tucked and rustled inward  as he stands  severely weakened from the impending fate cast upon him as he rubs the back of his neck with his blood soaked hand nestled harshly in the nap of his neck while gazing downward unconsciously at the ground with not a thought lingering inside his mind .

            Slowly gazing back at the two fresh deeply dug graves with hand carved markers engraved with the name of his beloved wife , Amelia and his only beloved daughter , Augusta Leigh , as he stands  embraced by the earth as he is transfixed of the motionless grave sites as the inner quizzing feeling   runs from his stomach through his entire body like a tidal wave crashing over the rocks below causing the world to spin violently in reverse as he wobbles with his eyes closed tightly to regain composure .

            Stumbling out of the shattered remains of the desecrated village as smoke lingers faintly in the darkening skyline as not looking back at the soon to be dead moaning voices and all those left behind buried to slowly to rot away and decay as faded memories of the past  , as he stammers up the steep inclined hill side leading upward deeper into the treacherous mountains while staggering in his drunken ill stupor . Making his way upward with a few slips and reverse falls in the darkened murky soil , as he gazes upward with blurred vision to see a shimmering image drawing closer and closer to him at a fast rate of speed  as fear sets inward as all turns hazy and fades to an extreme realm of darkness .

            The hazed blurred vision comes back into view as the shadowed  image draws back into view of an older haggard looking mountain man with his intense strained and wrinkled skin  and weary old gray eyes peer down upon his shallow and pale ghostly near dead complexion , as the old man tilts his head forward as the old man reveals a small metal cup filled with clear cooled river water as it touches down upon his lips with a few streams lingering down one side of his mouth as the liquid drifts back down his throat , as the old man lays his head back down upon the earth as Byron replies , “ I need to find a cure from the plague that ravishes my body ”, as the old man turns away not looking back to him with a darkened answer , “ there is a way to cure what ills you , but it's a long journey ! ”, as Byron lays motionless pondering the journey would be worth the trek or would he rather lay here and be consumed by the earth and unforeseen creatures of the night.

 

 

The Cure

 

         The journey is a long treacherous trek up through the rugged terrain as the old man easy maneuvers up through the heavily populated darkened trees over-looming their ascent deeper as Bryon struggles to traverse onward through the rugged Terrian of the hillside with mud filled slopes as he slipped repelling backwards as he barely  making  the crest as nightfall creeps inward as  it caresses the silenced Terran with a howling wolf off into the distance draws both their attention to it's direction  , as the two men stand as the elder man holding his ground while Byron barely breathing and pale gasping for an everlasting breath barely holding his ground under his impending weakness as the old man leans against the narrow tree eying the ill fated man as Bryon collapses hard falling to the wet soaked ground and lays lightly touching down into the wet soaked mud still hazily  aware of his  surroundings as the virus is spreading faster like a rampaging tempest  out of control with every minute ticking by faster and faster , as the sounds of the creatures of the night fill  the twilight's hallowed forest .

         The morning stillness lays amongst the darkness as it lies unbroken as the older man draws closer to Byron , as he speaks softly as he gently with his rugged weathered hand slaps both sides of Byron's face as his vision focuses on the old mans weathered face , “ we are very close to the entrance of your salvation ! ”, as the old man motions with his right hand shaking as he gestures the way , as he rises and awaits for him to follow him closely behind while the old man ventures onward as Byron slowly gets up dredging his hands into the firm soil still murky of the nightfall's rain and wobbles to his feet with the earth spinning violently .

Following the old man deeper into the wide gaping haggard mouth of the cavern , as their eyes slowly adjust to the surrounding darkness as the old man leads the way deeper and deeper of the ill fated Byron  who staggers deeper into the darkness of the looming cavernous abyss .

            There before them lies the well constructed wooden cage ,stronger than expected as the middle row lays a single lined row of silver dipped once blessed in holy water ordained  by the holy , there deeply submerged in the internal sublime darkness stands the silenced as the cloaked image of a unmistakable figure of a human or a similarity of one.  As the darkened figure speaks low in a murmured pleasant monotone , “ the old man tells me that you seek a cure for the darkness that inhabits you !”, as the old man looks toward the frail Byron shaking violent not from fear as he pays him no heed as he looks directly onto the cloaked female , still lingering deeply embedded in the shadows.

            As Byron draws closer and faintly speaks in a gasping  breath ,” I seek a cure for the darkness that lives inside me ! ”, as the women draws closer still dwelling in the shioutted darkness as she looks upon him  only for him to see nothing just a voice as she replies , “ bare you arm to me and endure the ratification of your internal redemption !”, as Byron looks to the old man who nods toward the darkened abyss of the prison as he reveals his right arm and slowly inversions it into the darkness as he slightly reels from the cold touch of the chilled human flesh as her fingers  gently run back and forth stroking across his withered exposed wrist , “suddenly ”, the sharp sheering pain strikes down hard upon his wrist as he rears backward as he bellows out in pain and tries to pull away from the overpowering strength of the unforeseen women as screams in unbridled anguish peering wide eyed out into the darkness with fear as causing the old man to reel backward like swimming in reverse from the  horror from the darkness , as Byron tries to pull against the strength of the cloaked figure violently as the pain quickly resided as he pulls his arm free to see the  two trickled lines of fresh blood coursing either side of his wrist as he sees the two small pricked holes that punctured his skin nestled on the inner side of his wrist .

            As Byron quickly collapses to the cold damp floor into a state of unconscious as he lies shivering like a possessed rag doll , as the old man looks at the cloaked image and speaks shaking to his inner core with his vibrant voice , “we had a deal remember ? ”, as she replies back , “ I still have a deal and you will do your part for me ! ”.as he slowly undoes the intricate display of chains links around the central hatched door as he watches her with one feeble eye as the other nestled on the task at hand as he  uses the key that he found dangling freely from the cavern wall amongst the shadows , as he unlatches the large cast iron lock u shaped cylinder and places it in his side pocket  of his jeans as the doors violently creaks and sways open to reveal her freedom .

            As she looks outward with her eyes closed as she breath in the cold chilled air as her chest rises and lowers as she quietly steps free into the dimmed twilight while the elderly man places his hands under the man armpits as he  drags Bryon inward with one eye on her and one eye on the opened cage , as she watches unaffected by the humans cautionary as she eyes him as the old man lightly places him in the corner of the cage leaned propped up to one side as he steps outward to turn his back to her while placing the large sized lock in place with out latching it into place . Quickly  the searing pain strikes the back side of his neck of the right side as a form grasp draws cohesively to his body holding him passionately , while the elongated sharpened fangs sinks lower and deeper into his jugular vein with cold blue lips sealing around the duel puncture wounds as the warm liquid of blood flows outward warningly to crave the hunger of desire .

            The screams fill the hollows of the cave while the old man digs feverishly at the cloaked covered arm holding him tightly as his head is held to one side with widened eyes , as she draws away from the feast with a sign of relief as she lets the body hit the floor with a large thud that also rings outward startling a few bat fluttering in the distance of the darkness as then returning to their embedded sleep of the silhouettes. The hunger renews her internal strength and gazes unaffected  by the old man human laying motionless of the floor near her feet with a low toned reply ,” I am your salvation as you are mine !”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Elixir  and Stone

 

            As his vision slowly adheres to the dim lighted darkness , seeing only the stirring undisclosed silhouettes of the outer rim of the cavern as he shadows his  eyes from the brightness as he gazes away from the darkness as he looks downward upon the lower trickling darkness to see a small puddle of blood laying nestled peacefully as to where something once laid there . As Byron looks at the well crafted prison drawing in every inch of his imprisoned cell , there he sees the swaying iron clad lock drifting back in forth by an unforeseen  gentle breeze as with his right hand he reaches through the crafted iron bars and slowly looks at the lock not clasp shut as he removes the lock device from it's silenced home of the interlocking shaft . Standing in the sheer darkness of the inner dimly lite cavern with unbridled hunger dredging upward from the inner depths of where he never knew even existed but searching for the unquenchable desire of the precious elixir of blood runs rapid through his veins like a plaque sweeping the country side, as his eyes dart feverishly  back and forth while watching the fluttering images of the darkness then quickly snatching one of the low flying fluttering creature by it's elongated leathery spindled wings as Byron quickly bites down on the small jugular of the vampire creature that squeals into the night with the fear of death rapidly approaching .

            As Byron quickly drops the lifeless creature as it falls with a solid thud solidly hitting the cavernous floor as it does not echo only to be covered by the other fluttering creatures fleeing away from the impending doom , while Byron wipes the remaining strains of blood trickling down the sides of his mouth on both ledges of his pale blue thin lips as he swipes it away away with his right outer backside of the cold pale blue slenderized hand  slowly swiping across his slenderer pale blue face . As he continues onward down deeper into the darkened abyss leading down the only cavernous shaft that is available to transcend into deeply amongst the darkness ,

            there in the shadows laying silent is  the small trickled pool with the darkened emerald stone laying nestled before it as he draws closer to kneel as his trousers touch down gentle before it as he scoops the murky cool liquid into his long slender boney pale blue hand as some filters through the wedges of his fingers and raises it slowly to his lips to consume the desired annunciation of his liking , closing his eyes to let the murkiness trickle downward in his throat , as he reaches slowly for the emerald stone with a slightly wet hand, a slight sensation lingers up through his body like a phantom unforeseen mist as he closes his eyes to endure the cascading sensation an without peering outward into the darkness as she rises still standing eyes closed as he looks toward the direction of the looming shadows as he feels the sensation of being observed from within the darkness but yet sees nothing , there standing silent and motionless is the darkened cloaked silhouetted image holding a small flask of the sacred liquid from the murky pool.

 

 

The Purification

 

            The darkened cloaked image stands firm in the silhouetted twilight darkness with the small leathered flask of unholy water dripping small droplets of water while nestled on the cold  stone podium before the shrouded image with the gesture with her slender pale right hand as she draws an invisible pentagram on the unforeseen invisible air currents  that lies before her drifting around and away freely , as she slowly speaks in a soft low toned voice , “ Ahriman , I evoke thee the darkened  spiritual force ruling over this element to purify it and guard the element until needed ! ”, as the leathered flask slowly encased in the darkness as with a dimmed light grows brighter illuminating the inner cavern , as she stands gazing at the incredible rays of light then it rapidly fades away relinquishing back to the darkness back to the silhouettes of unforeseen darkness.

 

 

 Hunedora

1797

 

            Sitting quietly in the large overwhelming throne as he glazes outward over the silenced stretched lush land that lies outside the hallowed window  as his dead panned eyes not sitting motionless in his skull as they still sweep over the silenced but  abandoned castle with enduring silence laying motionless amongst the interior lair , as he ponders the new course of action , first he considers  reuniting the remaining of his most trust worthy allies still dwelling in the exterior realm of darkness as he sits pondering the course of action against another that will give him domination and power over the people who have defused to bow down to him and the land of  Romania  and the conquering of the prince Bartholomew , is were is plan starts to unfold .

 

1797

Tirgoviste

 

            The darkened isle remains silenced with no signs of life as the two slender  elderly men dressed in large brown flowing cloaks draping down to the moist grass swaying freely around their feet as their cloaks held closed and supported by hand crafted rope with their hoods pulled forward to ward of the cold misty air as their leather bound wooden sanded feet traverse the low toned meadows of the monastery .    Standing in the elongated and overcasted shadows of the old hallowed trees standing on either side like silenced guards  the darkened shadowed image of the prince Dracula lies before him like an outstretched appendage of ones self ,flanked in his darkened long flowing robe with elongated straight dark hair mounted down around his strong but narrowed face with no remorse for his actions .  

            Standing gazing outward over the silenced amongst the shallow rows of the unearth graves of those who has been slain by his hand or the hands of his soldiers  through the years ,as the two elderly monks draw closer nervously and cautiously as the prince does not turn to address them as they slowly leeringly approach but he speaks in a monotone voice to them , “ I have summoned you two here for a primary reason !”, as the eldest monk stands firm with the other flanked in his fellow monk's looming back shadow  , as the elderly man speaks softly , “we are ordained to repel the darkness , not condone it !”, as the prince turns to face them with a sharp and stern response , “ I truly agree , that's why you are perfect for this ! ,  you two will appointed as my personal guardians in case of death , and you will be sent to my personal monastery in Snagov and that you two are to prepare for your departure soon ! ”, as the prince turns and walks away leaving the two elderly monks standing firm as they watch his vanish in the deepened mist .

 

 

1797

The Forest Wiccan

 

            In the darkened serene woods lies the motionless silence , as the dark silhouetted image stands alone frozen in time embracing the darkness with his eyes closed but yer drawing in the silenced motions of the night , in the distance he senses the far off shuffling movement still eyes held peacefully closed .As the far distant cloaked figure draws closer to his own presence with ease as each slowly circle one another in a half turn then slowly embrace one another as their bodies draw closer to one another becoming one , as his leather gloved hands slowly rise upward across the outer rim of her darkened cloak to slowly embrace her face with his hands on either side to protect her from the frigid air as their eyes meet locked onto one another as his warm lips embrace hers with compassion rising from deep from their inner souls  within under the guardianship of the overseeing full moon and the ivory wolf in the far distance eying the celestial body .

            Suddenly , from the silenced darkness ,that is quickly broken  unaware to either of the silhouetted images of  the far distant wolf , quickly embraced with twelve armed soldiers with hard wooden cross bows aimed directly at Bartholomew ,who shields Abigail from impending harm  as Byron draws from the silenced now fractured darkness while violently eying the darkened prince as he replies , “it is you who I seek for redemption, the wiccan and her canine companion can leave and no harm will come to them ! ”, as he turns to her embracing her face with his  gloved hands and deeply replies while he draws close to her for only her to hear , “ go I will be fine , you know what to do !”, quickly under the watchful eye of Abigail as the darkened soldier hits him harshly with the butt end of his crossbow as she cries out in terror as the eleven turn their crossbows on her as the ivory wolf quickly steps in between them and her to intervene , as a tear stream running  down her cheek amongst the coldness to turn to slender ice cycles , as Byron peacefully  speaks , “I have given my word ,leave the wiccan , bring the prince ! , NOW ! ”, as two of the soldiers side holster their crossbows by their straps and one takes the underarms as  the other grabs the leathered feet of the prince as they carry him away onto the darkness followed by Bryon , leaving Abigail weeping and the wolf alone in the darkened .

            The darkened silenced of the small tented encampment  , as Byron tells them in a soft toned voice , “ shackle him severely at the wrist and ankles with a chain wrapped around his waist  and place him in the wagon ! ”as the men do so as they place him unconsciously in the wagon to be chained to the floor board bound  his waist and ankles chains as the other soldier wraps a shackle around his neck as Byron takes the seat on the buck board next to the driver while the others depart from the back of the wagon that dips and rises four times as each mount their horses as the ontragauge slowly breaks away from the darkness toward their planned destination .

 

            Byron sits relaxed in the cold hand chiseled throne as he eyes laying onto the motionless prince laying shackled with a leading chain embedded to the wall , as he motions to one of his loyal guards to his right to nudge the sleeping lifeless form huddled like a lump less mass embracing the floor as Bartholomew slowly comes to . As his vision blurred slowly focuses in on the guard and the shadowy Bryon in the distance as he  staggers upward to onto one knee as he adjust to his full heights standing not noticing the soldiers as he violently eyes the older man sitting in his throne with the darkened robe flowing freely supported by the pale complexion while the darkened cloaked man leans forward with a monotone  reply , “ look at the powerful prince standing before me , shackled like a slave ready for execution ! “, and the plaque that strode through my village claiming the lives of those who are most precious is all you fault ! ”, as Bartholomew starts to reply , “the plaque that strode through your village was and act of a higher power , stronger than I ! ”, as Byron violently lunges forward causing fear to stride through his overpowering soldiers  and Bartholomew as well in a screaming frantic tone , “ take him away now and have  him imprison him in the tomb of lost souls ”, as the two overshadowed guards quickly place each of their drawn swords to his back as they force  him away into the midst of the darkness.

           

            Sitting looking upward toward the small shimmer of darkness drifting like a small beckon in the far distance while sitting shackled in the small circular embedded hole as the walls reach upward out of his reach while he sits with his arms wrapped around his naked legs with his hands shivering and overlapping one another  as he gazes upon the lifeless eyed skull nestled upon small layer of mud as the skeletal sits and remains silent as  he quietly he ask , “ how long have you been here my unknown friend and I guess this is how it ends , here amongst the darkness alone !”.

           

            As Byron sits on the throne over looking the darkened silence of the newly acquired realm as he replies to himself , “what was once yours is now mine for eternity , my far prince ! ”. as he ponders the fate that long awaits Bartholomew in the far distant future .  Later the darkness is broken as the shimmer of torches that lingers miles above the small enclosure as he walks farther in order of an attempts to peer upward toward the shimmer yellowish light as the faintness echoes trudger downward toward him as he faintly hears the bellows , “ I have sequestered your fate !”, says Byron , the water slowly trickles downward amongst the side of the walls breaking away of inner layers of mud, as the stream turn to thicker mud cascading downward while fear stems upward through his spine as more water embellishes inward , rising higher and higher leaving very little room to breath as the water rises quickly above his head with shimmering specters of light glimmering above him as everything goes cold and the last as the last breath is drawn, as Bryon gazing downward alone peering into the silhouetted darkness that turns drifting spiraled as the image drifts unchanged as he slowly leave the silence of the well of lost souls as his cloak dragging across as the lifeless body drift freely suspended by an unforeseen force .

            The two darkened images linger amongst the darkness as watching for movement in the shadows as the two monks venture farther silently moving into the darkened well of lost souls , there looking around in the looming darkness as each look both ways and remaining still to see no movement in the darkness . As they look at each other to see the lifeless corpse floating face down in the small lifeless pool of water existing in the mud drenched well as that it  gently sloshes upward hitting the  edge as it pushes water over the edges as the two monks grasp onto the free floating lifeless form from the dark murky water that sloshes over the edge down around them , as they lift the heavy soaked corpse from the stilled fowl smelling water ,while the water splashes over more  as they struggle to place the semi decomposed corpse . As they hurriedly lower it onto the floor with a sloshing vibrancy to break through the still of the night that vibrancy echoes of the inner walls , as the two monks look at one another in silence as the elder one quickly removes a furrowed canvas from inside his darkened tethered robe and lays the canvas

            As they work together to lay out the canvas and unfold it to fit the diameter of the lifeless corpse  , as they grasp either side of the motionless corpse trying to avoid the stench as they struggle to lift the dead weight onto the stilled canvas . Lifting the stilled water soaked canvas with the corpse as the two elderly monks struggle to get it down the back stairwell and out into the darkness from the rear tunnel as they lay the corpse down amongst the shallow grass to take a long needed breather , as the two stand up in the unison of motionless  silence Then after a while they hurriedly lift the covered corpse upward into the small creaking wagon drawn by a small older mule slightly baying into the night , as the two monks lean on either side of the wagon to take another secondary breather as one says to the other , “ no mater what he still heavy ! ”, as the other one lightly slaps the other upside his graying receding hair line as he quickly motions with his right hand to get on the wagon as the two elderly monks mount the buckboard creaking and swaying on either side as they silently motion with the reigns for the mule to start moving onward silently .

            The next morning the leather clad soldiers make their way slowly into the throne room eying one another with a motion of what is to come and of of whom is going to tell the emperor that his prized possession is gone , as  Byron looks at the two of whom stand before straight with a harsh reply , “ what , now ? ”, ,as the first soldiers to his left stammers with his reply , “ the corpse of the late Prince Bartholomew has been taken from the well of souls, there seems that there is a trail leading down the back stairwell out into the the dense grass and tracks leading out into the forest and the tracks lead away from there as if the body was loaded in a wagon puled by a small horse ! ”, as Byron slowly stands with clinched fist , “ suddenly ”, a harsh screams fills the inner lair of the vacant castle that can be heard for miles as even the wilderness creatures flutter and scurry away.

            The hidden monastery , as the two monks place the body of Bartholomew into a secret chamber within the small confines  with the last brick mouldered into place , as they wipe their hands and remove all the tools needed for the task as they leave the confines of the chamber , passing the doorway out the elongated hallway passing the secondary marker of the laid noble king as the two monks walk away peacefully to the end as they close the doors and walk away in silence .

 

 

 

1931

The Secret Meeting

           

            The dark reaches down into the lower level of the inner cavern of the silenced broken tooth mountain that lies quiet , as the cloaked image lingers silently in the silhouettes of the darkness near the celestial pool of darkened murky water swirling counter clock wise with ascending ripples , from the darkened shadows the slender darkened cloaked image appears silently drifting from the serene darkness as it draws closer  to the other darkened cloaked image as it draws close to her , as she stands  not eying the approaching silhouetted darkness as she speaks in a low sweet under-toned voice , “ in order to find the prince's tomb and restore a similar balance ,to the continuum  I must be able to stray from my selected confines of the lair ! ”, as the darkened image of Ahriman ponders the request with a darkened harsh reply , “ granted , I will give you leave but if you deviate away from the planned coarse of actions , I will find you and imprison you for all eternity in the extreme darkest reaches beyond the realm of inner Hades”, as she turns to gaze upon the darkness with no response as she watches the darkened image merge back into the caresses of darkness leaving her standing alone in silence  as she looks back to the approaching dawn of a new day and her limited freedom away from the semidarkness on the unforeseen invisible wings of fate.

 

 

The Tomb

1931

Turkey

 

            Standing on the high dune during the hot mid day sun peering down upon the moving objects, as the three peering forward at the two darkened holes nestled side by side one another with two older men on either side of the women dressed in fatigue desert clothing, the older man to the left tall slender women in dark fatigue clothing with a dark fedora , as the other shorter and slightly portly man also dressed in light brown fatigue clothing also with a light brown fedora as the women named Evelyn Carnahan flanked by Dr. George Florescu , genealogist and Dr. Dinu Rossetti archaeologist . As she reaches to flip open the leathered bound strap to the flap as she reaches deep down into her dark side satchel dangling down by her  right  hip as she reaches inward  under the small flap that lays rustling in the gentle breeze as to let in a shimmer of daylight break into the darkness while her long slender  hand finds the parchment nestled peacefully inside remaining  still inside the dimly lite darkness as  her  right  hand digs deeper and deeper as she pulls forth the furled  parchment forward and slowly unfurls it with both hand on either side as her to her right lies under the watchful eye of the two older men now to her right as she replies , “ if the quadrants are correct and so is the map , we will find the tomb of Prince Bartholomew  here , in either on of the tombs ! ”, as the  three make their way down the steep hillside as she gracefully makes her way as the two older men shuffle downward draw even with her as they journey closer to the darkened gaping openings like a giant mouth ready to consume its prey as the tree stand firm but swaying in the gentle darkened breeze while the two men are undecided which way to go , as Evelyn replies firmly , “ Florescu and Rossetti will go to the left and I will go to the right ”, as the two older men  break away into the darkness  with beckons from their flashlight streaming into the darkness as they peer back occasionally to wonder if the trek that the women has taken into the tomb of darkness is wise , as she travels onward with a desired location leaving the other two to ponder and search for the unknown  resting place, as she draws deeper down into the elongated tunnel that spiros downward like an unman made staircase as it comes to an abrupt end as she looks back to make sure shes was not followed  by anyone .

            There is the darkness nestled  peacefully is the hand carved wooden coffin with the Draconian symbol of the golden embedded dragon on the center portion as she runs her hand across the the smooth surface  as she quickly stops to hear a distant noise as she does not peer into the direction of the shuffling footsteps of the two men approach who slowly as their beams of the flashlights beam bounce incoherently off one another as they draw deeper inward as they continue to break into the darkness , slowly coming to the end of the tunnel with their beams shining onto the inner cavernous walls of emptiness as Florescu nudges Rossetti in silence as he points to the layered section with to were the dust over the ages of time has been disrupted to were there was what was possible a coffin that was nestled there is no more and now is  missing as both men look at one another in pondering what happened to Carnahan and the object of their search .

 

 

 

 

 

modern day 21^st century

 

The Rebirth

 

            The decayed ruins of the once feared ominous castle now lies hallowed and lifeless and silent as the moonlight silhouettes  shimmer down amongst the parting clouds outward amongst the inner shadows of more desolate darkness as small fragments shutter to and fro amongst the twilight's last gleaming . As a darkened cloaked image lingers amongst the darkness in a lower lair of the castle's main floor  with her silenced quarry , the unsealed coffin embedded with the golden Dragocian symbol as it holding the once remaining rotted corpse of the late Bartholomew now vacant , Prince of Romania laying on the chilled sacrificial granite alter .

            From the far reaches of the other side of the lower level as the darkness stirs as  the silhouetted image shrouded in the ebony eeriness , as the slender darkened cloaked figure drifts freely forward freely of any earthly confines as the shrouded image comes to rest across from  the silenced cloaked corpse of Bartholomew that lies shackled about the wrist and ankles as the cloaked female awaiting the arrival of the overseer of the lower world as Ahriman arrives .

            Standing in  the serene  darkness as she gently runs both hands through the unforeseen airwaves as drawing an unforeseen five sided pentagram above the lifeless confined corpse  and enlighten the two candles flicker to life with the brilliance light spawns upward as their flames flickering brighter than before as they shimmer brighter amongst the darkness as the darkened cloaked image observes her actions while her hands sway over his cloaked lifeless body as then as they drop silently downward  both hands  grasping each chalice on either side of her nestled on either end of the elongated granite alter .

            As she tilts the two chalice simultaneously as the blood and water trickle from the chalices merge forward streaming downward in slender thin lines embracing the lifeless corpse with both careened together as the fluids drift downward splashing down to make contact in a peaceful pool nestled quietly  amongst the silhouetted darkness of his cloak , following the ripples of the ebony fabric as the two streams break away and flank downward upon the cold ivory concrete slab

           

             

The Rebirth

 

            The shrouded corpse laying peacefully silent upon the cold ivory slab as it suddenly jerks forward arching upward with an intense in a near oval complexed arch with vibrant life arching upward with more intensity than before in a reverse  slanted curved position convulsing with violent outburst as the covered flexed arms stream contorted and disfigured as  the coursed massive veins with contorted pulled tight fingers like an marionette with retching chains that bind and tighten against the restraints .

            Franzetta sets back with unbridled fear and astonishment of the unfolding horror while Ahriman drifts away unphased by the display of horror , not to be warned off but cautious of that lies before them , as suddenly the body collapses violently and silently slams hard down onto the cold slab with a violent crash in protest as the body lies motionless with minor shock waves  .As she steps forward still eying the darkened corpse as the darkened image lays motionless with his eyes closed and hands resting on his chest as he speaks in a low toned softly deepened verbal reply , “ the host will need time to regenerate back to whom it was once in the beginning ! ”, as the two leave silently one after another leaving the silenced Bartholomew alone in the silenced shrouded darkness .

 

 

The  Rage

 

 

            The darkened cloaked silhouette image in the darkness with the hood drawn over his face elongating a deepened shadow as bound by thick chains and shackles bounded deeply around his slender but firm wrist and ankles , standing firm with no movement in the darkness  with her eyes closed listening to the silenced raindrops splattering downward and  drifting freely amongst the darkness , “suddenly ”, the darkened image lunges forward with a violent contorted twist of his body as  his arms spread wide as far as they would expand like a bird preparing for flight while his legs remain structured to the chair as the massive chains rattle and violently shake breaking the distrubed silence as Franzetta does not reel from the violent outburst that quickly subsides  within his inner soul , as the sounds fade away with decayed echoes transcending down the hallowed corridors .

            Franzetta speaks softly but yet with her eyes closed and not gazing in his direction , “ you must learn to harness the anger and let it subside and that it will guide you to who you once was in a former life ”, as she speaks nevermore as she fades away slowly into the darkness leaving him sitting alone watching the silenced darkness with anger striding across his face while adhering with his inner demons .

 

The Revealing

 

            Standing shrouded in the silenced darkness lingering from the silhouetted distant shadows as the cloaked image draws closer from the darkness drifting freely as the slender warm hand draws forth to be conjoined with his as the slowly eyes her as her eyes fail to link to his as he slowly rises to follow her silenced suggestion as they venture forward peacefully in silence under the unforeseeable watchful eye .

            The inner chamber stands quiet with whispers on the silenced wind as Bartholomew sits peacefully in the center of a drawn slightly crooked chalked pentagram held in a deep peaceful realm of meditation with the women sitting across from him as they both hold hands gently his nestled underneath her soft albino stretched forth hands , from the deepest crevasses of his mind comes the violent reimplementation as he cringes and slightly tenses lightly grasping her hands as she does not pull away but hers hands remains relaxed , as he twitches from the darkened recess of his inner subconscious screams violently conflicting battles and ex-curating interior screams coming from the darkened recesses between the twilight and dawn .

            standing there amongst the glimmering shimmers of the glistening frozen tundra as there standing in silence lies a women shrouded with a darkened robe with an wolf of ivory standing firm by her side  as he draws closer to her as their eyes lock inseparable like many times before while they stand in silence embracing one another as he observes her warmth without looking into her eyes as she lays her head on his raised and lowered chest and then to the wolf of ivory  nestled next to them as the wolf keeps and eye on the horizon as  his hand gentle grasp hers waist as drawn closer with every prefixed relaxation and compassion , as his eyes unconsciously finally connect to the eyes of Katrina Spencer .

     Bartholomew and Katrina ascend from the darkness as they joined in  the silenced but motionless as each one stands on either side of her with no speech , as  she slowly fades away leaving him standing alone in silence as the chilled darkness fades back toward the inner darkness of the lair  as Bartholomew breaks the silence as he speaks softly , “ I have to acquire the sword of the order of the dragon , in order to defeat Byron ! ”,as he and Franzetta both rise from the floor where the drawn pentagram exist no more ,as they walk away into the darkness in silence .

 

The Darkened Temple

 

            The small rustic boat slashes gently against the reeds sway back and forth  while Katrina  and Bartholomew slowly push the craft deeper up onto the shoreline as they slowly depart from the swaying craft as she grabs the coiled rope and tosses him the slender fragment of rope as small droplets spray outward only to vanish into the darkness undetected , as he catches it without looking in its unfurled direction as he wraps it twice around a small tree branch as a few lush green leave fall downward in a spiro to the ground.  As they begin to walk deeper into the farther reaches of the lush shadowed garden as their walking forward into the well manor-ed clearing as they see the monastery laying peacefully into  the shadows of the midnight crescent moon cascading across the outer walls , as they stop side by side as h tells her silently , “ wait here  , I will be back !”, as she walks closer and  stops dead in her tracks as she watches the silhouetted image linger away from her and stepping forward down the small stoned pathway with small fragments of layered grass in between as he journeys  toward the larger looming over shadowed monastery structure.

            Walking farther down the corner as the small cobbled walkway twist and turns in and s formation leading to the growing larger two story structure as he walks through the lush green swaying trees that bend peacefully in the gentle breeze as the hidden birds chirp and suddenly grow silent as he secretly eyes his pressance in the shimmering window  ,  standing before him lies the main monastery  as he enters through the hallowed doorway as the moonlight shimmers through the upper interior vacant window structures , as he looks around with rapidly flooded memories of the past as he breathes in the ingrained pressance of religious painted images of past clerics who have served his family linage through the years .With the wooden beam creaking and aching with heavy signed moans from over head as he pays them no heed to them , as he moves onward with eying the silenced chandelier swaying peacefully to and unheard rhythm of the invisible wind as the moonlight shimmers off the dangling crystals , as he ventures forth as the over clouded moonlight wispy shimmers down through the hallowed vacant glass structured windows as the light shimmers off the vibrating spider web as the small darkened spider flees from the pressance of a larger threat as his shadow drifts across the single strand structured  while the small darkened creature of the night quickly scurries down from the vibrating web and quickly runs across the embedded elongated cracks stretching down  the ceiling to the mid wall as others stretch to the floor and beyond.

            As he enter through the small slender arched doorway as eying the two faded tapestries of the last two past clerics to govern over the monastery , in the inner darkened chamber there lies motionless and silent with a small wooden podium standing as mid chest level as he stops to pay homage to an unforeseen god that he only know to well as he walks silently around the podium running his left hand around the outer edges of the hand crafted edges , “suddenly with a small found indentation that sets forth a silenced snap that he only can hear under the watchful eye of all the dead embedded spirits  of the dead gaze onward as the hidden compartment at the rear pops open ”, as he kneels downward to one knee as he slowly and gently grasp the edge of the panel with his gloved right hand as it slowly is opened there to be gazed upon the swaddled relic of the past  resting peacefully amongst the shadows , still gazing upon the untouched relic with peace and respect as he slowly reaches inward with fear of touching the pressance of his past , he slowly touches the long hidden desire as he grasp the shrouded sword in it's cloaked swaddled gray cloth .

            Leaving the inner confines of the monastery as he rejoins Katrina as she unties the boat as they both enter an they both row away into the night undetected ,making their way across the lake in silence to where the awaiting horses await their return .Leaving the boat tied to the smaller branch as the two ride off silenced by the twilight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Showdown for the last time

 

            The darkness embeddable the outskirts of the outer broken down delapulated castle and  careened into the lower level of the silenced lair of the castle , as the flickering lite torches nestled in the upper four corners of the outer silenced motionless castle beacon to shine  bright into the desolate night's twilight  as the hidden cloaked linger silently in the shadows standing tall with his eyes closed thinking a women long passed and how the memory has been embedded into his mortal soul as awaiting the prey to be drawn forward into their snare.

            The silenced image lingers on a narrowed straight path as it stealthy draws forward amongst the outer lined edges nearing the darkness as the cloaked image eyes the distant silhouettes of stillness only to see the swaying of the trees fearing the arrival of the unforeseen presence , descending downward along the descending lush hillside toward the lower inner lair of the only remains of the delapulated castle of old transcending through the hallowed door frame of stone.

             Breaking into the darkness from the silhouetted dimness as the dark cloaked images draws near but not yet not into the light as  Byron turns slowly amongst the inner darkness as silence prevails around him as he slowly with his both his dead cold pale hands reaches upward to remove the hood of his cloak . Revealing a clear shaved head and slightly pale face of a semi younger male image of himself with darkened eyebrows and even darker clearer and focused eyes piercing the darkness of the twilight , as he speaks with a deepened tattered voice that staggers to breaks the night , “ I know your here  prince of Draconian , come out !, come out where ever you are !”.

            From behind him slowly escaping from the shadows there silently descending forward without Byron even turning to face the aged prince with his reply , “ I sense that you have come prepare to slay me even though you are just a mortal and I an immortal and I will kill you and take what is rightfully mine ! ”, quickly Bartholomew draws forth the sword from under his darkened cloak as he raises the scared sword to strike  as the cloaked immortal shifts as swiftly doing so as Bartholomew slides through . A firm cold pale hand grabs him firmly by his darkened cloak spinning him off his feet being flung weightlessly forward through the air like a limp rag doll with all four limbs sprawled outward toward nowhere still with sword in hand as he watches the sword flee from his right leathered hand slowly held in time as he watches is spin out of control toward the infinitival realm of darkness as it clangs violently against the unforeseen wall as it drops with a vibrant clanging scream of abandonment, as Bartholomew is easily projected through the silenced darkened airways to oblivion with a sudden harsh impact as he crashed with his back to the wall while sliding downward impacting with the coldness of the floor .

            As Byron stands not gazing upon the fallen physical mass laying amongst the darkness totally not effected by the violent gesture , as Bartholomew looks upward upon tall over looming mass of Byron , with not looking at him or the fallen sword laying amongst the silhouetted darkness as Bryon turns with his cloak shifting in a circular motion across the ground as his hallowed voice drifts onward into the shifting silence of the darkness , “ they never told you of your past of whom you are or where you have come from and all the evil you spread amongst the land that you ruled ! ”, as Byron leans downward as he crouches before him as  to come eye to eye with him as his cold pale blue hand violently grasp Bartholomew's cloak as he lifts him lightly from the ground , as they come closer to eye to eye .

            Suddenly” , Byron lunges back releasing Bartholomew as he violently screams into deep hallowed howl into the darkness as Bartholomew falls sluggishly with violent convulsions  to the floor , as he howls and  lurches in reverse as the pain breeds forward through him like a raging river as he spins around violently with outstretched spindled fingers as his cloak spins outward and around cutting the the unforeseen wind , as his darkened hallowed eyes break enlarging more violently amongst the darkness of his inner lagged pupils as he spins around rapidly and sees Franzetta standing in her full length darkened cloak and hood raised drifting amongst the darkness with a crossbow held in her right hand . From behind quickly with a tap on his shoulder as he in a state of confusion  turns as a harsh leathered fist lands hard into his lower left jaw with a violent crunching bone shattering impact with enduring pain as he flinches with a head spinning jolt , as he flies free falling across the floor sliding violently to a sliding halt , as he eyes both of them at the same time with a shaken reply, “ what have you two done to me ! ”, as Bartholomew replies harshly as eying Bryon with hatred and discontent , “ I know who I am and what I am , and the bad transgressions of my past ! ”, as Franzetta finishes the reply , “ as for the weakness of your powers they have been reduced to nothing as it goes you are just a mortal human ! “, and I am the only one here who is a pure creature of the night ! ”.

            As from behind the three , a darkened silhouette breaking away of the layered wall of molter and brick lay silenced but fading away into a vortex of swirling spheres of darkness , quickly the swirling portal widened as Franzetta and Bartholomew  step away from the frail quivering remains of Bryon laying on the floor as he cowers as slowly turning  to eye the massive abyss of darkness , quickly the large greenish scales draw forth as the behemoth dragon's claw quickly lunges forward with massive dark talons wrapping around Byron's mid section  as  he screams and pounds the hardened scales as he is quickly whisk away into the abyss of swirling darkness as his screams  fade away into the distance as it fades closed before them.

            leaving Bartholomew and Franzetta standing alone in the silenced darkness  as she slowly turns away shielding her face from the incorporated faded moonlight as quickly the out break of screams causes her to reel around in horror of the unforeseen sight as the secondary claw with clinched talons grabs him around the waist  as he quickly fades into the darkened abyss to shutter his screams as the portal rapidly closes leaving her standing alone horrified and speechless as she looks to the corner to see his sword slowly fade away as if it were never present .

           

 

                              The Lower Realm

 

 

            Byron lies motionless but barley alive with every passing breath after having the inner demons draws from him as consuming him to be human once again , as he raises his head slowly as he eyes Ahriman and Bartholomew in the distance of the hellish flamed abyss . Ahriman turns to face Bartholomew  with his paler deeply sunken skeletal features as he speaks low to him , “ I am making you my chief guardian of the lower world , it is your job to keep all those from banishing to the other realms and if any do vanish it is your job to track them down and bring them back ! ”, as he hands Bartholomew a scroll as he takes it as they both look back at the weary shivered form of Byron who lies crumpled upon the darkened abyss floor .

 

                                    The Castle of Dragon

 

            Franzetta stands next to Katrina in silence of the lower floor as Ahriman carries out his  his part of the deal to her , “ I grant you immunity from the cave and you will linger her in the castle of dragon as it's guardian  and only Katrina and her associates with be the only one allowed to know of your where abouts ! ”, as he turns silently as he vanishes slowly into the darkness leaving the two women alone , as Franzatta gazes out upon the darkened silhouette of the silenced  forest as Katrina replies , “ we will always not be far away ! ”, as she leave Franzetta standing alone in the cool midnight atmosphere as she watches and yet not sees her leave as she mounts her horse as the three other  smaller figures do the same and make their way across the rugged terrain and vanish into the distance of the hallowed trees .