Legend of Ransera

---

☬ They were maybe a day or two away from the city, the vampyre being able to see the lights of the Ecith capital in the distance from where they camped. His eyes shifted over to Dimitri who was asleep. The human did a good job watching their backs in the daytime, Dreyfus could manage keeping watch at night, besides it's not as though he needed sleep to begin with. His awareness within the flux around them would allow him to know the moment something approached, and given the monstrosities they faced on the way here, he had to be alert at all times.

The good thing was that they found a spot that allowed them to be covered in moonlight, and from what the vampyre could surmise, these shadow creatures hated it. As long as they remained in the celestial light, they wouldn't have to worry too much about being attacked, for now at least. In that calm he we feeling he found himself reflecting, reflecting on the actions of his life, from going into the rift, meeting gods, and becoming a vampyre. But most of all he reflected on one memory that has always been gnawing in the back of his mind.

He could see the portrait of his mother clear as day, his only regret being that was never able to know her as a person. He remembered how it was insisted that everything he knew about her death was a lie. It infuriated him to know that the state covered it up, but what sent him over the edge was the fact he knew his father had to be complicit in the lie. But for what? Why hide the truth of her death from your only son? Their relationship may not have been ideal, but Dreyfus loved his father, so to think he could have betrayed his trust about his own mother and her death, upset him greatly. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

The dwelling on of emotions and painful memories is a dangerous thing in the mortal realm. It is especially dangerous in the wilderness of the Ecithian continent. Some might argue that this could result in a distraction, a failure of focus, that might allow a predator to sneak in close and ambush. Others might blame the terrible spiral of anger and loneliness that is so common in Orkhan who end up alone for too long.

But no, the real danger is that powerful emotions are nectar for certain spirits. Spirits that are kept under better control when near to civilizations. But out here? Out here the spirits are hungry, their last meal upon the energies of emotion and mortality many moons past. And being able to view the Flux and staying vigilant would only get you so far.

It smelled the pain and feeling of betrayal from the safety of the spirit realm from which it came. It fluttered through a sea of formless energies and matter, in a world that would appear senseless to mortals, until it was just on the other side of the divide between planes. It craved the emotions brewing and toiling within the man right now. A nectar so sweet that how could it possibly resist.

But careful, so careful.

The Truth was nearby, slicing through his foes with the ease of thousands of years of practice. And the Truth’s blade could cut through any realm, as could his piercing gaze. No, if it got too close, The Truth would know. It knew which one it wanted, but it would need more from it, to be able to break through the membrane between worlds directly.

A tendril of energy, imbued with the powers of this spirit, pushed through, a small sliver of smoke appearing from nowhere and sliding into Dimitri’s ear. Once inside, it began to work its way silently through Dimitri’s memories. It twisted and tainted and touched on these memories, so that as Dimitri remembered them, a seed of Betrayal would begin to grow within him. Every slight he’d experienced, he’d find a way to fault it on Dreyfus. Every pain, every suffering, every failure and embarrassment and humiliation and fear and heartbreak would point at the vampyre.

The spirit picked a specific memory for the last one, to push the human over the edge. A memory of childhood, a memory where Dimitri felt powerful while holding a knife. The spirit did not need to taint this one, just simply needed to get the ball rolling. Soon, Dimitri would find reason enough to attack Dreyfus.

And that’s when the spirit would strike.

---

☬ He was looking up to the stars as the night went on, finding beauty under the Ecith stars. The sound of Dimitri stirring, tossing, and turning in his sleep caused an eye to turn to the human. The young man was resilient, and the vampyre found that quality, along with his unyielding loyalty. A smile flashed briefly on his features as he turned his attention back to his thoughts. He didn't like wallowing in his feelings but what else was there to do at this point?

The vampyre had no idea what was stirring within his human aid. Dimitri's sitting up abruptly however alerted him to something being wrong as the human normally slept through the night. Did something wake him, a bug or small vermin perhaps. He watched closely for a moment, but when Dimitri showed signs of simply just awaking from slumber, he paid it no mind. It was what the young man said that caused the vampyre to quirk a brow though.

If it wasn't for you and vampyres I would be suffering like I am. he hissed. His eyes now looking upon his vampyre master, hate and disgust filling them as he rose from where he slept. My life may not have been perfect before, and I may have suffered much, but I never had to go through what I had to go through until I met you and that woman. Dreyfus brow quirked more, confused by the words of his human.

His eyes narrowed as he watched him pull one of the pistols from his hip holster and point it at him. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I suggest you put that away, you'll only end up hurting yourself." he warned, waving the boy off as if he wasn't a threat, which only rewarded the vampyre with a caster shell to the chest. Dimitri was reloading the pistol when he would feel his boy be yanked forward, and the air suddenly hard to inhale.

Dreyfus had his throat within a vicegrip as his wound began to heal and reform back to normal. His eyes were fierce and he looked upon the human with anger and confusing. "I don't know what has come over you, whether you have lost your mind from everything that has transpired but if you have no more use for me then I will be rid of you." he said, hoping to strike fear in the boy. "Now I'll give you one more chance to reconsider your actions." the words hitting Dimitri's ear as tight and overwhelming as the grip his had on the boy's neck. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

The anger and confusion that was borne within Dreyfus caused small cracks between the realms. The spirit pushed tendrils of power through them, following the emotional energy into Dreyfus just as he was holding his human companion. The spirit had to resist heavily to feed off their emotional energies here and now, longing for the greater feast that would come from a more successful tactic.

It followed Dreyfus’ anger and confusion into memories he had in which he’d felt the same. The spirit helped lift them to the surface, particularly those centered around violence and betrayal cast towards the vampyre. It wasn’t too hard to find and the vampyre was not one to pay particular mind to his emotional state, at least not currently.

His human companion doubled down, his face twisted in anger and disgust, him being held by the throat affirmation of the accusations he was slinging at the monster before him. The human kicked hard at Dreyfus bodily, his eyes glaring in a frenzy never before seen by the vampyre. Then the human spit in the vampyre’s face, thick, warm, sticky.

And the human smiled, satisfied with this rebellion against the monster that caused his pains and woes.

And the spirit waited on Dreyfus.

---

☬ There was a lot flowing over Dreyfus in these moments. Dimitri's defiance and persistence in his accusations and threats. Dreyfus couldnt understand where any of this was coming from. He couldn't fathom why Dimitri would act like this all of sudden. He tried to search the human's face and saw nothing that would tell him what was wrong, nothing that hinted at why he was so upset. But it was clear to the vampyre that the mortal was adamant in his words and stance.

He could see that there would be no changing his mind on the matter. A shame really. Dreyfus had come to be very fond of the mortal, and he would hate to see the young man go. But given what he was and the life he had to live, he couldn't chance Dimitri running to hunters to later become a thorn in his side. The spit to the face was the final nail in the young man's coffin. If there was one thing Dreyfus couldn't tolerate it would be defiance, even from him.

"I see so that's your final answer then, so be it." he said, barring his fangs at the young mortal, before sinking them into him. He drain the poor lad of a good majority of his blood, Dimitri's fists and feet attacking and flailing in defiance as he was fed upon. Dreyfus was searching for the reason for this betrayal, but as he walked through the memories of the human he only found that Dimitri love him, well was in love with him. This made this all the more confusing, and his threats and accusations hurt him all the more.

Once he had his fill of the human, Dreyfus held him close to him. "Allow me to release you then." and with a sickening snap, he twisted Dimitri's neck. Laying the human on the ground he began to cry tears filled with many emotions. Regret, sorrow, but most of all, the anger of his betrayal. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

That betrayal, that giving up of loyalty and faith and camaraderie without much more than a second thought generated a power that pulsed from Dreyfus. It wasn’t from Dimitri’s own spirit fueled betrayal but that which was lured from the vampyre. That pulse could not be felt by Dreyfus but it was felt by the spirit waiting for him. And the spirit followed it through the barrier between their worlds as easily as one might walk through fog.

And it slipped unseen and unnoticed into the emotionally exposed Dreyfus.

Once within the Vampire, it began to absorb the power of Dreyfus’ betrayal, growing stronger but staying silent. It had a plan now. This was the strongest host it had ever claimed, and it needed to be careful to keep it. It would feed and grow stronger, it would poke and prod and lightly push, but it had no need to reveal itself.

It would make Dreyfus into the perfect host upon which it could feed.

And so it fed some of its own energy to empower an existing emotion within Dreyfus, his loneliness. It would grow and nurture that loneliness, to drive Dreyfus toward other people to abate that loneliness. And then the spirit would strike.

And for now, it would feed and drive.

!

Message from: “Aegis”

You can do one more post to finish this thread out. Dreyfus has been possessed by a Tyran spirit of Betrayal, a Tier 6 spirit. This spirit has hidden itself within Dreyfus and will require powers equal or greater to Master level that can discover such things to be revealed. The spirit will feed negative emotions in Dreyfus to drive him toward other people. Every time Dreyfus comes in contact with a person, PC or NPC, the spirit will attempt to seize control of Dreyfus fully. If it succeeds, Dreyfus will blackout and the spirit will either attempt to use his body to either betray the person in some fashion or manipulate events so that Dreyfus is betrayed by them. If the betrayal is successful, the spirit grows stronger. If it fails, grows weaker. Once it is finished, whether successfully or not, Dreyfus will have his consciousness returned to him but remain unaware of the spirit. Consult the chart below each time Dreyfus encounters a person. First time - Roll a 1d6 in discord. 1-5 is considered a failed roll and the spirit takes over. 6 is considered a successful roll and the spirit fails to take over. For each failed roll, the spirit grows stronger. So the next roll would be a 1d7, with 1-6 being fails and 7 successful. This will continue indefinitely unless acted upon by a stronger power. For each successful roll, the spirit grows weaker. So the next roll would be a 1d5, with 1-4 being fails and 5 being successful. This will continue until there is only a 1d1 remaining, at which time I will moderate an encounter. Should Dreyfus gain a power to detect the spirit, or encounter someone with said power, contact me and I will moderate

---

☬ Dreyfus could shed no more tears for the young man as Dimitri had proven to him one thing was certain. In the end, mortals will only disappoint you. He was alone now, but it wasn't a concept or feeling that was foreign to him, as he had been alone most of his life, despite his father's coddling. He couldn't rely on others but he knew he wouldn't be able to achieve anything without them.

He was upset at the fact that he was alone again, alone in a world that would never be able to understand him, or who he was as a person. His tears were more so for the fact that he allowed himself to be close to someone, only for them to hurt him. He was so wrapped up in his connection to Dimitri that he didn't protect himself from an event such as this.

He knew now he couldn't allow that to happen again, he couldn't allow a mere mortal to betray him like this ever again. Taking one last look at Dimitri's corpse, he slit the skin on his forearm flinging his blood onto the body, watching as it ignited into the violet-red flames as his blood fire engulfed it. He could only rely on himself now, even in such uncharted territory and culture that was ecith. But like all things he would survive, he survived walking the Aetherium, so he could most definitely survive this. He gathered his belongings and ventured further into the forest.

"Never again." he whispered as he vanished into the darkness of the Ecithian jungle. ☬

---

"Common Speech"
"Silandris Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

Dreyfus
Lores: 8 Skill Lores

Loot: Possessed by a Tyran level Spirit of Betrayal
Injuries: Emotional damage

Points: 15, may not be used for magic

Comments: Looking forward to when Dreyfus starts running into people, NPCs and PCs, and seeing how this develops.

Aegis - 3 posts = 6 Exp awarded to Norani