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Shadowed Tracks Chapter 4 (Parched For Death)



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Fri Nov 25, 2011 11:50 pm
DarknecrosisX says...



The morning brought a sudden urge to my body, a plea for appeasement, for death. I had spent the whole night focusing my aura into meditation, trying to hone my skills within my resurrection powers. I had killed three rats, seven flies and four spiders, and then brought them all back from the grave. Not much of an exercise, but practice makes perfect, especially when you’re trying to live up to the name of ‘Shadow Incarnate’. Two hundred years isn’t actually a very old age, so I didn’t have much experience with ALL of my powers. An undead spider clambered up my forearm and sat on my shoulder. I should probably destroy these monstrosities before they escape, immortal rats and bugs wouldn’t be the most intelligent way to start an invasion. That’s what I still had on my mind, I wanted to make all beings, Mortal and Immortal alike, bow down to me and beg for my approval. Just to finally have revenge for my mistreatment and torture through my childhood, yet I had no idea how.

My train of thought was yet again interrupted by the ache from my soul, begging for sustenance. A Necromancer’s thirst can be solved, practically, in two ways. One is to find an area shrouded with the fresh smell of the steel from the Grim Reaper’s scythe, a murder sight or, more effectively, a graveyard. This was the most covert way of going about things, but murder is the most nutritious option. The murder of a Mortal would only replenish energy in small fixes, an Immortal life however would provide me with another three days of satisfaction (depending on how powerful they are). I settled on the graveyard, I knew I wasn’t going to stay in Munich for very long, but I didn’t want the Bureau on me already.

I stepped out of the hotel into the bitter sweet air. The sky had cleared up greatly and the air was lukewarm, but the cold, slushy remnants of the snow brought an icy edge to the wind. It was lucky that the roads had so many drains, otherwise the streets would have been flooded yesterday. This brought my eye to the noticeable transformation of the ‘Winter Wonderland’ from the day before to the slush layered misery before my eyes.

I reached the graveyard on the outer suburbs of the district and breathed a sigh of relief: any longer and I would have gone a killing spree. The sight was rather fitting; the icicles hanging from the dark, dead trees, and the wet, granite tombstones that were cold to the touch. As I took a pace through the large, gothic gate I expected an enormous gale of power to hit me, instead I was greeted by a measly breeze. Realizing what this meant, I switched tactics to locating a sorcerer and taking my nutrition from their demise, the only problem being finding one to feed from.

I decided to drift through the nearby streets. Maybe I can locate an Immortal if I’m lucky. The smell of fresh bread and coffee wafted through the air, and the sound of a bell ringing stole my attention to a nearby coffee shop. I knew that there was at least one Immortal within its walls.

The dark pine door closed behind me, bell ringing to announce my entrance. “Guten tag” the woman at the till said. I waved in reply, sorry, but my German is a tad rusty, and by rusty I mean non-existent. All the tables were full, but I felt a particularly powerful aura from a grey haired, black blindfolded young man at the table in the far left corner. I took the seat opposite him.

“Guten tag! Or do you speak English?” he said, his slightly sharp voice piercing the silence between us.

“Don’t worry, I’m not very fluent in German”

“So I see. What’s your name brother?”

I paused, not sure what to reply with. “Why do you care?”

“Ah, your voice, you sound troubled. Suspicious...”

Yeah, you’re an Immortal, I can tell. “How can you tell?”

“Hmmm. On the run from the Bureau are we brother?”

“!”

“Yes, your silence says all. Don’t worry my friend; I’m one of you, an outlaw”

“I don’t believe you. Name?”

“Vivamus Tonitrui and you?”

Vivamus, Vivamus... yes. Vivamus Tonitrui was a petty criminal as far as murder was concerned. He had murdered seven Mortals and one Immortal, which hinted he wasn’t particularly powerful, even as a part of my Necromancer brethren. His grey spiky hair stuck out from his pale white face, and his eyes were covered by a black blindfold with purple inscription which said ‘The night is the saviour’ in Mortemscript, the language of our kind. “Umbrim Rerus”.

He almost dropped his mug. “Umbrim? Umbrim Rerus? In Munich? Why on earth? “

“You have an awful lot of questions, don’t you?”

“I must say, I am a big fan!”

“Of a mass murderer?”

“Oh yes! I wish I was a Shadow Incarnate! By the way, this blindfold is real, I am actually blind”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Of course my hearing is so much better now I’m blind. I was born this way y’know”

“You know what Vivamus?”

“What?”

“You talk way too much”. I went to leave the cafe to search for my primary target before Vivamus stood up and followed me.

“Let me come with you, please. I promise I won’t slow you down, but the Bureau, they’re just so strong...”

I paused; maybe Vivamus will make a valuable component for my plan... when I have one. “For now, yes,” his face lit up, “BUT, I will give this further thought”. I gave him the address of the hotel and to meet me there later. I then asked him for the name of the strongest Immortal in the area, I was feeling confident.

“Well, I guess the most valuable meal here is Magnie Festa, a female Vampire who lives in the woods nearby. I’d be careful though, as you know Vampires are hard targets, but I’ve never seen one shape up to a Shadow Incarnate”. With that I left the cafe, Vivamus standing there, slightly disappointed by the lack of a reply.

It was around midday when I reached the seemingly dead forest. It was eerily quiet, which definitely suited a Vampire. Like Necromancers, Vampires use their prey’s life force as sustenance, but for them it is in the form of blood, not death. Vampires are faster and stronger than all Immortals, excluding Juggernauts. The weak ones hunt in packs, but the Hunters and Huntresses are strong enough to hunt alone. This ‘Magnie Festa’ was supposedly a very powerful Vampiress, who apparently thought a lot of herself. Let’s see how confident she is against me. I saw a blur shift behind a vibrant holly tree, the only green in the dull sea of grey. “Oh, hello Ms Festa, I’m presuming you’re not married.”

“Why?” a voice said from behind me, I turned around “Like what you see?”
She was close to naked, only covered by a two piece, handmade leaf underwear set. She was extremely slim, her eyes were diamond white, and her hair a platinum blonde, she was...sexually appealing. But, to a Necromancer like me, she had no more influence than any other Immortal; except the nutrition she might give me.

“Please, you should know that Necromancers don’t feel lust”. She bared her fangs at me.

“A Necromancer!? In my grounds? You will die for your disrespect!” She leaped and tried to slash at me with silver coloured talons on the tips of her fingers. I laughed as I swatted her out of the air with a tendril, she weighed barely anything. She leaped back to her feet and launched herself at me again, this time she pinned me to the floor. Licking my neck, she sunk her teeth into my artery. I grunted and clenched my fists, which I used to hit Magnie in the chest, knocking her off of me and a good few metres away from me. I rubbed my neck and then stood up.

“Impressive, for a parasite”

“Hmhmhm. Impressive...for a hypocrite”

She ran at me this time, trying to confuse me with a series of different tactics. I quickly took a deep breath, and then exhaled heavily. I let the little power inside me exit in the form of a wave made of pure darkness. It hit the Vampiress dead on and launched through her into the air, leaving me to fall to my knees. Using energy I don’t have: bad idea against a Vampire. For all my combat experience over the years I had very little with these Immortals, they were very rare and unsocial after all. I felt the cold shoot through my skin, but it had barely any effect on me. She got back up remarkably quick. Maybe I’m way in over my head. She let out a roar, and then prepared to leap... until she noticed something around her ankle. I looked up at her and let out a sadistic laugh of my own. Obviously not very intelligent. I stood up and she looked increasingly worried as the ground around her started to crack.

“Hollow Men, very useful tools when I have slippery little bitches like you” I informed her.

“Release me!” She yelled at me.

The skulls of the Hollow Men followed the arms that were gripping her ankles, then their torsos. I casually walked over to her and used my tendrils to bring her to her knees. The skeletal bodies of the Hollow Men fully emerged from their underground prison and forced all of their weight onto the Vampiress. No matter how strong she was, my sorcery was so much stronger. I took a deep breath as I prepared to brace myself for the rush of energy about to enter my body from my prey. “Ironic, isn’t it? From predator to prey”.

“You can’t kill me!”

“You’re clearly delusional. Bow your head”.

“No!”

The Hollow Men jerked her head forward and kept it held there, even with her savage head shaking. I stabbed two tendrils into her torso and slashed an ‘X’ shape, spilling her innards all over the forest floor. Not much of a clean death, but it was effective and unfixable, and besides, the Hollow Men would clean it up as I left. My mood had definitely lightened now I wasn’t parched for death, but I would need more in a few days. “Back to the hotel it is” I said, my feet crushing the icy slush on the ground.
Last edited by DarknecrosisX on Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Laments of passion
Obstructed by fear.
Under guises of jovial chatter;
Incredulous hopes
Steadily feasting away-
Eating away at my heart.
  





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Sat Nov 26, 2011 12:22 am
Leahweird says...



Umbrim reminds me of the oldschool, pre-romanticized vampires. He's got that edge to him.I loved the discussion with his "fan".
  





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Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:42 am
DarknecrosisX says...



But Umbrim is a Necromancer though, you'll get to know more about Vivamus in chapter 6. Just so you know Wyverus Necrosis and Vivamus Tonitrui were going to be characters in this novel anyway, I just used them in storybooks because I liked the names.
Laments of passion
Obstructed by fear.
Under guises of jovial chatter;
Incredulous hopes
Steadily feasting away-
Eating away at my heart.
  





User avatar
136 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 2952
Reviews: 136
Sat Nov 26, 2011 12:57 pm
Leahweird says...



Oh it's awesome that he's a necromancer. I just meant that he deals with some of the same things (thirst that relys on the death of others, immortality) in an intensely bad-ass way.
  








The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf.
— Shakti Gawain