The Immortality Stone - The Cardinal

Chapter Six - Training With a Bite

CHAPTER HAS BEEN EXTENDED!

DeKramarr wandered through the troops that Jon had been preparing. He watched them at their training. Jon was a firm believer in practice makes perfect. So they had set up raiding parties to go between the four worlds to find willing victims. From the half eaten corpses, DeKramarr could see the insignia of the Crisanas Army. He bent down, a smile playing on his lips as he picked from the ground an especially royal symbol, the Crown Prince. Good, this would buy him some time.

"What do you think?" Jon asked proudly. "Not bad, eh?"

"But nowhere near as many. I believe you promised thirty thousand, not three." DeKramarr said coldly.

"Ah, but you see there were some issues. A question of loyalties and then the cost of food and housing, of course there were some casualties of training. Time being a......major....issue" Jon trailed off as DeKramarr caught his eye.

"Are you saying that two thousand years was not adequate?" He hissed.

Jon, whose response to 'count to ten before you lose your temper' was 'count your teeth after I've lost my temper' leaped on DeKramarr with his teeth bared.

"Do not take me for an underling, pulsater." Jon snapped. "I have built as big an army as I am able to. Don't you dare speak down to me, I am the father of nightmares."

DeKramarr caught Jon by his throat, his already honed skills heightened by the runes inscribed on his armour. The Vampihr army snarled as one as their leader was caught. Jon's eyes narrowed as he saw them.

"And don't you forget that without his Lordship, the cause for which you have fought so long is useless. You need those waters as much as he does." DeKramarr growled lowly before throwing Jon to the ground.

Jon picked himself up from the ground, brushing off dirt and debris.

"We will recruit again, we'll be more forceful than before. I will get you the damn army. Give me a few more months." Jon demanded sullenly.

DeKramarr nodded once, he unsheathed his sword.

"I'll give you a month and my help."

~*~

Jon was angered by the need for the coalition. Removing Nilanto and replacing him with the old King, Nightmare, was the task only he should be worthy of. This, Nilanto, should never have happened. It was an abomination! When Jon had been given the honour of siring the next reincarnation of Nightmare, he never knew that the fool of a wife actually cared for him. Jon had gone to such lengths to ensure that the next Vampihr King would be born into a family full of hate. But no, that idiot of a wife, had loved him. His fist clenched, and it was her love that had been the undoing of everything. Her love had created this soppy drippy creature that had fallen in love himself. Creating his own family, and even more shameful, had adopted an Elf into his bloodline. AN ELF! Jon retched at the thought of it.

Another thing that bothered him was that the Kingdom was happy with the change. Beasts, suitable only for war had been allowed to become citizens. They no longer went hunting for food, instead they traded with it. Instead of being respectfully terrified and humble, they had the audacity to do as they pleased. Respect must be returned. Duties must be obeyed. This was why he needed Vaskar, this could not be allowed to go on any further. Nightmare must be restored.

~*~

Their schedule was simple. Train for 5 hours straight, the practice fights and bouts, ending the day by hunting either in Erethe or Earth. There was nothing substantial in Evaness. Not anymore. The day usually finished late at night, where troops would then retire until dawn. Jon and DeKramarr were ruthless in recruiting. DeKramarr found it much easier if you appealed to people's softer sides, it was funny how quickly men came round when their families were threatened.

And then there were the changelings. Jon was particularly proud of them. They stood for everything Nilanto was against. The hunting parties would raid villages, what they didn't feed from they would bring back. The numbers were dramatically swelling, but they would have to move soon, before Nilanto found out. They would have to bring the army to Erethe to finish the training.

~*~

Back in Barrendara, Lord Vaskar watched triumphantly as he viewed DeKramarr’s progress from the seeing stone in front of him. He was in the topmost tower, which while not open was surrounded by open windows. The dark stone was so crude and dark, it seemed almost derelict. He had been displeased at first, irked that Jon had not kept his promise. But then he was too close to Nilanto, but even so. Lord Vaskar was not the patient man, footsteps echoed from behind him. Swiftly he moved his hand over the obsidian slate in front of him, wiping DeKramarr’s progress from it. Lord Vaskar turned to see who it was, it was his oracle, Mistress Daemana.

"What have you seen." Lord Vaskar asked, holding a hand out to her.

She was the secret to his success. While the seeing stone had its uses, its fault was that he could only use it to view the present and with those he had branded with his own mark. The tattoo of Vaskar contained his own blood, which connected them to him and him to them. Daemana on the other hand, could see past, present and future. It was Daemana that had informed him of the Sleeping Sickness returning, that it would decimate the Elven population and making it easier for him to conquer Erethe. It was Daemana that had informed him of Ríanna's re-incarnation reappearing, it was all coming together.

Mistress Daemana smiled, her ruby eyes glinting and her perfect skin almost glowing in the moonlight.

"I have seen her, my Lord." She spoke softly. "She will be in the Breannaigh forest, in six months, on a full moon. She will go easily enough."

"This is good. Send some men to retrieve her."

~*~

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Sorry the chapter is so short, but from now on the chapters will be merging more together. Please leave any questions or criticisms you may have ^_^