*Eldovian Era 1715 14th day of the 8th month*

“Come on Talo, don’t be such a mood killer like Sel over there,” Layton pleaded, “Race me!”

Talo huffed, standing up from the side of the river where he was washing his hands of blood and turning to the bouncing ball of energy that was Layton. Now immortal ball of energy. Three days in and even Iah had begged to starve him just so he’d lie still for a while. Rassa was pretty positive that even that wouldn’t stop him.

The ‘Mood Killer’ stood beside Rassa, even more of a shadow now that he possessed the ability to keep up with Rassa, at least most of the time anyway. Sel’s discipline impressed even Rassa. He’d mastered hunting impeccably quickly.

Neva sat with Ebony and Iah on his other side, Layton’s antics drawing the attention of the three of them.

“Kid, you’re starting to get on my nerves,” Talo huffed.

“Well, you’ll have to catch me to stop me, come on!” said Layton with an evil grin, “Race me, race me, race me!”

Talo’s fist jabbed out in a flash and Layton chuckled as he ducked to the side and backed up, “Come on, race me!”

Rassa rolled his eyes and leaned back onto the boulder he was resting on as he looked up at the moon. Layton had been the last one he’d turned. He was almost thankful for it considering he was the only one that had any chance of reigning Layton in without pulverising him. When their youngest was feeling more agreeable, he’d listen to Iah, but there was no chance of Ebony tolerating his antics. Even now she scoffed at his behaviour and turned away.

“A message came,” Iah perked up, handing Rassa an envelope she produced from the pocket of her hunting coat, “Alistair brought it from Varkevia”.

Rassa raised an eyebrow as he took the letter. If it was someone from Moonshadow she would have just told him as it would have been sent via the crystals during a meeting. A letter would have to be from someone outside the company. He glanced at the wax seal, a faint wave of recognition passing over him as he cracked it then read the contents.

After a moment, he folded the letter again and handed it back to Iah, “Where are the ships?”

“Most of them will still be in Port Leis,” Iah replied.

“Tell the Moon Rider to come to Varkevia. We’ll meet it there, tell the rest of the fleet that we’ll meet them near Levron in two weeks for the journey south,” said Rassa.

“All of us?” asked Iah.

Rassa nodded to the still playing Layton and the frustrated Talo, “I’m not leaving them here”.

“And Mathius?” asked Ebony.

Rassa turned to look at her, “I suppose that depends on whether or not you wish to stay behind”.

Ebony hesitated for a long moment, “I don’t think I want to go south yet”.

Rassa nodded, “That’s your choice. You’ll keep things in working order for me here, I know you will”.

Ebony nodded, a weight seemingly falling from her shoulders at his trust and approval. It may not have been the original plan, but the job she was given was no less weighty.

“So, what is in Varkevia?” asked Ebony.

“I made a promise when I brought the property for the base there, it has come time to deliver it,” said Rassa as he stood. He reached out and caught Layton by his arm as he went to run past, then swung him around so that Talo would miss him.

“Come, we’ll get our things, then we can all run to Varkevia,” Rassa stated.

“Varkevia?” asked Talo, looking towards the north-east, “Can we really run all the way there? It’s a month-long journey on foot…how fast can we do it?”

“Us? It’d take half the night. The whole night if we have to stop and hunt, but we’ll get there pretty quickly,” said Rassa, “Pack your things and be ready to leave at sunset tomorrow”.

“Neva too?” asked Layton, Rassa releasing him as he jumped up in excitement at the prospect of being let loose.

Rassa nodded, “Yep, all four of you”.

Layton grinned, then raced towards the Castle.

“You shouldn’t have turned him,” Talo huffed.

Rassa chuckled, “I needed somebody to balance out Sel, looking at his stony face for the rest of eternity would drive anyone mad”.

“Apologies, Master,” Sel bowed his head respectfully, a small smile at the joke on the corner of his stoic lips.

Talo rolled his eyes, “I think you may have over-compensated”.

“Perhaps,” Rassa grinned, “Come”.

***

Rassa sighed, putting down the light element tool in his hands and looking up at where Ebony stood in the doorway. Iah had left an hour ago to head to Port Leis and inform the fleet, and the other four were learning from a particularly energetic Olly about how the Mist worked to carve the runes. Rassa didn’t exactly expect them to take it up, they were warriors, not charm craftsman, but he knew that the understanding of the mist would be beneficial for when they were unsealed.

“What is it, Ebony? You’ve darkened that doorway for eight minutes now,” said Rassa.

“Sorry, I didn’t wish to disturb you,” said Ebony.

Rassa put down the half-finished charm in his hand and spun to look at her from his spot on the stairs beneath his ‘throne’. He barely ever sat on that throne. He thought the thing was ridiculous.

Ebony stepped further into the room, “You have a guest, or rather guests”.

Rassa raised an eyebrow, “At this hour?”

“She’s quite insistent”.

Rassa scented the air, his lip curling in annoyance, “And persistent. I hoped she’d stay in Port Leis, clearly the network she’s been able to develop stretches further than I anticipated. I’ll have to talk with our own networks to ensure nothing else has been breached”.

“Surely our location is not a secret,” Ebony raised an eyebrow, “Moonshadow is so heavily watched”.

“I know, I meant cut out the tongue of the one who told her how to get in,” said Rassa.

Ebony gave a small grin, “I can handle that while you’re gone”.

Rassa rose and walked to her, planting a kiss on her temple, “Thank you. Tell them they can come in”.

“You don’t want me here?” asked Ebony.

“This won’t take long,” said Rassa.

Ebony nodded, then left the room. Rassa had almost forgotten how slowly humans walked. Kit and Olly were some of the few humans allowed in this room, and they rarely came here, as did Moonshadow’s department heads who usually met in the crystal room for discussions. A minute later, Devina Lightbringer, in the company of eight other individuals, five of whom were also women and the remaining three young men, walked into the large audience hall.

“Devina Lightbringer, Spark of the Holy Order, to what does this dweller in darkness owe the pleasure of your presence?” asked Rassa, lying back onto the granite floor. He wanted to be as dismissive as possible with these people.

“This is quite the headquarters, Rassa Moonshadow, planning on expanding?”

He knew she meant his Coven, though she had no word for it.

“Not with you,” Rassa replied, “I do believe I told you that some time ago, yet now you bring a contingent as what? Offerings? I may be arrogant, but I don’t believe myself a god in need of worshipping”.

“Could have fooled me, Vampire,” Devina replied, looking around at the grandeur of the room.

Rassa sighed, pushing off the ground. His clothing was simple, homey. Like he was preparing for bed. He wore no shoes, and his unkept look would have looked sloppy on anybody else. Rassa made it look ethereal as he crossed the room to stand before Devina, his maroon eyes taking on a brighter red sheen as his voice turned into a threat, “Then get on your knees, little priestess”.

Devina met his gaze and held it for a moment. A deep rumbled came from Rassa’s throat, a warning, plain and clear at the challenge. The Priestess looked away.

“Is that why you will not turn me? Because I am of the Holy Order?”

Rassa watched her a moment longer before he moved away towards the wide glass windows that looked out over the lands beyond, “That’s exactly why I won’t turn you. My Coven is very small, Devina. And new. If I were to turn a Priestess of the most ancient Order based organisation in the world, it would be seen as a desecration of their twisted faith and a declaration of war. My people may be powerful individually, but they cannot hope to defend a position against hundreds of thousands if not millions”.

Devina was silent at the admission.

“Besides, turning you would be near suicidal. The Order you have lived with since your youth and the Chaos I introduce will clash within you to such an extent that it would be as if you were being torn apart. Though the chances are slim, if I have any chances of turning a Magician it will have to be one of Shadow, your opposite,” said Rassa.

Devina looked away.

“Is this all you have come for?” asked Rassa.

“Your ships…you’re preparing for an extended journey, south, I assume? And soon,” said Devina.

“Yes,” Rassa admitted, “It is time Moonshadow expanded”.

“Even if it falls right into the Holy Order’s territory?” asked Devina.

Rassa chuckled, “The Holy Order are a bunch of fools who can’t see past the end of their own noses, or they would have detected the remnants of Chaos in their own backyard a long time ago”.

“Remnants?” asked Devina.

Rassa waved his hand dismissively at her question, “Is that your only concern?”

Devina sighed, “I can help you”.

Rassa smiled, “I doubt that, but perhaps you can amuse me one last time before I dismiss you. How do you plan to offer help?”

“I can get the deeds to Ishta Alamone’s Evanine Mines,” said Devina.

Rassa’s smile stilled, “That’s not a light claim to make. Such things are left in the broken hands of his company that has been struggling to hold itself together since his untimely demise”.

“And you were planning to scrounge them up and buy them, were you not?” asked Devina.

Rassa tilted his head, “You’ve intrigued me, but that doesn’t explain why you want to help. You are a Light Magician, aiding me should be repulsive to you by instinct”.

Devina’s gaze faltered slightly as she turned away, “I…I’m doing it for Aegin, we were only together a short time but…how he spoke of the balance he-”

Rassa caught her chin, turning her to face him, “Stay still, do not fight what I do or it will hurt”.

Rassa did not wait before he delved into her mind, past her conscious thoughts and deep into her memory. There, he found what he was looking for. He closed his eyes and released her, an amused smile on his lips.

“Well, that is unexpected,” said Rassa.

Devina breathed deeply, taken aback by the sudden invasion and then just as sudden disappearance of another, overwhelming presence in her mind.

“He made you a Sanguine,” said Rassa, “Unintentionally, but still, I’d be proud if I wasn’t so pissed that he continued to think so low of me”.

“What’s a…Sanguine?” asked Devina.

“It is the term for the humans that bond with Vampires as their dedicated feeders. The Sanguine can sense when the Vampire is hungry and feels obligated to feed them just as they are obedient in doing what is asked. At least for the most part, your Magician abilities likely fought against the bond. In return for ready access to blood, the Vampire provides sustenance to the human and protection from harm for the period of the contract. Yours with Aegin was two months. Your journey on the Mariner,” said Rassa.

Devina frowned, “So? Like you said, it’s over now”.

“And when he refused to let you go with him, you came after his Sire. Perhaps it was in part because of what you learned, but the reason you’re so insistent on having someone sink their fangs into you is because you were irrevocably changed from the experience. You liked it, even despite the Chaos it let in. And in your mission to seek it out, you even recruited more for the same purpose”.

Rassa waved his hand at those behind her. Devina looked away in shame.

“There is no need to be embarrassed. A long time ago it was an honour to serve as a Sanguine for a Coven. But it is a life of servitude, not one for a priestess, no matter where her allegiance lies,” said Rassa.

Devina clearly looked upset at being laid open like that. But Rassa seemed non-committal as he looked at the others.

“If you truly seek this fate, then I’m sure when I return from the South that I will be willing to consider it, but not now. I have not the time nor the patience for it, those of you who will consider such a life of servitude, you may take residence in the town below for now so long as you are useful, the rest of you, you may stay the night only,” said Rassa, “Now leave me”.

Devina turned to Rassa, “And my offer to help with acquiring the Deeds?”

Rassa looked over his shoulder at her in contemplation, “How confident are you?”

Devina did not look away from his gaze this time, “90%”.

Rassa raised an eyebrow, “Very well then, if you can join the Moonshadow fleet in Levron before the fortnight is out you may come. But if you prove useless, you will receive no benefits nor sympathy from me, nor my company. Understood?”

Devina looked annoyed for a moment before she nodded, “Understood”.

Rassa waved a hand to dismiss them and he listened to the group’s footsteps fade. He sighed as he looked down at the half-finished rune stone he’d been working on. He’d let a moth into his coven of spiders. This was sure to go well.

***

*Eldovian Era 1715, 15th day of the 8th month*

Layton’s competitive spirit was tiring for some, but on a run such as this, where the four newly turned Vampires had their first opportunity to really let loose, it was contagious.

Even Neva, who had at first simply been trying to keep pace, raced with them as she tried to stay one step ahead.

Rassa watched from the side as they raced across the rolling fields. He’d told them to just keep going no matter if Rassa paused or not. It would not be a great difficulty for Rassa to catch up to them. Still, after the third time Rassa had stopped and let them pass by, Sel had grown curious.

“What are you doing?” asked Sel.

Rassa’s eyes seemed to carve a path through the landscape before he took a runestone from his pocket and threw it to Sel. Sel caught it, eyes widening as he saw the symbol.

“A new rune?”

Rassa nodded, “Waiting weeks for things to be transported between our stores is a pain, but I would not put the burden on any of our shoulders to carry stock back and forth. That would be a pain too, so, a happy medium must be reached”.

Sel read the rune carefully, his eyes still a little untrained.

“Acceleration? No…Speed?”

Rassa nodded again, “Good. The idea is that a rune like this that is attached to some form of transport will make that machinery move faster than before”.

“I can’t imagine a horse drawn carriage will be useful here,” said Sel, “Unless one were to use it on the horses”.

Rassa chuckled, “No, not on the horses, and I’m not thinking of using carriages. At such high speeds, it will be dangerous to attempt to attached any animal to it, and it will be dangerous to attempt to drive it on uneven or sharply curving terrain”.

“So, it can only be used on flat lands?” asked Sel.

“Or, perhaps with the right touch, the carriage could be placed on a specially made road or track,” said Rassa.

Sel looked to only have half of Rassa’s idea mapped out in his head. Rassa pointed along the landscape, “Imagine a long metal track that was specially designed to carve through the landscape. Along this track would come the specially designed carriages built for transportation of goods, perhaps even people. The carriages themselves accelerating by the power of these runes alone”.

“How fast would they go?” asked Sel.

Rassa sighed, “I suppose one would have to find an appropriate speed, perhaps place a limit on the charms so that they did not exceed a safe and sustainable pace. After all, if you reached a high speed, you’d only have short bursts of power before the charm would need to be charged, and there would be no guarantee of the safety of those within. Humans weren’t built to reach those kinds of speeds so precautions would have to be put in place. Perhaps the tracks could pass through a few villages along the way, stops so that passengers could rest and that the crystal could recharge. In all though, I think I could efficiently make a month long journey into one that took anywhere from 3 days to a week depending on the amount of cargo the initial car was pulling”.

Sel frowned, “Sounds like a complex undertaking”.

He passed the charm back to Rassa who just shrugged, “Nothing about Moonshadow is simple. Having the will to make something new, to reach new heights and improve quality of life should be one of it’s primary goals. Otherwise, the business will eventually stagnate, and it’s commodity will cease to be. Other companies can copy our runes, they probably are not far off finding out the secret by now. But it will be quite a surprise if any of them are able to create a new rune”.

“The Master is wise and has dedicated much thought to the longevity of his people,” said Sel, “Thank you”.

Rassa smiled, “Well, doesn’t something that lasts as long as we will seem so much more exciting, Sel?”

“Perhaps ask me in a few years, Master,” Sel nodded respectfully.

Rassa nodded, “Fair enough, come on, Layton looks to be starting a fight with Talo again”.