The Chandra Mahal, four-hundred and fifty years ago…

Wondrous and warm lights, melodious musicians, and long tables adorned thoroughly with velvet tablecloths and a lavish feast of food and drink for both mortal eyes and mortal stomachs, awaited the guests of the Prince of the Palace of the Moon. From all across the golden sands of the Dread Expanse they had arrived here in the City of Dreams, to be pampered by his many servants and courtiers in this reception set at his behest.

The Prince’s death knights, clad in imposing suits of plate armour shrouded by flowing black cloaks, were in attendance to protect him, standing guard around the palatial compound in their necromantic regalia. There were twenty of them, and they had assembled here from all across his many holdings across the Dread Expanse in honour of him, their Caliph. Their true faces, cowled and hidden behind the metallic visage of masks both ornate and esoteric, unique to each member of their sacred order, with only their elvish ears visible through the sides of their hoods black like the midnight sky.

Now, however, that number in their ancient order would soon be twenty-one. From amongst the many aspirants of the Adventurer’s Guild, another had been found worthy to join their ranks, her claim proven and sealed with bloody heroism. Lucid II, named in honour of her mother who was but a humble merchant in the City of Dreams, who had already passed on from old age and sickness. Once a mere mortal, she had ventured far beyond the walls of Oasis as an adventurer, travelling the full breadth of the desert and slaying monsters in defence of the Alyssian Empire. Countless goblins and bandits had fallen to her mighty greatsword of red and black, culminating in her victory over the so-called Warlock Lord, a rogue dragon sorcerer exiled from the Cathanian Imperium, Tirinas Ergoth. Now a dragonslayer, she was hailed as a hero of the land, her deeds observed and duly noted by the powers that be.

Befitting a hero, her reward had been great. Unbinding her, forevermore from the mortal coil. By Amon’s will, a way to exist far beyond the short lifespans mortal elves had to bear in the cycle of life and death as mandated by Sophia, Goddess of Life and Light. Eternity, as undead, and yet, not quite like the mindless skeletons and constructs of flesh, or even the feral vampires that had fallen to her blade. For this power, bestowed upon her, was a far more powerful gift than anything she had ever seen or slain. Of purest blood, of eternal existence.

She accepted it, this Blood Curse of the Dark Goddess. For it was, truly, the pinnacle of all that she had worked so hard for. Now, under the moonlight and the cold nightly air so natural upon the iciness of her undead veins, far away from the reception and secluded amidst the greenery and flowing waters of the palace gardens, Lucid II waited for the appointed hour, dressed in a silken gown and white gold jewellery befitting her triumph. Both of which, once belonged to the treasure trove of a bandit lord cleaved into two by her greatsword that remained with her even now as she stood alone under the night sky, sheathed and slung upon her back. The rest of her adventuring gear had been damaged beyond repair in the battle against Tirinas Ergoth, and yet she thought little of it. For soon enough, a brand-new set of armour befitting of her ascended station, would soon be hers. And if she could have it her way, it would be red like blood – just like the edge of her greatsword, forged with magic and tempered with strength.

Becoming a Death Knight had been her dream, for the longest of times. They were, as far as she knew from the stories she loved to hear as a child, the immortal defenders of this exiled kingdom in service to the Caliph of Oasis. He, the Prince of the Palace of the Moon, to whom all upon these golden sands offered tribute, both material and immaterial. And now, she was going to become the very thing she desired, if only to walk in the footsteps of heroes past and present, to protect and serve far beyond the mortal coil. She could ask for no better fate, even if it meant embracing the Blood Curse and becoming a Vampire. Though even then, not just any mere lesser bloodsucker like those she had slain, who skulked in the shadows and preyed on the weak, but a Vampire Lord – strong, worthy, and in control.

“Nervous?”

Calmly, and with the best smile she could muster despite her fraying nerves, Lucid II turned around and smiled at the ever-welcoming sight of her dearest friend, soon-to-be fellow Death Knight in arms, and former adventuring companion, Athena du la Marteau. Clad in polished black plate armour trimmed a bloody red, her hooded helmet and its masked visage lay cradled between her arm and her breastplate, revealing the prettiness of her battle-scarred face and the light colour of her hair, long and white and green under the moonlight. Her weapon of choice, a massive war mace etched with magical runes that glowed eerily in shades of blue, remained sheathed upon her back, kept close to her flowing black cloak that trailed so gracefully in her armoured wake.

“Try not to be! It’s just a formality at this point. Celebrations and stuff! Really!”

Lucid II nodded. Her elvish ears twitched, and she did her best to ignore the overwhelming sensation of heat enveloping her nose and her cheeks as she looked up into the friendliness of Athena’s brown-eyed gaze. The sight of her friend clad in Death Knight armour was truly something to behold, for she was far too used to seeing that same body in chainmail and leather. Not that it was a bad thing – the armour really looked like it fit her body like a glove, both imposing and beautiful in equal measure. Made her so beautiful, that she found herself envisioning the well-toned and muscular figure that lay beneath the armour, and what it would be like to have her petite self fall completely limp in this very moment, and sink deep into the firm arms of her friend’s embrace.

“The hardest part is over, I promise!” Athena added as she moved in a little closer, putting aside her hooded helmet before placing her gauntleted hands firmly upon her friend’s shoulders. “You know… the ritual, where you and I…”

Once more, Lucid II nodded in agreement. Her memories of her first night in the Chandra Mahal, were still a little fuzzy. In a bedchamber set for two, prepared and heavy with the scent of freshly spilled blood and wine, of darkness and scarlet dreams wreathed in shades of red and black, she had accepted her reward from Athena herself. In truth, it was not the first time they had consummated their feelings for each other, having done so many times over the years on the long road whenever they thought themselves away from prying eyes. Like animals, with same the ferocity and passion of the wild and lawless fiends they fought side-by-side. And yet, what had happened that night was unlike anything that a cramped inn room or a tent could provide. For what had been done, had changed her forever.

“Yeah. It has been a month since, right? I still remember that night like it was yesterday.”

“I do, too! It was fun, and I’m glad, I really am… that they let me be the one to do it. You’re usually so stiff and uptight, but in there… you were amazing!”

“So were you, Athena.”

“Indeed I am! Anyway, you’re feeling better now, I trust? I mean, you’re standing here alone in the gardens, waxing poetic amidst the rose bushes without me…”

Lucid II blushed, and looked away momentarily.

“Sorry! I did not think you would have the time for me. You looked rather busy, preparing for the ceremony with your fellow death knights…”

“Our ‘fellow death knights’, Lucy,” Athena corrected gently, as she smiled and playfully placed a finger upon her friend’s lips until she too, found herself smiling in turn. “You’re just worthy as any of us to stand before His Majesty. More so, I’d say! Considering…”

It was then, with Athena’s finger still placed softly upon her lips, that Lucid II’s smile turned to a frown.

“Am I, truly?”

“Why’d you say that? His Majesty doesn’t bite, you know! Most days, at least.”

“In truth, Athena? It is because…”

Lucid II paused and frowned, despite Athena’s continued smile. The armies of skeletons rising from the dragon’s discarded pile of half-eaten refuse to attack their former tormentor, and the phantasmal barrier that left her temporarily impervious to the dragon’s fiery breath, long enough to behead him with her two-handed blade, were all her friend’s doing. For years she had trained to be a warrior without peer, honing her craft in battle and travelling with humans and elves just like her, and she wondered, truly, even now, how much stronger she had become.

Was it, at the end of the day, mere luck? She looked at Athena, and her frown deepened. They had met as little more than fellow adventurers, and she had thought her friend and lover to be little more than a warrior who practiced the dark art of necromancy alongside the far less subtle art of smashing enemies to bloody pulps with a giant mace. But a Death Knight? If her friend was indeed a Death Knight all along, a being of such great power, she wondered to herself how much of her victory against Tirinas Ergoth had truly been her own.

Had she, perhaps, merely caught the eye of the gods in passing? Before coming here, when the truth was finally revealed, Athena had stressed that her journey incognito into the Adventurer’s Guild was to find heroes like her, worthy of Amon’s dark gift. Despite this, it was still a question that lingered at the back of her mind, even now. And it hurt, in a way.

“Don’t say it,” Athena whispered, her usually jovial demeanour suddenly turning grim and sombre. “Don’t even think about it. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Is that true?”

“It’s as true as the eternal night above these sands,” Athena answered once again, with a thoughtful nod. “You’re an accomplished warrior, through and through. Now, you’ll be far more than that.”

“I know nothing of magic,” Lucid II remarked disappointedly. “Never had any aptitude for it…”

“Maybe you didn’t, previously. But now? You’re different!”

“Huh?”

“You’re a Vampire Lord now, remember?” Athena teased gently. “Just like me! It’s within your blood, to master the secrets of magic.”

“Can I… also do what I have seen you do with that wand of yours?”

“Yes, indeed!” Athena answered excitedly, before playfully patting the side of her armoured waist shrouded by her black cloak. “You’ll get a ‘wand’ of your own! When this night is over, you’ll be privy to our magical secrets. Unholy Armour and Raise Dead, to just name two of them…”

“The spells you used against Tirinas Ergoth, right?

Athena nodded, and Lucid II found herself smiling gently in turn.

“Will you be the one to teach me?”

“If you’d like that to be so!” Athena teased. “I’d like to think that I’m a strict but firm teacher! Effective, too! The others can do it, but with me, my tutoring will also involve some… ‘extra classes’ on the side, if you know what I mean! So, what say you?”

Lucid II covered her mouth and widened her eyes, for she knew what Athena meant. Even after so many years on the road together, her friend’s vivaciousness seemed to know no bounds. It was frightening sometimes, but at other times, exciting.

“So, how about it? This offer is good only for the next five minutes! Speaking of which, we’ll be late if continue we dallying here, so we should get going…”

“I… I would like that very much!” Lucid II exclaimed, before covering her mouth in the face of the extreme sensations enveloping her senses once again. “Yes! I would, especially with the ‘extra classes’ with you! I mean, I am not very good at magic, and…”

Before Lucid II could shy away or finish speaking, Athena moved in and kissed her friend squarely upon her lips. It was not their first time, for their first of many to follow had happened when they were camped out under the stars. And yet, here, it felt like it was as they embraced each other closely and tightly in the moments of silence that followed. It was a feeling that burned so deeply upon her senses, and as she looked into the weakness in her friend’s gaze that continued staring so strongly into the vulnerabilities of her own, she knew she was not alone in her feelings.

“I love you, Athena.”

“I love you too, Lucid. I’ll protect you, and we’ll serve His Majesty by each other’s side. Forever.”

With tears in her pink eyes, and a smile upon her lips, Lucid II nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, Athena! Forever.”