---

In the deep darkness at the end, I stood,

Met with a bleakness, as if misunderstood.

My body roughed and roused, feeling so weakly,

Yet blood ran and sweat trickled, urging me fiercely.

There, amidst the shadows, a glimmer of light,

A beacon of hope, shining ever so bright.

I breathed in deeply, to restore strength within,

For this battle, I knew, I had to win.

If my body could be pushed to take a stride,

I'd defy death's grip, and break away from its tide.

No longer would I stand, a prisoner at that door,

I'd fight, I'd rise, and emerge once more.

With every step, determination would guide,

Through the abyss, where my courage would reside.

For in that darkness, I'd find my way,

To a dawn of renewal, where shadows decay.

So I moved forward, with a resolute will,

Casting off the doubts that sought to instil.

In the face of adversity, its power I stole,

For I shall never willingly pay that toll.

And as I reached a light, beyond that despair,

I left behind the darkness, the abyss's snare.

For in that moment, I discovered my might,

The power to conquer, to shine through the night.

No longer to be met with bleakness or defeat,

But with resilience and strength, my victory complete.

I broke free from that door, now forever closed,

A testament to the battles that I had composed.

In the deep darkness at the end, I saw the core,

The flame Marcus called me, burning brighter than before.

No longer meekly standing, I rose and I soared,

Defying all odds, my future restored.

---

Logan stared down Quayvan, glistening green eyes versus that of chilling blue. A knowing, excited, and devilish grin adorned the vampire’s face, while Logan’s was full of hatred and confusion.

“Oh, my hand must have wandered a centimetre to the right”, Quayvan sighed as he looked at Logan’s chest.

Logan coughed blood onto Quayvan’s sleeve, “The fuck are you doing?”

Quayvan tutted, “Don’t you mean, ‘The hell am I doing’?”

Logan was stunned, he had been so careful not to use words from Earth, how did Quayvan find out?

There was no time to mince words. Logan gritted his teeth and commanded his body to move, and it did, as it warped far from the vampire.

Kneeling down, Logan quickly drank potions from his pouches before Quayvan caught up.

Another teleport gave the Spellthief some distance to heal and think. What should he do?

“Come!” Quayvan shouted from down the hall, “Is this how one sent from above fights?” Getting down into a slouched position, Quayvan’s robe started to float as his hair swayed, “Demon-Clan Spell. Body Eruption!” he chanted.

Logan surmised its effects as he turned his head and warped away again. Just in time. The bodies near his feet, be they dead or unconscious, all started to bubble and enlarge before exploding and sending shards of red energy and bone all around.

Drawing up his artefact dagger, Logan was about to go on the offensive but became quickly defensive as Quayvan warped a few inches from his face.

“Show me more!” Quayvan demanded as he stabbed upwards into a blocking icy blade from Logan. Punching at Logan’s face, the Spellthief tilted his head to dodge, to which Quayvan opened his hand, “Demon-Clan Spell. Telekinesis.”

Logan could hear the singing of weapons coming from his rear, warping away he narrowly evaded countless shards of rock and discarded weaponry as it crashed into the ceiling and floor around the vampire.

Quayvan shrugged as he shook his head, turning to the foe away from him. “C’mon. Is this what really took down so many?”

“Why?!” Logan demanded.

Quayvan looked puzzled before he blinked in realisation, “Oh yes. Camaraderie is an amazing tool”, he began before vanishing and appearing next to Logan with a sideward swing, “To kill!”

Logan hopped to the side as the knife cut his cheek, but it was followed by a punch to the nose, sending out cracking noises across Logan’s face.

Quayvan wrapped an arm around the back of Logan’s head as he brought him down into a knee to the face but was blocked by his own knee.

As Logan was sent back he retaliated with a slash of his own, cutting under Quayvan’s ear. Opening a palm, Logan chanted, “Air Blast”, sending a shockwave out that pushed him into a spin, landing a solid kick into Quayvan’s face as they both moved away from each other.

“Haste”, Logan chanted.

“Haste”, Quayvan chanted.

The two increased in speed as they darted towards one another. Blades collided, deflected, and dodged.

Logan was able to stab at Quayvan’s face again, the vampire cutting at Logan’s sides and wrists.

Landing a solid punch into Quayvan’s stomach, Logan opened his palm and grabbed ahold of his coat, “Necromantic Grasp”, he chanted. A shadowy claw tried to dig into the man’s body but was pushed away.

Quayvan was also immune to first-level spells.

Realising this, Logan backstepped as Quayvan carried after him.

“Identify.”

Nothing.

“Think this is a fair fight?” Logan asked.

“Of course not. Why fight fair, when I can win?!” Quayvan replied as he caught up with Logan to exchange blows again, “Crooked words coming from you though. Necks and backs are your targets.”

“We share one of those!”

Quayvan slid to a halt as he felt his neck, Logan stopping similarly as he brought up a bolt behind his back, “Oh. Trying to find words to pierce my wall? A valued attempt. But I’ll have many parts of my body sucked if it means power!”

Quayvan darted forward again and had another blow deflected, this time Logan brought up a silvered bolt and pierced Quayvan’s neck where his bite marks were.

The vampire yelled out in pain as steam rose from the wound. Quayvan quickly crushed the shaft and pulled the bolt out, tossing it to the side. “The taste of silver is so… spicy.”

Logan twisted his hand in the air as he pulled back, “Necromantic Second Skystrike”, causing tendrils to attempt to penetrate the man, but Quayvan warped behind Logan again.

Logan similarly warped to where he had attacked and attempted it again. Quayvan had his back pierced and his life drained into Logan to bolster him.

“You hide it well! But knowing ahead of time, anyone can tell you’re an Oracle”, Quayvan teased as he pulled away from the spell.

“What is your aim!?”

“To fuck you”, Quayvan started as he dropped a dagger and pulled back, “up!”

Logan saw the shadows beneath him cast on the fire sconces and was able to dodge to the side to avoid tendrils hitting his rear.

“Damnit, he can silentcast”, Logan cursed in his head.

Waving his hands back and forth, Quayvan sent further shards of darkness from his palms at Logan, which he avoided.

“He. He must be working with another PC. He has to die!” Logan thought as he dodged the numerous spells. Opening a palm, Logan grabbed onto the spells and mentally commanded, “Spell Absorb.”

The darkness swirled into Logan’s palms to a still-excited vampire’s gaze.

“The power of an artefact, in a man! Tille with be pleased.”

“Tille?”

Logan waved his arm across the floor as he used the charges of Necromantic to make walls. It wouldn’t do much to his opponent but it would block sight.

Running away, he continued to do it as he jumped upwards to the ceiling between two of the shadowed walls.

Quayvan came charging through the walls as he cut at them with his machete and dagger. “Where are you going? Desertion will not grant you amnesty!” he shouted as he caused stalagmites to crack from the floor and hurl ahead with his telekinetic powers.

Falling behind the vampire, Logan grabbed his back as he commanded, “Flame Second Grasp”, igniting the foe in flames weaker than that of the sun, but dangerous all the same.

Swiping away the flames and shadows, Quayvan cut at Logan’s chest, while Logan landed another blow near the vampire’s temple. Dragging down his blade, Logan made a long cross on Quayvan’s face as he kicked back.

The pair stopped being as fast as before as they continued to clash blades.

“Let us finish up, no doubt backup follows at my heels”, Quayvan put forward.

“What? I can outlast him!” Logan realised.

Quayvan jumped forward as he aimed for a death strike at Logan.

Crossing his right arm over his chest, Logan blocked Quayvan’s machete in his right hand. Crossing his left hand over his neck, Logan grappled the dagger in Quayvan’s left hand as it aimed to blind Logan, instead only caressing his cheek and blood flicking away from his red spider eye.

Quayvan landed with a slide as the pair kept their attacks and grips in place, their hands shaking as neither one wanted to let go of the other.

Dropping his dagger, Quayvan opened his palm and caused the blade to float and shoot towards Logan’s head. Logan leant forward as the dagger narrowly avoided his head through its telekinetic attack.

Getting close to Quayvan, the vampire licked Logan’s face and devoured the blood he washed off.

Logan quickly jumped up and kneed Quayvan in the chin, piercing the vampire’s tongue with his teeth, the tip flying off as the pair separated again.

Quayvan grappled his face as he groaned in anguish at losing half his tasting muscle. Blood poured to the floor like a waterfall as the vampire recoiled from the effect.

Waving an arm at his foe, Logan chanted, “Flame Second Shot”, sending a torrent of flames at Quayvan.

Quayvan quickly drew up his left empty hand, caught the fire, and yelled, “Spell Absorb!”.

The flames dashed and danced in a circle, getting slurped up into the hand of the vampire. A new form of sucking his opponents dry.

A bloody and crooked smile adorned Quayvan’s face as he brought his hand down, nary a singe on him.

“Fuck. He gained my ability from my blood? He’s a monster?”

Quayvan chuckled, “Bountious fortunes! My assumption is shown to be exact.”

“Who are you?!”

“A man who has grown so much, in so little. We’re brothers in that aspect”, Quayvan replied as he stared at his hand, “Now, we share ever more aspects.”

“Only monsters should be able to do that.”

“Harsh. You’re an alien. You lack the right to condemn my actions”, Quayvan started as he aimed his hand at Logan, “Now die, invader! Flame Second—”

Quayvan’s fingers started to alight with embers but extinguished as soon as they appeared, the last word from the vampire’s lips failed to complete as his arm began to bubble, turn red, and explode outwards in a display of flames, flesh, and bone.

Quayvan yelled out in horrendous pain as his arm was splattered across the hall, only the dangling flesh of his shoulder remained.

“Did he fail to absorb it?” Logan thought. But then, when he failed it had only hurt him when he attempted to absorb, not cast.

“Did I overstep?” Quayvan thought aloud as he fell to a knee, “The parameters should—”

Logan wouldn’t let an opening go to waste for long, blasting air behind him, he sped toward Quayvan and sliced upwards as he sent out another blast from the pinky that held his dagger.

Quayvan narrowly dodged the brunt of the attack but had his chin split down the middle and his nose segmented in two.

Spinning, Logan drew up two potions and downed them with his left hand while he struck out with his right.

Quayvan parried with his machete which started to show signs of cracks over it, just like his teeth.

Turning invisible, the vampire attempted to flee, but his blood continued to drip and Logan’s heightened sight luckily allowed him a brief look at the running foe.

Throwing out the last dagger from his hip holsters, Logan landed it as it floated in midair in his foe.

Glass shattered as Logan realised his foe was healing too. The whole battle was a mess of attacks and drinking. This wasn’t a bar brawl!

Quayvan appeared again as he collided his machete against Logan’s frozen lord edge, the effect lasting much less time when in combat.

Dropping his machete in the air, Quayvan waved his hand which caused Logan to jump back and avoid, but avoided nothing as the machete instead hit the floor.

“What is he.”

Quayvan pulled out a silver dagger from thin air and stabbed it in his knee, then a silver bolt into his chest. What was he doing?

Whatever it was, Logan didn’t want to find out. Sending out another blast of air behind himself, he went hurtling towards Quayvan with a downward strike aimed to split the rest of the vampire’s head in two.

However, it collided with something else. A barrier made up of azure hexagons over the top of a gloved arm, flowing sleeves from a robe accompanying it.

A mage had shown themselves, as many more did the same, alongside crossbowers.

“Halt! Cease your attack on Sir Quayvan!” the blocking mage proclaimed

Logan was about to continue to attack the others but saw he was outgunned, as well as outranked. These were the backup forces from the MT.

Logan fell back as he looked at the mage, before he could speak the vampire shouted, “Thank the above you got here as you did! Logan almost killed me!”

“What? You attacked me!”

“Look at me. He took an arm and attacked with silvered armaments. Even my tongue was severed for components!”

Logan looked between the vampire and the mages, “He’s lying! He did that to himself.”

“Logan”, the defending mage addressed, “You have been accused by Quayvan of assault. The disappearance of Jirango and Xican are you doing as well?”

“What?”

“It was a smart move to delay reinforcements, traitor”, Quayvan spat and lied.

“He set me up? Wasn’t he trying to kill me?” Logan thought to himself.

“My backup plan shall see me safely home”, Quayvan unknowingly countered with his own thoughts.

Logan was at a loss, there was evidence against him. But how deep did it go? Either way, he was in major trouble. But then something came to mind. He was ever thankful for his keen reading and research.

“I request a challenge of court!”

--- *** ---

Snakes in the grass.