Re: Prologue: Vezina
***Interlude***
The Carpathian Basin, 15 years prior...
It was a cloudless night. The stars in their aloof brilliance had gathered to bare witness to the chilling horrors of the night. Their meager shining was hidden from view beneath the dense forested canopy of the mountain valleys below, where in that sacred darkness, a most unholy of rites had begun under the omen of the black moon.
The vampire clans each had their own way to celebrate this auspicious time, when the shadows lengthened across the face of the moon until it was blotted out of the night sky, leaving only a dim red penumbra to mark its presence in the zodiac , appearing to all as though it were the eye of a sleeping demon.
Clan Tzimisce used this night both as a revelry and as a reminder. It was a night of bloating oneself on the blood of the kine and to exemplify the complete subjugation and right of rule reserved unto the true lords of these lands. Most of the voivoides chose to take the form of the Zulo and run amok as though they were the unchained hosts of Hell. For others, they chose to ride on the shoulders of the night creatures. Giant bats and ravens stalked the night sky, whilst the dire wolf howls echoed from the foothills to the pine-coated peaks.
So it was on this night of nights that Gyulu rode astride Dioza, his favorite hellhound, clutching his claws against the strands of its pitch black fur as it sprinted alonside its packmates through the night, following the scent of human flesh.
Upon the dire wolf to his left was Sabazios, an honored guest to Gyulu's domain, though his presence here at this time was bothersome. Gyulu was a private individual amongst his clan brethren, and had always preferred to celebrate this night in his own manner. He was not alone in this attitude, but the majority of the clan hierarchy preferred at least some show of unity once every decade or so, and the practice of them coming to his land under the pretense of neighborly tradition on the night of a revelry was suspicious to Gyulu. Furthermore, he did not care so much for this Sabazios' personality. He was a true die-hard of the Path of Metamophosis, and its philosophy was personally distasteful to Gyulu.
"They have the scent now," Sabazios said, his extended jaw with cruel, jutting teeth made him seem more a monster than the creature that he rode. "I have it as well... there is a house near here. There are kine within."
His voice was eager, his eyes brimming with sadism. Gyulu was not so much offended at the clear desire to inflict pain as he was at the thought of allowing this monster to do so against a peasant living within Gyulu's domain. Still, the nature of this night's signficance forced him to share his possessions with this kindred, and the fur trapper's hovel they were approaching was not amongst his dedicated herd.
The door splintered under the other Tzimisce's massive bulk and bone-spiked fist. This one practiced the art of Viscissitude, to which Gyulu abstained from partaking. There was nothing wrong with the form that nature alone had given him.
Inside a woman screamed. Her bleating no doubt amusing Sabazios. Gyulu entered swiftly to survey the scene. A young wench of a woman stood there, her hair disheveled and her clothes loosely thrown over her body in a fashion suggesting she had recently been unclothed. In front of her she prodded a young girl of perhaps 4 or 5 years of age. The air in the one room cottage stank of sweat and some sort of crude alcohol.
"Take her! Take her and leave me be! Leave me be, oh please!" The woman sobbed, tears and hysteria deforming what would normally be a pretty face.
"What sort of woman are you? That you would foist your child upon the altar so you would live?" Gyulu growled, his sensibilities now disgusted with this horrid, pathetic creature in front of him. The desire to feed upon her blood rose in him.
Suddenly at his side, Sabazios spoke. "And what sort of Kindred are you? That you would talk with your food? Do you reprimand rabbits and deer as well before you drain them dry?"
The insinuation that he fed from lesser animals was felt clearly upon Gyulu's pride, and he had the urge to strike out at the impudent Tzimisce. But just then the musclebound creature slammed his hand through the door of a large cupboard, punching a hole clean through it. There was a terrible, gutteral cry, cut silent as Sabazios wrenched his hand back wards, tearing the cupboard door off and revealing a young man, barely a few years older than the woman on the bed. His chest had a large gaping hole in it, through which Sabazios' hand clutched at the vicinity of his heart.
Gyulu looked at the dying man impassively, then inhaled air through his nose and once again turned to the woman. "This man's smell is not the scent of this house. He is not your mate. Nor the father of this child. Where is your true man tonight?"
The death of the young man seemed to have affected to woman deeply. She wailed and tore at her hair, shoving the little girl aside as she looked upon her dead lover. At this, Sabazios grinned and then began to feed, messily from the boy's life's blood while it was still warm. The sight of it nearly drove the horrified woman catatonic, but Gyulu stepped forward and shook her by the shoulders.
"I said, where is your man tonight?" He asked, insistent.
"Gone! Gone to sell his stupid furs and leave me here to rot with this brat! Left me here at the mercy of you demons! He wanted me to die! He wanted us to die!"
It did not take Gyulu long to put two and two together. An older husband gone from home for long spans of time. A young wife with an unwanted child. And then there was the lover. If there was one thing Gyulu could not abide, it was a faithless bride. It was all too close a thing for him, and his distant memories of a life led long ago. He tore into the adulterous woman's neck with relish, and did not stop drinking until there was nothing more to savor. Only then did he drop her body back on the bed of her recent sin.
He turned then to the small child and beheld her through the second sight that he had come to rely on. Her aura shone to him, a motley assortment of hues. Yes, there was the expected fear there, but strangely it was paired with something bordering on awe. There was even something else... a flash of feeling when the child's eyes met his. It was almost adoration. How odd...
There was no sign of loss within the child. The woman he had just fed from must have been as good a mother as she was a wife. Sabazios approached the girl from the far side of the room, but before he could reach a gnarled claw towards her, Gyulu was there in front of her, standing before her protectively.
"This one is mine, I am claiming her."
"Feh, some host you are. Though it is nice to see you haven't any scruples with dining from a kine's child. I can't fault your taste... the blood of youth has a certain sweetness that can only come from innocence."
"I am keeping her as one of my herd. She is not for tonight." Gyulu answered, curtly.
"That is against the rules of the revelry, Gyulu. This isn't the first time our clan has noted your habit of sentimentality unbecoming to a Tzimisce." Sabazios frowned and once again looked at the child hungrily.
"I said she is mine. She dwells within my domain, and her life and death is mine to choose. These laws are sacrosanct amongst our kind and you will respect them or you will no longer be my guest."
Sabazios' gaze returned to Gyulu, and there was a tense moment of poorly concealed hostility before the 'guest' backed down. "Of course, so long as this is your domain, Gyulu, the people here are yours to look after. Still, I find this sort of hunting distasteful. I shall finish this revelry at the borders of your lands."
"I think that would be best. I shall have your servants you by the crossroads before the night is done."
***
Dinu returned from his extended trip to the Istor River village two days after to find the front door of his cottage smashed from its hinges. He sighed. Well, it was to be expected. The merchants had whispered to him months ago of the black moon night and what it would mean. He had planned his trading trip around it for that very purpose. Best to be away and let that stupid whore have one of her young men over when the creatures of the night came to visit. Served them both right. He felt a bit sorry for his daughter, but there was no way for him to have her come with her on the trip, and besides, what was one daughter? Just a troublesome reminder of her mother. Probably would grow up to be just like the bitch too. Better she die now, he thought.
When he passed through the threshold he stood stunned to see an incredibly large wolf, easily the size of a small horse, sitting on its haunches its eyes locked with his own. In front of the wolf, sleeping with her head upon its fur, was Vezina, his young daughter, apparently still alive.
The room was coated with signs of blood and gore and most of his belongings had been torn to shreds. As he stood there gaping at the wolf, a hard shove from behind forced him fully into the room.
"Welcome home, good woodsman," said a mocking voice from behind him. Dinu spun to see a young man of about his late twenties staring back at him. "Who?"
"My name is Tarbus. I serve the true master of these lands. The one who rules through divine right and mystic powers beyond mortal ken. Take care, for his eyes watch you even now."
Dinu followed Tarbus' eyes to the wolf, shuddered and bowed his head.
"What... what do you want?"
"The master is considering if he will show you mercy and compassion. He knows that you were wronged by your wife and by her transgressing lover. As a favor to you, he has removed those problems from your life. He has also given you back the life of your daughter, whom you left defenseless and in the care of an untrustworthy woman. The master wonders though if you are worthy to care for a child, indeed whether you are fit to live in his lands at all."
"I - I swear, it was not my intention. Please... Please tell your master, I am grateful for his concern, and for the life of my daughter."
"He is aware of your gratefulness, but if you desire to live in these lands you must now commit yourself to serving him as your lord. Only your complete and unswerving loyalty will convince him that you deserve to live, for only then are you of any use to him."
"I will serve!" Dinu said this quickly, not hesitating for a second to say that which might spare his life. "I will serve."
"You and your daughter as well."
"Yes, of course. I, Dinu, and my daughter Vezina. We will serve."
"You will serve Gyulu, and through all your actions provide protection, service, and faith to him. He is your master and your god now, and your own salvation rests in his hands. You say you will serve, but you are not servants. You are not slaves. You are simply property. Your life is his to do with as he wills."
Tarbus smiled as he crossed the room to the firepit in the corner. For the first time, Dinu noticed the curling smoke and the iron brand that was stuffed into the burning embers. Tarbus removed this to reveal a heated blackened end that showed a stylized T upon a circular background.
"This is the mark you and your daughter shall bear, and when called upon, you will attend to the master's needs, for the rest of your lives. Failure at any point will mean your death. Disloyalty shall be punished by a far worse fate. Do you understand?"
Dinu looked at the wolf and then back to Tarbus, nodding his head slowly. "Yes. Just let me live -- let us live."
"Then bare your shoulder and receive his mark."
As he said this, the girl stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes to see her father removing his shirt while a strange man stood next to him with a burning brand.
"When this is done," Tarbus said slowly, and with a smile as he now gazed into the young girl's eyes. "You're going to hold your daughter still."
As the brand singed Dinu's flesh, the wolf exited the cottage, its master's will no longer commanding it to watch.
