When I signed up to this war it seemed like a good idea.
War is a good way for a vampire to feed and I can kill without worry that the death will be investigated. Also, I still hold the rank of Sargent Major so I get to bully the troupes around. I know it's a little thing but its just pay back for when I was a kid.
But this is no ordinary war. I was in reconnaissance with my squad when we came to this "black road" for want of a better word. I sent Fritz to investigate the road. As he stepped onto the road his body became all twisted and he fell back onto our side. None of the other squad members would go near the road or Fritz, so it was left to me to see what had happened to him. His body was a mess. It looks like he died quickly which looks to be a blessing. But his body looks worse than what was left of the circus back in England after I blacked out.
We managed to make it back to camp but the sky is darkening even though its noon. As the day wears on more squads come back. It seems the black road cuts the mountains in half completely. It seems there is no start or end to it.
I was woken up at 2am when a massive earthquake hit us. The camps in uproar.
Three tents were lost when the ground they were on collapsed revealing a pool of lava. No officers have been lost yet but they seem to be in as much panic as the men. The captain ordered me take 3 squads to see if the other camps were okay.
We head off to the first camp (camp 10) about 5 miles away due north. The skies are getting darker and there is ash and smoke in the air everywhere. We have to dodge round several lava pits and cracks in the road from the earthquakes. And there are still a few aftershocks.
We make it to camp 10 but it's taken us half the day to travel the 5 miles. I lost man when the ground he was standing on turned into a sink hole and dragged him under before anyone could react. I have ordered the other men to keep a closer eye out each other in case more sink holes appear.
The camp is a mess everyone is dead well it looks like most of them have been ripped apart. I would guess this camp was right next to the black road which seems to have vanished for now. Once I have gotten the men calmed down we grab more supplies and head off towards the next camp. We don't make it and have to make camp for the night.
I am awakened by a blood curdling scream. I get the men up and we get ready just as a man runs into camp. He's deadly white and has massive claw marks down his left side. He's bleeding badly and babbling about demons. Just as I think he's starting to make sense he dies.
A call goes up from some of the sentries we are under attack. Three big demons charge the camp. They get two more men before they are killed. As the light breaks I spot that the black road is back and more demons are emerging from it. We fight a pitched battle but in the end we make it to the next camp, and together with the men at this camp we kill all the demons.
As the dust settles it turns out all the officers are dead or injured.It looks like I am in charge. In the fighting I managed to get a good look at these demons. They look a bit like the statue I have, the statue that turned me into a vampire/demon. Can it be true after all these years that I could be getting closer to finding out what I am.
I organize the men together to get ready to set out for the main camp. We gather up all the extra weapons and ammo we can, and any other equipment that we can carry. The injured men are put on stretchers and we head off. As night falls (not that you can tell from the sky) we make camp. I set up extra sentries and everyone sleeps with their weapons loaded.
As midnight approaches the night goes deadly quiet then I hear a clock chime 13. Hang on that can't be right.
The day dawns and it seems it was a quiet night. The road's gone again. We make it back to the main camp. They have fared reasonable well. The officers are alive thank god.
I take a small squad off to see if I can make it to the nearest village. Its only 10 miles east of here. The squad is attacked by 2 demons. I manage to kill one with my vampire claws, but the other one kills the rest of the squad. I try to talk to it ask it where it comes from, but I don't understand it and it just wants to kill me. I manage to kill it first. I make my way down to the village but everyone has been killed. I find a place to hole up for the night
I wake from a fitful sleep I'm sure I heard that clock chime 13 again, but that isn't possible. To hell with this I'm not heading back to the camp I will head out of these mountains.
I check my supplies. I have my rifle but only 4 shots left. My sword, but my claws were more use anyway. 5 days of rations and my other standard pack. I found a bow and several arrows which I take. It's a nice composite hunter's bow. I had 5 knifes. I refill my water bottles, and set out.
As I make my way down the mountain a Demon appears before me, but before I could react the world turns grey and everything stops moving even the demon. I leave the demon to it and carry on down the mountain.
I notice that a dense fog has appeared, but this too is not moving, so as I walk through it I leave a hole in the fog, making an eerie tunnel. Then in a brief clearing of the fog a tendril appears. It seems to be looking for something. It turns toward me and then rushes at me. I am grabbed around the waist and dragged off into the unknown.
I see this tower loom in front of me, and I'm heading straight towards it. I see other tendrils that also seem to come from the tower. I am pulled through the walls of the tower and dumped on the floor. The tendrils continue into the center where they disappear; all that's left is what looks like a woman clothed in a green dress.
There are 3 others people in this room. An oriental woman, a man in some sort of black full body armour, and a man in what looks like a roman soldier's uniform. The man in black mumbles something in English and heads over to a massive picture that takes over most of one wall of the tower. At least he speaks English. The woman grabs these two small balls off of her belt and two animals appear, one looks like a large dog, the other a strange yellow mouse like creature but the size of a cat. The animals seem to cower round behind here, scared I guess.
I want some answers so I head towards the women unconscious in the center and shake her awake. I find out she's called Dierdre and has a brother called Brand. She tells us about a war that has begun between the side she controls and the side her brother controls. A war over power. What other type of war is there.
She explains a bit about this war and that we are all from different shadows she calls it. There is not just one world there are hundreds and Amber, where she is from, is where it all started, and the eye of the serpent was used to create everything.
Her bother has released Rodian, a demon of some kind. There is a prophecy that he will be released twice before he can be killed. At least he can be killed. If we can believe what she says?
She may be the evil and her brother the good. But for now I will go along with what she says until I get more info and understand what's really going on.
Other things she told us
Well I don't care about my world I just want to know who and what I am. But it looks like this will get me closer to what I need so I will help for now.
She then sent us to this strange room and a strange women called Cordelia. She is injured, says she got injured saving the queen of Amber. Who is asleep in one of the beds?
After a short talk where we tried to explain what Dierdre told us she seems to believe us and has gone to bed. To trusting if you ask me. She told us to make ourselves at home. (To trusting.)
Well the coffee pot I recognise but it seems to be run on electricity, not on a stove like I am used to. Cordelia said we are in California year 2004. And yes it does seem that this is the future. Not sure what most things do or are.
Allanon Silver, the guy in black, showed me this tin can of food that you open with a ring pull. The cans I have back home you need a metal can opener to open. These ring pulls make it so much easier. But most stuff just looks like futuristic versions of what we have back home.
Stuff I learnt in this room:
I will finish writing this then change back to my vampire form. I have not been in human form for ages now it just doesn't feel right now.
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