(( ::: shivers::: I wish this was a movie. It would be one spectacular scene.))

[i:d8772ad9bc]"Gabriel!"[/i:d8772ad9bc]

Cyrilynn's distant voice broke his trancelike state and the Ventrue's eyes returned sharply to the battlefield. But even so, he still felt oddly disconnected, and although he saw a clearly quizzical look of question on the elderly face of the battle ready Tzimisce, all he could do was nod a silent confirmation to whatever question she had asked.

He joined the designated "bodyguards" in a deadly semi-circle in front of the magus and peered with awe into the thick of the enemy forces. Hissing, gnashing Kindred snarled and spat, roared and shook the battlefield. Some held blades high into the air, eager for the chance to engage forces close enough to sate their thirst for enemy blood. A minority, a number still vast, clung to various modern weaponry, and peppered the distant walls of the crumbling fortress with small arms fire.

They began their march forward, directly towards the center of the line. The Tzimisce stood eagerly out front, her body's unholy spines shuttering with anticipation and bloodlust. Next to her, directly across the semi-circle from Gabriel, stood the one he had been introduced to as Mundug. A rather large figure, apparently of Native American descent, Mundug clutched a tomahawk tightly and stared out over the battlefield with the same hungry eyes.

The salubri stood directly at Julius' side. She seemed hesitant, yet not out of fear. Gabriel distantly recalled the monumental healing of Julius' soul that seemed so long ago, and wondered if this battle, this bloodbath, was perhaps a departure from her nature. Nonetheless, she appeared capable and ready.

Directly in front of the magus, determined and fueled by love, Eveshka the living Goddess stood ready to defend her beloved...who had evidently been with her throughout time. The night before Julius had attempted to explain to Gabriel the exact circumstances that had brought them here...something about time travel and reincarnation. But the young Ventrue had been possessed by the same disembodied feeling that drew his mind from the battlefield even now.

The magus began to speak to each of his defenders in turn, shaking his fist for added effect. The distant explosions that shook the ground beneath their feet drew Gabriel's attention, and when his glossy green eyes returned the Tremere, he saw he was addressing him.

[i:d8772ad9bc]"....are you ready Gabriel?"[/i:d8772ad9bc] came the battle cry.

[i:d8772ad9bc]"I'm ready."[/i:d8772ad9bc] he said non-commitally. A new harmony of voices filled the smoky air above them, and the coterie turned a collective gaze towards the hillside where the silhouette of a new line appeared, their weapons and heavily armored heads and shoulders stood formidably. Next to the somewhat modernized forces of Ali, they looked ill suited for the task, but the deadly gleam in their eyes that shone out against the shadows, suggested they were ready.

The figures of Hassan ibn Sabbah and Salah al Hudin, both on horseback, appeared in front of the line. Ceremoniously, they raced down their lines, shouting in an ancient forgotten tongue. Whatever cries of battle or motivation they delivered worked however, for Gabriel could distinctly see the hunger flare up in the eyes of their men. Undead fingers tightened their grips around their weapons with anticipation. Finally, their generals cried the charge, and the deadly army swarmed down the hill like a black avalanche, barreling towards Ali's forces.

Ali's army turned to meet this new threat with an odd combination of pikes and gunfire. The pikes lined up their crooked shafts in a horrific murderous row that spanned the length of Hassan and Salah's line and sporadic bursts of gunfire erupted from the defense line, tearing into the charging Assamites.

[i:d8772ad9bc]"Alright now! While they're distracted!"[/i:d8772ad9bc] Julius cried, and it was suddenly all Gabriel could do to keep up with the rest of them as they charged headfirst into the fray. La Magra bounced merrily on his side, elated at the chance to taste it's enemies blood, but still remained sheathed.

Gabriel watched as the group ran with inhuman speed. Their forces had broken the line and now clashed hand to hand with Ali's forces. Already he could smell the stinking mixture of blood and ash on the winds. The Ventrue steeled himself, and finally the coterie was immersed in the thick blanket of violent bodies.

La Magra screamed from her sheath and in her first arch cut a bloody slice from the belly, chest, and neck of a particularly unfortunate Assamite who instantly disintegrated into dust. It's wielder moved brilliantly through the fray, swinging in wide accurate motions, striking multiple opponents in single movements.

In the corner of his eye, he could see Cyrilynn unleashing what he had all along suspected was her inner nature. The Tzimisce was tearing through the Assamites with released fury, her primary skin blades hacking through the crowd at a dizzying pace. Although he focused on his own bloody work, the Ventrue could not help but be morbidly amazed at the Tzimisce's extraordinary ability to defend all sides of herself. Each time an Assamite managed to slip past her front, a series of deadly stake-like eruptions tore from her back, skewering them instantly. He thanked God he was not on a battlefield of old, where the two may have met as enemies.

The Assamites kept coming, some with hatches, some with blades, others with guns but La Magra gloried in battle and cut each one down without mercy. Gradually, they ran alongside Salah's men, and Gabriel found himself without an enemy to fight. He instead watched as Eveshka spun majestically through the air, her two blades spinning brilliantly with her. Each move was graceful, each strike direct. Enemies fell before her without sound, and often without a clearly evident wound. The blood that covered Gabriel in head to toe, somehow never touched the Toreador, she remained immaculate among the chaos.

The Ventrue was also granted the opportunity to see just how valuable and ferocious a fighter this Mundug really was. The tomahawk sailed through the air again and again, always finding it's bed in the skull of it's enemy. It's accuracy was unmatched, and it's damage particularly messy. Heads exploded like pinatas, showering the already muddy field with a quagmire of bone and brain. Mundug hungrily pushed, bunched, kicked, and struck his way through his enemies. Unstoppable.

The battle bloodied Ventrue looked towards their prize...the sole Tremere Julius. Still unarmed, and evidently untouched, the wizard was the picture of serenity. He stood next to the Salubri Elzbet, clearly staring at something through the battle. Gabriel followed Julius' gaze through the limbs and gore and blades and death, through the cries and shrieks and groans of defeat stood Ali. The same deadly crimson falchion hung heavy in his hand, and instantly a pain began to materialize in Gabriel's shoulder. The bald figure, so regal and powerful stood staring directly back at Julius, still several hundred yards away.

Suddenly, any fear that may have lingered in Gabriel's mind or heart melted away. It was clear now. Only Julius mattered...only he could put an end to all this. The Ventrue lifted the deadly katana once more, now lifting the blood of hundred of enemies with it. He charged to the front of the fight, passing even Cyrilynn and hacked his way into the jungle of enemies, clear on cutting a straight line towards Ali.

Cyrilynn looked in to the eyes of her regnant and a command passed down their shared link with the now familiar *SNAP-TINGLE*. Only this time it was nothing more than the buzz of an irritating insect, ignorable. She nodded once to acknowledge the order and caught each of the coterie's eyes, holding them for but a second before crying the demand, [i:14d1d463f7][b:14d1d463f7]"Follow me!"[/b:14d1d463f7][/i:14d1d463f7] To each one, she inclined her head but a fraction, in recognition of their place in the day's events and the fact that she would not likely be seeing any of them again when the battle was over.

To Lady Eve, she gave a small bow, instead, for [b:14d1d463f7]she[/b:14d1d463f7] was her master's heart and soul and should all else fail, she was to ensure that Eveshka was to survive as long as possible, even at the cost of her own life. Not that Julius requested that latter, merely that Cyrilynn understood the nature of bonded souls. Were not she and Toisol the same as they, yet different in circumstance? There was no other choice, it's the way things should be.

She finally came to Gabriel, standing silent and distant, and barked a question at him, much the same as he had in Greece when she'd almost slid into a trance on him. He rallied briefly, but the spark that lit the rest of this misfit group was missing from him. He had yet to feel the lust for battle. It bubbled lightly in her veins but would soon become a volcano of seething joy with each dark slice and wickedly placed thrust.

The Tzimisce spun in place, facing the foe, and a distinctly evil smile spread across the granddame features as more changes took place. Chintinous plates had replaced skin; hard, black and shiny. What bladed weapons didn't deflect or slide away, would be caught in the spines of back, arms, legs and the crest of her head. Her hands had been carefully crafted into keen, bone, short swords, embedded into the natural armor at her wrists and now a foul, throat-gagging stench exuded from a greenish mucous that oozed from her joints. With a throat wracking shriek she lead the charge, aiming for the portal Ali had used to gain entrance to the city.

When she and Gabriel had arrived at Julius's camp and reported their success, she'd been more than relieved to remove the diadem from it's safe nesting place in her belly and hand it to the waiting mage. She'd watched him gaze into it's depths and then smile in absolute satisfaction, awaiting dismissal, craving the need to find solitude to cleanse her mind. She'd been shocked and nearly ready to slip into a killing rage when he handed the jewelry back and ordered to her continue to guard it. Lady Cyrilynn had paled, barely managing a nod and very reluctantly took back the hated piece. Then fortified her inner shields and sank it back into it's hidden pocket once more.

All through the struggles to lift the veil, all through the planning and the preparations for the coming battle, she'd sweated and strained to keep her inner barriers in place and now, at last, she had something to focus that denied frenzy on! Leaping forward, she parted enemies like a surgeon cutting away flesh. There weren't many that landed blows and those that did, merely inflicted small stinging wounds or shallow punctures. Instantly converted in the the pleasureable fuel to feed to the fires of her beast. Ignoring anything but the vision in her rear eyes, set to guard and watch the group that followed, she sheered and hacked through the bodies confronting her and [b:14d1d463f7]laughed[/b:14d1d463f7]!

A nightmare in black, her unnatural weapons drenched in blood, spraying aloft as they swung into the next victim, she pressed onward. Gore spattered the slick curves of her armour and dropped thickly to be trodden underfoot. She neither stopped nor slackened, her one goal like a beacon to her existence in this chaos, the gateway ahead. This, [b:14d1d463f7]THIS[/b:14d1d463f7], is what it meant to be Tzimisce! And for a time, the crystal that drove her, was sated. Until, at last, they stood before the broken doors, to the heart of the city and Ali, who waited beyond.

As the group assembled and waited for instructions from the Tremere wizard, Elzbet [i:3fbc2a7020]"sampled"[/i:3fbc2a7020] the intense vibrations eminating from everyone. All around them the sky was being torn asunder with the clash of swords, the roar of guns and the screams of the undead. She stood in the center of a rough circle, close to Julius and scanned the surroundings.

Beyond the waiting band, it looked like Assamite fighting Assamite, but there was something off about the group that this "Ali" was leading. She trailed the threads that shone from each one and discovered an alarming trend. They were all being controlled to some extent by their strange leader. Also, she found that they weren't truly Assamite, but something altered.

The two Arab men who led the others seemed to be rivals, but when push came to shove they bonded together to help the magus. They were determined to defeat the infidel army and so were their men. There was no hesitation in their minds, just a simple prayer to Allah to guide their blades, and when Eternity was inevitable, for peace.

Elzbet brought her gaze back to her new friends. Eve stood waiting, a sense of anticipation and anxiety warring for dominance. The anxiety was for her lover, that maybe, just maybe, everything that they had been through in the last few months wouldn't be enough to take her murderer down. The anticipation was for the coming battle, of course. Elzbet could feel the Toreador's excitement surge with the loosening of her muscles.

The reclusive Tzimisce seemed to have figuratively broken out of her shell, or was that into her shell, as the bony plates covered her fragile flesh. Despite the desire to rend her foes, there was a heaviness in Lady Cyrilynn that suggested that she was tettering on the edge of something very unpleasant. Right now the Beast was strong in her and that shunted some of the stress away, but it wouldn't last for long. Here was another crisis waiting for the Salubri to clean up. [i:3fbc2a7020]That's me,[/i:3fbc2a7020] she thought, [i:3fbc2a7020]shrink to the vampires.[/i:3fbc2a7020]

The Native American man was harder to figure out. He had somewhat of a natural barrier against her. There was a small sense that this is what he was made for, the love of bloodshed. Gabriel didn't seem to notice anything and there was a vagueness to his eyes, as if he weren't all there, as if something were preventing him from feeling the enthusiasm of the rest.

Although there was mayhem and pandemonium outside the bunch, there was a pool of serenity inside, with Julius at the center. There was no doubt or nervousness in his mind, just a drive to succeed. His eyes locked onto Ali's and Elzbet felt the Assamite trying to turn the Tremere from his purpose. She snapped a barrier of her own into place, which would protect them from some of Ali's tricks.

As the cotiere moved forward, Elzbet stayed no more than an arm's length away from Julius. It hadn't bothered her, the strange looks that she had gotten from the other members when she first showed up. Elzbet was not a physical fighter and they didn't know if they were going to have to protect her. But as they advanced, a few attackers broke through the defenders only to fall at her feet, clutching their heads in agony. Her ultimate task was not to protect Julius from others, though.....[i:3fbc2a7020]it was to protect him from himself.[/i:3fbc2a7020]

The battle had fully unfolded now. Mundug had never thought the Assamites were that many in numbers. Luckily this time not all of them were fighting on the opposite side and next to the Assamites on his side, there were also some other cainites who he had recently met and they proved to be more effective than he had expected. Julius, who was basically the only one who he had fought with before and had been a good complement to his own skills in battle was the only one who was not doing anything...yet. The enemy warriors, trained fighters, just kept on coming and it was hard to tell what side was getting the upper hand.

Even though the circle around Julius was tight and not yet broken and even though Mundug was probably leading the rankings chart of most kills of all the members of the defending circle around Julius. Not used to fight along side others and being restricted by his position in the circle to defend, Mundug found himself in a tough position. Covered red in blood, splintered bone fragments, cartilage and intestinal remains, he too had suffered a not negligible amount of hits and even though his rough toughened skin would absorb a lot of those, a significant amount had also cut and wounded him.

The situation was odd to him to say the least. It wasn't even his fight he was fighting for and there was nothing for him to gain out of it.

At the moment, there was hardly time to consider any of all that and Mundug deflected a blade with his axe. He grasped the head of the sword wielder, pushed it down, stepped on his back, pushing him on the ground and launching himself in the air at the same moment. The other two Assamites, his next opponents, were just a little too slow and both were dropped to the ground under the weight that was suddenly placed on the shoulders. They did not get a chance to recover as in the next blink of a yellow feral looking eye their heads rolled on the floor and small fountains of blood came out of the decapitated bodies that soon after disintegrated.
The first assailant, now back on his feet, was not left forgotten and with a fierce hurl the axe's blade merged with back of his skull. Covering Julius, Gabriel and whoever else was in the area with crumbling pieces of brain and whatever else was flying out of the man's head.

The opportunistic Assamite that wanted to catch Mundug, who was now unarmed, soon realized his mistake as the huge sharp talons on the Chinook's now paw like hands severed the flesh and tendons of his sterno-cleido-mastoid, making his head suddenly jerk in the other direction and making his neck a perfect target for the next blow of the clawed hand.

Mundug who had distantiated himself now a bit from Julius and leaving a little more room for the enemy fighter who wanted to engage Julius, saw Gabriel filling in the gap where he could. The swiftness and precision of his misleading swordplay seemed to be effective in its own way. The many assamites who had misjudged his moves were forming small heaps of dust at his feet.

Eveshka's dual blades mostly gracefully did their work. Now and then surprisingly bluntly, she struck opponents in places that were prone to hurt when they were hit and in this way she too had been making many casualties.

Cyrilynn or what used to be Cyrilynn was mowing down foes where she went, putting her unusual natural weapons to good use, surprising many Assamites who had trouble finding vulnerable places in her unusual anatomy.

The fight was not over though and the enemies were far from defeated, many of the ranks of Salah and Hassan had fallen and there was no one who had not at least suffered and injury or wound. There was no way to tell how long the coterie of defenders could go on, especially if one of the defending pillars around Julius would fall, things could change rapidly...

After reading all of these posts by the rest of the coterie, I believe you are quite right, Eve. This would be one epic battle on the big screen! Fabulous job for those of you whom have written so far! I look forward to more!!

Heh! Move over Underworld, we just might be your next competition for the box office viewers!! :D

((this scene is certainly a frolicking bit of fun! i think i'll post again tonight!

Rhiannon and Eveshka got separated by about 15 feet from the main group. Eve's rapier and main gauche never stopped swinging. Rhiannon's katana brought death onto Ali's men in steady sweeps. Several times, the two vampiresses appeared to be on the verge of being swarmed over when a host of wraiths would appear from thin air and stem the tide. The women moved into the city through a breach in the wall and fought their way up a stairwell. They had no clue who they were fighting now. They could have been Ishtar's guards or they could have been Ali's followers.

At the top of the battlements the two women rested. Eveshka looked down towards the Orontes river wondering what she would see. The Veil had long since closed behind them. Nothing of the modern world could be seen. Rhiannon pointed at what she saw before her. A very old and powerful warrior bearing two damascus scimitars stood before her. From his aura and presence he had to have been at least as old as Eveshka, and probably more powerful.

"Rhi, no," ordered Eve as she saw the young Toreador move into an offensive stance. Could she not see how powerful this man was? Eve guessed that she could not as she saw Rhiannon bear down on the man who wielded two scimitars. The man smiled and gave ground. Eve instinctively knew he was trying to pull Rhiannon in and away from her. "Fucking hell," she muttered and followed after them. The two vampires were going at it with great ferocity by the team Eveshka got to them. Both Rhiannon and the scimitar wielding demon used blood magic on each other. Neither seemed to be gaining any ground. Perhaps he was not as powerful as Eve had initially thought.

Rhiannon did a somersault over the man who had an odd grin on his face as he tracked her movements. The moment she landed and began to draw back for a killing blow, he threw the scimitar at her and skewered her to one of the doors to the Tower of the Two Sisters. He spun around to remove Rhiannon's head from her shoulders but the blade was parried by Eve's main gauche. She had flashed in under his guard using maxed out celerity. He had just been toying with Rhiannon it seemed, for the Arabic man now bore down on Eve with incredible speed, grace, and ferocity. The two were evenly matched. Or at least they would have been had Eveshka not expended so much blood during the battle before the walls of Antioch. She closed her eyes and mentally screamed for Julius. She was terrified that she would be destroyed like she was in Marseilles. This time she would not have been prepared for it. There would be no Shade of her if she fell this night. The man had her backed up against the parapet with only a sheer drop off to the river below when several spikes seemed to grow out of his chest and abdomen. They swirled around like fan blades and literally shredded him. There stood the normally reservered Lady Cyrillin licking the gore off of her hands as the spikes were reabsorbed into her body. Eveshka removed the scimitar from Rhiannon and she fell to the ground in a heap. She was in torpor. Eve brought her inside the tower and propped her against the wall. She'd be as safe there as anywhere. Together Julius, Gabriel, Lady Cyrillin, the Salubri girl, and Eveshka made their way into the tower and to the room on top.

The room was empty and quiet apart from what faint sounds of battle reached their ears. Eveshka recognized the place immediately.

"This is where I went when I died," she said simply.

Julius looked at her. "You've been here before?"

She nodded.

"Is the Vitae here?" asked Gabriel.

For some reason Eveshka did not like him asking that question. She also knew that he had read just that in her aura for he looked away from her.

"No," she answered. "I don't know where it is."

"I would guess it is over that way," said the Salubri girl whom Eve did not really know.

The group looked out the window to the east. Rising up Mt. Silpius, they saw Ali and his men racing towards the Citadel.

"Let's move," said Julius. He did not bother to head towards the door to the long stairway down, he simply lifted his hand and blasted a hole in the wall from which they jumped the 30 or so feet to the parapet beneath.

As they neared the entrance to the Citadel they saw a host of Ali's men go up in flames as they tried to cross over into the inner sanctum. Ali looked temporarily at a loss. He stood still for several minutes, and seemed to be weighing his options. From out of gloom came a war whoop and Mundug lept down from the parapet overlooking the outer defences to the Citadel. Salah and Hassan followed with the meager force of Assamites that were left. Ali stuck out his hand and closed his fist. Ten feet away six assamite warriors crumpled to the ground and then sailed towards the entrance to the Citadel. As they passed through the gates they burst into flame. Salah and Hassan looked at each other and withdrew as one to the gloom of an alley way. Mundug looked around and noticed that he was completely alone with this Antedeluvian madman. Never a coward, but also never one to waste his existance on a lost cause, Mundug made a break for it as well. Ali turned around and laughed.

Julius and company were soon within striking distance of Ali. He was a mere 50 yards away. He had reformed a line of undead minions that seemed never ending. As soon as one went down, he conjured another to take its place. The coterie waited at the bottom of the hill leading to the entrance and were joined by Salah, Hassan, and Mundug.

"This man has great power," said Hassan. "We cannot win this fight."
Salah nodded reluctantly. Mundug showed no emotion either way.

"What the..." said Gabriel. All eyes returned to looking at Ali and his minions. A great cobra, at least ten feet high, had reared up and was fighting Ali and his men. It seemed to them that the horde was fighting amongst itself. At first none of them knew what to make of it until...

"Khemintiri has arrived," said Eveshka. Then it dawned on them all. She was dominating the men and setting them against each other. But was she the cobra? Eveshka couldn't figure that out. Soon every one of the minions were occupied with fighting one another. Ali yelled in rage and struck out at the cobra. The head of the cobra darted this way and that and evaded all of his attacks. Ali finally struck the thing and severed its head. Blood gushed everywhere as it crumpled to the ground. The minions stopped fighting each other instantly and reformed in front of Ali. As one they began to charge down the hill towards Julius and the coterie.

"GET READY!!!!" he shouted. Swords and other weapons were brandished as the horde bore down on them. Then a slender but shapely woman appeared from nowhere. She was completely nude and was the most radiant being anyone had ever seen. Her beauty was such that she seemed to glow. Khemintiri had truly arrived. She walked serenely up the hill towards the horde with only a small crescent shaped knife drawn. She moved her arm in graceful arcs and the horde broke upon her as the ocean breaks on a lighthouse. The flew backwards and turned to ash in midflight.

"Shit," said Julius. "Don't tell me we have to fight her as well now."

Eveskha shook her head in understanding. Her eyes were lit up as if she had just fully comprehended something for the first time.

"She's on our side, Julius. I don't know how I know, but she is."

Eveshka began moving up the hill towards the entrance to the citadel. Julius and Lady Cyrillin followed. Ahead of them they saw Ali back away into the gateway. He survived intact as he crossed the threshold. He disappeared from view. Khemintiri walked up and into the gate and also out of sight.

Eveshka stopped at the top of the hill, right at the threshold of the gate and looked back. She beckoned to the group.

((wow...rather large developments...impressive

The journey to Turkey had started out as uneventful but as they had approached their destination an uneasy feeling had descended upon Kathy. The magazine that she had been reading lay untouched on her lap, and concern was etched on her face.
" Kay?"

He slid out of his seat adjacent to her and touched her softly on her shoulder and shejumped as if she had been startled.

" I should never have left his side Tyler, neither of us should have, I'm getting the oddest feeling that something is wrong...very wrong and there's nothing we can do about it"

Gabriel had confided in Tyler that he had thought that Kathy was maybe seeing someone else but as he looked on the fear etched on her face, he knew that no matter what she was up to she loved Gabriel like noone else, either that or she was very good at acting.

" Now listen to me Kay, Gabriel can look after himself and think of it this way, whatever they are doing, if you had been there it may well have distracted Gabriel, his love for you is strong and his overwhelming desire to protect you may well have hampered them all"

Kay nodded absently knowing that he was right, but nevertheless feeling useless and unable to dispel the feeling that she had.

" All we can do it wait for their return in Antioch" he said as he watched a blood tear run down her cheek and wiped it away with his finger.

" If anything happens to him...I wont be able to forgive myself , I wont be able to survive without him"


((theres no way I can catch up with you guys....so Im in Antioch...waiting :)

Perhaps it was La Magra's potency, or the work of the Setite, or it might have been the mystical setting that Gabriel had never even believed to exist, whatever the source was it was lending temporary strength to a body that should've collapsed and broken long ago.

His once proud features were now masked in a hideous collection of grime, but his eyes still shone intently on Eveshka's shrinking figure as the Toreador strode beneath the gate and into the maw of the structure. The exhausted socialite pulled himself from the marsh-like stew of flesh and dirt, drawing the katana up with him. Inspiration, hope, and power seemed to caress every torn muscle, repair each bit of torn flesh.

What was it? What plunged him on...

Her.

The soft dark hair that he had drifted to sleep during so many sunrises within. Parted lips, hiding the most angelic and heavenly of smiles...soft reassurances of the sanctity and beauty of life that somehow always soothed his aching soul.

Kathy.

Gabriel stood erect and swung his blade in two mighty circles to clear it of it's unwanted sheath of flesh and blood. The gore fled from the ancient weapon and joined it's freshly cut brethren on the ground below. The Ventrue rejoined the party, invigorated.

Standing at the great stone gate, overlooking a moving sea of the dead, all crying out for blood, only one was on his mind.

[i:0dfe514765]"Gabriel! Lets go!"[/i:0dfe514765]

He turned around to acknowledge Cyrilynn's beckon, and with a final glance at the sky, disappeared beneath the ramparts to join the rest of the group.

Increasingly urgent cries from Eveshka above and the coterie ahead shook Julius from a reveverie. He had started to fall behind and was in danger of being flanked by Ali's forces, pouring like waves through the breach. Unused to being out of the battle, it had become somewhat strange to simply walk through the chaos, whilst all about him kindred were winnowed like flimsy stalks of wheat. A little perspicacious alacrity was called for and he activated his celerity to swiftly rejoin the group. The great doors of the citadel stood open, half hanging upon broken hinges, within, their prize.

The enclosed quarters they now entered changed the complexion of the group battle strategy. Eveshka scouted ahead, checking now and again with Julius, who had hazy memories of the layout. Gabe and Cyrilynn formed a wall ahead of Julius, whilst Mundug dealt with those few who managed to flank and circle them.

Ahead now, lay their destination, a stone doorway out of which a strange light cascaded from the room beyond. [i:b828270803]"There Julius!"[/i:b828270803] Shouted Eve, excitedly and ran through. [i:b828270803]"EVE!"[/i:b828270803] Screamed Julius in warning as two Assamites shimmered into existance and leaped for her, blades outstretched. Their screams were cut short when their bodies turned into flame, as they passed the threshold. Eve turned to see Julius grab Gabriel and Cyrilynn, as they too were about to enter the room.

Julius could see little of the room ahead, but he could hear Ali's voice within. [i:b828270803]"They can't get in, my love. To enter is death if you have not the blood. I know not how you possess it, nor how you have returned to your unlife, but I assure you, it will not be for long."[/i:b828270803] Ali's falchion hissed from it's sheath. Eveshka stood in the doorway, the fear clear on my face. [i:b828270803]"Julius!"[/i:b828270803] She pleaded, telling, with the look in her eyes that she knew Ali would again be too strong.

Julius' mind began to race. [i:b828270803]"By sign and stroke, the guardian knew his master."[/i:b828270803]

[i:b828270803]"What?"[/i:b828270803] Said Mundug, still confused as to why he was even here, let alone strange magic and odd mumblings.

[i:b828270803]"The blood... the guardian... a diamond become a ruby... Cyrilynn!"[/i:b828270803] He suddenly snapped at the Tzimisce. [i:b828270803]"The diadem... NOW!"[/i:b828270803]

From wherever inside her oddly contorted body she had hidden it, Cyrilynn retrieved the headpiece. The large ruby set within it pulsated with an inner light. [i:4fe5e4adaa]"Julius..."[/i:4fe5e4adaa] Screamed Eve, as the sound of her rapiers fending off the great falchion of Ali echoed from the room. Julius pulled the ruby from it's setting and whispered words of magic over the stone, before plunging his fangs into the now softened rock. [i:4fe5e4adaa]"ALI!"[/i:4fe5e4adaa] He shouted. [i:4fe5e4adaa]"I'm coming for you."[/i:4fe5e4adaa] Julius tossed the ruby to Gabriel. [i:4fe5e4adaa]"There's enough for everyone, don't be greedy."[/i:4fe5e4adaa] He said, before running through the portal.

The scene within stopped him short for a moment. The portal opened into a cathedral like structure. Strange unearthly lights floated in the air, the source of the illumination which had poured through the stone entrance. Sounds, as if choruses of angels, filled the space giving it a strange, holy peace, a peace broken now by the sound of blade against blade as Eve struggled with the ancient Assamite.

[i:4fe5e4adaa]"Julius.."[/i:4fe5e4adaa] Cried the hard pressed Toreador Goddess, once again. [i:4fe5e4adaa]"Ali!"[/i:4fe5e4adaa] Snarled the Magus sending a fireball in his direction. Ali leaped and dodge it, ignoring Eveshka now, in the presence of a far more dangerous opponent. Julius looked back over his shoulder. The rest of the coterie were now in the room and standing behind them, apparently unnoticed by all but him, the figure of Khemintiri. [i:4fe5e4adaa]"Watch the door."[/i:4fe5e4adaa] Said Julius. [i:4fe5e4adaa]"Who knows if he has given blood to any of his followers."[/i:4fe5e4adaa]

A bolt of red light shot from Ali's hands in the direction of the ancient Magus. Julius gestured and a bolt of orange fire raced to meet it. The power of Ali and Ishtar, matched against the power of countless magi fought for supremacy, with neither giving ground against the other. Two simple bolts of magic, each containing the power to level cities and burn forests met between the two mages, throwing off sparks, which fell to the floor, melting holes and scarring the walls. Still the power built between the two, a great rumbling beginning, causing the floor to shake and shafts of dust to fall from the ceiling and still the forces contained between the two mages grew.

Lumps of masonry started to land with heavy thumps upon the floor, shattering into myriad pieces, the light at the centre of the two force lances now become unbearable to gaze upon, whilst the two mages continued to chant and test their unearthly strength against each other. The whole room now shook, as though a great earthquake was tearing across the land and still the earth shattering forces grew.

The vision of Laeryn, that annoying faerie, suddenly came to Julius, a world melted in a colossal fireball, a spell of his own creation that rocked the world so hard it destroyed all life, ending all in a single expression of power. He still had so much more yet to plough into his lance of fire and it seemed that Ali too, was nowhere near his reserves, whilst all about the shaking of the ground and the rumbling which had become a screaming continued to increase. [i:8775fe0624]"Morganna! You have to shut this down."[/i:8775fe0624] Cried the voice of Taliesin from his lips.

Eveshka blinked. Even if she could call upon the powers of the Lady, how could she even begin to prevent such forces being used. Yet, to her right and left, now stood Khemintiri and Elzbet, each taking one of her hands in their own. From the Salubri she could feel the power of the spirit realm being channelled into her, whilst from the ancient Setite, the forces of ancient egyptian magic began to flow into her body. Eve opened her mouth and sang a single perfect note, a note which joined with the angelic chorus, in counterpoint and melodic perfection. A note that silenced the room. The lances of magical force sputtered and died, neither mage able to raise so much as a fizzle against the calming power of her voice.

Ali laughed and pulled forth his falchion once again, advancing upon Julius. [i:5192211f17]"Now you are mine. My blade will finish you, mage. You are no warrior."[/i:5192211f17]

Julius cast about, grabbing the scimitar of one of the two assamites who had died in flames and moved forward to meet him. Ali swung, Julius parried. Ali's falchion cut straight through the metal of Julius' scimitar and with a kick to the stomach, Ali knocked him to his knees, preparing the blow which would end Julius' unlife once and for all.

[i:5192211f17]"Julius."[/i:5192211f17] The shout came from Gabriel. Julius looked up, in time to see the shine of light glinting against metal. La Magra traced a graceful arc through the air flying to Julius' outstretched hand. Ali's falchion crashed down upon Gabriel's sword, but it held firm, no base metal this blade.

Julius stood, slowly, drawing La Magra across the falchion of his enemy, drawing sparks from the metal of both blades, then spoke and it seemed like hundred of voices sounded at once. [i:5192211f17]"The sum of the whole is greater than any one of it's parts."[/i:5192211f17] He said. In Ali's eyes, appeared the first glimpse of fear.