It was late evening when Naomi returned to her flat in Kensington. As soon as the door hermetically sealed behind her she took off her long dark coat, opened the closet by the entrance and hung the coat over a tailor’s mannequin standing just inside. Her boots and top were stripped off, thrown into a wire frame box located beneath the torso before she peeled off her black trousers and hung them on a set of grips attached to the front of the dummy. She then pushed the wheeled dummy back into a transparent compartment at the rear of the cupboard, sealed the door and hit a switch. The muffled sound of a motor powered up as the clothes were subjected to vacuum as any ash or dust on the clothes were sucked off and into a sealed container at the bottom of the glass case.
Naomi ignored this and grabbed another pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt this time with the legend, “I know I’m not insane, I have the certificate to prove it” printed on it and quickly dressed.
Barefooted, she wandered into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of wine and strolled through to her study. She reached over, switched on her computer, pulled out a cigarette case, opened it and lit one up. Her intention to stop once again abandoned for the moment. She sighed, it wasn’t as though she was about to die from cancer as a result, it was about it being a habit that dated her.
She took several long drags as the computer booted up and then automatically opened her email program. Not as many messages as she’d expected. It had been too long since she’d completed a new novel and her fans were beginning to despair that she hadn’t any more tales to tell.
Her thoughts hadn’t been on writing lately and her latest ‘masterpiece’ lay half-finished on her desk, untouched for the last six months despite her agent’s incessant nagging. She’d had other things to occupy her mind if she was being honest. She touched the ancient leather-bound grimoire on her desk and ran her fingers over the title, “Iter per Mors de Piscator Rex”.
Then she saw the message on the screen from Mary asking for an urgent consultation. She’d actually been anticipating a call from a certain youngster. Ah well, although it was not the request she’d been hoping for, it wasn’t totally unexpected either. He took the book off her desktop and opening a secret compartment in the bookcase behind her, quickly typed into the number pad her code and the concealed safe opened. She placed the book inside. In fairness she should never have left it out in the first place, that had been just sheer laziness. She placed the book inside and sealed the door before concealing it once more behind the bookcase.
She then sat back down and activated her messaging program, Skype. Had to be careful, it was a commercial package without any encryption but it suited her well.
Given the hour she didn’t expect anyone to respond so she was slightly shocked when after a couple of minutes Mary’s ancient face filled the screen. A fellow Luddite, she seemed a little surprised that she’d managed to reply.
“Hi, Mary I got your message what can I do for you tonight?”
Mary, lent forward towards her screen, “We could do with your help. What can you tell me about the vampire clans, how and why they are divided – there are only two aren’t there – the ah, Lilith and Bathory Clans?”
Naomi suddenly knew it was going to be a long night. “Actually there are eight houses, used to be ten but two are believed to be extinct, but many are later breakaways from the original two houses, sub-species really of vampires, each genetically different.
These are composed of the ‘offspring’ of the First Born’s. The First Born are pure undiluted vampires, powerful and ancient, formed by the original source of their transformation. The first was believed to have been Lilith and she spawned two other breakaway houses, the House of Asanbosa or Asanbosam usually found in parts of Africa and then there are the ‘descendants’ of a certain Carpathian General. He assumed his title from Prince Vlad when he was created, calling himself the dragon, Drakulya – his offspring are known as the House of Dracul and it’s him that my, ah namesake fought back in the 19th century.
The other original house was the House of Lamia, descended from the ‘demoness’ Lamashtu.
Although that lineage is now believed extinct, it spawned several houses formed from her offspring, the Second Born I suppose you’d call them. These include the other septs of European vampire, the House of Strigoi and House of Bathory. These, with the children of Dracul are what most people would describe as the most common type of vampires, though they bear very little resemblance to the cinematic lore.
There are other vampire houses, from Asia and the Americas – their origins are less clear but I believe they were likely also spawned by Lamashtu and Lilith who were the first two to successfully establish themselves as blood rulers.
They are the House of Jiangshi primarily established in Asia; Macao is a favourite haunt of theirs. I believe they exterminated the Malaysian House of Penangglan in the 16th century, though there are rumours that some still exist, in exile. Then there is the House of Wendigo and the newest breakaway clan, the House of Chuparsangra, both situated primarily in the Americas.
So two great First Born’s, one believed to be extinct. Actually there were other First Born’s but they were supposedly killed and their houses extinguished before the Great Covenant.
There are those that say that Dracul gained the power of a First Born but I’m not sure how much faith to put into that tale. He is definitely powerful and claimed to be the last Chylde personally created by Lilith and the only one powerful enough to break free of her influence unassisted.
The Strigoi and the chyldren of Bathory were ‘liberated’ from her servitude by Lamashtu’s death. Why are you wanting to know?”
Mary then asked what she knew about the Fisher King and the role that Khalid played in all this? Was he a chylde of either Lilith or Lamashtu?
Naomi grimaced, “No, Khalid the éternel is, was, a First Born in his own right and some say the last such if you don’t count Dracul, one that tried to establish himself here in the British Isles but was somehow defeated, crippled and all of his chyldren destroyed. Legend has it that he still exists, trapped somewhere but he hasn’t been seen since the Great Covenant was first enforced.
There are legends that he would rise in power to rein in the other First Born’s and destroy the degenerate weaklings that were their Chyldren. Some say that Dracul sought him out after his own rebirth and that is how he gained the power to break free of Lilith’s influence but I wouldn’t put a lot of credence in that particular tale.”
She paused, “How much do you know about vampire physiology? Vampires do share certain abilities depending on their maker. Most normal humans converted to vampirism gain a type of immortality and their bodies evolve both extra strengths and weaknesses over time. These abilities and weaknesses are linked to the house they are reborn into and take time, decades to fully manifest.
However, in others, the change can also act as a meta-crisis sufficiently powerful to activate latent meta abilities if they had the meta-gene. Conversion into a vampire can grant various powers either instead of or in addition to their ‘family’-based powers. Interestingly these meta abilities showed up in vampires long before the first breakthrough occurred in 1909.
These abilities and the immortality can be transferred occasionally to others via a blood infection though generally the victim’s own immune system must be severely hindered for the genetic package to be transferred. However, the transfer of adapted genes is less powerful in each subsequent generation.
Drinking the blood of other vampires can also transfer over activated meta abilities from the host, but requires substantial amounts of blood to ensure sufficient genes are transferred for this to have a chance to happen and even after all that, not all vampires are able to absorb the abilities.
Their genomes do have one thing in common, they certainly contain more “jumping genes”, ah, DNA sequences that change position in the genome – that can adapt as needed like stem cells. These were found in areas involved in immune response, viral defence, and both lipid and vitamin metabolism, suggesting they have played a key role in their alterations and adaptations.
However, these changes take time. Although a new vampire awakens with certain weaknesses, they have also gained strengths, immunity to aging and the ability to heal most normal wounds but it can take between 30 to 50 years or more for the infection to take fully hold of its host and alter it completely.
Mary asked, “What does the Sanguine Grail mean to each faction, and any ideas on how it could be used to control, restrain or eliminate them?”
As she mentioned the Sanguine Grail, Naomi’s face showed first surprise and then anger. What was going on? “I’ve heard of it, a legend. One of several grails in history but I believe this is the one related to the legend of the Fisher King..? You read the tale? Ok, so like the tale it was supposed to heal, to grant immortality but not to the Fisher King who was rendered impotent.
I suppose in light of the Fisher King being a vampire that adds a slightly different twist to the tale – becoming a vampire will both heal and grant immortality though vampires don’t need a chalice to do that. Possibly it was ceremonial, used to carry the vampire’s blood to convert the drinker?
The Fisher King was a First Born so his blood would have been extremely potent.
I did hear that Daedalus drank from a similar goblet centuries before which he claimed activated his immortality but he never became a vampire, so that’s possibly unrelated.
She hesitated for several seconds, long enough for Mary to get suspicious, then “I did once read somewhere that the Fisher King stole the grail along with other treasures from an ‘ancient evil’ (Lilith possibly or another First Born?) and took it to England where he hid it in the dungeons of his newly acquired castle. As a supposedly Christian convert, mage and holder of the Grail Cup he was left alone, unpersecuted.
The legend says that he drank from the cup the first time and gained immortality; he drank from it a second time to heal a wound and awoke a vampire as powerful as a First Born. It was said he was immune to the influence of all other vampires, even Lilith but I’m not sure how that ties into the legend that it somehow blighted the land and rendered him impotent…
Then it was stolen, some say by a brotherhood of monks and the Fisher King was trapped, sealed in the dungeons of his now ruined castle to dwell for eternity, denied any life-sustaining blood.
Why are you asking about the Grail, do you have it? If so, would you let me borrow it to examine?”
Mary blinked dumbly at the screen for what felt like several minutes, trying to digest what Naomi had just told her and integrate it with what they’d learned in the future – but also trying to get a sense of what Naomi was not saying.
Then, rather obviously shamefaced, she murmured, “Um, we don’t have that Grail right now, but I think we may have seen it recently, and we also met a fellow who claimed to be the Fisher King, and to be sure he fit the part alright. Thing is, he got us to break it out of a safe storage facility and then all hell broke loose when we wouldn’t give it him and these Lilith and Bathory clans both came after it.
Can you hazard a guess what he wanted with it, maybe? But most important, how can we put this genii back in its bottle, calm down the vampire clans and maybe stop them breeding? And what should we do about this Khalid, if it is him, do you think?”
She answered very slowly, “Where did you see the Grail?”
Mary asked whether it was important and she replied, “Everything to do with vampires is important. They have tried to break the Great Silence several times since the Great Covenant was enacted, that always makes them dangerous. Look, I sense you’re reluctant to say anything more just now but please, if you know where it is, keep it safe and away from any of the clans or First Born or worse, the Library. As for the Fisher King? I honestly don’t know but I’d be reluctant to trust any First Born. I’d never willingly trust a vampire as they always have their own agenda and it’s never in our favour.
If the Fisher King wants it then he has to have a reason that will benefit him first and foremost.”
Naomi took the opportunity to end the conversation leaving Mary to ponder what she’d learnt. What did they really want to do about the vampire houses, try to exterminate them or rein them in? Would working with the Fisher King achieve that or would they be swapping a couple of enemies for one, possibly more powerful than all the others combined?
Then there was what they’d learned in the future. According what they had been told, the Terminus had been defeated by an alliance that consisted of Carpathian Meta-mystical hybrids, people in power armour AND mystical partners consisting of mages and vampires. She had to wonder if they took the vampires, or any one of the allies for that matter out of the equation, would they still be able to win..?
Pondering everything she’d just learnt, she headed up-top to her bed.
Six months previously.
The lights in the large and obviously expensive penthouse office were dimmed, subtly highlighting the sole occupant and an original Van Gogh, one of his ‘Sun flower’ series hanging on the wall behind him. The whole room had been designed to in such a way as to emphasis the man sitting behind the desk and give him a psychological advantage over anyone else present. The desk was large and futuristic in design which itself was set on a sloped pedestal that subtly raised both the desk and its owner above anyone else and made him look bigger and more impressive. The legs of the guest chairs opposite were deliberately designed to be a couple of inches too short so any adult sitting in them were left feeling uncomfortable, ill at ease without necessarily knowing why and staring up at the man currently sitting in front of the Van Gogh with his fingers steepled.
He had a neatly trimmed beard and moustache with only the smallest touch of cosmetic grey in his hair. He wore a well-tailored suit. It all helped disguise his 5 foot 4 height. What he couldn’t disguise was his mood. This man was obviously not happy.
He looked up as a confident, tall man in a full facemask stepped through a conceived door in the far wall. He acknowledged the man behind the desk with a nod and a “Damien.”
Damien Dalton stood up, “Professor, have you been successful?” His face now anxious.
Things had not gone his way over the previous year; there had been the publicity disaster of his daughter Bethany emancipating herself and his attempts to silence her being made public even if his full involvement had been successfully quietened. Money thankfully was the universal language when it came to politics and legal entanglements. His involvement with the Gamemaster in the Slaughterhouse had cost him a lot of Meta-resources but he’d since bounced back, rebuilding his meta-army.
In front of him, the tall, thin figure of the professor walked over and sprawled in one of the chairs, apparently unaffected by its deliberately designed disadvantages. “Moore is completely unaware of the takeover. We now indirectly own 36.8 percent of the shares in Omnitech Industries and have two-thirds of the board in our pocket. Next shareholders meeting will see dear Marcus deposed as the controlling interest in the company and his removal as company Chairman. Plans for the company to then be sold to Dalton Technologies will follow within the year. Omnitech as a company will effectively cease to exist as an independent company as you requested.
With Spartan Armaments and SpartaCorps already in Labyrinth’s control, that will make you the largest powered armour manufacturer outside of the USA’s Steel Legion Programme. Given his suit manufacturing sites are primarily in Eastern European countries, the Monopolies Commission should be unable to interfere with the subsequent proposed merger between Dalton International and Omnitech.
Unfortunately, Moore’s own Omniweapon development facilities will still remain in his control, that is untouchable but we should be in a position to slowly bleed it dry over the next five years. I hope that meets with your approval?”
Dalton smiled. Things were starting to improve.
Today
“And in the business news today, Dalton International has confirmed that that they have successfully carried out a hostile takeover of Omnitech Technologies… More news at six.”
Superhero Adventures, UK Style 