Post by Kuroya on Oct 23, 2012 18:24:09 GMT -5
[style= width: 320px; height: 50px; background-color: ffffff; -webkit-border-radius: 10px 0px 0px 10px; -moz-border-radius: 10px 0px 0px 10px; border-radius: 10px 0px 0px 10px; color: #db15cf; font-family: veranda; font-size: 38px; text-align: left; margin-left: 50px; margin-top: 20px]BOOK ONE
Once, a long time ago in the land of Valaria, there was a young man by the name of Vladimir Tate. Vladimir was well off, and he had everything he could possibly want with a snap of his fingers. He was a member of a powerful noble family, poised to take control of the throne as the strong Balthazar dynasty, the current ruling family, became fraught with daughters, and the eldest expressed an interest in the heir to the Tate estate.
But that wasn't enough for Vladimir. He wanted more than just the vague promise of power later in his life. He wanted it now. He wanted more. He simply wanted. He turned all of mental energies towards trying to solve this puzzle, spending days locked away in this intense dilemma as he attempted to make sense of how to best proceed with his resources in a manner that would not result in him being tried for treason. But no matter how he looked at it, he simply could not do it. In a rage, he acted impulsively, scorning his fellow nobles as he devoted more and more of his time into this problem. His house began to crumble around him, but he paid it no mind, too consumed with his ambition to notice that his family was beginning to turn against him.
And then, one night when he was in the deepest pit of despair, he turned to dark magic. Remembering the tales of the place known as the Abyss, he tore the family library apart until he found an ancient tome blackened from fire and set with blood red rubies. Undoing the stiff leather clasp, he opened the manuscript and began to read the ancient writing upon the yellowed parchment, written in the mahogany script that could only have come from blood. He quickly ransacked the book for knowledge, and upon reaching a certain paragraph, his eyes widened and he ran to the crypt deep beneath the family's mansion. Defiling the Sanctity of the Sepulcher was something frowned upon in society, but when Vladimir finally located the ancient stone slab that served as the tome of some long-forgotten ancestor distinguished only with a stone engraving of a rabbit doll on the cover, he thought nothing of pushing aside the granite to reveal the secret he had discovered.
There, behind the remains of a young girl, was a trap door. Vladimir threw aside the skeleton, pausing only for a brief apology to his ancestor before he hurried down into the passage, his footsteps distinct in the strong layer of dust present in the corridor the girl had been hiding. He then paused before the high archway of obsidian that was before him, his chest heaving and eyes crazed. He had found a Gate to the Abyss upon his property. Throwing open the doors, he attempted to stride into it, lured by the dark promise from the book in the family library, that of immortality and powers beyond human imagination. The instant his foot ventured beyond the threshold, however, something seized upon him and blinded him, binding him in chains.
This something was a powerful Chain: a large obsidian jungle cat, the symbol of the Tates. The cat looked ready to eat Vladimir alive, its claws scraping the floor, when instead, the proud Tate struck a deal with it. Rather than killing him there, Vladimir proposed, why not allow for him to lead the great cat forth from the crypt that had served as its prison and to as many humans as the beast could hope to consume? The great cat paused to consider this, stalking around the man's body quietly, the epitome of silent death, before after what felt like an eternity, Vladimir received a growl of content. In a flutter of ruby chains, the heir to the Tate name found himself back standing before the Gate, alone, the obsidian doors closed once more, the great cat nowhere to be seen.
A fortnight passed without major incident. Vladimir attended his duties as the heir to the estate, and things were as well as might be expected. No one discovered the misplaced body or the trap door that led to the entry to the Abyss. And then, on the night of the new moon, Vladimir's father and mother were found killed in their beds, their throats slashed and allowed to bleed out. Naturally, suspicion fell upon the young noble, but since there were witnesses to place him in the library working on some book-keeping, the investigation turned from him. He took over the estate as specified by his father's will, and within a week, the news of the tragedy had reached the Balthazars. Immediately, the royal family began to arrange a ball to show their condolences for the man who was about to become one of their number, something that Vladimir attempted to deny modestly but was refused when his betrothed insisted.
The ball was intended to show support for the Tate family, and as such, every noble family sent a delegate to parade before the Balthazars, hoping that one of their other daughters might take interest in their heirs and thus allow them to contest Vladimir's claim to the throne. Vladimir would not tolerate such a thing. The young man arrived resplendent in his finest clothes and into scandal, choosing to forgo tradition and not wear black to the dance in honor of the death of his own parents. When the doors closed behind him, however, the fate of everyone at that dance was decided. No one would escape that mansion alive, of that Vladimir was determined. He ducked into an alcove to gather himself, readying himself to use the powers he'd gained from his alliance with the great cat, only to pause when it appeared before him once more, this time with a deal of its own. If it could take some of the man's blood, it could bestow upon him even greater power. Without thinking of the costs, Vladimir agreed, allowing the cat to slit his wrist with a claw and lap up his blood with a roughened tongue.
Instantly, the young lord cried out, going to his knees as ruby chains shot out of his body. His shout was more animal than man, ending in a bestial snarl, and when his eyes opened again, they were to a bright crimson. The jungle cat from before was before him, several times bigger, and unlike before, it was even stronger. It leapt about the hall, clawing humans right and left, and among all the screams, Vladimir stood supreme, his sword blade dipped in the blood of those who attempted to escape the wrath of his Chain. After completing his dark deed and killing all of those in attendance, Vladimir fell to the ground, his hand scrabbling at his breast over his heart, and when he tore the fabric away, he saw that there was a circular seal on his chest, and much like a clock, the first hand had moved partway to reveal part of an elaborate design.
The man that had once showed so much promise was so sunken in his bloody dreams that he showed no sign of waking. He and his Chain continued on their bloody crusade even after the ball had ended, Vladimir claiming that he had never been in attendance, too worried about his sick betrothed to attend, and he began eliminating members of the royal family one by one and those of rival families. He killed indiscriminately, taking stranger and friend alike, and it was only a matter of time until his paranoia grew and, fearing assassination from within his faction, he turned his Chain upon his own flesh and blood. His servants lived in terror of his ire, but it was only a matter of time until it all came to an end. For Vladimir, that came after he married his betrothed, wishing to legitimize his claim. She was pregnant with his child at the time, and fearful of the claim the babe would pose to him, the Tate wished to eliminate the threat before it came to pass. He readied his Chain to strike his pregnant wife in the dead of night, stealing upon her, but before the final blow could come, he fell to his knees with a scream, his hand upon his breast once again. His wife awoke just in time to watch the demonic black jungle cat drag her husband down in a swirl of shadows and ruby chains. And such came the end of the infamous Vladimir Tate.
But that wasn't enough for Vladimir. He wanted more than just the vague promise of power later in his life. He wanted it now. He wanted more. He simply wanted. He turned all of mental energies towards trying to solve this puzzle, spending days locked away in this intense dilemma as he attempted to make sense of how to best proceed with his resources in a manner that would not result in him being tried for treason. But no matter how he looked at it, he simply could not do it. In a rage, he acted impulsively, scorning his fellow nobles as he devoted more and more of his time into this problem. His house began to crumble around him, but he paid it no mind, too consumed with his ambition to notice that his family was beginning to turn against him.
And then, one night when he was in the deepest pit of despair, he turned to dark magic. Remembering the tales of the place known as the Abyss, he tore the family library apart until he found an ancient tome blackened from fire and set with blood red rubies. Undoing the stiff leather clasp, he opened the manuscript and began to read the ancient writing upon the yellowed parchment, written in the mahogany script that could only have come from blood. He quickly ransacked the book for knowledge, and upon reaching a certain paragraph, his eyes widened and he ran to the crypt deep beneath the family's mansion. Defiling the Sanctity of the Sepulcher was something frowned upon in society, but when Vladimir finally located the ancient stone slab that served as the tome of some long-forgotten ancestor distinguished only with a stone engraving of a rabbit doll on the cover, he thought nothing of pushing aside the granite to reveal the secret he had discovered.
There, behind the remains of a young girl, was a trap door. Vladimir threw aside the skeleton, pausing only for a brief apology to his ancestor before he hurried down into the passage, his footsteps distinct in the strong layer of dust present in the corridor the girl had been hiding. He then paused before the high archway of obsidian that was before him, his chest heaving and eyes crazed. He had found a Gate to the Abyss upon his property. Throwing open the doors, he attempted to stride into it, lured by the dark promise from the book in the family library, that of immortality and powers beyond human imagination. The instant his foot ventured beyond the threshold, however, something seized upon him and blinded him, binding him in chains.
This something was a powerful Chain: a large obsidian jungle cat, the symbol of the Tates. The cat looked ready to eat Vladimir alive, its claws scraping the floor, when instead, the proud Tate struck a deal with it. Rather than killing him there, Vladimir proposed, why not allow for him to lead the great cat forth from the crypt that had served as its prison and to as many humans as the beast could hope to consume? The great cat paused to consider this, stalking around the man's body quietly, the epitome of silent death, before after what felt like an eternity, Vladimir received a growl of content. In a flutter of ruby chains, the heir to the Tate name found himself back standing before the Gate, alone, the obsidian doors closed once more, the great cat nowhere to be seen.
A fortnight passed without major incident. Vladimir attended his duties as the heir to the estate, and things were as well as might be expected. No one discovered the misplaced body or the trap door that led to the entry to the Abyss. And then, on the night of the new moon, Vladimir's father and mother were found killed in their beds, their throats slashed and allowed to bleed out. Naturally, suspicion fell upon the young noble, but since there were witnesses to place him in the library working on some book-keeping, the investigation turned from him. He took over the estate as specified by his father's will, and within a week, the news of the tragedy had reached the Balthazars. Immediately, the royal family began to arrange a ball to show their condolences for the man who was about to become one of their number, something that Vladimir attempted to deny modestly but was refused when his betrothed insisted.
The ball was intended to show support for the Tate family, and as such, every noble family sent a delegate to parade before the Balthazars, hoping that one of their other daughters might take interest in their heirs and thus allow them to contest Vladimir's claim to the throne. Vladimir would not tolerate such a thing. The young man arrived resplendent in his finest clothes and into scandal, choosing to forgo tradition and not wear black to the dance in honor of the death of his own parents. When the doors closed behind him, however, the fate of everyone at that dance was decided. No one would escape that mansion alive, of that Vladimir was determined. He ducked into an alcove to gather himself, readying himself to use the powers he'd gained from his alliance with the great cat, only to pause when it appeared before him once more, this time with a deal of its own. If it could take some of the man's blood, it could bestow upon him even greater power. Without thinking of the costs, Vladimir agreed, allowing the cat to slit his wrist with a claw and lap up his blood with a roughened tongue.
Instantly, the young lord cried out, going to his knees as ruby chains shot out of his body. His shout was more animal than man, ending in a bestial snarl, and when his eyes opened again, they were to a bright crimson. The jungle cat from before was before him, several times bigger, and unlike before, it was even stronger. It leapt about the hall, clawing humans right and left, and among all the screams, Vladimir stood supreme, his sword blade dipped in the blood of those who attempted to escape the wrath of his Chain. After completing his dark deed and killing all of those in attendance, Vladimir fell to the ground, his hand scrabbling at his breast over his heart, and when he tore the fabric away, he saw that there was a circular seal on his chest, and much like a clock, the first hand had moved partway to reveal part of an elaborate design.
The man that had once showed so much promise was so sunken in his bloody dreams that he showed no sign of waking. He and his Chain continued on their bloody crusade even after the ball had ended, Vladimir claiming that he had never been in attendance, too worried about his sick betrothed to attend, and he began eliminating members of the royal family one by one and those of rival families. He killed indiscriminately, taking stranger and friend alike, and it was only a matter of time until his paranoia grew and, fearing assassination from within his faction, he turned his Chain upon his own flesh and blood. His servants lived in terror of his ire, but it was only a matter of time until it all came to an end. For Vladimir, that came after he married his betrothed, wishing to legitimize his claim. She was pregnant with his child at the time, and fearful of the claim the babe would pose to him, the Tate wished to eliminate the threat before it came to pass. He readied his Chain to strike his pregnant wife in the dead of night, stealing upon her, but before the final blow could come, he fell to his knees with a scream, his hand upon his breast once again. His wife awoke just in time to watch the demonic black jungle cat drag her husband down in a swirl of shadows and ruby chains. And such came the end of the infamous Vladimir Tate.
BOOK TWO
But this is not the end of the tale. Far from it. It did not take long for the remaining Tate family to discover what their late head of estate had done. One by one, they too made Contracts with the creatures lurking beyond the Gate hidden in their crypt. Some of them wanted more power. Others wanted petty revenge. Others still wanted to prolong the falling power of the family. These Contracts were what kept the Tate family powerful and able to continue their bid for the throne despite the devastation wrecked upon them by their ancestor, the first Contractor. It was only a matter of time before the Tate family became so steeped in the Abyss that they could find ways to return after being condemned there by the concludement of their Contracts. It was a rare thing among them, a sign of power to have survived a Contract, though none of those who returned ever made another. The sheer power they had among their own blood was enough to compel obedience from those who had Chains.
The rival family of the Tates, the Veroniques, were the ones who were the first to figure out what had happened. Aided by the presence of a Gate within the depths of their own estate, they embarked on a crusade to attempt to take the crown for themselves, but unlike the Tates, they were far more cautious. They wanted power, yes, but they weren't as willing to throw themselves away for such a thing. Instead, they investigated the Abyss extensively, attempting to unravel its secrets, and entirely by chance, they solved the problem presented by previous Contracts. If the Chain did not recieve blood but instead gave it, the incuse did not appear and the Contractor was not sent to the Abyss after a certain period of time. Seizing upon this new opportunity for power, they embarked in a crusade to turn the tide against the Tates.
But by then, the Tates had adapted. Prolonged exposure to the Abyss had given them a distinct advantage over the Veronique, and it would take more than a single family to topple them. It did not take long for the Veronique to determine this, and so when a Benefauld figured out why the two noble families were so powerful, the Veronique seized upon the opportunity and began to whisper into their ear, using their hatred of Vladimir Tate against them as they turned the family against the Tates and towards the Veroniques. In time, both families developed their own distinct advantages to being exposed to the Abyss for generations upon end, but they were not alone. The Tates, realizing the potential danger they were in from having two families set against them, had recruited their own second family into their fold, the Malificents that had been their subordinate for countless generations before. The war between the four factions waged off and on from the shadows for generations, the Chains and Contractors growing more and more powerful as each passed.
Finally, the war came out into the open, but not through the choice of any of the four. No, the fight was brought to the attention of the common folk by the other two families in thrall to the Tates and the Veroniques. The Noctis and the Illumine fought openly with their Chains in the middle of the capital city of Ryoko, and from then on it could be denied no longer. The Veronique family and the Tate family were at war as to who would inherit the Balthazar family's throne. The commoners would have to choose between the Abyssal Contracts with the black scar across the chest but the promise of greater power being possible should one escape the Abyss, a likely event given that the Tate family was allied here and they had the greatest experience with the place or the Charmed Contracts with the bloody mirrors and the certainty of survival for an untold number of years.
The rival family of the Tates, the Veroniques, were the ones who were the first to figure out what had happened. Aided by the presence of a Gate within the depths of their own estate, they embarked on a crusade to attempt to take the crown for themselves, but unlike the Tates, they were far more cautious. They wanted power, yes, but they weren't as willing to throw themselves away for such a thing. Instead, they investigated the Abyss extensively, attempting to unravel its secrets, and entirely by chance, they solved the problem presented by previous Contracts. If the Chain did not recieve blood but instead gave it, the incuse did not appear and the Contractor was not sent to the Abyss after a certain period of time. Seizing upon this new opportunity for power, they embarked in a crusade to turn the tide against the Tates.
But by then, the Tates had adapted. Prolonged exposure to the Abyss had given them a distinct advantage over the Veronique, and it would take more than a single family to topple them. It did not take long for the Veronique to determine this, and so when a Benefauld figured out why the two noble families were so powerful, the Veronique seized upon the opportunity and began to whisper into their ear, using their hatred of Vladimir Tate against them as they turned the family against the Tates and towards the Veroniques. In time, both families developed their own distinct advantages to being exposed to the Abyss for generations upon end, but they were not alone. The Tates, realizing the potential danger they were in from having two families set against them, had recruited their own second family into their fold, the Malificents that had been their subordinate for countless generations before. The war between the four factions waged off and on from the shadows for generations, the Chains and Contractors growing more and more powerful as each passed.
Finally, the war came out into the open, but not through the choice of any of the four. No, the fight was brought to the attention of the common folk by the other two families in thrall to the Tates and the Veroniques. The Noctis and the Illumine fought openly with their Chains in the middle of the capital city of Ryoko, and from then on it could be denied no longer. The Veronique family and the Tate family were at war as to who would inherit the Balthazar family's throne. The commoners would have to choose between the Abyssal Contracts with the black scar across the chest but the promise of greater power being possible should one escape the Abyss, a likely event given that the Tate family was allied here and they had the greatest experience with the place or the Charmed Contracts with the bloody mirrors and the certainty of survival for an untold number of years.
BOOK THREE
And then the unthinkable happened. A Balthazar appeared to challenge for the throne. A Tate came onto the scene bearing the name and Chain of his ancestor from ago. A Veronique was chosen to head the family not because he was the eldest but because he was Contracted to the family Chain. Finally, the dam broke when people began to go missing from districts all around Valaria. Accusations naturally fell upon the Tate family since they and their allies were those the least affected by the abductions, but when they fiercely denied it and pointed to abductions within their own number, the Veronique and their allies vowed that they would bring the group to justice and retrieve those who had gone missing. In this time, uncertainty abounded, but one thing was certain: the secret to power lies in whoever would dominate the Abyss. But who will it be upon the throne when the dust settles, the Tates, the Veroniques, the Balthazars, or perhaps even another family entirely?
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