● - 11 - Mieczyslav - (giant bat) - looks around for an enemy
● - 9 - Dimitra - rises from her collapse
● - 8 - Al-Nasir - (celerity 7) Swings his sword at Adana, but misses.
x - 6 - Milov - (wolfman) - vanishes
x - 7 - Fanchon - flying away [
Taduz, see PM for details]
x - 6 - Raphael - (staked) - vanishes
x - 6 - Adana - (celerity 6) Dread Gaze at Al-Nasir
● - 6 - Valdemar - does nothing
● - 6 - Amisa - Says to Seska, in answer to her question, "Did you not see? Jadviga has betrayed us. She summoned Violetta away from Fanchon before she could finish her."
■ - 6 - Taduz (troll) - fwoosh on Fanchon, pitiful roll and is easily stopped by her defense.
■ - 5 - Seska (medusa) - talks, feels around for Raphael, but finds nothing
■ - 4 - Gedeminas - theft of vitae / taste for blood on Hardestadt
■ - 2 - Olaf - (celerity 4) - Chases after Adana.
■ - 2 - Sabine (hawk) - flies back to Seska
■ - 1 - Alina -
● - 8 - Al-Nasir - (celerity 7) Backs away from Adana, but doesn't flee.
x - 6 - Adana - (celerity 6) Turns and sprints away.
■ - 2 - Olaf - (celerity 4) Chases after Adana but cannot approach her speed.
● - 8 - Al-Nasir - (celerity 7) Doesn't chase.
x - 6 - Adana - (celerity 6) Runs farther away.
■ - 2 - Olaf - (celerity 4) Chases after Adana but cannot approach her speed.
Repeat. Adana escapes beyond even Taduz' perception. [
Switching to non-combat mode, for brevity.]
Of the Founders, only Hardestadt's remains are still visible. Gedeminas received no
vitae from the body, as if it were just a lump of dirt, encrusted with ice.
Taduz can still sense Fanchon, moving away on foot over the hill. The pitiful
fwoosh was easily thwarted by her conjured defense.
Of the Sires, Theophania's stiffened body lies behind the alter, and Jadviga is dust on the evening's breeze. The rest, some the worse for wear, remain standing.
Amisa replies to Seska, "Camilla. She is… stronger than I thought. It will take Claudio to find her, if she hasn't escaped already. Poor Theophania. I wonder what's left of her now."
Claudio and Japheth continue their vulgar display while the rest of the Cappadocians watch on. Gedeminas is unable to simultaneously use two Thaumaturgical effects plus Auspex at the same time, (each of which requires the expenditure of a Willpower point, in spite of a hard limit of one Willpower per round) and so isn't able to intercede before Japheth's body suddenly relaxes and then crumbles to dust. Claudio crows in triumph, at first too ecstatic even to put words to his joy. Finally, he resorts to quoting scripture, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day!"
The elder by the third stone chair simply smiles, and turns towards the west. A few moment later, a huge blast of wind arrives from that direction, almost as if a desert cyclone were moving faster than any horse can run. Branches are ripped from trees, and even trees from the ground. Most shield their eyes, and many are forced to drop to the ground or lose their feet anyway. Mortals requiring breath are deprived of it for several moments, and panic nearly sets in before the wind dies down slightly. Standing where Hardestadt's corpse had been is the naked form of the Cappadocian himself. As before, he visibly glows with his power, though the color is perhaps a bit more in the red of rage. He sniffs loudly, and says "Japheth. What have you done, Claudius?" His deep voice, possessing none of the serenity of his previous conversation, booms louder than the howls of the winds that continue to circle around the garden.
On hearing himself named, that one turns to his grandsire, with a look of guilt on his face. Perhaps even real fear. He glances towards the elder by the chair, pleading in his eyes.
Finally, the elder speaks. "He did as I bade him, Sire." His voice lacks the awesome might of his sire's, and yet he is able to be heard clearly above the winds. He has taken the place of your own son. As I shall take your place! I
will have your blood, Father."
The Cappadocian replies, "My blood is not mine to give,
childe. It belongs to God."
"Then I hope He forgives me for spilling it."
"His forgiveness is for all. Even the likes of you."
"Sanctimonious sot! I will destroy you!" The elder charges forward, and yet moves but slowly, as if the winds slow him.
"Think of what you do, my son." the Cappadocian says. "Grandsire Caine himself spoke to me and told me: become an eternal sacrifice, that all may have life eternal. I am to create Heaven on Earth, delivering us all from God's curse, and delivering mortals from the grave."
"Heaven on Earth? Never!" With great exertion, Augustus reaches his sire.
"You cannot stop me. I have given myself freely, and my soul will continue even if this form is extinguished."
"Then I will have your soul as well as your power!" Augustus bares his own fangs and sinks them into the chest of his sire, slowly beginning to glow himself. The winds begin to pick up again, sounding like the tortured cries of lost souls more than mere air moving quickly. They are so strong that nobody can even fully rise, much less move towards the two. And in a scene much like what was just seen with Claudio and Japheth, Augustus begins to drink.
The Cappadocian reaches up and cradles his
childe's head in his arms, almost lovingly, as Augustus says through mouthful of flesh, "His blood burns!" But he doesn't stop.
After some time, made more maddening by the howling winds, the Cappadocian's body crumples to dust as well, swirling into the maelstrom around them. Augustus nearly falls forward, and stumbles as if drunk. The glowing has reached a point where beams of light can be seen coming from his eyes and mouth, as if there were a bright light within his head. He says to Claudio, "His soul flies! Get the dove. Catch it!" Claudio too was thrown around by the winds, and he looks around frantically for the forgotten dove that Sabine had handed to Japheth.
The animal is strangely unaffected by the screaming winds, and remains atop the alter where it had flown after Japheth's struggle. Claudio fights through the winds, but makes little progress. Instead, the monk from the back of the crowd, actually the old nun's servant girl Marianna, makes her way with the winds towards the bird.
From a few feet away, she bites her own hand and lets the blood be carried by the wind onto the bird. As soon as the night-black blood touches the pale white bird,
GM EDIT: Before Marianna can get to the bird, Gedeminas' power sucks all the blood from its body, and pulls it through the wind of souls to him. As the small dollop of avian vitae enters his body, Gedeminas seems to curl in upon himself. Augustus and Claudio both cry out "NO!" And suddenly lightning crashes far overhead as rain pours down in a torrent. As the water falls, the screaming souls of the winds depart.
GM EDIT: Gedeminas looks at Augustus, raises one hand and waggles a finger at him, before he suddenly spasms and falls to the ground, almost as if shoved by an invisible foe.