Snapps Stories
Dreamers and the Iron Fists
Chapter one: the message.
By Richard LeBlanc
In the days of the second city - one became three and three became thirteen. In the days that followed, unrest began to take root in the thirteen. The three were blissfully unaware of the disdain that was brewing - or were they? This is the tale of Sameth - the one that escaped the carnage that befell his brothers and the second city?
The night was cool, as it always seemed to be. The ghouls of the dark one Sameth had been following up on some rumors he had heard. He had of course tried to warn his brothers of what he had learned, but in their arrogance they believed that their childer were completely loyal and unable to betray. Sameth turned away from them and returned to his ancient tower.
He called in his most trusted ghouls and barred all doors and windows. If ignorance was to be the food of his brothers - he would not share it. He called his most loyal servant to him and told him what would have to be. The ghoul nodded - the honor of severing Sameth was worth any price - even life - or death.
Retreating to his library, he gathered what possessions he would need - his rune carved sword, an enchanted cloak and several pages that were discreetly stolen from the Book of Nod. In the distance - the sounds of conflict began to rise. The uprise of the second city was at hand. He hurried from his library to where his servants were waiting. Sameth embraced his favored ghoul Corinth. Through careful use and skill in spell craft - he changed the appearance of Corinth so that he looked exactly as Sameth. The doors at the base of the tower pounded. Those that sought his end were there!
He focused his energies and cast a powerful spell. The barrier between dimensions slowly began to part. Sameth looked at his most loyal one last time - and then vanished into the land beyond.
Seconds later, childer of the Antediluvians besieged the place. The ghouls and Corinth fought bravely to repel the attack, but the fury of the frenzied attackers, and their numbers was their downfall. Corinth - known as Sameth perished that day?
In the land beyond Sameth found himself in an alien place unlike any he had ever seen. The trees and wildlife were unlike anything beyond imagining. So entranced was he by the surroundings that he failed to notice a small group of people that were watching him untrustingly.
These beings addressed Sameth and demanded to know what his kind was doing in their domain. He turned and addressed the beings and told them of his plight. Although they were understanding to his reason for appearing there, understanding was not enough. A portal in the shape of a door appeared before Sameth. He was told to leave. He turned and glared at those that dared to order Sameth the black. He drew his weapons and challenged any that desired his departure to try to force him. The beings whispered amongst themselves with sincere amusement. They then faced Sameth and pointed to the mountains far west from there. That is where you can stay - one said. There and only there. Trespass any further and you will earn our displeasure - another added. With that said, they turned and vanished. Sameth looked over and saw the mountains in question. It was time to rebuild - and time to plot revenge on those that sought his end in the second city and those that believed themselves master of him here.
Years had passed since the night he arrived. In that time, he had carved a horrifying citadel out of the mountains with his long claw like hands. Everything about the place personified its master - and personified death. Through secret pacts with the Fay beings that resided there - he lured thousands of slaved from all over the world he had left behind to serve his dark cause.
In this time, he remembered back to the second city - and how the three created thirteen childer - five of which he had sired himself. Unlike his now deceased brothers - he would learn from his mistakes. He called forth a pristine and innocent Princess - she was beloved by all for her kind heart and gentle ways. Her name was Tyminia Goldson - she was to be his first childer since leaving the second city. Her once healthy skin turned almost ivory white. Her eyes - that once looked so innocent - now had a hunger in them that spanned years before her birth.
She was the first among the line known as Dreamers, a bloodline of female kindred with immense metal powers but little physical prowess - a detail designed by Sameth to ensure that those of this childer would never rebel as others had. Along with most normal mental disciplines that his kind possessed - he created another that he dubbed Mind Kiss. In the early stages it somewhat resembled path of mind - but as it developed - it mutated into something very powerful. For in the advanced state - she could cause serious wounds with the power of her mind - much as others would do with their hands. Having done all he wished he dismissed her and sent her on her way.
Days later, he called for another. He was completely unlike that of Tyminia. For she was known for her gentle ways - he was feared for his courage and fury. His name was Prince Graven Gore. His face held a gaze that turned most away. All over his body were the scars of hundreds of battles. He was the second - and last childer he would create.
He was the first among the line known as the Iron Fists, a bloodline of male warriors with immense physical powers but little to no abilities that could be used to defend against mental disciplines - like the flaw created in the Dreamers, this was done to insure that those of this childer would never rebel against him.
Possessing many of the combat disciplines of those of his kind - he created another special power for this childer and those that followed him. He dubbed this new power Blood Fire. Having finished what he desired he sent Graven away. The plot was beginning thicken. All of the components of his master plan were falling into place. The time for his vengance was almost at hand.
Sometime later, a new development arose. The childer of Tyminia and Graven began feuding. Sameth smiled at how they reacted to each other. Opposites, in this case, it seemed did not attract. The probability of them uniting against him was almost laughable. However, as amusing as seeing them war against each other - the common enemy had to be established. He approached the two and ordered all fighting to cease. With a little reluctance - all stopped and obeyed.
He explained his grand scheme and design for what he desired to do. They understood and began their bloody war against the Fay. For an unknown number of decades this violent war raged. An inch of ground gained - a foot of ground lost. Under the leadership of Sameth, the two clans operated as one.
It was then that the group of Fay returned. They looked to the citadel of Sameth and realized their mistake. They had let a serpent into their garden - but this time, they would remove the serpent himself!
Sameth stood atop his citadel and saw the approaching Fay. Like before, he stood ready. The Fay and Sameth vanished into the Citadel. All fighting stopped. A moment of silence fell over the area where the Dreamers, Iron Fists and Fay were fighting. Just then the entire citadel began to shake. All watched as the horrifying structure slowly collapsed in on itself. For the first time since the war had begun - dissention began to form in the vampire ranks. The Fay stepped back and watched as the vampires fought tooth and nail against themselves.
Time had passed once more. All of the kindred born of the two bloodlines were rounded up and the spot where Sameth appeared. The Fay pointed to the door and told all of them to leave. The Dreamers were sent to one place on earth - the Iron Fists were sent elsewhere. It would take a lot of time to undo the damage Sameth had caused - but it would be undone.
In more present times, the descendants of Princess Tyminia and those of Price Graven still exist on Earth and are secretly hunting the other. Many cities have fallen under the power of the Dreamers - and the Iron Fists?
***
The prince lowered the old looking document and looked at the Archon that had delivered it. He had existed for many years and had never heard of either of these bloodlines.
"Where did this come from?" Axis asked curiously.
"Reliable source - my employer. We've been hunting these fanatics for centuries, but they can be very slippery and elusive." The Archon replied seriously.
"Why have I not heard of this sooner?" he asked.
"This sort of stuff is need to know information - and you didn't need to know - until now. Our scouts and sources informed us that some of them might be heading this way. If they do - this problem will seriously affect you." The Archon answered.
"How many cities have fallen to them?" Axis asked seriously.
"We've lost count. On a positive note, they have never taken down a city this size - and we would like to see to it that it stays this way. We were able to cover up the other messes by calling the riots or other such nonsense - but a city this size - if they go at it here - it will attract the Inquisition for sure." He answered.
"We don't want that to happen. How can we help?" Axis asked.
"Just be alert. From what we were able to compile on these bloodlines certain things will help you identify them. Dreamers are all women, all look like the model of perfection and innocence, all causally make reference to their Princess and what makes them so deceptively dangerous they all are extremely passive." The Archon stated seriously.
"Until an Iron Fist is near." Axis added.
"Exactly." The Archon finished.
"What about their friends?" he asked.
"No disrespect - but think Brujah - think anarch - think Caitiffs - they are very aggressive - very violent. They are somewhat manageable until they are near a Dreamer." He answered. Axis narrowed his gaze at the Archon and slowly got out of his seat.
"They are already in the city." He muttered.
"We have no verification of that - but it is a distinct possibility." He answered calmly.
"So what exactly are we supposed to do besides just staying alert?" Axis asked curiously. The Archon handed Axis a dossier on what the two bloodlines could do and the best possible counter measures.
"Like I said, just stay alert - and if at all possible - if they are in the city - keep them far away from each other. If they know that the other is in the city - they will put out a call to friends and your city will be an unpleasant place faster than you can blink." The Archon replied.
"I'll put the word out immediately." Axis began.
"Sire - with all due respect - I would advise against that. If you tell people to look out for them - it might cause those masquerading in your city to believe the others are there. Just tell your inner council and tell them to be very discreet about who they chose to share the information with." The Archon interrupted. Axis sighed and shook his head.
"Okay - we'll play it your way - but if things start to get out of hand - I'm taking over and I'm taking control of the situation - understand sire?" he asked respectfully. The Archon bowed politely.
"Of course. We all want the same thing - Eco to be safe and in one piece. The main thing here is to make sure that the end justifies the means." The Archon replied. Axis watched as he put on his trench coat.
"If we learn anything substantial at our end - you will be the first to know." he concluded as he began to walk away. Axis groaned and shook his head. All of a sudden the position of Primogen in Chamberlan was starting to sound real attractive.
"Looks like its going to be one of those days." He muttered to himself.
***
In a place void of anything familiar, darkness swirled. The Malkavian Skamms slowly awoke and looked around this strange and unfamiliar place. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.
"Help me!" a familiar voice echoed. He frantically looked around. Just then - he froze. A ghostlike image of Nenia appeared and faded away. His hands clenched into fists as he raced off in that direction.
What the hell is this place? He thought to himself.
"Help me please! I'm scared!" the voice continued. He looked around and saw another apparition that looked like Nenia. Skamms growled lowly and raced off in the direction of the image. As he ran - he could hear the faint sound of horses galloping. He stopped running and looked over his shoulder and saw several armored warriors charging straight for him. He reached for his weapons but they weren't there.
"If I go - I'm taking you with me!" Skamms shouted as he leaped at one of the riders. As soon as he came near it though - it instantly faded into the darkness and he fell awkwardly to the ground.
"Nice to see you haven't changed." A calm voice stated. Skamms tensed up and slowly looked over his shoulder. There stood Nenia! She looked just as she did on that day he had seen her perish.
"Wu-What is this? Some sort of sick joke?" he demanded.
"No joke. I'm real. If you don't believe me - touch my hand." She replied calmly with a smile. Skamms looked over his shoulder to see if there was anyone around - but there was only the two of them. He hesitantly reached forward towards her outstretched hand. As soon as his finger touched the back of her hand he jumped back.
"Do you still doubt that I'm me?" she asked curiously.
"You're - dead! I saw you die!" he shouted.
"That? Hmm. You don't think much of what my clan can do. What must I do to prove to you who I am?" she asked seriously as she sat down before the nervous Malkavian.
"Uh - uhm - what did I say to you at the bar?" he asked. She smiled.
"You said - that you hated me after I said that you were a walking contradiction to everything you say." she replied.
"Okay - what was the first present she - you - you know what I mean - what was the first thing she gave to me?" he asked awkwardly. Nenia smiled and looked up into the darkness.
"Tangible - or real?" she retorted.
"Real..." he muttered.
"That would be the ring. Now can we cut to the chase you lunatic? I haven't got all day." She retorted less than tolerantly. Skamms found himself smiling. That was more like the Nenia he remembered.
"Sure - what's on your mind?" he replied. Just then Nenia tensed up and clutched her neck. Skamms eyes widened as he saw blood spilling out from her hands.
"Oh no - they're doing this to me?" she muttered timidly. Skamms was about to get up when he heard the sounds of horses again. Out from nowhere riders - the ones he saw before began to charge towards them.
"Who are they?" he asked seriously.
"Evil beyond words! They cast a spell on me that weakens me. If they are not stopped I will die again!" she said in a panic. Skamms turned around just in time to get a kick in the face. He looked up and saw the soldiers about to close in on her.
"Nooooo!" he screamed.
***
In an Anarch haven, Skamms woke up and saw everyone staring at him. His eyes quickly scanned from person to person much like a cornered animal would.
"What? What?" he demanded.
"You okay? You were making a lot of noise. You have a bad dream or something?" an anarch asked curiously. Skamms' memories flooded his mind of everything that he had just seen - was it just a dream or something more?
"I - uh - yeah. Don't worry about it. Must have been something I ate. I got some things to take care of. Thanks for letting me crash here." He retorted calmly. It was then that he noticed that his finger - the one that had touched Nenia's hand was slightly burned.
"Take it easy - there are a lot of freaks out there." The anarch replied as they watched Skamms leave. As soon as he was gone, everyone relaxed.
"Thank god he's gone." One muttered.
"At least he didn't kill anyone this time." another added.
***
A short distance away, Skamms was sitting down by a dumpster trying to make some sense out of what he had seen. The burn on his finger was by no stretch of the imagination painful, but it did cause him to remember what she had said to him before he woke up.
"She said they cast a spell on her - but who are they?" he asked himself. Just then he got mental flashes of the riders. Just then he tensed up as his mind continued to remember. He saw the riders dismount from their horses. He saw the face of one rider. His mind reentered reality.
"Him? Who was he?" he asked himself. He got up and walked out of the alley. Someone bumped into him and almost knocked him over. He was about to shout at the person when he saw that it was Claws - the Gangrel sheriff.
"Into alleys now? You are really lowering your standards." He commented. Skamms shook his head and calmly got back up. Had it been anyone else - he or she would have been dead.
"Funny." He retorted calmly.
"So where have you been keeping yourself lately? No one's heard much about you since?" he began. Skamms shook his head and sighed. He knew what he was trying to say.
"Since the witch-bitch went poof? Don't soft-shoe around me. I don't tolerate that noise." He replied seriously.
"Okay. No one's heard much noise out of you for about a month. Some believed that you were bored of the place and had moved on." He commented.
"Yeah, I bet the prince would fall apart if that happened." He retorted with a sarcastic smile.
"So - what's new with your crew?" he asked curiously. Claws looked over and saw that the Malkavian seemed genuinely interested. He leaned against the wall and sighed.
"Why so curious?" he asked.
"Hey? Me? No reason. Just small talk shit." He retorted casually.
"Well, the prince had ordered a closed door meeting of the council of the city. I was on my way there. Want to tag along?" he offered. Skamms almost laughed at the idea.
"I'm so sure that I'd be so welcome there. Take it easy fur ball. I got a feeling that things are going to get a little tense." Skamms replied with a serious look on his face.
"Little tense for a normal person - our breed - or you?" he replied.
"By my standards." Skamms replied. Claws nodded and began to walk away. He was about to ask him something, but when he turned around - he was gone.
"If something makes him tense?" he muttered to himself as he continued on his way towards the Royal Palace.
***
A short while later, Skamms found himself back in the Warzone. He didn't know what it was, but he felt as though something - or someone was leading him somewhere.
"What is back here?" he asked himself. It was then that he saw a bunch of people standing in a circle. From where he was he could see that two kindred were fighting.
"Hmm." He muttered as he made his way towards the crowd. When he got a little closer he saw that one of the Anarch elders was in a fight with someone dressed like a biker.
"Who's winning?" Skamms asked.
"Ace." Someone said.
"Who is Ace?" he repeated.
"The new guy that is kicking the elder's ass." Someone answered. Just then the biker punched his fist through the Gangrel's chest and pulled out his undead heart. Skamms watched the gloating kindred that had his back to him. As he slowly turned around - his eyes widened in disbelief - it was the same person he had seen in that dream!
"You're the one?" Skamms asked in disbelief. The person looked at the sea of faces until he saw the face that was glaring at him. All of the vampires and ghouls near Skamms quickly scattered.
"You say that as though it was a bad thing. Who the hell are you?" Ace demanded. The anarchs and ghouls in the crowd began to murmur.
"Me? I'm Skamms - that boy that you just did away with happened to be a friend of mine. Not a close one mind you - but a friend non-the-less." Skamms retorted calmly.
"So - you're the big guy everyone whispers about? Funny - I thought you'd be taller." The guy goadingly remarked. Skamms shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
"What was the point of this little display about?" Skamms asked seriously.
"I wanted to recruit some people - he said no way." He retorted.
"Really? You really want to recruit some people?" Skamms asked.
"Yeah - I do." He answered. Skamms removed his jacket and pointed to one of the neonates. An older anarch shoved him forward. Before the startled neonate could react - Skamms had his fangs deep in his neck. Although Ace found the display mildly amusing, his patience began to tread thin. Once Skamms was done - he pointed to the person holding the shotgun. The person watched as the gun was tossed to him.
"You think guns scare me?" Ace asked. Skamms looked over his shoulders and shook his head. He armed the gun and blew the head off of the incapacitated kindred.
"I never fight on an empty stomach." He retorted as he tossed the gun back into the crowd. Everyone formed a large circle around the two. Skamms wiped the blood from his face and studied the person.
"Does this mean that you intend to oppose me?" he asked curiously.
"No one recruits without my consent." He replied coldly.
"Your choice." He replied. The two fighters began to concentrate. Everyone watched as the two leaped at each other in a savage fury. Skamms landed a powerful punch to his opponent's face. But in the process took a strong shot to the chest that sent him back ten feet. The people near him helped him up.
"Walk away little man. You really don't want to do this." He warned. Skamms slowly turned and glared at the person. He was strong - really strong. He would have to fight this battle wisely if he wished to survive.
"What's the matter - scared already?" Skamms goaded. The person was about to attack - but calmed himself down. He removed his jacket and shirt to reveal numerous scars and tattoos.
"Bring it on." He taunted. Skamms took a small knife out from his jacket pocket and snaked his way towards his waiting foe. With incredible agility - he pounced. Without even turning, he lashed out and knocked Skamms aside as though he was a fly. Skamms was about to get up when he noticed that his face and the person's hand were bleeding. What made him stop and think was when the blood on his hand seemed to evaporate.
Not good - how did he do that? He thought.
"You are pretty good - accept that I am better and move on. I will not give you such a choice again." He warned. Skamms slowly got up to his feet. He was starting to feel the effects of this fight. Plus he was starting to feel hungry.
Two for the first hit - two for the second - one - he drained one from me when he hit me. This is bad. Skamms thought. The fighter saw the look of concern in his opponent's eyes.
"Walk away little man." He warned. Skamms leaped at him. In a quick action, he raked his knife across his face. Before Ace could touch him, Skamms rolled out of the way.
"So - you want to try hit and run tactics? Your funeral." Ace retorted. The wound slowly healed as he leaped at Skamms. Everyone watched as the two fought savagely and with intense determination. But after Skamms took another powerful hit to chest that knocked him down again, it was clear that the fight was over. He tried to get up - but all his strength was spent. Ace picked Skamms up by his hair and lifted him up so that he was at eye level with him.
"You put up a good effort - I actually had to push myself to beat your ass. Looks as though I will be able to recruit after all." He said smugly. In a quick action, Ace released Skamms and then caught him by the throat with his free hand. Skamms began to pant - he could fell his blood being drained though the man's hand.
"N-no..." he stated. Their eyes locked. Ace was about to retort when he began to go into convulsions. Everyone watched as Ace's shaking arm slowly moved up to Skamms' mouth. Without breaking eye contact Skamms dug his fangs into the arm and began to drink. As he began to heal his wounds. Ace began to spasm.
"Die..." Skamms hissed. Ace convulsed one last time and then collapsed.
"Ow..." he panted as he sat up.
"Wow - I thought you were a goner." One stated.
"I almost was. That bastard was tough." Skamms stated as he slowly got up to his feet. He looked at the lifeless body of the vampire he had just defeated.
"I want two people - to carry this thing for me." he stated.
"To where?" one person asked.
"Let's just say I feel like talking to some royalty." He replied coldly.
To be continued...
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