A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she stood at the towering Gate within the Spewer of Ash. She wasn’t sweating because of what she was about to do, she was sweating because it was just so damnedibly hot! ”I miss the cold… fuck I can’t believe I said that.” She sighed and reached out for the doors.

Days of journey had brought here to this place, not to mention having to lie to a few people as to where she was going and what she was doing. They thought she was a special secret mission to suss out of the location of a new vampire coven that had been rumoured too form, and they were half right. Turned out she had weeks ago found out not only who was running the new coven, but what Syn looked like and where the coven was based. And, holy shit, it was a God’s Temple! Not just any God, but the Blind God, Wrath and Heavens, the former Aspect being the most interest to her right now.

Grasping the twisted handles of the doors, noticing the vibrations in the handles she pulled the door open and went through. Now upon the hill she looked up to the darkened world around her and the sky full of stars and the Citadel below, the maze between her and her destination. ”I’ve come this far.” Stepping forward further, her black cloak billowing slightly behind her the red head made her way down the hill and to the entrance of the maze and stopped for a moment. Taking a breath, she steeled her resolve further and stepped forward.

Darkness took her, even her night capable eyes couldn’t pierce the darkness, until she realized that it was most like she was blinded by magic. Blind God, made more sense now, this was a trial, and she was damned if she was going to fail it, she was here for a reason and she was feeling awfully Wrathful, and very relieved to be out of that damned heat.

An hour later and she was still in the maze but while her frustration was rising slowly her determination had not faltered. ”I’m here for a reason, I want them dead, to suffer.” She almost hissed to herself, fangs exposed, if one could see in the darkness that is. Another hour passed but she finally saw light that she hoped indicated the end of this infuriating maze. ”Should have brought a snack, shit.” She muttered to herself as she passed an unseen threshold and her vision was returned to her. ”Ah, fuck, more lava.” She moaned, but she couldn’t do anything but move forward, she didn’t want to turn back now, she couldn’t. Her choices had been made, dice cast, this was the end game now.

Up to the doors she walked and once more she grasped them and pulled them open to see a black marble floor greeted her with what looked like an infinite abyss on either side. At least the air in this hallway was chilly and it felt nice on her skin, far better than the heat from before, made her relax somewhat. She came to a circular room with an immense dragon statue in the centre, wings spread, flames flickering from its maw and ruby eyes that to her made it feel like the statue was watching her. Looking to the doors she knew it was time to stop going further, intel said that this was the furthest most made it and the rest of the place was off limits to guests.

Leaving her hands out to that they could be seen as soon as her intended target arrived she called out. ”Syn!” She bellowed, if the woman was here and heard the call great, if not, then perhaps she had just made a fool of herself. Then again, who was to stay that Syn didn’t show up and right away want to rip out her throat? After all, it wasn’t every day that a vampire hunter walked right into a vampire coven’s domain and called out for their leader directly.

When and if Syn arrived the visitor would slowly remove the signet ring from her finger and toss it for the vampires to catch. The visitor already knew what Syn looked like, having actually seen her once before, it was in a random passing, well, at least as random as it had been made to look. ”You know the symbol?” The red head asked, keeping her hands in the open so that no one thought she was going for a weapon, of which she carried several. Syn should have known the symbol on the ring, it was the symbol of an order of vampire hunters, the Order of the Four, an old Order dating generations. But it was a small order, always kept to low numbers for the ease of secrecy, and the woman standing before Syn, the dhampir known as Lenora Victory, was one of their best. The Order had been a thorn in the sides of many vampire covens since their inception, and had utterly destroyed some whole families in the past. The reason that Lenora knew that Syn should know of the Order? Because it was Lenora herself that leaked the information that would lead Syn to know what that symbol meant. So that when Lenora would arrive here and now in this moment Syn would know what that symbol represented and who she was dealing with, if not exactly who Lenora was, or at least had heard rumours.

The question was; why leak that information?

A satisfied smirk graced upon the deep crimson lips of the vixen as she looked down on her nails. The little brush that painted on a deep red upon her fingernails was bringing great joy to the personal aide of the god of wrath and heavens. Long tanned legs were crossed underneath the table as she worked on her manicure. Her makeup vanity was stationed with several options, but Syn enjoyed her go to red every time. Once the coats were completed she settled back against her chair while blowing air on the nails in an effort to help them dry faster. She glanced around her room to look upon her sleeping red furred fox who was still curled in a ball on the lavish pillows of the vampiress’ bed. A golden gaze softened at the sight of the one creature in the world that could make her feel a ‘motherly’ affection.

Once pleased with the manicure, Syn stood up with her sheer fabric robe billowing behind her. Even in the comfort of her own quarters the woman wore a form of heels. Draping the robe over a chaise chair, Syn looked through her wardrobe options that would suffice for the day. After a few moments a deep navy blue form fitting dress was selected for her to slip into. With a wiggle her and there, she was dressed and ready to go downstairs to begin the organization of the day.

Clicking of her heels echoed down the stairwell before she walked through the door to the throne room. At the exact moment there was a shout of her name which made the assistant flinch slightly in surprise. ”For the blessings of the Four Bloods, what the fuck do you want? Shouting like that upon arrival. Poor etiquette, my darling.”. Syn’s red lips pulled back to expose her fanged smile.

It was that moment that the vampiress stopped her advancement. A signet ring had been tossed her way, which was caught easily. Rolling it between her fingers before letting it slip on an elegant finger for closer inspection. Gold orbs narrowed with a predatory response. Instantly, her eyes lifted to the woman who smelled like a halfie. ”If anyone is anyone, they know this symbol, my dear. What sheer fortitude you must have to come to my Lord’s temple and show me this.” Syn tossed it back to the woman before placing a hand upon a popped hip. ”So…what brings the mighty Lenora to call out my name? Are you here to fulfill a contract on my life?”.

The question was a challenge as a glint crossed her bemused features.

The clicking of the heels was enough for Lenora to know that Syn was near by and soon the vampire made her presence known, calling Lenora out for shouting. Ignoring that jab, because, to be honest, Syn was kind of right, Lenora tossed the ring to the vampire to examine. The predatory response was what Lenora was expecting to see in response to see that ring with that symbol on it. Lenora caught the ring when it was tossed back to her and replaced it on her finger noting the challenging tone of Syn’s question towards her. Though the fact that Syn knew her by name was a little disconcerting as Lenora hadn’t meant for that much information to be leaked, but, it was out in the open now, and there was no reason to try and backtrack. ”No, rather, I was hoping to make a deal with you, and your new coven.” Lenora replied before going into more detail of the whole situation she was in.

”Put simply, I want to eliminate the Order and take my time torturing the leader, Jared.” She stated flatly. ”Recently I came into some new information that has, hm, changed how I see the Order, which I have been a part of my whole life. As you can probably smell I’m a dhampir, and since I can remember I was told that my mother was raped and bitten by a vampire while she was pregnant with me. That’s the story as I knew until for my whole life, and it was used to fuel my fight against your kind for, well, for a really long time now.” She didn’t feel like giving up her true age just yet, not that it realty mattered. ”Turns out that was all fucking bullshit, a created story they made up so I would fight for them, control me so I would kill for them. Not just vampires, but those who would work with them, humans, elves, whatever they might be, even the odd low self esteem lycan.” Lenora explained.

”The truth is that my mother wasn’t raped by a vampire, she was a vampire, and my father was human, and they were very much in love. My father was part of the Order, he fell in love with my mother at some during a mission, he was young, she… not so much, and she was beautiful, at least according to my father’s journals that I found. You can probably guess how well the Order took that news when they found out months later, after my mother was pregnant.” Lenora sighed and removed the ring from her finger, if she was closer to lava she’d have thrown it in, instead she put it in her pocket as she continued. ”They tortured my father and caged my mother, they knew I would be a dhampir so they kept her alive long enough for me to be born. After that they stole me away, and made them watch each other die, slowly. I was raised in the Order from then on, and trained to kill your kind, and I got damn good at it.” She grinned, her own fangs showing.

”But, Syn, you have to be wondering; how do you and your coven fit into all of this? Well, the Order knows of your coven and have been tracking you, well, more to the point, I have been tracking you, and I’m glad my leaked information got into your hands.” She grinned. ”I’m done living a lie, I want to live on my own terms, but I also want revenge, or justice, whatever you want to call it, for my parents.” As she continued from here Lenora slowly and carefully unclipped her weapon sheaths from her cloak and belt and settled them on the floor. Her twin tabar-shishpars, twin hand axes and a health collection of smaller throwing knives and a couple of daggers, and then a couple more. ”Here is what I propose; I give you and yours the location of the Order’s hideout, we set a time and a date for you to attack it with everything you have. You can go in silently or all out, I don’t care, but I’ll be there waiting, once I know the attack is going on I’ll start picking them off from their back lines before they know what’s going on. I have a date in mind already though, I know when all of the Order members will be at the base, I can give you’re their exact numbers and I have a blueprint already drawn up of the place for you to use. Including secret entrances. All I want out of this is Jared, I have more questions for him, and you’re welcome to help with that if you so like so long as he answers me.” She smiled. ”Think about it; a new vampire coven, small in numbers, already capable of slaughtering a prominent vampire hunting Order and recruit one of their top hunters , who in their right minds would act against you after that?” Lenora stepped back from her weapons. ”Believe me or not, Syn, that’s up to you, I’m now unarmed, if you chose to kill me, so be it. Otherwise, do we have a deal or do you have questions?”

A dhampir was within the hallowed halls belonging to her master. Halls that had become her home in such a short period of time that Syn saw as a sanctuary. A female vampire hunter graced with super human abilities to better track and destroy the vampire kind had made their way into Orme Observatory. The timing was too perfect considering Syn had begun to develop the Coven as Lord Raith had bid her to do. Many had assumed that fiery vampiress created the group in order to bolster her own ego, when in fact it had been along her Master’s plans the entire time. There were secret workings that the Lord of Wrath and Heavens had only shared with his Inner Circle. Golden orbs seemed to flare as they examined the huntress in the throne room. No one was going to threaten her Coven. No one.

”Oh, you would like to speak about my Coven, would you? How polite of you to bring up a straight forward topic such as my budding family. Is this all before you wish to ask me to line them up to be staked? Or should I allow you to freely hunt within my Master’s home?” Syn felt her words come out a hiss rather than hear it. The audacity for a member of the Order of the Four to come to the Observatory was almost hard to believe as it were. To throw in the prospect of a member questioning her about the Coven…it was almost too much to process.

A moment passed.

Another moment passed.

Syn blinked several times as if she were trying to realign her brain with her ears from the lack of understanding. Lenora of all people was declaring her wish to eliminate the Order. This was a lofty goal that many of drunk vampires would declare they would accomplish. None had come close to succeeding. The vampiress crossed her arms underneath her breasts with narrowed gaze waiting for one slip up of phrasing from Lenora. She was scrutinize every word to detect any kind of deception.

Eyes tracked every movement made by the dhampir. The one that interested her was where the ring had been removed to be placed in a pocket. Symbols were important when you lived long stretches of time. The story being presented, the false one, had been along the lines of what she had learned about the talented huntress. Syn was relatively young considering her new race. Being only twenty-five, that meant that Syn had to take all opportunities to learn. She did not even have the long years that most elves had, having been turned early on in her lifetime. Either way, Syn had learned where and who to avoid in order to rack of the years. The Order had been a group to avoid, though she had learned it was more of a cult instead of an order.

Jaw muscles flexed as she considered all that was being put forth. Her feline like gaze glanced at the weapons that were piled upon the floor. It had been a great risk for the huntress to take by crossing the threshold of the Observatory. Lord Raith was not a god to take lightly, nor to anger. She had only seen a fraction of his wrath. It never ended well for the receiving party. Also, it normally took the presence of Lady Alairia to help settle him.

Heels clicked again upon the floor as she decided to cross the distance between them. ”Prove yourself. Make a blood oath with me. This is my coven. I want the oath as well as a phylactery with your dedicated blood. I will release this oath once the Order has been brought down. You do this well, I may have a position as my second in it for you.” Syn stood mere inches from the huntress with a feline grin upon her lips. Manicured hand reached up to play with the end of the woman’s braided hair. It felt soft to the touch despite the tough treatment it had most likely endured. Few females maintained a self-care regime such as Syn. That would need to change.

”The same question is posed to you, my darling. Do we have a deal?”

The hiss of words from Syn was only met with a grin before Lenora started into why she was truly here, and what she wanted from Syn and her coven. The reaction from Syn gained another grin from Lenora, expected reactions really, to this kind of things Lenora had spoken. Her want to destroy the Order because of the betrayal she felt now that she knew the truth of her parents and her birth. Her life had been a lie, all of it, he hate for vampires and those that would work with them, all based on lies.

Lenora saw Syn’s jaw flex as she glanced to the weapons on the floor. Lenora had was under no illusions what kind of risk she was taking by walking into the Observatory. She had heard stores of Lord Raith’s Wrath and it chilled Lenora to the core at the idea of being caught in front of him when he was upset. She wanted to avoid that, but, Syn’s coven was aligned to Raith and so now Lenora would throw her lot in the pot. If Syn had chosen another deity, suck as the Reaper, Lenora would be doing the same thing but in a different location.

Syn finally reacted and stepped up to Lenora who didn’t move and only stared back as Syn started to speak her own terms. A blood oath and a phylactery, that was heavy, to say the least, with both of those in place Syn would have control of Lenora almost totally. With the vampire inches from her Lenora didn’t step back, used to dealing with their kind, as Lenora was older than she looked. Syn started to play with Lenora’s braided hair and the huntress grinned at the touch. At the last question there wasn’t much hesitation in Lenora’s reply, only an inhale of breath. ”We do indeed.” She replied with a nod. ”How would you like me to make the oath and make the phylactery?” She questioned, knowing there were a few ways to do both of those things, but she didn’t know which way Syn did them normally.

As this was happening Lenora asked. ”I have the drawn blueprints with me, along with written instructions on where the headquarters is located, for now, suffice to say that it’s in the Jarnviour Forest on Itjivut island. The maps also show the locations of a few traps in the headquarters, and how to bypass them, plus the secret entrance locations and how to open them. If you want we can go over this today, or, I can come back another time and go over things in detail, but I can leave everything with you to look over.” She paused a moment. ”As I said, I want to be inside the building when you attack, so until that day I need to maintain the ruse of still being with the order. They are used to be being away for a few days at a time, but I do need to do my check ins so they don’t start snooping around too much.” She informed Syn so the vampire knew more of the situation that Lenora was putting herself in.

The assistant was cautious to accept someone like Lenora into the Observatory. She was certain that Lord Raith was going to be doubtful, but at least he wouldn’t be in danger from someone in the Order. The last thing they needed was someone trying to take out the new Coven from the start. There was no scent of deceit surrounding Lenora, and the information given aligned with what she had learned. Syn had plenty of underground connections to keep her well-informed. It was a major betrayal for the dhampir to learn such information. The temptress couldn’t blame the huntress for wanting to take the Order down. This could be fun.

One side of Syn’s crimson lips pulled upwards as she stood closely to Lenora. How often had a vampire been allowed to be in such close proximity with the huntress? How many had been able to survive? Soft hair was gently played with while waiting for the other woman’s answer. She did hope that the offer would be taken, because Lord Raith would not have accepted anything less. Her smile seemed to brighten slightly before it turned sultry. ”Oh, this will be fantastic,” she purred at the taller woman. ”We will first need our lord’s approval before we make the oath along with the phylactery.”. Lenora had been able to win over Syn, but it was an entirely different account to get Raith on board. How far could the vampiress push her connection to the god? She was soon to find out.

”We can start putting a more targeted plan together later. These blueprints and instructions are something I want to review in further detail in my study; which I will want to do along with you.”. Her hand gently brushed the other woman’s shoulder before letting go of her long braid. Syn felt a pull towards the woman, but pushed it aside to get back to business. ”Whatever you need to do in order to keep your ‘ruse’ going. You will be granted quarters in the Observatory….as long as Lord Raith approves, of course.”.

The woman gave a small mental tug on the link that had formed between herself and the god of Heavens and Wrath. She hoped that he was in a good mood that day. He needed to get on board with the plans that were starting to fall into place…but it was all depending on if he wanted it. If the newly formed coven could take down the Order, it would be a great move for them to make a name in Lord Raith’s honor.

My my, his little home was becoming something of a hub!

Raith smiled widely, fingers tapping about the arm of the ornate chair he sat upon in the Observatory itself. The whole of Orme was one, giant resonating chamber - every step made in his domain was sent directly to the God, so no one could enter without Raith being aware of their presence. He was more than aware of Syn's guest, at least he knew that they had arrived and been met by his assistant. Elbow deep in proceedings with Draconis and the other Celestials, Raith often left Syn to greet his Pilgrims, attending only when she deemed them worthy enough of his mighty attention. God's of his calibre did not have time to deal with trivial peasants, he was far too impressive for such nonsense as that. 
Of course, that didn't mean that Raith was not always 'watching' what his people were up to. With the use of his cast of hawks, he could keep an 'eye' on them even when they left the sight of Orme. Raith knew better than to let himself be exposed - one thing you learnt growing up blind, find a way to watch your back because no one else would do it for you. 

Holding up a hand, Raith cut Draconis off mid-sentence, cocking his head to one side as he felt the tug of his mental link to his Vampiress Assistant. "It would seem that Syn requires my presence, can you finish things here Draconis?" 
"Of course my Master, you do not wish for me to accompany you?" 
"It will be unnecessary. Finish going through the assignments and send everyone to their respective places, I will call for you when I need you." 
"As you wish," the Celestial whispered, bowing to the God as he stood up and left the room, a flutter of wings accompanying his exit as Silence immediately settled himself upon his Master's shoulder. 

For once Raith did not wear his ornate blindfold-crown, having chosen to leave his face enfettered, and his eyes exposed - not that it made much difference to the God of Wrath, either way, he couldn't see a bloody thing regardless. With a flick of his hand, Raith changed the internal doors, linking the one out of the Observatory to the one that would take him direct to Syn's location - why lose time faffing about what this place was his to command? A smug smile crossed the God's face as he opened the door directly to where his assistant was, her scent overpowering as he stepped out to join her and their newest guest. "You begged my audience Syn? Have we a new Pilgrim that requires an introduction to my domain?" He asked as he stood before the two women, towering to his full height, wings furled upon his back. Ordinarily he might have scolded the Vampiress for calling upon him and acting like she could order him about, but he was currently feeling in a generous mood. 

The scent of her lord came to Syn first before she saw his visage. A satisfied smile crossed her lips along with a gentler expression. As the time passed, the more that she was increasingly more fond of her Master. It was not a sexual attraction towards him, which was out of the norm for her. Syn felt a deep admiration for the god. She felt that same admiration for the Lady of the Observatory as well. The vampiress felt slightly uncomfortable at the sensation of actually caring about another. Strange.

She bit her lower lip while lowering her gaze for a moment. It had been such a reaction to pull on that mental bond, that she had not thought about how she had summoned her Master. Internally, there was shame in her heart. Outwardly, Syn lifted her golden gaze with confidence and air of her trademark arrogance. She had to put on that facade in front of a Pilgrim. A polite deep bow was given towards Lord Raith with eyes lowered. After a moment passed, she rose again with a bright smirk on her lips. ”My dear Lord and Master, I did beg for your attention. This is quite an interesting prospect for our Coven, sire.”

Syn shifted out of the way for him to see Lenora fully. As she moved, the temptress gently traced the length of the dhampir’s arm to her elbow. ”May I have the honor to introduce our illustrious Lord and Master Raith - god of Heavens and Wrath. Out of all the deities, he stands above them all.” There was no hint of deception in her voice. The assistant knew every word she spoke was the truth. ”My Lord, this is Lenora of the Order of the Four. You may know of them even though they keep in the shadows. This Order takes it upon themselves to attempt and eliminate the world of the vampire kind…or any kind associated.”. Her eyes flashed slightly at the thought of the Order even trying to get at her new Coven or Raith.

”Lenora wishes to defect to our new Coven. She has been betrayed by the Order, and wishes to bring them down from the inside. And to prove her loyalty… she will establish a blood oath along with giving me a phylactery. To be released when the Order has been completely destroyed.”. The vampiress gave a sultry smile to her lord hoping that he would be pleased. This would be the first move for his newly formed Coven. They could taken down a prestigious group in his name.

Our lord, in Lenora’s mind that sounded odd, yet, comforting at the same time somehow. ”Of course.” She replied to Syn with a nod, would that mean she’d have to meet Lord Raith now? This soon?! ”Yes, I would want to go over them with you anyway, in case you had questions.” Lenora replied, grinning as Syn plaid with her brain a bit more and brushed a hand on her shoulder, oh yes, Lenora liked Syn already. ”It won’t be too hard to keep the ruse up, everything is routine at this point anyway, fuck, I’m older than any of my check in contacts anyway.” She chuckled, but that begged the question; how old was she anyway? ”Yes, a place to stay would be nice, with approval of course.”

When the door opened and Lord Raith himself stepped out Lenora froze for a moment. She was used to dealing with all kinds of things in her life, but she had never been in the presence of a God before, let alone one with Raith’s reputation. She collected herself as he came over and addressed Syn as he unfurled his wings, which Lenora was unable to help but stare at for a moment.

When Syn started explaining things, however, Lenora managed to pry her eyes away from his wings and listened to what Syn was saying. When Syn introduced Raith to her, Lenora bowed to him as Syn continued to explain why Lenora was here in the first place. When she was finished speaking Lenora spoke up, she was clearly trying to be respectful and proper, but she was nervous, she hadn’t expected to meet Raith this evening so this had thrown her off a bit. ”It is a great honour to meet you, My Lord.” She started, hoping she wouldn’t accidently say something that would anger him or Syn. ”It is as Syn has said, I wish to not only leave the Order, but to destroy them, wholly, from the inside. I have provided blueprints and written instructions to Syn, documentation about the location, entrances, layout, and traps that are within in the headquarters of the Order. ” She explained. ”I am willing to make the phylactery and blood oath with Syn to prove myself loyal, along with any other tests that see fit.” She finished, again hoping she hadn’t said anything to upset him or Syn, clearly she didn’t want to, but her nervousness was still there and she was trying to think past it. All she could do now was hope that Raith accepted what she had brought to him.

Raith felt the air move as Syn bowed deeply, and he took that as her apology for being so impulsive - he could only assume that she had something she wished to share with him of great urgency for even she to forget her place. It was highly unlike the Vampiress, but he would allow the Vixen this one slip - he knew it wouldn't happen twice… "Oh?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest, the muscles in his body flexing and straining against the fabric of his shirt. With the use of Silence's eyes, he could see the girl in question, nothing of great merit as far as her appearance went, certainly, nothing that would leave a lasting impression on Raith's mind at least (not that there were many who did… Raith thought far too highly of himself to give many a second thought). 

"I've heard rumours through our networks, Lewis and Dae have mentioned them to me through their connections in the Shadows, several of the assassins who have pledged to us have had run-ins with them I believe," Raith growled - the Four were a nuisance already, and he had barely built his Coven yet. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me, they fall under the same ridiculous rhetoric as Sirona does?" He snarled, the thought of that impudent Goddess immediately riling him.

He listened as both Syn and Lenora spoke, turning his attentions to the woman. "Why?" He asked as she finished speaking. "Why do you want to end them so badly? What did they do to you that has changed your attitude towards your Order? You've killed for them I assume? Hunted creatures like Syn and my Coven, and murdered them, in the name of the Order? What did they do that changed you so much that you've come running to my door looking for a new home?" His words were sharp, but he did not trust easily, especially when it came to people changing their views. This woman had once stood on the opposite side, and while it was not unheard of to have someone defect, Raith was not willing to give her the benefit of the doubt straight away.
"I'll admit, the thought of wiping the Order off this fucking world once and for all, in one swift movement, is highly appealing," he stood to his full height, eyes brows furrowed. "Alright, I shall seal your blood oath myself, a little extra security should you turn against us for any reason. And trust me, being burnt from the inside by my Celestial Fire would be a fate you shall want to avoid," he snarled, a wicked smile upon his face. "This could spell a swift victory for us Syn, very well done."