"I'm coming! Stop bashing the fucking door!" The man pulled his fur-lined coat tighter as he stumbled down the stairs. He put his arms in search of the handrail and wearily placed his feet one at a time into the darkness. The wooden floor creaked under his step as he carefully avoided empty tables and misplaced chairs.

Thump thump

"For fuck sake-" he tripped over a discarded beer mug and knocked his knee on a table, "AH- You fucking- fuck me, that hurts AH."

Thump thump

"I SWEAR TO ALL THINGS-" The man found the door latch in the darkness; with a grunt, he pulled it down and swung the door open. It stopped an inch later as a metal chain strained to keep the door half-open, "-WHAT DO YOU WANT!"

A chilly breeze assaulted his face, and mist swirled inside; the groaning of the Aurel grated his ears.

"Hello, good sir, my sister here has something wrong with her eyes..."

The guild master of Staedbergh was beyond furious, the guild is closed just like every other building during the night, yet some stupid resident had come banging on the doors, awakening him from his pleasant slumber. It took a second for his mind to catch up to the situation; he rubbed his weary eyes as he glanced down at the little girl beside the tall man's leg; she LOOKED UP AND STARED INTO HIS MIND WITH THOSE RED EYES.

His magic circuit flared to life to resist; his B grade fire magic lit up the room as tendrils of flame wrapped around his wrists and charred his fur coat, "BEGONE MONSTER." His head hurt; it hurt so much that he couldn't think. His spell fails to manifest, and he curses as the girl changes.

She surges forward like a tidal wave of crimson blood, slipping through the gap in the door with disturbing ease.

The guild master stumbled back, waving his arms as if trying to slap away an annoying insect, "Stay back, STAY BACK, HEY!" But how can one slap away a mist of blood?

Damien watched through the door gap in abject horror as Vanity's Ichor blood forced its way into the man's mouth, ears and eyes. He screamed like a drowning man and desperately clawed at his throat while gurgling curses. He cried tears of blood as his body convulsed; his skin was beet red like a drunken sailor as he rolled around the darkened floor.

Then all went silent.

The guild master, an albino man with a lean build, lay motionless on the floor with his eyes closed. Then, slowly his skin returned to its previous pale lustre, and his eyes snapped open.

The man stood up like a puppet on strings. He flexed his hands, rolled his shoulders and licked his lips. Although a little awkward, he seemed normal, apart from his sinister red eyes.

"Brother, my blood now runs through his veins; he has become my vessel." The guild master spoke in an awkward masculine tone, "Shall I allow you inside?"

Damien nodded, and the bolt fell away, he could have phased through the door, but he didn't wish to set off any formations.

"This isn't what I had planned, but in a way, it works perfectly..." Damien said as he walked inside the guild; after closing the door behind them, the trio sat at the cleanest table, and Damien began to explain the plan.

"This will be a long explanation, so listen up." Damien got comfortable and crossed his arms on the table, "We cannot kill the Prince. Trust me, I wish we could, but it's impossible. He is an A-grade necromancer and has become a semi-lich; his soul no longer resides within a mortal form but inside an eternal object. So killing him achieves nothing."

Damien sighed and then continued his rant, "Like a cockroach, he will keep coming back over and over again. The only way to end this farce is to annihilate his soul."

Fay chimed in, her voice muffled by her mask, "Do you know the location of the object that houses his soul?"

Damien nodded, "I do, but spatial magic makes the knowledge redundant. Upon the slightest hint of an attack, a space mage will move the object to another secure location." Pointing a thumb at Vanity's vessel, "We only have one person capable of infiltrating such a place and being able to fight the Prince. This mobility makes an assassination mission unlikely."

Fay sighed and put her hair behind her ear in annoyance, "So what do we do?"

"Simple." Damien grinned, "We do nothing. At least for now. The Prince has reached his peak strength and will soon display his might upon Kassinki; once the Capital falls, his next target won't be us. He may send some small forces to fight us, especially since Princess Emilia escaped to Blackthorn, but once Oshal hears Kassinki has fallen, they will quickly move in like vultures. Prince August will have his hands tied for a while."

Vanity's vessel frowned, "Are you sure they will be able to handle him?"

"Absolutely." Damien said with complete confidence, "The Mage Tower within Kassinki houses many powerful mages, including the Dean. They will not move for a while but will eventually be forced to act once Oshal gets involved. I originally planned to deal with the Prince to avoid Kassinki turning into a graveyard, but I no longer care for such a sentiment; we have more pressing matters such as constructing our new kingdom."

"Anyways, we are getting off-topic. We are here in Staedbergh for two reasons. First, we need to obtain the Aurel enslavement technology-"

Fay interrupted, "Are the Aurel those ghost-like things we saw floating through the streets?"

The trio all wearily glanced towards the guild's windows and saw the Aurel floating past. Their howls filled the night like chalk screeching across a chalkboard. If Damien had to describe them, it would be humanoid jellyfish. They floated along as if their necks were suspended from an invisible noose; their features were transparent and bland apart from ghostly tentacles that replaced their fingers and hair.

"The Aurel are tortured, souls warped by this world's will that attack the living on sight and are invincible during the night."

Fay made an oh expression as something clicked, "They didn't attack us because Vampires are technically undead and fellow creatures of the night?"

Damien nodded, "Although you don't count, my and Vanity's aura will have scared them off. The Aurel are mindless drones of despair and pain; they feel nothing but joy in pulling off limbs from the living. However, the people of Staedbergh have found a way to live within these things' territory by heavily warding their buildings and staying off the streets at night."

Vanity spoke through her vessel's masculine voice, "But why would they wish to live here?"

"Money and power," Damien said simply, "The Aurel are immortal during the night but fade during the day, only to reappear again once dusk falls. Staedbergh is located upon one of the biggest dungeons and is also on the coast giving it an easy way to trade with Oshal's capital city, Aizska." He shrugged and continued, "The Ravenhall family have even found black magic to enslave the Aurel, giving them complete control over this territory."

"Actually, now that I mention dungeons, I appear to have discovered a pleasant surprise! I assume you two have noticed the abnormal weather conditions within the city?"

Fay agreed, "Outside the walls, it was a little chilly, but inside, it feels like a city-sized freezer. Frost covers the roads and walls, dense mist swirls through the streets, and snow softly falls upon the roofs."

"Indeed, I have a theory that may excite you, my dear." Damien smiles warmly at Fay, "Either a fire elemental or stone is currently forming within this city, and my best guess would be within the dungeon. You will be on the path for your first A grade affinity if we retrieve it."

Despite the mask, Damien could tell Fay was grinning, "So we will add that into our plans since it aligns perfectly with the second aspect of this plan. If the Aurel serves as our immortal guardians against the undead horde, so will a legion of thralls and vampires. This city is large and ripe for conversion to our cause."

Damien turned to the albino man, "Vanity, since hypnotization failed due to the guild master's high magical powers, you will have to act as him since he is now your vessel. So you shall remain here and spread either rumours or post jobs to entice adventures into the dungeon depths where Fay and I shall lay in wait. This way, we will find and protect the Fire elemental or stone while it matures and simultaneously bolsters our numbers."

"On the dusk of the seventh day, push for an auction to be held. The promise of a Fire elemental stone should draw the rich and powerful to one place; they will make fine vampires under our service."

As another Aurel floated past the guild's window with its wails, Fay asked, "What of the Aurel in Ravenhall's service? Can they be commanded to attack us?"

Damien nodded, "They can and will, but worry not. They will be on our side soon enough. Anyway, enough of this. The dawn is coming, and we have places to be."

Damien stood, and Fay followed, "Vanity." As he left the guild and entered the mist-filled streets, he said over his shoulder, "Make sure to wear some tinted glasses, and please resist ripping off the heads of these rowdy adventures; they will test your patience on many occasions that I am certain of."

The albino man awkwardly grinned, "Do not fear, Brother. This will be fun."

Damien could only sigh as he left into the night towards the Staedbergh dungeon.