VARIOUS LOCATIONS - April 26, 1999 - Bell

In the Tower of Souls a plan is conceived, a plan hatched to deliver the prisoner Darkon into the keeping of Mazrim. For this night's events, the Kindred and nine soulslaves would escort Darkon from Vesper to the Tower of Souls. A message was found in PaxLair, alerting its people of Mazrim's attempt to move Darkon. Immediately the search for Darkon began. Meanwhile, the soulslaves began to gather, as did the Clan of Vampires for the task ahead. Darkon was present, surrounded by hordes of soulslaves and helpless to escape his captors. Once the soulslaves were assembled, the march began.

Just before the outskirts of Aryslan, the first of the rescuers was discovered. Quickly, he turned tail and fled, presumably to find his companions. Within a matter of seconds, the first cries of battle were heard. The mortals began their charge on the horde of soulslaves, one ... two ... three ... one after another, they fell before the blackened souls. Feasting upon the fallen and lusting for more blood-soaked corpses. This battle was unlike any battle seen by mortal and immortal. Heroes, with great numbers, swarmed about - attacking, killing, dying, yet never ceasing in their onslaught. Their numbers were endless, wave after wave came, eventually felling the soulslaves and a few of the Kindred.

Here the first of the would-be rescuers lie slain upon the blood-soaked earth. Soulslaves and Vampires quickly dispatching those insane enough not flee at first sight. "Innocent" blood stained the grounds of Aryslan and the carnage did not stop there. Even the tower building in the town housed casualties as many fled to it seeking protection from the maw of death, only to find there is no sanctuary capable of keeping the Kindred at bay. Yet more deaths come in droves, the blood of the righteous and that of the darkness mingle upon the muddy earth. Twisted, mangled corpses writhe and twitch with the last vestiges of life. As reinforcements arrived to the battlegrounds the fallen corpses were trampled underfoot - those still breathing, drowned in pools of blood and filth. Without the means to heal themselves, even the almighty soulslaves could not withstand the constant barrage of attacks from the rescuers' frontlines. Half the Kindred present fell as the soulslaves met their demise and Darkon was taken...more of the heroes swarmed the battlefield to claim the spoils of war and search for Darkon.

Finding Darkon without his escorts, those that had freed him brought him back to PaxLair in order to keep him protected further from Mazrim. Uncertain as to the action they should take, no one seemed to be sure of how Darkon should be protected. They began to question the prisoner as the voice of Mazrim himself was heard eminating through the body of Darkon. Revealing his ploy, that this being was not Darkon, in fact, it was another soulslave disguised to divert the mortals from hampering the transfer of the real Darkon. Later that evening, Darkon, Draesot the Forsaken, Blade of CoV and Hephaestus of CoV were seen in the Tower of Souls. It is not known what took place within, but a great number of hunters came to seize Darkon from Mazrim's tower. There are reports that Mazrim himself was seen within the tower for a brief moment as well. The mortals below spent most of their attempts on feeble earthquake spells that did little more than annoy the inhabitants of the tower. Once again, as always, Darkness proved the stronger and victorious.