~~~~~prelude to lord of lost souls~~~~~
~i be thy lady coltessa raynes of the house of raynes. born to a family in an abandoned and forgotten realm known to those of knowledge of such a place, as "withervane". thine father of the second house of withervane, born of immortal royal blood of an ancient vampyre nation. thine mother of the seventh house of withervane and of the royal realm of the "free kingdom" of mortals within manattica. i hath been hated by such mortals and thought to be dead, yet only hidden from the elders of these great realms of these forgotten lands~
~as a child, i grew up in the realm of such Immortals of thine father’s realm, learning and coming to know each lifeless soul living there. ne’er wanting their Immortality of loneliness, way of life, or beliefs bestowed upon thee, yet intrigued by them nun thee less. i would watch the elders feed often, sometimes caught within their stares but not once ‘twas I frightened nor horrified by their ways or means of sustaining life.
~most throughout withervane knew what i was to become to this nation. some knew of the legends of thine own family’s history. but there were those of manattica who still would destroy thee if they knew of thine complex life still existing~
~within the wings of thine family’s abode there were corridors unknown to thee as a child. yet, as i grew, thine adventures took thee unto each chamber room. often scolded ‘twas for venturing through such hallways that were held by the elders as ”sacred” and “forbidden” to thee. thine father understood thine thirst and thine need to know and would often escort thee through such corridors to secure thine safety out of them. with one exception of one chamber of the east wing. its doorway massive and he made thee promise to ne’er venture nye further then the beauty of its carved imagery upon the face of its doors~
~i remember that fatal bloody day~
~he realm of “manattica”, which held those mortals not born of noble or royal birth, came and invaded the homes of the vampyre nation. fearing thine lives of mine self and that of one other. destroying any within the walls of their houses that were unable to escape or be rescued from such a massacre~
~remembering thine promise spoken to mine father, i begged not to be sent to such a chamber. but with his last breath he handed thee such a key to its massive doors, his words being final and to be obeyed~
~i ran for the forbidden and sacred corridors of the east wing and the doors that held thine fate of thine life within its chamber. hidden within it for what seemed like days, i listened to the screams, pleadings and screeches of those being mutilated for who and what they were~
~vampyre~
~hoping one of which would hath been those they sought to destroy. i, the “balance of light and darkness” as well as he who provides the “seed of life.”
~from thine shadows of the darkened chamber came a voice within the wind. a voice soothing thee from all fear and promising that i would be salvaged and unharmed. kind and loving his touch was within his winds. i watched his majick unfold from him and illuminate the chamber candles. he pointed to the podium and the book upon it and beckoned thee to view its pages~
‘t'was the book thine father spoke of. a legend of a vampyre family’s king and covin lord ,hidden from rule for his own safety, and thine binding fate i share with him. as i began to read, the mortals bloody hatchets severed holes within the massive doors said to protect thee. but i feared them not. they were but mere mortals fearing who and what i was and who i was to become to them. the beauty of the doors ‘twas destroyed with a final blow as i watched him disappear along with the book, as quickly as he hath come~
~i remember a relative, a powerful man, a noble governor of the realm of the free kingdom of manattica, thine brother of thine mother. he gathered thee within his arms as to protect thee from those declaring that iu be ‘one of them’. that i was the chosen “birth breeder”. but the mortal known as” sir goss”, thine uncle stood his ground and they pressed him nie further as he fled thine home and the bloody corridors of the house of raynes~
~i now come upon thine 20th birthday. within the year to come, mine life will change drastically and unwillingly. raised these past ten years within the mortal realm of manattica by its governor sir rejain goss, mine uncle, of the “free kingdom”.
~it is odd how time falls so many pieces of life’s puzzle into place. when i came of the age of 18, i hath stumbled upon an ancient river of waters purely darkened by the mysts that hovered over it within one of our travels of withervane. the river giyan lay home to the temptress lady gia mystique, a beautiful, ageless, immortal mystic of the “realm of mysts”, that laid into the East of withervane. she placed a ring of the house of raynes within the sands of her banks and told thee of what was to come. that the world need be ready of the prophecy to unfold. of thine own “immortality” and of the betrothal as well~
~it 'twas then questions of intrigue arose within thee mind of the curious young maiden that i was then. mine uncle hath no choice but to enlighten thee and confirm what thy lady gia hath confessed to thee. just days past, i 'twas summoned to the house of mystique. i knew him in an instant, lord amier mystique, his name be told to thee with nie movement of his mouth. he handed thee another gift from thine past that i thought surely would hath been destroyed through time, and thus slightly became forgotten~
~i vaguely remembered it~
~opening its old binding it seemed to reach out to thee and the pages unfolded upon thine fate told of by thy lady gia and that of mine uncle. a fate they told thee that there were only three others who were aware that mine life had been secretly spared and the one named within the prophecy. it ‘twas then I felt his presence, though brief as it were~
~lord amier mystique, thine guardian here to see thee beyond the realm of shadow and deliver thee unto the hand of that fourth presence felt, and the coven lord of withervane known as “lord vansessta vah hollynn”. a feared vampyre and one who slept within the lower corridors of the house of raynes till the prophecy began its course. the five of them sworn to such a secret within a mixture of a blood binding them to thee~
~now as i sit comfortably in his horseless drawn carriage the ole’ abode came into view. it seemed larger then i remembered but the adventures through its corridors soon came flooding back to thine soul and i grew excited to be here once again~
~nce the carriage stopped and lord ameir helped thee from it, he led thee to the huge marble stairs of the main entryway. gathered on them were those who survived the massacre from years past. those who anticipated thine arrival and the yearning for the privilege to give birth to new yearlings. they bowed low and came to greet thee with smiling faces and lifeless souls leaping at thine arrival. immediately i felt each one of them within thine own. i felt as i did as a child~
~loved~
~lord aromondo vah hollynn breached the doorway of the grand stairs and all taking notice of him bowed slightly. i did not however. i ‘twas warned of him by thy lady gia. although he was beautiful to look upon and his body that of a young courtier, i found him to hath the lust of a hungry wolf and wanted no part of him~
~lord amier whispered in thine ear with unmovable lips, disturbing words of his temporary royal position of the vampyre nation and i gave slightly into his request, lowering only thine eyes and bowing thine head to him. as i entered the great hall he smiled eagerly. once inside, the presence of thine father passed through thine heart and i knew all would be well~
~thine fate~
~a prophecy unknown to many, feared by those of withervane, envied by the elders of this ancient vampyre nation and cherished by lord vansessta vah hollynn~
~for i am the bearer of the balance of light and of darkness. within thee lies the hope of all the vampyre living. yhe longing to walk as Immortals in a mortal realm. i am she that will fertilize the “seed of life”, and birth a prophecy of times to come. yet, as the prophecy be taught to thee in silence and secrecy, he that bares such a seed lingers within a shadowed realm, hidden from those who ten years past thought they hath destroyed. his presence that haunted thee within thine dreams since thine summons to the realms of shadow and back to thine house of raynes~
~i truly knew nothing of him ‘till this now thy 20th birthday~
~now his legend begins and thine fate becomes his as well. this be the legend of thy “lord of lost souls”; the legend of lord draven “blacksoul” vah hollynn. rightful heir to the realms of withervane. adopted by the vah hollynn coven during the vampyre massacre of ten years past and kept hidden ‘till i be old enough for the second blood binding betrothal to him. loved by lord vansessta but hated by lord aromondo with a devastating rage within him of jealousy for who blacksoul was~
~i remember now~
~i remember thine fate~
~a new adventure i hath come to explore~
~and so I shall~
~i am thy lady coltessa raynes of the house of raynes; “birth breeder” of thine prophecy told~
~willingly or not~
Lord of Lost Souls. Copyright. 2007 by Coltessa Raynes
