They say you can never find the Eternal City unless it wants to be found. Well, it must have wanted to see Victor as after only two days in the desert, he and Shole stumbled across it.

Once inside the city Victor started meeting some of the strangest people in the Universe and some of the most simple. Among others he saw Jorel Lionsmane, General Grisz (on a major piss up), Jaspar Cowl (trying to steal the stars from the sky no less), Lord Yainar and Lady Marion (painting as usual), Ross O'Groary (trying to organize a rebellion against all the Universe's trees), Hawk (wondering how he got there in the first place) and the infamous Solomon (researching his own existence as he knows just about everything else).

Ending up in the "Blue sword Inn", Victor is suddenly approached by someone who claims to know him - know all about him in fact ! This man is Minnow Korsarri, Champion of Lady Nox and he blows Victor's world apart.

Minnow starts by introducing someone who looks remarkably similar to Victor - Victor's twin brother, Han Dawn. Victor and Han stare at one another and instinctively know Minnow is telling the truth.
Minnow strikes while the iron is hot and tells both men a little about their origins (See Xenon Von Victor) telling Victor that his birth name is actually Xander Dawn.
The two men listen as Minnow tells them about their mother, about their father Nathaniel - an Incarnation of Lord Rune and about Ilvir the Damned. Han then shares his own story, relating how he was a prisoner of Ilvir for several years, being groomed as the next Champion of Chaos. Liberated by Minnow, Han found his way to the Sword of Dawn and from that point on  chose to follow a more balanced existence.

The two young men decide to journey together and as they do, who should turn up but The Blank - again. "I am here to discuss your destiny," says the Blank, leading Victor into a private room.

Victor learns about the Line of Dawn and how only descendants of Dawn can wield the sword Dawn. He also learns more about his mother, Cassandra, who lived in Tanith Lore guarding the Sacred Wish Stone. That is until Ilvir tried to steal it.

Investigating further, Victor goes to see the Lord of Tanith Lore, Yainar. Yainar tells him that Cassandra was the daughter of Tempest Grey Staff - one of Tanith Lore's previous Lords and that she possessed a Skarrion Wish Stone... things were now beginning to fall into place.

Victor chooses to accompany Minnow to the Lady Mercy, so with Han by his side, he says good-bye to Shole (who is quite happy staying in the legendary city for a while longer) and follows Minnow outside.

Minnow summons Nynsagul - Master of Doors, a peculiar shuffling being in a black robe. Nynsagul, showing no flesh and hands or feet to speak of, does have more than his fair share of eyeballs, all of them floating and spinning around in the dark recesses of his hood.

She is understanding of Victor's plight but only agrees to try and cure him because Minnow asks it as a favor. Using her tremendous powers of creation, she purifies his body, transmuting the blood of Kutal into a pure, milk like blood instead. Victor finds he can no longer tense his skin but as a plus, he no longer thirsts for blood.  He thanks Mercy and prepares to return to Eternium.

Minnow decides to stay - he has to help Mercy now, so Han and Victor call upon Nynsagul alone. This time the little hunchback is less agreeable, finding it an enormous chore to do as they ask. He feeds them a few lies, saying he can't take them directly back but that they have to go via Ashra the World of Glass. Unable to exactly say no, they once again step into Nyn's black doorways.

Han takes his sword, The sword of Dawn, and hits the invisible front gate causing the entire structure to materialize before their eyes... The Castle of Deepest Night ;- 106 levels from top to bottom with outer walls over 500’ in height. An interior structure, a colossal 750’ high, entirely made of glossy obsidian. The Castle’s main entrance warded with no less than 67 binding spells and trapped inside, Tharizdun, arch demi-god of Evil on 5 worlds and 21 realms. The chances of them getting in were pretty slim, but with the Sword of Dawn, possibilities were always endless.

They manage to bypass the front doors and traverse several trapped corridors to reach Tharizden's magical tomb. The center of the chamber contains a slab of stone 20’ x 10’ x 2’ thick, inscribed with letters in more than 50 languages. They read;-

At this point, Han and Victor leave Willis and his crew to go and explore some of the other levels, but they don't get far. Suddenly the castle starts shuddering and shaking. They rush back only to find one of Willis' crew, a creature called Yoosin, has tampered with the tomb and triggered Tharizden's release. The creature, possessed by part of the Evil One's essence begins attacking everyone. Willis is thrown to one side and knocked unconscious while Victor and Han attempt to engage it. But the creature, infused to the very atoms with Tharizden's strength, proves unconquerable and they are forced to flee.

After a hair-raising flight out of the castle, they look back to see the entire structure disintegrate into a black cloud, a maniacal black being soaring up into the sky and stars.

A Sucker for Blood.
Victor goes to examine where the castle used to stand and hearing echo like voices emanating from the air, he steps closer. This is what he hears (3 powerful sounding beings talking)

Kutal -  He is again.
Oxoth - We aren't prepared. It is too soon.
Maloth - My armies will crush any resistance. Let's end it now !
Kutal -  Fool ! How can we, as we are, crush such as he?
Oxoth - We can't. We're doomed. He could have been our Lord and master.
Maloth - I have no master. Join me now. My Chaos hounds will lead us to his hiding 
place. He will still be weak. It's now or never.
Kutal - Fool. There is no such thing as never. Time is boundless and ever changing.
Maloth -  Join me.
Oxoth - We must flee. The others must know. Even the Law Lords.
Kutal -  And reveal our blunder? No, this is a private matter. He was our creation. Our 
child. We must handle this alone without their sickly piety and scorn.
Oxoth - I don't care. We must tell them. Must.
Kutal slaps Oxoth into a black cube.
Kutal - Be quiet. Stay like that until you calm down.
Maloth - I will hunt him alone. And when he kneels before me and I taste his heart, you will call me Lord and Master ! (laughter and vanish)
Kutal then turns his attention to Victor.

YOU! My visit is two-fold in importance! I shall destroy your essence and spread it across the cosmos!
Kutal offers Victor an ultimatum. Re-swear allegiance to him and steal his brother's sword (so that Kutal can hide it) or he and his brother will be destroyed!
Of course Kutal is lying. He can't directly kill Victor or Han. But he can make like awkward for them. No matter what Victor chooses, Kutal has an idea. Instead of sending Victor back to his home realm a few weeks later, Kutal sends him back approx. 1200 years later. A lot will have changed on Aerium by then.
Victor doesn't like his choices and takes one of his own - he charges the bubbling fountain of blood that is Kutal and sinks his teeth into the Chaos Lord's "neck". The effect isn't one Victor expects. Instead of harming the Lord, Kutal just laughs, his blood gushing down Victor's throat, instantly changing the hero back into a Chaos Vampire.

Taking the Plunge. 
Stunned and utterly gutted by what he's done, Victor resigns himself to being a Vampire again, thirsting for the innocent and preying on the weak. At this point he jumps into Kutal's swirling portal and returns to Eternium, 1271 years after he last left.

As she drinks from Thaydamas' frail body she realises her mistake. Thaydamas has willingly sacrificed himself to save his people as contained in his blood is a potent magic that turns Valris' life aura to impenetrable crystal - preserving her in place for all of time.

Having also used his magics to heighten her natural thirst and senses, Thaydamas planned it all along. He dies safe in the knowledge that Valris' undead army has been averted and thousands of lives have been saved.

Valris' army of undead dispands.
When Dale hears of her defeat he enters a blood rage that lasts several days. He sends his most loyal soldiers to reclaim her body but after countless attempts, fails to break her free of the crystal (Mainly because he doesn't realise the crystal is a part of her, not just something imprisoning her.)

The sky over Hiemir is overcast, full of black clouds spiraling up into a huge, ominous funnel of darkness. Occasionally flashes of red lightning illuminate the city's streets in a bloody aura.

Victor lets out a cry of anguish that draws some of Hiemir's new denizens - a pair of curious Blood Stars. They offer their assistance but Victor declines, instead walking stark naked through the streets towards Kutal's Temple.
Just inside the door a Vampire priest gives Victor a robe. Xenon places Kit's body before the font of blood and bleeds himself over its bubbling depths.
Summoned by Victor's blood, the Kutal of this Timeline manifests himself as a head of flowing blood, demanding why Victor wants to speak with him.

The Blood Prince.
Victor doesn't get very far with this Kutal - This Kutal is busy fighting Law and trying to bring the Blood Dawn, so he doesn't care much for Victor's grief or anger.
However after Kutal abruptly leaves, Victor hears a voice behind him and turns to see another Kutal (the Kutal of the future) sat wearing Blood red armor and grinning.

This Kutal explains the situation to Victor. "At this time, all I'm interested in is winning the war. I won't help you so you'll have to have yourself. Who do you always turn to?"
"Hopefully, one day myself," replies Victor.
"Yes, one day you will have the power for that," Kutal mumbles.
Kutal advises Victor to submerse Kit briefly in the Font of blood - to preserve her flesh. As kit has died "outside of normal Time," her soul remains linked to Victor, Minnow, Mordred and the Time Vortex, meaning there may yet be a way to restore her to life.

The Kutal of the future is confused to find Victor in this Time. When Victor explains about the Vortex, Kutal frowns and stresses how important it is for Victor to gain the Skarrion Time Stone. "You will not be able to get it unless you get something from the me of this Time first. To do that you must ask for it - no, demand it as your right. I want you to ask to lead my army. If I refuse you must keep pushing until I give in. Can you do that?"

Victor shrugs, admitting he doesn't have much choice. The future Kutal then leaves and Victor summons the current Kutal again.

"I demand the right to lead your army," says Victor, displaying Sinsifel. The Kutal of this Time becomes suddenly intrigued by Victor's sword, tasting it within his pool and feeling its power. Kutal agrees to Victor's demand, telling Xenon to step into the pool and kneel.

As Victor does so, he feels Kutal's power all around him. When he opens his mouth, it is Kutal's voice he hears booming out of his lungs and the Temple like a clap of thunder!

Blood flows from the pool, flows out of the Temple and courses through the streets of Hiemir in hundreds of streams. Those creatures touched by it, melt and become a part of it. Then as the blood reaches Hiemir's outskirts, it reverses its flow and pours back uphill towards the Temple, flowing inside and forming itself like a second skin around Xenon's body.

When the last drop returns to the font, Victor stands up, wearing a slick blood red suit of armor identical to what the future Kutal was wearing minutes before. Complete with a full faced helmet, feeling of invulnerability and subtly altered voice, Victor steps forth as Hiemir's "Prince of Blood."

9pm.
Victor walks towards the Temple's entrance ready to leave but finds himself suddenly confronted by several curious priests. Then to make matters worse, a pair of familiar Vampires hastily turn up to see what has happened.
Victor feels a knot form in his stomach as he recognizes Dale Kinrift - The Midnight King and his henchman, Atumon the Arch Vizier.

Dale wastes no time, immediately demanding who Victor is and what has occurred. Luckily Victor still has the Blood helmet's Visor down, magically altering his Voice to sound similar to Kutal's. He replies, "I am here to help."

Xenon accompanies Atumon and Dale back to the Palace, stepping through a strange amorphous black demon doorway to arrive there in an instant. After a shirt walk he enters a mammoth reception hall and sits down before Dale who paces back and forth.

Dale cannot understand why Kutal has sent someone. Nor why Kutal has chosen someone else to lead his army, especially when Dale was promised that honor. Victor of course offers no explanation for Kutal's choice, merely sitting and watching from inside his helm.

Conversation proves hard going but Victor does learn a few things about this current Time. He learns that Valris has been imprisoned in crystal after killing Thaydamas - head of the Circle of Light. He also learns there are now only 3 Circle members remaining.
It's after several minutes of uneasy exchange that Dale latches onto an idea. "Can you do anything to help my Queen, Valris?"

Victor thinks. "Let me see."
Like a man possessed, Dale marches through the Palace of Hiemir with Atumon and Victor at his heels. Eventually all three arrive at a great vault door that opens upon Dale's command. Once inside they walk down a long corridor and enter a circular room containing Valris and her crystal prison.

What's a Time Traveling Vampire to do?
Victor finds himself in emotional turmoil. He knows how to release Valris from the crystal but isn't sure if he wants to (or is able to stand the emotional pain of doing so). Valris will undoubtedly blame Victor for leaving her. His only solace is that he now knows what Valris has wanted all along - after his conversations with the Valris of the future, he knows she craves commitment.

Answer : Get stressed. Get very stressed.
By chance Victor uses Sinsifel's ability to sense Chaos on the crystal, discovering to his surprise that it actually radiates Chaos magic. When he informs Dale, the Midnight King explodes, screaming "Why has no one told me this before? It must be a plot against me by my own allies!"

After Dale has calmed down, Victor contemplates his feelings, telling Dale he needs time to study the crystal, alone. Dale obliges by ordering Atumon to leave the vault but remains behind to watch Victor work; he doesn't trust Victor and loves Valris.

Finally Victor stands up and touches the crystal. As he does he senses Valris through the crystal's structure (not realizing the crystal is actually Valris' aura - frozen by the Skarrion Time Stone and Thaydamas' knowledge of Preserving magic.)
As Victor bleeds upon the opaque substance and pretends to mutter magical words, he sends his thoughts and memories to Valris, pleading with her to awaken and come back to him.

It is more than Victor can bare, having his singular moment of joy swept aside by the being who began the whole tragic affair in the first place - With blind hatred fueling the desire for revenge, Victor launches himself at Dale, Sinsifel drawn and burning with thirst.

The two Vampires begin tearing at one another with such ferocity that they literally leap from wall to wall, swinging sword and scepter in blinding strokes. Like two blurred angels they exchange furious attacks in the space of heartbeats, defying gravity and nature with their bloodlust.

After several seconds Victor finds himself the worse for wear and Dale unscratched; if it weren't for Kutal's platemail blood armor Victor would be a bloody smear by now but amazingly the armor seems alive, regenerating itself from damage. At one point Dale had Victor pinned with his back to a wall. Victor felt sure a lethal blow would soon follow but Dale instead turned to Valris asking "Are you all right?"

Finally Victor knows he's done for. Bleeding from multiple wounds and only having hit Dale twice, he takes a tremendous risk by leaving himself wide open and defenseless. With one mighty thrust he manages to skewer Dale in the stomach. The wound isn't lethal but Sinsifel does bite deep enough for Victor to keep pushing. Using his sword like a spear, Xenon chases Dale around the room, refusing to let the King of Vampires pull himself free. Slowly and painfully Dale begins to slow, his life's blood ebbing away into Sinsifel's being.

With one last gasp, Dale slumps to the floor, Sinsifel continuing to drain him to dust as Victor watches on.

Valris' first image of Victor after awakening ;-
"A psychopathic Chaos Warrior wielding a Demonic sword"
Valris brushes gently by Victor's shaking body to kneel before Dale's pile of dust. Letting the Vampire King sift through her fingers, to Victor's horror she sheds a single blood tear. "He loved me when no one else would. He would have given me anything yet I gave him nothing. I tortured him for what he did to you and me, yet now I feel with his passing some sorrow."
Victor tries to touch her but she steps back, shaking her head. "I would mourn for him. Let me be alone for a while."
Victor retreats down the corridor and gets his breath back. It is then that he realizes some part of his own loss as Dale, despite being his enemy was also his fledgling - containing a part of his spirit and as close to a child as Victor could ever have. The full weight of his deed does not descend till much later.

Minnow calls in a favor
Gleaming some idea of his importance in the scheme of things, Minnow demands an audience with his hitherto mysterious benefactor. *Note - Remember Minnow exists in several different forms, The Blank, The Knight of Nox and in this case, the Star Thief. This particular Minnow has never met Nox and knows nothing of his ultimate fate as her servant. Instead, all this young Minnow knows is that the Black Star is watching him.*

Minnow succeeds in kicking up a fuss at the edge of Hiemir. He clambers atop the main wall, throws his arms wide and screams up at the heavens. Some of what he says can be translated and edited to be read here. But most of it can't.
"Whoever you are, who watches me across the worlds. I've never asked anything of you before. Always done as you ask, whenever and whereever it took me. But I've had enough of your silence. I've had enough of your secrets! If you want me to carry on following you I need some sign. I want to see you or all deals are off!"

Blaming himself for Kit's death, Minnow's anger soon draws a group of guards. He ignores them until they attempt to arrest him. At that moment he leap from the wall, plunging to the stone below.

Normarily he would take no damage (part of Nox's blessing under starlight) but on this occasion he not only takes no damage but misses the ground altogether. Instead of impacting, he finds himself suspended in a void, surrounded by stars. As he gazes frantically around at the revolving cosmos displayed in its dazzling panorama, he notices a female shape forming from starry matter. The pitch black shape stands before him in the void without any defined features, just a starry halo.

"I am the Lady of Blackest Night and I live in the space between the Stars."

The Return of the Queen
Valris leaves the Vault with Victor following silently behind her. Outside she meets Atumon and gives him the bad news about Dale.

Atumon is wise enough to accept it as true and get on with his job. He realizes Victor has killed Dale but the sudden reappearance of Valris removes any need to panic. He trusts Valris, knowing that the Midnight Queen will destroy the foe with or without Dale.

With a shrug, Atumon steps alongside Valris and accompanies her to the Palace's garden. Laying Dale's belongings, including his ashes, onto a piece of top soil, she uses her Black Ring to decay everything bar his sceptre (which resists her magics).

Turning to Atumon, Valris tells the Vampire Vizier that she will meet with him before Dawn to discuss war plans, but first she must talk with Victor. Atumon bows and departs without question.

Valris sits down on the garden's carved wooden bench, placing her hands in her lap and sighing. Overhead the sky rumbles ominously as the time of Kutal's Blood Rising draws ever closer.

Valris and Victor talk. It proves a lot easier Victor expects (especially as Valris hasn't been imprisoned for a thousand years). But Valris does drop a bombshell that leaves Victor reeling. After coming clean about Time travel, commitment and everything else, Valris still manages to throw a spanner in the works.

Victor faces his greatest fear. He asks Valris to marry him.
For a moment her world stops again, as if suspended in the Skarrion Stone. Then with a mixture of pain and joy she answers. "My soul has ached to hear those words for so long. Now to hear them, it is a dream come true. But when I asked you if there was anything you truely believed in, some cause or defining thing that represented you it was give myself something to hold onto through the centuries. A part of you to keep me alive and give me the will to go on in your absence. When you didn't give me anything I eventually found something else."

"Victor, the Circle of Light murdered my mother and drove my father insane. I promised myself and Dale I would see their destruction. I owe Dale this. I must see this thing through to its conclusion - the Blood Dawn."

At this point Victor groans as he realises his brother Han is fighting on the opposite side to Valris. Had Kutal known all along?

The Coming of the Light
During the day virtually the entire population of Hiemir goes into hiding. As a large percentage of its population is either demonic, Vampiric or part Vampiric, the city becomes a ghost town allowing the Forces of Light free roam.
Law's troops penetrate the city and slaughter as many of the Vampires as they can but the Vampires are well concealed in dark places. Dragging them into the light is a risky business - one that can easily go wrong with disastrous results!
With nightfall, the Vampires emerge into their occupied city and quickly take it back. It is their home and they know it well, hiding in the shadows, seeing in the darkness and preying on the unwary. The Forces of Light retreat out of the city and the cycle continues as they wait again for dawn. This is how it has been for several weeks.

As it is nearly dawn, Valris retires, getting Atumon to show Victor to a safe sarcophagus. Created by Dale, the sarcophagus magically opens and closes by way of a series of weights and counterweights - as it is supposedly only opened from the inside, Victor climbs in and seals it shut.

He lies there, restless for some time until finally falling asleep. As soon as he does, a flood of unconscious images enter his mind - images of Bloodstar's throughout the city and their fate during the day.

He sees the soldier's of Luan enter through Hiemir's southern gate, their Knights and Paladins galloping through the abandoned streets. He then sees squads of Vampire hunters enter the city armed with stakes, ropes, hooks and holy relics - these hunters are organised and have had years of experience hunting the Kindred of Kutal. As Victor watches unconscious and powerless, he sees these hunters move from building to building, exposing secret lairs, revealing hidden trap doors and discreet panels. As his mind wanders he sees various Blood Stars dragged by hooks, screaming into the light of day to burst into white hot flames.

This slaughter of his Kindred continues for hours (with 56 Blood Stars being slain) until in the early afternoon, the forces of Light manage to penetrate into the Palace itself. Fighting giant Bone Devils and amorpheous black ooze, the forces of Light begin a systematic search of the Palace's sprawling corridors and echoing chambers.

The Vampire Hunters.
Stirring uneasily in his sleep, Victor's unconscious mind zooms in on one of the hunting parties and lingers to learn a little more about them.

Brontugal - a 5' tall stocky dwarf wearing scale mail armor and wielding a huge war hammer called "Dwarvo." Fond of yelling "Dwarvo!" at the top of his lungs before crushing someone's skull to smithereens. Victor sees the dwarf reveal the power of x-ray vision, adjusting the depth of his gaze to see through walls and cupboards to reveal secret passages and hiding places.

Saydas - the ghost of a long dead Knight. Someone familiar to Victor! (click here).

Father Sebastian of Luan - a devout and deep voiced Cleric of Law. Wielding Luan's Word of Power (a potent disintegration magic that effects Chaos or any normal non-living material), Victor sees Sebastian utter it in front of 2 Blood Stars, exploding them into bits.

Taborn of the Circle of Light - a Druid with short blonde hair and a reserved, timid nature. Able to detect death and decay as well as heal and preserve life. Speciality in Natural forces like distance distortion etc.

The final member of the group causes Victor some consternation as it is his brother Han.

As Victor watches, the group break into the base of a tower and climb a set of spiralling stone steps to its top. There they find a plain round room with a sarcophagous in its centre.
Brontugal, squinting his magical vision at the stone coffin says, "There's a woman inside... I think it might be the Queen!"
"That's impossible!" booms Sebastian, "the Queen is no more. The Circle saw to it!"
Taking up positions around the sarcophagous, the hunters prepare their attack. Brontugal begins first by smashing the thick set stone lid to pieces (but only after repeated attempts - the magic of the sarcophagous resisting the shatter magic of his hammer.)

Suddenly exposed, Valris wakes up and attempts to cast a spell but Sebastian yells his word of power in her face, throwing her off balance. Her innate resistance to such things keeps her alive but then out of the blue, Han strikes her with the Sword of Dan, gashing open her head and stunning her completely.

Sebastian, infuriated by the failure of his Holy Word, yells it again at a section of roof directly above Valris's squirming body. As the roof explodes it lets in a lethal shaft of light that paralyses Valris to the spot. Again her resistance (15% chance) buys her seconds of life as instead of bursting into instant flames her spirit fights to survive.

In a panic, Victor wakes himself up and tears off of the top of his sarcophagous. In a single bound he is out of the room, down a corridor and smashing off the wooden boards covering a window. Able to sense Valris' exact direction (but not distance from him) he jumps out into the daylight and runs.

The Blood armor of Kutal begins boiling around him, literally evapourating in the sunlight but Victor doesn't care. He reaches the tower in under five seconds, scales the wall in another one and jumps down in front of Sebastian moments later, fangs bared (within the Blood Armor helm).

With Sinsifel in his hands, Victor fends off Brontugal, Han and Sebastian. Han spectacularly jumps Valris' sarcophagous and nearly takes Victor's head in a single blow. But strangely the Sword of Dawn has no effect on Victor's neck - only then does Victor remember the Sword of Dawn can do no harm to anyone of the House of Rune. Ignoring Han's attacks, Victor concentrates on taking down the Cleric and dwarf whilst in the background, Han puzzles at his sword's apparent impotence (unable to recognise Victor in the Blood Armor and Helm).

Meanwhile Brontugal is stunned when his Hammer of Dwarvo only manages to smite Victor eight feet (a pathetic distance considering the hammer's power).
Then Han does something that escalates the whole affair. Seeing his friends and companions getting an ass kicking from the mysterious Blood Knight Vampire, he decides to call upon the Sword of Dawn for aid - with unexpected results.

The Sword of Dawn shifts everyone (bar Saydas who is spiritual and not effected by normal light and Taborn who has run off) out of the Tower and into the middle of Luan's army. To be precise, about a hundred feet from the remaining Circle of Light members and a hundred and fifty feet from Lanté - Last of the Seraphim Life giants.

Out of the frying pan.
From bad to worse Victor glances around and sees Valris lying exposed to full sunlight, wriggling in agony and bleeding from a gash to her head. He also sees several powerful looking Knights of the Rose Order advancing towards him, the Seraphim nearby surrounded by 10 Eldar treants, Lords of their kind, Brontugal, Sebastian and Han at the ready (but looking slightly confused).

With no cover in sight, no where to hide and his one true love about to burn to a crisp among her arch enemies, Victor gives up everything and throws himself across her body in an attempt to protect her from the sun's lethal rays.

At that instant, Valris manages to activate her Black Ring and unleash a huge Death spell in the area - a death spell that drastically changes history.

Nine out of ten of the Treant Lords wither and die. Sir Kristian Tudor, Sir Burgerac Comb, Sir Haliday Runes and Sir Oscar Lions (Mordred's ancestor - oops) all die. Sebastian shouts "bollocks!" and dies. Brontugal yells "urg" and dies too. As for the Circle of Light, Dorian and Richek keel over dead leaving Taborn as the only surviving Druid (if being trapped alone in a Vampire and Demon infested Palace is surviving for long).
Han manages to resist the magic and so does Lanté. Finally Victor fails and his heart stops.  But because he is undead and regenerates from such things, it starts again a few moments later.

All around him he sees death - bodies scattered everywhere and an awefully upset Seraphim. Valris, still in tremendous pain yells "Leave me Victor, grab Lifebane and kill the giant before he kills you!"
Only then does Victor spy the Black sword of Valris' father - the Life eating sword of The Necromancer, lying nearby on the body of Sir Kristian Tudor. He makes a break for it, outmanuevering an attack from Han and tearing the thing loose from its scabbard.
But Han makes it between him and the sitting Seraphim, attempting to block his way.
Victor jumps over his brother and engages the Life Giant.

As the battle rages on, Valris buys herself a few more seconds by summoning her shadows from the Black Ring. As they appear around her they instantly explode in the light but delay her destruction. (*Note - By now Valris has saved an amazing 3 times vs Sunlight at 15% or under a throw!)

Han stands back, mesmerized by the battle - you see he heard Valris shout "Victor" and everything began to make sense.

Of Life and Death.
Lanté's third eye opens and as it does, a staff of light appears floating before it. As Victor attacks, the staff moves with blinding speed to parry him, deflecting even his best attacks. When the staff strikes it strips away his protections one layer at a time, beginning with Kutal's Blood Armor and bypassing Victor's tensed skin to inflict damage to his spirit (POW).

As Victor realises he can only take a couple of blows before dying, he takes another terrible risk and throws himself into one attack. Again his luck pays off and Life Bane strikes flesh, slaying the Seraphim in an instant (despite it having a good chance of resisting).

Seeing the Army of Light converging on his position, Victor rushes back to Valris and throws himself over her again, ready for death.
With blood tears streaming down both of their cheeks they prepare their final farewells.
"Victor, I will always love you," Valris mutters, her face and hands burning and blackening in the light.
But Victor, overcome with grief and pain barely notices Han touching the Sword of Dawn to him - "Victor, this will protect you from the sun," his brother says.

With blurry eyes Victor stares beyond the advancing Knights to see a whirlwind hurtling towards him - the now familiar Time vortex triggered by Mordred.
He grips the Sword of Dawn, gazes at the dying face of his lover and screams into the face of the wind as he whisked up into the Time Streams and oblivion.

Meanwhile the Monks of Sabbat have established their new Mission - at first a group of farms but after a few more years, a thriving colony of energetic and visionary people. The monks teach all the crafts, especially how to farm. They help rebuild and structure a new society - The New World Order.

All around them (remember they're naked due to the time rift) shadows shift and beings lurk in the gloom. Whispering voices and awed faces announce their arrival sending word throughout the streets that three Angels have arrived from "Heaven".

Within a minute, the High Priest of the nearby Temple to Abraxus, called Escalain, arrives on the scene completely overwhelmed. Escalain sees that they are unscathed, clean and perfectly formed - these three signs are enough to convince him they are of an otherworldly nature. He bows, pours on the charm and invites them into his temple.

Escalain tells them about the City of Hiemir and the new mission of "Mission" where the monks are teaching people how to farm and rebuild their lives. After he has finished he shows them to his own quarters and leaves them to get changed and relaxed.

The last thing Minnow finds out before Escalain leaves is that Valris (still entombed in the block of crystal) resides in the nearby Temple to Kutal. Between her and Victor, Escalain says "there aren't any other Blessed of Kutal anymore."

Victor doesn't hang around for long - minutes later he's off, out of a window and stalking the city streets. Under the baleful moon he witnesses scenes of unrivaled debauchery and decadence before arriving at the ruined, boarded up Temple to Kutal. The front doors are jammed shut, having seen some serious abuse from weapons and fire, so Victor leaps up to the bell tower and pries away planks.

Dropping down inside, careful to avoid the Temple's lone priest, he begins stalking around trying to locate Valris' resting place. He soon finds a sealed door beneath the main hall, guessing that the imprisoned Valris lies behind it.
With a little time to spare he finds a deserted room and meditates on The Runestaff; he manages to locate it southwest of Hiemir at what he suspects (and correctly so) is Mission - home of the Monks of Sabbat.

Leaving Kutal's Temple he journeys towards a Chaos hot spot (after sensing it with Sinsifel). Like a ghost fleeting at the edge of living, Victor spies almost divine food and wine strewn between ruined tables and chairs. This contradiction is further highlighted by two clean limbed humans, one male and one female, serving and laughing among the deformed and hideously scarred denizens of Hiemir.

Adding to the weirdness of it all, he stalks by a group of robed men and women engaged in a macabre ritual. Severing their left hands they gather them all into a pot of oil and burn them. But when whatever they are expecting to happen, doesn't, they start screaming and crying in rage and despair. Victor leaves them to it.

Returning to the Temple of Abraxus, Victor is suddenly caught up in Escalain's speech to the masses. With Minnow bowing out (and nearly passing out too from copious amounts of alcohol), Victor must stand a give a speech to over three hundred assembled misbegotten wretches.

Luckily the crowd doesn't pay any attention to what Victor says. Instead they just chant "Prince, Prince, Prince" - meaning Victor - Prince of Blood and go wild everytime he raises his hands.

Escalain watches enviously, a plan forming in his devious mind.

The Allure of the Blind

Victor, Minnow and Kit are invited to a celebration in their honor. It isn't long before Minnow and Kit and completely drunk and all three effected by a drug called Shantraalis being burned in the air.

Several volunteers come forward for Victor to drink from. Foolishly he does, allowing the drug and their own intoxication to enter his body and effect his mind directly. It is only his deeply rooted protectiveness of Kit that keeps her virginity intact (one man who tries it on gets a broken shoulder when Victor bounds over to the rescue.)

During the day Escalain and his priests / priestesses enter Victor's room. They capture Kit and Minnow, dragging both of them down to the Altar of Abraxus. Once there Escalain attempts to convert them to Chaos.

Both are tortured and then tempted by food and wine. Kit succumbs, having no tolerance for pain, especially as her mental powers have been rendered useless by the drugs. Minnow on the other hand resists all of Escalain's attempts. In the end, Escalain brands him a "heathen" and condemns him to death.

Mad priests and dead friends.
Victor awakens to find himself surrounded by hooded priests, with the bed lifted away from above him and dozens of large clubs raining down on his body. He is quickly overwhelmed and trapped in a net.

When he awakens again it is to find himself suspended and  chained to a large wooden crucifix. Below him, gagged and strapped to an altar lies Minnow, covered in welts and bruises.

Escalain approaches wearing a ceremonial robe. With a delicious grin he opens his arms wide and announces, "Welcome Blessed one. Your blessing shall now be shared among us. For that we thank you."

Also gagged and unable to move, Victor squirms in anger. Powerless he is forced to watch as Escalain cuts his wrist and fills thirteen cups with measures of his Vampire blood.

Victor begins to struggle. With his supernatural strength he manages to snap some of his chains. "Stop !" cries Escalain, "Or your beautiful companion will feel our knife. And what a waste it would be." With that, the High Priest of Depravity ushers Kit in with a knife held to her throat.

Victor stops his struggling, resigned to just watch.
"We shall drink and be worthy," Escalain announces, "but first the punishment of the heathen."

Minnow convulses with a mixture of horror and anger as he is suddenly violated by some of Escalain's priests, both male and female. Privately, Minnow contemplates finding Abraxus and inflicting all manner of things in vengeance.

That complete, Escalain orders his priests to drink. At this point Victor notices Kit holding a cup as well. But before he can snap the remaining chains and stop it, one of the priests helps her drink.

Apotheosis of the Girl
To Victor's horror, Kit collapses, dead.

Explanation - Escalain and all of his priests / priestesses had already given blood to Victor the night before. With their blood coursing through his crystalline veins, drinking Victor's blood merely heightened their connection to him, "blood bonding" them to his every desire. However, Victor had never tasted Kit's blood so when Kit drank his it was like imbibing pure undiluted poison.

Minnow, released from his bonds by Victor, takes up a burning torch and begins setting light to the Temple's old tapestries. The fire begins lustily engulfing the Temple, causing Escalain and his priests to show some concern.

But when Minnow orders Escalain and his priests to remain where they are, they do so, because they are now blood bonded to Victor and in a daze.

"Burn you bastards!" Minnow yells at them, staggering out onto the debris filled street. "Enjoy your blessing and rot in Hell."
Victor carries Kit's dead body down the Temple steps without looking back with the flames from Abraxus' Temple leaping like wildfire behind him.

Judgment Day.
Then suddenly a voice resounds across the city. It sounds slightly tinny and mechanical.
"Beings of Hiemir. You have failed to justify your existence and inclusion in the New World Order. Because of this, judgment has been passed against you. Sentence will now be carried out."
As Victor gazes skyward he notices the now familiar funnel of the Time Vortex heading his way. Sensing the impending danger like needles being threaded through his mind, Victor grabs Minnow, slinging him over one shoulder and Kit over the other.

Just in the nick of time, Victor gains the relative safety of the Vortex at a run, noticing a sphere of energy contracting above the city. The last thing he sees as the Vortex takes hold is the ball detonating like a supernova.

After feeding upon a staggering drunkard, Victor spies a strangely dressed couple standing at the end of the road staring at him. A man dressed in a black waistcoat with a black goatee and a woman carrying an umbrella and wearing a lilac dress.

To Victor's surprise it turns out to be Minnow and Kit under a mental illusion. All three of them walk down to the empty train station and make themselves comfortable, entering into a lengthy discussion about Mordred and the strange vortex.

Abraxus - Another Lord of Chaos.
Comes out to play,
On a whim, Kit scries the ruins of Hiemir. Her mind "sees" the following, all of which she relays to Minnow and Victor;-
They see Mordred crawling out of a hole in the crator of what was once Hiemir. Moments later a leather winged beast standing over eleven feet tall and immolated in fire, comes bursting out of the same hole, roaring with fury.

The creature announces "I am Abraxus. You have defiled the lair of my children and shall be struck down!" Abraxus then throws a ball of white hot fire at Mordred, blasting the cyber-armored knight into the rockface.

Mordred, stunned, but unharmed, staggers to his feet and tries to escape but already hordes of burn't and mutated beings are bubbling up from the hole and Hiemir's underground depths. These "twisted ones" are the survivors of the Monk's bomb. The misbegotton ones who now live a life of misery and pain, watched over and cared for by Abraxus, Lord of Chaos and Father of Future Woes.

Kit then sees a young girl of spotless complexion (seemingly unharmed by the bomb), crawl up from the darkness to stand at Abraxus' feet. The girl grips the beast's leg and cries "Please, he is strange and unique. Do not harm him yet. Ask him why?"

Her pleads go unanswered, especially when another young man also unharmed by the bomb but bearing a remarkable similarity to Kalath, only younger, crawls to the surface. This young Kalath shouts "He has killed them, killed my brothers and sisters!" With that, the young man screams a Vampiric like scream of rage, revealing two distinct fangs.

Outnumbered and outmatched, Mordred removes his helmet revealing he is in pain. It is obvious that Abraxus has wounded him.

In the meantime Abraxus cuts his hands through the air like blades, slicing open the fabric of space and time to create a gateway. Almost immediately, Bone Devils from the Lady of Silence come charging through wielding their scythes for battle.

Now Mordred sees he is in serious trouble and begins punching numbers into his cybersuit's arm panel. After a few seconds his armor flickers into life forming a nimbus of light around him. Then as if by magic, he vanishes, leaving a swirling vortex in his wake, a vortex that hurtles off out of the crator.

Guessing where the Vortex is headed, Victor, Minnow and Kit remain calm and continue watching a while longer, hoping that Kit doesn't get spotted floating her mind high above the crator.

An elderly, white haired woman crawls up out of the hole informing Abraxus that most of his "children" have been slain. The Lord of Chaos is furious, picking up the little girl in his arms and glaring balefully at where Mordred vanished.

Victor tries being tactful.
At this point Minnow suggests that Victor get Kit to teleport him to the ruins. As Victor carries Sinsifel and radiates Chaos, Minnow doesn't think Abraxus will kill him and Victor might even learn a bit more about what's going on. Victor agrees, listening to Minnow's parting words - "Remember Victor, Abraxus is a Lord of Chaos. He will want some respect."

Kit deposits Victor at the crator's rim, who wastes no time, marching straight down to Abraxus, the Bone Devils, Kalath, little Selene and old Androna. As he does he sends his spiritual hearing ahead of him.

Unfortunately though Victor's hearing is plainly visible to Abraxus who snaps it off causing Victor a twinge of pain. The act doesn't sit well with Victor who starts mumbling obscenities under his breath (all audible to Abraxus with his extra large beast ears).

The conversation is a short one going along the lines of. "Mumble mumble... tearing off my hearing like that," then to Androna, "Mumble mumble. Stupid old woman."
"DON'T CALL HER STUPID!" This coming from Abraxus. "GO!" Then the Chaos Lord turns his back on Victor and goes underground.

When Kit and Minnow rejoin Victor a few minutes later, Minnow just shakes his head, unable to believe that Victor called a Chaos Lord a four letter word - just before trying to open negotiations !

After putting forward several theories the sky suddenly begins growing dark. On the horizon the vortex appears, hurtling across the hills in their direction. This time though they decide not to run, but leap into it's swirling disruption.

They travel back in Time again.

Kit locates a nearby farm with her mind and together (with Kit under the guise of some illusionary clothes) they walk across the fields towards it. While Kit and a Minnow (in illusionary clothes too) try and learn what they can from the farmers, Victor suddenly realizes he doesn't have the Runestaff. He runs back to the field but it is nowhere to be seen - he concludes that the Runestaff must already exist in this new time and as Minnow has stated, "Two identical things cannot co-exist in the same time", it appears his Runestaff from 1271 is still in the future where it belongs.

He wanders back to the others feeling a bit peeved.
After learning a little about their situation and the location of the nearest Inn, Victor creeps his way back into the farmhouse and steals clothes for all three of them.

A couple of hours later they arrive at the Hometree Inn and arrange three rooms. Kit takes the opportunity to bathe and relax after the stress of time traveling, nearly being blown up and appearing naked infront of two men. Minnow on the otherhand launches himself into a party downstairs, getting aquainted with an intelligent man called Dr. Zakery Smithers.

Victor manages to locate the Runestaff - in a hallway filled with ancient plate mail armor and shields. But when he heads down to see Minnow, the trouble starts.

Party Crashers
The Inn is hosting a party for Jimmy Whistle (a friend of the powerful Delaroy family). Unfortunately like most of the women present, Angelica, Jimmy's high society wife is instantly attracted to Victor's otherworldly Vampire appearance. Jimmy get's annoyed and threatens Victor who in typical Victor fashion goads Jimmy to even further heights of anger. So turning two of his goons, Jen Cooksy and Cartman Timely onto the upstart, Jimmy waits for the smile to be wiped off of the young man's face.

Outside in the carpark, Victor beats the two men senseless and in urgent need of medical attention before strolling nonchalently back inside and smiling.
Meeting Kit coming down the stairs (complete with period curls and dress), Victor takes her outside for a peaceful walk under the stars. They talk for a few hours about life, family etc.
Victor returns to his room and goes to sleep with Minnow and Kit arguing about stealing stuff in the background.

When he awakens, Kit and Minnow have been busy. They've teleported to the city of Mission, bought a new car, clothes and belongings, then driven back to the Inn with it.
So within an hour of getting up, Victor finds himself in the car's back seat, heading back to another vastly different Mission.

But halfway there, they notice the weather growing worse. A storm begins moving in complete with wind, lightning and heavy rain. If that weren't enough to dampen the trip, they notice a strange vortex in the air behind the car and gaining rapidly.

Nightmare from Kansas.
Minnow takes evasive action, hurtling their car along side roads in an attempt to lose the phenomenon. But the strange vortex turns with them, picking up speed and growing in size. Eventually Victor decides to try and lure it away. He says goodbye and leaps from the speeding vehicle, landing at a run. When he reaches a safe distance he stops, wills Sinsifel to materialize in his hand and stands ready to do battle.

The vortex hurtles towards him, whisks him up and throws him back into Eternium's past. For you see this is no ordinary whirlwind but a rift in time caused by Mordred. The Vortex continues on its way after Kit and Minnow.

Mordred has been following his purpose - to eradicate all traces of "things that don't belong" from Eternium's past. These "anomalies" take the form of otherplanal entities, like Demons, Servants of Law or Vampires. So after arriving in 1016, Mordred heads off to the Portal Station and blows it up. His onboard "anomaly" detector and computer system predicts that this single act hasn't cleansed the timeline so he triggers his suit and calls up the unstable portal to fling himself back in time and try again. As the portal is unstable, it goes in search of the other variables that were present when it was first activated - Victor, Minnow and Kit, sucking them into the past along with Mordred.

Kit and Minnow teleport ahead of the portal to Mission but several hours later it catches up with them again. This time they take the plunge and allow themselves to be sucked in.

Work immediately begins on the Revanoch MKII, called Farmegian.