"New processes, indeed," Kristina Lambe said, smiling like a pleased cat. The methods they had worked on at the university were perhaps the better aspects of her career, or at least those with the potential to be longer lasting considering those bitches who were now on stage. She could put out...
Aleister nodded once to the stranger, Azathor, whom he didn't know. Few of those he found himself with did he know, but one thing was certain - anyone who could win this fight and survive were worthwhile. For the moment, the vampire merely sat where he remained, hands already fast rekindled...
Kristina Lambe smiled as Clyde introduced himself, her hands clasped politely before her in a demonstration of good manners. Her kohl-circled eyes twinkled, her shoulders were firmly back and enhanced by the stylish cut of her tweed jacket, and just the slightest twist of her hair had escaped...
Time moved at a paradoxical pace - in the blink of an eye, Aleister felt as if everything was happening at once, yet his body felt as if he had been fighting for a lifetime. In a way, he had. All of his long years had brought him to this moment. One, brutal moment that was surely another step on...
Clouds. Kristina Lambe had never before had an opinion on clouds given that they simply were. Creations of strange winds and odd temperatures that ruled the very air, fostering storms on some days and pleasant weather the next. The most thought she had ever given to the concept of clouds before...
The resounding blasts from the explosive harpoon and nitro rifle battered Aleister's senses, driving the vampire against a stone pillar to shake his head clear. Within these confines it felt like a mallet being driven past his skull and into the wall - but he held fast. Sensitive as he was, it...
Aleister maintained his distance, unwilling to get too close to the demonic filth. The exchange of blows between the Icons and the party grew with such an intense fervor that Aleister felt somewhat stunned, for it had been so long since he had last seen such directed violence... and for the...
With the arrival of House Harkren, and the subsequent redoubled efforts from House von Holt, the impromptu plan to push for the exit became the best option they had for getting out. The brutal throng of panicking commoners continued to break against them, or otherwise get held up in smaller...
Aleister dragged his handkerchief over his face, clearing away the dirt and grit of their rapid descent - one which led them into the second party who, from the looks of it, were all mostly in one piece. Unfortunately, it seemed the other Icon was doing just as well, and he watched on in silence...
Aleister merely snorted at Thorgran's words. Perhaps he had grown arrogant over the past few years, but nothing the icon said could stir a thought of doubt within him. The exhaustion within his soul was so total that there wasn't even room for consideration of failure at any point, especially...
With the gauntlet now seized, Aleister backed away from the growing energy of the approaching Icon. It felt as if a wave of pressure was building to burst, like the waves sent forth from the bow of a crushingly large ship. In a way, that seemed to be exactly what was emerging into the material...
Annaliese had spotted the commotion in the imperial viewing box from afar, though precious little she could quite make out. She wondered if one of the princes had drunkly stumbled to the ground, or if apoplexy was in the process of claiming the emperor's life at last. That would certainly make...
Aleister ensured every shot he made was a sure one. He almost laughed at the idea now that once plagued him before he set out to join the group - had he brought too much ammunition? The answer was a resounding no. Whether the filth were large in number or stature, there seemed no end to the...
Since the fighting in the grand chamber and now here, in these wretched depths, it felt like it had been a lifetime since Aleister had engaged in life-or-death combat. He didn't miss it - he had always preferred more enjoyable methods of defeating a foe - but there was no denying the...
"Miserable things," Aleister grimaced to himself as the last of the crawlers were dispatched, though he feared more lurked about as a portal began to appear. He hadn't expended much ammunition against them given the flurry of blades unleashed upon them by the others, such as Camille who had...
"Oh, yes, I do believe she had intended to court you, good Lord," Valentova purred. "A failed attempt at that, too, it seems. Consider it the intuition of a fine, stately woman such as myself. I have seen such things before. I suspect she intended to capitalize on her previous, if brief...
The heat was wretched the further they traveled. Aleister had known the kiss of the desert sun, long ago, even when he traveled in the hours before dawn and after sunset. In some regions, cold came in quick like a hushed whisper, but in others the nights remained warm and drenched in the...
Annaliese watched from the corner of her eyes as tears slowly began to envelop Enya, all the while still clutching the slightly bloodied handkerchief to her mouth from where she had bit it some moments earlier. Seeing that woman cry turned the bitter copper flavor of blood into something sweet...
Aleister assisted the group as directed before they moved on, saying prayers and mending a few wounds. While he remained proficient in the latter, he could not say the same for the former. There was a deep irony to it, he knew. He had been proclaimed an Archbishop, the head of an entire splinter...