Vampiric Recruitment
The dank chill of the ancient castle gnawed at Friedrich's bones, a thousand frozen needles pricking his flesh. A miasma of copper and death clung to the stale air, assaulting his newly heightened senses like a suffocating shroud. Flickering torchlight twisted across weathered stone, casting macabre shadows that danced like mocking jesters.
Good Lord, what fresh hell is this? His mind reeled in the face of such unholy abominations. As a devout Christian, tales of vampires and the undead were mere fanciful stories to him until this fateful night.
He trailed after Gisela, the raven-haired beauty whose very existence defied the natural order. Her crimson gown slithered with each leonine stride, the rich fabric hissing seduction's eternal promise. Outwardly, she was the pinnacle of feminine allure. But an aura of preternatural dominance and barely-leashed savagery radiated from her core, demanding the instinctive submission of any lesser being.
Friedrich stumbled along in her wake, a newborn lamb among wolves. Trembling fingers traced the ragged punctures marring his throat - Gisela's damning brand seared into his flesh. The wounds still oozed sluggishly, a perverse mockery of the fragile mortality she had stripped away.
Why? His mind wailed, fracturing beneath the weight of his new cursed existence. One moment, a humble banker in Hallstatt attending Sunday mass like clockwork. The next, reborn into this eternal unholy nightmare by the she-devil's cursed fangs!
"Mistress..." His voice cracked like shattered glass, thick with desperation and fear of eternal damnation. "Slow down, I beg you. My soul rebels against this blasphemous rebirth!"
Gisela pivoted with blurring quickness. Molten amber eyes bored into his, compelling obedience like a cobra's stare. "You whimper over your pathetic human shell?" She sneered, full lips twisting in contempt. "Cast off such fragile sentiments. The endless thirst now searing you will drown your spirit utterly if nurtured."
Slender yet inhumanly strong fingers gripped his chin with bruising force. An insidious wave of instinctual submission crashed over Friedrich's psyche, his feeble human will bending like a sapling before the vampiress's preternatural power.
"This is your existence now," she purred, velvet words laced with steel. Her lips brushed his ear, each breath a siren's caress. "An eternal, insatiable hunger that must be indulged...or it will unmake you into something far worse than the oblivion you fear."
The rich, cloying blend of roses and coppery vitae overwhelmed his heightened senses, igniting a maelstrom of revulsion and perverse, gnawing desire.
"No!" He tore free of her grasp with a desperate surge of will. "I refuse to surrender my immortal soul to your unholy curse, demon!"
The words had scarcely left his lips before Gisela's hand lashed out, inhuman speed leaving his blurring form no chance to react. Her vice-like grip clamped around his throat, squeezing until he saw stars.
"Such arrogant piety," she hissed, fangs bared in a disdainful sneer. "Your soul is already damned, little man. Now it's simply a matter of how thoroughly you embrace your new nature as one of the Zykrvitz clan."
Her command brooked no defiance, lashing his will like a silken whip. "Bend your knee and give yourself over fully...or be utterly shattered, mind and soul alike."
With dull resignation, Friedrich followed his unholy mistress deeper into the keep's shadowed heart. The tang of blood and death grew exponentially richer as they walked through halls adorned with mounted human trophies.
This cannot be real! His mind wailed in denial as they neared the great hall's depraved heart. What fresh hell spawns such abominations against God's natural order?
But the gut-churning truth slithered through his veins like insidious venom as the charnel house stench washed over him. Tatters of denial clung like cobwebs, for his newly heightened senses could not be deceived.
Vampires from varied bloodlines feasted with wanton abandon at tables creaking under obscene mounds of glistening crimson flesh. Twisted, inhuman features smeared crimson gorged on dripping ruby bounties. Jewel-toned goblets overflowed with blood, greedily snatched and drained amid appreciative moans and bestial snarls.
Trembling human captives knelt amid the charnel house reek, offering slit throats and wrists to sate their captors' endless hunger. Their dull, lifeless eyes stared vacantly, ragged cries of torment swallowed by the feeding frenzy's roar.
Icy tendrils of revulsion slithered through Friedrich's veins as the horrific display assaulted his senses. His gaze darted from one fresh atrocity to the next, fracturing mind straining under the onslaught of primal depravity laid bare.
Holy Mother, grant me strength to resist this unholy curse! His soul cried out even as the hunger gnawed deeper, a black maw devouring his dwindling faith.
But Gisela strode forward, hips swaying in an entrancing rhythm that commanded his focus. Other vampires scattered before her imperious presence like ashes in a gale, eyes lowered in deference to her dominance.
Then, it hit him - that rich, pulsating vitae thrumming through delicate living flesh. Friedrich's pupils blew wide as an iron band constricted his chest. Saliva flooded his aching jaws as the hunger within clawed forth from the abyss, an all-consuming black maw devouring what frayed remnants of reason still clung.
No! Turn away, flee the seductive siren's call! His body refused, legs carrying him inexorably toward that irresistible essence of life.
Gisela's cruel smile widened as she pulled him to a pale, trembling young woman bound in silver shackles. With a dismissive wave, she silenced the others' curious stares.
"Taste her living essence," she breathed against his ear, each silken word lashing his tattered will. "Give yourself over fully to your new nature as one born into the noble Zykrvitz clan."
The switch flipped. All fragile threads still tying him to his former humanity drowned beneath that singular, overwhelming need to feed. To obey his mistress's intoxicating command and slake the ravenous thirst devouring him from within.
Forgive me, Lord! His soul's dying wail echoed through the endless void as he lunged with a bestial snarl. New fangs punched through vulnerable flesh, sinking into the warm torrent of vitae pulsing just beneath. Hot, rich lifeblood flooded his waiting maw and he drank deeply, greedily - every fibre focused solely on slaking the insatiable, gnawing void.
Gisela's cruel laughter tinkled against the vaulted stone like shattered crystal as she watched her progeny's first frenzied feed. Exchanging a glance with the vampire Christoph nearby, she smiled with vindictive satisfaction.
"A most promising addition, wouldn't you agree?" she purred, gesturing to the snarling, feral display before them. "Some firm guidance will mould this one into a loyal Zykrvitz soldier soon enough."
A low chuckle rumbled from the shadows nearby as a hulking form emerged - Gregor, one of the clan's lieutenants.
"Mistress," the burly vampire growled with a shallow bow. "Forgive the intrusion, but we have...visitors requesting an audience."
Gisela arched one sculpted brow as she watched Friedrich drain his victim, and the young woman's lifeblood flowed down her neck in glistening rivulets. "Visitors? Speak plainly, Gregor."
"Wizards, my queen." The hulking vampire's eyes glinted with thinly veiled anger. "They demand to talk over matters concerning an… old alliance."
The vampiress's full lips released an exasperated sigh. "How utterly vexing. Very well, I shall attend to these wizards."
She watched as Friedrich drained the last drops from his victim, the hunger's ferocity finally beginning to ebb.
"See that our new recruit is...prepared properly for his introduction to the clan," she murmured to Gregor. "I expect he will prove a loyal and lethal addition to our ranks once the transformation is complete."
Gregor's fangs flashed wickedly. "As you command, my queen. This one's vaunted faith will be the first seed planted in fertile soil."
Mere minutes slipped by in a crimson-tinged haze of sated hunger. Friedrich remained locked in a predatory crouch over the lifeless husk of his victim, lips locked on her ravaged throat as he greedily drained every last drop of vitae.
A pungent, sulphurous odour wafted through the cavernous hall, jarring Friedrich from his blood-drunk reverie. His eyes flickered open, pupils slitted with instinctual wariness as several robed and masked figures walked into the great hall's heart.
What manner of demons are these? His fractured psyche recoiled at the intruders' aura in the tainted air. Muscles coiled as primal survival instincts screamed to attack and defend his new clan's domain.
Only Gisela's commanding presence stilled the rising tide of feral aggression. The vampiress reclined on her throne with seductive grace, crimson lips curving in a smile that held no warmth. "Well, well. It seems the winds of fate have blown some familiar faces back to our doorstep. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
The bone-white mask gleamed in the torchlight as the lead figure inclined their head towards the regal vampiress lounging upon a throne of twisted obsidian. "Matriarch Gisela. Too long since our last meeting."
Gisela's crimson lips curved into a cool smile, her amber eyes glinting with predatory amusement. Raven-black hair spilled over one bare shoulder, spilling from beneath the cowl of her midnight-hued cloak. "Indeed," she said, placing her palm under her chin. "If I recall, our alliance ended rather abruptly when your master was killed. Curious that you return to us now, after a decade of silence."
The male Death Eater's masked face remained emotionless beneath his dark robes. In a flat tone, he said, "Circumstances have changed. The Dark Lord has risen again, more powerful than before. He wishes to renew the allegiance between our peoples."
"Yet even here, we've heard rumors of your reborn master imprisoned deep within the Ministry by his enemies," Gisela said coolly.
A tense silence hung between them until the female Death Eater gave a harsh chuckle. "You are well-informed. But the Dark Lord's captivity is only a temporary delay. His loyal followers are already preparing to liberate him."
Gisela's tone remained coolly neutral, betraying nothing. "And you come to us seeking aid in this endeavour, I presume?"
The female Death Eater gave a small nod. "Your clan's...unique abilities could help us overcome the obstacles in our path. Aid us, and when freed, the Dark Lord will bestow power upon you beyond what you can imagine."
Gisela's eyes flashed like molten gold, fangs glinting as she smiled thinly. "Bold promises, Death Eater. But you have yet to present any proof that this alliance would truly benefit my kind." She leaned back, fingers drumming idly against the obsidian armrest. "Why should we risk ourselves for a master who has already fallen once before?"
In response, the lead figure reached into the folds of their robes, withdrawing a tightly furled scroll sealed with crimson wax. "The Dark Lord anticipated your reticence, Matriarch. He has already drawn up terms for a new accord between our peoples, to be ratified upon his liberation from captivity. I think you will find the conditions...most generous."
With a flick of their wand, the figure sent the scroll floating across the space between them. Gisela snatched it from the air with blurring speed and her sharp nails broke the wax seal as she unfurled the parchment with a sharp snap. Her molten eyes scanned the document, widening fractionally as she read its contents.
"Unrestricted hunting rights..." she murmured, voice tinged with a hint of grudging interest. "A designated territory under our sole dominion...representation in the Dark Lord's inner circle..." A slow smile curved her full crimson lips. "Your master does not shy away from bold gestures, I'll grant him that."
"The Dark Lord rewards those who prove their loyalty," the figure replied smoothly. "Aid us now in freeing the Dark Lord, and an unprecedented age of glory and power shall dawn for your clan."
Gisela fell silent for a long moment, and her piercing gaze bore into the masked visage before her as if attempting to pierce the veil and glimpse the soul lurking beneath. Then, slowly, she lowered the scroll to her lap, fingers tracing the intricate wax seal.
"The Zykrvitz clan accepts your terms, Death Eater," she declared, words ringing with finality. "We shall lend our strength to aid in freeing your master from his imprisonment."
A smile of cruel satisfaction curled her crimson lips, fangs glinting like razors. "But mark my words well - we are allies in this venture, not servants to be commanded. Your Dark Lord would do well to remember that distinction, lest he find our fangs at his own throat."
The lead figure inclined their head in acknowledgment, wisely choosing not to challenge Gisela's imperious declaration. "As you say, Matriarch. The Dark Lord always keeps his promises to those who serve him faithfully."
They turned, gesturing for their silent compatriots to follow as they began to melt back into the shadows from whence they came. "Come. There is much to prepare if we are to succeed."