Corvus

Its early in the morning, Victoria and Valaine rode atop their sturdy horse, their silhouettes blending seamlessly with the pale light of the dawn. 

Victoria held the reins firmly, guiding the horse with an air of quiet confidence. Behind her, Valaine, reclined sideways, finding an odd comfort in the peculiar arrangement.

Their journey, marked by a deliberate slow pace. The day was yet to bloom fully, painting the sky in hues of purple and yellow as the horse trod steadily.

Valaine, feeling the familiar pang of hunger, reached into the air unfolding her inventory and pulled out a delicate creature, a bird.

Without hesitation, she sank her fangs into it, savoring the blood that flowed within. Yet, it was but a fleeting satisfaction, a mere drop in the ocean of her cravings. 

With a dismissive flick of her wrist, the drained bird was cast aside on the road.

A restless murmur escaped Victoria's lips.

"Edward... No, John is good too" Victoria murmured, as if testing the weight of the name on her tongue. 

"Or perhaps Aurelia, a strong name don't you think?" Her eyes, vibrant and alive, and seeking validation from her master, Valaine.

"Aurelia is a girl's name" Valaine, though was not immune to the fleeting twinge of sentimentality.

She understood Victoria's yearning, its programmed in her personality.

Valaine sighed, "We're not built for family picnics and bedtime stories." 

Vampires, they were, creatures of the night, devoid of the warmth that human hearts held. Raising a human child, they both knew, was a futile endeavor.

The infant in question is cradled in her arms, she was being careful not to crush him with her strength. 

"But don't we deserve a chance at something more, Master?" Victoria's voice held a touch of desperation, a plea for understanding. 

"You know, Master" she said, her voice thoughtful yet tinged with determination, "Maybe we're selling ourselves short. We might not be human, but that doesn't mean we can't offer something valuable, something real"

"Victoria," she began, her tone measured, "it's not about selling ourselves short. It's about understanding our nature. We might yearn for connection, but our reality is a world apart from theirs."

Nature versus Nurture. 

The idea that they, existing in a realm apart from humanity, could provide the child with a taste of ordinary life, friendship, and companionship, refused to dissipate.

Valaine, her eyes softened by a touch of melancholy, placed a gentle hand on Victoria's shoulder. "We found him, we saved him, and now we'll give him a chance. But we can't rewrite his story. He belongs with his kind, not with us undead."

Feeling the weight of reality pressing down upon her, Victoria nodded, her resolve mingled with a tinge of sorrow. 

She knew Valaine spoke the truth, as bitter as it was. "I understand," she replied, her voice steady despite the tremor of emotion within her.

Valaine nodded in acknowledgment, "The village were about to arrive" she said, her tone firm yet compassionate, "we'll leave him there, under the protection of the people who will raise him as their own."

The horse carried them forward, the rhythm of its hooves against the earth mirroring the ebb and flow of their thoughts.

The crisp morning air crackled with an eerie tension as Valaine's senses, honed over centuries, flared to life. 

Her acute vampiric instincts tingled, alerting her to the presence of an entity that lurked in the shadows of the waking world. 

The vampire within her stirred, attuned to the subtlest disturbances in the atmosphere. 

Silent as a whispering wind, Valaine's keen ears caught the faintest rustle of leaves, the muffled crunch of dirt beneath unseen feet. 

A predator herself, she recognized the telltale signs of another hunter, yet this one bore no heartbeat. The absence of that rhythmic pulse, the life force that defined the living, led her to a chilling conclusion 

An undead, much like her, but one of lesser stature and power.

"Master," Victoria's voice, edged with concern, sliced through the tense air.

"I know," Valaine replied, her voice a soothing balm . 

A flicker of uncertainty passed between them. They were not weak, after all, they can confront danger head-on. 

But the delicate infant cradled in Valaine's arms altered the rules of engagement. Caution, a virtue often overlooked in the heat of battle, became their shield.

"We press on," Valaine commanded, her tone firm, her eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. 

Every fiber of her being screamed to confront the unknown, to unveil the identity and intentions of the entity tailing them. Yet, the child in her arms, innocent and vulnerable, stayed her hand.

Why were they being followed? What purpose drove this pursuit? Questions swirled in her mind, demanding answers that danced just out of reach.

Victoria, her gaze, met Valaine's eyes, silently pledging her readiness. 

The unspoken understanding between them was palpable, they would continue their journey, but with senses heightened and defenses fortified. 

And so, they rode on, Valaine's grip on the reins firm. The entity remained a specter at the edge of their awareness.

They arrived in the heart of the clearing, bathed in the soft, golden glow of the morning sun, Victoria guided their horse to a halt.

Their mysterious pursuer would not venture into this exposed area. The stalker would make a detour.

Before them, the landscape unfolded, revealing the serenity of a gently flowing river, its tranquil waters weaving a story of quietude beneath the azure sky.

Leaving the clearing behind, they crossed the creaking wooden bridge, the sound of their horse's hooves muffled by the thick carpet of leaves that adorned the forest floor. 

Yet the stalker persisted in its pursuit, shadows and silence its companions. Valaine's patience wore thin, her endurance tested by the relentless stalking. 

It was time to confront the intruder. She was getting impatient.

With a silent exchange, Valaine entrusted the infant into Victoria's careful arms. 

Valaine slipped off the horse, her movements fluid and silent. She vanished into the depths of the forest with a supernatural speed, leaving no trace of her passage.

The stalker, hidden amidst the foliage, observed the unfolding events, his confusion palpable in the tense silence. 

As Valaine materialized behind him, a mere blur of motion, he sensed her presence with a prickling unease. Before he could react, a single tap, light as a falling leaf, landed on his shoulder, and he jumped, his eyes widening in alarm.

Caught under the intense gaze of Valaine's crimson eyes, the stalker found himself ensnared. Something shifted within him, a subtle yet profound change. 

In that moment, it was as if a switch had been flipped inside his mind. His loyalty, once divided was now rerouted, redirected towards Valaine.

His brain felt as if it had been scaled, the familiar pathways of his thoughts now overlaid with a new, compelling directive. The feeling was akin to an invisible chain wrapping around his neck and heart, binding him to Valaine in ways he couldn't comprehend. 

It was not just a matter of obedience, it was an unbreakable connection forged in the crucible of her compelling gaze.

"Why are you following us?" Valaine's voice was as cold and unyielding as polished marble.

The vampire, his features etched with fear, stammered out the truth. 

He was tasked with a mission, one that involved identifying the peculiar powerful magical occurrences in two villages.

Events that had unfolded in the wake of Valaine's presence.

The first village, she acknowledged, had not been her doing, it was the cultists. The second, however, bore the mark of her unleashed power, a 9th-tier fire spell that had inadvertently triggered unforeseen consequences.

Valaine's expression darkened with realization.

Valaine's eyes narrowed, a mix of intrigue and concern etched across her face. "Vampires and magic" she muttered, more to herself than her newfound informant. 

That's something she now knows.

"Who were you working for? Who sent you to investigate the magical disturbances?"

The informant, swallowed hard before he spoke, his words cautious. "I serve Coven Eaclair," he admitted. "Our leader, Lady Elisabeth, sensed an unusually large amount of magical energy in her domain and tasked me with finding the source."

"Coven Eaclair," Valaine repeated thoughtfully, her mind swiftly processing the information.

"And how many covens are there in total?" she inquired, her curiosity piqued.

The vampire, his fear subsiding under the weight of Valaine's gaze, began to spill the secrets of their society.

"Four in England" he explained, his words tumbling out in haste. "We've carved out territories, dividing the land into domains controlled by four covens."

A wry smile curled on Valaine's lips. "Well, it seems I've caught the attention of quite a crowd" she said, her tone one of amusement. 

The thrall continued, "At the top of this, ruled by a King, Father of Murder, they call him." 

"Funny title for something so secretive," Valaine remarked, her tone almost mocking. "What's the story behind this King, then?"

The informant did not hesitate against Valaine's gaze, "Nobody knows what he looks like," he admitted. "But the stories say he's old. Ancient, even. They whisper that he's the first of our kind, a progenitor. Some even say he's a creature from the very depths of hell"

Valaine leaned in, her interest piqued. "And why's he called the Father of Murder?"

The informant swallowed hard, the weight of his words heavy in the silence that followed. "We don't actually know. Murder, metaphorical or literal, it doesn't matter to him."

She couldn't help but get a feeling of ambition? Her instincts are telling her that this 'Father of Murder' is a challenger. A territory she must conquer. She can't shake it no matter how much she can.

She stepped closer to the vampire, her crimson eyes locking onto his with an unyielding intensity. 

"You're going to be my inside man," Valaine declared, her tone cutting through the air like a blade. "Every piece of information you gather, every secret you uncover, it comes to me."

The thrall nodded, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and eagerness. 

He understood the weight of her words. He felt Valaine was not one to be trifled with, and the prospect of becoming part of something greater, something that held both danger and opportunity, left him simultaneously terrified and exhilarated.

With a final, commanding gaze, Valaine solidified their pact. "Remember," she said, her words hanging in the air like a solemn oath, "you work for me now. Betray me, and you won't escape the consequences. Now go, do what you must"

As the vampire scurried away, Valaine's lips curled into a predatory smile. The first chapter of her infiltration had begun.

"I want a big seat at their table" she said, her voice low. "No… A throne will suit me better."

Upon the balcony of a keep, it was shrouded in the ghostly glow of the moonlight.

Two people are engaged in a game of Chess, their minds as sharp as the glinting blades.

The largest person in the room, his dark skin glistening like polished obsidian, possessed a muscular structure that spoke of a timeless strength. His long dreadlocks cascaded down his back, framing a face that bore the weight of millennia.

He wore loose, comfortable attire that hung on his powerful frame, allowing him freedom of movement.

Beside him, his companion elegant and firm in a flowing green outfit that seemed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding shadows. His hair, tied meticulously in a bun, accentuated the sharp angles of his face and beard, where wisdom and age were etched like ancient runes. 

The tea, its steam curling in the night air, rested beside the chessboard.

The faint rustle of fabric and the soft clink of chess pieces against the marble board punctuated the silence, echoing in the vastness of the keep.

"It's your turn, Demon Head" he reminded, his lips curling into a sardonic smile.

Ra's Al Ghoul's eyes refocused, sharpening with renewed determination. 

He reached for a chess piece, his fingers moving with practiced grace, and placed it on the board. The move, calculated and strategic, echoed his resolve.

"Is it true?" Ra's Al Ghoul's voice, cold and calculating, sliced through the silence like a dagger in the dark.

"What's true?" His chess-mate inquired, his eyes glinting with a nihilistic depth that seemed to mirror the void within his soul.

"Everything," Ra's Al Ghoul pressed, his tone insistent. "Your name, Cain, and all your epithets"

Cain's lips curled into a sinister smile, revealing his sharp fangs as he replied, "Yeah, all of them."

A silence fell, heavy with unspoken truths, before Ra's Al Ghoul ventured further into the darkness of Cain's intentions. "Why do you seek to find Themyscira?"

Cain's eyes glimmered with a dark, twisted fascination. "Imagine Vampiric Amazons," he murmured, his voice laced with an unholy desire. "Never growing weary, endlessly powerful. An army unlike any other. And their beauty, of course."

"And what then?" Ra's Al Ghoul inquired, his curiosity piqued by the depths of Cain's sinister ambitions.

Cain leaned back, his posture languid, exuding a confidence born from centuries of existence. "To destroy what God created," he declared, his voice dripping with disdain for humanity. "Humans, the blight upon this world."

"It's impossible with soldiers alone," Ra's Al Ghoul reasoned, his mind working swiftly to grasp the enormity of Cain's vision.

"That's why I have you," Cain said, his eyes locking onto Ra's Al Ghoul.

Humans, in Ra's Al Ghoul's eyes, were a plague, a stain on the Earth that needed cleansing. The ultimate goal, shared by both, was a world in perfect environmental balance, rid of the virus that was humanity.

Ra's Al Ghoul murmured, "A deadly harmony to reshape the world."

Cain's laughter, a hollow sound that echoed through the corridors of the keep, filled the air. "Yes," he agreed, his eyes glinting with malevolence. 

"A deadly harmony, indeed."

The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the soft clink of chess pieces being moved.