An Ancient Evil

[absimiliard]

"I was born four thousand years ago, so perhaps you will indulge me a brief biography. I am after all your sire and the architect of your city.

"Before history, in the dawn of time, I was born and raised. I grew into the finest hunter known. It was on a hunt that my life ended. I tracked, fought, and slew a great cat in the depths of forest when a greater creature came upon me. Blurring from the forest's edge, a human woman, or so thought I. A gust of wind and a massive impact; I flew through the air to shatter against the trees. As darkness came upon me I dimly saw her gaze up at me after slaking her thirst. Blood dripped from her fanged mouth to the great cat which now cooled on the forest litter.

"Zillah she was called: the daughter of a god she was. She raised me from death into her state, that of a lesser god, and so I was reborn. Yet her wounds, given me in passing, she could not heal and so I am forever maimed. We returned to The City, made by her father the god Khayyin, and there did I spend many centuries in slavery.

"Khayyin had three children, all of whom had sired my brothers and cousins and most greatly abused us all. But I never forgot my wounds or the enslavement and when the time was right I conspired with my kindred against our sires. Leading them one night, when Khayyin was gone from The City, we rose up against our oppressors to seize The City for ourselves and for right. Zillah the Beautiful was slain, Irad the Strong was destroyed, and Enosh the Wise we hung at the city gates where the light of dawn burned him to ashes. We thought all was well. Until Khayyin returned.

"He listened not to our tales of abuse, he heard not our pleas for mercy and he punished us mercilessly. Each of us to bear a curse, and our children after us as well. I he cursed with deformity and disease, my sister Arikel with vanity such that she could no longer look at herself without becoming lost in her great beauty, the rest with other curses suited to their natures. The City he destroyed in a great flood. Us he scattered before him running us to the ends of the earth. He then departed the world of the living to sleep beneath the earth for all time.

"Thus it was that I embraced you, Babylon, as Zillah had embraced me. To serve me, bound by the magic in my blood. To rule over my city, named in your honor, in my place. To embrace your own servants as needed. And most importantly, to find the ones who betrayed us to Khayyin and to destroy them. So, sit, tell me of the last thousand years. I have slept long and though my dreams did guide you, they have slipped from my mind as surely as they do from the minds of mortals.

With that last word a hideous creature crawled from the shadows to sit at the feet of its master. Mangy hair hung from its mostly bald skull, twisted fangs disfigured its jaw, and its flesh was covered in sores and stank of putrid rot. Its ugliness was as nothing compared to the monster to whom it crawled. A voice, scratchy and rough began, "Babylon is well master. After securing your haven I embraced two children to aid me in the rule of the people, one for the city and one for our workers in the fields. Our initial scouting reports showed fertile plains of wheat to the northwest and hills beyond the lake to our immediate northeast."

"I sent the workers out to the wheat, with my childe having them build roads as he went. Along the way he stopped them to build mines in the rich grasslands." A grunt of pleasure came from the creature cloaked in darkness, "That was well done," its voice croaked.

"Thank you master. After 250 years I embraced another childe and sent it forth to lead a company of warriors and scout the local area. 200 more years passed until I needed another childe, again to lead a company of warriors. Since then I have embraced two more children, one to control the city as our populace of men grows, and the other to lead a new company of spearmen that just commissioned."

The seated figure nodded and grinned in pleasure. "So we now number eight, counting yourself and I of course." The younger figure nodded agreement. "It will do for now, but we will need more to fight our wars. Of course not until we have more kine to feed on can we embrace more children." The beast at his feet laughed at the thought of referring to the humans it fed from nightly as cattle. "What else have you found Babylon?"

Babylon pulled forth a box of gems and again sat down on the floor. He smoothed the dirt and placed down an enormous diamond. "If this is your city, master and this," he set down a small ruby, "is the wheat fields to the Northwest I have found the following." A cascade of jewels were then placed into the dust before the elder thing. "There are silks to our east, a great desert to the southwest, with gems beyond." Babylon grinned a shark-like grin in humor as he pointed to the flecks of color scattered on the dark floor. "There are also oceans to our far west and immediate northeast."

"Has anything unusual occurred while I slept?"

"Indeed sire. Some 400 years ago one of my children reported that his warriors had discovered a village. The childe led them in and discovered an empty lair from one of our kind!" The elder vampire grunted in surprise and inquired whose get it was that had laired there. "I am sure it was a childe of Haquim my master. Soon after the discovery my childe was slain by an unknown assailant. I was forced to embrace another to command the warriors, and too quickly as well, I am not pleased with this childe."

"You will replace him immediately then. Within 50 years, Babylon, no less." The servant nodded in compliance. "What else?"

"Your temple was finished 400 years ago, I had to drive the workers to death to complete it on schedule, as you had predicted. Other than that, nothing. Yes, nothing else master. I have nothing else to tell you." The young monster looked worried. "Your dreams were explicit in your description of pottery, but the men of your city are as yet still to slow to learn from your knowledge quickly. Some more time must pass."

The creature which called itself Absimiliard nodded at its childe's words. It all went according to plan, though the childe had bungled some things his successes vindicated the choice to take him from the mortal coil. All that remained was to explain the future to the youth.

"Very well. Then hear my words before I return to slumber. You will immediately begin work on raising a mass of people to settle a new city. You will also choose a suitable creature for me to embrace, it will rule the new city in my name. You will wake me when it is time." Babylon nodded at his master's words. "The rest will become clear to you from my dreams."

Babylon rose from his place at his master's feet and made ready to leave. The grating voice he was bound by blood-magicks to obey spoke once more before could leave the chamber. "One more thing childe. I have had visions of the future and of what is to come. In three thousand years a new force will come to our world. Henceforth we will date our calendars to that coming. I have not seen what it is that approaches from the realms of the spirit, but I know it is momentous. It will be defeated by my grand-sire, I have seen this, but you will henceforth call our times Before Coming. Know thus that the city Bablyon was founded in 4000 BC." With that the creature sank into the dirt and vanished from sight.

Babylon crept out of the ancient crypt. Gingerly he made his way back up towards his city. He could not oppose his sire yet, in will or in strength, but perhaps in time his will would be his own. When it was he would unite with his brethren yet to be born and lead their children in war. Though it take thousands of years he would slay the ancient evil that held him in thrall and had removed him from the world of the living. He would destroy it for its oppressions, its demands, its cruelty. Then he would reign supreme.

Quickly he hid his thoughts and fairly ran from the cave mouth that led to his master's crypt. It wasn't wise to think such things too loudly while there. After all, perhaps his sire could hear him.

[absimiliard]

Normal size world. Random age, random continents. 7 Random opponent. I am Babylon, probably obvious.

[absimiliard]

The stars, cold in the velvety blackness of the night sky, looked down with hostility upon five figures walking along a rough stone road. Two of the figures were tall, straight, handsome youths. The other three were twisted mockeries of nature.

"Master," Babylon spoke, "much has transpired since you last slept. The year is now 2310 BC. Now that you have feasted on the first-born son of our current king will you hear what news I bear?" A nod indicated that Babylon should proceed. "Most importantly, the reason I woke you, is the founding of our new city. Now that you have chosen a new childe and embraced him," a gesture towards the third of the monsters, "is it your intent to remain awake to train Ur?"

"It is not," growled a scratchy voice. "Ur will travel to his new city and learn what it means to be one of us from your childe there." A quick glance at the third creature was soon followed by a question, "You know the basics of our ways, are you ready for your destiny my childe?"

Ur responded quickly, "I am no priest, as Babylon was, sire. But indeed I am ready. For two centuries he has fed me on his blood, keeping me alive for this night. He has told me what he knows of our history and ways. I am ready." Confidence rang in the voice of the newest member of Absimiliard's clan.

"I understand you intend to build libraries as soon as you have taught writing and literature to the kine in your city," said the master of all he surveyed. "It is good that you and Babylon have such focus, but in the future you will choose childer for me that are not so obsessed with their goals. Religion and science have their places, but I will not see my people scatter their energies too far." Both lesser vampires nodded their heads at his command. "Now, tell me, who are these two youths? They are not of our people, that I can see."

Stepping forward Babylon responded quickly to his master's question, "They are hostages from foreign peoples my sire." He gestured towards one, "This one is from a people called the 'French'. My childe, leading a company of spearmen, encountered them to the north. They were led by a childe of Paris, I believe Paris to be of Arikel's brood."

"Arikel? Are you sure it is my sister's brood you found? I miss her beauty and temperment even today. You will make peace with these French until we can be more certain of who rules over them, I will not oppose my lost love. If Arikel survived the flood I will be most pleased."

"Yes master," responded Ur, "but there is more you must hear."

Babylon then spoke again, "Indeed. We have also encountered a childe of Ashur in a village to our southeast. The childe spoke words of friendship and gave us maps of the local area." Absimiliard grunted in thought and paused for a moment. When he began to walk again Babylon started in once more, "We also found a childe of Saulot to our south, he departed immediately, but gifted us with a troop of warriors saying we would need them soon."

"Saulot lived! Excellent, he was always the best of us. But what did he mean by our needing them?"

"I will speak to that in a moment sire, but first a different concern if you would indulge me," Absimiliard indicated Babylon should continue. "The childe who encountered the Salubri, so they are calling themselves now, was the rebellious one. I know you said to replace him, but I needed a childe to command troops. I then recalled him and sent forth two childer to replace him, one for each company of warriors." Absimiliard growled in disapproval. "You were right though, master, the childe proved rebellious. I was forced to slay him when he led some discontented mortals against my rule. Atop the temple stairs I tore his head from his body and scattered his followers as I scattered his remains. They became naught more than entertainers for the rest of the city," a grunt of approval came from Babylon's elder.

"You did well to reclaim my blood from the rebellious childe, but now return to my question."

"Yes sire. Beyond the Salubri's village we soon encountered a people called the Japanese. They are warlike and very religious. The childe leading their defenders at the city of Kyoto claimed to be the get of Brujah." A smile creased Absimiliard's face. "But his words were false master. My childe snuck in and read his secret writings. Brujah was slain and devoured by his childe Troile. This childe has now begotten a brood of kinslayers and murderers."

Rage disfigured Absimiliard's ugly face even more. "A childe rose up against his sire! This creature must be destroyed lest Uriel's curse be . . . destroy the creature immediately." Ur begged for at least a brief peace but was silent after a single hammer-blow from his sire flung the shattered body of the Japanese youth against a nearby tree. "Now we will have war, their hostage is dead," Absimiliard growled in a voice filled with hate. "So no more puling words of peace for the Brujah from either of you."

"My lord, that was the son of their king," protested Babylon.

"Now he is a corpse, and an excuse for war." Absimiliard gestured to the south, "You failed me Babylon, Ur's city should have been built much further south, closer to the borders of the Brujah. But succeed in this war and all shall be forgiven." There was no need to voice the implied threat that failure would result in replacement.

"Of course my sire," both childer responded.

"What else then?" Said the eldest.

"Little else master," Ur spoke up. "One of Babylon's childer drove a childe of Ravana forth from his village, knowing your hatred of him, and took 25,000 talents of gold in pillage. Ravana's peoples he had raped, and then slain or sold into slavery. One last thing though, in the north the spearmen found another village. Babylon's childe could not fight the kindred she found there. It was a powerful beast, claiming lineage from Ennoia. It called itself Gangrel now, I know not why. But it opposed our irrigation and road-building projects most strongly. It demanded much, so the childe drove it forth with her army, since she could not defeat it in personal battle. Expelled from its home, it gathered its barbarians and formed three companies of warriors. A great battle took place that day. Our spearmen were victorious and your army then drove the 'Gangrel' forth to bother our lands no more. We rewarded the childe with three nights of blood-feasting in your temple and gave great gifts to the victorious troops." Absimiliard grunted in approval.

"Other than that," Babylon spoke up, "little else was of note. We have finished irrigating the wheat fields to the north of my city and are now pressing this road south to link our two cities." He continued after a nod of approval. "The humans have finally mastered Pottery master. Soon we will build a granary to increase their growth rate. Then with more kine to feed on we can again increase our clan. I should also mention that we've discovered that the great western sea is in fact two separate oceans, or so our scouts report. The Eastern Ocean we have scouted both south and north, but not beyond the Japanese or French."

A time passed in quiet as the three monsters and a peculiarly calm child walked further down the road.

"Very well. You have both done well, even if you have failed in some things, so I will refrain from punishing you for your failure. Return this boy to the French, he will recall naught of this night's travels. The body of the Japanese prince you will abuse some more and return to his father. I want war, and soon. I will not tolerate the existence of the so-called 'Brujah'. Destroy them immediately." Both of his children nodded compliance, "Then continue work on beginning a new city. I will wake then to embrace a new childe to rule it."

With that the eldest evil began to fade from sight like a mist in the morning sun. Soon nothing was left beneath the stars but two monsters, a boy, a corpse, and memories of an ancient evil, for weak-willed mortals not even those memories would remain long. Slowly Ur and Babylon turned back northwards.

"I will take the boy back to my city," Babylon mused gesturing to the French youth, "You must continue onwards to your new city." Ur nodded at his brother's words. "Show them no mercy Ur, when war with the Brujah's pawns, the Japanese, comes it will be neither quick nor easy. I will do what I can to aid you, but I must obey our sire's command to build a new city first."

Ur nodded though displeasure at the lack of support was obvious on his face, "Very well, I will do as you advise, though I much mislike making war alone. Troops from Ur it shall be that slay the evil Japanese. My childer will drink the false Brujah dry for their treachery." Babylon looked away for a moment at his brother's words. "We will not fail Babylon."

"No, we shall not," was the only reply. Then parted both brothers, one for the south and war and the other for the north and peace.

[quinalla]

I never would have thought to put a vampire twist on Civ 3, but you certainly made it work. It certainly makes sense that if you were a vampire you could live forever controlling your civ. You a Vampire the Masquerade fan too, I am, I like the history and the way vampires work in that RPG a lot. Keep writing.

-quinalla

[absimiliard]

Thx Quinalla. I've been a fan since the game first came out. One of my friends runs a gaming store and I blame him for getting me obsessed from early on. I'm kinda out of it now, but enough of the old memories and skills remain that I can say with confidence, "I can White Wolf anything. George Bush, drug-war, even Civ III, they're all grist for my mill."

I'm liking the way it's working, so bet that I'll continue. Just wait for the Anarch Revolt when I switch to Democracy! We won't be sticking with Methuselahs and Antediluvians forever after all. Soon enough I'll start writing from the lower kindred's point-of-view.

Pace. (Latin)