Thread: The Sentinels -- MaliceWonder and The_Gladiator

The sentinels By TheGladiator and MaliceWonder They live and walk among us, separate but not equal. They are not equal for they are something we Homo sapiens will never be. They have powers, skills, talents, and limitations we will never have. They have their own culture, living alongside ours, intertwined, co-dependent, and yet blissfully unaware of one another. Their laws enforce this separation maintain the rift that divides humans and vampires, that protects us mere mortals from powers we cannot even imagine. These laws, set forth by the council of Blackstone, the ruling body of all vampire kind, have been in place for thousands of years. Most of these rules are simple really, no vampire shall intentionally kill during a feeding, no human shall be allowed to know of the existence of vampires, no random killing or exploitation of humans for personal or political gain, and the list went oncommon sense though most of them. That is what one might think at least. Sadly these rules were broken more times than anyone in the vampire community wanted to admit. Enter the Sentinels. The sentinels were a special group of vampires appointed by the anonymous members of the Blackstone to uphold and enforce their laws by any means necessary. They would serve as peacekeepers, soldiers, vigilantes and executioners of rogues, all in the name of the Blackstone. Overnight the Blackstone created the nightmare of their race. The sentinels became the things that mothers would use to scare their children, much as human mothers held forth the illusive boogieman. The Sentinels were almost as secretive as the Blackstone themselves, and the sentinels rarely mixed with the normal civilian population of the vampire society. Often in fact, they only entered a town to complete a mission, be that inspiring fear, or executing a dangerous rogue. All sentinels answered to one man, Vladimir nightstalker. He was the supreme power among their order. The oldest of their kind, no one knew his exact age, although if one had to guess there were thousands of years involved, and there was more than 1 thousand to be involved. He was the most elusive, dangerous, and a whole host of other adjectives, in their entire order. Vladimir had dedicated his entire life to enforcing the Blackstones laws, making the world a safer place for both human and vampire kind. His kind were a separate race living alongside humans, even he as one of the elders of his race knew not their origins, or how they came to be. Whatever the explanation, his people were night walkers. They could go out in daylight, in the morning and the evening, but not without suffering severe sunburns or discomfort to their sensitive eyes. Dark sunglasses needed to be warn at all times during daylight hours, if one was not asleep. It was simply easier for his people to stick to being nocturnal, where they ruled the night. In addition to their sun aversion, his people needed to feed on human blood, typically at least twice a week ranging up to 5 times a week, depending on the age or strength of the vampire in question, and the quality of the feeding. Vampire kind were also faster, stronger, and posed of psychic gifts that made the laws that Vladimir sought to uphold necessary in the first place, for above all physically at least, they could dominate and destroy human life if not properly controlled. As important a figure as Vladimir Nightstalker is to the vampire people, this story is not about him, in fact he plays a fairly minor role in our tale. Our story on the contrary concerns Nicholas, his youngest and last remaining son. Barely 50 years old, he seems exceedingly young to the older warriors around him, however he feels he is plenty old enough, more than old enough even, to begin his training as a Sentinel. He has reached a point where text-book learning is no longer enough for him, and he yearns to become like his father. Present day Midwestern United States. Nicholas Nightstalker glared across the beautiful mahogany desk at his Mother. Youve got to be fucking kidding me, right? The rat bastard said that, told you to tell me that? He didnt even have the balls to confront me himself? The young vampire, looking the human equivalent of 21-25 glared at the red-haired vampiress who was his mother. Lila Nightstalker leaned back in her chair her green eyes flashing as her own ire rose to match that of her sons. That is your father and I will not tolerate you speaking of him like that under my roof. She clenched her jaw as her long manicured fingernails drummed on the desk top. The nails clicked off the varnished surface with an incessant rap rap tap. Although his mother, Lila clearly looked perhaps at most 10 years older than him, such were the genetics of their race that the adults seemingly for the most part stopped aging as the humans did at the appearance of 30-35, when in fact she was over 200 years old. Her husband also looked her age, but he was many years her senior. They as a couple had only been together for a little over 100 years, with Nicholas their crowning achievement as a couple years previously. However, the figure standing over the desk across from her, large hands planted squarely, glaring daggers from those dark dark eyes, the color of his fathers, was no child. Rather, he was a full grown man, and he clearly resented his overprotective parents desire to keep him from the life they had both lived. They hadnt wanted him to know the harsh realities of war as they both did, especially those that his father had seen, although Lila herself had seen quite a bit. However, nothing to compare to the hardships and trials that had faced Vladimir over the years. Now the time had come though, Nicholas, her little boy, was a man grown, and demanding his birthright. Alas, with barely any word of explanation to either her or her son, Vladimir had refused to train the boy, directing Lila to approach one of his lieutenants to train his only son instead. Nicco, you know youre father is on a very delicate mission and cannot take the time to train you. Lila tried to sooth. Fuck that, thats a lame excuse if ever I heard one. He just doesnt approve of me, he thinks Im still a child, he doesnt see that I am a man now and I want to learn all I can. Yes, and Netania Duncan tutored under your father himself many years ago, it will be just like learning from him. She will teach you well. She patted her hands in the air soothingly, still trying to play peacemaker, silently vowing to kill her mate at a later time. If it was at all possible Nicholass eyes grew even stormier with his barely constrained emotions. What did you say? My father ditched me for a woman? He wants a woman to train me? Thats just not good enough Women arent just as good as men uh no offense mom. He said trying to backpedal as he saw his mothers eyes flash with her anger. I may not serve in the field anywhere as often as your father, but I can still kick your ass boy, try to keep that in mind, and keep a civil tongue in your head. She growled. Unlike me, Netania Duncan is an active field member, one of the best before she could continue there was a sharp rap at the office door bringing an abrupt end to the heated discussion. Nicholas stood back up straight to his 6 foot 4 inch height and crossing his arms over his chest he watched as his mother seemed to compose herself, blanking her face of the anger and other emotions she had just been displaying moments before, composing herself she called out for the person to enter. Nicholas took a couple steps backward trying to remain inconspicuous as he watched the door open and a woman entereda woman unlike anyone he had ever known, she positively looked Lethal. He gulped, was this woman who would be training him? His suspicions were only confirmed as Lila Nightstalker rose from her seat to greet the newcomer. What exactly had his father gotten him into? Historians note this story takes place in a world of vampires based on the author's creation and vision of a vampire race, it is not drawn from any specific existing author's world. Moderator's note Feedback is always welcome via PM. We as the authors thank you for reading and sincerely hope you enjoy our story.