Cecil Von Zarovich Book 2: Savior of the Sun

### Chapter One: Children of the Spear

*Much like the lands of Belwyn, Ravenloft sat, shrouded in eternal darkness. It's dark forests sat brimming with the undead, vampires, and werewolves. But something else lurked out there. Something far darker, and more sinister. More evil.*

*Ravenloft however, was in turmoil, and could not focus on this threat. A great war was raging over leadership of the country, fought by three armies: The Black Rose Knights, led by the Dragonborn Iolodren, who was noble and honorable, but foolhardy and easily manipulated. The other side, the werewolves and beasts of Ravenloft, led by Count Strahd Von Zarovich, who many saw as a bloodthirsty tyrant, but was unshakeable in protecting the people of Ravenloft, that he had ruled for so many years. And the third army, that was less focused on the quarrels of Strahd and Iolodren, and were more focused on dealing with the evils that haunted Ravenloft. Led by Vigo Von Zarovich, and a band of heroes, many of whom were not native to Ravenloft, as well as the native Goblin population, led by the Chieftess’ son, Sour. The final battle is coming, that will decide the fate of Ravenloft forever, and there is one more participant to join the battle. His legend, is about to continue…*

In the crypt of Argynvostholt, Vigo Von Zarovich, the goblin Sour, and 5 heroes sat now in the secret chamber, hidden behind the dragon’s burial chamber. Sour and the others, still in mourning over the recent loss of their team member. There, they were greeted by the witch, Syndra, and her bodyguard, Sir Epsilon.

“So, why are you here, Syndra? Your master sending you on another errand?” Vigo said, shooting Syndra an angry look. But Syndra didn’t even react.

“No Vigo, or whatever it is you call yourself now. Though I am here on behalf of Lord Strahd, He seeks something here, a peace treaty if you will.”

“A peace treaty? Strahd nas nothing that could possibly convince me to join him!” Vigo shot back angrily, now feeling for his gun.

Syndra sighed a bit, then began to rest her hand on the sarcophagus.

“Do you know what this is, Vigo?”

“A coffin, it's shiny, what about it?”

“Not the coffin itself, what’s inside of it.” As Syndra said this, she nodded to Sir Epsilon, as he kicked open the coffin door, revealing an inky darkness, as if the coffin was a bottomless pit.

“This, is the last piece we need to save Ravenloft.” Syndra said, as she poured her magic into the darkness, as a crimson light began to emanate from it.

Suddenly, from the coffin a darkly clad figure burst forth, frantically screaming and gasping for air, collapsing onto the floor, his long hair matted and covering his face. As he knelt down on the floor, Syndra walked over to him.

“This, dear Vigo, is your son, Cecil Von Zarovich.” As she said this, the figure opened his eyes, revealing a blazing crimson red. He looked around a bit, scanning the people around him. Most of the figures he didn’t recognize, save for one: his father. Vigo was caught between complete silence and muttering, until he finally let out:

“C- Cecil?” His eyes trained on Vigo, Cecil coughed out, weakly uttering out.

“Father?”. As he tried to rise to his feet, leaning on his sword, he stumbled forward, but was caught by Vigo, who took his son into his arms and embraced him. Cecil tried to return the hug, but couldn’t.

“He’s still weak, but he will return in time.” Syndra said. As the other figures began to talk and ask questions, Cecil could barely hear any of it, slipping in and out of consciousness.

As the group exited Argynvostholt, they split off into two groups. One group, the knight Epsilon, as well as the human girl in the party and the goblin went one way, and Vigo, Syndra, and the rest of the group went another.

“We must go to the tower, Van Richten is waiting for us, to discuss the upcoming battle.” Syndra said.

“Battle…?” Cecil thought to himself. As they continued onwards, Cecil had regained some of his composure, but still had to plant his sword into the earth and lean on it to keep himself on his feet.

After an hour or so of travel, Vigo stopped the group.

“There’s something out there, watching us. It’s close.” Vigo said. Cecil stared off into the mists, the smell of blood faint, but noticeable to him.

“Cecil, do you sense anything?” Vigo asked. Without a word, Cecil began to walk forward into the mist, until the smell grew stronger. Suddenly, he found himself standing in front of three warriors, all wearing masks. One of them stepped forward, and took out a scroll.

“You there, the Twilight Brotherhood seeks the fugitive known as Knox, hand him over, and you shall be spared. Fail to comply, and you shall share his fate.”Cecil looked back and saw one of the group, one who looked human, but with red skin, horns, and a tail. He recognized it now, he was a tiefling, or humans with a demonic lineage. The rest of the group, eyeing Cecil to see his next move, stood back. Cecil turned back towards the warriors, the speaker now brandishing a blade.

“Turn him over, or die!” The warrior said. A rage started to swell up inside Cecil, as two bits of black energy swelled in his hands.

“**To my side!**” He called out, as out of the shadows, his familiars seemed to spring forth. Sanguinar yawned a bit, looked around, and sighed.

“Cecil… It’s been 300 years, and we just woke up... How did you manage to get us into a fight already!?” But before Cecil could respond, the assassins moved in. Raising his blade to meet all three of them, he swung out, locking blades with one assassin, as the others jumped over him, and rushed towards the group. Slashing and parrying each other’s blows, the assassin dodged under Cecil’s sword and slashed into his side. Looking back the assassin tried again but was knocked back, as a sudden rush of red energy shot out of Cecil’s hand. As the assassin hopped back to his feet, he rushed one more time to attack Cecil, but Cecil dodged under his blade, turned and swung into his neck, instantly killing him. Looking over to the group, he saw another assassin go down, as the group dog piled onto the third assassin, and began to interrogate him. But as he made his way back over, he felt all of his energy leave him, as he collapsed onto the ground. His vision began to blur, and he couldn’t make anything out, except for a voice that echoed in his skull. A voice he hadn’t heard in centuries, that called out to him.

“Cecil…” The voice said. Gasping for air, Cecil could only barely keep himself conscious. As his vision began to return, as the rest of his group had finished with the assassins, Cecil still felt weak, he knew he needed blood, fast. Normally his kind did not require blood, but being this weak, it was all his instincts told him to do.

As he knelt by one of the assassins, he bared his fangs, when suddenly he felt something hold him back.

“Cecil, you know what you are about to do, right?” Vigo said, as Cecil looked up to face him.

“You know what I am, father. It’s been three hundred years, I need my strength back if we’re going to get anywhere.”

“We’re better than this, Cecil. You don’t need to do this. Don’t become like those monsters you hunted. They’re nothing like us.”

“Us?” Cecil asked, looking at his father. Suddenly, Vigo’s eyes changed from their normal dark brown color to a blood like red.

“Father, you…. Why?” Cecil asked, horrified at what his father had become. For so long, he envied his father for being normal, for being human, and now, Vigo had become the very thing Cecil had been hunting for his entire adult life. Vigo stared down at his son.

“Our family’s curse. I passed it to you, and for a while I had believed that it had chosen you to awaken in, but I was wrong. Your vampirism was… more immediate. When I came to this land, I stepped right into the grasp of The Dark God, and became… this.” Cecil looked down at the body, and stood up.

“Your powers will return in time, Cecil. In the meantime, something else to help you.” Vigo said, as he pulled a large, double bladed sword from his pocket, and handed it to Cecil.

“This... is our family’s ancestral blade, passed to me after we came to this land. I had always held onto it, intending to pass it to you, should I ever see you again. It takes the shape of whatever weapon you need it to. However, its power is still dormant, it requires the blood of a true Zarovich to rouse it, one more powerful than I.” The sword, now morphing into a black mass and taking the form of a longsword, had a small gem in its pommel. Slashing at his palm, Cecil wet the gem with blood, and it began to glow a crimson color. “Good, in time, it shall return to its full strength, and so shall you, my son. Now come, the others are waiting for us.” And with that, Cecil and Vigo departed, leaving the assassin’s bodies for the crows.

### Chapter Two: The Dreamscape

Catching up to the rest of the group, Cecil and Vigo travelled along with these strange new faces, many of them Cecil had never seen anything like before. Belwyn was a land of humans and vampires, nothing like this. Strange demon-human hybrids, bipedal dragons without wings, and a small goblin were the company his father kept around these days. Strangely, his mother was not among them. As the party finally arrived at the tower, they stopped, and Syndra began to speak up.

“Now then, before we can meet Van Richten inside, we must first travel through the Tower’s ‘Dreamscape’. It grants visions to those who enter the tower, some of the future, others of the past, their greatest desires, their worst fears. We must proceed in small groups, otherwise the Dreamscape will reject us. I shall go alone. Fennys and Isidra, you will follow me. After that, Sage, you shall go alone. Knox, you shall follow Sage. Alkaline and Sour, you shall follow, and Cecil and Vigo, you shall enter last. Once we reach the inner sanctum of the tower, we shall reconvene, and discuss.”

As Syndra entered the tower, Cecil could see a strange mist surrounding the tower. After Syndra, two Dragonborn followed, a blue one carrying a large scythe, and the other, a reddish Dragonborn with a sword. After that, another tiefling, with green skin, long braided hair, yellow tipped horns, and a bow entered, followed by the red tiefling with a spear. After the Tieflings, the Elf girl and the small goblin entered.

“Well, shall we?” Vigo asked, looking at his son. Cecil stepped forward, and looked up at the tower, before speaking up.

“Not yet, I need to know something, father. Where is mother, how has she fared all these years?” Cecil saw Vigo’s eyes suddenly dim to a dull red, and a look of sorrow came over his face. Cecil felt his heart sink into his chest, he knew what was coming.

“Cecil… I’m sorry. She didn’t make it. She loved you until the end though. We both did.” Cecil stared down at the ground for a bit, tears welling in his eyes.

“How… how did-?” Cecil asked, voice cracking a bit. Vigo couldn’t even bring himself to look at Cecil.

“It was the Skeksis, they did this to us. They destroyed our family when I thought there was nothing left. And now they’re tearing Ravenloft apart.” Cecil felt a rage starting to burn inside of him, as he looked up at Vigo.

“Then I’ll destroy them too. I made Morlund try to beg for mercy in the end, I’ll burn this whole forest down to do the same if I have to.” Vigo stared at his son for a moment, unsure if he should be proud or scared before weakly smiling.

“Come on, let's meet up with the others.” he said, before they entered the tower.

As they entered, the tower seemed to just be a normal stone tower. Walking forward for a bit, Cecil spoke up.

“So the others, who are they?” After a moment, he noticed Vigo wasn’t responding. When he turned around, Vigo was gone. A thick green mist had started to form. He could hear Vigo calling out for him, but after a few seconds, he could no longer hear anything. Turning back around, in the mist he could see a large figure through the mist. “**To my side!**” he called out, but to no response. Instead of a bat appearing on his shoulder, he noticed a severed hand resting on his shoulder. Brushing it off, he continued forward, his new black sword forming in his hand. As darkness set in around him, Cecil couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy, but knew he had to be strong, for if he faltered here, everything he had done would be for nothing. There was no weakness, not anymore. To succeed in this land, he would have to cast off everything that made him weak. To become darkness itself.

Wandering through the Dreamscape, as the strange mist had continued to form around him, Cecil finally found something, as he came face to face with a large throne, with a massive black skeleton with gems in its eyes sitting upon it, and a large black cross on the wall behind it. As the skeleton opened its mouth, more of the green mist was exhaled, as a voice echoed in Cecil’s skull.

“We know what you’re looking for….” The voice said, sounding extremely raspy, and jagged. Instinctively, Cecil readied his sword. But after a moment, the skeleton faded away, and a door could be seen through the mist. Entering through the door, Cecil was greeted by a large, warmly lit room, with a table filled with food, and several figures sitting down. He recognized Vigo, Syndra, and the other adventurers, but not a shorter, dark skinned woman, in a blue cloak.

“Welcome, Cecil, you are the last to arrive. I am Esmeralda Van Richten.” Cecil took a seat next to Vigo, who looked at him nervously. A spectral servant came over, placing a small dish in front of Cecil, revealing a fresh steak and wine. Cecil suddenly felt Sanguinar manifest on his shoulder, hopping down to the table, and speaking up to the servant.

“Hey, can I get some of that too?” he asked. The servant formed a small plate in its hands, revealing a plate of grapes for the bat. Sanguinar began to dig in, as the table spoke up. Cecil noticed two empty chairs. As the table spoke, Cecil’s mind couldn’t help but wander, as he began to think about his mother. She was the greatest warrior Cecil had known, how could she have lost to these “Skeksis”? Cecil thought. And why did she have to die? Before Cecil could say goodbye, one last time. Cecil was aware of the possibility he would not see his parents again after Vandelheim, but not like this. Why did she die, and Cecil still lived? As his mind slowly returned to the present, Cecil saw the rest of the table stand up.

“Well now, we all have our tasks, before our assault on the Amber Temple.” Van Richten said.

“Cecil and I will go to the Ruins of Avernus, we have unfinished business there.” Vigo said, standing up.

“Unfinished…. Business?” Cecil thought to himself.

As they left, Cecil spoke up to Vigo.

“Father, where are we going exactly?”

“The ruins of Avernus. They’re about a day's walk from here.”

“I see, and what are we doing there?”

“If we are to defeat the Skeksis, we need to cut them off from their source of power: The Black Eyed bastard responsible for the state of this land, and our family’s curse. We’re going to kill The Dark God himself, the Moon Lord.”

### Chapter Three: Curse of the Moon Lord

As Cecil and Vigo journeyed through the forests on their way to the Ruins of Avernus, Cecil couldn’t help but notice how similar this land was to Belwyn, from the moon staring down onto the lands day and night, to the surrounding forests, likely teeming with monsters. However, Ravenloft was a bit different from Belwyn. A beautiful, snowy mountainscape Cecil had never seen anything like lay to the north. Something seemed different here too, as if these lands still had some life to them. Like they could still be saved. Belwyn had always seemed lifeless to Cecil, like he had been born into a dead country, beyond saving. But here in Ravenloft? There were known towns, and lakes, and animals. This land still had something worth saving. And if not for their sake, for Vigo’s, who Cecil speculated Vigo had grown somewhat fond of Ravenloft.

But something was bugging Cecil. Earlier, he had mentioned something about the Moon Lord, and how he had cursed them. He understood Vigo’s curse, but what about his mother? What had been done to her? Finally, Cecil spoke up.

“Father, what happened to mother? You said you both had been cursed. What happened?” Vigo stopped dead in his tracks, a look of horror came over his face, as Vigo sat down. Taking a breath, he collected himself a bit, but was still shaken.

“When we entered Ravenloft, the curse overtook me, causing… this. But your mother was unaffected. She stayed by my side, as if nothing was wrong. But The Dark God is cruel. In some sick, twisted attempt to break me, he cursed her as well, and she became a beast, incapable of rational thought or reason. She became a werewolf. Let loose upon the surrounding tribes of goblins and nomads, she became something she had always fought to destroy. The locals nicknamed her ‘The Great White’, like some twisted joke. Eventually, her curse took over, and led her to the Skeksis. When I met those heroes again, we were ambushed, and she was turned against us. For a long time I thought **he** was responsible, but The Moon Lord loves his games, and as long as he survives, we will never be free.”

“He?” Cecil asked. Vigo paused for a bit.

“There’s somebody else here, like us. But never mind that.” Vigo said, turning his attention to the tent.

As the two set up camp for the night, Cecil sat and stared at the fire, reminding him of his time in the Blackwoods. Yet, he still felt no warmth. Everything was going wrong now, killing Morlund had brought him no peace, and now he could not even reunite with his family. This Moon Lord, he would make him suffer for all he had done. But there was something else. Cecil was almost afraid. As he looked over to see his father sleeping, he knew he was getting tired as well, but was fearful of what he knew was coming.

Suddenly, he felt his bat manifest on his shoulders, and hopped down to the ground, next to Cecil.

“Hey Ceec, those uh, those heroes man. What do you think of them? Weird bunch, huh?” Cecil leaned back a bit, and sighed.

“That druid, Sage. There’s something about him. Father seemed to occasionally eye him during the meeting. Every time I look at him, mother pops into my head. He had something to do with this.”

“And the others?”

“That Dragonborn, Fennys. She carries the world on her shoulders. It’s a family thing, I know it. The other one, Isidra, she’s looking for something in these lands. The Elf, Alkaline. She knows this land well, she’s been raised here. She has a part to play in this before the end. Same with the Goblin, Sour. And that other Tiefling, Knox. I can’t tell if he’s hiding something from us, or trying to forget something. I suppose I can relate.” Sanguinar looked back at Cecil, with a weak smile.

“Alright man, get some sleep.” The bat said, a look of concern coming over its face. As Sanguinar disappeared in a cloud of red smoke, Cecil laid down in the ground, succumbing to exhaustion.

As he awoke, he found himself once again in that sunny field, with that same figure, sitting in the grass, as if inviting Cecil to join. The warm sun glistening down in his skin, the cool breeze flowing through his hair, the smell of nectar filling the air. As he inched closer to the figure lying in the grass, the world around him began to change, shifting into the church from so long ago. Seeing the body laying on the ground, he knelt down, cradled her body, and began to sob.

As he awoke again in a cold sweat, he felt Vigo holding him.

“Cecil? Are you alright? You’ve been screaming for almost an hour!” Cecil weakly looked up at his father.

“I… I thought that after killing Morlund… avenging Rosa… that the nightmares would go away. I thought I could start to rebuild my life. They didn’t. I’ve spent the past three hundred years of my life trapped in the dream, repeating that same night. The night she died! The sound of her screams, the pain in my shoulder. Morlund’s face. That’s all I’ve known for **three god damned centuries**! I know now, things can never get better. It’s a part of me I can never erase!” As Cecil gasped for air, Vigo silently embraced his son.

### Chapter Four: Shadow Colored Stone

After another day or so’s journey, and another sleepless night, the two arrived at the Ruins of Avernus. Even Cecil, who had occasionally visited Castle Ravonsburg in Western Belwyn was impressed by the Ruins, even in their sorry state. Blackened Stone towers surrounded a massive, labyrinthine stone castle, though much of it was in disrepair. Vigo stared up at the strange black cross above the entrance to the castle. He sighed a bit, before chuckling.

“A fitting place to hide, for a being of such darkness.” Vigo said, shaking his head. Cecil stepped forward a bit, looking over the ruins. As he gazed on the walls, he couldn’t help but remember Bloodmoon Keep, built in a similar style, with blackened stone that seemed to reflect the darkness of the world around them. As his mind sunk deeper back into this place, the cold chill of The Blackwoods covered him again, and his shoulder wound from his fight with Morlund briefly began to sear again, but Cecil knew not to dwell on these thoughts for too long. He knew eventually his mind would wander back to Morlund, and eventually, back to **her**.

As the two entered the ruins, it became increasingly more obvious that this place had been abandoned for centuries. Cobwebs lined every wall, broken pillar, rotted furniture, and ancient skeletons. Much of the castle had caved in, and debris lined every room, corridor, and passageway. As Vigo and Cecil walked further into the ruins, Cecil spoke up.

“Father... what IS this place?”

“This, is one of the oldest places in Ravenloft, built around the time we first conquered this land, after we left Vandelheim. My father, Barov the second, led an army into this part of the world, conquering it in the name of King Ravon. Eventually, his group split into four great houses. Houses Zarovich, Barov, Avernus, and the punished 4th, Martekov.” Vigo replied, throwing a used up cigarette and lighting another.

“Zarovich and Barov?” Cecil asked, puzzled.

“Yes. I mentioned earlier there is another like us in these lands. Another Zarovich. Your uncle, and my brother: Strahd Von Zarovich. He and Barov rarely saw eye to eye, especially after the death of our brother, Sergei. Eventually, things reached a fever pitch, and we split off. I stayed with Strahd for a short while, as we formed Great House Zarovich, in the Western part of Ravenloft. But… things didn’t go to plan…” Vigo said, drifting off a bit, before the two stopped. They now stood in a large armory. Rusted weapons and suits or armor lined the walls, and a stained glass window, now cracked and crumbled against the wall. But the main focus was a large, black anvil in the center of the room. There was a small slit in the anvil, as if to place something within. Vigo walked over to the anvil, and spoke up. “Here it is. Cecil, the blade please.”

Cecil formed the blade out of a strange black liquid in his hand, and gave it to Vigo. Vigo, taking the blade’s hilt with both hands, stabbed it into the anvil. Red runes began to cover the anvil, as Vigo spoke up again.

“This forge, it was first used to forge the blade, but its power has been lost to time, only now, can we hope to restore it.”

Suddenly, a voice echoed inside Vigo and Cecil’s heads, almost emanating from the blade itself.

*“We are so fragile, saying our name would break us…”* it seemed to say, as the red runes disappeared. Vigo handed the blade back to Cecil, who looked at the sword. It felt… strange. An aura emanated from it, but whether there was any difference in its strength was unknown.

“The blade is waking up. Its power will return. In time, it will be reborn anew.”

As the two continued to walk through the ruins, the two reached a large stone door. Before entering, Cecil finally decided to ask the burning question plaguing his mind.

“Father… why has this happened to our family? Mother’s death, your curse, everything? Why??” Vigo lit another cigarette, and deeply inhaled, as Cecil asked.

“He is a cruel, and angry thing, The Moon Lord. He plays off our deepest fears, our desires, our dreams. He made Strahd believe Sergei stole his throne and beloved, and Strahd killed him for it. He knew how much family meant to us, so he meant to tear us apart. To get to me, he cursed your mother, and when I finally gave in and took his power, he only left us more broken. I’ve been trying for centuries to fix everything, but it seemed The Moon Lord was there every step of the way, laughing at me. But… I’m nothing if not patient. I’ve been waiting to finally have our revenge, and now, it’s time. The Skeksis, they hold this land in their fingers, all thanks to draining The Moon Lord of his power. And now, he is vulnerable. All this death, this darkness, it's time to end.” And with that, Vigo slammed open the stone doors, revealing a large crypt. Blackened caskets lined the walls, as a cold wind blew through the room.

“These… are the lords of Avernus. Our ancestors, great heroes of your great grandfather’s army, and the great lords of Ravenloft… Ironic, isn’t it??” Vigo yelled, now turning to the darkness. As some of the darkness cleared, the same blackened skeleton as Cecil saw in The Dreamscape appeared, sitting on a large throne. Looking up at the two, a sinister grin crept across the skeleton’s face, as cackling filled the room. Standing up, Cecil and Vigo were now dwarfed by the guardian, easily three times their size. Cecil drew his sword from his side, as his familiars came to him, and Vigo loaded his pistol. They now stood, face to face with the Black Cross of Avernus itself.

### Chapter Five: The Child of Darkness

As the battle began, Cecil and Vigo immediately split off, trying to flank the skeleton. Vigo began to fire shots from his pistol, while Cecil rushed in from the right, firing off bolts of crimson energy, and slashing away with his sword. Noire dug in with claws and teeth, and Sanguinar flew around, firing off more bolts of his own red energy. As the guardian formed a large black sword in its hands, it swung down at Cecil, who dodged out of the way, but was hit with its second swing, knocking him back. Noire continued to dig into the guardian, but was knocked away by another swing. As Sanguinar continued to dodge the skeleton guardian’s attacks, he shouted to Vigo.

“Hey pops, I thought you said this guy was vulnerable?”

“I never said it would be easy!” Vigo retorted, firing another shot from his gun.

As Vigo reloaded another shot, he looked over to see Cecil back on his feet, as another swing came out, he expected to see Cecil go flying again, but in his place he now saw a large cloud of bats, evading the guardian’s attacks, then reforming, as Cecil took up his sword, and slashed into the skeleton, Noire lunging in afterwards and biting down. Firing again, Vigo saw his son and his familiars striking as one body, and one mind. However, their luck started to run dry as the guardian became angrier and angrier.

**“You should not have come to this place.. Now, the children of darkness stand before me... before their god. Lambs… before the wolf… and they are not afraid. I shall take that from them before the end…”** As he spoke, the very winds seemed to pick up again, despite being underground. As Vigo readied another shot, something massive struck him from behind, and sent him flying forward. Coming to, he turned and saw another skeleton, the same one as he had been fighting. Turning back to Cecil, he saw his son now surrounded by three of the guardians. Two more of them stepped out from the shadows, and began to attack.

In the midst of his fight with the guardians, Cecil felt his power slowly returning. Rushing forward in a cloud of bats, he emerged and slashed into one of the skeletons, wounding it, while he fired off a bolt of red energy into another one. But for all the powers he felt himself regaining, it still was not enough, as every attack he made against one guardian left him open to be attacked by two more.

Vigo shot off bullets and magic, hoping to survive. As he pulled the trigger, his gun just clicked, as he fired off another shot, he realized he had run out of ammo. Looking back up, a black, skeletal fist rammed into him, sending him flying into the side of one of the coffins. Vigo felt every bone in his arm shatter as he made impact, as the pain snapped him out of his focus on the battle. As he struggled to get up, he now saw the three guardians he was fighting turn their attention to Cecil. Vigo hobbled forward a bit, and fell over, unconscious.

“Uhhh, hey Ceec, shit’s not looking too good.” Sanguinar said, narrowly avoiding one of the attacks.

“I defeated Morlund, I’ve come this far. We won’t die here.” Cecil said, readying his sword and licking a bit of his blood from his lip. “I won’t die while **she** remains unavenged!”

“Who? Rosa?! I thought we did that already?!” Sanguinar yelled

“I promised her I would save this world, that I would never let anyone I cared about die!” Cecil shouted, a red aura now surrounding him. Two black gauntlets formed on Cecil’s hands, glowing with more crimson energy, as he began to slash and swipe at the guardians.

As Vigo awoke, he found himself now in… Vandelheim? The air seemed warmer, and the sky a cool dark color, the moon shining bright.

“Oy, vampy!” Vigo heard a voice call out from behind him. Spinning around, he was face to face with Alexandra.

“Alexa? What’s happening?” Vigo asked.

Alexandra sort of strolled over to Vigo, looking up at him.

“How’s the kid?”

“Not good, three hundred years of reliving his worst nightmare, and waking up to your death hasn’t helped him much. His rage is unending, I can’t tell if he wants to keep going or is trying to die. I think the nickname was a bit too accurate.”

“And what was the nickname again?” Alexandra asked, staring slyly at Vigo.

Vigo sighed a bit, and responded. “The Dragon.”

Alexandra chuckled a bit. Vigo sighed, and started to look for a cigarette.

“Alexa, can we beat the Moon Lord? Our son is strong but I-”

“Unimportant, you’ve done all ye can. It's up to him now. Between his fancy new sword, and his power, only he can stop it now, and free us.”

As the world around him started to fade away, Vigo began to panic.

“Alexandra, wait! There’s… so much more I wanted to say. I never got to-”

“There’ll be time for that Vigo. Later.” Alexandra said, as she faded away.

“I love you…” Vigo said, as his mind faded back to reality

Coming to, Vigo saw just one of the skeletons remaining, dueling Cecil. Sanguinar and Noire had already been knocked out, and Cecil, bruised and bloodied with his hair matted and messy, still fought valiantly. As another blow from the skeleton knocked Cecil back, the guardian turned to face Vigo, and approached him. Raising its fists, Cecil slashed into his palm, and using his blood materialized a large whip, wrapping it around the skeleton’s wrist and pulling him back.

“Cecil!” Vigo cried out. “The sword, use it!”

Cecil pulled the sword from its sheath. He remembered the riddle on the anvil. Just then, he noticed on the blade extremely faded and blackened runes. Staring down at them for a bit, he suddenly yanked his hand back, pulling the guardian back. Taking the blood from his palm, he bled onto the blade, illuminating the runes a dark red color, now legible. The riddle echoes in his mind once more.

*“We are so fragile, saying our name would break us…”*

As he read the runes on the sword, he looked up to see the guardian preparing to finish off Vigo. Cecil pointed his blade towards the skeleton, and roared out the answer.

**“Silence!”**

Just then, the skeleton faded away, and the blade illuminated again. Cecil felt its power coursing through him, restoring his own strength.

Catching his breath, Vigo hobbled over to Cecil, who had fallen to a knee, resting on his sword, when suddenly, darkness began to fill the room again. Cecil looked up, as Vigo seemed to fade away, yelling something unintelligible.

**“And so you have come, child of darkness…”** Cecil heard from behind him. Turning around, he now sat in front of a large throne, a large skeleton sat on the throne, wearing cobalt robes, as the full moon seemed to burn behind him.

**“Tell me, Dragon of Belwyn... do you know who I am?”**

“The Moon Lord, I’m guessing?” Cecil said, climbing to his feet, sword still clutched in hand.

**“Good... Your family’s and my fates have long since been… intertwined.”**

Cecil glared at the god sitting before him, as he motioned to the coffins of the lords of Avernus surrounding him.

“Is that what you call it?” Cecil retorted angrily.

Cackling a bit, the figure sat forward.

**“I make you now… the same offer I made your family. Accept my power, child of darkness… become my champion… see her face again…”**

Cecil froze at this. The power to save his father, and all of Ravenloft? To finally embrace Rosa again? To bring back his mother? Could it be possible? Cecil pondered for a second, and scowled.

“I don’t need it. You’ve cursed my family, and taken everything from us. We’re done with you. Begone!” Cecil said, pointing his sword at the Moon Lord.

The Moon Lord cackled as he began to fade away, as the darkness receded. Vigo now stood behind Cecil, coughing.

“Well done, my son. You’re the first Zarovich to turn down his ‘offer’. You’ve shown that… you're stronger than all of us.”

Cecil shamefully looked downward.

“I wasn’t strong enough to… to save you. And mother. I failed.”

“No Cecil, you’ve saved us all.” Vigo said as he looked up at Cecil, his eyes now returning to their natural brown color. As he let out a laugh, Cecil noticed his fangs had retracted back, as his father was now mortal. Stumbling forward, Vigo embraced his son, for the first time in what felt like three centuries.

### Chapter Six Slayer of the Great White

Leaving the ruins and stepping out into the night sky of Ravenloft felt like a breath of fresh air, as Vigo and Cecil felt like they had been in those crypts for centuries. Vigo had fashioned himself a makeshift cast for his arm, as his powers had left him. But he minded little, however, as he had finally been freed from the curse that haunted his family for so long. It ran in his genes, and he had cursed his son with this nightmare. But it was over now, and he knew the embrace of death, and his reunion with Alexandra awaited him. Cecil  however, had been affected quite differently. His own strength had been returning, and it was now being amplified by his new awakened blade, Silence. His skin was starting to become a ghostly grey color, his fangs more pronounced, and his eyes had slowly become all black with red irises. But if this was the sacrifice he had to endure so his father could be freed, he would gladly pay any price.

As he and his father set off again, now for Yesterhill, where the supposed final battle against these “Black Rose Knights” Vigo and the council had mentioned, Cecil couldn’t help but wonder if the battle against these knights was really necessary. After all, didn’t they share a common enemy in the Skeksis? Shouldn’t they unite and work towards the goal they both claimed to have, to save Ravenloft? But nothing is ever that simple, especially with the Moon Lord involved, and Cecil knew he had a role in all this. But then again, what was anyone’s role in all this? What even WAS Cecil’s role in all this? From what little he gathered from the meeting at the tower, all those heroes were connected to something involving the “Ritual of the Sun”, which was said to restore the warmth and light of the sun to these dark lands. Everyone had their role involving the Skeksis and this ritual, but Cecil still couldn’t figure his out. He had just resurfaced in Ravenloft only a week ago or so, and nobody had accounted for his return. But if his place was by his father’s side, if his place was to tear through the armies of darkness and leave nothing but his own dark vengeance in his wake, then so be it.

Hours passed, and the two prepared their camp for the night. As they sat by the bonfire they had lit, Cecil’s familiars digging into the rations and Vigo tending to his wounds, Cecil stared into the fire, and spoke up.

“Father, if we do win this, save Ravenloft, and survive, what comes next?”

Vigo tightened a bandage around a cut on his arm, and lit a cigar, looking to Cecil.

“What do you mean?” He said, lighting it.

“Do we just go home, like nothing had happened? We can’t return to Belwyn, there’s nothing left for us there. Do we just stay here, and try to return to a normal life? We both know that can’t happen.”

Vigo stared into the fire a bit, pondering his answer

“Who says it can’t? I played with this idea a bit earlier. We return to Barovia, help rebuild and rejoin the town, and we just settle down. You could start a new life, free from the past, and embrace the future... “

“A new life… free from my past?” Cecil thought to himself. The idea of moving on and looking forward had never crossed Cecil’s mind. He had always been so fixated on his past mistakes and failures, he had never thought about the future.

“She always wanted grandkids, you know. Your mother.” Vigo said, smiling. “She was delighted when you and Rosa finally got together. Thought you two would start a family, didn’t matter to her whether they came out human or vampire.”

Cecil stared into the fire more, the flames seeming to flicker and dance, as if guided by an unseen hand.

“You told me of Mother’s curse… but what of her death?” Cecil asked, now looking up to his father. Vigo, almost seeming to chew on the cigar, had a look of dread creep across his face.

“The Moon Lord was responsible for her curse, and the Skeksis for the event that led to her death, but her death itself was… I take the blame, but that isn’t entirely true…” Vigo took one final puff of his cigar, tossed it into the fire, and sat forward. “Maybe two days or so before we found you, I was gathering my forces in a place known as the Abbey of Saint Markovia. There, I met up with the heroes, The Children of the Spear they called themselves. We had a slight standoff, but this was interrupted when the townsfolk from the village of Tobin appeared. You see, according to my sources, during their stay in this village, they had accidentally caused the death of the town’s mayor. The Skeksis used this to their advantage, and disguised as the grieving daughter of the mayor, they led the townsfolk to the Abbey, along with their other weapon, the Great White. Your Mother.” Vigo said, now looking up at Cecil. "The townspeople were in some sort of trance, not listening to reason, and out for blood, as was Alexandra. In her bestial form, she attacked us, forcing us to defend ourselves. We tried in vain to subdue her, but it was no use. Eventually, Sage, the druid from earlier, summoned a large bow of fire, and shot an arrow into Alexandra, killing her. I never even got to say goodbye…”

“Then that's why you always had this… mistrust for this ‘Sage’ person?” Cecil asked, anger beginning to swell within him.

“Cecil, you have to understand. We had no choice, she would have killed us, and would never have been freed. This was the only way.”

“And that’s it, then? No hard feelings?”

“No, damn it… no. I hated Sage because he killed her, as I would have hated any of the rest of them for delivering the finishing blow. But, it was necessary. Least I damn hope it was.”

Cecil angrily looking into the fire, fists clenched with his claw-like nails stabbing into his hand.

“I’m not asking you to forgive him, he still has a part to play in the end of this. I just want you to understand why, focus on the true enemy behind all of this. If not for your sake then for mine, and your mother’s”

“I already devoted myself to saving Ravenloft for your sake, why stop there?”

Vigo smiled weakly, and leaned back. I wish I could have been there, all those years ago. To help you in your fight against Morlund, to watch you rip the life from him. I’m proud, you know. We both were. Alexandra died proud of you.”

Cecil smiled weakly at this.

“Rest up, Ceec, we got a big battle ahead of us.

“Guess our fight never really ends, does it?”

“If it does, we’ll just have to fight for it.”

### Chapter Seven: Vengeance Denied

The next day, Cecil and Vigo continued on their way towards Yesterhill. Their first task was to meet up with the rest of the army, reinforcing the Children of the Spear and their Werewolf allies. But there was something else on Cecil’s mind, something bigger. What would he do when he saw Sage, the one who killed his mom? How would he react? Would he be able to put aside his hatred for the time being, and focus on the greater threat?

As the two scaled the hill, they saw the large encampment of the goblin army, along with their Vistani allies. The two made their way through the soldiers, many giving Cecil mixed looks of fear and awe, as they reached the war table of the leaders.

“Good to see you, Vigo.” The Vistani leader said, a surprisingly tanned and dark skinned man, for someone who had lived in Ravenloft for a long time.

“Sorry we were late, doing battle with a dark god wasn’t exactly a fun little father son game.”

The two of them chuckled, as the Goblin chieftess, an old and wizened goblin woman approached.

“You have arrived then, shall we begin planning?”

The three leaders gathered around a table as Cecil looked around, and made his way over to the tent, sitting down and leaning against it. None of this battle strategy and planning really concerned or interested him, he had never really planned on a fight, his entire strategy for fights was just to overwhelm the enemy and show no mercy. But this time, he had allies, lots of them.

About an hour passed, and the meeting adjourned. The Vistani chief and Goblin Chieftess went to rally their forces as Vigo went to check up on his son.

“Didn’t exactly feel like giving a speech in front of a giant army I barely knew.” Vigo said, lighting a cigar.

“How many of those do you even have?” Cecil asked, pointing to Vigo’s cigar

Vigo chuckled and shrugged. “Enough to last me to the end of the war probably.

“Father, we both know that’s a lie.” Cecil said, finding it hard not to laugh a bit as well.

“Was that a joke? Did you just make a joke?” Vigo asked, almost stunned.

Cecil smiled a bit.

“Rest up, kid. We got a big fight tomorrow.” Vigo said, sitting down

**The Next Day**

As Knox and Sage stood in front of the massive tree of Yesterhill, their werewolf allies falling all around them, and the onslaught of Black Rose Knights rushing towards them, all seemed lost. Suddenly, a horn could be heard in the distance, as from over the hill they saw a mass of goblins rushing forth, ambushing the Black Army from behind. A massive red light shot into the center of the Black Rose army, as suddenly dozens of knights flew back, as Cecil, Noire, and Sanguinar all stood, Cecil glowing with red energy. As the knights quickly regained their bearing, they drew their weapons and rushed down Cecil, but were no match for his powers. A massive red whip formed from his hand as he swung into a row of soldiers, turning into a cloud of smoke as he sensed one try to swing into him. Reappearing behind him, in one clean swing he severed the knight’s head from his shoulders, Sanguinar swooped in, almost seeming to throw the head forward as Noire lunged after it, barreling into more of the knights. As Cecil looked up, he saw Sage, and locked eyes with him, Cecil’s a mix of anger and hatred, and Sage’s a mix of fear, but also bravery. As Cecil took a step forward, he felt his father’s words in his head ring out.

“Focus on the true enemy behind all of this.” As Cecil turned, he saw a large Skeksis and its armor of bug-like creatures fighting against Fennys, Isidra, and their small contingent. This, was the Skeksis his father had described, the one who caused his mother’s death. Rage built up in Cecil again, as he charged into the knights standing in his way, tearing through them like a wild animal, slicing some of them clean in half, sending others flying with his magic. But he was too late, as the Skeksis began to climb the tree intent on ending the battle now. As Cecil glared up at his prey, he noticed on one side, a large force of knights rushing him down, more of the bug-like ‘Garthim’ creatures on the other. Suddenly, he felt another voice echo in his head, this one of the Vistani chieftain.

“Your vengeance will have to wait, Lord Zarovich, we need you here. Your father needs you here.” Cecil shot one last glare at the Skeksis, and turned to his side, rushing forward to slash through the Garthim and Black Rose Knights, not caring which fell first. Cecil pulled his other sword to his hand, and began to cleave through the seemingly infinite forces rushing towards him.

The longer the fight went on, the more people on each side’s armies fell, the mixture of Strahd’s werewolves, the undead army bound to the witch Syndra and her allies, and their goblin allies, versus the Black Rose Knights, and the Garthim, all three armies ripping through each other, until finally, a massive explosion burst from the top of the tree, and Fennys, along with another, much bigger bronze Dragonborn came tumbling out, Fennys seemed to be diving to catch the other one, as blue wings sprouted from her back. The warrior’s blue glowing axe came falling from the sky, towards the front of the tree. Knox dashed over to the axe, picking it up, as another Skeksis started to tear his way through the army. After a short fight, Knox slew the Skeksis, but strangely, its body began to vanish. Suddenly, everyone’s forces stopped, as the goblin chieftess, began to fade away as well. The massive bronze Dragonborn charged up onto one of the massive roots of the tree, and roared out.

“Black Rose Knights, charge the Garthim! Let nothing stand in your path!” As the knights, almost machine-like, turned their attention from Cecil to the Skeksis army, and began to attack. Suddenly, Cecil turned and saw Vigo rushing for the tree, calling something out. Cecil rushed began to rush forward, only for a small goblin to come out, and cry out.

“M-mother?” as he saw the goblin chieftess fading into dust. Cecil stared in horror at this, another one, just like him, losing his mother and not even being there to help stop it.

As another war horn called out as the Garthim rushed off, one of the Skeksis retreating along with. Cecil couldn’t help but stare at the aftermath of the fight. Bodies lined the battlefield, Garthim, Black knight, Goblin, and werewolf alike. Cecil continued on into the tree, and made his way to the top, only to find Vigo staring at the room, a look of loss on his face.

“Father… what happened here? That Skeksis, they both died, and the goblin Chieftess faded away?”

Vigo just stared out across the battlefield from the top of the tree.

“Six the mystics, must become. Three the lights, gathered by one. With these forces, we prevail. And put an end to Skeksis tale.” Vigo looked back at Cecil. “Each of the Skeksis is tied to one of us. When one of them falls, so too will one of us. We don’t know which ones, but we’re ready to make that sacrifice. Two of the mystics have fallen today, as did two of them. One was the Chieftess, and the other… my brother, Strahd.” Vigo looked down at the dust pile on the floor. “He was there, when you were born. When we moved to Ravenloft. He assured me you would be alright. He had always wanted to meet you.”

Cecil made his way to the opening in the tree, and stared out. The battle had been won, but there was no celebration, no merriment, just silence and pain.

### Chapter Eight: Sour the Goblin

As the leaders of the army, now with Iolodren of the Black Rose Knights met in the base of the tree, Cecil still stared out at the battlefield, as bodies were being moved to the side and disposed of, and camp was set up. Cecil noticed the sky turning from its normal pitch black color to a dim, dark blue. The closest thing this land had to daybreak was coming, and they only had one chance at this. Cecil noticed the council had adjourned, and they left the tree. Shifting into a bat and making his way down to the ground, Cecil met up with his father again. As the group relaxed in camp, Cecil sat resting after his fight, he hadn’t even noticed his wounds until now, but the only part of him that hurt was his shoulder, where Morlund had stabbed him all those years ago.

Occasionally looking up, Cecil noticed the small Goblin, known as Sour amongst his people, talking to two of the heroes, occasionally looking up at Cecil. What they were talking about, Cecil could only guess. However, Sour started to make his way over to Cecil.

“Hey, uh, what’s up? I’m Sour.” The Goblin said, awkwardly.

Cecil looked up a bit, amused with the Goblin.

“Cecil.” He said, as they sort of shook hands.

“So uh, you’re a fisherman?” Sour asked. Cecil looked strangely at the Goblin.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, either you or your dad have to be fishermen, why else would they call you Sea Salt?”

Cecil stared a bit, and started to laugh. Even he, with his dark outlook on life, found this funny. Smiling, he looked back at the Goblin.

“No, Ce-cil.” He said.

“Oh! Shoot!” Sour said, now laughing as well.

The two sat in silence for a bit, until Cecil spoke up

“Listen, I saw what happened in the fight, with your mother. If there’s anything you need, I’m here if you wish to talk.” Cecil said.

“Thanks.” Sour said. Cecil could tell Sour was still slightly in shock about the whole thing.

“After this, if we make it out alive, there’s something I wanna show you. Something my mom always told me about. It's called the River of Innocence, supposed to let you talk to the dead. We could go together, you could say goodbye to your mom.” The Goblin said, staring at the dirt.

“Don’t worry Sour, we’ll make it. You’ll probably want to say bye too, yeah?”

“The river only works every century or so, you need it more than me.” Sour said

“We’ll figure that out, after the battle.” Cecil said. Sour smiled a bit, and noticed Cecil’s two swords.

“Hey, uh, I was gonna get some sparring practice in before the fight, can I borrow one of your swords?”

“Sure, any one strike you in particular?”

Sour looked at Cecil’s silver sword, Anorius’ old one.

“Well, the black one looks like it’s going to eat me, I feel safer with the silver one, for some reason.” Sour replied

Cecil took up his old silver sword, and handed it to Sour, who immediately struggled to lift it due to being smaller than the sword.

“Always felt like I was safer with this one too, like she was watching over me. It suits you.”

“I’ll be careful with it, seems like it has a lot of value to you.” Sour said

“Something like that.”

After an hour or so of training, Sour, Cecil, and some of the other heroes and knights returned to the war council, now based inside the tree. Vigo, the Vistani Chieftain, a recovering Iolodren, and the rest of the heroes gathered around.

“So what, we storm in and purify the crystal? Just like that?” Iolodren said, clutching his side in pain, having sustained wounds in the previous battle.

“Unfortunately no, it's more complicated than that.” The Vistani chieftain explained.

“We need to do two things, purify the crystal, either by safely navigating the purifiers to the crystal, or killing all the remaining Skeksis.”

“Which will result in the death of the mystics?” Sour asked, looking up at the table.

“Unfortunately, but that is a sacrifice I know I’m willing to make, should I be one of the mystics.” The Chieftain replied.

“Now, our second task is to actually bring the sun back to this land. Sage, your bow is the final piece needed to complete this task. Vigo and Cecil, you two along with Argynvost will ascend the Crystal Tower, and wait for the signal. Alkaline and Sour, you two will make your way inside the tower, and see if you can purify the Crystal. Knox, Isidra, and Fennys, you will also make your way inside the tower, and keep the Skeksis off the purifiers. Any questions?”

Nobody in the room piped up, either in understanding, or anxiety about the battle that awaited them. As the council adjourned, Cecil walked back outside, falling back against the tree, just staring up at the sky, waiting for the final battle ahead.

### Chapter Nine: On the Wings of Undeath

**The Next Day**

As the now combined armies of Goblins, Black Rose Knights, and the remaining Werewolf forces marched towards the Crystal Tower, Cecil, Sage, Vigo, and the massive skeletal dragon, Agrynvost stood off to the side. On the other side of the bridge, a massive battalion of the Garthim stood, pincers clattering, readying to attack.

As the commander of the army, Iolodren gave the signal, the three mounted the dragon, and began to fly towards the top of the tower, when from the tower walls a barrage of canonfire began to fire at Argynvost. Cecil could spot one of the Skeksis inside beginning to charge up a massive fireball, and fire it at Argynvost. Ramming into the side of him, Argynvost let out a howl in pain, as Vigo began to fall from the dragon’s back. Cecil quickly caught him, and they gathered themselves again. Sage drew her bow, and began to fire into the tower windows. Red energy began to flow from Cecil, as he fired bolts of energy at the artillery.

Suddenly, another ball of fire shot out, once again slamming into the wing of Argynvost, causing him to fly into the side of the tower. Digging into the side of it with his claws, he began to climb up the tower towards the top.

“He won’t survive another hit like that, either of you have any ideas?” Vigo asked, trying to hold onto the dragon.

“Get to the top, I’ll catch up.” Cecil said, leaping from the dragon’s back.

As he fell, Cecil felt his entire body twist and shape, as right before he hit the ground, his arms had formed into bat wings, his fangs protruding, and his hair shaping into a large mane, as he flapped his wings and took off, flying back towards the tower. As the Skeksis began to form another fireball, Cecil charged forward, flying into him with all his might, knocking him down. Changing back into his human form, Cecil rushed forward, sword in hand. As the Skeksis saw this, it shrieked and teleported away.

“Coward..” Cecil growled, as he turned and destroyed the rest of the artillery. As he was about to fly out and rejoin his father at the top of the tower, he heard a mass of Garthim skittering towards him, on their way to the main hall. “Hmm, better not risk Knox and the others getting overrun.” Cecil thought to himself, as his sword formed in his hand. Rushing towards the Garthim, the first one fell with but a slash of his sword. A second one swung at him, missing as Cecil slid under the claws of the beast, firing a bolt of energy into its face. Cecil’s left hand formed into a gauntlet of dark energy, and clawed one Garthim in the shell, as his sword found another victim. Forming a red whip in his hand, he swung in an arc in front of him, knocking back his attackers, as he wrapped the whip around another’s neck, pulling it to the ground, and slicing its head off.

Finishing up the remainder of his attackers, Cecil wiped some blood off his chin, and made his way for the window. This second bat transformation came much more naturally, and he flew towards the top, spotting Argynvost finishing his climb. As Vigo and Sage dismounted the dragon, Cecil flew up the side of the tower and landed next to them. The four now stood on a large circular shaped roof, with a large, spiral, and glass ceiling in the center, meant to let sunlight in. Cecil walked over to the edge, and gazed out on the battle below. The Black Rose knights had done their job well, keeping the Garthim busy. However, he still wondered how the rest of his team was doing.

“So what, we just wait here?” Sage asked

“Seems like it.” Vigo replied, lighting a cigar.

“Unfortunately, it won’t quite be that easy…” A screeching voice came from behind them, as a portal opened up, and out stepped a large, four armed, scarred Skeksis.

### Chapter Ten: The Summit of the Spire

“Skekvalm…” Vigo said, readying his gun.

“You know this one?” Cecil asked, reforming his blade.

“The general of the Garthim forces, they call him the Guardian.”

“Three against one, should be an easy fight” Sage said, drawing his bow.

“Two. Malgus!” Skekvalm said, with a screeching laugh.

Suddenly, from another portal came a massive, malformed creature. It resembled a dog, but almost seemed to have a human face. It roared with a horrible sound, a mix between a wolf roar and a human scream.

“Oh no… Maxus? M-Mariumus?” Vigo stammered, now stunned and walking backwards.

“More friends?” Cecil asked, but Vigo was too stunned to reply.

“Two kids, we met them back in Barovia.” Sage said.

“Another reason to put this thing down then.” Cecil growled.

“Which one, the dog or the Skek?”

“Either.”

As Skekvalm pulled out two large swords, Cecil and Sage readied for battle, as Vigo tried to shake himself back to reality. Malgus snarled at Cecil, who readied his blade as his familiars materialized by his side. Charging forward at Cecil, Malgus began to viciously attack him, as Sage dodged out of the way, and engaged Skek Valm. A large paw came swiping at Cecil, as he dodged under it, and began to move around the beast, slashing at it while Noire tried to bite into its ankles, Sanguinar firing bolts of energy overhead.

Turning the Malgus away from the edge of the tower, Cecil began to go on the offensive, slashing away at the beast, pushing it backwards. Sanguinar stopped firing, and looked at Vigo.

“Hey, pops! Snap out of it!” Sanguinar shouted, flying over to Vigo.

“I failed them… I failed.” Vigo muttered, still staring at Malgus’ face, the malformed amalgamation of two human faces, both looking no older than seven.

“We don’t really have time for blubbering right now, smokes! Help your son!”

But Vigo didn’t respond, he just stared at the beast, breathing heavily.

“God fucking damn it, V!” Sanguinar yelled, as he shot a bolt of energy into Vigo, knocking him onto the ground. Vigo grunted as he fell back.

“Why you lit-”

“Help... your son... kill... the dog!” Sanguinar yelled, as he rejoined the fight.

Noire shot Sanguinar a look, and whined a bit.

“I meant the evil dog you mangy mutt!”

Vigo stared at Malgus again, and a scowl came over his face.

“Alright, out of your misery then!” He said, as he drew his gun, shooting right into one of Malgus’ eyes. Malgus roared in agony, backing closer to the edge. Cecil slashed again into Malgus’ arm, a spurt of blood shooting out. But as Cecil grew more aggressive, his guard started to drop, leaving him open for Malgus to charge back and bite into his arm. Pushing Cecil forward away from the edge, Malgus growled, until another gunshot sounded off, hitting Malgus in the side of the face. Malgus retreated backwards, as Cecil resumed his attack.

Finally, Malgus’ back legs started to slip off the edge. In one last desperate attack, it lunged for Cecil, fangs bared. Forming into a cloud of smoke, Cecil dodged backwards, and dashed into Malgus, suddenly digging his own fangs into Malgus as it reared backwards on its hind legs. Still digging into Malgus’ throat, Cecil stabbed his sword into Malgus’ face, and his claws into Malgus’ heart. As Malgus fell off the edge, roaring in agony as it died, Cecil jumped off, landing back onto the roof of the tower. Wiping the blood off his face, Cecil looked up as his father walked to the edge.

“I’m sorry, boys…” Vigo said, solemnly.

“We did what we had to, father.” Cecil said, standing up.

But before Vigo could respond, they heard a loud and searing cackle, as they looked over, and saw Skek Valm grasping Sage by the throat, walking towards a large hole in the floor.

### Chapter Eleven: Six the Mystics

As Skek Valm walked towards the hole in the floor, Sage caught a glimpse of how far down it went. Surely a fall from this height would kill him instantly. Cecil tried to rush into action, and attempted another bat transformation, but Skek Valm held out his hand, blocking Cecil’s magics. Cecil was suddenly trapped in the air, his body malcontorting as he tried to break free. Skek Valm smiled as Cecil screamed out in pain.

“Stop!” Vigo commanded. “Take me instead!”

Skek Valm shot him a glance, chuckled a bit, and went back to torturing Sage and Cecil.

“Skek Valm... Please. I’m the one you want.” Vigo pleaded.

“Why not just kill all three of you?” Skek Valm retorted, grinning sinisterly at Vigo.

Suddenly, before any of them could react, a dagger stabbed into Skek Valm’s foot. Out of nowhere, Esmerelda, the woman from the tower, had appeared, and slashed through Skek Valm’s leg, forcing Cecil to drop. As he screamed in terror, Van Richten lunged up and stabbed Skek Valm in the throat, forcing him to cough up a chunk of blood. Cecil smiled a bit as this happened, but his heart dropped when he heard his father behind him let out a cough. Shooting his head backwards, his father’s leg had started to bleed, and he had started to cough up blood. But Vigo wasn’t afraid, he just smiled, and chuckled a bit.

“Six the mystics, must become.” Vigo let out, as he pulled up his pistol, and shot Skek Valm in the head. As Skek Valm screamed one last time, he began to fade to dust. Vigo collapsed to his knees, smiling, as Cecil looked on in horror, screaming. Sage fell to the floor, as Van Richten took a few steps back, looking at Vigo in horror.

“Oh no… Vigo, I… Oh god.” She cried, as she nervously stepped back, and jumped back through the portal. As she did so, the sky started to change color, as the sun began to rise. As Cecil began to approach his father, he waved him away.

“The sun’s coming up, son. Go help Sage. Don’t worry about me.” Vigo said.

Cecil took another look at his father, and hurried over to Sage, who in his weakened state, was struggling to grasp the bow in time. Helping Sage to his feet, he helped Sage steady the bow, as the arrow nocked.

“You killed my mother, you know I can never forgive you for that.” Cecil said

Sage let the arrow fly, and missed the sun. He looked back and saw he was down to one arrow left.

“She said your name as she died… I wish there was some other way… I’m sorry.” Sage said, weakly, loading the next arrow.

“I can’t forgive you, but my father has. And right now, saving Ravenloft is his final wish. I won’t forgive you, but I won’t kill you. For my father’s sake.”

Sage smiled as Cecil helped him load the next arrow, and together, they let the arrow fly, right into the rising sun.The sun burst with a wave of energy, showering the land in sunlight, purging away the darkness that had held these lands for a thousand years. The warmth washed over Cecil, as he stared at the massive ball of fire that rose over him. This was what he had missed all those years in Belwyn. This was what daylight was like. He stared in awe for a few seconds, before suddenly snapping his head to his father, who now lay dying on the ground, his skin slowly turning to dust, as Noire whined and nudged him. Rushing over to Vigo, he knelt down and held his head up.

“So… what do you think? Sunlight, huh?” Vigo said, coughing a bit.

“Yeah… it's something.” Cecil replied, glancing at the sun again. The sunlight slightly burned him a bit, feeling a bit weaker, due to his vampirism. Vigo coughed a bit again, more blood coming out.

“Father!” Cecil exclaimed, but Vigo shushed him.

“I suspected this would happen. I’m just… I’m just glad we got to meet one last time. I didn’t exactly expect our time together to be… elongated. Hell, I’m surprised I lasted this long. You’ve come so far… my son, but know this. My part in this is done, but yours isn’t. Your journey has just begun.”

“Father… be with mother now. Give her my best.” Cecil said, weakly smiling as he tried to hold back the tears.

Vigo smiled, as he closed his eyes and faded away.

### Chapter Twelve: The Cost of Victory

As Cecil and Sage made their way down to the tower’s antechamber, the rest of the group eagerly awaited their arrival. The Vistani chief seemed hopeful, but then noticed something was amiss.

“You’re back! But… where’s Vigo?”

Cecil hung his head a bit, and the Chief knew exactly what had happened. Walking over, he rested his hand on Cecil’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, your father was a great man, with a great son.”

“He knew the cost of victory, he wasn’t afraid.” Cecil said, his voice breaking a bit as he passed by the chief.

“He… wasn’t the only one. My daughter… and the goblin, Sour.”

Cecil’s eyes shot up at him, a mix of grief and surprise. The chief looked solemnly at Cecil.

“When the crystal purified, they fulfilled their purpose in this world. And now, they pass on to the next, to be reborn, and fight the remaining Skeksis. They’ve been granted enough power to stay here and say their goodbyes.” The chief said, as he motioned to the group. They seemed to be in high spirits, but a feeling of melancholy filled the air. As Cecil walked over, the group shifted, allowing Sour to rush to Cecil.

“Hey man…” Sour said awkwardly. Cecil knelt down by him, weakly smiling.

“Hey, hero.” Cecil said, looking up at him. Sour smiled a bit at this.

“Listen, I know I said I was gonna show you that River of Innocence, but uh, well looks like I’m not long for this world.”

“I’ll uh, let that slide.” Cecil joked. Sour chuckled a bit, and reached into his pocket.

“Before the battle, I started to wonder if I was gonna make it, so I uh, I made this.” Out of his pocket, Sour pulled out a piece of parchment, with a map crudely drawn with crayon scrawled on it. He handed it to Cecil, and smiled. “Say hi to your mom for me, she was a nice lady, aside from the whole werewolf thing… Was that insensitive?” Sour suddenly said nervously.

“Would you believe she just as fierce before the whole werewolf thing?” Cecil asked jokingly.

“Damn that’s cool.” Sour said, as the two of them smiled for a bit, and Sour embraced Cecil in a hug, his small goblin arms barely reaching around Cecil. As Sour ran back to the group, Cecil walked over to the rest of them, as the Elf, Alkaline, was embracing everyone goodbye.

Taking steps back, Alkaline and Sour waved a bit as their bodies became enveloped in a glowing light, and they vanished.

As the group stepped outside, the land already seemed more lively, as the sun was washing everything in light. As Cecil pulled the map from his pocket, he studied it for a moment, before beginning to walk away, before he was suddenly stopped.

“Hey Cecil, uh, we were wondering… now that this is all done with, you looking for a new group to hang with?” He heard Fennys say.

Cecil stopped for a bit but kept walking.

“No… I’ve got my own war to fight.” He said, walking off into the forests of Ravenloft.

### Chapter Thirteen: The River of Innocence

As Cecil walked through Ravenloft one more time, he once again noticed just how similar this land was to Belwyn. And yet, something had changed, the land seemed more alive now. Birds chirped, deer ran through the forests, flowers bloomed, and the land felt warmer. As he drew closer to the River, night time approached, and the familiar moon he had known for centuries now hung overhead, as if retaking its lost domain, for a time. But even the moon seemed more inviting. The Moon Lord’s hold over this land had been broken, and now night and day could co exist, as was always meant to be.

As Cecil stared out at the river, it’s majestic glow was enough to even surprise him. The water seemed to glow like diamonds, and was so clear he could see right to the bottom. The Moonlight reflected heavily on the surface.

Cecil knelt down by the river, and waved his hand through it. He looked around, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. As he tried again, Sanguinar appeared on his shoulder.

“Uh, hey Ceec. You try the magic words?” he said

“Magic words?” Cecil asked, confusedly.

“Yeah, they go like this. Hey River, work god damn it!” Sanguinar yelled, but nothing happened.

“That… didn’t work.” Cecil said.

“Yeah, I know genius.” Sanguinar retorted.

“You try draconic? I just yelled some shit a few hundred years ago and it seemed to work for you guys.” Cecil said.

“Wait, was that a joke?” Sanguinar gasped.

“**Hey niarhaanin, tawura ithquent xsiol**!” Cecil exclaimed, but nothing happened.

“Well, it was worth a try.” Sanguinar sighed.

“Any other ideas?” Cecil asked

“Uh, we could try dunking Noire in. Even if it fails, he needs a bath. None of us have taken a bath in three hundred years!!” Sanguinar exclaimed.

“Won’t work, would be funny to see, though.” A voice behind them said. Cecil turned, and came face to face with the familiar face of his mother, though now ghostly and faded.

“Do ye always have to brute force your way through everything?” Alexandra asked, nodding and smiling.

Cecil confusedly looked at her.

“Is that not the Zarovich family motto?” He shrugged and asked, this joke now sending Sanguinar into something resembling a seizure, not able to physically accept Cecil making jokes.

Alexandra smiled, as the two of them took a seat by the lake. She looked around at the trees, and the animals now running through the woods.

“Your father gave everything for this land, and it took everything from him.” She said

“Well, almost everything.” She said, now looking at Cecil.

“What was it like here, for the past few centuries?”

“A bit chaotic at first, but eventually we found peace with the people of Barovia. For a bit.”

The two sat in silence for a bit, before Cecil spoke up again

“I killed Morlund.” He said

“I figured ye would, I knew he wouldn’t be a match for ye, that Vulkod bastard. Suppose that’s one less loose end your father could never wrap up. Still a big one left though.”

“Yeah?”

“Vigo came to this land thinking it could be saved, that it could be purified. I guess he was right, he left this world having succeeded. But he always theorized a similar thing could happen to Belwyn. Guess he never got to test the theory. But this world we left behind. I feel pretty good about leaving it in your hands.”

Cecil smiled weakly as his mother’s ghost began to fade away, thanking her one last time, and finally saying goodbye. As he knelt down by the river, he started to swirl the waters again, sensing a remaining bit of power in the waters.

“Come on, work damn it. There’s something you can still show me!”

As Cecil noticed something out of the corner of his eye, his gaze shot up across the river, to see something else. Two children, both spectral and ghost like, sat playing at the edge of the riverbank. One, a slightly taller boy, with red eyes and white hair, and the other a girl, with golden amber eyes and short red hair. As the two kids faded away from view, Cecil stood up,  as Sanguinar flew to his shoulder.

“So uh, what now? We have a new mission or something?” He asked

“No, this changes nothing. We still have a score to settle.” Cecil said, eyes now a fiery red, as he could very faintly hear the Moon Lord’s laughter, in the back of his skull.

### Epilogue

*The lands of Belwyn had always been cold. A cold and dark forest dominated most of the land, and seemed to suck the life from the entire country. All except one one, small region. In the Eastern portion, southeast of the town of Vandelheim sat a place known as the Waterfalls of Agharta. The area had grown surprisingly warm as of late, and many flowers and flora had begun to spring up, particularly around a stone-carved, ornate gravestone. Many animals found the area around the grave a place of comfort. But now, that peace was disturbed. As a dark cloaked figure walked through the snow, the flowers and plants began to freeze up, wither, and die. Stopping right before the gravestone, the figure looked down, and smiled.*

 **“A score to settle indeed, Child of Darkness...”**

### Gallery

Cecil Von ZarovichVigoAlexandraNoireSanguinarSourSkek'ValmThe Moon LordStrahd Von ZarovichIolodrenFennysSageAlkalineKnoxIsidraEsmerelda Van RichtenMalgusArgynvost