[center][color=c0c0c0][b][u]Slayer[/u][/b][/color]
Level 1
Day 1
Location: Near Abandoned Castle
[@Hylozoist] [@Holy Soldier]
[b]Word Count: 619 
Experience: [color=orange]||||[/color][color=black]||||||[/color][/b][/center]

Walking through a murky but verdant forest, softly abuzz with the droning of insects and interspersed with birdcall, never struck Slayer as unpleasant.  Compared to some of the things he'd witnessed in his travels, it was no great shakes in terms of serenity, beauty, or anything much, but that didn't mean the vampire couldn't appreciate it.  He knew that soldiers would often search out pleasurable or at least wonderful experiences on the eve of battle, and while putting him in their place reeked of comparing apples to oranges, he supposed he could find some parallels.  His own battle, after all, waited not far off.  Rather than his opponent, his thoughts lay on the team to which he'd been assigned.  An ulterior motive, more than any pivotal strategic advantage, had spurred him to leave them behind.  Slayer couldn't find it within himself to have any faith in his supposed allies, whether their competence in battle or if they'd even turned up.  They would need to prove themselves to him, for Slayer already felt as though he'd been let down.

He stopped on a knoll at the brink of treeline and the clearing in which the Abandoned Castle stood to puff his pipe.  No movement could be seen from his position, but Slayer's intuition told him he'd already been spotted.  Any kind of sentry worth their salt knew the land surrounding his bastion like the back of his hand, so anything out of the ordinary, even if no more than a lone, impeccably dressed gentleman, warranted a response.  Of course, since it was his mission to destroy the castle's only occupant, the vampire wasn't exactly hiding, either.

Around him, the air crackled with a hollow reverberation.  Slayer heard only one word, but it told him all he needed to know.  Giving a wry smile, he took a final puff of his pipe before clenching it between his teeth and adjusting his collar.  While he didn't know what it was, he felt something behind him.  The voice echoed once more, inviting him to turn around, and Slayer accepted the invitation.  Before he'd even completely revolved, a red diamond cannoned from the unknown assailant.  All the gentleman could see was a ripple of darkness before Oswald thrust his gemstone-tipped sword through Slayer's guts.

A quiet moment passed, as one might expect.  So swift was the blade of the Shadow Knight that seldom did its impaled victims immediately realize they were dead.  At the end of this pause, however, Slayer uttered an unexpected sound.  [color=c0c0c0]”Hm.”[/color]  It would not have been out of place in a university library, yet it issued from his lips rather than the agonized sigh of death.  After a moment of scrutinizing Oswald, Slayer continued.  [color=c0c0c0]”I felt that rather keenly...this world must have some sort of effect on my constitution.  I had not expected you to be a young man.  Brigan's ramblings set you up as some kind of monster.  Ah, where are my manners?  My name is Slayer.  It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.  Regrettably I have been asked to destroy you.  Since you got the drop on me, though, you should definitely have the upper hand.  Fair's fair, after all.  Let's say I'm at about fifteen percent vitality.  One more strike and I'm 'done for'.  And who knows, it may be true.  I've not felt this much pain in quite some time.  Sound good?”[/color]

No response.  Slayer shrugged.  [color=c0c0c0]”Very well.  Let us fight like gentlemen.”[/color]  A [i]shlurp[/i] sound met their ears as Slayer dodged backward, removing himself from Oswald's sword.  In the same instant, the vampire pivoted and dashed in from the side, his right fist wreathed in blue flame and shooting toward Oswald's head like a cannonball.