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Chibi Vampire: The Selibri Waltz (or, The Dream-the Reality.)



Chapter 1



It was time. Much had changed since word came in about the events happening in Japan-events too large not to be noticed. The most recent events spilled through to the Beowulfs about what was happening in the United States, and it made the recent events there to not seem such a bad thing, considering that it could help make the dream of the princess more of a reality than ever before. In fact it just might accelerate things. She didn't know if the cause of the changes in the U.S. were good at first, but when she found out the reasons why, her heart fluttered. She only hoped that someone would not interfere, but it seemed that could not be avoided. It was sad that she would have to take the stance against him that she did, but it had to be done, for their world had grown beyond the little circle in which he sat.



The world of the night is a mix of human fantasy fears, and a real world complete with a culture structure and a pecking order. The one common theme was that this world never tried to mix with the world of the day, yet, because of how things had been going, that was soon to change, and all because of a child of both of those worlds. The last time such a child had come, there was a vast purge in Europe where two sects of her kind fled, and one of them her sect had not even known was there until a couple of centuries later. When the child of both worlds was discovered, the Inquisition had all the excuse they needed to start a witch hunt, and in this case, both the Church and the governments turned a blind eye to things. However, because of how secluded her sect was, they were not touched. Many of one of the sect her sect was aware of fled to find haven in one of the 12 households there. In truth, her sect looked down on them, considering that they were a corruption of an abomination to begin with, but considering how much power and influence her sect could operate through them, they let them go. Considering her sect's origins, there could be no doubt as to their rulership over things.



There were four houses of nobility within their sect: one in Italy, one in Russia, one in China. Yet, the main rulership was based in the nation of Romania. The emergence of the nobility came in a similar way, but the one in Romania was the catalyst to the whole thing. At one time, the noble count was human, and avery devout man to the Church. However, he was also ruthless in his execution of justice, in that, by his method of that execution of justice, there was little in the way of crime, insurrection, or disobedience. Because of it, he picked up the nickname of The Impaler. He prevented the invasion of the land by the Tartars by first defeating the lead elements of the invading army, and taking the survivors of the enemy and staking them all along the border as much as he could so that the next elements could not miss them. A message was left to them saying that they did not fight like the other weak nobles of the nations they had conquered, and if they tried to invade, what they saw would be their fate, with no remorse, no mercy, and no quarter. Needless to say, they went around the territory in Romania known as Transylvania at that time. He was so zealous that he went to the Crusades with many other nobles, and fought viciously. Yet, many of his foes took that opportunity to execute some cruel revenge. They sent a letter to his wife as if it had been from the hand of the kings leading the fight stating that her husband-Vlad-had fallen in combat, and she became so stricken with grief, that she flung herself off the high cliffs upon which the castle sat. When he returned from the Crusade, he became enraged, and insane. He was off believing he was doing the Lord's business, and God could not even see fit to protect his family while he was away, especially his beloved wife. He quickly uncovered who was behind the controversy, impaled them, and then renounced all his belief in God. It was then he made his pact with demonic forces, but then wound up with the curse of The Vagabond on him. Because of that, he ended up a recluse and the terror of Transylvania. He was rarely seen, and the rumors of his strange habits and even rumors of drinking human blood persisted. Yet, it came to pass that he was declared dead, and his only mortal son that bore his name ruled in his place, bearing the moniker of Vlad the Bad. His father received a new moniker because of what he had done, and what he had become-the Dragon. This was pronounced in the ancient tongue of the area as Dracul, but later became pronounced"Dracula." After this, things changed.



In time, the influence of the house over which Vlad held rule-Tepes-faded away, but its influence became indirect, and shifted focus over the rulership over the creatures of the night. So terrifying were they that even the werewolves made them, and any like them, their sworn enemies. However, because of the influence of Vlad's pure blood vampire daughter, who pretty much ruled in place of her father unless he felt the need to intervene, the Earth Clan, also known as the Beowulfs, (heroes of ancient times,) swore their protection to the Tepes. Because of her, the insanity that ruled their world was lessened greatly, and they began to find their niche in society. Still, Vlad was truly the one in charge, but was such a depressed recluse that hardly anyone ever saw him. This was not the case of the other three noble houses of vampires.



They came to be due to Vlad's influence. They were three nobles of their respective lands that desired more power and influence. They were as evil and ruthless as Vlad, and because they saw his condition being something that could give them influence far beyond their borders, they made the same pact that Vlad had, and became like him. Because they were pure bloods, Vlad was able to take a wife, and they had a daughter who married one of the noble's offspring that were far more benevolent. Because of that, they ruled benevolently. However, because of the ruthlessness of the other nobles, knowing that the key to having overall rule lie in the union of the Tepes family with one of them, and they ended up murdering him, but also ended up murdering Vlad's daughter in the process. This left their only child-a daughter-in overall rulership. They also had taught her how to be benevolent, but, because of the ruthlessness around her, she had also learned how to be just as shrewd. Thus, she was a mix of both that and benevolence, and became wise beyond her years. Her grandfather insisted that she be named Mina, after the woman that could have well replaced his pure blood wife that had died accidentally from an unexpected exposure to the sun. In his pursuit of her, the man he once had been came to the surface. Sadly, because of the ignorance of the vampire hunters at that time, especially that cursed Van Helsing; they ripped her from his grip, and tried to kill him. He feigned death, but went back to being a brooding recluse, and now even worse. By this time, nobility of the other houses had been replaced by fairly ruthless and evil men, and they all eyed Mina as access to power over the world of the night. To prevent this, despite her age, (that of a few centuries,)Mina retained the body of a 12 year old girl in order to prevent marriage with her. Considering how things had gone, Vlad did not object, seeing the wisdom of her granddaughter. The other nobles understood that this was a power play by Mina and Vlad, and forced her to go through a "purity test" every decade to insure that she had not tried to surrender her virtues to someone not of noble lineage. Although they submitted to her leadership, they did this to remind her and Vlad who had the "real power." Mina looked forward to the day when the leadership would change, and maybe-just maybe-someone in the nobility would be as benevolent as her mother had been and married her truly for love. However, all that changed about 13 years earlier, and for two reasons.



The first reason was something that happened five years previous. It was a day when they had forced her through the purity test, and she knelt in the garden that evening, crying over the cruel treatment. Vlad, of course, in his twisted way of thinking, figured that it was necessary, and had no remorse for his granddaughter. Yet, a young Beowulf of 12 years and Japanese descent named Akira saw her crying. He did not understand all that was going on, and knelt beside her, trying to console her as best he could. She was many years his senior, but she had shown far more love than anyone had ever done in decades, and she was smitten by the innocence of the boy. The boy then made a pinkie pledge to always be there to protect her and make sure no one ever made her cry again. When she found out that this was a son of the head of her royal guard, she took Akira at his word, and it was set that, when he came of age, he would become her personal bodyguard and companion. By this point, he was in aprivate school run by her family in Tokyo, and was soon to take his place by her side. She deeply loved him, despite the difference between them, and if she had her way, he would be her husband, though she would have to take an official husband to breed an heir. If she had her way, things would change. This was when the second factor kicked in.



About 13 years earlier, there was the discovery of the sect of vampires that were very different from her, or the 12 undead houses in America. Because of how they just did not want trouble, and how they had the ability to erase the minds of those upon whom they fed, they went undetected for centuries. After some investigation, it was discovered that they could best be described as living vampires, and more pure blood than any that claimed such a title: they had warm blood, they bred, they had a hard time creating undead, and needed only a pint of blood anight to survive. In fact, unlike the others, when they bit, they did not instantly spread vampirism onto them. If they or the undead bit someone, they would turn into a vampire within 48 hours if steps were not taken. Because they had no ambition for power, and just wanted to remain secluded, nothing was done about them. That changed 13 years ago. It had been heard that there were three children of both worlds in existence. They were called after a word in the Romanian tongue: dhampir. This translated into "little vampire" in that, they had all the benefits of their night-side heritage, but none of the weaknesses, save for the Thirst. It was then discovered that two were the union of a human and the living vampires. Another came the normal route: awoman with child was fed upon but not turned. He was feared and dreaded, and just utter the words "Day Walker" in their circles, and they shuddered. However, the other two were not acting like the scourge of vampires. Normally, such creatures were the child of both worlds, but wanted by neither. Such was the case of Blade, and he was embittered at the life that he had growing up-and understandably so. However, the other two were different. Both ended up in the right hands growing up, and one of them, though he had every reason to be mad at the world, instead became a mighty warrior of justice in both the human and vampire worlds. It was when he ended up in Japan and caused many of the events that occurred 13 years earlier to cause her sect to watch him closely. When information came in about him, Mina's heart leapt. A sudden sense of hope began to overcome her, and she began to watch him closely.



The dhampir began to befriend the local living vampires, married the female dhampir, and because of a special child of the living vampires-a prophesied child brought about to preserve the fertility of her kind-they were able to have children. In fact, children of all she was involved with became nobility amongst their sect, and because they were unaware of her sect, they figured they had rulership over the vampires. Yet, it was something else that both this girl and the dhampir were doing caused her to watch closer. They were actually befriending humans, not to be their servants, but to be their peers and friends. With just a handful of youth, they formed what they simply called "The Clan." The two of them had adream of having a world where humans were aware of vampires, and a world where both could live side-by-side in harmony. At first, Mina thought that preposterous. Yet, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that there may be something to it, and she began to formulate plans to where something like that could be realized. That's when it came to a bad head.



Things seemed to be fine as this Clan grew, with the largest contingency being in Japan, but with other sects forming in the United States. During that time, they managed to destroy the Inquisition once and for all, which caused a year of jubilee in her sect of vampires. Yet, because of the existence of the 12 houses in America, it didn't take long for both worlds to collide. At first, it was thought that they could find a way to come together. However, when it was shown that they had no such intentions, and would rather wipe out any competition, (considering how cutthroat they were to one another,) they stood as a threat to the Dream. It was then that the one they called their Empress declared that they had to be destroyed. When they discovered that Blade was hunting down those houses, they lent him a hand. When he decided to join forces with them, the power that was contained in the four nobles of their kind-what they called Golconda-they made him like the other dhampir, (one Jean-Claude Makka,) and they managed to wipe out 11 of the 12 houses, and then absorb the last into The Clan. What made the nobles in Europe concerned was the fact that, though they normally would have cried "good riddance" to the destruction of the houses, because of the influence that had been lost in the States, they began to see this Clan as more of an enemy. Yet, Mina didn't see it that way, and she then was further heartened when she heard about the deal that the Clan and the American Lycanthrope Society struck with the United States government that would bring them as close to realizing their dream as could be expected, considering that they were just too different to really be fully accepted by humans. It was this information that was brought to her by leader of the royal guard that caused her to sharpen her plans, and make a better deal for their sect and hers than they could have ever dreamed of in their wildest dreams. This is why she let things go, but her grandfather was not so happy about things.



Vlad heard about what had happened, and what had been discovered. He watched as a great hand of power was cut off from him, and he declared that a new house be started in America with remnants of the other 11, and those that his sect created, which would be much better than the stock the other 11 were creating. When they were strong enough, a worldwide death sentence would be placed on the living vampires and anyone or anything else associated with this Clan. He declared them a threat to everything that their sect held dear-mainly global control-and they had to be stopped. Mina caught wind of this, and she realized that, though Vlad was family, he had to be stopped. There were a couple of reasons for this. First, he had so little to do with his granddaughter that he might as well have been a stranger, in that; she hardly ever laid eyes on him. Therefore, if something were to happen to him, she would not have shed nearly as many tears as when she lost her mother, and the nobles then turned her into a bargaining chip between themselves. Secondly, these Golconda could wind up being a line of nobility that she had always sought. Besides that, they were very powerful, and far beyond anything her kind was, even her grandfather. They just did not realize yet just how powerful they were, and they needed to be taught. Second, she also had learned about some physical traits of them that caused her to recall a small, mysterious clan of vampires that sought some kind of salvation for themselves known as the Selibri. There were indeed some stories about the coming of Golconda to unify the world, and to right a wrong long unpaid for, but because time had corrupted this prediction, it had by that time been rumored that, if one gained this "vampire salvation," they would become Golconda, and be the most powerful vampires of all. Yet, because of that, they were hated and hunted, and many think them a legend. However, she well knew of many undead vampires seeking this. If they were, and were not yet dead, they hid themselves well for obvious reasons. Because so little was known beyond this, there were rumors that they stole the souls of people when they fed, and others that they ate souls to make themselves powerful. There were other things that made them out to be monsters even to their own kind, but Mina just did not believe this. There was one thing she knew was true. If they sought for this enough, they would gain a third eye in their foreheads that would allow them a sixth sense of some kind, and would open when they used their powers. This was proven to be even more true to her when she heard that these four nobles had also developed that third eye, and if that was true, and the Selibri were still out there, she knew word would come to them. They would try to surface and join the Clan, but that could also end up a death sentence for them, and so action had to be taken. She had to watch the actions of the Clan in New York, and even to plant some spies from the Earth Clan to see what they were all about. If she could yoke their strength, then the dream Jean-Claude and this Karin sought could become more real than they could have possibly imagined.