#afm.plot drop

the answer many awaited did not come from the crowns, no head of court or spymaster able to deduce what had befallen on their lands.

it came with a knock at the very front gate of aureth. it was just before dawn, before the city had even fully awoken. the guards questioned who would come in this way, a large party of travelers that did not quite smell as they should. alarms are rang, but the visitors do not look concerned. they simply wait, certain in their path. the guards demand their business, and one lone member of the pack steps forward to demand an audience with the queen. tension rises, but one singular sentence grants them their desire, "we know what's killing your people."

they meet with queen adelina and her consort helion within the hour. what's discussed remains between those involved, but the rumors of the palace swell once more. fear riddled with tension cuts through the air, these travelers are not fae at all.

by mid afternoon letters have been sent to every noble house, every competitor, each person within the palace walls. they are now sharing residence with a special group of visitors from a continent further than aethara. these visitors are guests of the queen under very strict watch and order – the crown does not trust them – and to be regarded as any other visitor.

it's the scholars that share their knowledge first: these newcomers are not fae at all, but creatures long forgotten in the messy history of their own continent.

vampires have returned to aethara.

long believed extict, in truth, they simply built up their kingdom and warded themselves against all visitors. the vampire kingdom quite prosperous and self sustaining, living in an actual peace with the humans that share their lands. but peace never quite lasts, dictators and angry factions rise no matter the living standards. a faction of rebels began to wreak havoc upon the vampire kingdom of valmore, seemingly stopping overnight many months prior. the vampires believed they were safe, until scouts alerted them to movements they never would have expected.

the rebel faction had shifted their attention from numbers within their own borders to building their ranks with creatures that could rival any army, ancient texts claiming those changed from fae blood would be more powerful than that of a born vampire or changed human. their experiments thus far had failed, but the faction posed too great a threat for the vampire kingdom to let them go unchecked. a contingent of their strongest, their deadliest, were sent with one task: eliminate the rebellion.

fae know very little of the vampires or their kingdom, but ancient history has the scholars warning all to be cautious and weary with these new visitors even if they claim good intentions.

tl;dr: a group of vampires appeared in aureth claiming to know the cause of those mysterious deaths + disappearances. they claim to come in peace too, only hoping to eradicate the rebellion that ran from their shores to that of aethara's. they move about the halls with a darkness long forgotten, scholars unable to find any written, concrete proof they once walked this continent too. all anyone can say is be careful, for predators now reside alongside them claiming to be friends.

those in aurelion have been on pins and needles over the missing competitors, more names seeming to be added to the list day by day. rumors swirl at what could be causing this, most assuming foul play by rival courts and houses. the games have always been known to be a bit tense, but never to this degree.

but then the missing competitors began to show up, and nobody was ready for the state they were in.

the first body was found just beyond the edge of the training fields, right where the noise of the pitch began to thin and the land stretched quieter, less watched. a groundskeeper stumbled upon it – and older fae who worked the outer paths for decades and claimed there was little that could unsettle him in this age of his life. that belief would die that morning.

the body lay half hidden in the tall grass, as if they had simply collapsed mid step on a morning stroll. the ground around it looked undisturbed, no torn grass, no broken branches, no indication that anything violent had taken place at all. it almost appeared peaceful. but illusions are powerful tools, and this one was not meant to last. the groundskeeper initially assumed someone had fainted, but upon closer inspection his shout was heard by the nearby guards. he backed away, unable to connect what he had seen to the thoughts in his mind. the guards approached with caution, hands on their weapons as if this body were to attack them all. everything in the moment felt so wrong, the stillness and silence as if even the morning breeze chose not to blow here.

one of the guards finally knelt down next to the body to examine for any sign of life, but they would be in vain. the fae's skin was pale, a dullness coming through as if they had been drained of all warmth and life once possessed. there were no wounds immediately visible, no blood on the ground or any signs of injury save the faintest mark on their throat. so small it might have been missed had the guard not been looking for a pulse there.

the head healer is called, the rest of the guards alerted, the area sectioned off instantly. within an hour the news would be passed to the high queen, the body found showed no signs of blood. this was not a death any knew to speak of, something out of horror stories told to young faelings to keep them in bed at night. the aurelian monarchy attempts to contain the story, but by that afternoon it's already being whispered amongst all who will listen.

the second body ensured that there was no secret to be kept. and then a third. each one found in a different place than the last, but with the same pattern. no struggle, no blood. all in places rarely visited, often overlooked. the rumors were swirling, whispers passed between competitors, nobles and the like. some claimed it to be a curse, rougue magic, or something gone wrong in the trials. but the bodies continued to appear, and more competitors continued to disappear only to be found in a state none would wish. the ideas the fae had crafted felt insufficient, there had to be something more here.

something dark was churning, something aethara forgot even existed.

tl;dr: under the cut !

a mere few days have passed since the night of the ball that ended in tragedy of finding two competitors involuntarily removed from the ancient games. a vaelorian competitor, lord jaxton himlish, and the seemingly vanished aurelion competitor, lord kiran voss. as the rulers of aurelion continued their efforts to investigate this matter, they had made the decision to the suspend the games. a decision that was proving to be the right one as it seems the troubles for all those in the palace was far from over. their efforts yielded no results, they were no closer to find those responsible for the death of one lord and disappearance of another. the theories and the gossip ran amuck, enough that it wouldn't be long before tensions began to grow among the three royal courts.

it's on day three, at the first light of dawn, when several distressed guests emerged from their assigned residence in the palace. the staff promptly alerted the high queen and the king, who very quickly learn that several other competitors, the family members of these distressed guests, had all disappeared. all staff were directed to search every corner of the palace and the grounds for these missing individuals while the high queen recorded their names.

this time all three courts had been the target, as seven names were spoken, it appeared they were competitors from more than just vaeloria this time. if fear hadn't settled in among everyone gathered, it was now. more fae had gone missing and yet there was not a single clue as to who or what was responsible.

who or what could have done this ? was this a revenge tactic ? had the aurelions angered the wrong people ? or was this simply someone attempting to disrupt the peace that has been achieved after decades in their realm ?

the high queen set down a dictation none wished to hear, the gates to the city of aureth have been closed, portals have been sealed, and all in the palace have been encouraged not to leave.

the ball had been a success for most ⎯ securing sponsors, perhaps even allies and marriage prospects that the court of aurelion is eager to see play out. the high queen had been pleased to learn her ball had been enjoyed, and the night had been progressively, relatively free of chaos other than drunken bodies stumbling about. just before the stroke of midnight, the high queen and her king consort had gathered everyone to feast together, whilst fireworks were heard in the background because the rulers of aurelion never did anything with lackluster. it seems fate had different thought in mind as the night progressed. right at the stroke of midnight, a blood-curling scream was heard in the ballroom as everyone separated to continue their endeavors of the following the grand feast. everyone turned to the source, for a time most could not see what was the cause of the panic and hysteria was until a body was found. it was difficult to decipher what the cause of death was, a clean blow had been delivered on the body ⎯ no blood, no wound marks found on the dead body of the valerion noble who was a competitor of the games. that wasn't the only surprise of the night, as the rulers of aurelion and their inner circle attempted to control the panic and hysteria, it was discovered that an aurelion noble guest attending as a competitor was missing. one noble dead and one missing? the whispers broke out in the ballroom as every form of entertainment of the evening came to a halt by direct orders of the queen and king. the true horror settled in when it was the realization that that the targets had been two competitors of the ancient games. the rulers of the court had no choice left, in the wake of this tragedy, to announce withholding of the ancient games until they can uncover who and what had done this. if two competitors were targeted, who was next? how many?