Isfet-Iah - Was A Shadow In The Night Sky

Isfet-Iah was a shadow in the night sky. He considered staying up there forever. The world beneath him had become unappetizing. Gone were its primeval wonders. Giants no longer vied with serpents. Fairies no longer played dulcimers in the clouds. A paradigm of order prevailed. It was more flexible than the order which had been imposed by the Arkhanate twenty thousand years ago – but flexibility gave it more resilience.

An ancient vampire had to be cautious in such an age.

Three little ghosts broke the First Emperor's unbreakable spell. Even at his full might, Isfet-Iah could not have stopped them from ending the necromancy holding him in the world. They chose not to end it. Was that kindness? Should he end it himself?

What was the purpose of continuing?

Too long ago, Isfet-Iah ruled a kingdom. The giants invaded this world from another realm. Iset-Iah fought them. He made dark bargains. It worked for a while. Then the Asamati Polemarch defeated him. Isfet-Iah was imprisoned in ice for ten thousand years. Then the Arkhanate fell. Isfet-Iah rebuilt a shadow of his ancient kingdom. Then the First Qianqiu Emperor came and imprisoned Isfet-Iah again. For four thousand years, Isfet-Iah was a bar in the cell imprisoning the Asamati Polemarch. That was a form of justice. 

Now what?

The little ghosts had demonstrated that the First Emperor's unbreakable spell could be broken. Were the others imprisoned alongside Isfet-Iah also free? Did it matter? Even if the others remained bound, the God of War's cell had been compromised by Isfet-Iah's release.

Ten thousand years ago, the Arkhanate collapsed in part due to its own weight.

Ironically, with that weight removed, the Asamati Polemarch might become unstoppable. Isfet-Iah would need to regain his strength if he intended to fight.

Should he fight if the battle could not be won?

It was not in his nature to give up. His shadow descended from the sky. To regain his strength, Isfet-Iah would need to feed. Finding prey in an orderly world was challenging. Dark passion was his wine, not blood. The longer order persisted in the world, however, the more tasty morsels full of dark passion stood out from the crowd. Standing out in an orderly world was detrimental to survival. The authority which imposed order in an orderly world noticed people who stood out.

Authority had a way of killing what it noticed.

Being killed prevented tasty morsels full of dark passion from having families and passing on their lusty seeds. Consequently, the longer an orderly era persisted, the fewer tasty morsels were born.

Fewer was not none. Isfet-Iah's shadow flickered over walls, under eaves, and around corners. In an orderly era, brigands and bandits acquired wealth through fraud instead of highway robbery. Where highway robbers lived packed together in remote caves, the purveyors of fraud lived in luxury. Luxury made those who enjoyed it greedy for more. The more luxury they had, the less satisfied they were by any of it. Isfet-Iah could feed on that vicious circle.

Tianming Town reeked of greed. Isfet-Iah's shadow flickered between the slats of a kitchen window. He curled around the feet and legs of cooks and assistants. He hid beneath a waiter's footsteps as the young man carried a tray to a table. Isfet-Iah's shadow slipped under clothes and explored the bodies of tasty morsels. If he wanted, his shadow's touch could consume them. It never satisfied Isfet-Iah to devour tasty morsels with his shadow. The main purpose of touching them was to forge a connection between souls. Through that connection, Isfet-Iah could influence their thoughts. 

Even when his shadow moved away, a faint connection remained. At any time, he could experience what those he touched perceived. Isfet-Iah's senses were supernatural. He rarely wanted to experience what meat perceived.

But rarely was not never.

Lingering on the back of another waiter, Isfet-Iah saw what the young man saw as he climbed steps to a mezzanine of "special" rooms. Slipping down the young man's leg, Isfet-Iah flickered to the leg of a nearby chair. Swirling from one courtesan to another, he circled his intended prey.

The more Isfet-Iah circled, the more he touched. The more he touched, the more the tasty morsels all around him thought the thoughts Isfet-Iah wanted them to think. The more he understood their passions. By understanding their passions, the ancient vampire could intensify the falsehoods he wove to deceive them. Isfet-Iah's chosen morsel was a shipping tycoon. A swashbuckler in his youth, the man had put on weight in his middle years. Despite that, he remained robust enough to enjoy nights on the town. The tycoon lusted for bright, shiny, beautiful things.

Isfet-Iah could be bright, shiny, and beautiful.

He emerged from the shadows.

Everyone accepted the fact that he had always been there. The vampire could assume many forms, but his "truest shape" was that of a muscular young warrior. In an age of greed and lust, he would play the role of seducer more than warrior. Isfet-Iah had never been entirely human. A fairy from the Willow Realm touched him while he was in his mother's womb. Everything about him was sharp.

The feytouched were well-suited to an undying life of dark passion.

Whatever form Isfet-Iah took, anyone looking saw what he needed them to see. People in the room mistook him for a courtesan who had come in from outside without being noticed. Anyone entering the room mistook him for a courtesan who was already there. The tycoon lusted for bright and exotic things. For him, Isfet-Iah alternated between the illusion of a courtesan and his true shape.

In both forms, he wore golden bracelets and not much else.

The more the tycoon saw the bracelets, the more he marveled at their beauty. The more he marveled, the more he coveted. The more he coveted, the more he lusted. When the man couldn't lust any longer, Isfet-Iah scratched him with a tooth. Biting was not necessary. If Isfet-Iah wanted to claim a morsel through violent passion, yes, he would tear them apart. But even only a trickle of blood was enough to take everything that he wanted.

Officially, officers investigating the tycoon's death would classify it as heart failure during a lustful act. Although the man had suffered a few minor scratches, none appeared dangerous. His widow, concubines, and sons pretended to grieve, but had already begun plotting to claim as much of the tycoon's fortune as possible. 

That one family would keep Isfet-Iah fed.

But once he had his strength back – what then?

He did not want to antagonize little ghosts who could break the First Emperor's magic. He did not want to get caught unaware by one of the other four. Even an age of order would have demon hunters crawling around in the dark. Isfet-Iah preferred to avoid that crowd rather than fight. Killing one demon hunter invariably invited more to try their luck.

The vampire could mitigate all those risks through careful actions.

One risk would be impossible to mitigate, however. The Asamati Polemarch was going to break free. It might take a while. However long it took, Isfet-Iah planned to be around when it happened. From the God of War's perspective, the biggest risk would be getting bound again. 

The Polemarch would therefore prioritize ending as many vampires as he could.

He could end an awful lot.

Furthermore, even if they lacked an understanding of the First Emperor's binding formation, the occultists of this orderly age would be aware such a thing once existed. The little ghosts knew. Isfet-Iah felt safe with them. They released him in the first place. Other theurgists would only see vampires as material components. Once diviners sensed the God of War's release drawing near, the hunt would be on for ways to either repair or replicate the First Emperor's formation. Isfet-Iah was therefore not only the Polemarch's prime target, he was the prime target of everyone wanting to stop the Polemarch.

Those trying to stop the Polemarch would act first.

That put Isfet-Iah in a bind. 

He also wanted to stop the Polemarch. If the ancient vampire killed everyone who might try to imprison him, he would lose his best allies. Isfet-Iah therefore needed allies who he could trust not sacrifice him to achieve their shared goal. Unfortunately, vampires became ancient by not trusting anyone.

Wait. Isfet-Iah's golden sword, the Sanguine Eclipse, was moving.

"Interesting," he said to no one.