Heir to Midnight

The Throne of Midnight sits empty and the Court is in disarray. Seattle, capital of America's Magical Underground long protected by the Court of Midnight and it's queen, is in chaos. Dark Creatures stalk the night, entire families of spellcasters are going to war for their claims to the throne and the head of the local Vampire Coven has announced open season on humans.

Hope emerges in the form of a young woman who looks startlingly like the former Queen of Midnight, and may in fact be the bastard Daughter of the Crown prince. Disgraced former Warlock Loren Malachi, is sent to persuade the young woman that she maybe something very special indeed.

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Looking for someone to take the role of a young woman probably 18-22, who happens to be the heir to the throne of Midnight, a position of great power in the modern Magical Underground. My character the Disgraced Loren will be attempting to persuade her of her magical heiritage and her importance to the people of the city. Any takers?

The pub was one of those cheap dives that not even the bartender bothers to name, only one flickering neon letter remained over the door and the windows were so grimy they'd become opaque. Stepping inside the whole place reeked of self-pity and resentment, stories of 'I was' or 'I was going to' danced in thick haze of smoke. Here Victor Carver, Runeknight of the Midnight Court found his once best friend Loren Malachai, slumped over the table in a corner booth, surrounded by so many empty beer bottles he could've built a brown glass igloo.

"Loren" he said, not bothering to hide his not so mild disgust. His old friend didn't stir. "Loren!" He barked more forcefully.

Malachai twitched pathetically, still not coming out of his stupor. Victor smacked the side of the drunk man's head and the disgraced Warlock slowly crept back into conciousness.

"eh! if it inn't VikTOR" Malachai slurred, his bloodshot eyes alight with contempt. "Come down from up high to dirty 'is boots mockin' us mere mortals"

"Loren, your drunker than a Irishman on St. Patricks day"

"VikTOR, you haven't lose-ed your talent for stating the oblivious"

"The obvious"

"Thas what I said you prick"

"Look Loren, I'm here on behalf of the Court"

"I got no busy-ness with the court these days 'member? you guys kick-ed me from building, monkey an all"

"Yes, but if you'll try and sober up enought to listen I may have your ticket back in"

Loren's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"What?"

Viktor sat down across from him at the table. "Loren the Queen is dead"

"Yesh, I know"

"And obviously the Prince is as well"

Loren glared viciously and for a moment, Viktor found himself praying that the bindings on the mans power were still in place.

"Which obviously leaves us without an heir, or a ruler, which as you also know, we need, badly"

"Get too the point"

"We may have found an heir"

"WHAT?!" Loren hissed. "The why haven't you retrieved them?"

"Politics, my hands are tied, as are most of my allies, but Loren you could get her!"

"S'ah her?"

"Yes apparently the Prince's bastard"

"oh no..."

Viktor nodded grimly sliding a brown envelope across the table. "You get her, we'll get you back into the court"

Loren stared down at the envelope. "I'm gonna need a drink"

Nariel was having her usual walk at midnight through the streets of Vancouver. Since she was a little girl, she liked the calm the city showed after the sunset and enjoyed going around the places that were so crowded during the day. Her mother hadn't liked it that much, and she had to escape sometimes without her noticing.

They were all alone, not having any brothers or sisters. Nariel didn't know who her father was, as her mother had decided never to tell. She thought her mother was ashamed and sometimes even frightened about that man. That was one of the reasons she didn't like her nighttime city walks. But Nariel liked thee too much to be afraid. Someties she was sad about disobeying her mother, as she was the only one her poor mother had.

That is why now she was gone she could walk around without any worries. She had died a couple years ago and now Nariel was alone. It had been tough at the beginning, but then she found her way out, as she was a strong and resourceful girl. 20 years old now, she was doing quite well, had earned enough to rent a quite nice place and she enjoyed her job as clerk of one of the most famous night clubs in Vancouver.

She was quite enjoying her simple way of life. But without her knowing, it was going to change quite soon.

Loren hadn't decided whether or not to open the envelope, before walking him home Viktor had explained that it contained all the relevant information for his search for the heir: Nariel. Apparently she was a 20 something living just North of the border, working in some downtown nightclub.

Dawn was rapidly approaching, but Loren's eyes were no longer heavy he sat at the kitchen table staring hard at a life changing decision. Viktor had offered him his life back, he may never rise in rank to second in command again but any life amongst the Midnight Society was better than the shell of a life he was leading now. Perhaps he could retrain as a curse-breaker or even find a job running security for one of the lesser families. The possibilities ran wild before him, his hopes and aspirations returning like a dying ember doused with gasoline.

Loren opened the envelope, inside he found a fake ID for both him and the girl, a few papers listing her personal information, and a thin metal sheet inscribed with a rune he recognized instantly. The first binding on his magic was sealed away from his grasp by the same symbol, and with this copy he could remove it. The thrill of anticipation ran down his spine. Loren rolled up his sleeve revealing what appeared to be an identical tattoo on his arm, laying the key plate over the tattoo he traced the rune slowly and the ink started to distort and ripple, rising from his skin and settling into the metal. A rush of power danced up his arm, some of his more basic powers returned to him instantly. There were 4 more seals, but perhaps along the way he could persuade Viktor to provide a few more key plates.

It felt good to have magic back at his fingertips, Loren snapped his fingers and a single emerald spark skipped across his kitchen table. There was no going back now. Perhaps he should shave.

- 3 Hours Later -

Clean shaven, with his hair washed and his clothes clean, Loren left his tiny 1 bedroom apartment carrying only a small backpack and his motorcycle helmet. He found his bike in the far corner of the underground parking, he hadn't ridden it in years, it could only be started by Magic, and so up until now had been entirely useless to him as anything but a decoration. It was sleek green and black monster that looked as though it were smiling in the darkness.

He laid his had across the handle bars and the machine roared joyously to life it's spirit rejoicing at the thought of the open road. Vancouver was only a few hours away and Loren started off into the busy Seattle streets before traffic had really begun, weaving his way between sluggish morning commuters his jaw set, his eyes gleaming with new life, his hangover headache raging over the growling engine.

Two hours later he was coming into North Vancouver searching for the address listed on the documents, a smile dancing on his lips, his headache long since forgotten. He found the girls apartment without any trouble, and was pleased to see that she was home, but quickly realized that he didn't have much more of a plan than show up, whisk her away and become a somebody again. He'd need to find a way to convince her of the truth. This was always easier in the movies. There was usually a bad guy to break the news with a dastardly attack upon the unsuspecting heroine. Loren decided that perhaps the direct approach wouldn't be a good idea, maybe if he waited until she was at the club that night he could find a way to get her back to Seattle with him.

Nariel slept throu the afternoon as she always did. She didn't like much the daylight hours, so she used those hours to sleep so she was fully awake at night. Thus, she always was the most active and happiest girl in the club, so she always got the best tips. She usually didn't do more than greet (mostly men) at the entrance but she eventually had to serve some drinks when the waitress were swamped in the busiest hours. She had been offered to be a dancer, the best paid job in the place, but she had refused it after the first night on the stage. She loved dancing and showing off, but hated the way those men looked at her. So she preferred being at the counter, greeting the costumers and saying some nice things. They were too interested in getting in that they hardly spent more than a couple of minutes looking at her.

That is why she was so intrigued by that man that night. He had come on a motorbike and had parked it in front of the club half an hour before. But he hadn't come in, he looked as if he was waiting for something or someone. Or he wasn't sure about coming in. Lots of men got to there but then they turned around and didn't come in. But it didn't take them half an hour to decide. Since no one was coming, she decided to investigate. She told the boss she was going out for some fresh air and that she would be back in 10 minutes. She usually went out some times during the night so he was ok with it.

She went outside and headed to the man. When she was crossing the street she asked him.

"Can I help you? You seem lost or something..."

Wasting an entire day waiting hadn't been easy, despite eating chinese food, riding across town twice, and thinking desperately of a way to get the heir to agree to accompany him to Seattle Loren wasn't making any progress. How did you simply roll into someones life, tell them they were the heir to a magical kingdom and the key to avoiding a civil war? It hadn't been covered in Warlocking 101.

Despite the tedium of the day, at least riding was enjoyable. The bike, a gift from his older brother for completing his vocational training was heavily enchanted and even had a kind of animal sentience, a mind of it's own as it were. It was quite happy to be on the move again roaring up and down city streets, glittering in the late spring sunshine, and darting in between cars with unbelievable speed.

Finally the sun was setting, and his long day of waiting was drawing to a close, it was a good feeling, but he knew it couldn't compare to what was coming next. As darkness fell a rush of excitement danced down his spine, and suddenly his magic surged savagely coming alive and setting his body aflame with the tingle of the night, all of the Court of Midnight benefitted from greatly enhanced magic at night. It came with the territory of guarding mankind during the hours of darkness. Still he knew that much of his power would not come to his call, no matter how hard he tried, the rest of the bindings still firmly in place.

Loren arrived at the club, and waited, he could feel Nariel's presence. Royal or not the woman's aura held the tantalizing hint of power. Trying to decide how to approach he realized he'd been sitting there staring at the doors for far too long and now she was coming to see what he wanted.

"Sorry I don't mean to lurk" he lied smoothly. "Just waiting for my buddies, I think they might've stood me up"

He removed his green full face helmet and smiled, his hazel eyes sparkling under the street lights. He wasn't exactly gorgeous, but he'd been told he had inherited his mothers hair and eyes and his fathers strong features. Rich gold and green eyes, a mess of thick dark brown hair, and a strong jaw with an ever present five o'clock shadow

"Or maybe they are just late. Why don't you come inside? It's not that chilly, but you would be more comfortable than sitting here alone on your bike", she didn't know why, but somehow she felt attracted to him.

He was not the handsomest man she had met, but he was really cute, and his deep hazel eyes were calling for her. Besides, he was a very well-built man and she found motorbikes quite adveturous...

But maybe he just wanted to be there.

"Or maybe you just want to stay here or go home. So don't let me interrupt you, I just came out for some fresh air.", she said as she headed back inside.

What were you thinking? He hasn't come in and he would do it if you invite him, she kept thinkiing what a fool she had been.

Loren weighed in his options and decided his best bet was to just try and talk her into spending some time with him. How the hell else was he going to get this to work? Her eyes had lingered on his bike for a few moments perhaps she was interested in motorcycles. It would be a stroke of good luck if she actually wanted to go for a ride. All he had to do then was get her across the border, and that would be as easy as mesmerizing a border guard into letting it happen. Walking toward the club he gritted his teeth. He hated clubs, if this wasn't the job that would reinstate him to the court and get him some semblance of a life back he wouldn't be caught dead within a hundred meters of a place like this. All the burned out oglers gaping at girls brutally exploiting their blind stupidity and oversexed imaginations, perhaps if they paid as much attention to their wives as they did the women on stage they'd actually get sex once in a while.

He stepped through the door and gave Nariel a grin, relaxing himself by force of will. If he had to come into a place like this he might as well have what fun he could.

"I caught you staring at my bike, what do you think?" He asked the young woman who would supposedly be his boss in a few short days time. His eyes caught hers and held them, his hazel hued orbs sparkling with mischief.

"You have a nice machine parked in there. Maybe you could take me home when my shift ends," she looked at her watch, "in about an hour. Meanwhile you could get it and have some fun. Maybe your frids show up at last, right? It is not too late yet."

She couldn't stop looking at his deep sparkling eyes, they were mesmerizing. She found some mischievous hints on his face, but couldn't think of a man like that doing any bad thing, so she trusted him. She doesn't usually asked men to drive her home, but there was something in that man that called for her. He could have taken her wherever he wanted.

"So, you want to come in?", she said pointing to the red thick velvet courtain that separated the entrance from the club. "If your friends don't come up in an hour, the bill is on me", she said leaning on her wrists and winking an eye on him.