This was why he hated humans.
This was why he shouldn't have stopped terrorizing them.
Sylas chuckled. "Tonight, you will meet your end as well. Light the stake!"
"No, no, no. Please, stop. I said... STOP!!" Dragavei lurched forward suddenly.
With his last strength, he pulled down the pillars his shackles were fastened to, and struck down two men, driving a fist into another's heart.
His gaze snapped to Alina while Radu watched intently. As Dragavei moved towards her, his brother, moved too, appearing in front of him to block his path.
"You are weak," he stated. "Yield."
"Never."
"Let her go, brother." Radu said "Let the mortal go"
"Why should I?" Dragavei questioned in return "She has done nothing wrong. It is me you hold contempt for. Punish me."
Radu threw back his head and cackled. "I never thought I'd hear you utter such words. The mighty Dragavei," he circled his brother, "The Răsărit al întunericului." he stopped and scowled, "In love with a mortal woman."
"Why does this upset you so?" Dragavei demanded.
Radu gritted his teeth, switching to an ancient tongue, that the people wouldn't understand.
"You wanted peace. Peace with mere mortals. Peace with prey!"
"I am three centuries and eighty-five years old, Radu. Not only have I grown tired of the massacre, but I have come to realize there is indeed good among them"
Dragavei's chest was killing him but he didn't want his brother to notice. "Release Alina"
"No"
He grew out his claws and Radu scoffed, "You think you can best me? In this state?"
A hiss was Dragavei's reply, but before he could act, four spears were driven into his back by Sylas' men that they impaled him to the ground. Two pierced his side.
He released a growl of sheer anguish, blood oozing from his body.
Not long after, he heard them light the stake, and soon the screams of his wife filled his ears.
Dragavei was in inexplicable anguish. His wounds weren't healing, but he knew it couldn't be compared to the one Alina faced.
Slowly, he gazed upon his wife, his heart tearing at the sight. It didn't take long for the fire to engulf her completely.
Her cries of anguish pierced the atmosphere. They pierced his mind yet the people around rejoiced.
The town leader lowered himself and stared into Dragavei's eyes. "As we speak, the rest of my men hunt down whatever number of nightwalkers, those you sired and those you did not. We have a way of seeking them out"
He rose to his feet and looked at Radu, an evil smile on his face. "Tonight, you die too"
Radu laughed "Do you jest with me, Sylas? We had an agreement—one signed in blood. I provide you with whatever you need to take him down and we have an allegiance"
"I do not ally with bloodsuckers"
Enraged, Radu gestured to Sylas' men, "You think your puny men are a match for me?"
"No," he replied calmly, walking towards him. "You see I did not trust you when you stated the terms of our agreement. Why would you seek alliance with us when you could as easily bring terror upon us, as he once did? I deemed it likely you harboured some hidden intent, so I spoke with the shaman. In her loathing for your kind, she was most willing to oblige."
Sylas started to smile, "You see, the curse put on Dragavei does not burden him alone… it burdens his entire bloodline."
Radu's face paled.
"Meaning that, at this very moment, you are just as weak as your brother, and mine own men could destroy you with ease," he paused. "Aye, it would be a simpler feat, knowing that you are not as strong as him."
He released a long, raucous laugh and the rest of his men followed suit.
"Put him down, lads"
Radu snarled as three wooden arrows pierced his skin. Two in both his shoulders, one in his chest.
He broke it off and hissed in defense as the men assembled around him, each one bearing stakes.
Radu fought, being able to take down four men and breaking out of the circle, but when two more wooden arrows stipped in Stalic poison pierced his back, he slowed to a stop, allowing the hunters to catch up with him.
They started to stab him with their wooden weapons till he fell to the ground in defeat.
Dragavei watched them drive a stake through his brother's heart and Radu's eyes never left his till he turned into a pile of ash.
He was now alone.
Alina's screams had ceased a while ago but they still rang ever so harshly in his head.
He could see her charred body through the flames.
In her last moments, he had smelled her intense fear, as well as her love for him.
"Did Lysandra not vow he would perish, at the least, half an hour after the curse's enrootment. Why in the name of the gods, does he still draw breath?" Sylas muttered in frustration.
Dragavei grieved Alina. He grieved for the son he never got to meet, hoping he survived. And he grieved for himself.
He grieved because he knew it was only a matter of time before he passed on too.
But he would make sure to take the bastards along with him.
He let out a powerful roar, and the clouds rumbled again, lightning flashing across the skies. The earth rumbled.
"What manner of sorcery is transpiring?"
"He's the devil himself!"
"We have angered the devil, may God save us all!"
The townspeople cried out in terror.
Dragavei started to pull himself out of the spears that impaled him to the ground, and the hunters shifted back watching him in awe, too stunned to speak.
When he was free, he crashed to his knees and looked up to the heavens.
With his final shred of strength and a guttural cry, he summoned the element of lightning, striking down the people in the surroundings.
The lightning was so great, that it consumed every fiber of his being, draining him as if it were pulling his very life force from within.
Blood seeped from his eyes, nose, and ears as the lightning ripped through the sky, striking down everyone in its path, scorching the earth, and turning the surroundings to ash.
When the last of his enemies were burned beyond repair, Dragavei collapsed to the ground and died.
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(RADU'S BETRAYAL)
(DAYS BEFORE DRAGAVEI'S DEATH)
"Dragavei Dimitru, the one who reigned terror on the human race for a century is not a myth. He lives among us" Radu announced at the meeting with the human council, and the people started to murmur.
He lowered himself to a chair next to Sylas and folded his arms gracefully.
"I know this because he is my blood, and my sire" he continued.
The men beside him leaped out of their chairs in fear, shuffling back.
"You need not be afraid, I have come to you with a proposal, one that largely favours you" He looked at the faces of the men in the room. "I shall aid you in putting an end to his reign"
Sylas' gaze was distrustful. "You are his blood, why should we put our trust in you?"
Another man in the room spoke "What's to say you won't turn on us? And why now? Why this sudden empathy for us humans?"
Radu responded "I assure you my intentions are pure. My brother is ... brutal. He holds little regard for me and I grow tired of this. All I ask is we join forces to stop him"
He rose to his feet and moved forward "You have a lot to gain from this alliance. Unlike my brother, I'm willing to share the valuable knowledge I possess. These could serve as solutions to your innumerable problems" His arms were folded behind, his chin tipped high. "Dragavei has been silent for a while now, but he will strike again, and soon. His reign of terror must end permanently. We should best him while he's unprepared"
Radu continued his speech "I want him gone as much as you do. Join me, and together we'll rid ourselves of this menace"
"And what do you have to gain from this?"
"Aye, the question should be, what do you have to gain from this?" He stepped forward "All I ask is a balanced coexistence. We need not hide in the shadows anymore, but for you, I have promised knowledge, protection, wealth..."
The men in the room started to murmur and exchange glances.
"But the ultimate gift I shall grant... the gift of immortality, if you so desire it"
Sylas scoffed "Balanced coexistence? This is most likely a ruse"
"I swear I shall regulate the vampire population. You need not be afraid, for I assure you that no harm shall come to the humans"
The town leader started to think deeply. "We would like a demonstration of your power. If you are what you claim to be, show us"
Radu produced his fangs, letting out a hiss, and the people believed.
He continued, "Think of it, an era where vampires and humans coexist peacefully with me, and some appointed humans to keep things in check. A reasonable thing, is it not? I shall expect your answer by the morrow"
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After Radu left, he was convinced he had gained the trust of the humans. His intention was never to uphold his promise, he had planned to betray them later on. However, Sylas had anticipated his deceit.