Enthrall the Night

Looking for a Stranger

It is said, that the day the house of dragons fell, the Goddess of light died with it. And once she was gone, the world was plunged into darkness.

For almost a century, war prevailed. The long-standing races fought in the shadows, while the corpses piled under them. Thousands lost their lives. Dragons became extinct.

Finally, the surviving forces came to an agreement. Power was divided into four: the vampire kings took the north and the werewolves clans the south. The elven nobility kept their Eastern territories, and the West would become a base for the Arbitrators, judges over all.

Nobody remembered the humans. After all, prey is seldom thought of outside the hunt.

But who would have guessed that light would be found among them?

* * *

I had it with the same old routine,

I had it with the same old faces, places

Every night, in my life

I started feeling washed up, washed out, hung up, wrung out, left to dry out

Every night

But I know

Yeah, I know you're out there, somewhere

Oh, I, I can almost hear you callin'

I'm looking for a stranger in the night

I need a little danger in my life

Tonight

Looking for a Stranger - Pat Benatar

* * *

Every fifth summer solstice the representatives of the three nations, Bostovia, Emunal, and Cartany would gather in a selected city and discuss the laws that governed their union. It had been decreed so long ago in the treaty of Llibre when the Great War had ended.

It was a crucial event, made to ensure democracy and freedom reigned in all existing countries. At least, that's how it was written in the history books. In truth, the summit had become the perfect excuse for nobles and politicians to party, congratulate each other, and make political and economic deals.

Quintus Regis Noctem, the third King of Bostovia, was over it. He was, in fact, so utterly bored by the summit, that he felt himself languish even before the dreaded date, while he was driving to the event.

He sat in his dark car, reading his schedule for the coming week, and sighed in dismay.

Centuries of living as a vampire should have prepared him for this. Wasn't time supposed to flow quicker when one had an eternity? And yet, he felt every tick of his watch slowly warning him of the approaching, inevitable boredom.

His travel companion and secretary, Rorik, wasn't much of a distraction either. The fellow vampire sat in front of him, writing speeches and answering e-mails on his laptop, and only spoke to inform him about relevant details for the coming meetings.

Quin had tried to suggest they cancel their trip at one point. He had offered to pay for a relaxing stay in a resort instead. His proposals had, however, been quickly silenced by the deadliest of stares.