I don't have an editor, so if you find any errors you must first take into account that I am British and spell things in UK English ie. "centre" rather than "center". Anything else is just laziness on my part and must not be tolerated.
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The Council of Elders had convened for the first time in five hundred years. Representatives of all the nations of the supernatural world were present: from the werewolves of the Americas, to the vampires of the European slums and even the abominations of the frozen Northern wastes. Every creature that dwelt under the beds of children or in the shadows of a darkened alley was advocated at the Council. Think of it as the UN of the Underworld.
Each member state belonged to a main faction, though - as in all politics - there were many blocs within them. The system had forged an uneasy accord between the previously warring groups, and the tenuousness of this peace was palpable in the main hall of the underground meeting place. The tension between the members of the council was so great that a raised voice or a rude remark could have been enough to collapse the entente and the world would have descended once more into chaos it hadn't seen since the Dark Ages.
The giant semi-circular room was centred on a dais on which the three heads of the Council were sat behind a great wooden table, carved with a design of the first war between their three races. The seats for the delegates were carved into the black marble of the room's walls in levels so that, like an amphitheatre, everyone had a perfect view of the centre. The great room was lit only by a giant gothic chandelier that clung to the domed ceiling like a spider; the glass changed colour depending on the angle of sight so no two people could ever agree on the true nature of its fantastic beauty. The floor between the seats and the dais was covered in an exotic blood-red marble, supposedly stained thus by many generations of horrific battles.
The Triumvirate of Blood sat in silence on the raised platform while the crowd shuffled and fidgeted in anticipation. The eagerness to attack each other was matched only by curiosity, curiosity that could only be satisfied by the men on the dais. They sat in thrones carved from the bones of slain giants and each wore a wreath woven from the branches of the oldest tree in the world. No one but the three powerful men knew the reason for the gathering, so the crowd were excited to find out what news meant that they were all summoned at such short notice. The eldest Elder, a wrinkled and blind vampire, stood. The room was silent in an instant as every being stopped moving and froze in place.
"You have been called forth, from your homes and families, because we face a threat the likes of which we have never before encountered." His voice was raspy and without accent but had a quality that meant that everyone in the room felt the words to their very cores. "The Triumvirate has received a vision, a vision that shows the destruction of all that we hold dear."
"A great Darkness shall sweep through the lands of this world, it shall devour every atom of the world and when it is sated it shall burn the Earth in its wake." The white-furred werewolf stood shakily and scanned the room with his future-clouded eyes. "It will rise from the Pit and we shall all be consumed."
"The creatures of the world will cry tears of blood as the Beast ravages this planet, but the Creator will not act." The third, a homunculus hewn from clay as old as the Earth itself, rose from his ivory throne and raised his arms in unison with the others. "All will perish, none will survive."
They sat down and exchanged almost invisible grins at the effect of their showmanship on their captive audience. Shock had made the delegates forget their voices. Then shouts and screams exploded from the rows of seating in the room. Accusations of betrayal began to fly and if it weren't for the lone homunculus, a war would have broken out.
"SILENCE." He boomed in a voice as cold and unforgiving as time. The creatures stopped mid-attack and sat in their seats again, a few making threatening gestures at their sparring partners.
"No being of this world is in any way responsible for this. The envoy of our destruction comes from the Pit. We can only hope to save ourselves by working together." Said the Vampire Elder.
"By fighting we only serve to aid the bringer of our demise. We must cooperate to hunt down he who would bring the Daemon into our reality." The werewolf was both a seer and a politician and he knew a common enemy would do more good for inter-species relations than any peace treaty.
"Daemon?" Cried the representative of the Russian Vampire Coalition. "But they are just stories to scare hatchlings!"
A bolt of black lightning flew from the Vampire Elder's outstretched hand and seared a hole through the arguer's unbeating heart, turning him to ash that settled on the cold marble of the floor. The Elder had long since come to terms with the loss of the use of his eyes and could sense the presence of anyone in the room by sound and scent alone. The blindness had taken him after his first vision hundreds of years ago, it was the price paid for seeing into the future - one lost sight of the present, literally.
"We three have meditated and each has received the same vision separately. This is no mere ploy to gain power or wealth. Oberoth, Malus and I have all seen what is to pass." The Werewolf Elder said as a mutter raced through the audience. "The End is coming, and we have been given an opportunity to send it straight back to Hell."
Despite his impossible age, Caesar was always charismatic to a fault and he knew his use of colloquialisms would stir up passion. Sure enough, several American wolves beat their chests in appreciation at the thought of killing something. Killing was something they excelled at, so they were always happy to go hunting.
"Calm yourselves children." Said Oberoth with a wave of his stone hand, for all were but children to him. "A task like this will require skills from more than one person."
A groan swept the hall. The homunculus expected them to hunt the Summoner together. Were it not for their sense of respect and the fear of being turned into a pile of dust, many would have spoken out. But as it was, they were forced to suffer in silence. The Triumvirate spoke again.
"A vampire and a werewolf will be chosen by their respective Elders this very night; they would travel at once and hunt the Summoner together." Said Malus. "There is to be no mercy, no restraint. If the Daemon were to survive its infancy after being summoned, it will conquer the world."
"We will separate for two hours and when we reconvene, we will make our decision." Said Caesar. "We cannot tarry, for the fate of the world rests on our shoulders."
A gong sounded and as the chandelier shock from the vibrations, the hall emptied of all but the three Elders. The noise of the delegates echoed down the long tunnel that linked them with the outside world and the Triumvirate waited until the last sound died away before they huddled together and spoke in hushed tones.
"This is wrong, they should hear the truth," whispered Caesar. He hated to deceive his pack brothers in such a way; he was tasked with upholding laws, not breaking them.
"We cannot allow the child to be born; he will destroy all that we have created here. We will lose all of our power." Hissed Malus, greediest of the three. "The murder of an innocent child is not something I consider lightly brothers, but all we have achieved in the last thousand years will be for naught if we do not act."
"The child is no innocent, he will change the balance of the universe, we are tasked with maintaining that balance," said Oberoth stoically, though he disliked the concept even more than the other two.
"But the change may be for the better, we don't know what will happen!" said Caesar plaintively. "You cannot judge the child guilty before it commits a crime. You must-"
