Cersie reflected on his time with the other vampire, the one who had imprisoned him. Iseulith agreed that the other may have been quite young though it was impossible to know for sure now that they were dead. Killed by the elemental, he reflected. Or so it seemed. Vampires did not die very often anymore and thusly when something untoward happened to one, it was widely communicated through the vampire covens and witch clans alike. Iseulith did not subscribe to their method of gossip riddled news, preferring the entirely of truth as opposed to the meandering rumination of his supernatural counter parts. He isolated himself almost entirely from it, only delving into their shared world when a need arose that he could not fulfill himself. He was much like the elemental in this regard, though he preferred the dark seclusion of his personal space over the open sky as Cersie did. He listened with mild amusement at the knowledge of the wind creature’s healing capabilities. Vampire’s could not regrow entire limbs but they were able to reattach them if given enough time. Scars however were not a thing of concern. A vampire’s body was their most gruesome and formidable weapon as well as a gorgeous lure that made them all the picture of perfection, leaving behind no scars or asymmetrically to their form.<br/><br/><br/>The vampiric curse gave them eternal life and beauty at a great cost however. The thirst for blood was one and it was a terrible burden. The unending, unquenchable burn at the back of his throat, an ever present reminder of his true nature; but there was another far more egregious loss. During the Turning, a mortal transformed into a vampire would lose a portion of their soul, leaving behind an emptiness that could never be filled. The Lacuna. It was the true mark of the curse, the anchor through which the blood consumed was swallowed up. No vampire undead or ash knew of where the hole truly lead but for each vampire a trait of their humanity was lost forever.<br/><br/><br/>For Iseulith, the cost had been his ability to empathize with others over his own selfish greed. A trait he learned to mimic well enough over vast amounts of time to convince others that he was not truly the monster that all vampires in fact were. For others it was perhaps another sin. Envy was a common one among them. Some were prone to gorge themselves on flesh. Some were so withdrawn that they merely wasted away into dried mummified skin and brittle bones. Some even lusted so greatly over their wards that they ended up massacring them one after another, never finding the true reprieve of admiration they desired. One thing that was certain, however, was that all vampires existed in a haze of their own vanity and pride. A cruel twist of fate that the strength of their confidence was also their greatest weakness.<br/><br/><br/>Cersie admitted his longing for more of the vampire’s blood, further deepening the feelings the ancient held secretly that he had perhaps found something he truly cherished. Something that would be his forever, providing him with immense power as well as an undying source of blood. The thought drove him wild if only internally and his face remained a complacent mask of quiet contemplation and relaxed candor. He smiled at Cersie’s questioning of his own blood’s tale. “It did indeed. It whispered to me as I slept through each day that you were gone. It told me of your urges for destruction as much as it did of your love for the open sky. I found myself wishing to fly… something I have never been able to experience, even as a vampire, oddly enough.” Other vampires could fly, he knew. They could transform themselves into a cloud of bats, some of the ancients could even shift into a large bat like creature and take to the skies under covered of darkness, silently sweeping through the clouds high above. Iseulith had not awakened from his mortal life with any such abilities. He had not even given thought to being envious of the missing trait given that he was in possession of another skill set entirely. “I wished to churn the oceans and twist the winds as you do. When you flew off, all of these emotions of pure … oh, I don’t have a word to describe it. It was like being struck by lightning but instead of being stricken I was overwhelmed with … relief.” Happiness was the word that he was searching for, but the emotion was impossible for a vampire to feel and thusly something he never would be capable of understanding fully. It had been too long since he had know it’s warmth.<br/><br/><br/>Iseulith laughed at Cersie’s own comparisons and nodded his head briefly, “Yes, I wanted to delight in throwing the world into chaos. I have never felt that before. Controlled chaos… it was a breathtaking experience.” The ancient vampire was a neutral evil in the world and did not delight in chaos that served him no direct purpose. It had been quite a change for him to feel such things and find so much pleasure in them.<br/><br/><br/>In truth, the vampire was also very much alone. He had the company of his familiars, but they were not true companions as they largely had no true will of their own, no aspirations other than fulfilling their own needs. They were not creative or thoughtful. They were merely tools attached to a physical form that gave them freedom of movement outside of the realm of night where the ancient existed always. Cersie was something else entirely. He was truly alive and held within him all of the things that a living creature ought to. It made the vampire envious in some regard, but not enough for him to experience jealousy, only a mild regret that his own life had been forfeit against his will and better judgement. He had been so young when he was taken and his life had never been his own, even before that. He wished to live through this man before him, to revel in his achievements in a way that would have forever eluded him had they not crossed paths.<br/><br/><br/>The elemental asked why Iseulith would change his home for him and he thought the truth would be a far better cover than a hastily fashioned lie. “I would do it eventually with or without you accompanying me. The truth of the matter is that I cannot stay in one place for hundreds of years like many of my kin. I grow weary of the world around me quickly and seek new places to revisit. I have explored a great portion of the planet and I have my favorites but the landscape has changed so much that I feel too far removed to enjoy any of it anymore. I enjoy you however, and would seek to stay in your company for as long as you allow it. That is why I offer.” He made a sweeping gesture to the house around them, “This means nothing to me. It never has. The surrounding lands hold very little of value to me either and I would rather see them vanished than to lose you for even a moment more than is necessary.” He paused, taking Cersie’s gaze, “You would like to mention again that we do not know each other well enough for this and you would be correct. You have no obligation to trust me or to believe that I do not wish to harm you, but the fact remains that we are both in need of something that only the other can supply.”<br/><br/><br/>Iseulith listened as Cersie made mention of the fire elemental called upon by the Ironfire witches and he settled perhaps a bit cautiously in his seat. They had met before but the man did not state that they were in any way familiar with each other, though the thought prodded a warning call in the back of his mind. He still knew too little of the other elementals and did not feel as thought he wished to happen upon any of them. Cersie himself seemed to be dangerous enough under the right circumstances. It was why he was so cautious even now with the elemental barricaded within the void, separated from his source of power. He seemed to apologize for frightening Utaa and Cixathe but the vampire merely laughed it away with a wave of his manicured hand, “They likely deserved it…”<br/><br/><br/>“In regards to your honesty, I think you are perhaps too honest. I believe that you are simply unaware of your needs outside of being … well, you. What I mean is that you were born of the wind, but you decided at some point to gain a human form, did you not? Perhaps you don’t fully understand the impact of such a decision. Humans are strange and complicated creatures. They are in possession of many needs that they do not fully understand. It is part of what makes them unique.” He referred to humans as others, though he at one point had been one as well and he surmised that he was perhaps just as complex at one point. Being changed had distilled him into something much less so, even if the complexities of his mind still existed, they were a thing easily determined if one possessed the correct key to his pattern of thought. Vampires as well as elementals existed for a singular purpose after all. They did not require such things as misguided human emotions to drive them forward.<br/><br/><br/>The blood Iseulith drank restored him quickly to his former self. His face seemed less guant and restored of its luster and smooth texture. The dark circles that corroded his under eye area disappeared as the shade of his eyes pulled upward into their familiar iridescent red glow. He pulled back from the lad, releasing him and almost as if the chance meeting had been timed perfectly a soft knock issued at the door of their current quarters. The vampire looked irritated as he glanced over his shoulder and then back to his ward. “Please, do not panic my love. The feeling will pass much more quickly than last time, but you must remain calm.” His concern was not so much for Cersie as it was that the witch beyond that door might notice something amiss and start asking questions he did not wish to answer. Cersie was so unusual to the eye that she would surely notice him. He only hoped that he could explain away the elementals pale features as a lack of blood but if he suddenly came to himself during their meeting as he likely would, his reaction to being released from the paralysis would determine the level of attention he would receive from the woman.<br/><br/><br/>Iseulith removed himself from the man’s lap to straighten the bright chartreuse and pale gray garments embellished with gold trim that clothed his form. The fabric shimmered in the sudden light of the candles that had all immediately lit themselves at his beckoning his guest to enter. The doors to the parlor opened with a soft rasp just as the fireplace next to where they sat bloomed into a crackling stoked flame as if it had been lit for hours. All of it was completely for show, and the vampire looked magnificent, bathed in all of the warm light. He reached up to gently flick his hair back over his shoulders, away from his perfect predatory face when the woman entered.<br/><br/><br/>-<br/><br/><br/>The witch stepped in from the hall beyond, looking miffed and accosted at being lead into the den of a vampire by his simple minded familiar. Likely it was Utaa who guided her through the winding corridors but she was unable to tell them apart when they weren’t slithering around as horrible giant snakes. She looked around the room and her features twisted into a wicked smirk,<i>“You put on a fabulous show, dear Iseulith. Is this all just for me?”</i>She was tall and thick of hip and bosom, a carefully crafted face and body of everlasting youth and sexual appeal wrapped in an outrageously expensive looking gown of flowing lilac fabric that spilled around her and looked to be cinched painfully tight around her thin waist. Brilliant silvery hair was pulled into a series of intricate braids that wound around themselves to create a masterpiece of ornamentation at the crown of her head with the remainder left to spill down her back in endless waves. It was her eyes however that belied her true nature. Pitch black, like dark unlit coal, they moved across the ceiling mural of battles past, full of derision and mockery. “<i>Are you trying to remind me of something you sly devil?”</i><br/><br/><br/>Iseulith retained his composure at the slight and smiled brightly, fangs still exposed, swiping the leftover blood from his lips with his tongue. “I thought it would only be appropriate for us to meet under the historical representation of what keeps us from ripping each other’s throats out.” He cooed, tilting his head a bit, “You’ve only just narrowly avoided interrupting me feeding, so I would have us make this a brief meeting, that I might get back to it.” The vampire was almost certain that the best place to hide his secret was right out in the open. The witch was less likely to question his motives this way. She awarded him by giving the elemental a brief look of misguided disgust before erasing him from her mind entirely. Witches were so short sighted.<br/><br/><br/>“<i>I would rather not be exposed to this garish representation of a room a moment longer than necessary.</i>” She retorted, “<i>Though I must say, I love what you’ve done with the place. It is … very You.</i>”