King Arthur walked the halls of his castle in Avalon. How he had missed it, and how was he pleased to see nothing had changed. Well, nothing other than the thick layers of dust that covered everything, the lack of servants, spiderwebs that filled every corner, and skeletons that lurked in the shadows.<br/><br/>Arthur was an ancient vampire, one of the first, and he could travel through this world, and the world of the dead. Even on this plane, he could see the souls trapped between. Their own sorrows and sense of needing something completed before they died kept them here. Humans would be unnerved by so many spirits roaming these halls, but Arthur found their company comforting. He was happy to see so many that were still loyal to him even Millennium past.<br/><br/>He gave the souls a warm and welcoming smile. "Yes, my servants, my friends, and my knights of past, I have returned to thee. I hope ye will welcome me back as if time meant nothing. Do so, and I will be able to grant you your lives back."<br/><br/>"Why should we listen to you? It's your fault we're DEAD!" one of his former knights said, shouting the last word to put as much emphasis as possible.<br/><br/>"I am deeply sorry that you feel that way," King Arthur said, sadness in his voice and eyes. "Forget your anger, and passover to the next life." With a wave of the king's hand, the knight disappeared.<br/><br/>"I've served you well in the past," another knight spoke up, as he kneeled before him, "please, I beg thee, Sire. Allow me to go join my family."<br/><br/>The King nodded, and, with another wave of his hand, the knight was gone.<br/><br/>By the time the King had finished, only two servants stood before him. Deeply saddened by this, yet greatful that they had chosen to stay, the King said, "You two have a lot of work to be done. Take care not to over do it and hurt yourselves, but clean up around here."<br/><br/>The two, both young boys, nodded and grinned, before they dashed off to begin there cleaning. They were eager, but unsure of where to start.<br/>~~~~~<br/>Lysonna's father left the room for a rather long time. Sighing to herself, Lysonna went to the living room to sit on the couch and patiently wait for her father to return. When he did, he was carrying a box that looked really heavy, and he struggled to carry it over to her.<br/><br/>"This... is a gift... from your mother," her father said, voice strained from the heavy weight that he was holding. Placing the box on the floor, he continued, "She told me to give these to you before she died."<br/><br/>Lysonna opened the box to find leather armor, a longbow with intricate designs of a vine stem and leaves wrapped around it, a quiver, and a rather light long sword. "Dad... These are amazing! And they're from mom?"<br/><br/>Her father nodded, a sad smile on his lips. "They're Elven made, and meant to help you with this burden of saving the world."<br/><br/>"Nice choice of words," she said sarcastically. "No pressure there..."