Revenge Upon the Vampyres

Adventures in the Metaverse 3

Preface

These are the tales of Eternal Voyager. They come to me from EV himself and I like to think these stories are largely true, but I have taken the liberty of amending them to adjust a certain self-congratulatory bias in the original versions.

The craze for vampyres has not fully gone away, I suppose there will always be those for whom the mythos appeals, but not so many of us play on the dark side of our psyches these days. There was a time, however, in the early 1000s, when a great vampyre craze swept through the metaverse. This is how those times looked to Eternal Voyager, although once again I take the liberty of amending his account in the interests of avoiding too much self-promotion.

1. Castle Grimwald

Outside, where the moon glistened like an all-seeing eye, a wolf howled from the depths of a lonely forest. On this side of the criss-crossings of a large lead window pane was a great chamber lit with a subdued crimson glow. Three avatars - a male and two females - were standing beside an enormous fireplace, their arguments being attended to by the untiring gaze of the princes and princesses whose portraits lined the walls.

‘There is only one solution sister; he must become one of the clan.’

‘And if I refuse?’

‘This is no concern of yours mortal! The decision is ours alone.’

Eternal Voyager, dressed in a velvet suit complete with an embroidered silk cravat, helped himself to another glass of wine.

‘In that case,’ he stood, back to the dying fire. ‘I shall merely observe.’

‘That would be wise.’ For her dress Angel had chosen a hoop-raised scarlet ballgown; her ruby earrings and necklace sparkled red.

‘You were foolish to bring him here. The elders will punish you for it.’ Poppy had gone for the pale look: her avatar had a white, near luminous, skin, which made a striking contrast with her black lace bodice.

‘Strangely, I could hardly resist his charming manner.’ Angel gave Eternal an irreverent wink and a warm feeling of affection for her swelled in his chest. In general, the vampyres took their roles too seriously but Angel's willingness to laugh at herself and them was one of her most admirable traits. He was relieved too, for in recent months, Angel's involvement in the game had been intense and her efforts to convert him very insistent.

‘Strange indeed,’ Poppy scowled, ‘when a vampyre succumbs to a mortal.’

‘A rather cute one though, don’t you agree?’ With a wave of her hand, Angel filled the room with music of a baroque flavour. She curtsied to Eternal, who bowed, and soon they were stepping to a dance nearly as ornate as the design on the carpet beneath their feet.

‘Sister, I find your manner extremely frivolous. It is no light matter to allow a mortal in to the innermost sanctum of Clan Grimwald.’

'Some mortals are not so easily seduced. This one, for example, is far more susceptible to a well crafted environment and sophisticated game rules than a short skirt and cleavage.'

'Mortal.' Poppy turned to Eternal with a grimace that briefly exposed her fangs. 'Do you not tremble with fear at the terrible danger to which you have exposed yourself?'

'Hmmm?' said EV, glancing at the bodice of his dancing partner. Now that Angel had drawn his attention to her cleavage, he could not help but appreciate the delicious sensation of her soft breasts against his chest.

'Wonderful heaving bosom Angel,' he whispered, 'somehow very appropriate to this scene.'

'Swift Collision made them, they have independent physical modelling for their wobbles. The bodice, on the other hand, is mostly my work. But my dear, you should pay attention to Poppy, she is really is becoming genuinely irritated. We vampyres take our role-playing very seriously.'

'Too seriously.'

'But that's what makes our world so immersive and such a challenge. So for my sake, please try.'

'Of course,' whispered Eternal and looked over Angel's shoulder at Poppy, who had moved closer and was slapping the edge of one hand into the palm of the other to emphasise her points.

'You are a hundred miles away from the edge of the teleport zone. The forest that surrounds the castle is stalked by creatures more dread than you have ever encountered. You human body is no match for that of a vampyre and you cannot change it...'

'Really?' Immediately, Eternal tried to swap into the first alternative form that came to hand in his cluttered inventory: a grasshopper. But, to his dismay, his request was denied. It looked as if in order to play their game properly, the vampyres had turned off most of the functions EV took for granted and he particularly resented not being able to access private chats or messages. This fixing of his body shape to the one he had worn when entering the realm was another unaccustomed shackle. At least he had arrived in the form of a rather becoming avatar.

'You are defenceless.' If she were striving to act menacing, Poppy was doing a good job.

'Oh really? Well what about this!' Accessing the inventory folder that he had created earlier, when he had agreed to enter the game, EV pulled out a small purple Cthuhlu. He stepped away from Angel and brandished the stuffed toy in Poppy's direction. 'Back foul creature of the night!'

'What's that?' Poppy sounded curious and not in the least bit intimidated.

'It's the symbol of an ancient god and you have to cower before it, don't you?' EV could hear his voice tail off lamely: it was hard to be assertive when both vampyres were grinning at him as though he were a fool.

Poppy took a step closer.

'Then how about ... this!' A hammer.

She took another step, shaking her head.

In quick succession Eternal produced a Ying and Yang pendant; a plastic dog-headed man; a silver hand; a five dollar note; and a model horse. None of them achieved anything other than to cause Angel to chuckle. Exasperated and regretting the few minutes he'd spent researching vampyres in advance of the game, EV reached for an ornate pair of duelling pistols and fired them straight at Poppy.

The smoke cleared and EV's ears stopped ringing, allowing him to see Poppy looking at the two holes in her chest, two holes that were rapidly healing over.

'None of your weapons can harm us.'

Checking again, it certainly was the case that most of his weapons were greyed out as inaccessible in this region. Apart from a small number of old-fashioned guns, the weapons that Eternal could use were mostly swords and daggers or variants thereof. At the head of what was still a very long list of usable weapons, however, was 'Acutus', his favourite sword. This blade had been forged by Stormrider II and was so sharp that it could trim the oxygen atom off a molecule of water. Breaking away from his partner, Eternal plucked the sword from his inventory and as soon as she saw it, Poppy hissed with surprise and dismay.

Triumphant, Eternal let his weapon swish through the air; the effortless motion of the sword was accompanied by a distinct crackling sound. 'You were saying?'

Somewhat taken aback, Poppy directed her attention to Angel.

'And now, Sister, he dares brandish a naked weapon in our sanctum. He must be punished. I am summoning Lord Grimwald.' Poppy took a small bell from the mantelpiece and rang it. The chime was so high-pitched as to be nearly inaudible.

'Yes, indeed, he must be punished.' Angel winked at him. 'Will you accompany me to our dungeons, where I shall ensure your conversion to our order is a most intense and memorable experience.'

'Actually, Angel, I tire of this insistence by all my friends that I become a vampyre. I don't think it's my kind of game really, sorry. Can we leave now?'

Something dark and unpleasant flowed across Angel's face for a moment. But she shook herself and her smile was quickly restored.

'Of course, my love, if that's what you want. I'll order the carriage.'

'A moment please.' A huge oak panelled door had swung open without a sound and into the chamber stepped a strikingly handsome man whose long white hair was held back by a silver crown. 'Eternal Voyager? I've heard so much about you, I'd be disappointed if you left so soon.'

'Lord Grimwald.' Poppy was kneeling, her silk skirts spread around her. Angel was kneeling too, head bowed. It was still possible for Eternal to see her expression and he was troubled. Never had he seen such a look of adulation on her face.

'Join me please,' Lord Grimwald ignored the women and gestured to a beautiful polished table, on which stood a silver tray with wine and goblets. 'Let me explain how our world works.'

Eternal hesitated, but the pleading look in Angel's eyes won him over. It pained him though, to see Angel so committed to this game that she was abasing herself before this - admittedly charismatic - figure. Still holding Acutus, whose silver blade flashed scarlet and yellow as it reflected the firelight, Eternal walked to the table and with his free hand pulled out a plush scarlet-cushioned chair for himself. He did not pick up the wineglass that the vampyre lord pushed across the table towards him.

Lord Grimwald smiled. It was a smile that must have taken a hundred years to script. Somehow it suggested a bond existed between them, a mutual respect and understanding. It suggested that Lord Grimwald understood and appreciated all of Eternal's best qualities. EV didn't like it one bit.

2. Free Will

'You understand how a new member is recruited to the clan?' Lord Grimwald paused by a chess board to straighten a piece, a bishop.

Eternal nodded. Several times now Angel had suggested that she bite his neck and consume enough blood to transform him.

'When you recruit ten new members, you are knighted and gain all the rights of that status, including the right to speak at council. When your recruits are all knights, then you become a marquis with a castle of your own, which you are free to design according to your tastes. Should ten of your followers become castle owners in their own right, then you become a count and can vote at the inner council, directing the affairs of our clan, as well as command your thousand warriors in battle.'

'Got it, a pyramid scheme.'

A frown momentarily crossed the brow of Lord Grimwald. 'Does it not appeal? Your own moonlit lonely castle on the craggy border adjacent to an enemy clan. Feuds. Wars. Seductions?'

'Somewhat. But it also sounds rather, hmm, constraining.'

'How so?'

'I have to allow a vampyre, albeit one as lovely as Angel, to redefine my psychology. And I have to accept the rules of this game without question. And since I value my autonomy and have an instinctive reaction to rules that causes me to want to break them, we are both better off if I pursue other interests.'

'If you join us voluntarily, I'll make you a count.'

Poppy gasped.

'That's very generous...' Eternal paused as though considering the offer. 'What happens when a count dies?'

'If you die in battle or otherwise serving the clan, I'll restore you to your position at once. Otherwise, you'll have to work your way up from the bottom.'

'But I mean, after I die, I'll still be a vampyre?'

'We advise every member to make a backup as soon as they've been recruited. That way, if you die, you remain a vampyre and a member of the clan.'

'I see. And if I decline to volunteer?' EV stressed the word volunteer.

'Why, you are free to depart, of course.'

There was a look in the black depths of Lord Grimwald's eyes that made Eternal feel distinctly uneasy. It was a look that was both amused and avaricious.

'Cheers, Well, thanks again for the invitation. But the game doesn't suit me so I'll be off. Angel, are you coming?'

'Oh, EV. No. A count! Just think of the fun we could have designing our lonely castle. Of the challenge of dealing with the many factions of council at the next assembly. Of the sensual pleasures that will follow the next clan dance.'

With a shake of his head, EV stood up, sword still unsheathed in his hand.

'Come, sweetheart. More joyful games than this are beckoning. And if your tastes are for lonely castles, then let us create one together, on our own terms. Let's leave the vampyres to their world.'

'I... ' Again, Angel looked fierce and troubled. 'If that's what you want.' She stood up. 'Apologies Lord Grimwald. I'll return to the castle in a few days. As she walked towards EV, the taps of her heels sounding loud on the polish oak floor, his heart leapt with pleasure and he held out his hand for hers.

'Angel.' Lord Grimwald's voice was stern. 'Sit on that couch and wait there without saying another word.'

Astonishingly, Angel turned away, her eyes glazing over. She did indeed take a seat on the couch. There she sat, head down, forlorn, it seemed, from having angered her master.

Eternal let his arm drop. 'Angel. Is the game that important to you? Are you really going to let this boorish man command you?'

She said nothing. Nor did she move to meet his eye or in any other way acknowledge his words. Amazed and shocked, Eternal turned to Poppy. There was a wide-eyed attentiveness in Poppy's expression whose meaning was impossible to decipher? Fascination? Horror?

'Poppy?'

Before Poppy could say a word, Lord Grimald held out a pale slender arm and made a brushing motion with his fingers. Immediately, Poppy dropped her head again and held herself, stiff and obedient.

'What's wrong with them?' asked EV.

Lord Grimwald smiled a mocking smile. 'They are under my spell. And this power, too, could be yours.'

This game was no longer fun; it was an outrageous imposition. Until now, Eternal had thought that Poppy and Angel were simply role-playing. After all, they were both excellent actors and entered fully into the spirit if the games they joined. But even before Lord Grimwald's shocking display of control over Angel, there had been something in her tone of voice and her deferential looks towards her clan leader that suggested the experience of becoming a vampyre had changed her. That an important part of her being had surrendered.

This thought made him angry, an experience he was still not used to and he paused to note the pounding of his heart, the flush of heat in his face, and the desire to punch Lord Grimwald in the face. Fascinating. He explored the feeling some more and found that he could fuel his anger by thinking of how awful it was for someone to tamper with another person's individuality and autonomy.

No one was speaking aloud, but the room was filled with tension and meaningful glances between the vampyres. EV's fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. It now occurred to Eternal that he might actually be in danger and it was a comfort to feel that at least he had some kind of defence here.

It was hard to interpret the subtle communications between the vampyres and time and again EV's quick-moving gaze returned to Lord Grimwald. For a moment it crossed his mind to sever the vampyre's head from his shoulders with Acutus to see if the vampyre's smile still managed to look quite so complacent on a face that was rolling around the floor. Such an action might wake up Poppy and Angel too.

Almost as if he could read EV's thoughts, Lord Grimwald stood up and strode to the tall doors of the chamber.

'Your carriage will be waiting for you.'

And he was gone.

A pressure, that EV had been unconscious of until that moment, suddenly lifted from his mind.

'Either of you want a ride?

'I'm staying.' Poppy answered, rising from the ground and brushing her skirts.

Angel did not even meet his eyes. EV walked over to her and was about to place a hand on her shoulder, when she roared up at him, eyes blazing, fangs wide.

Taking a few steps back, afraid and dismayed, EV gave a brief bow of his head to them both and then left for the wide marble staircase that descended to the castle entrance.

3. A Dark Forest

A large black carriage was waiting outside the building for Eternal Voyager. Beside it, a pallid and elderly gentlemen stood to attention, one hand on the door handle. At EV’s approach the man opened the door, gave a courteous bow, and then offered his other arm. It was necessary to put away Acutus to take the arm and climb the two steps into the carriage. And EV did so, although rather than put the blade back into his inventory, he sheathed it at his side. Seemingly oblivious to the significance of the gesture, the servant did not even offer EV the slightest glance. As soon as EV had entered the carriage, the man moved away from door and the whole vehicle rocked as the servant swung himself up and on to the front seat.

'Which way sir?' the driver leaned back to call through a carriage window.

'It doesn't matter, just to the nearest point that I can use the teleport function again.'

'Very good sir.'

With a crack of the whip they were off and the carriage rattled over cobblestones until it bumped it's way onto a dirt path. It was night-time of course—it was always night-time in vampyre controlled regions—and the forest they were passing through seemed to press close around them. For a while EV tried to take some interest in the scenery, but as a result of one of the many irritating rules of the game his infravision was disabled here and he quickly tired of the sight of tree upon tree, dimly rushing by, illuminated by the weak yellow light coming from the carriage's two lanterns.

Sinking back into his seat, his feelings composed and calm again after that encounter with Lord Grimwald, EV turned his attention to the carriage's interior. The design was excellent, detailed even down to the slight signs of wear on the velvet cushions that he now tore open with a knife. When he put the knife tip to the gold leaf on the wooden walls, the decoration came away in distinct fragments: in other words, the designer had not taken any short cuts. It would have been a lot less effort to simply colour the wood black and gold, rather than add the extra layer of gold leaf.

Despite an occasional lurch and the constant swaying of the carriage, EV managed to carve out a passable heart outline over the Grimwald coat-of-arms, then he managed a wobbly EV + ANGEL 4 EVER in the interior of it. The thought that Angel might see his handiwork warmed him. But not for long. It was depressing but undeniable that Lord Grimwald had gained some kind of hold over Angel.

While Eternal dwelt in melancholic fashion upon the plight of his lover, the carriage came to a halt. Two thumps and a rustle of undergrowth, then all was quiet and still.

'Hello?' EV leaned out of the carriage window. There was no sign of the driver. Nor was there any obvious reason for the vehicle to have stopped. The horses ahead of him were standing between two narrow rows of dark trees, whose branches met overhead, so that there was no sign of moon or stars, only a faint colour from the reflection of the carriage's lamps. In rapid succession EV tried to teleport, to fly, to contact his friends, and to change shape. Then, feeling distinctly uneasy, he drew Actus once more. Even having the elegant blade in his hand did not offer much reassurance. This was a threatening situation and one where he might easily lose all the insight he now had into the harmful impact of the vampyre game on his friends, especially Angel.

Not normally a being who took precautions, EV's intuition that he was in a duel of some sort with Lord Grimwald led him to rummage in his inventory. There, as he had hoped, the spy insect he had made to assist him against Hammer was still available to use. It was so specific an item that the rules of the vampyre's game had not legislated against it.

'Little bug, observe and record. And if something happens to me, fly away home.'

Eternal placed the bug on his shoulder and unhooked one of the lanterns from the coach. Then he moved far enough away from the path that he could skirt the two black stallions standing patiently in front of the carriage. Both raising their heads to look at him, the two horses gave EV a look of such placidity and knowing sympathy from their glistening eyes that he shivered. As he walked away from the abandoned vehicle, EV narrated his recent experiences to the bug and, from time to time, tested to see if he could teleport out of the sim and back to more familiar and reassuring territory.

There was something to be said for this experience: a thin swaying lantern beam, picking out the parallel lines of exposed earth that stretched away through the tunnel of darkness; a sense that he was being hunted by powerful and wicked creatures; and a sense that those watching him were postponing their attack purely out of a desire to cause his anxiety to grow and in order to prolong his suffering. It would almost be an enjoyably thrilling moment, if it were not for the fact that Eternal felt a very real threat to the core of his being. If he were forcibly turned into a vampyre, a part of him, the best part, would die. And it might take hundreds of years until he regained his true spirited nature. If he regained it at all. Moreover, if he could not escape this trap, then he could do nothing for Angel and Poppy and everyone else who had succumbed to the bite of a vampyre. So he was indeed anxious and fearful, but not in a way that was at all pleasurable.

It was, however, almost a relief when after several hours of trudging through the silent forest, the attack did come. They began by calling to one another with vibrant throaty roars, roars that surged up from surprisingly close by. Even though he was straining his utmost and consciously using his peripheral vision, the creatures were not visible. By now he was standing still, astride the lantern, sword raised.

'Freshhhhhh blood.' A vampyre, clad in a rather dashing black silk shirt and leather breeches, stepped onto the path, just beyond lunging distance. While it attempted to distract him by roaring and displaying a vicious pair of fangs, a second vampyre made a grab for his neck from behind. But EV was wise to such tricks and had already spun about, sheering wickedly taloned hands from their owner's outstretched arms.

'Diablo! That'll take me weeks to regrow.'

A dozen more leering pale faces closed in upon him from all sides.

'We'll meet again. And next time, I'll best you!' EV shouted for them all to hear. Then he reached out as far as he could with Acutus, turned its point to his head and with no resistance at all, slammed the blade home: stunning himself with the blow from the hilt. Surprisingly, despite having a sword sticking out of his head, he was not dead. The expressions on the vampyres' faces, which had been a mix of surprise and disappointment, now began to appear eager once more. Just as EV thought he should perhaps wiggle the sword around a bit, all went black.

4. Back in Action

Warning. This is a sterile backup. Take some precautions before leaving, you know the drill.

Oh dear, thought EV as his senses returned to him, what have I died of now? At least he had learned a lot from his last sterile backup experience: in particular, that he would have no access to his inventory until he stepped out of his backup chamber. The room that he had appeared in therefore had closets full of avatar shapes and a massive variety of clothes. As he caught sight of his crude grey-polygon avatar Eternal congratulated himself on having made the effort to stock the chamber properly for once.

Mind you, he hadn't spent a great deal of time here. Most of the avatars available to him were cut and paste jobs from his stock inventory, nothing like as sophisticated as his customised gear. But they were a lot better than going out in public as a complete noob.

After a pleasant couple of days of browsing and tweaking, he was ready to find out what had killed him. His avatar was a half-elf female ranger and his clothing consisted of a brushed leather jerkin and matching trousers worn over a navy cotton shirt. A particularly good touch was that the sleeves of the shirt puffed out near the shoulders as they emerged from the leather and bunched again around the magic Bracers of Accuracy on his forearms. It was sufficiently well done that he might wear this outfit again, even after regaining access to his full inventory. Along with all the fantasy kit that the ranger came with, EV had added a great number of high tech weapons and devices. With an Atanski rifle slung across his back, he felt ready for anything.

Outside, EV was about to initiate a few random teleports, in case an enemy was attempting to locate his backup chamber, when a message came in.

Bug03F: Boss, I have a recording for you.

It could be a trap, but then again, EV remembered giving the bug this location as its home point, just in case he ever had to record something before dying. Where was the little fella?

'Land on my hand and let's port.'

It did so and they were off. After a dizzying series of jumps, EV pulled up the metamap. What he needed was a quiet location he'd never been to before. In a rather garish tropical jungle was a treehouse whose usage stats showed no activity for several decades. Perfect. A moment later he appeared inside the hut, which did indeed look unused for some time, to judge by the vines and branches that had forced their way through gaps between the planks. Laying on his back on the bare wood, Eternal instructed the bug to use the roof of the hut to display its recording.

The visuals began with an image of him walking a dark and claustrophobic path between two lines of trees, face looming in towards the camera from time to time to address his future self.  The makeup he was wearing at the time of the recording was interesting, a possible clue, with it's unusually pale skin and eyeshadow. EV was mulling over the circumstances under which he would adopt such a severe look, when he heard himself say something about Angel.

... seriously wrong. I mean, she just turned around and left me, like the guy had thrown a switch or something. And when you add in the way Poppy was behaving, it's got to be that becoming a vampyre is like getting a virus or something. It's like, changing them against their will.

His earlier and doomed self sounded very aggrieved. Vampyres?

I know you won't have any reason to be motivated about this, at least not until you see it for yourself. But take it from me, you'd be pretty angry if you'd nearly been, well, raped. These vampyres are forcibly tampering with your personality, making your obedient to their commands. So I want you to investigate the vampyre realms. Release all the unwilling participants from the spell, especially Angel of course. Because it's not a game, it's something much more serious and much more dangerous.

Soon after came the cry, 'fresh blood!' And EV watched with a certain amount of pride as his earlier self outwitted the hunters by killing himself and returning to this backup state. So that was his reason for dying: he had wanted thwart the plans of this Lord Grimwald to forcibly turn him into a vampyre. Although Eternal had not paid complete attention to the mutterings of his earlier self, there was no denying the passion in his old self's voice and sense of injustice in his words. If people were being altered against their will to serve the vampyre princes, well, that would explain his earlier outrage. But as far as Eternal understood—and he didn't share the craze, so he couldn't be sure—those playing the game voluntarily agreed to the rules, which included alteration of character on being captured or seduced and turned into a vampyre.

Over ten years had passed since this backup had been made (he really ought to backup more often) so whatever else his friends had been planning would be over with by now. With nothing better to do, he may as well investigate the problem his dead self had been so furious about.

Several of EV's friends were vampyres and more or less at random he picked an old communication out of his archive to reply to. The message read:

Lady Sorrow: Hey EV, are you playing Clans of the Vampyres? It's a pretty good game; I've made my own clan, for really soulful vampyres, world weary with the futility of existence. Wanna join it?

Although it was years old, it would do.

Eternal Voyager: Hi Sorrow, are you still playing that vampyre game? want to talk to me about it?

Lady Sorrow: Sec.

A few minutes later a teleport tag appeared in the chat box. It came as a surprise: EV had intended only to chat to Lady Sorrow, not to meet her. Should he take it? Was the destination dangerous. Or should he suggest that Lady Sorrow to come to him? With a slight sigh, EV addressed his bug once more.

'Hop on little fella. Start recording and if anything happens to me, fly home.'

5. Clan Sorrow

Eternal arrived at a moonlit columned temple on a rocky promontory high above the sea. Lady Sorrow was sitting on the base of a broken statue, nearby were a group of six other avatars. All had the darkly sumptuous Victorian garb that vampyres seemed to go in for. As was her way, Lady Sorrow's hair was long and she brushed it aside to address him.

'Hi EV, welcome to Clan Sorrow.'

'Hey Lady Sorrow, thanks for the invite. So, what are the rules of this game?'

'Hmmm. There's actually too many rules to worry about them. Especially for you. It's probably just better to pick it up as you go along. Hasn't Angel said anything about it, she's pretty high up in Clan Grimwald?'

'Yeah, something about recruiting more people gets you knighted.'

'Well, that's a Clan Grimwald thing, although most clans have something similar. More fundamentally, you pick a clan, someone makes you a vampyre by drinking a bit of your blood. Then you support your clan against the others.'

'In warfare?'

'Sometimes, but actually there hasn't been a full blown war in years. People don't want to die and have to restart at the bottom of the ladder. It's more about making alliances and treaties. I mostly flirt, spy, and seduce. But that's my taste. You might prefer fighting duels or going on more active missions.' She smiled. 'Seduction ones would suit you best, I think.'

'I see. At least I think so. Tell me a bit more about the treaties?'

The vampyre had come closer and EV nearly flinched as she reached out a pale arm to touch his blouse at the shoulder.

'These bouffant folds are well done.'

'Thank you.'

'But you'll have to swap to a human avatar, the game is pretty strict about that.'

'No problem, shall I do it now?'

'Your half-elf is fine for the moment, but swap before you get more involved,' she glanced down at the delicate lace design of her own sleeves and looked satisfied. 'You were asking about treaties?'

'Yes.'

'About once or twice a year, there is a meeting of the clans. It is usually a fabulous party, with ballrooms full of all the vampyres in the Metaverse and perhaps a few brave non-vampyres: who never last the whole night. The clan leaders meet behind the scenes and divide up land or spheres of influence and that's where you need allies to make sure you get some juicy hunting grounds.'

'Spheres of influence?'

'Well take Clan Sorrow, for example, we have these hunting grounds.' Lady Sorrow sat on the rock beside him and pulled up a cube of the metamap. She zoomed on on sections that had been coloured violet. 'We've some pretty popular sims. Like Quicksilver's Beach. You appreciate that the beach is nearly always set to daylight, which presents a big challenge.'

'I still don't quite see. What does it mean that these sims are yours?'

'Only Clan Sorrow members can hunt in them. Other clans have to stay out: of course they don't, no more than we stay away from their sims. But that's part of the fun, stealing a human from another clan's realm and not getting caught.'

'Right, I'm getting the hang of the game now.' EV feigned enthusiasm. 'So the object is to recruit more members for the clan, so the clan is more powerful in the pecking order and can win wars if necessary.'

'Exactly. And once you get in to it, you'll really enjoy it. I'll promote you fast, because I know you've had some impressive victories in Epic. You were a commander for Willing Joke's victory over the General of Sword and the General of Bow weren't you? If you like, I'll even let you start a war, but make sure we have plenty of allies first. Maybe you could get something going with Clan Grimwald, through Angel, they are probably the most powerful clan at the moment.'

'And the recruitment. How does that work?'

'Oh, that's a lot of fun too. Well, as much fun as one can have while suffering the eternal ennui of the immortal soul. Basically, you either seduce the person and they let you sink their fangs into their neck, or you ambush and overpower him or her or it.'

'Against their will, or do they have to have entered the game first?'

There was a long pause and it seemed to EV that the other six vampyres, grouped around a large flat stone below, had ceased their whispering to listen to Lady Sorrow's answer. A gentle wind picked up her hair and silver strands brushed his face, like tendrils.

'It began differently, but now everyone is fair game.'

'Everyone? Do they know?'

With a shrug intended to convey nonchalance, but which did not quite come off, Lady Sorrow replied, 'what does it matter? The game's afoot and if you don't recruit as fast as you can, you fall behind.'

'It matters to me.' Although his voice was calm, EV felt a growing dismay spreading through him, warming his face and limbs. This, he realised, is what he must have been experiencing shortly before he died. A sense of outrage. How dare they impose their self-indulgent game upon him or anyone else? Up until this point, Eternal had been only half-engaged with the challenge of defeating the vampyres. Now, he was filled with energy and purpose. He tried not to let this new resolution show as he spoke. 'I value my autonomy very much.'

'Of course, of course.' She patted his arm. 'Don't we all. But if someone doesn't like the experience, they can always leave the game.'

'Can they? That's good to hear. How many do so?'

Again, silence, but for the lulling call of waves rearranging the pebbles of the shore far below. One of the vampyres took off, cape fluttering like a bat, to land on the top of a ruined pillar. She was looking out across the glittering moonlit sea and away from EV, but tactically, she was now in a much better position to swoop down upon Eternal.

'Well, it's a measure of how delightful it is to participate in the game that no one has yet left it.' Moistening her scarlet lips, Lady Sorrow scrutinised EV with a coldness in her expression that had not been there earlier. 'Given that ultimately everyone tires of the frivolous circuit of parties and games, we only fully feel a sense of respite when we embrace the emptiness of existence and the dark side of the soul. Try it. You'll find it is what you have been looking for, even when you weren't aware of your desires.'

'Very well, what do I have to do?'

'Just tip your head back and look at the stars.'

With a moment of panic, EV tried and failed to teleport out. It was Sorrow's territory and she must have disabled the teleport function after he arrived.

'Oh, just a moment Lady Sorrow, Clarion says she wants to be in the same clan as me, can we bring him here too?'

A slight frown appeared on the vampyre's white brow. 'I thought Clarion was already in a clan?'

'No, he was just looking around at a few different ones.'

'Well then, certainly.' Again she moistened her lips. 'Bring him in.'

With an enormous sense of relief, EV teleported out as soon as the sim was unlocked.

A few seconds later and his ‘new messages’ flag was waving.

Lady Sorrow: You'll regret teasing me like that. I've signalled to the whole of Clan Sorrow that you are our number one target for recruitment. Keep looking over your shoulder EV, because we are in the shadows ...

6. Then there were Five

Certain aspects of the vampyre game were very appealing and being the centre of attention while hundreds of avatars attempted to find you and catch you had the potential to be a lot of fun. But try as he might, EV could not work up any genuine enthusiasm. His resentment at the threat to his autonomy was dampening to his spirits, not to mention the fact that he was no longer able to relax properly at his favourite clubs and parties

Picking a random bar, whose popularity rating was minimal, EV teleported again and gave an internal groan when he arrived and realised that it had a Stomp Rock theme. The fashion for that kind of music and dance was centuries old, no wonder the venue was nearly empty. Still, the decor wasn't bad and going behind the impressive, polished bar, Eternal poured himself a large whiskey before taking a seat in the shadows of a booth that was carved from between the legs of a giant Nordic God. Goddess, EV corrected himself as he glanced up.

Eternal Voyager: Willing, are you a vampyre?

Willing Joke: If it was anyone but you asking that, I'd put you on my blocked list. I'm sick of people asking and no, I won't join your clan.

Eternal Voyager: I'm not a vampyre either. I ask because I don't like what they are doing and I need some help.

Willing Joke: Go on.

Eternal Voyager: Did you know that they are converting everyone they can get their fangs on?

Willing Joke: Yes.

Eternal Voyager: Even people who have no desire to participate in the game?

Willing Joke: Yes.

Eternal Voyager: Did you know that the process of becoming a vampyre alters your character, so that you are locked into the game and its hierarchies.

Willing Joke: Explain that point a bit more.

Eternal Voyager: Well, the best example I know is Angel. Now she's a vampyre, not only is she always nagging me to join herclan, but when the lord of her clan is present, she loses all independence of will.

Willing Joke: I see.

Eternal Voyager: So, will you help me do something about it?

Willing Joke: Me?

Eternal Voyager: Yes.

Willing Joke: Much as those vampyres irritate me, I don't find the issue particularly motivating.

Eternal Voyager: Have you thought about this. If they keep on recruiting and if no one ever ceases to be a vampyre once they have become one, then eventually everyone in the Metaverse will be vampyres.

Willing Joke: A depressing thought, but still, someone else will deal with the problem I’m sure.

Eternal Voyager: Perhaps. But I'm determined to act now, so for my sake, will you come?

Willing Joke: I'm about two thirds of the way through a game of Tank Commander - North Africa with Scarlet Pulsar, so can it wait?

Eternal Voyager: How long will the game take?

Willing Joke: My strategy is based on a campaign of attrition against her fuel supplies, so at least five years I'm afraid.

Eternal Voyager: Ahh. Well, there's Angel, you see. And I'm all fired up now. Those villains have twice tried to capture me. And Lady Sorrow has made me the prime target for her entire clan.

Willing Joke: What were you thinking of doing to stop them?

Eternal Voyager: They have this big event, a gathering of all the clans. I was thinking of going there with a group of friends who are good at combat and killing them all.

Willing Joke: Oh. Now you're talking my language. How many vampyres?

Eternal Voyager: I don’t know. Four or five hundred?

Willing Joke: How many friends?

Eternal Voyager: Just us two at the moment.

Willing Joke: All right, I'm in. When's the next one of those get togethers?

Eternal Voyager: There's one in six weeks.

Willing Joke: Perfect. I'll change my strategy here and one way or another, this campaign will be over before then. But EV, when we've come through this slaughter fest, won't they just return to backup points from which they remerge as vampyres?

Eternal Voyager: Oh.

Willing Joke: Try to get hold of Stormrider, he might be able to solve that one.

Eternal Voyager: All right, I will. Good luck in the war.

Eternal Voyager: Stormrider?

Stormrider II: This is an automated response. As you are using this means of communication, you must be a valued friend and your message must be important. It comes, however, at a time when I am deeply engaged in very subtle and challenging research into slow waves. Research upon which the fate of our society might rest. I therefore apologise, but I am unlikely to answer. So long as you appreciate this and understand there is no personal insult intended, you are welcome to leave a message.

Eternal Voyager: Hi Stormy. Have you seen the way that vampyrism is proliferating throughout the metaverse. I want to stop it, can you help me?

***

Willing Joke: EV, I'm done here. TP when you're ready.

Deep in the White Mountain sim was a valley with a temple, long abandoned, that had once been dedicated to martial arts. It was there that Eternal Voyager had assembled his team, who were now gathered in the shadows of a large columned hall.

'Everyone, you all know Willing Joke, or have heard of him. Willing: you know Sol; this is Desiré Spectre; August Mankephes; and Rose Expansion.'

With a nod, Willing Joke walked along the row, Eternal was at the side of his friend, anxious that the veteran warrior would form a good impression of his new comrades. Still in the dusty grey uniform of a desert tank commander, Willing lowered his goggles and stared intently into the eyes of each of them in turn, as if taking their measure simply through a close observation of their clothes and gear.

Anticipating battle, Sol had abandoned his usual combination of shorts and bright surfer shirt in favour of camouflage combat trousers and army green vest, with a multi-pocketed jacket and round green helmet. The only concession to his default star-surfing taste was a pair of gleaming silver sunglasses. Desiré had respected the vampyre genre and was in swashbuckling mode, with a laced up leather bodice over silk undergarments. The thigh high boots were a very dashing touch and EV was disappointed that they did not seem to catch the tank general's attention. August was wearing a fairly standard ninja outfit, while Rose was a battle dwarf from a fantasy war, in burnished plate mail armour, with a large axe over her back.

'Rose, stand here please.' Willing marked a sunlit spot on the dusty floor of the large chamber they had assembled in. Then he moved to a point mid way between Rose and the others. 'EV, beside me please.'

EV was back in his half-elf ranger garb, now considerably improved by all the hours he had spent enhancing the basic model. Willing took hold of EV's shoulders and turned his ranger avatar to face Rose.

'What do you see?' Willing asked, tipping back his grey cap to wipe his brow clear of dust and sweat.

'A terrific breastplate. Not only is the detail, with the engraved interlocking rose stems absolutely beautiful, but the gleam on it shows a lot of work when into the scripting.

''Quite right, and what don't you see?'

'Don't I see?' asked EV, 'that's a funny question. There are an awful lot things that I don't see, starting with Angel and ending in zoo.'

'How many people are behind you?' asked Willing patiently.

'Three,' answered EV.

'And how many people are reflected in Rose's breastplate?'

'That's odd,' he stared hard, 'just two.' But before EV could even figure out who it was that was missing from the image, Willing had leapt across to the ninja, wooden stake in hand. A moment later, the tank commander stood up, brushing his hands, with a satisfied look on his face. Laid out on the ground, stake through his heart, was August, whose body now shimmered and dematerialised.

'Oh,' Sol stepped back in surprise.

'First lesson,' said Willing, walking back and forth in military step between the remaining four avatars, 'vampyres have no reflection. Make sure you have a mirror handy in your inventory. Also, a sharp wooden stake. You can also kill them by decapitation and exposing them for a few minutes in direct sunlight.' As though punctuating his words with his body movements, Willing stopped marching. 'EV what are you doing?'

'Sorry Willing, I was just trying to find a mirror. There!'

'And is Rose a vampyre?'

'No.' EV had realised that the one person who had not been reflected in her shining breastplate was Rose herself. But he was pleased to see the dwarf bright and clear in his hand mirror. Even as it was, they probably didn't have the strength to tackle the vampyre problem.

'And Sol,' asked Willing, 'could we have known this important fact that Eternal is so proud of discovering without using a mirror?'

It might well have been that Sol was engaged in some private communications, for he looked up blankly. 'Erm. I'll go with a "no" for that question.'

'Eternal?'

'"No" for me as well,' he said confidently.

'Desiré?', a slight note of strained forbearance entered the voice of their instructor.

'She's standing in a patch of sunlight.'

'Good.'

'Oh,' said EV, crestfallen and he shared a sheepish look with Sol.

'Never mind.' Willing resumed his martial stride. 'Now when we kill them, we don't want them coming back as vampyres. So that means we need a techie on our team. In fact, given that Stormrider is MIA, we need Hammer.'

'Oh, man!' muttered Sol.

'Does anyone have a problem with Hammer?'

Since all four of them were looking at him, EV felt obliged to answer. 'Hammer has his faults...'

Sol shook his head. 'Yeah. Like, trying to wipe us all out with a virus.'

'... but I'd be happy to have him in on our team.' Having said the words, Eternal realised they were true. The prospect of having the uber-techie apply his skills against the vampyres raised EV's hopes considerably.

'Very well. Rose, stand here please.' Willing moved the Dwarf to one side. 'I'll TP him to this spot in the sunlight. If he leaps out of it, decapitate him.'

EV drew Acutus, to approving glances from his friends.

7. Choices

Big, over eight feet in his boots, solid, and looking very much like a vampyre with enormous sunken eyes in a sickly face, Hammer materialised before them, but his reaction to the sunlight was no stronger than to give a few blinks.

'Welcome Hammer.' Their tank commander leader gave a salute.

Sol surprised EV by stepping forward and offering his hand, which Hammer shook. 'Hi dude.'

Desiré waved her rapier, in a gesture that could have been a welcome, but could equally have been a challenge to a duel; Rose gave a deep Dwarvish grunt, which was equally ambiguous; while EV smiled with what he hoped was genuine warmth.

'You've read my brief?' Willing clasped his hands behind his back.

'I have.' Hammer had a voice as ponderous as his manner. 'But it's not possible to undo the Vampyre traits, not without respawning the infected being from scratch.'

'No way!'

'But ...'

'Isn't ...'

'Can't we ...

With a dramatic presentation of his palms, Hammer silenced them. 'I do have a practical, workaround, solution. It's not as elegant as I'd like. But I can cause them to restore to a backup point a hundred years old say. Before they were vampyres.'

'Hmmm,' Willing rubbed his chin. 'Let's say two-hundred years. Some of them have been at this game a long time.'

'Two-hundred years!' Desiré gasped. For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Desiré carefully drew back her long hair and looked around the room. 'We can't destroy two centuries of their experiences. Just think,' she appealed to them, 'of what you each would lose.'

'But if they keep spreading and spreading, our whole community will be gone, at least in the sense of our personalities as they currently are. I don't like it, but if it's the only way, then we have to.' EV was thinking of Angel. It would be strange and rather sad that he'd have so many more memories of their time together than she would. But at least she'd be herself again.

'I'm sorry everyone.' Desiré shook her head. 'But I can't join you. What you are proposing is worse than what they are doing.'

Sol looked puzzled. 'Worse?'

'Well, in a way, what they are doing is not qualitatively different to say having an argument about music. When a group of people discuss music they are trying to win their view of the merit or otherwise of the piece and everyone will come away changed, some more than others. And this change is against your will, in the sense that the most convincing argument replaces the ones you were holding up until that point.'

There were no seats in the old stone temple, so EV rummaged in his inventory and drew out a couch to sit upon while he contemplated Desiré’s words.

‘It doesn’t have to be music,’ he observed.

‘No,’ she agreed. ‘Any kind of argument.’

‘Even this one.’

‘Even so.’

‘I take your point. And yet I’m sure you are wrong. There is something different about what the vampyres are doing. Something much more invasive than winning an argument.’

Desiré crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, challenging him to find this difference.

Hammer raised a stone throne out of the tiled floor near the couch and sat heavily upon it. Although the temple had probably been abandoned for centuries, EV still felt a twinge of dismay. It was poor form to alter someone else’s work in such a way. Better to drop an item into the environment that could be picked up again afterward, like his couch.

‘How about,’ Hammer leaned forward above them, ‘the fact that the changes the vampyres make to you are irreversible?’

‘But some concepts, once you’ve had them, alter you irreversibly. For example, once you’ve realised the universe is unbound, you never go back to thinking it is bound.’

‘Oh, that’s right.’ Sol joined EV on the couch, throwing one leg over its arm.

Meanwhile, Eternal felt anxious. It would be a huge loss if Desiré were to leave them. ‘I haven’t found an answer for you yet, Desiré, but I know this. That Angel is in chains. A dark cloud has spread through her mind.’

‘Perhaps. But she chose to play the game. Maybe this is what she wants. To experience a kind of deep surrender. And who are we to judge? If you say her mind has been poisoned, someone else might see it differently.’

‘Like me.’ Hammer smiled. It was not a pleasant smile.

‘What do you mean?’ EV was surprised to hear a note of anger in his voice.

‘I’ve often been accused of exactly that. Of poisoning people’s minds. Just for making a few honest observations about their friends’ behaviour and motivations.’

‘So you’re on Desiré’s side now?’ asked EV.

‘No. I’m not on anyone’s side in this argument.’

‘Speaking of which,’ Sol lifted his shades to look at Hammer more carefully. ‘Why are you here? Why are you on our side against the vampyres?’

‘I like a good fight. And I like to be on the smart side.’

Rose waddled over and leaned on her axe with both hands. ‘Smart huh. I like that. I don’t think I’ve ever been called smart before.’

‘Well, I was thinking more of Willing Joke and Eternal Voyager.’

‘Me?’ EV was surprised.

‘Certainly. When you want to be.’

For a moment, EV felt an unexpected warmth towards Hammer.

Willing, who was walking up and down the shadows of the columns of the temple,  turned and called out. ‘So, Desiré, you are not coming with us?’

‘No. Not unless someone can justify taking two-hundred years of experience away from a person.’

Eternal rallied himself to one last effort. ‘It is to do with choice. If you or Hammer express an idea to me, I can weigh it up, accept or reject it, or keep it in mind for later appraisal. I can live with it and it could be dormant until something happens to make me adopt it. But I have some control. Some choice. When these vampyres get hold of you, you have no choice. They forcibly take away your freedom to think as you please.’

Nodding with approval, Sol looked to Desiré.

‘Choice? I don’t think I have a choice when I’m confronted with an idea that won’t go away. With an idea that demolishes my previous beliefs. I can end up adopting it despite my wishes.’

‘Yes, but you’re still you. It’s like … it’s like. Well, what’s the worst music you’ve ever heard?’

‘Tough question, but for the sake of argument let’s say Go-go-goa by The Sideburns.’

‘Oh man,’ Sol laughed. ‘I love that song.’

‘Right. Well, what I’m talking about is not like a friendly discussion between you and Sol about it. It’s like if we jumped on you and injected you with a drug that meant from now one, you thought Go-go-goa was the best song ever. Your personality is open to accepting a variety of ideas, true, but not that one. Never. By being forced to adopt it, you are a different person entirely.’

His words seemed to have done some good, as for a while Desiré stood in thought. The temple was silent, but for the fluttering of birds high above.

‘You’re saying some kind of phase transition takes place on becoming a vampyre? It’s an exchange of ideas that goes beyond the barriers of what is possible given my distinct personality?’

‘Exactly! … I think.’

‘The vampyre lords could make me like Go-go-goa?’

‘They could make you do anything: regardless of your former personality you could find yourself playing that song over and over and over, loudly, to everyone within earshot.’

‘And they are imposing this on people who have not agreed to play the game?’

‘They are everywhere and attacking everyone.’

‘All right. I’ll stay.’

‘Good.’ Willing turned and strode over to the group. ‘Pack up your sofa EV, let’s go.’

8. Danse Macarbre

Clan Cuspidus had worked hard to make their lord’s castle a suitable venue for the meeting of the clans. With the rapid increase in numbers, it had proven necessary to raise the entire mountain on which the castle was built and completely redesign the building. There were well over a thousand guestrooms, each carefully scripted to a suitable décor: lush scarlet walls; paintings of lonely, alien, landscapes; ornate and beautiful furniture on which stood delicate vases with fresh lilies and orchids. Some of these rooms, naturally, had secret passages, while others were designed to imprison their occupants. Below the ground, long stone staircases descended to cellars and dungeons, as well as to a maze in which, it was rumoured, Lord Cuspidus had released a minotaur. Outside, in the perpetual dark, a light mist lay upon the carefully crafted gardens, softening the light from the castle windows and a blue-tinged gibbous moon.

Beside the plinth of a statue of Narcissus and Echo were a group of six people: all suitably garbed for the great event. Willing Joke, Sol, Hammer, and Eternal Voyager were in formal attire that was mostly traditional, except that rather than wearing white frill shirts, they were dressed in linen of crimson, purple and deep blue. Willing Joke looked the most distinguished of the group of males, with his silk paisley cravat. As non-human shapes were disallowed in this region, Rose had abandoned her dwarf avatar for a tall white-haired woman in an elaborate turquoise dress. Desiré was in rather dashing leathers: sleeves, thigh high boots, suede bodice, and as accessories, a studded leather collar and a whip, hanging from her belt.

‘We split up here,’ instructed Willing, ‘and on my signal drink your potions. Then it’s havoc and destruction as best we can.’

‘Excellent!’ Hammer clapped his large hands together.

‘Don’t wait too long before we strike though,’ muttered EV, ‘it’s going to be pretty tedious in there.’

‘I don’t know about that, I think flirting with vampyres will be fun.’ Sol ran his hand through his short peroxide hair, to bring up the spikes.

‘Me too,’ said Rose. ‘At least, until I stake ‘em in the heart.’

‘Just make sure to be in the ballroom when it all kicks off.’

Eternal had rarely seen Willing so energised. What appealed to his friend, however, disheartened EV, namely the extraordinary odds. A thousand or more vampyres against six. Admittedly, the six had taken maximum advantage of the weapons and magic items allowed by the creators of this region. But still, if they could do so, so could their enemies. Moreover, this wasn’t just a game for EV as it seemed to be for Willing. The absence of Angel from his life was painful.

Perhaps sensing a certainly melancholy in EV, Sol lingered after the others had departed. He stuck out his hand and EV managed a smile as they shared a surfer handshake.

‘Good luck in there mate,’ said Sol, holding EV’s gaze for a moment.

‘You too.’

Soon, everyone was lost in the mist. Choosing a gravel path, EV strolled up towards the castle. Somewhere to his right an orchestra was playing a stately pavane. To his left, the eerie playing of a harpist was attracting an audience, to judge by the fluttering shadows in the mist and a growing volume of conversation from that direction.

‘Good evening sir, a drink?’ A servant, looking as pale as a reanimated corpse, was standing on the path, silver slaver in hand.

‘Champagne?’

‘Of course sir.’

Carrying the fluted glass close to his chest, EV climbed a few steps up to a veranda and entered the castle through an open pair of large patio windows.

Inside, the party was in full swing. A profusion of colour and sound created by dozens of occupants filled the room he was now standing in, and this was only one of the smaller rooms of the castle’s ground floor. It took EV a few moments – and several sips from his glass – to get a feel for the character of the party that he was supposed to be attending for fun. Although Eternal was an enthusiast for themed parties, there was something troubling about the tone of the high spirited people before him. Their conversations, the snatches he could hear, made him weary in an instant. If he did not have serious business ahead of him this evening, Eternal would have turned about and set off for the teleport line.

On his left, for example, were three avatars standing beside the large shiny green leaves of a musk tree: a portly gentleman in a large top hat; a pinch-faced woman, hair tight in a bun; and a hunchbacked nosferatu, who, unlike everyone else in the room, did not deign to hide his fangs.

‘See the lady on the divan? That’s Sofia Geraldine.’ Mr Top Hat gestured with his cigar, before tapping some ash into the tree pot.

‘And desperate to suck up to her as always,’ the nosferatu leaned over his female companion and seemed to be grinning, ‘is Lord Everwilde.’

‘Is it indeed? I expected something more … more regal.’

The two males nodded.

‘Exactly, up close, people are invariably disappointed.’ Mr Top Hat suddenly coughed and looked at his shoes.

Giggling to herself, the woman missed the signal. ‘And he really is trying terribly hard to ingratiate himself with the countess, isn’t he? Any closer and he’d be drooling on her.’

Mr Top Hat shook his head unhappily and the nosferatu shot a worried glance across towards the subjects of the woman’s disparaging remarks.

‘My dear lady,' said Nosferatus loudly, 'I have to object to such scurrilous comments, you have a lot to learn about Clan Cuspidus if you think disloyalty and gossip are rewarded here.’

‘But you …’

‘My apologies, but my servant beckons me to remind me I have an appointment with the committee for trade and shipping.’ Nosferatus bowed and hurried away.

‘Well, such hypocrisy rarely exposes itself so suddenly.’ The woman gathered up her indignation, her brown silk hooped dress swelling as she did so. But her next word was barely a hollow cough. ‘Oh.’ Following her gaze across the room, Eternal saw a proud and handsome male standing beside a woman who was stretched out on a divan, wearing a translucent opal flapper dress. Lord Everwilde and Countess Sofia Geraldine, no doubt. Nor was there any doubt that despite the hubbub of the room, the man had heard every word of the conversation of these avatars and he was glaring in fury.

The overly-talkative woman at the musk tree deflated in an instant and gave a quick curtsey towards the angry lord. Mr Top Hat simply rolled his eyes and strolled away.

On his right, under the gaze of a disapproving portrait of some Clan Cuspidus notable, a woman in velvet gown was standing beside a piano and singing to a gathering of men and woman who, curiously, grew all the more merry the more sorrowful the vocalist. Eternal was caught by the scene, only turning away when the singer broke down weeping, to roars of laughter from her audience.

It was time to take a place in the ballroom. As he crossed the lush carpet, Lord Everwilde detached himself from his elegant companion and intercepted EV. All trace of anger gone, the powerful looking man gave a charming smile.

‘Good evening sir, I couldn’t help notice that you cast a reflection in our goblets and ornaments.’

The sudden stillness that descended upon the room caused EV to shiver. Dozens of greedy eyes were upon him.

‘Indeed, I am not yet a vampyre. But I’m looking forward to becoming a member of Clan Cuspidus after this evening’s ball.’

This was the line EV’s friends had decided to use if challenged. To invoke the host clan should be enough to discourage all the others from creating an incident. And to indicate a willingness to join in the very near future, they hoped, would act as a deterrent against an immediate assault. It seemed to be the right approach, for the music resumed and soon after it, the level of conversation was as boisterous as it had been.

Lord Everwilde smiled for an uncomfortably long period of time. Then he seemed to relax. ‘Enjoy the experience.’ With a bow and a gesture of his arm, the vampyre allowed EV to pass. Only then did Eternal realise how effectively the Lord Everwilde had positioned himself to block access to the door.

9. Truth in a Mirror

The corridor to the ballroom was just as lively as the room from which he had escaped. It was necessary to push past a dozen clusters of vampyres who stood gossiping, flirting, and scheming. All a little too loudly, as if insisting on the attention of every passer-by and on their own self-importance.

…

‘Let me warn you, and this is a conclusion based on a great deal of experience and not a little expertise in matters of the soul: Lord Borsus is a fraud, a failure, hopeless, and on the way down. You would be wise not to be seen in his company.’

…

‘Darling! What wonderful eyes. As seductive as your lips. You must tell me how to get such a vivid scarlet shine upon them.’

…

‘I’m reliably informed that as soon as the gathering is over, she intends to ambush him … but more on this later, somewhere more discreet.’

…

‘The only language he understands is the language of violence. And if I ever get him away from those guards, I’m going to narrate War and Peace to him with a baseball bat.’

…

The ballroom was no better, but at least it was possible to ignore the flurries of faux scandal, by steering away from the onlookers and dancing in the centre of the room. With barely a pause in his stride EV selected a partner and bowed before her. His choice was a petite raven-haired avatar, whose dress flowed as though made of millions of tears. At first the vampyre’s expression was haughty, it seemed inevitable that Eternal would have to withdraw his offered hand and face the disdainful and scoffing expressions of her companions. But as she looked at something beyond his shoulder, the vampyre smiled – the feral smile of a panther at the sight of prey – and extending her gloved fingers, allowed EV to escort her onto the polished oak floor.

As they stepped back and forth, turning and bowing, EV saw the reason for his partner’s change of heart. The far wall of the ballroom was mirrored and in the glass was a scene that could not have shown a greater contrast with the crowded room. For there were only six avatars displayed in the mirror: Willing, Desiré, Hammer, Rose, Sol and himself. It was an eerie juxtaposition: the music, motion and noise of the ballroom proper and its lonely reflection. A handful of avatars in a vast empty space. The only true life in a hall of ghosts.

Still, at least the whole team were present. Would they begin the fight soon? EV felt keyed up and anxious. There were a huge number of vampyres to deal with. Even with the reassuring presence of Willing Joke over by the orchestra, it was an intimidating prospect. The sooner Acutus was in his hand, the better.

‘Have you a clan in mind?’ His partner brushed her lips across his earlobe as they turned.

‘Grimwald.’

For a moment a scowl fluttered over her perfect alabaster face. ‘How dull.’

‘But I’m open to persuasion.’

‘How interesting.’ The next time the dance brought them together, the vampyre pressed the length of her body against him as they met and her eyes never left his as they parted.

It would be flattering and good for his self-esteem to have this stunning creature show such an interest in him. But Eternal was perfectly well aware that she only wanted his blood, that and the slight accretion to her position in the vampyre hierarchy that came with obtaining a new follower. It was therefore a real effort to respond as if enamoured of his partner and offer her coy and flirtatious glances.

‘Perhaps your clan is the more attractive. Which one is it?’

‘If I were to ask you to name the clan most associated with dark passions and endless desire, what would you say?’

Seeing as he only knew the names of three clans, Eternal did not have a great range of answers at his disposal.

‘Clan Sorrow?’

‘Exactly!’ His partner sounded – and looked – impressed. The next time she drew near, their lips almost touched before the pattern of the music led her away again.

‘I happen to know Lady Sorrow,’ said EV, very pleased with himself. But an instant later, he realised he had made a mistake.

‘Well then, all the more reason to join us. We can make your initiation an experience to remember. Lady Sorrow is over there by the door to the conservatory, shall I invite her to attend us?’

‘Ah … That would be … excellent.‘

With a sinking feeling, Eternal noticed that the eyes of his partner, which had been fixed upon him with great heat, were now distant and cold.

At that moment, a ripple of motion and excitement crossed the room and EV turned, hoping that Willing had given the signal. But no. It was the arrival of Lord Grimwald, who was on the balcony level, moving away from EV towards a box of blue velvet seats at the far end of the hall. In each of the avatar’s hands was a leash and flanking the white-haired vampyre were two beautiful women, to whom the leashes were attached: Poppy and Angel. Collared and led. Even by the relatively unrestrained standards of vampyre etiquette, this display of lordly dominance over his followers was something of a salacious one, to judge from the yearning expressions and excited murmurs of the crowd.

10. Acutus Unsheathed

‘So, you are Eternal Voyager!’ Having looked up from her private communications, his partner growled, fangs bared. ‘Our most hunted recruit. There will be no sweet initiation for you.’ A dozen more vampyres in the vicinity turned in surprise at the sound of her shout.

‘I’m sorry, I’ve no time for this.’ Plucking Acutus from his inventory, EV struck so swiftly that even the superior reactions of a vampyre could not help his former dancing partner. Shearing through the arm that she had raised, the blade continued on without hesitation and decapitated her. The beautiful head rolled over the hard surface of the floor, dark hair trailing, with an expression of surprise that matched those of the dancers whose steps were interrupted by the unexpected sight.

‘Angel! Angel!’ As he shouted, desperate to get the attention of his lover, Eternal began running for the stairs.

The furore now developing was chaotic: vampyres were throwing themselves threw the air towards him with a pace and strength too terrible to match. Others, those directly ahead, were trying to back away from the reach of Acutus.

Fortunately, a glance in the mirror and none of this activity blocked EV from seeing Willing Joke, frantically waving a potion bottle above his head. Of course. Reeling from the blow of an outflung arm, Eternal nevertheless managed to gulp down the aquamarine liquid from the small vial they had all been instructed to keep close at hand. At once time slowed.

The music that filled the ballroom had been a pleasant, if sombre, flow of sound from violins and basses. Now it became a deep, infinitely long rasp. The vampyres all around were moving in slow motion, although their eyes were as livid as ever.

‘You idiot. As if you can do anything to help her other than to kill them all.’ Although he was shouting over the background rumble, Willing’s voice was perfectly normal, if perhaps a little raised due to the strain of hacking about him, left and right, with the swords that were in his hands.

It was easy to avoid his attackers and it would have been easy, too, to decapitate all the vampyres in his vicinity. But EV kept on running, leaping past Willing Joke as he took the stairs five at a time. It seemed certain that Lord Grimwald was doomed. Even though – having released the leashes – Poppy and Angel were attempting to block him, EV would have no difficulty swerving around them. As Eternal closed the gap, however, Lord Grimwald put his hand to his mouth. Suddenly, the vampyre leader was moving just as fast as EV. One powerful stride saw him place a foot on the balcony railing, then the avatar that he hated like no other was flying through the air, cape fluttering.

So wrought with fury was EV that he would have followed Lord Grimwald and flung himself into space, but for the arresting expression on Angel’s face. Whereas Poppy was all scowls and fangs, Angel looked torn and desperate. A flash of Acutus, and Poppy was gone, torso collapsing to the ground. Angel was speaking.

Although her voice was a deep slow groan, her two words were understandable. ‘Kill me.’ A fraction at a time, she raised her chin and lowered her arms.

‘Angel.’ For the first time in centuries of existence, EV wanted to cry. Only now did it really affect him, the knowledge that she was about to lose two-hundred years of experiences. Nothing had made Eternal feel closer to Angel than her staunch comradeship during the kudos crisis. At least she would remember being alone with him in the virus-ruined Metaverse. But nearly all their other tender and sweet moments would be lost. Perhaps Desiré was right, perhaps killing Angel to rescue her from vampyrism was in fact a worse crime than to let her continue in their sway? Perhaps in the future a better solution would be found?

‘A little help here please,’ said Willing.

Down below, a number of vampyres had utilised magic of the same nature as the potions of speed that EV’s team had brought. These enhanced beings were swift and dangerous, and were gathering in clusters around his friends.

If Angel had not spoken, EV doubted he would have been able to lift Acutus. For an age - for what felt like a thousand years - they held each other’s gaze. Then her head fell to the floor. It consoled Eternal that Angel, in her right mind, valued freedom above all and that he had, at least, restored that freedom to her.

Filled with righteous anger, EV looked for his enemy. But Lord Grimwald was in the clear and had reached a secret door in the mirrored wall, one that swung open to facilitate his escape. Taking advantage, therefore, of the strategic position in which he found himself, Eternal plucked a crossbow from his inventory and fired a wooden stake with great accuracy through the back of one of Willing’s assailants, penetrating the heart so that the vampyre collapsed and disintegrated. Discarding the crossbow, he drew out another one. And another. And another. Willing had insisted that they all create folders in their inventories full of loaded crossbows by the hundred, and as always in combat matters, he was in the right. The tedious loss of time spent filling up the folders represented precious seconds gained over having to reload a bow. Not until two of the faster vampyres had located him and were charging up the stairs did EV break off from his slaughter.

11. No Longer Undead

All matters being equal, a human avatar would not be able to battle a vampyre. Quite apart from the fact that there were only a limited number of ways to actually hurt the undead creatures, they had immensely superior strength and athleticism. Even with a potion of speed coursing through him, EV should have fallen victim to his two assailants now that they too had accessed some potion or magic to become as swift as the sim allowed for. But all was not equal. Eternal had the sharpest blade in the Metaverse in his hand and, he realised, he also understood combat better than the two ferocious beings whose anger and eagerness to bring him down was making them clumsy. All those thousands of hours playing fantasy and war games stood him in good stead now as EV danced back, moving so that for a moment the first vampyre crossed the line of vision of the second. In that moment, Acutus flicked out and cut through the second vampyre’s shin, causing him to fall.

‘How dare you … mortal.’ The last word was spat out as though it were the greatest insult that the injured vampyre could think of.

‘No. How dare you force us to surrender our souls to your lords and ladies.’

Now it was the first vampyre’s turn. Her youthful demeanour looked a little confused as she struggled for some words that would suit the exchange. ‘No. How dare you come here, to the gathering of our clans, and spoil it for everyone.’

‘Spoil your party? You’ve just caused my lover to lose two-hundred years of experiences. Your opportunity to gossip and display where you stand in the vampyre’s hierarchy are gone. What matter? But precious moments of love, of happiness, of tenderness. For them to be destroyed is just terrible. A truly awful despoilation.’

‘He’s got a point.’ The limping vampyre had hopped back up on to his good foot and was edging around to flank Eternal.

‘What’s sad is that I’m going to take such experiences from you too.’

The young female lowered her outstretched hands, resting one on the balcony rail. ‘It doesn’t matter they are gone anyway.’

‘What do you mean?’ Eternal asked her with genuine curiosity.

‘I can remember, vaguely, my life before I joined Clan Lilac. But it doesn’t seem important. What matters now, what feels intense to me, is blood. To grow the clan. To conquer the others.’

‘Conquer,’ echoed her partner, eyes burning lustfully.

A slice through the balcony and the female lost her balance. As she staggered away from the drop, EV cut her head off, sending it spinning down towards the ballroom floor.

Before his remaining opponent could complete a lunge for EV's neck, EV cut away the vampyre’s hands and tripped him. Standing over the vampyre, Eternal raised Acutus once more. ‘Conquer,’ he said, without enthusiasm.

His fight won, Eternal leaned over the balcony to catch up with events below. ‘How are you doing down there?’

‘Fine.’ Between highly stylised combat moves, Willing spared EV a glance and a grim smile.

The glow of success began to fill Eternal. It was true, the difficult fighting seemed to be done with. Those vampyres who had the means to match the speed of the team were dead, so the rest were relatively easy to defeat. Hammer, Sol, Rose and Desiré had all survived and were patiently butchering the avatars that continued to fling themselves upon the humans, like moths upon lightbulbs.

Piles of bodies were heaped around the ballroom, as though someone had thrown into it the contents of a gown and tuxedo shop. It was useful that vampyres disintegrated when killed properly, because you knew which of the remaining bodies still needed to be decapitated or stabbed through the heart with a stake before they regenerated.

‘Mind if I take off after Grimwald then?’ EV was already running down the stairs.

‘Good idea.’

As he passed Willing, EV cut down a couple of vampyres, gave his friend a nod, and vaulted off the stairs to run to the mirrored section of wall through which Lord Grimwald had fled. Since there was no obvious means of triggering the secret door, Eternal simply cut a – rather neat – circle in the glass with Acutus and stepped through it into the corridor beyond.

The secret passage was constructed from unadorned stone. After just fifty paces EV reached a staircase, which descended through a series of right-angled sections, clockwise down into the darkness. Already, the light and sound from the ballroom had died away and as Eternal hurried down the stairs the darkness became impenetrable. It was necessary to guide himself by touch, his fingers trailing the inner wall to his right.

In preparation for the battle with the vampyres a whole section of EV’s inventory had been organised with useful items. Pausing, listening intently, he now rummaged through these spaces for a lantern. With the appearance of the warm yellow light, the dark walls that had been pressing upon him were flung back and EV realised that he had been holding his breath. A part of his mind had been convinced that Lord Grimwald was standing there right in front of him, laughing silently.

After a long descent, Eternal came to another plain stone corridor and his heart sank as he saw several identical passageways leading off it. A quick look confirmed his dismay was justified. Each of the corridors had their own branches. It was the maze that he’d heard rumour of. EV was not particularly good at mazes. What was the rule? Always go left? Or was it: west is best? Should he start drawing a map? Blood and thunder, but this was a pain.

Having cut through the mirror upstairs, it was in his mind that Acutus would have no trouble cutting through stone. But unless the walls of maze were very thin, that would be no help. Still, it was worth a try. Picking the most central corridor, EV walked until it turned sharply to the right. But instead of turning, EV faced the wall in front of him and cut a square shape, with Acutus embedded to the hilt. The result was disappointing. If he strained his eyes to the utmost, he could just make out the black line of the blade’s passage, but the block would not budge in the slightest. He had not cut clean through to the other side, if there was another side.

It was time to take stock of his inventory and look for something useful. There was no way EV was going to spend hours, days even, working out the maze.

Almost as soon as he accessed his gear, a thought occurred to Eternal that made him smile. His recording bug worked in this sim.

‘Hello little fella. Zoom around as fast as you can please and find the route through this maze, or the path to whatever is interesting in here.’

Designed with stealth in mind, the bug flew away in complete silence. Those fifty years spent in a sterile backup learning to script were worth it. Well, perhaps not. But it was with a sense of accomplishment that EV sat down to wait. It was a shame that the sim did not allow for private messages to flow, or he could check in with his friends above. Instead, his thoughts became unusually introspective. Perhaps it was a mistake to slay all the vampyres. What was it like to be cast back two-hundred years? Because he was a slacker, EV would often lose a decade here and there, due to having failed to back up with sufficient regularity. Once, even twenty years. But hundred? Two hundred? You would wake up and feel like you knew nothing about the world any more.

12. The Heart of the Labryinth

Surprisingly quickly, the bug returned to Eternal. Unfortunately, he could not access its recordings here. Even so.

‘Lead the way bug, at my walking speed. Oh and emit a very feeble light. Lower. Lower. There.’

It was better to put the lantern away and walk in the near-darkness. There was no need to alert whatever was in the maze to his presence. As he followed the bug, EV found that he was experiencing a strange emotion: his stomach felt weak, like he wanted to be sick; his legs were trembling, as were his outstretched fingertips. Above all, he could not help but form vague uncertainties in his mind. Was Lord Grimwald about to come roaring out of the black depths? Would a pit open beneath his feet, causing him to fall and land shattered and helpless while Lord Grimwald stood over him?

This was fear, Eternal decided. Another new experience and not a pleasant one. He was afraid of failure; afraid of losing himself to the lusts of a vampyre; and afraid of losing two-hundred years when Willing or some other of his friends cured him. To continue on, therefore, despite the opposition of his body and his mind, must be bravery. And it worked as an antidote to the fear, to contemplate on the fact that for the first time in his existence he was being brave. What a shame he couldn’t record the experience, to show his friends later.

After what seemed a very long time indeed, but which was certainly less than an hour, EV’s struggle with his own desire to leave and return to relative safety came to an abrupt end. He could hear voices and discern a hint of light. Two more turns and he was looking in to a chamber, all fears forgotten.

A stone room lay ahead of him, mostly bare, but with brackets around the walls holding torches of flickering orange flame. Straw was scattered on the floor and was piled up against the sides of a large coffin. Two avatars were standing in the room, one the white-haired and elegantly dressed vampyre Lord Grimwald, the other a muscular human male body with a bull’s head. The minotaur.

‘Look, you said yourself you get bored down here. Come on, while there’s still a fight to join in.’

‘It’s just not my scene, man.’ The minotaur shuffled the straw around with a foot.

‘Not your scene? Not your scene? This is deadly serious!’ Lord Grimwald’s voice was growing loud with exasperation. By contrast, the minotaur’s was becoming more faint.

‘There are a lot of people up top. A lot. All dressed up. Women…’

‘Our enemies are there. There is a fight going on.’ Suddenly, Lord Grimwald seemed to understand the reservations of his companion and his charming manner returned. ‘You’ll be a hero. The ladies will adore you, their champion. And I’ll make you a member of Clan Grimwald if you like and give you a maze of your own, anywhere you want.’

‘The ladies …’

‘Actually,’ Eternal reminded himself it was rude to eavesdrop and strode into the room, Acutus held high, ‘by the time you make it back to the ballroom, there won’t be any more fighting left to join.’

With a deafening roar that seemed to shake the walls, the Minotaur lifted an enormous rusty axe from the floor and raised it in both hands, biceps bulging with power.

‘Wait, my friend,’ said Lord Grimwald, gently putting a gloved hand to the minotaur’s arm. ‘He’ll cut you down. That sword is magic and very powerful.’

‘Grrrrrrrrr. He’s in the centre of my maze. That’s not allowed. He must die.’

‘Yes, I think so too. But let me disarm that sword first.’

Eternal did not like the implication of Lord Grimwald’s words, nor the distant look in the vampyre’s face.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Altering the sim, so that magic no longer works in it.’

‘Isn’t that cheating?’

Lord Grimwald snorted derisively.

The minotaur lowered his axe and turned two anxious black eyes to the vampyre. ‘Wait, my lord. Not all magic, surely?’

‘I’m sorry friend, but you are not much use to me against Acutus. And while it is a simple task to adjust the parameters of the sim to removed all magic, to remove all magic apart from minotaurs. Well, that would take weeks and weeks.’

‘But … I can kill him for you.’

‘No you can’t. I do apologise and hope you backed up recently.’

‘But …’

The minotaur fell apart, a human torso slumped in the straw beside a mournful looking bull’s head. At the same time, Acutus suddenly felt heavy and EV had to snatch at the blade to prevent it falling to the floor.

‘You should have joined us, Eternal Voyager, I admire you a lot. Coming to the gathering of the clans to challenge us was an unexpected and daring initiative.’

‘Can I ask you something, Lord Grimwald?’

‘Of course.’ His smile was a joy to behold.

‘You must be one of the founders of the sim then, to have access to the settings menus.’

‘Yes.’

‘So who made you a vampyre?’

‘No one. A small group of us designed a script – in potion form – that would oblige you to consume blood to obtain energy. That script transmitted itself through the act of feeding upon another avatar. It also made us strong, fast, able to fly short distances, but vulnerable to sunlight. You know, all the tropes of vampyre culture.’

‘Don’t you feel that you lost something though, when you allowed the script to take over?’

‘I … When I think of my former self, which is not often, it is with a sense of achievement. Now I am Lord Grimwald: ruler of the most powerful vampyre clan in the Metaverse. Seducer of the most beautiful men and women. Stealer of souls. Destroyer of the weak.’

‘Hmmm. Most powerful clan. That might still be true, but I’ve a feeling your membership is down to one.’

‘Well then, let’s make it two.’ Lord Grimwald took a step forward.

Since Acutus was now an ordinary blade in this sim, EV dropped the sword and plucked a crossbow from his inventory, firing in an instant. Swaying to duck under the wooden bolt, Lord Grimwald managed to deflect the shaft with a bat of his hand, sending it on a wobbling flight path into the far wall.

‘Is that the best you can do?’

‘Let’s see.’ Already EV had two more crossbows out, one in each hand and this time, while Lord Grimwald dropped underneath the bolt aimed at his head, the vampyre did not manage to avoid the other that struck his leg and remained there, protruding either side of the shin bone.

‘Ouch. Oww. Arghh. Damn you EV. Oww again.’

A rain of wooden bolts flew upon the vampyre, many missed and several were knocked aside. But soon the velvet pantaloons and silk waistcoat of Lord Grimwald were in tatters and his movement were made clumsy by the dozens of shafts that had broken his limbs and ribs. As yet, however, Eternal had not managed to deliver a knockout blow to the head, or even better, a lethal hit to the vampyre’s heart.

‘Oh dear. I’ve run out.’ This was said with such a downcast tone, that EV allowed himself a moment’s pride in his acting ability.

‘Aha! Now it’s my turn. I will make you suffer for this!’ Lord Grimwald reached across his body to grasp a crossbow bolt with his right hand and pull it from his shoulder. As he did so, another shaft struck him plumb in the eye and flung the vampyre to the floor.

‘Just kidding.’

There was no response from the prone figure. But EV was not going to take any chances. He kept on filling the body with sharp wooden bolts, piling up discarded crossbows all around him. At last, confident that the vampyre was not able to suddenly leap up again, he edged closer to line up a clear shot at the heart.

Thuck! Lord Grimwald was gone, disintegrated, cast back two-hundred years. When he got out of here, EV thought to himself, he must send Grimwald a private message, encouraging him not to experiment with vampyre scripts. If it was not too late, of course. It might well be that the original vampyre potion had been created more than two centuries ago.

13. Lost Memories

With so many avatars thrown back two-hundred years, a surge of old-school parties took place throughout the Metaverse, with decades-old fashions returning to popularity. Wearing flares – and much to his surprise, enjoying them – Eternal Voyager was dancing with Angel in the Pleasuredrome, a club whose traffic figures had leapt up from zero to the thousands it used to boast of in its heyday. Bubbles had just been released throughout the dance floor and laughing, EV waved his hand so that he could still see Angel.

‘Oh bubbles, what a good idea!’ Angel was laughing too. ‘What? Don’t tell me, bubbles have been and gone. This is impossible. Well anyway, I like them.’

‘You’ve forgotten so much, my dear. I really don’t know where to begin.’ This, with a tone of genuine loss.

‘EV, you are always so maudlin these days. As I keep saying, I don’t miss anything at all. For me, nothing has been lost. So let’s just enjoy ourselves and create new memories.’

‘Yes. But. You and I. We have shared moments that can never arise again. It seems such a waste.’ Disconsolate, EV popped a passing bubble with an outstretched index finger.

‘Exactly, they can’t arise again, so let’s move on. Hey, isn’t that Vivian? I haven’t seen her in ages. Viv! Viv!’

‘You don’t like her anymore,’ EV pointed out, feeling glum.

‘Really? Why not?’

‘She took your idea for a summer dress and passed it off as her own.’

‘Oh. Well. Never mind, it’s still good to see her.’

EV could tell from the distant expression on Angel’s face that she was chatting away in private messages.

‘Do you mind, honey, if I go catch up with her?’

‘Not at all.’

And she was gone, a swirl of bubbles covering her departure.

Over the course of the next hour, EV found himself drifting further and further away from the strobe flashes and bright enthusiastic avatars on the dance floor. Brief with friends and acquaintances, he moved from bar to bar, and each time he paused in his wanderings it was at a place whose lighting was more subdued than the one before.

In a side room, lit only by the green glow from the base of a hookah, were cushions and a mere handful of occupants. Eternal found himself a comfortable niche and with a sigh stretched out in the near darkness.

‘EV?’

At first he made no effort to locate the speaker, wishing that he could be left alone. But something in the voice was familiar and he raised himself up on one arm.

‘Willing?’

‘How are you mate?’

‘Good thanks. Well, actually I think I’m sad.’

The silhouette of Willing Joke nodded and seeing as it was Willing, EV couldn’t help but imbue the motion with an aura of deep wisdom.

‘Take a drag from the pipe mate.’

Without even stopping to ask what was in the hookah, EV drew deeply upon the pipe that rested by his cushions. After blinking away a silver rain from his eyes, Eternal felt calm and he lay back once more.

‘Now listen to the music.’

A bassy, meandering, haunting riff was looping in the background and it now came forward to take EV in its embrace, to gather him in its arms, to swim with him through aquamarine waters and ultimately, after what could have been hours, deposit him on a sandy beach with Willing Joke. After which, the music receded into the background once more, a beating of the waves.

‘Thanks friend, I needed that.’

‘Vincere scis Eternal; victoria uti nescis.’

‘To win, I know? To use the win, I do not know?’

‘Exactly. You fought well my friend. While I am great believer in discipline and preparation, taking matters on the half-volley when the opportunity arises and improvising can be a very successful strategy. Your being up on the balcony turned the tide of battle in our favour. And you bested Lord Grimwald and the minotaur in their lair. No trivial matter.’

‘Thanks Willing. It means a lot to me to have your good opinion.’

‘You have that - and more.’

‘But what do I not know?’

‘The battle against the vampyres is over. Yes, some escaped to lurk in the dark corners of the Metaverse, but I doubt there is anyone who would now voluntarily join them. What then, do we do with our victory?’

‘I thought Angel would be back. I mean, I knew she’d be different, but it’s … it’s very marked, the change.’

‘She’s young again.’

‘But what do I do?’

‘I can’t tell you. But what you shouldn’t do is follow her like a lonely puppy. Nor should you hope to continue as you did. Something new has to evolve from here. Let go of the past. And bear in mind, although you see in her now features that do not appeal to you, she is still an avatar who hates injustice, values freedom, and laughs at wild deeds. Those are the qualities that drew you together in the first place, I think.’

‘She’s great, isn’t she?’ Filled with energy once more, Eternal stood up, wobbling only a little, and went out to a balcony. Willing came to stand beside him and they watched the dancing far below.

‘Oh.’ He had located Angel. Her arms were around a male avatar whose horribly vivid sunburst shirt was unbuttoned to reveal a hypnotic rotating spiral medallion. ‘How tasteless.’

Then the two avatars kissed.

‘Ouch. Oww. Arghh. As someone said to me recently.’

‘Come on.’ Willing clasped Eternal around the shoulders. ‘Get out of those flares and let’s go fight the Generals of Bow and Sword for a few years. Angel will find you again when she’s ready.’

Eternal sighed. ‘You’re right. Come on then.’