GENDER: female
COLOR: blood bay
SIZE RANGE: medium
LENGTH: 29'8''
HEIGHT: 5'
EYE COLOR: dark brown
ABILITIES: verbal speech, planeshift, innate magic
MAGIC: innate magic, can perform all spells of all types/elements at a medium level
SPECIALIZED MAGIC: fire (can create, control, and manipulate fire)

(standing at: Celeanor Vale )

Bonded Apolonoia at: Yakima's 2k8 Xmas giveaway

Powers and Abilities: An expert fire mage, but also is vampiric (it was an 'accident' said Zarga... yeah, right) so he often is burnt by his own magic. Extremely adept at martial arts, kicks, eye scratches and the like, but prefers unlike many Sangers, to use a pair of swords while fighting. These swords animate for him before he needs to grip their hilts, and hover nearby him when they are not needed. They glow with a terrifying blood-red flame, and no one but he can hold them without dying.

Immortal, like most of the people in his world, but only in that he never ages. He heals injuries quickly, but if hurt badly enough will die. Cannot be poisoned, but is severely 'allergic' to sunlight (pure, real sunlight from his world's sun only) so he tends to remain inside or go out only at night.

Weaknesses: though immortal he is often suicidal because of his dual magics. Blood magic is almost entirely opposite fire magic on his world, the one step further opposite is Sun magic. He hates that he is a 'monster' though he rarely drinks blood from anyone unwilling (or, inappropriate - he is allowed to drain those detained by Alabaster), he knows he is't 'undead' because he bleeds and has his own heartbeat still. But he seems to have gained only the bad parts of vampirism - aversion to sunlight, and strong (very strong) convictions of religion will actually cause him to be in pain. (He still believes that he will be destroyed by the Maker when he does die, because of his sins against mankind. Such is this world.) He will hunger every few days. If he doesn't feed, he will get more and more violent, angry, and hair triggered. He can feed on animals, but they do not sustain him well. Human blood (humanoid) is perfect, and restores him quickly. He does not have to drain someone to have his fill. He cannot pass this ability on through biting - but he does not know that for sure.

Otherwise, he has the inability to remain in proper sunlight on his world. His skin will erupt into flames, and eventually he will turn to ash. Strong religious convictions aimed at destroying him, will cause him agony mentally but not physically. Like most Sangers he doesn't swim, and unlike most of them, he shouldn't either, because of that weird 'running water' thing that some vampires have going. He's afraid to find out whether he can cross a water path. In towns that's not so much a big deal.

"Galfred, these people who wanted to see me," Ver said, calmly but with a bit of ire, "where exactly are they from? They are not.... normal people."

The pale haired, light-skinned man behind the desk nodded once, and gave that peculiar smile that told Veresehes that he knew a lot more than he was letting on. "Indeed. They are from ... another dimension, a mirror image of this place, only things ... went differently."

They spoke in words that were heavily accented, a lot of sh's and zh's. But quickly enough, the three Sangers that had come from the Healing Den on their regular rounds found they could understand what was being said. A common feature, a good one to have when the worlds they visited were as disparate as they often were.

It seemed that here, this Galfred - Jeff Engell - was as aware as the Zekiran Engel, of his dopplegangers on other worlds. Though they rarely if ever decided to take the Sangers up on their crusades, they often were eager to see what sorts of dragons or creatures their chosen ones would bring home. And it also seemed that here, Galfred wasn't so ill at ease with his interrogator's advances. They stood close most times, the bodyguard and the guarded body.

The visiting Sangers, the Genrehopping 'heroic' Van, the furry Cynonix, and Istvan of Icarus, all admired that trait that he had. He could get close to the always-gorgeous rarely-interested Engel. Veresehes noticed those looks of almost-jealousy, and turned back to his Engel.

"They are doing it again." He said.

"They just want you to come with them for a bit. They are you, after all. Why don't you ask them what they want?" Galfred announced, and his lips parted into a smirk. He was all but angelic, the complete opposite save the blue eyes, from his bodyguard.

This world operated in dualities, that was obvious from the start. When Cynonix and his brown Ishioth landed on this world's large Alabaster Castle wall, he could see people fleeing below - and what looked like others cheering and hoisting weapons into the air. Had they just turned the tide of a battle because of some superstitious nonsense?

Perhaps they had. By the time Cetoki and Irisu brought Van, and Cephari dropped down delicately with Izzy, a crowd had formed on the inner courtyard looking up. This was so very familiar to Cynonix, and Izzy - but for different reasons. Izzy had helped locate the prison-bound Sanger, while Cynonix enjoyed a time or two at Gelgela with the Usagi. Running away, running toward, no one did anything but run around dragons...

Good and evil thrived here on this world, and seemed focused by these two - black and white, blood and fire. "What kind of mage are you, anyway, sir?" Asked Izzy, of Galfred, who tilted his head at the oddly-stated words (to him, anyway).

"Mind," he answered simply, and Veresehes seemed to want him to say more, so he added, "and Justice."

"There's a magic for justice?" Asked Van, and Izzy shrugged. "It fits, I suppose... Not Order, but justice."

Izzy nodded and smiled, "what my friend does, tries to keep the peace as well as she can, without worrying about 'laws'."

"That is what Alabaster always does," Van said. "So, Veresehes," he addressed the blood mage directly, "will you come with us? It's going to be for a good cause, I promise."

"And you'll bring him back," Galfred stated, getting the serious tone of his voice across. He would want his body guard back, of course.

Ver held his hands out, exasperated, but under orders. And like almost all the Sangers in the multiverse, he did not deviate from his orders especially when given by Engels.

The devil, taking tasks from the angel. But appearances can always be deceptive. And any of the Sangers with an Engel in their universe knew that the worse thing in the world you could do, was to piss off that beautiful white-haired angel... Angels were known to be rather vicious.

***

Celeanor Vale would have to wait, at least for another three or four minutes. Veresehes stood frozen on the side of the lake, and wouldn't budge. His swords stood firmly behind him, all but menacing anyone that came near. Their blades flamed, but flickered with uncertainty even as their owner argued.

"No. No way."

"Please!"

"No! I will not be wetted down like this!"

"Just - walk - through it!" Cynonix begged him, while the others bided their time and pretended to look at the wildflowers.

"I'm a vampire! I can't do that!" Ver hissed back, "I do not even know if I should be out this late into the morning!"

"Sun's already risen," Van pointed out with a tiny smirk, hidden only because he was facing the other direction. He figured that another one of him would at least have the decency to try and punch him in the face, if not wanting to stab him in the back... "I think it's about as light as it's going to get, you're not all ashy and burny yet."

"I'm always burny," Veresehes muttered. He was losing this argument, and he knew it. Here were three men - well, two of them looked like he did and that one furry thing acted more like them than not. Fortunately the one had brought a pair of dragons, everyone got to ride, it was Ver's first time in the air and he was absolutely terrified. But curious, and amazed. How could these creatures teleport? And more than that: do so to other worlds and places, not just space?

Finally, curiosity would get the better of him, and Veresehes stomped up behind Cynonix. "Fine. You are a cat, you lead us through this waterfall. Oh brilliant idea, to get your fur all wet. And a desert cat, at that."

"They have cheetahs on your world?" Asked Van, casually, "interesting."

"Of course we have cheetahs on our world... I wouldn't know what he was, if not, would I?" He harrumphed, closed his eyes, and stepped forward to the tall, raging waterfall.

It did indeed get him wet, very wet, wetter than he wanted to be at least when not bathing in a nice, sedate isolated tub. (He did of course, bathe. It was moving, natural waterways that he was rather superstitious about.) But soon he was in blessed darkness, where his eyes would rest and his body relaxed.

"See, that wasn't so bad," Cynonix said, though truth be told his ears were flat and his hair had gotten soaked - he looked miserable. The other two came through perky and fine, and this pair wanted to throttle them.

The dragons remained in the gorgeous vale outside, they could arrive from above any time they wanted - but for whatever reason they had, they decided among themselves that they'd drop the bunch of Sangers down outside the place where a hatching might be happening soon.

Light filtered down here and there, through old cracks in the land, and through manmade portals. Finally, they wound their way through the last corridor and into a well lit but sheltered and shaded courtyard. Complete with dragons. Large ones, and those which gave off auras of power.

Suddenly, Ver realized why he was here. When he was to go back to Alabaster Castle, he would be able to escort Galfred on one, defend the place far more visibly, and ... probably best of all, cast his magics from the air. Air mages always had an advantage, and even though he was certainly not one of those, they'd be equalled by his might.

"I wonder why he would only send me," Ver said, finally, after meeting some of those big strong dragons. "Galfred should come here. He should have his own bond." That stopped him a moment, and he said, "will ... this dragon, they'll see... back, in my memories, won't they."

"Of course they will, they will share everything," Cynonix said. Izzy both lowered his head, and put on a smile.

"Which is a good thing," Izzy said, "if not for Cephari, I don't know what I would have done. They keep us sane, our dragons. And yes I do often wonder - having met some of your Engels, why don't they find their own bonded dragons."

"Probably something to do with their mental powers," Van said, having met probably more Engels than either of the others, from different worlds and times. "They're more strong minded than you ever think, those guys."

"Does he really, um," Izzy started to say, then suddenly realized what he was about to blurt out - in public, and paused.

"Yes, he really does," Veresehes said, sly with a grin that every Sanger knew best. What it felt like, to be Engel's lover - reserved for only a precious few of them on even fewer worlds. "And no. I will not share him with you lot. He's mine."

Ver walked up to sign in for candidacy classes. He did explain that he needed shade, darkness if possible, but that this world - if it was another Earth, unlikely - had a sun that seemed friendly to him. The swords he was asked to somehow subdue, and that posed a bit of a problem.

"They stay with me," he said defensively. "I ... suppose I can sheath them but they've never been put away before."

"You talk of them as though they're people," Cynonix said.

"They are spirits, in metal form," Ver said. "Before I was turned into this," he indicated his pointed fangs, "I was trying to be a metal mage as well as fire. It was my first choice, actually. They were my only project."

Bound spirits, into molten metal? Yes, they were indeed almost 'people' but the spirits were of sharpness and defense, quickness and surity. They would always hit their mark, faster than you could see, and leave only a quick blooded path. And now, they resisted their creator, who softly asked if he could bind them for a time. Politeness sake and all... Eventually he got them to stop hovering, and longer still it took to put them into a soft blue silken sash. Their glow could still be seen, but it was softer and more tempered. Should they be needed, it all but screamed to every one, they would come to his aid.

"You had to make those," Izzy said, "why? As weapons to defend, or to attack?"

To someone else it might have seemed odd that he'd make that distinction, but to Ver it was clear. "To defend, I already knew my tasks would be difficult. When... When master Zarga took me into his apprentiship I had a feeling I would need to defend myself."

He sighed, and pulled in a long, slow breath. "I wish I'd found some other way, swords did me no good for what he wanted me to do."

That confounded the others, for them it was a disaster of sex and violence - if they had swords and the knowledge that they'd be needing them, they'd have killed their nemesis in a moment, and been done with him. But it wasn't quite the same, for Veresehes. His story ran more toward another of their group, Lucas the dragon mage, who'd been forced to sire children - and to another feline, a female Sanger named Venus who had born them in litters.

It was what they were used for, those children, that caused the rift between Zarga and Ver. He wouldn't say out loud, his jaw drew tight. The other Sangers left it at that. Whatever they were imagining was likely true, if it caused the reaction like that, it was sure to be horrid.

***

"I still would like him to be here, if not for these eggs, then for another nest," Veresehes told the group. They were going to leave him to the waiting, he could get his education about dragons straight from the source here. Yet again, perhaps they'd go back to his world at least to escort him home safely, and ask Galfred - maybe they would become a pair of dragon riders... Perhaps. That would be up to Galfred. For now, it was the blood fire mage Veresehes who would wait his turn, and hope to find a friend who would not judge him for his past...

But it would wait further, because of the long delay. The eggs weren't hatching, for whatever reason, but they'd return. In the meantime, the group of Sangers tromped the vampire around their own stomping grounds. They took him to the Healing Den to meet Baeris, who was duly impressed by his magics as well as his association with Galfred.

Later, as they and others of their dopplegang lounged around in a sub-basement (surrounded by Xeno nests, nests which held bunny-eared or chickie-beaked creatures... Ver would look into those as well, perhaps they'd make good pets) the Sanger group drank and chatted. Veresehes wondered aloud, "why isn't Baeris accompanied by one of the Engels?"

That brought a long pause to the group. It was unusual - but then, Kalkin explained, "perhaps it's because I already had one of those, on Pern. And moved him to Alskyr, or at least helped. He was not in the same era as she."

"What, so each world only gets one chance?" Said another of their reasonably rare female members, Raven. "That's a shame."

"Well there is usually only one of us," the genrehopping Van chuckled. They raised their glasses in a toast to themselves. What vanity this room held.

It didn't take long however, before the Healing Den inexorably crept into Wintertime. It wasn't universally favored by the group, but certainly snow had its place. Snowballs, gift exchanges...

And one particular gift showed up unexpectedly, near the smallish tree this year. She was fully grown, though young, a Kijana - horse-like with wide feather-topped leathery wings, and heavily magical. Darkly shaded, a bay colored shine to her body.

She made her way toward the clump of Sangers on their couch, and Veresehes looked up abruptly from his nog.

"You're pretty tall," the female dragon proclaimed of him, "but I think I'm going to be big enough to ride, don't you think?"

It was the first time any of the others had seen Ver look truly surprised, he had no more than a moment before the dragoness nudged him with her soft, warm nose.

"I am Apolonoia, I'm here for you." She did a little bow, and added, "come on, I want to see if I can fly with you! All that snow over there," she tossed her head and indicated the massive piles of winter snow brought on by various mages, dragons and psionics, "will make a perfectly good cushion if I can't."

"I... of course you can," Ver said, "of course you will be able to hold me up." Now, she was much smaller than he expected from a draconic bond, but then again - he was also far more enamored of a creature that was just small enough to actually mount, like a horse, rather than those much bigger ones that other Sangers had found. Why, some of them even had to pick up their rider in order to get him near enough to their shoulder!

"Well they look good together," Raven commented, "don't you think?"

"They'd look better," Carramba High's Sanger said with a chuckle, "if he'd stay on her longer than a minute..."