Soul Strangler

The woman's screams split the night air and drowned out the sounds of combat coming from a nearby alleyway where two black garbed warriors danced with the city watch. The warriors' spears jabbed and cut at the guards, drawing blood from numerous places and forcing them to withdraw, deflecting the pointed shafts with their blades as they moved. It was clear the guards wouldn't last much longer unless someone came to their aid.

Kutziq caressed the woman's face again with his long talons and stifled another cry, she was extraordinarily pretty for a human. But it mattered not, she was nothing more than a vessel, a cup of life that he needed to drink from. Pressing his palms about her skull he chanted the forsaken words that would consecrate her body and then sunk his fangs into her neck. He immediately felt the power drain from her, filling him with a sensation that made his limbs heavy with its vitality as his body shivered. Closing his eyes, the woman slumped from his hands to the ground beneath where he was standing, a lifeless shell.

Moments later the door to the room buckled and was torn from its hinges. Kutziq looked to the two warriors standing in the doorframe, breathing heavily and covered in blood. He felt the anger boil inside him, the impudence of these invaders interrupting such a hallowed undertaking, disturbing the final seconds of this beautiful woman's life. Sparing a glance for her soft face, he turned and gripped the air before him in a crushing gesture, squeezing his hands against an imperceptible barrier. The warriors' eyes widened and the veins in their necks bulged. Dropping their blades, they desperately flailed at the unseen attack, the invisible grip that was slowly pinching the breath from their lungs. Kutziq watched them in the throes of death and grimaced as they became still, releasing his grip and letting them collapse to the ground.

“These invaders are becoming a nuisance,” he muttered, as he stalked from the room. Before the chaos gate opened, the towered city of Darkholde was peaceful and quiet. Situated in the cold, Blackworth mountain range, it was presided over by a long-standing noble family and governed by Baron Kutziq Neculai. If the citizens knew the truth about their governor, then maybe they wouldn't have been so loyal, but the Baron's tastes were sated with great restraint and he truly did care for them, taking only what he must and never more than he had to. For Kutziq was a vampire, a race as ancient as the stones they'd used to build the city. A man who loved his people in many ways, including their unique flavour.

The soul strangler is a creature of nobility, of good stock and incredible wealth. They live in lavish opulence, wearing the finest attire and moving in the most sophisticated of circles, often engaging with the high born from other cities and enjoying intimate gatherings that last for days.

However, when this vampire chooses to hunt, they take on whole new guise, almost shifting their form to become more accomplished for the chase. Pointed ears extend refining their hearing and their eyes change colour affording the ability to see in the dark – their preferred time to hunt. Long fangs grow from their mouth and vicious talons sprout from their fingers. But what you can't see in either form is the power they hold within their mind, an ability to attack at a spiritual level when they eventually find their adversary, squeezing the very life from them; a ranged attack that if not avoided, will have devastating consequences.