Chapter I: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Emris walked into the cathedral and took off his mask. The mask had dust all over it so Emris wiped it off. He smiled as it shone again, some day all evil creatures would fear this mask and the man behind it. But not yet... he was still new to all this, he needed to do more before he could make a name for himself, He liked the idea though of being the Phantom of the Night, a slight twist on The Phantom of the opera. Emris smiled, he had read about that Phantom and had from that day on decided to make the silver mask come out of the Opera and become a thing of fear for those who served the dark. Emris grabbed a few medical supplies and worked on a few of his wounds, he wasn't too bad, he had been through worse. Emris looked up and studied the area around him, everyone seemed to be busy. So Emris leaned back in his pew and waited for whatever would come next.

Carlos nodded at Salvatore and took the glass.

"I think we'll along just fine," he said with a grin, taking a drink of the alcohol. When he finished the drink he handed the glass back and kicked his feet up on the pew in front of him.

"As for what's going on here," he said, "I can only say that we just ran into a bunch of animated skeletons and we needed healing, so I let them come back to my place, this Cathedral. As you can tell, it isn't much of a house of God anymore, but no one was using it, so I had to buy it. Vampires tend to stay away from places such as these and it is a very good front for what is really going on inside."

He laughed when he heard Salvatore remark that they looked like they ran into a devil.

"You could say that what we ran into afterwards was pretty close to one," Carlos replied. "I will explain to everyone in a little while about why they are all here, and I think you'll be interested to hear what I have to say. Just give these guys a few minutes to at least get started healing their wounds."

((Alright, everyone who hasn't posted their injury tending should do so now, then we shall move on and start the real fun! ))

As the group walked through the derelict streets of Tuefelsdorf towards their destination, though not allowing the slightest of things avert his notice as per usual, Ivan, like the rest of the group, remained rather quiet and unremarkable during their short journey to the Cathedral. Preferring quiet when possible, this didn't bother Ivan in the slightest, who used the opportunity to learn what limited information he could regarding his fellow group members by way of their appearance, body language and other overt cues.

When they eventually reached the Cathedral, it was quite clear, atleast, to Ivan, before Carlos announced their arrival, as to where they were. Ivan noticed the stranger sitting by the front steps as Carlos beckoned the group the enter, his intentions to the stranger fairly clear; Like the others, Ivan simply entered.

Once inside the Cathedral, the group was quickly greeted by one of Carlos' associates, hospitably introducing himself as Nicu – Ivan nodded in acknowledgment as Nicu caught his gaze, but made no effort to appear more interesting than anyone else in the group.

As the group went about making themselves comfortable, though he couldn't see his face and his emotional state were unclear, Ivan couldn't help but notice the manner that Vlad purposefully moved away from the group and abruptly placed himself in a place of little notice in the room – As a comrade, he was concerned about Vlad's well-being, and couldn't have been sure if it was expected by the group for him to give some sort of comfort or otherwise, but not being the first time witnessing such a thing from others, Ivan recognised the need for personal space, and thus, did nothing more than take notice.

He'd also noticed the originally intended nature of this building the moment he'd entered, and though not being particularly religious, by way of his honour and respect of such things and by way of not being one to take any chances with supernatural of any kind, Ivan discretely and politely greeted what would've once been the alter of the Cathedral with the sign of the cross before carefully finding his way to one of the few clear and out of the way spaces in the room and sitting himself down.

Ivan watched as Carlos entered the Cathedral in the company of the one he'd previously intended to remove – The circumstance behind this, Ivan did not know, but he quietly watched as they found a place to sit down and continued a discussion started outside the walls and beyond ear-shot; However, despite missing its beginnings, he heard enough to get a better idea of motives of coming here.

"You could say that what we ran into afterwards was pretty close to one. I will explain to everyone in a little while about why they are all here, and I think you'll be interested to hear what I have to say. Just give these guys a few minutes to at least get started healing their wounds."

Ivan had no injuries to tend to, but appreciated the chance to rest nonetheless. Considering to himself what he held in personal possession at the time, Ivan glanced at the various contraptions around the room before glancing over to Nicu, the master of those contraptions, and considered the man he saw – There were a number of things Ivan had wanted to do that such a scientist could be of great asset to having get done.

After a moment or two, with nothing else to do, Ivan began carefully cleaning and maintaining his weapons and various personal effects where appropriate, considering what may lie ahead.

Irene was now wide awake and aware of the pain in her leg, she looked down at the bruised and broken leg and pressed her hand against it. Pain coursed through her leg as she touched it, the only other time she had been in this much pain was one her first full moon. Pulling herself up into a chair she looked around, the other hunters that had been with Carlos were present as was the Vampire. She grabbed some bandages and begin to cover her wounds, then she noticed a pair of crutches nearby. Grabbing them she stood up and called to Carlos

''I'm going to get some sleep, send someone to my room with some thing to eat, you know what I like.''

With those words she turned and limped off o find a room she could call her own.

"Alright, Irene," Carlos replied as she walked off to the sleeping quarters. "I'll get Nicu to get you something later on. I've got some business to take care of."

He turned to Salvatore and gave him back the shot glass. "Thanks for the drink," he said, rising and walking towards where the main podium would have been in the room.

"Would everyone kindly gather closely so you can hear what I have to say?" he asked the whole room politely. "I told you all I had something to say once we all got healed up, and now is the time."

The people slowly made their way to the pews in the front so they could hear clearly and looked up at Carlos in expectation.

"This Cathedral," Carlos began, "is property of an largely international group called the 'Dark Symphony.' You may have heard me utter the two words a few times, but I assume that most of you do not know what it is. The Dark Symphony is a group of people that all share the same hate: the hate of the unholy creatures in the night. Vampire, Werewolves, ghosts, ghouls, whatever it is, we hunt them. We do this to cleanse the earth of them and save the innocents from peril. I am a new Captain of the group, and as all are assigned, I was set up with the task of gaining people to join this group that could be of some use in the mission to cleanse the world."

Carlos crossed his arms and looked at each and every one of them in a sweeping glance.

"You all share the same hate of these creatures. You all are strong and vigilant; that is why I must ask something of you all..."

The room fell silent for a moment. Thunder boomed in the background.

"I offer each of you a position in the ranks of our group. I ask that you all unite with us and help defeat these dark creatures of the night. I ask you all to join the Dark Symphony..."

A silence followed and Carlos stood, waiting for some sort of agreement or response from the people congregated before him.

Vlad thought for a while on the new proposal set forth from Carlos. He sat back in the pew and wondered if he would be better off alone as "Slayer"... the lone hunter. However, by the end he came to the conclusion as most everyone else there: The only way his ambitions would be met, was if he stuck with the group. If he was with them, he would finally be able to take revenge on that damned Dracula.

He slowly stood up, taking off his shady hat and giving a small bow to Carlos. His narrow eyes pierced through. He looked to his new leader and grinned menacingly.

"You can count I, Vladamir Iranov as a part of the Dark Symphony" Vlad stated.

He slowly sat back into the seat and waited for everyone else to respond to the proposal. He knew however, that everyone would probably end up accepting.. after all, the promise of fulfilling ones goals was greater with a group rather than alone.

Remaining busy maintaining his personal effects, Ivan watched, unmoving from his place, as Carlos' beckoned the group forward and made his announcement. As he concluded his announcement, Ivan continued watching, but said nothing – he was curious as to how the others would react, and furthermore, unsure of what decision to make at the time.

Eventually, Vlad stood up and declared his allegiance. Ivan had been unsure, but seeing Vlad join, finalised his own decision.

Calmly finishing his maintenance for the time being and repacking his effects back to their rightful places, Ivan slowly stood, nodded in acknowledgment to Vlad, then turning to face Carlos, nodded again, casually saluted, in jest to his own background, and declared his own allegiance to the cause. "Then I, Ivan Dimitrov, too, will join the cause of the Dark Symphony."

Ivan sat back down and continued watching.

Salvatore stands up and pours another shot and chugs it down his throat and re-thinks his position in this world. "Should I kill for the mob or should I help with this organization" saying to himself. He has a flash back of the day where he encountered the werewolf back in the US only to see a monster killing the dead with the most disrespect and sees what hew must do.

He kneels down and says this out loud "I Salvatore Sin De Luca will join you in order to protect the innocent from the devils that haunt this world, lasciare lo splendore leggero giù su noi"

He stands up and moves back into a chair to watch the ceremony

Emris of the Dark Symphony.... Has a good ring to it. Plus I need help, I need training. These people would be the best for me to start making a name for myself. Emris looked up, "You can count me in!"

((OOC: Some of you didn't post your character being inaugurated into the Dark Symphony, but I will just assume that they joined and move on. We have more things to look forward to!))

Carlos smiled as each of the hunters in the room accepted his offer to join the Dark Symphony. This turnout was grand. He had gained all his new recruits in one day, and even had more than was necessary to become a Captain.

"Then so be it," Carlos said to them all. "You are now all brothers of the Dark Symphony; bonded by a common cause against a common enemy. Today is a day of assurance. We will win this war against the dark, even if it means ransacking Castle Dracula itself!"

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Two Weeks Later....
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The seas rolled by as the leisure ship swam through the ocean. Waves of water hit the side gently, but not enough to rock the huge ship. The ship was quite large, consisting of at least three decks. There was a giant room on the middle deck where much of the dining and entertainment was going on. A band of musicians played a waltz on the small stage and many people dressed in elegant outfits were dancing to them in the center of the room.

Carlos sat at the bar, taking a drink of whiskey. He wasn't much of a fan of waltzes,especially since they seemed rather old fashioned, but he got used to it after a while, taking the music in and pretending to have a nice time. The classy music just accented to the overall "wealthy" tone on the ship. The other members of the Dark Symphony were also on this boat, but he had no idea where any of them were at the moment, though they were probably on the same deck. There were many rich people there, as this was a first class ship.

"Nicu really had to go overboard with this expensive cruise," Carlos said to himself. "I think a tiny boat would've been good enough!"

Back in Romania at the Cathedral, they had been assigned with the task of getting rid of a headless, horse riding ghost that seemed to be causing trouble in a small town. The only problem was that it was in America, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. Accordingly, Nicu set up a boat ride over the ocean (in fact, several) and now here they were, going from ferry to ferry to make it to America.

Carlos took another drink of whisky asked the waiter for a refill. Carlos was dressed up nicely with a white tuxedo. He had left all his other belonging in their cabin, so he was currently unarmed, though it didn't really matter, as their was no trouble brewing here. Carlos sat back in his seat after receiving his second drink and wondered what the others were up to...

Vlad stood in his normal foreboding attire at the far end of the dance hall. Men and women, wearing dress and tux, waltzed around the center of the great hall, gilded in gold and marble. None of his weapons were currently with him aside from his two Makarov, which were holstered covertly beneath his long flowing black overcoat. The passengers seemed to pay no heed to him, enjoying their alcohol induced celebration. Vlad himself leaned against the wall holding a shot glass of scotch in one hand.

As he looked less than halfway across the room, he caught the entire situation with Salvatore and the bartender. He could hear their words even over the din of the happy-go-lucky dancers. Grunting, he took a sip of the scotch and looked away adamantly.

"And the Europeans call us Russians barbarians?!... shows how much they know." Vlad said more or less to himself in a slightly annoyed tone.

For the entire time of that ship, he had noticed the many flaws and positive traits to each member of the group. He would never deny that he didn't have some issue himself however. For the rest of the time that night, Vlad contended himself by listening to the melodious music that the piano player performed for the large congregation of people.

With her leg mostly healed Irene was able to dance and dance she did. It had been years since she had attended a ball but she still remembered the steps. It took her some time to find a nice dress in her luggage but she found one that still fit. It then took her much time to get into it, when she was finally dressed she spent some time fixing her hair and applying makeup. When she satisfied with her appearance she made her way to the ballroom. As she entered the one named Salvatore was leaving the bar and as he left the room he said something to Carlos that she didn't catch because she was to busy listening to the music. She then went to the bar to get a drink and found the bartender on the ground bleeding, she helped him up and after hearing what happened she looked towards the door that Salvatore had just left through with anger. She handed him enough coins to pay for what Salvatore had taken and for a glass of wine for herself. Then she took her drink and sat down at a table from which she could watch the dancing.

((OOC: Any of you can ask her to dance, I would have her ask one of you but that's VERY improper.))

Irene blushed as Ion kissed her hand, then with a pleasant smile she replied

''Of course.''

She took once last sip of her wine and stood up, then she allowed Ion to lead her to the dance floor where the two began to waltz.

Emris walked into the ball room wide eyed, he loved it. The music the wealth the dancing!! Emris hadn't danced in years, he remembered the small village gathering he would go to. This was a hundred times more amazing! Emris was dressed in a black tux with a silver tie. He looked dashing enough, there were plenty of ladies looking like they wanted to dance. Emris saw Irene and Ion dancing.... Rats, guess I was too late... Emris glanced around the room and saw a pretty blonde haired girl sitting without a partner, Emris walked up to her and bowed, "Would you care to share this dance with me my lady?"

The girl blushed a little and took his hand, "Thank you I would be pleased to dance with you." The two of them walked onto the dance floor and blended in with the sea of dancers. The girl danced very well, Emris was surprised. As the dance ended Emris walked the girl back to her chair and kissed her hand. Then another man walked up and took her for the next dance.

Well there goes my partner... Emris looked back at Irene and Ion, the vampire had not asked her to dance again so Emris walked up to them and bowed, "Pardon me but would you care to share this dance Irene?" Emris smiled at Ion, "You can't keep her to yourself all night." Emris smiled charmingly waiting for her reply.

Carlos sat back and drank the whiskey that was left after the little incident Salvatore had with the bartender. He seemed to be groggily getting up after being pummeled. Carlos tossed a few coins on the bar.

"For the troubles," he said smoothly. "My underlings tend to be a bit rambunctious, so I think this money should help you forgive them."

The bartender grumbled and nodded in agreement. Carlos could see that all the members of the Dark Symphony were enjoying themselves quite immensely. Carlos couldn't help but laugh to himself when he saw Irene being asked by almost everyone to dance. He was going to ask her himself, but he could see already that she was crowded.

"I think I'll just enjoy some well deserved alcohol," he said to himself. "I plan on trying as many American drinks as I can before the night is over."

Irene smiled again as Emris asked her to dance just as she sat down, she took another sip from her wine and stood up again

''You may, though it better be a slow dance.''