The Right to Choose is The Right to Consequence.

"I'm sorry." The familiar face. That familiar voice. "This is as much my fault as yours." No-! Not yours - it was never your fault. "Despite all this... I know you were a good man." No-! This isn't wasn't what I wanted for you. "So... let's just go to sleep together, okay?" But I failed to save them. I failed to save them, and I failed to save you! I... only caused suffering in the end. You, at least, should not suffer further!


Amidst silence, the wails of a desperate man echoed throughout the Void as two lights split apart on separate courses, like falling stars.


It was a pleasant day. The sun shined well, birds flew freely through the sky, and in the streets of a certain village hidden beneath a barrier, a 'parade' was even in progress. Stones were thrown. Jeers were made. Trash was slung. As a child was pulled to the stage in the center of the village, beaten and taunted all the way, no tears for them were shed.

All that paused when a light appeared in the sky directly over the village center. A wave of air pulsed outward for several miles and a thunder-like CLAP echoed alongside it as that light rocketed downward, as if slapped by a disgruntled Titan into the Earth below. The stage crumbled easily beneath it, the statue beside its cracking and breaking in half. Dust was kicked up into the air and there was a sound like shattering glass as the barrier which protected this place broke apart as if it were made of wet sand.

The shockwave from the landing threw up a storm of dust, causing the residents to shield their eyes for a moment. When things settled, the people looked toward the settling smoke in the village center in confusion. Some among them, those who were of much older generations and were not as addled by inbreeding... they felt a growing unease as they felt the barrier fall. The child on the ground whimpered a bit, and was swiftly kicked by the nearest of the 'True Vampires' as they called themselves. Didn't hurt to make sure the lesser beings were reminded of their place.

The dust settled as the man who was hurtled here took in the current situation, wearily standing to his full height from a kneeling position. To all appearances, he was simply a human dressed in ragged travelling clothes, a quarter-broken mask on his face, and a lyre hung about his neck. As he removed the remnants of his mask, they dissipated into motes of light, providing an unobstructed view of his face. Tired, yet sharp golden eyes peered at the 'True' Vampires from beneath the tips of his sandy blonde forelocks.

Tired was an apt word to describe him. He looked as if he had just fought a war. Still, despite the fatigue evident upon his shoulders, he stood with strength in his body. His gaze was unyielding, and if he were to call upon it, there was much strength within him still. Passing over the "True" Vampires encircling him and dismissing them as a threat, his eyes zeroed in on the child they had been 'escorting' to the stage earlier, before he arrived.


They were covered in trash, and bound in rope.




They were bleeding.





Exhaling, Harp's eyes tightened noticeably as he glanced from the child - a boy, probably. Their current state made gender hard to tell - to the vampire next to him, "This child. Tell me, what has he done to warrant this? Why does no one stand to aid him? A child lays bleeding on the ground before you. Common sense should dictate a response. You have before you a choice. Even if this child has committed some crime, is this really what they deserve?"

There was silence for a moment, as the gathered crowd just stared at him... before one individual snapped out of his stupor, immediately advancing on the outsider, wielding a thick club menacingly. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are, busting into our village and interrupting our festival, but I'll show you what you inferior bastards get for talking down to your betters!" His words seemed to rally the crowd. Many started to cheer him on, while others rushed out to join him. This big man seemed like he was a prideful man, and strong. It would be more satisfying to break him, than a child. Could probably last longer too. Some among the crowd, however, were watching the outsider more cautiously.

"Festival? How... enlightening." The man said dryly, not in the least concerned by the vampires gathering to strike at him. In the blink of an eye, a flash of golden light had speared each of them through the sternum, expanding until they were fully consumed. In its wake, not even ash remained. They hadn't even had the time to scream. He surveyed the crowd once more, "You were given a choice," He called again, suspiciously tranquil despite the fury blazing in his eyes, "I implore you to choose better than them. Why is it that this child suffers?"

There was a shocked silence; the low intelligence that plagued the race in the last few generations was not yet so poor that they were going to ignore what had just happened... at least for a bit.

"Why?" A voice called from within the crowd, and a man a bit taller than the others moved forward from the crowd. He seemed healthier, and had a calculating look in his eyes; this was the village leader, and unknowingly the leader of what was left of their race. "Why does this child suffer, you ask? That is quite simple, outsider. This child is impure. They carry vampiric blood, but it is diluted. Unlike us, they are the product of generations of shameless and weak-willed vampires bedding with lesser beings, and worse, humans. We, however, have not thrown away our pride. We remain pure. We remain superior. We are above these lesser beings, and it is our right, our duty even, to make sure that they never forget their place. These.... traitors to the blood, however... these.... mongrels... they are an insult to our race. They spit in the face of all we believe in. We will not tolerate their existance. So we will exact punishment upon their flesh until there is nothing left. And then we will feed. They will become a part of us, pure once more. But I suspect you do not care. You would persecute us for our beliefs, would you not? You'd be no better then. So I'll propose a compromise." The man smirked a bit.

"It is obvious you are powerful. You would kill many of my people before we are able to overwhelm you. So this one time, I will allow you to take this child, and leave. Never return, and we will never be forced to interact again."

"Before you overwhelm me, you say?" The man asked, mild amusement in his voice. He turned to the others, keeping mental note of the child and their surroundings just in case, "Do the rest of you agree with him? On this child's purity?"

The crowd immediately spoke up, voicing their agreement that the child was impure, that they deserved this punishment, and also voicing their displeasure with their leader for agreeing to release the child. The man in question, however... he knew what was coming. He could sense the danger in the air, and the way the man spoke... this would not end peacefully. 'Regrettable.' "My people.... kill the outsider! The one who brings him down shall get the first choice in the feast!" Immediately, the crowd surged forward blindly, all aiming to bring the outsider down before he could do too much damage.

"Very well." There was another flash of golden light. This time, a small wave which annihilated those vampires which drew close. When it cleared, the man floated just above the ground, clad fully in gleaming armor and held aloft by six wings. A spear appeared in each of his hands and he darted forward to the child, mercilessly striking down any vampire between him and his goal. To those whose perception could not track such speeds as those Harp could reach, it appeared as if he'd turned into a line of light himself and obliterated all vampires between himself and the boy.

The child secure, Harp hovered just over his head, his Light blinding, yet, to the boy, gentle and warm. Comforting, in the way of a father's calloused hand upon his shoulder, or the soft embrace of a mother to her bosom.

  "You will be safe, and this nightmare will end soon." He assured, before returning the majority of his attention to the vampires. Lances of light shot forward in every direction there was a foe, and vampires fell in lines by the dozen.

As the villagers began to fall one by one, their leader stood there impassively, watching the slaughter. He made no move to fight, or to run. He simply watched, an unreadable look in his eyes. It became increasingly apparent that he had underestimated the outsider. That this man was far more powerful than he had believed. His people would die here. He would die here. But that was alright. This was but one village. His pure race would still live on.

At least, this is what he believed, unaware that the rest of the 'True Vampires' had long ago mixed with other races, or died out.

The race that called themselves 'True Vampires' would not exist beyond this day.

Ruthlessly, Harp annihilated all those who attacked him with all the grace his millennia of fighting experience had bestowed him, refusing to move from his position above the child all the while. Eventually, only the leader still stood. Without pause or ceremony, Harp smote him down as well. Returning to the ground, he held out his hand and concentrated for a moment. A small sphere of light appeared, condensing into the rough shape of a miniature human, like a pixie. It had little intelligence or prowess, but he did not need much from it. Sending it to scout the village for any remaining vampires or other humans, Harp turned the majority of his attention to the child.

"Well now my friend," He said gently, his blinding corona dimming to a soft, amiable glow, "Would you allow me to see what I can do for your wounds? Regrettably, I am not a healer, but I have learned some small things here and there over the years."

"That is quite alright, you have already done more than enough." A soft voice came from above, along with the flap of wings. Three angels were arriving; two seemingly normal angels, a man with a bow and a woman with a quarterstaff, while the third was much different. Six wings carried her, signifying her as one of the Seraphim. The three landed, approaching somewhat cautiously. Somewhat, in the fact that the two angels were cautious, while the Seraph seemed perfectly relaxed. Once she was a few feet away from Harp and the child, who seemed unsure what to do at the moment, she suddenly bowed deeply.

"I do not know who you are, or where you have come from, and I doubt you came here today with the intent to do what you have done... but you have done this world a great service, and for that, I want to express my sincere gratitude. If you will allow me, I can heal the child's wounds."

Fixing the seraph with a steely, searching gaze, Harp nodded and stepped to the side, "I will watch." He said simply, though combined with his actions the implication was clear - he would not leave the child defenseless. It was quite a change from the last  time he met a member of the heavenly host. Far from thanks, under very similar circumstances he'd been put to trial and locked in a gazeebo for a few decades.

The woman nodded, and knelt next to the child. "Relax, dear... once we have you feeling better, we will take you back to your parents...." She began to heal the boy, while the other angels finally moved closer, lowering their weapons. The man looked Harp over.

"So... you did this all yourself? Are you just that powerful, or were they all that weak? We honestly don't know... that damned barrier has kept them hidden for thousands of years, so we don't actually have any clue how strong they are... were."

"From my observation, they were quite weak," Harp responded succinctly, keeping a wary - but not hostile - eye on the process of the child's healing. "Self assured, as well."

"Oh, of that I have no doubt. Never has there been a more arrogant and despicable group of people..." The healing had finished, the child having fallen asleep during the process. She gently picked the child up, cradling him. "He's been through much, though thankfully not as much as he would have if you had not intervened. And he would have been one of the lucky ones, at that..." She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "I plan to take him back to his parents now, though based on your actions up to now, I'll assume you will accompany us?"

Harp nodded once more, "I have assured this child that all will be well, and intend to see it so."

She smiled a bit, nodding. "That's about what I expected. Come, fly with me. It should only be about an hours flight, going at a brisk pace. Arlin, Lenore, you can return for now, I can take it from here." The other two seemed to hesitate for a moment, before nodding and taking off, disappearing in a flash of light. "Mm. I suppose I can offer to transport us there the same way they left, but I'll assume you are not yet willing to trust me with that. Besides, I enjoy flying about myself."

A mental signal had the sprite he'd created earlier whirling back to him in a streak, its tiny wings buzzing animatedly before it settled onto his outstretched palm and dissipated. Going from its memories, it hadn't seemed to find anything of note in the brief time that it had searched. "It is not that I distrust you," Harp said simply, rising into the air with an unnecessary beat of his wings, "but that I refuse to fail that child."

"Hm. There's a story there, but I'm not one to pry." She rose after him, before taking off, slowly gaining speed to make sure he could keep up. She suspected he'd have no trouble doing so, but didn't want to assume. As they flew, she started up a conversation. "Well, since we can only talk as we fly, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Tanarin, and I am Lady Anya's Head Seraph. As you are a new arrival here, I'll state that Lady Anya is the goddess that created the multiverse in which you now reside, Meus Carus."

"I am The Aspect of Courage, Harp." He returned, mentally noting that he was no longer in the same multiverse as he was previously, which was a concept that was somewhat perplexing, even as used to inter-dimensional travel as he was. It seemed Sophia's attempt to seal the both of them away did not go as intended. At all.

"Interesting,' could be a word for it, I suppose." He agreed, before pausing. He almost wanted to ask if she or her associates had detected a similar being to himself, but refrained. Pursuing that goal had already cost so much, for so many. Too much. Rather than a question, he instead made a statement: "You do not seem to mind that I have saved this child, and slain those... beings."

Tanarin glanced back at him, raising a brow. "Mind? Harp, I am pleased beyond measure, as is Lady Anya. Their barrier also fueled a sort of 'cloak' put in place by a chaotic god named Larisch, hiding them from Lady Anya. With the barrier gone, she can easily find the rest of their scouts that they sent out for the sake of kidnapping people. As we speak, she is quite happily killing what's left of them from orbit. Those 'beings' as you put it have been a cancer on this world, long overdue for elimination. The atrocities they have committed against the innocents of this world are countless. And you quite accidentally took away the only thing protecting them from reprisal. Mind? No, Harp, I thank you for what you have done. If anything, I'm surprised you would think I would be upset."

"For descending to the mortal plane, for saving a mortal's life, for bringing that mortal to Etherea for their safety while my attention was drawn away, I have been tried and sentenced before." Harp elucidated, his tone remarkably stoic, yet stained faintly with bitterness. "To isolation, of course. I was too valuable to execute. Assuming they could have succeeded if they'd actually tried... the girl though..." His aura dimmed and flared, as if restraining itself, "Suffice to say, in the circumstances we met... It was not thanks given to me, or healing bestowed upon the victim."