A Scripta

Dmitrius Acheron (Dimitrius updated)

Clan: Brujah Generation: 6 Nature: Defender
Demeanor: Defender

Blood: 30 Morality: Humanity Aura: +3
Willpower: 15 Morality Traits: 4 Self-Control: 4
Conscience/Conviction: 6 Courage: 4

Physical Traits:
Agile
Brutal X2
Dexterous X2
Enduring X2
Quick
Stalwart X2
Tireless: X3
Tough: X3
Vigerous X2
Wiry

Mental Traits:
Alert X2
Clever
Creative
Cunning X2
Disciplined X4
Knowledgeable X3
Observant X2
Patient X4
Vigilant

Social Traits:
Alluring X2
Charismatic X2
Commanding
Dignified
Eloquent X3
Intimidating X4


Abilities:
Academics X6 Doctorate in History, English, Masters in Political Science.
Animal Ken
Athletics X3
Awareness X2
Brawl X7
Computer X2
Dodge: X7
Drive: X3
Etiquette
Expression X2
Finance X3
Firearms X2
Intimidation X5
Linguistics X7 (Greek, Latin, Egyptian, English, French, Spanish, Arabic)
Law
Melee X8
Occult X3
Security X2
Survival X3

Disciplines:
Celerity: Alacrity
Celerity: Swiftness
Celerity: Rapidity
Potence: Prowess
Potence: Might
Potence: Vigor
Potence: Intensity
Fortitude: Endurance
Fortitude: Mettle
Fortitude: Resilience
Fortitude: Resistance
Fortitude: Aegis
Obfuscate: Cloak of Shadows
Presence: Awe
Presence: Dread Gaze
Protean: Eyes of the Beast
Protean: Feral Claws
Protean: Earth Meld
Animalism: Feral Whispers


Backgrounds:
Allies X3
Resources X5

Influences
Finance

Merits:
Ambidextrous
Iron Will
True Love

Flaws:
Enemy (Assamites, Sabbat)
Touch of Frost

Dmitrius held the phone to his ear, while Kalius had stepped out of the room. "Hello, Rowena," he said.

"Dmitri, luv!"

Dmitrius smiled. "Rowena, I have some news for you."

"Yes?"

"I'm getting married."

"To that man you were searching for?"

"Yes."

"That's wonderful! When is the wedding?"

"After I take care of things down there."

"Will he be Embraced before or after?"

"He won't be, Rowena."

Rowena tsked. "Dmitrius, I know you haven't had much experience with mortal lovers, but it really is not a good idea to have a purely mortal lover. They will grow old and you will have to take care of them, and by the time you want to Embrace them it will be far too late, so it would be better to Embrace him now, while he is in the prime of his life--"

"No. I love him. That's that."

Rowena immediately fell silent. He had used his voice to command other vampires and men before, but didn't realize that he actually used it. Kalius entered the room, and didn't think anything had happened.

"I'm sorry, Rowena."

"No," she said quietly. "Don't be. I've had mortal lovers, Dmitrius. It always seems to end badly."

"I appreciate your advice." He put an arm around Kalius and sat with him on the couch, still talking on the phone. "I have a question for you. Will you come to the wedding?"

"Who else is going?"

"I was thinking of Aelric and Nexus if I can get a hold of him. It will be small, because Kalius' family has to come from California. And we are going to do a separate ceremony with his friends here."

She paused. "I haven't seen them in a long time...yes, of course I'll go. Do you need anything?"

He looked at Kalius and smiled. "No. Not anymore."


Kalius had gone to the grotto for a moment, and Dmitrius stayed up in the room. He called Cairo - it was only 1 a.m. there, while it was 6 p.m. in Rhode Island. He went through layer upon layer of personnel - most didn't remember him, but that was expected. Finally, he heard a familiar voice, a voice unlike anyone else, a voice that sounded like stone grinding against stone. "Dimitrius of Thebes," the man said.

"Aelric Princemaker."

He chuckled. "I have not had that designation in over a hundred years."

"Because you choose excellent princes for your city, my friend." The two men spoke conversational Latin, what they had spoken during their time before the Exodus to the New World. The younger vampires were always angry when Aelric's words travelled on the wind and Dimitrius would respond, as if speaking to no one but everywhere at once. Aelric was a master of hiding, and later a master of Shadows, learning from a Lasombra vampire he supposedly "kept" (though rumors said different, no one could prove it, and the Lasombra was killed by her own clan when she escaped). Even the shadows could carry words on them, and this is how he became a master of secrets and information.


"You did not call to exchange pleasantries."

Dmitrius knew Aelric liked to get directly to the point. "I have news. I have found my lover that I thought was killed in the Battle of Lucerna."

"How? Is he an animated body?"

"His soul is in another man's body."

"Ah, reincarnation."

"More than that." Dmitrius explained Kalius' agreement with Ares, and what had happened since. Aelric listened in silence. Dmitrius knew him well enough that the man did not waste air or movement to acknowledge anything to the speaker. Others would think him rude. He considered himself a conservationist. Dmitrius had taken a lot of that from him, but was slowly losing it as he was gaining in his humanity.

"So he will be your childe?"

"No."

"He will grow old and die."

"I will die with him."

"You will walk into the sun for him?"

"I will."

Aelric was silent for a while. Finally, he said, "It's good that you've found your love again. You know what you're doing."

Dmitrius smiled, and said, "Thank you, Aelric. We're getting married."

"Whatever for?"

"Kalius wants to. To show the Gods that we are meant to be as one. I want you to be there."

"As your best man?" He chuckled.

"You and Nexus."

"I have not heard that name in a long time. I heard Nexus went feral in the '70's."

"He was in Russia at the Fall in '89. He sent me a letter via courier saying he was going through Russia."

"The two of you were the fiercest fighters I had ever seen," Aelric said wistfully.

"My lover taught me the basics. Nexus taught me how to fight dirty."

"And your lover? Does he still fight?"

"Very well."

"I should like to see that."

"You always enjoyed watching that."

"You were the brawn, I was the brains."

"More than that, Aelric, much more than that."

"You flatter me because you want me to give you a fine wedding present."

"I only want you to be here."

He was silent again. Then his voice came over the line, "For you, Dimitrius of Thebes, I will gladly cross the ocean."

Dmitrius' voice was warm. "Thank you, Aelric. Thank you so much."

"When will this take place?"

"After I take care of some business in Texas."

"Then let me know. I will inform my people to put you directly through."

"Thank you, Aelric. Peace be upon you."

"And upon you, old friend."

Kiko had given Grim an idea, but as he lay in bed, he thought of one better. He got up, headed toward the grotto. He pulled out some valerian tea from the fridge and microwaved it to warm it up. He sipped it as he went to the magic room.

Grim pulled out a straw mat that he had used a couple of times before for meditation, so he could easily slip into that mindset. He normally didn't like etheric travel - stories he remembered from the Circle had scared him from it, of people who had left their bodies vulnerable and got them destroyed, or who were lost forever in the ether and their bodies wasted away. He had to get over his fear. He had to know.

Grim lay down on the mat and let the tea relax him. He closed his eyes and chanted in his mind, until he felt himself slipping into something beyond sleep, into a trance. He knew his body's functions had slowed, and he felt himself rise up from his body.

He couldn't sense an "up" or "down" direction. Instead he concentrated on Stefan, on feeling him near again. Then he felt himself almost "whoosh" in the air, hurtling through space faster than he'd ever flown before. The next thing he knew, he was in a huge gymnasium - set up like the Roman-type of gymnasium, with assorted pells and other training items. He could see Stefan, alone, battling pell after pell, running from one to the other, slashing and cutting with his fiery blade.

Grim was filled with such longing, and suddenly Stefan stopped. He looked directly at him. "Michael?"

*Stefan!* Grim didn't hear himself speak it, but actually felt the word leave him. His spirit rushed to Stefan and they connected - Grim was filled with pure love and devotion, and if his spirit could cry with joy, it would. Stefan dropped his sword and held onto Grim's spirit.

"What...what are you doing here? You're not dead..."

*No I came looking for you where have you been I've missed you please come back--* Grim also sent images, of Kalius telling him they were getting married, of when he had brought Dmitrius back using the spell, and feelings, of how he felt when all these things happened.

Stefan sent him love again, and said quietly, "I can't come back yet. I need to fulfill something for Michael. Once I do, my love, I'll be back, I swear."

Then suddenly Grim felt something close, something akin to anger. He looked around for it and saw a blond angel standing before him, dressed all in red. Grim stared at him, terror growing in him.

"What are you doing here?" the red angel thundered.


*I only came to find Stefan I haven't heard from him and I was worried and I was lonely and I miss him--*

"You are not his charge any more. Begone."

Stefan turned to the blond angel, his eyes filled with anguish, "Michael!"

That was the last image he saw, as Grim was thrown out of heaven, and came back to his body with a hard thump that gave him a horrible headache. He threw his arms up over his eyes, and remembered what Ryder had told him one night, "Stefan would defy heaven to be with you."

Grim had gotten his answer. As he picked up his mug and headed to the grotto, he knew now what he had to do.

He walked out of the magic room, and could hear talking coming from the new Roman baths that Rusty had built. It was 3:30 in the morning, so he knew who was there. At first, he was saddened, but then he lifted his head. Kalius was happy, fulfilled. He shouldn't deny him that and make him feel guilty. He brought Dmitrius back for him, and he should have expected this. He hadn't really lost Kalius, there was still love there, but a friendship, stronger than sex. Too many people in this group loved him. Kiko was right - what he thought was love was a "romp with friends."

He sighed.  He would wait for that pure love to come back to him.

Grim opened the door to the magic room and jerked back in shock. Leaning against the wall outside was Dmitrius, looking nonchalant in a simple t-shirt and black jeans. He slowly but gracefully moved off the wall and stood straight.

"What do you want," Grim snarled.

"We need to talk."

"Like we did the last time?" Grim fingered the dagger at his belt.

"Like civilized men."

"Civilized men also duel with pistols at ten paces."

He smiled slightly. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Grim crossed his arms. "So go ahead and talk."

"Why did you bring me back? Why did you do this to me? And don't say that it's because you love him, because if you did, you really wouldn't be acting like this."

"How do you know? How long has it been since you've loved someone?"

"A long time, but I still know the feeling."

"Because I gave it back to you."

Dmitrius inclined his head. "Yes, you did, and I appreciate that, which is why I haven't killed you by now."

"That's good to know," Grim muttered.

"Answer the question."

Grim glared at Dmitrius. "I wanted him to love me again."

Dmitrius looked confused. "He loves you like a brother, a comrade in arms. He told me he always has."

Grim said quietly, "I wanted more. I wanted a soulmate. But he was taken."

"Did you want him happy? Or you?"

"What do you think?"

"Tell me."

Grim looked angrily at him. "Yeah, I wanted to be happy."

"So it has nothing to do with loving Kalius, but only making yourself happy."

"Not nothing!"

"Then honestly tell me you're happy for him, because if you cared for his feelings, you'd know this is what he's always wanted."

Grim started walking away, but Dmitrius moved fast, putting an arm in front of him to stop him. "I won't let you walk away. I will stay here until the dawn if I have to."

Grim stared at the arm in his way. It didn't even look like an arm - it looked like a statue of alabaster. They stood there for what seemed like a long time, Dmitirus not wavering, staring Grim down. Finally, Grim leaned back against the wall, sighed, and put his head back. "I hate you."

Dmitrius waited.

"I hate what you have, the devotion."

"You have it also with your angel."

He snorted. "Where?"

Dmitrius took his arm down. "You remind me of a child, when someone hides his favorite toy, the child thinks the toy's disappeared forever, and immediately finds another favorite toy. When the first favorite toy appears, the second is cast aside until it's disappeared again. You can't remember, and treasure, and trust the first toy to come back."

"Maybe I have abandonment issues," Grim said angrily, "and I abandon them before they abandon me."

"Because you don't trust anyone."

Grim looked at him. "I trust some people."

"Not Kalius."

"He was devoted to you!"

"So you can trust him with your life, but not with your heart?" When Grim turned away, Dmitrius followed him to keep him in sight. "Is that why you broke up with him, because you felt you couldn't trust his love?"

"Since when are you my counselor? Leave me alone and go back to the grave you crawled out of." He started to leave again, but Dmitrius grabbed him by the collar and held him fast. Grim pulled out his knife, tried to turn and slash him. Dmitrius hit Grim's hand at the wrist and knocked the blade out of it, sending it skidding under one of the chairs.

"You haven't answered my questions."

"I don't answer to you!"

"I will hold you here until you do."

He struggled, and then resigned himself.  "Okay, I wanted to have Kalius as a lover. And Stefan. And Ryder. And anyone else I wanted."

"You do understand that Kalius is not the sharing type." Dmitrius let him go.

"I hoped to change his mind."

"You might as well try to alter the course of an avalanche. Once he has his mind made up, he doesn't change it."

Grim glared.  "I can't change it now."

"No, you can't. So that's all you wanted? Notches on the bedpost?"

"I told you I wanted a soulmate."

Dmitrius shook his head. "You wanted your favorite toy back."

"You know what? Fuck you." Grim ducked under the chair and retrieved his knife. When he turned back to Dmitrius, he was gone.

Grim brought the sacrifices into the magic room. The female baaed as he tied her to the edge of the circle. He started setting up the altar, presenting poplar branches, fragrant cypress, and mint. He lit the censer and stood back, waiting for the incense to fill the air.

He turned around to go shut the door, and a blond-haired bearded man stood in the doorway. He was dressed in a simple robe, and he wore winged sandals.

“Nobody in their right mind summons Hades.”

“Whoever said I was in my right mind.”

The man smiled and leaned on the door frame. “What do you need him for?”

“I want to ask permission to take a soul.”

“For your own purposes?”

“I want to torture it.”

The man stood straight. “You are not sent here to judge, you are only here to take the souls and send them to Hades. The three Judges will decide his fate.”

“What if they’re wrong? What if Kell sweet-talks them, Hermes?”

Hermes cocked an eyebrow. “How stupid do you think they are? You really don’t know what happens when a person dies, do you?”

“I assume they just hang around in Hades.”

Hermes laughed. “Not Tartaros. Have you ever been there? You don’t ‘hang around’ in Tartaros. The wicked ones suffer eternal punishment, and Minos is very creative.”

“So he’ll never come back?”

“Has Sisyphus? Has Hitler?”

“Hitler’s in Tartarus?”

“Yes.”

Grim wanted to know more, but Hermes didn’t look like he would go into detail. Grim looked at the sheep, who looked at him with sorrowful eyes. “So Kell will go to Tartarus?”

“If he’s judged that.”

Grim looked up at him, “Well, dammit, I want to present evidence!”

“I’ll get evidence, but you have to do something for me.”

“Christ, I knew it.” He turned from Hermes and went back to the altar to put out the censer.

“Hear me out, Michael.”

Grim stopped. “Fine, what is it?”

Hermes came down and walked over to Grim, and took him by the chin. “Create replicas of items of the gods.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

He smiled at Grim. “All the gods have items that they use. Zeus has his lightning bolt. Hades has a helm of invisibility. Athena has her spear. Artemis her arrows. You get the idea. Imbue them with the power of the gods.”

“Won’t they be a little pissed if I do that?”

“That’s why they’re replicas.” Hermes let Grim go. “It’s magic, masquerading as the power of the gods.”

“Are you sure I won’t get in trouble?”

Hermes gave him a look. “What do you think I am?”

“A trickster.”

He laughed, and turned from Grim. “Just do it, and I’ll come back to collect them in a few months. By then, my part of the bargain will be fulfilled.” He walked through the door, and out into the library.

Grim turned to the sheep. "Did you ever get the feeling that you're being used?"

The sheep baaed. Grim went and untied them, and led them back out of the magic room. Maybe the farmer would buy them back.

When Grim awoke, he was covered in liquid peanut butter.

He jerked up, his first thought being for the book that he was reading, but someone had taken it off his lap and set it on the desk. He had fallen asleep on the floor in the library, sitting in a lotus position, having strange dreams. This was Arcadia after all.

Figuring out the fae magic book came easier and easier as he sat with it. They wrote like he did - in different languages and symbols, odd word tenses and mixed up sentence structure. There was no pattern, no rhyme nor reason, and if he let his mind go, things just came to him, just like he was automatic writing. However, they didn't stick - just like automatic writing.

He got up, and could hear giggling just beyond the door. It was a pooka, obviously, and could very well have been Skye. He headed out of the library, and saw something at the top of the stairs. It was small, green, with wild hair tangled among curly horns. He looked like a satyr without hooves. He looked at him and sang in a sweet voice,

I like black and white
Dream in black in white
You like black and white
Run run away!

Grim looked at the fae. He smiled, wiggled his hips and continued:

See the chameleon
Lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run run away!

"Right," Grim said, and walked past him. But the fae followed him, still singing.


If you're in the swing
Mud in everything
If you're in the swing
Run run away


See the chameleon
Lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run run away!

Grim stopped at the top of the stairs. "Will you stop it?"


Oh now can't you wait?
No no come on and wait
Oh now can't you wait?
Run run away!


See the chameleon
Lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run run away!

He kept repeating the last line, and Grim realized what he himself was doing. He was running away. Away from his friends, who needed him. Shar'nok, the new guy, was still learning. And he was a better man than the way he acted toward Dmitrius and Kal - he's not ready to apologize yet, but he is at least ready to avoid them. He said to the singer, "I run, run away." The singer nodded, and took off.

Grim went to the shower, and washed off the peanut butter. As he did so, he realized what Ryder was trying to do - keeping his mind off Dmitrius and Kal. That's what he would do - keep his mind occupied. He had an idea...

(Lyrics from "Run Runaway" by Slayer.)

Plato wrote about the code of honor of the Sacred Band of Thebes:

"The beloved, when he is found in any disgraceful situation, will be pained at being detected by his lover. If there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers and their loves, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonour... For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away his arms... Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour of danger?"

Dimitrius carried Kalius' spear and shield and sat astride the horse while his commander looked down from his horse at the village stretched out below him. "This looks too easy."

"It never is," Dimitrius said.

Kalius grinned with pride at his eronamos. So young, yet so insightful. Twenty-four summers, eight years in the army, three years with the Sacred Band. Six years as his lover. Kalius was only four years older, but he treated the younger man as his equal. Age didn't matter with the Band - as he himself well knew, being among the younger commanders in the army.

"Let us go introduce ourselves."

Dimitrius jerked forward slightly to move the horse and followed his erastes down the hill. The rest of the unit followed them.

At first they advanced slowly, like men approaching a skittish colt, weapons drawn but not threatening. The commander's horse picked its way gingerly down the hill, reaching the flat land about a thousand cubits away. [500 yards] The unit consisted of about thirty men, with the rest of the Band resting just outside of Delphi. Scouts reported that an unknown number of Spartans had taken refuge here. Kalius thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

The men gathered around their commander, ten splitting off to take point. Kalius continued at his own pace as the point men jogged forward, arms still drawn but not at the ready. Kalius could see some people flee from the men, women gathering children and animals.

He noted there were no able-bodied men of soldiering age here, but some boys who could easily enter the Citadel if their parents so chose. A cripple on a crutch watched the men walk through the village.

Kalius reached the center, and turned to address the people who still remained outside. "We have heard you have some Spartans here. Present them within the hour and we will go without harm to you or your property. If you do not, we will search house to house, and show no mercy to the inhabitants."

Dimitrius knew that was mostly talk, though he had seen some of the other men tear through houses like men possessed, leaving nothing but a pile of debris in the center of the house.

Kalius sat down at the well and drank and Dimitrius joined him. The men relaxed, but were vigilant. Dimitrius watched the street, while his commander pretended to be at ease, but was also wary and watching. The required hour went by, the streets emptied - but no Spartans were brought before them.

Kalius nodded to the men, and they spread out in groups of four, bursting into homes. Kalius was surrounded by the sounds of screaming women and children, even though he knew they were not the object of the men's attentions. He watched as Galenos, son of Heron, dragged out a brown haired boy probably no older than 12, while his forever slighted eromanos Irenius stood off to the side, frowning. Kalius would need to talk to them after this.

"Commander!"

Kalius and Dimitrius rose from the well and looked at three men coming toward them. Two of his solders were holding the cripple.

They tossed the man to the dust before Kalius' feet. One of his men grabbed the scruff of the man's ragged clothes and cut it away. He wore a basic bronze breastplate underneath. Kalius nodded, and the men lifted him up to face Kalius. "Where are the rest of your men?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hades take you, dog!"

"Tie him up."

The two men tied his hands behind his back and bound his ankles together. "Continue searching. Dimitrius, watch him."

The men continued to search, bringing up two more men, one injured. In the meantime, he also brought up the village elder, who claimed to have no knowledge of hiding the Spartans. Kalius let him go, believing that he might not have had knowledge, but some individual members of the village may have.

Another commander might have set fire to the village for hiding the enemy. Kalius wasn't at all like that - he was a believer that massacres turned people against the occupiers. Instead he mounted the horse and directed they bring the prisoners. Bound only behind their backs, the Spartans were forced to march at spearpoint.

Kalius joined the rest of the Band and reported to his commander. All of them expressed disappointment that there were only a few. Pelopidas looked over at his comrade standing with his lover. "I have another report, but it's too late to go after them now." He glanced toward the boy who was lighting candles in the tent. "Rest up tonight, and you can go out in the morning."

"Yes, sir," Kalius said with a salute, and the two men left. Kalius put his arm around Dimitrius' waist. "What I wouldn't give for a bath right now." Then he saw Irenius, sitting outside his beloved's tent. Kalius released Dimitrius and walked over to him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Galenos found a boy."

Kalius stormed over to the tent and tore open the door. He caught Galenos in the middle of taking the boy he had captured. Kalius stood, waiting. Galenos finished, then happened to open his eyes to see his commander standing there, his blue eyes blazing in anger. "Get up," Kalius said, his voice low and menancing. "Get dressed." Galenos threw on a tunica and went outside. Kalius pointed to Irenius. "Who's that?"

Galenos knew where this was going. "My partner," he said.

"Commander," Irenius said quietly, "it's all--"

"It is not all right," Kalius said angrily. "He is your beloved - he is who you should share your bed with."

Galenos looked down. "Yes, commander."

"Release the boy tomorrow morning." Kalius turned and stormed away. As Dimitrius watched him go, his heart swelled. He dutifully followed Kalius, and they went into their tent. Kalius turned to Dimitrius and sighed. "A man should have one beloved."

Dimitrius started removing Kalius' armor. "A man can't devote himself to more than one person," Dimitrius said, peeling off the breastplate. "I don't understand how Irenius can take that."

"Irenius is too gentle," Kalius said. "Galenos doesn't deserve him."

"Eutropios likes him. I've seen them together often when Galenos abandons Irenius."

"Eutropios has been lonely since losing his erastes. Maybe he can be a mentor and Irenius his apprentice?"

"Possible." Dimitrius looked down at his erastes, dressed only in his tunica. Dimitrius undressed, and Kalius watched, a small smile crossing his face. When Dimitrius finished, Kalius pulled him close and kissed him, deliriously happy with his devoted lover.