First Serial Rights
@Chris Antonette, 2000

CALL OF THE VAULT

Everywhere I look, I see the influence of Corruption everywhere. Skyscrapers soar into the heavens, street lights glow with an unholy light, and the night sky appears unnaturally darker. And, even worse, the unenlightened mortals I see around accept this Corruption, not realizing that it is not meant to be.
I have been sent here to remove the Corruption, by finding its source, an Enigma which is a flaw in reality. It can be created in a number of ways, but one such way occurs much more often. This begins with an Aesthetic.
Aesthetics are the builders of the Realm of Flesh. They shape reality with the power of their thoughts alone, but, as a strict rule, are not allowed to enter the Flesh. An Enigma is created when one such Aesthetic abandons its sacred duty to indulge in their own passions in the Realm of Flesh. These renegades are called the Unbidden, and thankfully, their power is not as great as they originally were, though they still remain very powerful indeed.
Looking away from the sight, I turn back to the matter at hand. A fresh corpse lay at my feet, with its killer long gone. No one else was around, as few dare to venture deep into dark alleys. With just a simple glance, I could tell that this poor soul was killed by no mere animal, no mere mortal, but by something much more dangerous, more monstrous.
The murderer appeared to have a taste for human flesh, as he had eaten most of the intestines. What was not eaten, though, was removed from the corpse and placed in separate piles around the area. There was blood everywhere, with a trail of it leading further down the alley.
I gathered my strength, and followed this trail, which eventually led to a door, attached to the building to my right. Upon further inspection of the door, I discovered that the lock had been torn off by something with great strength. The door itself had been kicked opened. Looking inside, I see a set of stairs leading up, and a door to the right. Since the blood trail can be easily detected on the stairs, I have no choice but to assume that the killer went up.
A scream can be heard from the alley as I climbed the stairs, but I ignored it, continuing to walk. It would most likely be that one of the mere mortals had decided to venture the alley, only to discover the corpse. It was none of my concern.
I reached the second floor, and I looked around for any sort of clues. A bloody hand print on the left wall of the hallway suggested that the killer has been and may still be on this floor. With much resolve, I decided to follow the trail still.
As I enter the hallway, something heavy collides with the back of my head. Despite the intense pain I felt, I did not fall, but rolled away from the impact and easily recovered my footing. I then turned to face the assailant.
An Ogyr stood before me. A hulking mound of flesh with iron bones and incredible strength, Ogyrs are also notorious to be slow witted to realize that it had just attacked me, a Stalker.
The creature roared and stomped towards me, while I concentrated and gathered the ambient energy that surrounds the area. With a small amount of the energy, I shaped it into a small ball of power in the palm of my hand.
I looked up at the creature, who was so close I could smell the stench of disease upon its very being. It reached out with a sickly looking hand in an attempt to grab me.
I yelped, and jumped easily out of the Ogyr's reach and simultaneously threw the energy ball at the creature.
The shot did not strike as intended. Instead, the energy tore into the Ogyr's shoulder, ripping off the arm completely. Black blood splattered on the wall as the Ogyr howled in absolute pain. With it's other arm, it clutched at the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
I wasted no time, and used the remaining evergy to conjure up a scythe out of thin air. With the weapon in my hands, I swung it at the creature, slicing it neatly in two.
The Ogyr now defeated, what's left of it began to dissipate, and I know that it will reform in the barrier between the Realm of Essence, where I came from, and the Realm of Flesh, where I obviously am now. Within moments, nothing is left to prove that it even existed.
Satisfied, I checked the back of my head. Only a slight dent in the skull, no major damage. I was extremely fortunate, for an Ogyr could easily have ripped the head off in one blow.
I looked down the hallway to see if anyone had decided to investigate the noises. So far, not a soul. After gathering my wits about me, I crept down the hallway, listening for anything and searching for any trails.
After finding nothing, I decided to call upon a pack of Trackers. Within five minute, I could feel the presence of these invisible Servitors of mine. I sent them on their way, knowing that they will search out a creature of Essence besides myself. And when one does, it will let out a howl for me to hear, and I will be able to pinpoint its location more easily.
After only a mere minute, I heard the howl. It came from upstairs. I turn towards the stairway, and paused.
Three creatures bound down the stairs and into the hallway. They look like dogs, but are twice their size. Their mouths are filled with long, needle sharp teeth, and have three inch long claws. I have never before encountered the like before, these Shadows are new to me.
Raising the scythe I still hold in one hand, I threw a bolt of energy with the other hand at the closest Shadow beast.
The energy bolt collided with the head, causing it to explode. The brains splattered against my robes. The other two beasts jumped over the corpse, intent on me. As I fended off one, the other tore a chunk out of my leg. Grimacing in pain, I swung my ethereal weapon and shredded off two legs off of one beast, crippling it.
I stepped away from the wounded one, while the other clawed at my back, tearing it up. I could feel the warm blood oozing down my back as I turned to unleash an energy bolt at the beast. The bolt hits its side and flesh flew everywhere, thought the beast was merely wounded.
Injured as I am, I had to resort to a new tactic. While barely defending myself from the beast, I put most of my attention on the stairway ahead of me. The beast took advantage, and chomped down on my hand, tearing off a finger, yet, I kept on concentrating on the stairs. Within a second after, I was suddenly on the stairs.
The beast immediately became confused, as was my intention. It stopped where it was, and began to sniff the air in an attempt to locate me. But I took the initiative and shot another bolt of energy at the Shadow. The energy tore into the creature and ripped it to shreds. I exterminated the other beast, which was still alive, and began my ascent to the third floor, where I still hear the howling of the Trackers.
I finally reached the third floor, and looked down the hallway I see before me. There are four mortals lounging against the walls, chatting about sports or something similar.
I frowned at this. Surely they must have seen the beasts coming down the stairs earlier! But, if these mortals are unenlightened, they might have indeed taken the Shadows to be nothing more than large hideous dogs. If this were the case, then they will not see me as well, unless I chose otherwise. I decided that I must go past them in any case, considering that the howling can be heard coming from the end of the hallway.
After dismissing my scythe, I began walking towards them. They do not even notice me, but I did take note of the assault weapons that they are carrying. I could only assume that they must be vigilantes of some sort.
As I passed them, I noticed a particularly strange scent. It smelled familiar, but I could not quite place it. Almost like....decay!
Alerted to the danger that I had placed myself in, I whirled around, facing them, but it was too late. Three of them had already aimed their weapons at me. The fourth raised the butt end of his weapon and smacked me straight into the jaw, breaking a few of my teeth.
I fell flat on my back, and coughed out blood and teeth. Ignoring the agony I felt from the back wound as well as my mouth, I laid still and pretended that I had been knocked unconscious. I prayed that it would fool them.
Obviously, it did. I felt two sets of hands grabbing hold of me, picking me up, and I had the sensation that I was being moved. From the sound of it, I was becoming closer to the howling. Then, I heard the sound of a door opening, and I was thrown upon the floor. Then, the howling stopped. I heard a new noise now, and it sounded like a combination of rasping and wheezing. I found it nerve wracking.
Then, a voice.
"Get up, Ssstalker," the voice hissed, "I know you're awake."
I opened my eyes, and got up onto my feet, searching for the source of the voice. I traced it to an individual, a tall, dark haired male, dressed in a black business suit. Ordinarily, he would have looked quite friendly, if it were not for the alien gleam that shone in the grey eyes. The strange breathing also came from this man.
So this is the killer that I was looking for. He was no mere mortal, though. The body that he is wearing like a second skin my be mortal, but hidden inside is definitely an Unbidden, one of the most blasphemous immortal beings, the one that is responsible for the Corruption that I have witnessed.
But I became confused. Normally, the Unbidden are afraid of Stalkers, for we are chosen by the Primal Powers themselves, sent to find and capture the Unbidden, and bring them back to the Realm of Essence. There they would be thrown into the Vault, where they will remain for all eternity. Yet, this one showed no such fear.
"You are disssmissed," this Unbidden told the guards. I heard footsteps, and a door closing. It turned to look at me once again. The creature gave a twisted smile.
"You are wondering why I am allowing you to live, I believe," it rasped, coughing up a bit of bile, which was quickly wiped away with a strange discolored cloth, "and I will tell you. You sssee, I have been here, in the Realm of Flesshh, for over three hundred yearsss, and I have killed every Sssircle of Ssstalkersss that were sssent to capture me.
"And now," the thing continued, "they sssend you, a Ssstalker with out sssuch a Sssircle. Do you really think that you even have a chansse to defeat me?" A hissing laughed erupted from its chest.
I tilted my head towards the door, for I heard screaming coming from the hallway. Smiling, I looked back at the Unbidden, who apparently have not heard them yet.
"It will not me who will defeat you, abomination," I said, blood seeping from my mouth, "but it will be them." I pointed at the door and stepped aside.
As if on cue, the door bursted open. Shadows of many shapes and forms rushed into the room, straight towards the Unbidden, who leaped from the chair that it was sitting upon, and backed off into a wall.
"Yes," I had to shout to be heard over the growling and howling, "it will not be I who will defeat you, but those who were once bound to your will." The creatures began to tear the Renegade Aesthetic apart with all of their natural weapons. "Do you really think that they would merely forget about you?"
With the mortal husk destroyed, the Unbidden appeared in its true form, that of a strange reptilian monstrosity with many tentacles. It attempted to fight back against the hordes of Shadows, but they would not relent. Shortly afterwards, the Unbidden collapsed on to the ground, defeated and helpless.
I approached the Unbidden, as the Shadows stepped out of my way, their revenge finally completed. Kneeling down, I reached out and touched the creature, and concentrated with all of my might. The Renegade began to lose shape, collapsing altogether into a glowing sphere about roughly a half foot in diameter.
After taking hold, I raised the sphere, and simply said to it, "You must be wondering how they found you. It was a very simple matter. While I was looking for you, I left a spectral trail for them to follow. So, as you can see, when I found you, it was only a matter of time before they arrived.
"Now," I smiled, "you will know the punishment that you have placed upon others countless of times." And, with that, I stood up, and walked out the door, on my way to the Vault.