Unknown to all but the well-informed, there exists realms outside of Equestria's borders. They are lands as beautiful as they are dangerous, as grim as they are hopeful, and as bizarre as they are familiar. Enter Castle Stahlernschlatten, a lonely stronghold along the Rhein River in Germaneigh, just outside Boar territory. The Black Lord rules the surrounding countryside with an iron hoof as he protects the commoners and nobles alike from threats just across the border.

Will you protect, or destroy? Or perhaps something different and unorthodox? Your path is your own, but it would be wise to walk it carefully, for the world is unforgiving.
_____________

Midnight Storm poured over stacks of tomes as she sat in the royal library, both for fun and for work. Being the head librarian for the local lord was no easy task, as it kept her busy with one thing or another almost every waking hour. Fortunately, Midnight enjoyed that sort of thing. Most treated her like a freak and an outcast, so she focused inwardly and took up the sciences. Eventually, ideas caught her interest more than companionship.

(I will try to be an active GM, but I would appreciate it if those participating would remember that I have my own projects and matters to attend to. Good luck and have fun.)

1172648 (Are supernaturals allowed)

1172853
(Everything except humans.)

1172648
A mare with a hooded white cloak came through the door, keeping her head down so her face could not be seen. Her coat, seen by her hooves and the small bit of her muzzle poking out from the hood, was also white, and her mane was white as well, seen from some of the long, straight locks of hair spilling from the hood. The only thing not white were the pair of worn leather saddlebags on the mare's back. They only contained food, water, a few small musical instruments, and whatever bits the mare had leftover.

The white mare's soft hoofsteps barely made any noise as she walked up to the front desk. Her voice was equally quiet and timid.

”Umm..... Hello? I'd like some help looking for a book......."

[Is Midnight a vampire or normal in this particular thread?]

1172890 (Let's go for vampire, it suits her better. Also, I would have had this thread posted much earlier, but a lightning storm put my WiFi in a choke hold. Didn't get it back till 4:00 AM.)

Midnight stopped in the middle of turning a page, and flicked her brilliant sapphire eyes up to the white mare. She smiled warmly as she made eye contact; the mare's shy demeanor reminded the black vampire of when she was a little younger. "What are you looking for, exactly?" She asked in a friendly tone.

1172912 Panting, Stringer came over the hill. With a saddlebag and a guitar strapped to his back, he could barely trot. But it was worth it. Even with the towns history, he couldn't turn down that pony's offer to perform FOR A THOUSAND BITS! Feeling a burst of energy, Stringer walked to a library and leaned against the wall, resting his legs.

1172912
The mare gave a small gasp as she saw Midnight's eyes; they were just like her own, as if the two mares' eyes were four dazzling sapphires all cut from the same piece. The white mare's already slim form seemed to bundle up timidly.

"J-just a book on...... Banshees.... if you have one......"

1172912 Feeling his lungs fill with air, he walked into the library. Stringer saw two mares talking, and his eys widened when he saw the librarian. She was pretty..Shaking his head, Stringer walked to a reading table and sat at a chair. Taking out a letter, he read the job offering he got to play here.

1172925>>1172941
Midnight was lost in the mare's eyes for a brief second before realization formed on her expression. "I believe I have one right here..." She said, beginning to shuffle around the stacks of books. "We had a few incidents here recently, so the lord had me look into it right away."

She reached her hoof out to adjust one of the books on the bottom, slightly turning the keel to face her. "Where did I put it..." She muttered. Unfortunately, that last adjustment was enough to disturb the tomes resting higher on the stack, causing them to fall toward Midnight.

Her eyes widened in alarm, and her hooves shot out like lightning to catch them. She just barely caught the falling stack, more so due to the size and weight rather than a lack of speed. Sighing in relief, Midnight replaced the stack and smiled nervously at the mare as she returned to finding the book. "Sorry about that."

1172979
The mare's eyes widened at the speed which Midnight caught the books. She shifted nervously on her hooves, wanting to leave to her room in the castle as soon as possible. The mare was simply a traveling singer who would work for any that hired her. Sometimes the pay was horrendous, but she was not one to pass up an opportunity to have enough bits to have food for the night....

1172986
Midnight pulled a book from a third stack, using a little more care than before, and sat it in front of the white mare. It was a huge, heavy tome that looked very old, quite possibly even ancient. The pages were yellowed and bent, but otherwise in decent condition.

Midnight smiled brightly and nudged the book towards the mare."That should tell you most of what you need to know. It's mostly records of summonings and such, but it has descriptions and probably a few other things." She explained happily. She glanced to the side and blushed slightly. "If you don't mind me saying so, you have really pretty eyes."

1172979 Whistling in awe as he saw the mare somehow catch the books, Stringer continued to read his letter.

1173000
[Oh, um.... Maria is a Banshee. She's gonna read through and see how much is..... valid.... information. I was playing on the idea that the Banshee legend was born off an actual sub-species of pony.]

The mare raised a confused eyebrow at the word 'summonings', but blushed furiously at Midnight's last comment. She bit her lip and reached a nervous hoof out to take the book. The white mare was clearly not used to praise or kind words.

"O-okay..... I'll j-just be going now...."

1173010 (That sounds neat, but I knew she was a banshee. You thought I didn't pay attention to that shit? You thought wrong! In all seriousness, that's good to know. I thought she was a ghost.)

Midnight nodded politely at the mare. "Take care." She began moving her books around to make her space more efficient.

(Word of forewarning, the halls of the castle can be quite...interesting. *mad giggling*)

1173025
[Oh, dear.... That can't be good....]

The mare slipped the book into her saddlebags and immediately trotted out the library, going down the halls towards the room she had secured for herself. She kept her gaze to the floor, trying to keep attention off of her. The only time she would stand being the center of attention was when she would sing for payment.

1173025 Standing up, Stringer asked the librarian "Do you know where the castle is?"

1173062
[Thou art inside the castle. The library is in the castle.]

1173059
The halls were dimly lit, only the sparse traces of sunlight showing through the rows of arrow slits in the walls. Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping and beating against stone gradually made its way toward the mare from around the corner in front of her.

The shadow of a large muzzle appeared on the wall, slowly moving across its surface as a large, vaguely wolf-like head peeked around the corner. It was completely encased in heavy black armor that revealed nothing of the head beneath, save for two glowing red eyes.

1173088
The mare let out an 'eep' as she ran the other way as fast as she could. She burst back into the library, closed the heavy doors behind her and panted heavily, mostly out of fear. She could stand to be in the library a bit longer.

The timid mare made her way to a secluded corner of the library and pulled out the book, reading through it silently.

1173098 Looking up at the sound of the door opening. He saw the white mare from earlier. Whistling to her, he said "Hey, you ok?"

1173098
Midnight glanced over at the mare and then to the door. The heavy footfalls and the sound of metal on stone slowly marched past the library door. "They come..." A resonant, gurgling voice intoned from the other side. It had a native Germane accent, thick and powerful.

"Looks like she met one of the Jaegers." Midnight idly remarked not really caring about volume. It was, in effect, her library. No one could give her grief about how quiet she was being.

1173105
1173116
The mare was doing her best to ignore everyone and everything around her, trying to keep to her book and be as unassuming as possible. She didn't like talking to others. Most of the time, she got grief and insults, and when she got praise, she didn't know how to repond.

1173132
Midnight closed her book and sat it down before taking to the air and silently landing ten feet from the mare. "Hey, I know they're big and scary, but they'll leave you alone most of the time. Some of them are even really friendly." She said softly.

1173132>>1173147 Seeing the white mare not react to him, Stringer shouted to the librarian "Yo, what scared her so much? And what was that voice passing the door?"

1173147
1173175
The white mare whimpered timidly and tried to hide behind the large tome in her hooves. She was not sure how to respond to either one of these ponies, but at least she wouldn't be eaten by one of those armored things in the hallway.

1173175>>1173178
Midnight turned to the strange stallion and cleared her throat. "They're called Jaegers. Big horned things that function as the lord's personal guard. None of the others in the castle know what they actually look like." She said in a normal voice.

1173188
1173175
The mare listened from behind her book, trying to be as unassuming and unnoticeable as possible. Though, she could work up some courage to talk if the ponies were nice to her. That librarian was rather kind.

1173188 "Well, why the hell wasn't I told in the letter he sent me!"

1173253>>1173279
Midnight sighed heavily. "Because the Jaegers are no one's business except for the nobles who own them." She glanced over at the mare beside her, slightly worried about her. She was being awfully quiet. "Especially those of the Black Lord. He keeps information about them secret for some reason." She turned back to the white mare. "I never caught your name, sweetie." She asked in a gentle tone.

1173310
The mare looked up and slowly pulled her hood back, revealing her long, flowing white mane.

"Um.... I'm Maria....." There was a flicker of a smile on her lips before she turned back to the book. "Gosh...... This book has got nothing on Banshees....."

1173323
Midnight giggled and smiled warmly. "I'm Midnight Storm, the head librarian here." She said in a warm tone. She looked to the book, her eyes scanning its cover. "Sorry about that. Germaneigh doesn't have a lot of info on creatures, and we're mostly isolated from everyone else."

1173346
Maria set the book aside, sitting back in her chair and curling up in her large, thick white cloak. Her saddlebags sat against the chair. "It's okay..... I was just.... um..... comparing the book...."

1173350
Midnight took a seat across from Maria, setting her elbows on the table and resting her head on her hooves. "Comparing it to what, if I may ask?"

1173362
Maria seemed very reluctant to talk, biting her lip and looking away nervously. Her white cheeks turned red as she shifted in her seat and curled up tighter inside her cloak. "Um..... Myself.......

1173379
Midnight's eyes lit up with curiosity. "You're a banshee?" She asked with surprise. "That's so fascinating!" She said with mild excitement. She knew the mare was timid, so she opted to not seem overly excited.

1173386
Maria nervously nodded and let out a quiet whimper, trying to hide inside her cloak. The lingering scent of her mother provided some comfort inside the warm wool and leather the cloak was made from.

"Y-yes..... Why are y-you b-being so n-nice to m-m-me?"

1173401
Midnight tilted her head. "Why shouldn't I be nice to you? You've done nothing wrong, you're pretty, and you're interesting. Of course I'll be nice."

1173430
Maria looked up with a bit of surprise, tentatively reaching a hoof out to Midnight's. The timid mare wanted almost desperately to have more of this kindness.

"No one outside of my tribe has been this kind to me before......"

1173444
Midnight reached her hoof out to take Maria's. She felt for this mare, she felt like she could relate. "If it makes you feel like you aren't alone, I have my own...unique quality." She looked saddened as she looked away, staring at the table for fear of being rejected. "I'm a vampire."

1173474
Maria blinked once, but shrugged, her voice rising to a normal tone as she grew more comfortable around this kind mare. Her voice was smooth, almost angelic to the ears. "Okay. Did you..... want to talk somewhere more private? I.... I try to stay away from other ponies as best I can......"

1173495
Midnight looked back up and smiled warmly. "We can go to my room, my assistant will take over things here."

1173517
Maria smiled and nodded gratefully, standing up and slipping on her saddlebags. "Lead the way, please." The mare seemed a bit eager to be with such a kind and friendly pony, after so many years of loneliness.

1173531 (My mischievous senses are tingling. Must...resist...)

Midnight hopped out of her chair with a soft thump as her hooves hit the old carpet. She smiled at Maria and trotted towards the door, putting some bounce in her step. Midnight was quite beautiful; her curvy body appeared well-toned and muscled, giving her an athletic build, and her legs moved with graceful form.

1173561
[Go ahead if you want, but Maria is shy and timid as fuck. She just might have a nervous breakdown......]

Maria blushed let her eyes travel over Midnight's curvy body, trying to keep her cloak covering the back half of her body as she stiffly walked after the vampony. She sometimes hated having her extra bit.....

1173576 (I never said that type of mischievous. )

Midnight pulled the iron ring on the door as she opened it, and stepped through. Almost immediately she was greeted by a looming presence.

"Miss Midnight Storm," Came the characteristic rumble of a Jaeger, " Lord Stahlernschatten requests your presence at your earliest convenience."

1173609
[Oh, you....]

Maria 'eeped' and hid behind Midnight, shivering fearfully and covering her eyes with her hooves. She was never much of a fighter. She had always tried, and failed, to talk her problems out.

1173699>>1173609 With his mouth wide open from what he just heard, Stringer slowly closed it and laughed. "Banshees aren't real!", he said to himself.

1173699 ()
For those that could see, the Jaeger was a massive creature at least three times the size and height of a stallion. It looked vaguely like a huge wolf with a unicorn's horn, but the thick armor covering its body denied further observation.

Midnight nodded as she looked to the Jaeger's fierce red eyes. "I will be there as soon as I can."

The Jaeger bowed respectively, which was behavior unusual for a soldier, and took his leave.

Midnight looked back at Maria. "It's okay, he's gone."

1173751
Maria shakily got to her hooves and unconsciously moved closer to Midnight. "C-can we go now?"