The Clan of Azedadeth

Clan Azedadeth Notes


The story itself is set in the mid 90s in a small city in the Midwestern part of the United States.  This city has a small, credited college.  It is here we meet our protagonist Victoria Samson.  Vickie is a girl of average height but a little overweight.  It has nothing to do with her eating habits or lack of exercise, though she could stand to do some early morning jogging a bit more often.  She's a young adult in her mid 20s who is going to the (insert random college name here) to study journalism.  Vickie has long strawberry blond hair and green eyes.  She normally wears loose clothing with some bit of pink in them and a small braided lock tied with a green band.  She had rosy cheeks and a Swedish nose.  

She's been dating Tony Gibbs, someone she's known for a long time since junior high.  And one night he decided to propose to her.  Tony was a stout young man with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and a slight rough exterior.  However, he did love Vickie as she did love him.

Vickie has worked hard through her life in getting good grades.  She's always had to work hard ever since her adoption to the Samson family when she was a baby.  They were not hard on her, but they wanted to make sure she knew the knowledge of a good day's solid work.  Vickie always made sure she had a plan and a future.  She wanted to be the editor for the paper.  She worked at the college paper as an assistant editor, however, she was told she was still a little rough around the edges to get the main job.

Though, Tony's proposal did not shock her the least.  She was happy that he finally got the courage to do it.  Still, she was going to finish college before she got married.

Tony wanted to celebrate the coming wedding date and their future.  They were going to be together just like he wanted.  That night, he took her out to a rave being held in a warehouse across town.  Vickie did not really want to go because she knew that raves tend to have a lot of drugs involved and she wanted to keep her record clean.  But she went anyway because she knew she had to get away from college life just for one night.  Tony wanted the night to be special for both of them and he felt a rave was the best thing to do.  So, they went to the rave and danced and had fun.  However, some of the rather grunge and gothic looking hosts of the rave began to pass out some peculiar packets.  These packets had some sort of red liquid in them.  Tony took two of them, one for him and one for Vickie, saying that they must be some new alcohol shot.  Vickie shook her head, trying to tell him she did not want one, believing the packets to be a drug instead.  She tried to tell Tony not to take it, but he did not listen to her.  He drank the red substance, much to her protests.  Then, a couple of men dressed in black attacked one of the rave hosts and stabbed him with a stake.  There were people crying and shouting, some of them running when the other man in the black suit started killing another rave host.  Tony and Vickie started to run from them and one of the rave hosts grabbed Tony.  They disappeared in the chaos leaving Vickie.  Just then, a rave dancer jumped out at Vickie, looming over her.  She noticed that she had sharp fangs in her mouth.  She was a vampire.  Just as the vampire was about to attack Vickie, an enormous shadow appeared behind her.  The shadow solidified and an enormous mouth came down and snatched the vampire up into its teeth.  Just as that happened, Vickie fainted.

Vickie awoke in strange surroundings.  She was in a stone room, lying on a bed with a sleeping gown on.  Beside her was one of the men in black she saw at the rave.  She freaks out and tries to run only to run into a giant foot.  She looks up to find the shadowy creature that saved her was in fact a dragon.  The man introduces himself to be her uncle Wesley Holt and the giant dragon was his younger brother Emmet Holt.  She learns that both Wesley and Emmet were her biological mother's siblings.  Her mother was Theresa Holt-Carpenter and her father was James Richard Carpenter.  Vickie asks how she could be related to Emmet since Emmet clearly is a being of a different species.  She also asks why her parents gave her up for adoption and why only now members of her family decided to even talk to her.  Wesley explains first that her parents only wanted for her to live a normal life and not be a part of what is known as the Clan of Azedadeth.  He explains that they broke the Oath of Azedadeth by giving Vickie up for adoption.    Emmet tells Vickie that he did not know that she was even in town for the rave until he smelled her.  That is when Wesley decides to explain about what the Clan of Azedadeth is and why Vickie is related to a dragon.

Many centuries ago, supernatural creatures of all sorts existed, creatures from fairies to dragons, and even horrible creatures like vampires and werewolves existed as well.  There were many different types of dragons, but one particular dragon called a Shadow Dragon, thought itself superior to all others.  The Powers that Be did not like this idea and decided to make all Shadow Dragons infertile so that their numbers would slowly decline into extinction.  Wesley says that it could have been something else, but back then, many people were superstitious and would believe anything.  The Shadow Dragons began to die out one by one until the last one known as Azedadeth was left.  Azedadeth wept for the loss of his kind.  Then, he came upon a human who took pity on him.  The human said he knew magic that could transfer Azedadeth's power to humans of his choosing and make them Shadow Dragons instead to renew his race.  Azedadeth agreed to the human's proposal and a ritual was performed.  The human selected some worthy humans of his own family to become Shadow Dragons.  Azedadeth then dripped some of his blood into a chalice and allowed the humans to drink it.  When the humans drank the blood and performed the ritual, they transformed into Shadow Dragons.  However, the curse of infertility was also placed upon them as well.  So, the family of humans agreed that only selected people of their clan would become Shadow Dragons.  In return, Azedadeth taught the clan draconic secrets only known to his kind.  And that was when the Oath of Azedadeth was pledged.  Wesley then says that Vickie's mother and father broke that oath by allowing the second born escape.  That was when another man walked up.  Wesley introduces him as David, Vickie's older brother.  When it is time to create another Shadow Dragon, it is normally the second born who takes on the duty while the first born becomes the Shadow Host of that dragon.  Continuation of the clan itself falls either with the first born or the third born, but never the second.  Wesley then says because Vickie is second born and another Shadow Dragon needed to be created, she was the chosen one to take up that responsibility.

Vickie is in total horror of this and tries to escape.  Emmet flies after her and stops her.  Reluctantly, they end up locking her inside the bedroom they made for her until it is time to begin the ritual.  That is when David comes in.  He wants to get to know his sister.  Vickie suspects that he wants to get to know her because he will be her Shadow Host.  However, because of what their parents had done, David would not become her Shadow Host.  David then introduces her to a large shadow extending out from him to show her what a Shadow Host is.  The large shadow extending out from him takes on the shape of a dragon on the floor.  David explains that the shadow is in fact a Shadow Dragon that is using its Shadow Concealment, the only way a Shadow Dragon can hide itself in the modern world.  Since Shadow Dragons cannot shape shift, they must find other ways to hide.  The dragon that is attached to his shadow is Michael Holt, her great-great-great-great uncle, a Great Wyrm Shadow Dragon.  Michael speaks to her through the shadow, saying that a Shadow Dragon is inherited between Hosts because of its long years.  Of course, this even upsets Vickie even more because she realizes she may outlive the people she loves on top of loosing everything she worked hard for.  She then looks down at her engagement ring and begins to worry about her fiancee, Tony.  She tells David and Michael that she and Tony went to that rave last night.  David then asks if Tony drank anything suspicious.  Vickie at first could not think of anything, but then remembers the little red packets.  David then tells her that it is possible that he has been turned into a vampire.  Vickie just laughs, saying there's no such thing.  But she is talking to a Shadow Dragon, so what does she know?  Vickie asks what Wesley and Emmet were doing at the rave and David explains that this subgroup of the Azedadeth Clan hunts vampires.  

He explains that a few centuries back, Michael and his Shadow Host were visiting a town when the Shadow Host was attacked and then killed by a vampire.  Michael then says that in a fit of rage, he attacks the vampire and kills him, but more show up.  Michael tries to find them off as best as he could but they overwhelmed him with their numbers.  One of them found a soft spot in his hard armor and bit into it.  The others followed and bit into him as well.  That was when they tried to suck his blood, they all fell down dead.  Michael was left alone among a pile of vampires and his dead nephew.  He then returned to the Clan to report that his nephew was attacked by vampires and his blood was poisonous to vampires.  Vowing revenge for the loss of one of their members, this particular branch of the clan decided to take up vampire slaying.  They discovered that Shadow Dragons were in fact excellent hunters of vampires and other undead creatures because of their taste for undead.  Vampires were prey for Shadow Dragons.  Michael said he often wondered if the infertility curse brought upon the True Shadow Dragons were not a result of jealous Pagan gods, but were caused by vampires trying to wipe out the only thing that could hunt them.  He had a feeling that not all vampires knew this, but some of the more powerful Vampire Princes probably did.  Michael then explains about what a vampire is.  He says that in order to make new vampires, a vampire must allow potential humans to drink a little of his blood, thus making them subservient to him.  These newly created vampires are called Vampire Initiates.  They do not become full vampires until they kill and drink the blood of their first human victim.  Vickie then asks if it is possible for someone to be changed back from being a vampire.  Michael says that vampire initiates can be reverted if the one who birthed them was killed.  So long as the initiate has not killed and drank his first human prey, he would not become a full vampire.  That is when Vickie says that she hopes her fiancee has not done that yet, there could be some hope to save him.  David then suggests that if Vickie becomes a Shadow Dragon, she will have the power to do just that.  However, this would mean she would have to give up the family she grew up with, the life she was making for herself, her school, her plans to become a journalist, and possibly her fiancee Tony as well.  Though, in exchange, she would be able to save him from a fate worse than death.  Vickie is then left alone by David and Michael so that she can think about her decision.  

David appears before a council of elders along with Wesley to inform them that he said Vickie could have a choice instead of being forced into a life she did not agree to.  Emmet calls foul because he never had a choice either, but only because he was raised to accept his fate.  Vickie, however, was not.  David then says that Vickie has a fiancee that was just recently turned into a vampire.  He says that this may be the way to convince Vickie into becoming a Shadow Dragon.

Vickie herself tries to make her escape though by attempting to pick the lock or kicking the door down. But these efforts are a little futile.  David comes back into the room and asks Vickie what her decision is.  He takes her to see their council of elders and they say that she could very well save her fiancee by becoming a Shadow Dragon, but as stated before, she will have to give him up.  At first, Vickie protests, saying she will not be a monster, but the elders remind her that this is her duty.  She argues as to why it's their duty to be these creatures or to hunt vampires.  The Elders tell her because of the promise to Azedadeth and the knowledge they received from him as payment, in order to continue to possess this knowledge, they must keep up the Oath.  There have been times where they wondered if they should continue on or not, but then they realized that their powers could be used to protect humans from remains of the supernatural world.  Michael then states that one particular group, the vampires, seek to dominate human kind, enslaving them for cattle.  Michael then says that he made a new vow that he would make sure humanity would remain strong against the vampires.  Michael then says that if Vickie wants to save the one she loves, she has to make the sacrifice.  Vickie takes one last look at her engagement ring and then nods, removing it from her finger.  Motivated by love of Tony, she makes the sacrifice and becomes a Shadow Dragon.  David then takes the chalice from Wesley which contains the blood of Azedadeth and she drinks it.

I'll talk about the transformation to a Shadow Dragon for a human.  The transformation is incredibly painful and sometimes the human does not survive, dying as this mass of mismatched limbs between dragon and human form.  It's rather disgusting too.  At first, it seems very smooth with Vickie's skin just turning purple black and her blond hair fading to completely white.  But then her skin starts itching like she has a horrible rash and it swelling as it forms into scales.  Her bones actually break and her organs to die as her body creates new organs for the new form.  The growing is the most painful as her body stretches to the new size as well.  All this takes place within the course of several hours with her body hemorrhaging and going through seizures.  When the transformation is complete, the newly formed Shadow Dragon goes into a coma as her mind rewires itself to understand the difference in size, the different shape of organs, and the extra limbs.  When Vickie awakens, she feels weak and sick to her stomach.  Of course, when she is allowed to look at her reflection, she just breaks down and cries.  And thus, the perky Vickie becomes heavily depressed.  Her attitude changes, her personality changes.  She has her emotional moment, but then thinking about her love, she becomes dead serious about her job.  The first thing that attributes to her personality change is her first outing as a Shadow Dragon.  She had to share David with Michael as Michael decided to take Vickie as an apprentice.  Also, Michael wanted Vickie to get to know her brother and come to rely on him as a Shadow Host because Michael himself is getting too old to got out and hunt vampires.  

While out on her first hunt, she sees a group of vampires luring an innocent family to their deaths, only to take the teenage daughter as a new vampire initiate.  The little boy and his mother and father are brutally killed and mauled.

The vampires in this story are a bit different as well.  Yes, they drink blood, but they also feast upon raw flesh and organs, leaving nothing to go to waste, so the killing is so much more gruesome than just a simple bite to the neck.  Not only do they need to feed, but feeding upon human blood gives them a euphoric emotion almost on par to an orgasm.  So, this is why they want to so much to feed off of humans.  However, vampires can also survive off of animal blood and some vampires who are trying not to be the vicious beasts they are meant to be, feed off of animal blood to stave the hunger off.  (However, these benevolent vampires live reclusive lives in fear of their urges overcoming them.)  After all, blood is blood, but animal blood does not provide them with the euphoric state that human blood does.  Full vampires are weakened by sunlight.  They do not combust into flames upon the light of the sun, but are severely weakened to where they go into a comatose state and are vulnerable to hunters looking to kill them.  Their powers will not work during the day as well and they can be killed off very easily.  However, finding a vampire lair is immensely difficult, so the Shadow Dragons prefer to hunt at night when the vampires normally make their presence known.  Stakes to the heart does not instantly kill them, but when placed in the right position, can basically nail them to the ground.  The best way to kill a vampire is for either the dragon to devour the creature or for a human slayer to behead him.  Vampire initiates, or half vampires, can withstand the sun a little bit better than full vampires, but show varying degrees of fatigue.  Sunlight is severely painful to both types of vampires, causing blindness as long as they are out in it.  Half vampires, if they feel they can stay awake during the day, wear sunglasses to shield their eyes.  Both vampires have super strength and speed and their bodies are generally room temperature (same as a dead body), whatever the temperature a room happens to be.  They have the smell of death about them.  Initiates are not formed automatically after they drink the vampire blood.  They die first about an hour after they drink it.  However, if one kills the vampire responsible for their transformation before they drink their first bit of human blood, the initiate can be resurrected and returned to being human.

On the vampire end, the vampire Duke responsible for turning Tony into an initiate, tries to make Tony go out for his first hunt and make his first kill.  Tony, after the experience, is confused about what he just became, including the fact that he now lacks a reflection.  He is torn between his vampiric urges and whatever shred of humanity that he has left inside of him.  The Duke orders his minions to take Tony out on a hunt and find several humans to kill.  Tony manages to chase down a human girl and with fangs ready, he is about to make his first kill until they are ambushed by the Clan.  Tony tells the girl to escape, much to the anger of the other vampires.  But that is when Victoria leaps out to kill him, pinning Tony under her claw.  She recognizes Tony and could not bring herself to kill him.  Michael and David along with other human members of the Clan either kill or chase off the other vampires.  Michael tells Vickie to do Tony a favor and just kill him so he could be put out of his misery, but Vickie cannot.  Vickie lets Tony go, but does not let him know who she really is.  Tony escapes and begins to wander the streets, trying to separate himself from the vampire coven after the horror of what he had been turned into.  Vickie uses her shadow powers to escape the Azedadeth Clan and goes out to find Tony.  

Tony holds himself out in an abandoned warehouse, trying to keep himself away from humans so that he could keep his urges under control.  He hunts down rats and stray cats and dogs to keep himself sustained.  He just realized his life has just fallen apart.  He knows that his fiancee Vickie would be worried about him (without him knowing what happened to her) and wondered if she is alright.  He tries to decide whether or not he should try to find her, but he worried that if he does, would he be able to control himself.  Tony loves her too much to harm her and resigns to his fate, knowing he may never see her again.  During the night, Vickie catches up to him and uses her ability to conceal herself in the shadows to enter his new home.  She calls out to him, telling him that she has been looking for him.  Tony tells her to go away, saying that he is a danger to her.  Vickie then says that she knows what he is.  Tony demands that she comes out from the shadows, but Vickie protests, saying that she has changed too.  That was when Tony began to realize who that dragon was who attacked him, but let him go.  And Vickie reveals herself.  Vickie explains to Tony about what her real family is and the fact that certain members become dragons to preserve a dying race of dragons.  However, now, they decide to use their powers to protect humans from dangerous supernatural creatures such as vampires.  Vickie then says that there may be some help if Tony could tell her who the head vampire was that turned him.  Tony said that it was some guy who the other vampires refer to as the Duke.  Then, Vickie says that there is no going back for her, but she could at least help him.  She calls it a wedding gift that may never be.  Tony then realizes that she is telling him that she must break up with him since she's a Shadow Dragon and all.  After a bit of an emotional argument the two have about Vickie being a dragon and why couldn't she marry him, Tony gives up and decides to help Vickie find where the Duke is.  However, Tony still has feelings for her and it's obvious that Vickie also has feelings for him.  Vickie and Tony then hunt down the Duke.  Vickie is then followed by Wesley, David, Emmet, and Michael as Tony allows her to attach herself to his shadow.  He sneaks her into the lair of the vampires.  He tricks the Duke into letting down his guard by telling him that Tony is ready to become a full vampire...after much decision.  He says that night he was just having cold feet and that his humanity was still talking to him.  The Duke decided to give him one more chance and presents him with two humans he captured.  Duke said he was saving these humans for himself, but he decided to give them to Tony to prove his loyalty.  The humans are in fact old friends of both Vickie and Tony, who go to the college with them.  Vickie, without thinking, then leaps out of Tony's shadow and starts attacking some of the vampires.  However, the vampires were prepared this time and managed to take her down.  The Duke then realizes that Vickie was Tony's lover and the girl who he was with that night and makes the cliched statement of: "A vampire that is in love with a Shadow Dragon, how peculiar."

He then brings out his secret weapon, a magical sword that could in fact kill a dragon.  He then points it at Vickie, saying that if Tony does not join them, he will kill his beloved fiancee.  The other vampires tie Vickie down so that she cannot get away.  He manages to stab her a little in the foot with the sword to give an example of its power.  Vickie notices that her strength has been zapped by the sword and this prevents her from using her powers to escape.  Tony tries to attack Duke, but is then tackled by the other vampires.  Vickie then tells Tony not to do it, that feasting on human blood will make him easier to be controlled by the Duke.  Vickie says that she is willing to die for Tony so long as he is able to find a way to kill Duke and return to being human.  She says that she much rather be dead than to be a Shadow Dragon and live without him.  That is when David and Wesley with their Shadow Dragons appear and start killing the other vampires.  Tony tries to tackle Duke again, knocking the sword out of his hand.  Though because Tony is only a half vampire, he is weaker than Duke and Duke easily over comes him.  Though while Duke is distracted, David gets out his sword and manages to slice off the Duke's head.  With the Duke dead, Tony reverts and becomes human again.  Wesley frees Vickie and they all leave the vampire lair, burning it down to get rid of any vampires left inside of it.

David and Wesley leave Vickie and Tony alone to patch some things up.  As the sun rises Vickie tells Tony that she will always love him, but she can no longer be with him.  That is when Tony tells her to lean down and he takes hold of her head and kisses her mouth.  They share their last moments together doing what lovers do despite the size difference (yeah they do that, hell what did you expect, she's not gonna be able to do that for the rest of her life!  Might as well get it over with now.  Don't ask how it's possible, it's mostly him playing around with her tender spots.)  Then, she says her goodbyes to Tony, telling him that he will always be in a special place in her heart, and flies away, leaving him alone to watch the sun grow higher.  And that's how the story is supposed to end.  However, I could never really get past Vickie becoming an emo dragon with a chip on her shoulder.  If Crawling in My Skin was a song during the 90s,Vickie would have been listening to it all the time.  Yeah, that kind of emo.

Notes on the powers of the Shadow Dragons.  The Shadow Dragons are capable of melding with the shadows, becoming a 2-dimensional black shape on the floor and seeping into the shadows.  They can attach themselves to any shadow regardless to the size and if the shadow moves, they can move with it.  They do not have the ability to shape shift or size change, but because of their abilities to blend in with shadows, they can enter homes attached to their Shadow Hosts.  These dragons are not true dragons because they were once human.  They are very enormous dragons.  Upon the transformation, the new Shadow Dragon is about 150 feet in length and is a full adult with all the powers therein.  Great Wyrms can grow to about 200 feet in length.  Most Great Wyrms retire and become mentors and teachers to the new Shadow Dragons.  Upon the end of their lives, they welcome death and pretty much die like a senior citizen human would, quietly and with dignity.  They are buried like humans would be as well, respecting that the elder dragon was a human first.  Human-Shadow Dragons have slightly shorter lives than real Shadow Dragons because of their human origins.  Also, unlike regular Shadow Dragons, they have white manes like Drow Elves, a residual of their human natures.  Mostly Shadow Dragons have their hair cut short so that they would not get in the way.  Though some might grow it a little long, but keep it back in a braid.  Human-Shadow Dragons are passed from Host to Host when the previous Shadow Host dies.  Shadow Dragons are immune to the vampire bite and other draining effects caused by the undead, which is why they make perfect hunters of the undead.  Shadow Dragons prefer to eat rotten meat or vegetables, but undead corpses are just as delicious.  A Shadow Dragon's breath weapon is a cone of blue-black fire that is so cold it burns.  Shadow Dragons can breathe upon vampires, freezing them instantly.  Then, the dragon uses its claws or tail to shatter the vampire's form, serving as an instant death.  Because of the magical properties of the dragon's breath, claws, and teeth, vampires cannot rise again in three days after being struck by them.  Shadow Dragon blood is very poisonous to vampires, also killing them instantly if they dare to bite through the thick hide.  However, more often than not, a vampire just breaks his fangs when they try to bite into a dragon's hard scales.  Shadow Dragons are immune to conventional weapons, but can be weakened and killed by magical ones.  So, yeah, guns, bombs, and other modern weapons cannot harm a Shadow Dragon.  Though if blasted by a rocket launcher, a Shadow Dragon might be pissed for being in a little pain.  Shadow Dragons are benevolent to humans because of their origins and prefer to stay out of sight of them so that they would not frighten them.  This also allows them to hunt down supernatural creatures in secrecy as best as they can and keeping the ordinary mortals ignorant of them. They know if humans were to find out about such magical creatures, that the world itself will be thrown into chaos and panicked humans would do more harm than good for the cause.  Shadow Dragons do not attack other supernatural creatures unless they pose a threat to humanity.  They prefer to remain as secret heroes.

Shadow Dragons do not have lairs of their own, but instead live with their Shadow Hosts in their homes.  Shadow Hosts homes are ordinary homes to keep the masquerade up.  The Clan of Azedadeth meet in large caves or secret large buildings bought by their amassed fortune, outside of town.  Each Clan member contributes to the pool to keep their establishment up.  Shadow Dragons contribute by selling whatever items they possessed as humans for they no longer need them.  Though some dragons keep some precious keepsakes with them to remind them of their former lives and why they are devoted in protecting humanity.

Shadow Dragons are normally transformed at their 20th birthday, well after they have finished grade school.  Rarely is a child transformed for developing children's minds to understand what they will be protecting is important.  Chosen offspring are allowed to live human lives until their 20th birthday, but with a reminder that they will have to give it all up soon.  Most are bread to accept their fate, some are a little bit more defiant.  Luckily though, Shadow Dragons are not made everyday, or even every generation.  They are only made when an older generation of Shadow Dragons has died out so that they can keep their secret.  Having too many Shadow Dragons tends to expose the world to their secret.  However, with the growing number of vampires and other undead creatures, the Clan had to start compensating and making more Shadow Dragons to combat them.  Which is why Vickie was one of the chosen.  She would not have been because Emmet was already chosen close to her own generation.  But the Elders knew that they needed more Shadow Dragons in their branch of the clan to fight against the growing population of dangerous vampires.

And that's the idea of the story.  Like I said, I could never get beyond Vickie's emo side when she became a Shadow Dragon or her whining over the fact that she and Tony will never be together or the fact that really, her life was just taken from her.  Very legitimate concerns and good reasons to be upset about, but the way she went on about it was annoying.