It was a cloudy night, and the moon hung in the sky, eclipsed in shadow. Bats were flying across the starry sky. A silhouette of the tall man emerged from the darkness. He was wearing a crimson coat, brown polished boots and a black cloak. His hair was long, curly, and white as snow. What stood out the most were his gorgeous red eyes with black pupils, the red glow of them pierced through the fog like rubies. Looking into them made you feel overwhelmed by their simplicity, but their complexity at the same time. His skin was as pale as a corpse's, but unlike them he was still alive.
"How many subjects were in the village?" asked Sanguisius.
"109," replied the vampire.
"How many did you catch?"
"108."
"Kneel now before your Emperor!"
"W-With pleasure..."
Sanguisius extended his right arm and placed it on the general's shoulder. Then made his normal-looking nails transformed into claws. Claws of something, that you would only see in books or hear in tales.
Swoosh!
The slicing sound of the severed arm scared off the bats. With one, quick and precise slash the arm was cut. His servant brought him a white cloth to wipe off the blood. Then some mage used a fire spell to secure the arm and to stop the bleeding. Nonetheless there was already a huge puddle of blood, the amount of it couldn't come from a mortal.
"Next time you will be decapitated."
"Acknowledged."
The lineage of the Tenbrenumstarted around 600 years ago, when Adam Tenbrenum noticed a weird seller at the local market. The man was unlike others, standing with only one item, that was presented in such way as it was a belonging of the royal family. It was a gem resembling a human heart, but it was crystal clear like luxurious water. It was crafted with a precision impossible for any human to achieve in a normal lifetime.
"Do you want to take a look sir?" asked salesman.
"What is that?" wondered Adam.
"It is something, that many desire, but only few can obtain…"
The seller extended his hooded arm with the mysterious artifact. After Adam had touched it, the carved stone merged with him. He knelt on the ground and started crying out loud. The pain that he endured was unknown to any human being. He felt pain akin to being boiled alive in oil or whipped for a hundred years. To his surprise he was only unconscious for 10 minutes only. His skin turned sickly white, eyes were crying blood and forearms were covered in cuts almost like he went through a battle. The crowd gathered around him and asked whether he was okay, but he wasn't. Firstly he felt the pain worth the century of tortures. And after that he felt like he was covered in hot charcoals. He quickly hid in the shadows of the nearby tavern and headed home. He stole a tunic from a tailor just by staring into her eyes. They weren't normal anymore, his pupils resembled dark figures in the oceans of blood. When Adam entered it he saw his wife and kids eating dinner.
"Honey, you are home!" said wife his with a smile.
"Why is your skin all red dad?" asked the son.
"What happened daddy?" wondered the daughter.
"I d-don't know, but I do not feel good..."
Then suddenly he was filled with the feeling of hunger to that extent, that he was half-conscious. After a while he regained a full awareness of the surroundings, but he was speechless. He had murdered his entire family, the head of his wife was nowhere to be found, and the limbs of his daughter and son were cut off. One arm of his child was missing two fingers. To his horror he felt meat of something in his mouth, he never enjoyed any meal this nice. He spat out two thin fingers, his breathing grew heavy. He couldn't catch any air.
Blergh!
Adam vomited rapidly, he never killed another human before and now he not only killed a human, but his entire family. The only emotions that came to his mind were disgust and anger. Anger towards his action and disgust over his state. He couldn't stand any longer, he sat down next to the desmembered bodies. The blood puddle around them was still forming, but he didn't care. He was in state of emotional emptiness. He just wanted to stop existing, to erase himself.
"Why?"
"Why me?"
"Why not someone else, but me?!"
"What have I done to experience those scenes?! I had killed my entire family and then ate them like some fucking psychopath…"
"There is no future for me…"
Adam went to his shed and grabbed a scythe covered in spider web. Still he wasn't sure about this. After all he was still scared of death. The thing that made him commit this act was his bloody shirt, which he saw in the tool's reflection. He extended his shaking right arm and with a fast sweep of the scythe aimed for his neck.
Crack!
The blade broke into small pieces. His skin wasn't damaged in any way. He tried to swallow the bits of it, but they didn't hurt him as well. Man sat in the corner of the shed holding the bloody fingers of his late daughter.
"I cannot be killed with normal means."
"I satisfy my hunger with flesh of the human."
"Sun damages me."
"I am no longer a human..."
"I am a devil."
Adam didn't care about anything after the incident. He decided to become the monster that he was marked to be. After centuries of building ruthless empire of the vampires he succeeded. Passing the crown from a father to a son by devouring the predecessor. The full blood, royal vampire could be killed only by the claws or fangs of another vampire of the royal blood, the ritual was known as bloody coronation. The kingdom enlarged in a short period of time, covering most of the south-west terrains. Vampires evolved into different species due to the evolution. Some who lived in the dark swamps began to lose height, but gain strength they became Ghouls. Other, which settled at the seaside gained ability to breathe underwater, but lost their strength and size. They became known as the Sea Drowners. Those two were the first one to transform, but many followed after. Time passed and the title was given to the succesor chosen from the princes. The rules to determine new king varied depending on the ruler's idea. One time monarch decided to have full on battle for the crown. Sanguisius was the only prince, therefore became the 5th ruler of the empire with no special conditions.
Current times – May
The streets of Luxaris were busy as always. Troubadours were playing loud music. Traders were shouting to promote their stands. Goods varied very much, from simple breads and vegetables to weapons or even slaves. The sellers also were very distinct. Some were pale selling the weapons and armor. The tanned ones sold fish and exotic fruits. Those with darker skin sold perfumes, materials and decorative carpets. Beggars were also present, sitting on the pavement with a cup. Knights patrolling the streets scared them off, because only disabled could beg.
"You are crazy man, do you think I will pay you 100 silvers to repair my boots?!" argued Dantenium.
"No need to enrage my friend. 75 silvers is the lowest I can make it!" replied Shoemaker.
"Uhm… All right."
"Here."
All of the sudden a black haired and young thug stole his money sack. He wore a worn brown tunic with two short swords strapped to his belt; his face was hidden beneath a hood.
"Ehh?! You little fuck! Come back before I become angry! What do you think you are doing!"
The thief did not care for his remorse and ran into the narrow alley. The angry man chased with such speed that stray animals were running away from his path. The youngster jumped like some monkey from one vendor's canopies to another, but the crimson haired male was getting closer to him. Despite keeping the same speed, kid was eventually got caught due to the fact, that Dantenium had admirable acceleration.
"Give it back or I will cut you up prick!"
"All right, all right, no need to be so serious boss," replied boy handing the sack.
"Serious you say? I can show you how serious I can be you thief!"
"Hey what are you doing to that kid Dante!?" responded woman in a cobalt blue dress.
"Stay away from this, Udania! It's not your business!"
"Sooo, am I free to leave now? I had already given your money back."
"I guess so…"
"Wait!"
"Why the fuck are there stones in the sack instead of money?! Huh?!"
"Your bad I guess. Sorry for now, but I have to go now so bye, bye," kid started running away.
"IceWall Invocare!"
From nowhere the ice wall surrounded him like in some fantasy book. It was in fact real ice, but unlike normal one it did not melt a bit despite the high temperature. The boy had heard about magic when he was younger. Back then he did not think much about it. The youngster drew his two short swords and tried to break it unsuccessfully. After that he pushed the buttons on the sides of his weapons, the green substance covered them fully.
Tsh!
The strike with a sound, that resembled a hawk diving made the ice severely scratched.
"You know that you can't break artificial ice?" asked Udania.
"I know. Yet I think, that there is no need to break it. You can always dodge the obstacle," responded Laudis and climbed out of the trap.
"No way! You ain't running this time!" shouted Dantenium and made him stop the run
They put a bag on his head and dragged him into their hideout. When they took off the head covering the thug noticed two new persons. One of them was a young girl, tanned, with brown eyes and short blonde hair. She was wearing a green tunic with brown elements, and had a flail strapped to her belt. Second one was a tall man with brown hair, blue eyes, wearing golden armor with blue tunic underneath it. The thing that was the center of attention was his golden, polished sword that reflected the image like some type of mirror. Dantenium and Udania were sitting in the middle on the dark oak chairs. The girl sat to their left, lounging casually on a barrel and the guy was standing on the right.
'Judging by the surroundings, I'min some kind of basement. My hands are tightly tied behind my back, so I can't free them. I could try to kick my way out, but there are fourof themand I am alone without my swords. Even if I aimed for the guy in armor there is still a mentally unstable old man with anger issues. Yeah the armor… I cannot kick him hard enough to break it. The female on the other hand is the one I saw before, she isn't that much of a threat. The girl judging by herappearanceisn't the strongest one either. In summary: the women aren't dangerous, the old man is unpredictable and the knight is an unknown variable.It's just better to wait and see how the situation unfolds… ' thought boy.
"I do not think you have a right to hold me hostage..."
"Indeed, but king is on our side. We can even kill you without any punishment," responded the knight.
"That is a strong argument indeed."
"Name?" asked Dante.
"…"
"Name!"
"Laudis."
"Last name?"
"I'm not capable of sharing it."
"Why?"
"I don't have any knowledge about it."
"Name of the father?"
"Same here. I don't know, I was an orphan since I can remember."
"Can I ask you something?" asked man in the golden armor.
"Yes?"
"What is the purpose of the eye patch?"
"I have a black eye from a fighting. On the other hand what is the purpose of those idiotic headbands? The female is wearing it as a necklace. Girl is having fun with it as an armband. And the old man is using it as a bracelet. I do not see it on you, I assume that you are the leader of this band."
"That symbol is declaration of our service to the people and to the monarchs. Service to exterminate vampires from the Earth. We are the Crusaders of the Vampires."
"Wow! Alright that is interesting, but you know it's getting late and the night is coming sooo…"
"We understand indeed, but we have an offer for you."
"Before that I need to know you better, because from my perspective it looks like some questionable strangers took me hostage and play the cards without a moment to look at them.
Knight looked over to the rest. They accepted his proposal with no denial from anyone.
"I am Gladius Lucius the user of the Light Element. The weapon I have with me is the Sword of Humility, that can be extended up to 5 meters any time during a fight," stated knight
"My name is Udania Laqua, I use the Water Element. The staff you see is Gutta's Staff, it grants me the possibility to manipulate the temperature of water. It allows me to create ice structures and shoot out boiling water at the cost of higher mana usage."
"Name is Solisia Petronia, my element of specialization is Earth. My Flail of Diligence makes my spells radius double of its original size with the same mana usage," responded girl.
Laudis concetrated at the man in his 30's sitting in the middle. His presence made him feel uneasy to say the least.
"What? Oh you want to know me also, I guess I can do that… Stand ready before Dantenium Infernatus! The leader of this band of idiots, user of the Fire Element and the Sword of Pride making me stronger physically at the cost of my mana!" shouted crimson haired man.
Whack!
"Why did you hit me you moron!"
"Because you lied twice. Firstly when you said that you are a leader while being a paid mercenary. Secondly calling us idiots while being the least intelligent of us all," responded Gladius.
"I had to exaggerate, because I am the strongest of you all, aren't I?"
"Very debatable," replied Solisia
"Even you are against me?"
"Indeed."
"Why don't you introduce yourself to us Laudis?" asked Udania.
"I am just Laudis. I do not have any special weapon, just two short swords that I can make poisoned by pressing the buttons located on the handle. I am 17 years old. I don't have knowledge of any family member, that is alive nor magic usage. Nice to meet you."
"What kind of poison do you use?"
"It is a mix really. First third of it is a snake poison, which I collect by myself. The second third is scorpion poison, which I steal from merchants. The last third is a vampire saliva."
"Vampire you say..." grumped Gladius.
"Yes, why?"
"And how do you accomplish such task with no experience?"
"Easily, there are two options: first is the preferable one. I collect it from killed vampires or their corpses, but it gives me less fluid depending on the time between my finding and its death. The second activity is more efficient."
"What is that activity you say?"
"I kill them, precisely the low ranked half blood vampire servants. They have no to little battle experience and despite their inhuman strength, speed, reaction time, claws and fangs they still cannot land a successful attack on me, that could leave me severely wounded. At first I was scared to attack them, but then I noticed something. They really don't want to fight you, most of the time they will run away. So I would just sneak up to them and attack their neck. After that you just need to decapitate the target and then you can collect the saliva with no problem."
'A 17 year old kid, without use of magic nor special weapons can kill a vampire? I guess that kid can be useful to us,' thought Gladius.
"You will stay a night in this tavern," explained Dantenium.
"So where am I right now?"
"In the basement," smirked Solisia.
"I see…"
"Now rest well, in the morning you will meet the King of TheLuxaris"
"And who said, that I want to meet some old freak?!"
"Would you like to go to the prison instead?"
"For what?!"
"For stealing and attacking a Crusader."
"What do you mean attacking? I didn't touch him."
"What about now?" Gladius took his hand and was ready to strike himself with it.
"You aren't that dumb after all. I guess I can go to settle the dispute. Where am I going to sleep by the way? I assume, that I can't leave the tavern. I do not have a house, so I sleep on the streets. Anyone wants to join and oversee me?"
Dante threw a key with a number 13 to him. Laudis went upstairs and found his room. In the middle stood a wooden wood table with carved images of the wolf and bear, representing the tavern's name The Bear and Wolf's Den. In the corner there was a bed with a yellow blanket in white stripes. The dormer window lighted space with a beautiful moonlight.
'Another shitty meeting, that I had no intention of going to. I guess, I can just sneak out in the morning. To be honest I can't tell if they will be helpful to my goals. Now all I have to do is wait for the morning. I can sleep or I can workout. Let's toss a coin for that matter. If it lands heads I am going to rest, tails means training,' thought Laudis.
He took a gold coin and flipped it. It rotated 5 times and finally hit the table, it was heads.
'I guess I can rest now. Hm, I wonder if I could be at least neutral in emotions. Not happy, but also not sad or melancholic. I have a strange feeling since I can remember. I have no clear memories before age of 7, I don't know the reason why. Maybe I hit myself? Eh, probably...'
Laudis lay down on the bed. He took off his eye patch and finally fell asleep. Despite the state one eye was still open, the eye hidden from the sunlight. It began to blink uncontrollably and scanned the room. It lingered most at the moonlight coming from the window, almost like the moon was its lover. A single tear escaped, a tear of deep melancholy. It stopped the movement and surrendered closing itself.