A Vampire's Tale Prayer I: My Little Secret I rushed through the forest, soldiers swinging there swords at me. The shot arrows that were set aflame and threw torches into the surrounding brush. I saw I lit cave coming closer and ran towards it with blinding speed. My target had escaped this night as I rushed back to the safety of my clan. The Imperial Guard soldiers slowed their chase and I was able to escape with my life... for now. I looked around and saw no guards standing at the cave and proceeded inside. The Guard has found out my clan's hiding spot so it was really no surprise to find no one patrolling the area. Just to be on the safe side I took my bow off my back and knocked an arrow. I walked in quietly and searched the catacombs for signs of my clan's presence. Our little home was dug out so it went down at least a hundred feet down underground. This is something that no one but us knew about and we wouldn't dare tell anyone about it. I heard a distant sound that put me at ease, a child's laughter, and lowered my bow. I latched it around my back and turned the corner. The child I heard was there and was playing with others in my clan. He looked a lot like myself when I was young except that my hide is jet black and his is the normal forest green. His fangs were small but he was still a child. Being the same species as myself he like to play in the water. We essentially, can live in water since our bodies have adapted to it. Over time gills will develop on the inside of his mouth and he can breath in the water like any normal sea creature and yet still be able to live on land. The lizard's hide had some spots of a dark reddish color the told his age to be three. The child the turned to me, "Mr... the master wants to see you." I nodded to the child and proceeded to the master's chamber. I expected to be disciplined thoroughly due to the recent failure of my attempt to get us some fresh blood. While walking towards his chamber I received several stares from my brethren. These stares were of hunger and starvation, since the blood flow has been cut off. Though I was able to snatch a quick drink from someone at the nearby town, my blood thirst still ravaged my heart. I opened the door and proceeded into the master's chamber and immediately fell to my knees. He walked over to me and beckoned for me to follow him with a wave of his hand. I stood and followed him without complaint as he unlocked a door and led me into it. The door was shut behind me by one of our clan warriors. He was human, and so was the master, and many others in our clan. I however was, like the child, a lizard or a Cornarian, which is the correct term. Though the islands of Cornaria is my place of birth I have already chosen to live here in the Union, home to most humans. We stopped at a shrine carved out of the stone in the cavern. Around me were beings of many kinds, all dressed in dark cloaks that shielded there faces from view. The master the turned to me and paralyzed me with a spell of sorts. I fell to the ground, on my back, and unable to move as the dark figures surrounded me. I realized that my punishment for failure on such an important task was to be the target. The figures began to bite and rip apart my flesh piece by piece. I screamed in pain as I died on the ground and my blood flooded the area... I awoke on a bed, in my sleeping garments. My body still intact and not a scar on my body. I rubbed my eyes with my hands as my vision came into view. Over to my left was a human, my guardian and second in command. I couldn't remember his name at the moment, but I recognized the two puncture holes on his neck. He almost sacrificed his life and his humanity to stop me from going on another rampage. I reached out and grabbed a towel with my tail. I grabbed it with my hands and stood up on the floor. It had been several months since I became a vampire and I really didn't have time to search for a cure for vampirism either. It's not that I didn't like the abilities that came with it, it's just so hard to find a bandit to drink from now a days. My reason for not being able to seek a cure is a simple one, I'm a guild master. I've earned the nickname Black Heart for the way I operate in the field. "Hide in the shadows and kill without mercy" that's my motto, for the contracts anyway. Only a select few know that I'm a vampire really. No one would ever suspect a guild master to be one, or let the previous one be insane enough to entrust a vampire with a guild. However, I was only made one after I became the guild master of The Mercenaries Guild. So I was very well set for a living, once or twice a week I would head out of town and find a bandit or two and drink from them. But, like I said, it's been hard to find them now. I think I've almost killed them off. The guild has been doing very well on contracts lately, and on many I've accompanied my fellow brothers into battle. Though it's only so I don't have to pray on the small about of highway men and robbers in the area. Luckily we've received a contract to clear out a small cave out side of the Imperial City. My thirst has been growing and it had now gotten to the point where I can't step out into the daylight anymore. Normally when someone thinks of vampires they think of shape shifting, manipulative creatures that only appear at night. This is not true for the most part, a vampire can walk out in the day and not be harmed as long as the thirst has been satisfied. As for the rumor that you can transform into a bat and fly into the night, that's just a load of crap. Being manipulative however, is something we can sort of do, by which meaning vampires have a way with words. Mind control is far beyond a vampires capability. When I say thirst I of course mean the need for fresh blood. I personally have never bitten an unwilling, innocent person. I have a strict policy that under no circumstances than any vampire can grab some random person and drink from them. I have caught several doing this and killed them on the spot, by means of a silver sword or arrow through the heart. This of course has earned me the title of a vampire hunter. I really despise the hunters though, they hunt down creatures such as I and kill them without provocation. Though the hunters are peace keepers somewhat, they've also killed many of my friends that I've made throughout the years. Through the hunters soon "mysteriously" disappeared after the incidents with my fellow vampires. It was late in the night when my guardian Axel, myself, and three others approached the cavern. I took point and readied my bow as we entered through the small entrance. Axel followed behind me, along with one other recruit. It was a standard formation for five people, three go in and two stay out to catch and runners that try and escape. The recruit's name was Mendal, he claims to be good with a long sword. He seemed strong, which is why I chose him to come with us into the cave. This however, was his first mission and hasn't had any experience in an actual fight. My decision was that he isn't a reliable fighter, and if possible he's to get in as much action as possible. We snaked down the passage ways and found a small chest, hidden behind some brush. I looked around the area and saw no one. Axel the proceeded over to the chest and brought out a small pick from his pocket. He began to wiggle it around a little as the small lock pick sunk in more. I heard a low clink and the chest popped open, revealing it's contents. I looked inside and saw nothing but bones, human bones. Mendal jumped at the sight of this sort of thing and I proceeded over to it carefully. I put my bow on the ground and picked up one of the bones. I held it tightly in my hand and brought it slowly up to my face. The scent of the killer was all over it and it was one of my kind, a vampire. "What is it," Axel asked as he turned to me. "Was there any reports of missing persons recently," I asked him, my eyes glaring at the bone in my hand. "Yes sir, a family of three. They had a child when they left but the family never showed up at there destination. The family included a mother, father, and... a child." the bone in my hand was crushed into bits and my fury raged. I dug through the pile of bones hoping not to find any that belonged to a small child. Thankfully I didn't find any that I was looking for as I pulled out the last of the bones from the chest. "What are your orders sir?" "I want Mendal to get out of here as quickly as you can and find a safe place to hide with the rest of the team. Axel your with me, we're going to chow these vampires some respect for the innocent." "But sir I though," Mendal tried to speak but I shot a glare out at him. "I will not tolerate insolence from the likes of you Do as I say, right now your just in the way, now leave," my voice was still quiet but held a sadistic tone that said, get out before I cut your head off. He complied and ran off to the other two men standing guard. Axel and myself then continued on carefully. He was quiet, as per protocol when exploring hostel territory. I replaced the single steel arrow with three silver ones. I only did this when I was "upset" and Axel knew it. He didn't dare to challenge me, especially when I was like this. I noticed that my thirst was quickly rising and I was satisfied that I would be able to drink as much as I want from several bodies at once. We walked along the dark corridors of the cavern until we heard several voices from around the corner. There scent filled the air and there was barley any light coming from the small fire that was placed in the area. I covered my bow and arrows with dirt from the floor and crept along the shadows. I saw Axel do the same as he unsheathed his silver blade. My thirst was now ravaging and my body ached to just charge and drink as much as I could from the necks of the beasts. My fangs grew longer and my skin started to become a pale grey. There was no time to try and hide myself as I leaped from the shadows. The first one barley had time to react as I shot an arrow through his heart. I quickly aimed at my second target and let go of the string. The arrow flew strait into his head and pierced his body to the stone wall. Axel was finishing off the last one with an upper cut, slash. The vile beast was ripped cut in half as his organs fell out onto the floor. The only thing I was able to think when I saw that was "dam, there goes a meal." Axel cleaned his blade before sheathing it with a cloth that was laying on the ground. I took the opportunity to have a drink as I approached the dead being that was pinned up on the wall. Brain matter oozed out onto the cave and it slowly put out the fire. I bit into his neck and the blood was still fresh. His heart was still beating and a drank up. My sanity started to return as I heard someone coming down from our entrance. Who ever it was, was funning frantically. I jumped off the body and readied my bow at the on coming attacker. I quickly looked at myself and noticed that my leathery skin had changed back into its normal shade of black. I looked up and saw Mendal running out of the corner. "What are you doing here I told you to go hide with the others " "Sir, the others...they're dead...all of them dead...throats ripped out," by the sound of his voice I knew what had happened. One of the vampires must've saw the guards outside and killed them. It was surprising that he was still alive. I suddenly felt my thirst come back to me. Luckily, Axel saw this before Mendal could catch his breath and took him around the corner to talk. As soon as they left I jumped onto the body with the arrow through its heart and drank my fill. They reappeared soon after they left and Mendal looked calmer than before. He was now stuck with us until we finished clearing out the cave. I searched the bodies and found nothing of use. We se continued down the dark caverns with a torch in hand. The light was dim but we could see at least. I hoped to find a child, unharmed if possible somewhere in the catacombs of this hell pit. My hopes were crushed when we came into a lit room. It was lit by several torches held up on the walls. There was a red carpet on the floor between two wooden prayer benches that led up to a stone alter. The alter was very nicely cut and was surrounded by marble steps. What was behind the alter made Mendal pass out on the floor. It was the child I was looking for, a small girl. She was crucified up on the wall with several steel daggers. By the looks of things they did her feet first, then the hands, and finally one straight through her neck. Blood covered the wall behind her and the long black hair on her head covered her face. Around the girl's body were several circles written in blood and words from an unclear text wrapping around the inside of it. I walked over to the scene and inspected it carefully. Taking pity on the young child I took out the daggers from her limbs and let the girl's body drop to the floor. I took the daggers and tossed them into a corner. Mendal had finally regained consciousness and we continued to make our way down the cavern. Mendal was shaking in his boots, scared out of his mind. Axel tried to keep him calm but he was still fresh and had no idea how to handle a situation like this. I personally couldn't wait to stick my fangs into the leaders neck and rip out his insides. I wanted to feel the being's blood flow through my finger tips. I walked around the room and searched the walls for any secret doors that may have been installed. My search led me to the corner of a the stone wall, which had a rather large hole in it. I reached in and felt around the inside of the hole in the wall. I felt something wooden inside and pulled on it. The object wouldn't move, but I forced it to with a few hard tugs. I heard the sound of gears churning as I let go of the object and stood ready. A part of the wall pulled back and shifted to the side. Mendal and Axel looked towards the source of the low noise. I proceeded into the dark room, torch in hand. I was amazed at what I had found, the entire room was littered with gem encrusted weapons and armor. Mendal's face lit up as the shine reached his face. He was literally staring at something that could buy a country. I too was tempted to rush in, but I had a job to do first. "We'll get it later, right now we're on the job," I said. Mendal got the idea and calmed down a bit, though he still couldn't take his eyes off the sight. I was surprised I little when Axel had the same reaction, but then again humans are easily swayed when you wave a little gold in there face. So we continued through the room full of weapons and proceeded on through the cavern. Our path took us down, deeper under ground. The air was cold and damp as water began to seep through the cracks in the wall. There was water up to out knees now as we proceeded down the cavern. Not to far ahead was a wooden door that was rotten from the water. I waded through the water towards it and opened the door quietly. I saw that the path was now going upward and continued walking. We've been walking for at least an hour and the torches were starting to burn out. Luckily the cavern had come to an end with a single room. There were two beings inside, a Cornarian and an ork. The details hidden in the dark, but the Cornarian was tied up against the wall with its tail handing down. The ork was sitting down on a bench watching the Cornarian struggle to get free. I sat down and waited to see what was going to happen, hoping to gain some knowledge on the reason why there were vampires in the area. "You will make a wonderful sacrifice to my lord," the ork stated, his voice deep and bellowing. He began to stand up as the Cornarian struggled to free itself from the iron shackles on its arms. "He will be most pleased with me for this catch," the ork said before making his way towards the shackled being. He then began to lean in on its neck. This was all I needed to see before a kicked down the door and jumped him. The thing was surprised at my sudden intrusion and rushed for a large steel hammer. Before he could get to it a shot him down with three silver arrows. He fell to the ground in pain as I shot one more through its heart killing him. I looked back towards the Cornarian, who just happened to be a female. I had know idea on what this things lord wanted with here but I'm sure it wasn't good. She barley anything covering herself, besides two straps of cloth that someone dared to call cloths. She looked to be somewhere around my age due to the mix of red and green colors on her hide. Though she obviously had battle experience, which interested me. Her body seemed so frail and harmless that if it weren't for the many scars that covered her body I would've never guessed it. I approached the her and she seemed to struggle even more. She tried to scream but it was muffled by a cloth that was lodged in her jaw. I reached in and pulled it out slowly and starred at her eyes. "Are you okay," I asked her, starring into the orange eyes that were common for Cornarians to have. "Get away from me you vile scum," she shouted. I backed up a bit in order to give her some space. "Watch your tongue woman The master has just saved your life and this is how you thank him," Mendal shouted back. "Mendal It's okay our contract is complete and we've located a survivor. Please calm yourself, don't forget that room we saw a while back," I told him turning my attention back to the female. "As for you, you're free to go and do as you please," she seemed stunned is I released her from the iron shackles. Axel searched the ork's body and quarters, checking for any traps and anything of value. "You mean your from the Mercenaries Guild," she asked. "Yes, and I'm the guild master for this region, Stelven Heartfire." "How's is it that they would even let you in the guild or even become a guild master " "What are you talking about? Cornarians like myself have always been able to join a fraction." "Yes but look at you Those eyes, the fangs, those claws Your one of them aren't you " "Silence you wretch before I cut out your heart and eat it on a silver platter," Mendal yelled towards her. "Mendal Go help Axel and be quiet " he was shocked at my outburst, but did as I said and left me with the girl. She coward up against the wall in fear, "I'm not going to bite you, I'm hear on a job... that's all." "Don't try and trick me beast I know your kind and their way " "Look if I wanted to drink from you I would've left you up on the wall and did it from there." she seemed to take some comfort in my words and dropped her guard a little, though not enough for me to get close to her. All in all the mission was a failure, though some would beg to differ from the riches we acquired. We lost two new recruits on a mission that was only supposed to be a simple clearing of bandits. The killer escaped with its life and ran to places unknown. I brought the nameless female back to the guild and let her rest. She disappeared sometime during the night, when mostly everyone had went to their respective quarters. It was reported that three items where missing from out recent catch a diamond long sword, a sapphire shield, and a golden cuirass. I figured that she would be spotted easily and she would be taken to justice. She was never found, she simply vanished from the world. No traces of her were found. No identity was ever confirmed. The thief was good, too good, and I hope our paths will cross once more...