The Monster Inside: The First Vampire

Layton huffed in annoyance. The problem had been resolved so damn quickly, yet Rassa hadn't waited for him. Layton only knew that they'd gone north. Sure, he could pull out his Tracking Charm and find them that way, but without even seeing him, he knew that Rassa would be disappointed in his presence. In Layton's eyes, the problem was solved, Allyra wasn't going to talk about it. But in Rassa's eyes, the problem would no doubt be ongoing.     

Rassa was, even without explicitly telling them, looking for a way to integrate the Coven into everyday life. So that they wouldn't have to hide anymore. They were all sick of hiding. Even if they did not hold the demeanour of those that were hiding, that was exactly what they were doing.     

"Move it!" Will shouted. Layton glanced to the side to find a crate of goods dangling from a crane beside his head. He glared at it, then down at Will, "Don't look at me like that, kid. You're the one that's interrupting my work flow, not the other way around".     

Layton looked away again before he rolled to the side. Tumbling off the edge of the mountain of crates he'd perched on to land softly on the ground.     

"Where's Talo?" asked Layton.     

"Left yesterday for the South," Will replied as he looked down at his clipboard.     

"So, you're telling me I've got to pass the next six months avoiding you and your crane?" Layton grumbled.     

Will glanced up at him, then back down at his clipboard, "I hope not, I'm not paying you for your crap work ethic".     

Layton rolled his eyes, "Well I can't hang out with Ebony, we'll kill each other".     

"No arguments there," Will replied as he pointed to the crates sitting waiting to be stacked as he spoke to the crane operator, "These three as well, move them to bay 3!"     

The Crane Operator gave a thumbs up, then Will began moving back towards his office.     

Layton fell into step beside him, "Could I go to Moonshadow?"     

"You're no good at crafting is what I heard," Will stated.     

Layton frowned.     

"Who'd you hear that from?"     

"Olly gave a rather descriptive account about it a few months back to explain a missing crate of Truth Charms".     

"Truth has never really been my forte," Layton excused.     

Will huffed a laugh, "You're not wrong".     

"Mathius is too stiff, and Neva…"     

"I think Neva is lovely," Will complimented the head of Lovolon's Moonshadow Branch     

"You think Ebony is lovely too," Layton huffed.     

Will sighed as he came to stand in his office, "Exactly what is the problem, Layton? From my understanding, Rassa left you here to solve a problem? You can't seriously expect me to believe you've done that in less than three days. Unless of course it involved slaughtering a pack of wolves".     

Layton brushed off the reference to his Arena-given surname and crossed his arms, "I solved it just fine".     

"'Layton' solved it or 'Rassa' solved it?"     

Layton's gaze dipped away.     

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Will stated as he slumped down into his chair.     

"I'm not Rassa, exactly how does he expect me to solve this?" asked Layton, "I'm a warrior, not a diplomat".     

"Oh, no, you are far from a diplomat," Will agreed, "But does a warrior have to solve his problems with blood?"     

Layton opened his mouth to reply, then bit it back. He was pretty sure Will would just come up with something that contradicted what he said anyway. Layton then huffed and turned away from his old Knight friend, "You're too stiff as well".     

Layton disappeared from the Moonshadow Warehouses.     

***     

Gone were the skirts and the petticoats. If she were to run for six days straight, Iah knew that they would only grow to annoy her. Still, Iah was not used to dressing in such an exposing manner.     

She stood awkwardly at the Northern End of the Endless Lake, Sel beside her.     

"What do you think we'll find, Sel?" asked Iah.     

The ever-silent eunuch tilted his head to the side at her question, as if in thought, then he spoke, "If Lord Moonshadow has any part in it, I would bet that a new world is only the beginning of what we will find by his side".     

Iah smiled. She'd never heard a statement so true before, even if it had yet to be proven in many aspects.     

"We'll find a home," Rassa stated as he joined them, "A place that our Coven can call home".     

Rassa looked at each of them, the brush of his gaze warm as he seemed to check over them and ensure that they were ready, "Come then, let us run".     

The trio had no further reason to hesitate, and they raced forward into the Desolate Lands.     

***     

*Eldovian Era 1719, 11th day of the 9th month*     

Allyra had stayed for a bit the night before to watch Nolan paint, but the atmosphere had grown somewhat awkward. She'd never seen Nolan so focused, and she hadn't been able to bring herself to make conversation. Ebony had been…well, she'd been Ebony Moonshadow. Elegance with an under tone of fierceness that was now thoroughly explained.     

Allyra had left to rest early, and now, as she woke up in the early hours of the morning to begin baking for her café, she couldn't help but feel that despite her newfound knowledge, nothing had really changed.     

She was still Allyra. She was still the noble woman who could not recall how she'd lost her maidenhood. Though at least now she had an idea of what had occurred. She was also determined to make her own way, and confused about Layton's reaction to her. He'd seemed so…surprised when she'd said that she knew he wouldn't hurt her. Like it wasn't a response he'd ever heard from someone.     

Still, as she baked away, she could not find a reason to really, truly, care about it. Yet she did.     

So, with the conflicting emotions swirling within her, Allyra baked and decorated and cleaned until the sun began to rise.     

As she wiped a trail of sweat from her brow with a cloth, she noticed a figure silhouetted on the roof of the building opposite. She glanced up, staring back, then she blinked, and the figure was gone.     

She hadn't been able to see him clearly, but she knew who it had been.     

***     

*Eldovian Era 1719, 16th day of the 9th month*     

For a land that had not been charted – at least in the thousands of years since the Fall of Chaos – the Desolate Lands were quite accurately named. Even at the speed the three were going, and the land the three had covered, the most they saw that changed in the landscape was the odd pile of rocks or a petrified tree.     

Six days they had run now, though Iah was beginning to question if they weren't running in circles. The stars told them every night that they were still running north. The Northern Maiden holding her vase of water aloft to signal the correct direction every night.     

As the sun began to set on this sixth night, Iah slowed, then stopped. Rassa and Sel sensed it, stopping with her, though continuing to look north.     

"It's been six days, Rassa," Iah stated, "If we don't turn back in the next few hours, we will starve out here".     

They had not flown because summoning their wings took more energy, though Iah was sure they could have traversed further. Still, if there was nothing out here, what would be the point?     

Rassa frowned, clearly disappointed at their lack of findings. Sel remained silent, awaiting orders.     

"There is something out there," said Rassa.     

Iah closed her eyes, sensing his hope was still strong, but had come into question. It was not often that Rassa Moonshadow questioned his own decisions, not since…not since before he'd come back with Ebony.     

"I don't mean to sound negative, Rassa, but we have yet to see that there is something out there," Iah said, "And if we continue on and find nothing…we will starve, and nobody will have the means to come after us, at least not for some time".     

And some time could be months, or it could be centuries considering the development that the world was undergoing without Rassa's influence.     

Iah could sense it as Rassa accepted her words, but instead of turning to run back, he sat down on the ground facing north.     

"Rassa?" asked Iah.     

"Give me until midnight. If nothing changes, we go back," said Rassa.     

Iah met his determined gaze, the nodded, unable to refuse him.     

Rassa closed his eyes, and then Iah felt the unmistakable brush of his power as it expanded outwards.     

Iah looked at Sel, concerned. Using his power like this…he was taking a risk. Iah knew that he had more self-control than the rest of them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't starve faster if he did this.     

As Rassa spent his time using his power to search the land, Iah and Sel stood as sentinels to nothing but the breath of wind that passed by them. At least the wind was refreshing after all that running. They often went so fast that they were cutting through the air, making their own wind trails.     

Iah breathed it in, then paused. A frown adorning her face. Temperature didn't bother her, but that didn't mean she couldn't sense it. And now…it was quite cold. Cold enough to…     

Iah glanced up, seeing the clouds overhead.     

It was Autumn and yet…     

As Iah stood and watched the clouds, she saw them unmistakably open up, and drops of delicate snow begin to fall.     

"It's snowing," Iah observed, "But…" She turned to Sel, who seemed confused also. The weather was too warm at this time of year to do that, and yet here they were. What had changed?     

Sel then tilted his head, "Have you noticed?"     

Iah raised an eyebrow.     

"The day…it was shorter than normal".     

The day being shorter, and the weather colder.     

"Why has that changed?" asked Iah.     

But more importantly, was it significant?     

Rassa's eyes snapped open, "There is something there".     

Iah looked down at him, "How much further?"     

Rassa hesitated before he spoke, "Three days".     

"Life?" asked Iah.     

Rassa hesitated, but nodded, "But no humans".     

Blood was blood when you were starving.     

"Then do we go forward, or not?" asked Iah, "This weather, and the shorter days, it concerns me".     

Rassa stood, "It shouldn't".     

Iah raised an eyebrow to him.     

Rassa just shrugged, "The further north you go, the shorter the days, to the point where there could be several months of darkness. Such little sunlight to warm the place, of course it would be cold".     

Iah's eyes widened, "This is something the Ancient Ones taught you?"     

Rassa nodded, "The word is shaped like a ball, if you travel in one direction for long enough, you will eventually come back to your starting point".     

Iah turned to Sel, who seemed equally surprised.     

"Come, we go forward. I'm not leaving without finding something".     

***     

*Eldovian Era 1719, 20th day of the 9th month*     

Rassa was not doubtful that he would find something out here. Never was he doubtful of it. He knew he would find something. The question was not if he would find anything, but what he would find.     

So when, after nearly ten days of running, he finally saw something odd on the horizon among the increasingly dense fields of snow and ice, he couldn't help but grin in triumph.     

Summoning his wings, Rassa lifted off the ground just so he could reach the peak faster, Iah and Sel feeling his excitement and following his lead.     

He came to rest on a ledge that overlooked both the lands they had just passed through, and those further north beyond the mountain.     

Beyond the mountain, the land was no longer a flat expanse of nothing. There were many mountains, valleys, hills and the like. Frozen rivers and what appeared to be forests of sorts, only just managing to survive in the bitter cold. Because it had grown much colder, the days much shorter too.     

"Oh, thank the gods!" Iah cried, Rassa followed her line of sight to a large white bear on the expanse of ice.     

He smiled,     

"Hunt what you can and return here, it seems we've got a lot of ground to explore," said Rassa.