Tales Of Dracula

For days Ragna has been travelling with Threant under the black flag, for days he has been seeing Dracula in the shadows appearing has a black dog, a black rat and often as a black bat and no one has seemed to notice him. Ragnar had kept Dracula's presence a secret and it didn't prove a difficult task considering how nobody not even Threant had noticed him. Dracula only spoke to Ragna in his private moments when everyone around them slumbered but this had started to concern Ragna, was Acheron really alive? Is this Dracula just a figment of Ragna's imagination? Was the young hero slowly losing his mind?

Ragna: "of all the things I can pray for I can only pray that I do not descend into madness, not now, not when the legion needs me."

Dracula: "don't be so dramatic my prince, I am very real and frankly am starting to get bored of your fears of madness."

Ragna: "no one see's or hears you and yet you expect me to believe you're real?"

Dracula: "I have been testing my new abilities, I can't use any violent abilities obviously but my ability to move through shadows has been very amusing that I simply couldn't help but see just how much I could achieve."

Ragna: "well am glad that you have been having fun cause my patience has officially run out with you."

Dracula: "well I suppose you are owed answers and as your humble servant I am more than willing to answer them all."

Ragna: "good, you can start by explaining to me how your still alive and why you have returned so different."

Dracula: "your power is vast but you have no knowledge of its limits and capabilities, the blade you named reaper didn't consume me it imprisoned me and in the blade I had fused with a number of damned souls within the blade."

Ragna: "it's called the shogun reaper and what do you mean damned souls?"

Dracula: "the souls that scream in agonising pain when you unleash the reaper blades red mist, I was nearly a part of that red mist but something in the sword had spared me. It had recognized my faith to the brotherhood and cleansed my unnatural loyalty to Kali and Raziel."

Ragna: "what do you mean unnatural loyalty?"

Dracula: "all vampires are enslaved to the one who turned them, it isn't something you are aware of its just a sense of loyalty that emerges as you complete your transition. I had only noticed this when the blade cleansed my mind, it was like a great and long fog had cleared and I was once again in full control of my thoughts and emotions. And in case you were wondering, all vampires are connected to the original vampire so my loyalty to Kali equalled an automatic loyalty to Raziel."

Ragna: "so my sword found a man who turned from his faith worthy of freedom, why is that exactly?"

Dracula: "ah yes, the oldest question the legion has asked since the war began, why would humans choose to turn into blood sucking monsters that live to inflict harm and terror on what they once were? Well as a man I was a loyal member of the saber brotherhood, this was a time when the land of the immortals was in turmoil, at that time the brotherhoods greatest enemy was man. Some noble families had discovered one of our gathering sights and for whatever reason had decided to lock us all in and burn us alive. My wife and daughter died in the fire but I survived, my family and friends burned to a crisp and yet somehow I came out unharmed. I believed that the faith had offered me a chance to seek vengeance, I collected all the metal chest plates from the ashes and used them to forge a crimson armour, one quite similar to your legendary Amelia's armour."

Ragna: "so you were once the crimson knight?"

Dracula: "my prince, I am the original crimson knight, Vlad the impeller I was called in that era."

Ragna: "I've heard that name mentioned plenty of times in the north, you're the warrior that inspired the northern riders as well as the red armoured warrior."

Dracula: "when I met the ancestor of the northern family he was but a guard you impregnated a noble man's daughter, fool should have known that his child would have his ridiculously red hair. When I was done killing the noble families I left him a great wealth which he clearly used to start his great bloodline, as for me I chose to spend the rest of my days in a lonely dark tower and waited for death to claim me. If you haven't figure it by now then I should probably let you that I had gone a bit insane in that era, the bloodshed, the war, it all changed me greatly to the point that I even killed my own subjects who chose to follow me, they started to question my reasons for vengeance."

Ragna: "exactly how long did you have to wait for your death? Looking at you I can only assume that it didn't take longer than a few years before you were turned into a vampire."

Dracula: "I waited for death for a lot longer than you think, most men of the brotherhood use saber gauntlets to fight but I was among the few that actually drank the beast kings blood without dyeing. It gifted me with long life and is probably what sparked my recent transformation, to think that the blood of my faith has been with me all this time."

Ragna: "still not hearing how you chose to become a vampire."

Dracula: "choice? I was given no such thing, am not entirely sure how old I was when it happened but what I can tell you is that I was old and grey haired when it did. Rumour had spread of a member of the immortal family reclaiming his throne and a blood sucking race of monsters had emerged. The legion was fleeing the immortal lands and were making their way to a new home that was discovered, a home that would be later called Rovahn. Raziel and his witch had created the nightmare tower and darkened the skies, he was preparing an army to stop the legion from leaving his lands. Somehow during all of this, one of Raziel's wives had caught wind of my story and tracked me to my dark tower, it was the first time I had seen a vampire, it was the day that I met Kali. She walked towards me with a smile and said you are just the type of warrior I have been looking for, she bit my neck and injected the vampire curse into me and thus I was turned. I regained my youth but most of my past that was relevant to me was lost, my family, my brotherhood and my sinful life of murder and vengeance all of it was lost to me, the curse had parted me from my true self."

Ragna: "so you were forced into it all, you completely forgot who you were and became the perfect servant to the damn vampires, as if I needed a greater reason to hate them."

Dracula: "there are many vampires that would tell a similar story but to be honest my prince most vampires begged to be turned because when they were mortal men, life had offered them nothing but hardship and torment. Slaves, outcasts, fallen kings and queens, there are a number of reasons why they built a hatred towards their fellow man, you will hear many of these stories once we reach Blood-drain."

Ragna: "Blood-drain, that's what Raziel called the immortal lands when he regained control of the throne, what was it originally called."

Dracula: "Eden, that was what the immortal families called the immortal lands, this was way before my birth but the elders of the brotherhood told me that once the earth had many continents but when the immortal family had arrived they united them all to form one great continent, the mightiest the world will ever have. In time new lands had emerged, how the immortal family accomplished such a thing is still a mystery, I was fortunate to have been born in the era in which the human race chose to fight of their oppressor's."

Ragna: "you said that Kali was just one of Raziel's wives."

Dracula: "indeed, he has three wives in total, Kali the fire serpent, Karmilla the shattered mirror and Ursa the ice queen, there is a great story to be told about each of them but It would be better to show you, when we reach Blood-drain."

Ragna: "more waiting?"

Dracula: "patience my prince, all will be offered to you in good time, the knowledge I carry is yours for the taking but there are better ways to offer it to you my prince, you must exercise patience."

Ragna: "you keep calling me your prince but when we fought you didn't seem to recognise me at all, does the transformation change a person's memories that much?"

Dracula: "memories, emotions all these things are changed once you become a vampire. First you start to crave blood, it's on the back of your mind but you can ignore it, for a time. You try to consume normal foods to deal with the hunger but food slowly starts to taste foul and rotten, you look to your fellow man and slowly lose compassion towards him. You start to look at humans the same way you look at cattle, the beating of their hearts echo's all around you and the smell of fresh blood becomes sweet and welcoming. Eventually the hunger starts to alter you physically, red eyes, pale skin and fangs, before one can attempt to grasp their humanity the world goes dark and when light returns you find yourself bloody. Several bodies surround you, women and children and yet you don't feel guilt, to the vampire the sight of dead human bodies is normal, the vampire is simply claiming its right to devour a creature beneath the food chain."

Ragna: "so when you killed Jonathan, you felt nothing."

Dracula: "Jonathan? Ah yes, the archer, at the time he was just a loud and annoying insect and his sister Vanessa was just the same."

Ragna: "choose your next words carefully Acheron."

Dracula: "that is not my name and you shock me, you truly care for those mortals, how many mortals have you seen die. Someone as old as you should be used to death but I will admit that looking back at my actions does sicken my stomach, I guess my emotions are slowly starting to surface thanks to you."

Ragna: "do you actually know how old I am?"

Dracula: "well even as man there wasn't anyone old enough that could give a clear answer but the faith was established the day you were born so you should be about 3 million years old."

Ragna: "are you insane? Do I look like a 3-million-year old man to you? Am not even an immortal being, do you actually think Threant wouldn't be able to discover such a thing and tell me about it."

Dracula: "would he tell you? my prince that man only wants to use you and while we're on the subject, I should probably let you know that it is impossible for Threant to enter Blood-drain undetected."

Ragna: "I don't follow."

Dracula: "Threant is an original member of the Dragon-forge bloodline, his connection to Raziel will make it all too easy for vampires to sense him. The vampires will be on high alert and they will be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary."

Ragna: "then I have to tell him before we reach Blood-drain."

Dracula: "you want to warn him? He already knows my prince, all he does is keep secret's from you, we must leave these people behind, the brotherhood will not allow themselves to be in the presence of someone who could expose them. We have reached our destination, a creature I have been calling has finally arrived, it will take us to Blooddrain faster than this ship but we must go now."

Ragna: "I can't just leave, me and Threant are supposed to do this together, am doing this for the legion."

Dracula: "I honestly don't understand why you think so much of that deceiver or the legion but think of it this way, once you show the brotherhood who you are all the brothers and sisters of the faith will be at your disposal. The brotherhood has spies all over Blooddrain, you would be able to easily find Threant and supply the legion with the men you desperately need. It's not what I would expect from a king but if it is of importance to you then it is the path we shall take together but we must leave before the sea creature is discovered."

Ragna didn't like the idea of leaving Threant behind but it had become quite obvious that Threant had been withholding information from Ragna. All that Dracula had said was new and strange but something in Ragna knew it was true and so the young warrior took all he came with and navigated through the ship with the shadow of Dracula following him. The deck was completely empty, as Ragna and Dracula made their way to the side of the ship a giant sea creature unlike anything Ragna had seen had appeared.

Ragna: "how the hell did you do this."

Dracula: "my relationship with the creatures of this world has become quite intimate, even I am not too sure just how far my abilities can reach, you have truly blessed me my prince. Now come Ragna, it is time to be reunited with your people and finally reclaim the throne that has been denied to you, yours is the earth and everything in it now come and claim it."

Ragna and Dracula jumped in the mouth of the creature, the creature had then closed its mouth and dived into the great ocean and swam with great speed and haste. Ragnar had parted ways with Threant and made his way to Blooddrain with his loyal servant Dracula with the hope of gaining knowledge and power that he has hungered for since the great wall battle of Rovahn.

Threant's log: "I am truly sorry for keeping all this from you Ragna but with all that I have discovered from this trip it is clear that you are beyond me. Ache… Dracula will have to show you all he knows, what will you do when you gain all the knowledge you seek? Will you become the beast that Drago and many of the lesser clans consider you to be or will you become the hero the legion needs to destroy the tower? I pray you save us Ragna, for when I touch the immortal lands I fear I may never see any of you again, if fate chooses to be unkind then all I can say is that I will miss all I have come to love and all who I have fought beside to give man the one thing that has helped him to endure all his hardships, hope. Good luck to you Ragna and good luck to the legion, may you all live long enough to witness the resurrection of an era where one can be woken by the light of the sun, Threant of the phoenix's legion signing out."