Sailing For Rebirth

A blinding flash followed by a deafening explosion illuminated the decimation of ground, large boulders that were near, and several unlucky trees that had been caught in the crossfire. Everything seemed to slow down as Gavner soared backwards through the air, thrown from the sudden discharge of energy. Specks of dirt, splinters of wood, and grey particles of stone were all suspended in midair momentarily before the hard ground bashed the vampire on the back of the head. Tumbling backwards into a reverse somersault, Gavner closed his eyes as it seemed like he would never come to a stop. Finally, he began to slow down and came to rest face-down on the forest floor with a ringing in his ears that sounded as loud as foghorns. Odors of dead leaves and mulchy mineral rich earth filled Gavner's nostrils before he struggled to get to his feet. The child of the night almost toppled to the forest floor, not knowing where his feet were or which way gravity was pulling him, so he fell down to a more stable position on his knees. The vampire tried to look around but his attempts were in vain as, even with his supernatural eyesight, everything was pitch black. Closing his eyes, the vampire tried to think but his mind was foggy and he had momentarily forgotten where he was. Gavner suddenly doubled down on all fours and began to retch as his stomach turned to acid and pain erupted in it.

Gavner opened his eyes and started to make out silhouettes of large tree trunks around him after his vomiting, but his mind was still foggy. A figure suddenly jumped in front of the creature of the night. The silhouette began frantically waving and motioning at the disoriented vampire before pointing to Gavner’s left. Gavner could not make out the figure’s face, but if it wanted to hurt the vampire, it would have already done so. The person then turned to Gavner’s right and bolted out of vision. The creature of the night once more attempted to get to his feet, and found victory. He wobbled and swayed, but remained standing by tightening his core muscles and stabilizing himself. Turning left, he noticed how his vision had now partly returned and the ringing in his ears had gotten a lot softer. A shout came from behind him and Gavner suddenly realized that he was under attack by enemies, obviously the blast could not have been under any other motives.

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot- the creature of the night began to flee down the route recommended by the figure who had tried to guide him, but he found it difficult to even move. Gavner grabbed a hold of a nearby tree and crouched down by it, trying to take control of all of his senses once more. The vampire could now make thoughts and remember basic things about his life, but he still could not remember where he was or what he had been doing before the explosion. He was still nauseated, blind to the extreme detail he normally enjoyed in the darkness, and a very bad headache was manifesting; however, the ringing in his ears was now much softer. Gavner stood up and it was much easier to keep his balance now; he still had to concentrate to do so, but the vampire now felt comfortable with running. Gavner turned and took a step, hearing the a crunch of dead leaves beneath his feet. He could vaguely hear the sound beneath the ringing in his ears, but it was still present.

The vampire began lightly jogging through the woods, hearing the repeated sound of the leaves beneath his boots. Cool musty air of the night began feeding Gavner’s lungs as he passed through the ever continuous forest. As he continued, Gavner’s stomach began to threateningly turn to acid, but just as he was about to stop he saw moonlight allude to a clearing ahead. The creature of the night pushed himself to continue until he was roughly twenty feet from the opening; subsequently, he slowed to a walk. The pale moonlight lit up the brown and yellow leaves on the forest floor and the trunks of the trees ahead. Gavner began to think once more as he slowly approached the clearing. His stomach settled down as he was no longer running, and he could more easily see due to the moonlight’s illuminating the surroundings up ahead.

Where am I?

Gavner was bathed in white as he approached the clearing, but he could not see grass or anything beyond the point where the treeline was. The vampire simply assumed that he was at the zenith of an acclivity. He began racking his brain, trying to figure out what was going on, and who that strange figure was who appeared to him.

Okay, what was I doing before I got here?

He thought for about ten seconds and nothing came. Who am I?

Who am I?

That answer was simple. He was Gavner Nahs of Clan Annoterish. Gavner was a part of a species of vampires that were barren. No vampire could reproduce fertile offspring, so they had to create more by a process called “blooding.” If one had met a vampire and was interested in becoming as the creatures of the night were, he would first serve as the vampire’s apprentice and learn their ways. After he knew what he was getting into, the vampire and the human would exchange a large amount of blood with the human and the vampric cells would override the human cells. Gavner had the exchange done when he was seventeen by a man name Fintin.

Who am I working for?

This question was a bit tougher. Searching deeper in his mind, Gavner thought back to the last time he was some place important. He remembered arriving to Corone from a ship…

---

Bursting off the ramp and on to the dock into the Corone night, Gavner bent over and became sick over the side of the floating wooden structure, releasing the undesired product into the harbor. He hated sailing, as many vampires of his kind were prone to extreme seasickness. A swirl of new ill-feeling chemicals manifested in Gavner’s stomach as he squatted down into a crouch and wiped the sick off of his mouth.

“Ugh,” The vampire muttered to himself. He was now making plans for his travels in the new land. “First, I will rendezvous with Mavrik at the meeting point, and then we will go to the Ixian castle to get our orders from…

---

“Ixian Knights,” Gavner said aloud, snapping out of his memory and finding himself crouching on the forest floor. The words seemed extremely familiar, but he just could not seem to put his finger on their origin. He began to repeat the words over and over again, closing his eyes in concentration. His brow furrowed and then, quite suddenly, an image of a man about Gavner’s height with orange hair tied up with a blue rubber band appeared in the vampire’s head. The man wore a grey button-down shirt and black baggy pants, as well as black boots.

Silence Sei, rang out in Gavner’s head. He opened his eyes and looked up, still thinking of the image that he had just remembered. All of his memories began to flood back into his mind in forms of images, sounds, feelings, odors, and emotions. He saw images of his best friend, Black Shadow, and heard the barking of his baby wolf, Eva. Familiar faces and events all came back to him, including details of his mission. Gavner was on a mission for the Ixian Knights, the Wetwork department in particular. Several months ago, when he was past Dheathain with the outlandish elves, Gavner had received a message from Jensen Ambrose saying that the vampire was needed in a covert ops mission. Gavner agreed and sent an encrypted message to Mavrik- a vampire friend of Gavner’s who was also a part of the clan- that requested his presence. Gavner poured over his map of Corone and sent a rendezvous point, which just happened to be a wooded area near a body of water, that appeared to have several vantage points and quick escape routes. Gavner made it to a port city in Dheathain, and made the long voyage to Corone. He then went to the rendezvous point, but apparently renegades had been following Mavrik because they ambushed shortly after Gavner and his friend had made camp.

Gavner began to hear noises in the distance. The repeated crunching of leaves was slowly making its way from the distance, but one pattern of crunching was much faster and accompanied by lighter breathing. Gavner hid behind a tree but crouched very low to the ground, ready to pounce at any moment. Moonlight illuminated the dry leaves in front of him which were lifeless, on the ground. Death must have been horrible for them, as the green life of summer slowly drained out of them when the colder temperatures and lack of sunlight slowly suffocated their once meshy green canvases into brittle, lifeless little corpses.

Gavner could still discern Mavrik’s footsteps from all of the others, and he could now hear that his friend was leading the followers around in circles. Zig-zagging left and right, looping the loop and twisting the turn. Suddenly Mavrik’s footsteps stopped, and he could hear that the outlaws’ were continuing.

“Split up!” Gavner heard an aggravated man’s voice say, “Find them. At the very least their weapons may be of some value.”

Gavner heard the soft crunch of leaves directly behind him and stood up, turning around to look at his friend.
“How did you know that I was here?” Gavner said softly.

“I heard you blink about a mile back, and fixed your position in my mind. Then I decided to lose the others and meet you,” Said Mavrik.

“How did they find us?” Gavner asked.

“I take it you’re no longer disoriented?” Mavrik asked.

“For the most part, I am in control of all of my senses.” Gavner replied, “It was rather rough at first but now I remember everything.” Just then Gavner and Mavrik heard three sets of footsteps approaching.

“Why did you not dispose of them?” Gavner whispered at Mavrik.

“Maybe you still don’t have all of your wits back,” Mavrik replied. “I didn’t want to leave a body count. These guys may be criminals but if one of them are killed they have a right to request a formal investigation. If Corone finds out that vampires are killing their citizens, they will start sticking their noses in places they don’t belong.”

“You have a point there,” Gavner whispered back, “but how do we know that they are criminals?”

“When I told you to flee, I went back and saw that one of them had the prisoner brand on his face. Others had shackles still on their wrists.” The steps were coming closer. Mavrik threw a look in the direction of the noise and turned back to Gavner. “We’d better get going, I hope you’re strong enough to jump!”

With that Mavrik stepped out into the moonlight and turned, beginning to run towards the opening between the trees. Gavner stepped out into the moonlight as well and started after Mavrik. Suddenly, Gavner’s friend leapt and dove headfirst out of sight. This confused Gavner, as he did not know why his friend would dive headfirst down a hill- until he reached the point that Mavrik jumped. Gavner looked down and found himself on the top of a cliff overlooking a huge dropoff with a large body of water below him.

“Over there!” Gavner heard a voice say from behind him.

Without thinking, Gavner jumped off the cliff headfirst with his hands out to break the water as he plummeted downward.

Time. Such a wonderful gift, yet so unforgiving. Although time can be seen as so many things, it is still but a mystery to everybody. Men theorize about time, long for more time, or wish for time to elapse, but rarely does one ponder on the nature or reality of time, attempting to define what it is. When pressed, people find it very difficult to define it, or explain the reality of the concept. But exploring further, most people don’t even know what time is without thinking of expressions such as “days, months, or years” or the use of chronological events. Delving down deep into the true concept of time’s existence, nothing is for certain, save one thing- time is a mystery.

The nature of such an enigma flooded Gavner’s mind as he sped towards the surface of the water at an increasing speed. He was caught off guard by such a challenging subject that it broke his concentration. Realizing that this was not the place to be speculating, Gavner took a deep breath and extended his hands, a rigid board that broke through the surface membrane of the water with a magnitude that sent the substance flying in all directions. Acting quickly, the vampire curved his body and veered in the direction away from the cliff. He opened his eyes and saw Mavrik’s shadowy figure just below the surface as well. Beckoning Gavner to follow him, Mavrik turned and began to swim. Gavner began to follow his friend further from the cliff, and then West towards the unknown.

Memories flooded Gavner’s head as he swam through the water. When he had been training to become a vampire general, one of the tests that he had to pass was aquatics. Aspiring generals had to be above the advanced level in each water stroke, as well as underwater swimming. The final test was a grueling exam in which the candidates had to swim three miles with each stroke, and for the last part of the test the cadets had to swim through an underwater tunnel that was one half of a mile long, holding their breath the entire way. Such tasks were difficult enough for mature vampires, but nearly impossible for young aspiring generals. After years of training and determination, Gavner had passed all of the required courses administered by the clan to become a general, and had proudly become the youngest one in history.

Now, Gavner’s lungs were on fire. With each stroke his limbs began to tire more and more, and it was very difficult to concentrate. His continued motions- pull, kick, pull, kick- were gradually becoming slower and slower as his body began to lose steam. The vampire learned about this in his class- when a vampire began to tire he still had a good amount left in him. He could choose to continue at a slowed pace for a while or give one final burst, everything he had left, and make a break for the surface. Vampire cells could decompose carbon dioxide and water and use the oxygen from the waste product and fuel molecules, but it would form methane bubbles in the creature’s blood stream. Too much methane in the blood would kill a vampire, which was why it was so crucial for one to not push himself past the limit and then give a final push.

When Gavner’s lungs felt like they were going to burst, he contemplated making a break for the surface but Mavrik slowly began to drift up. Gavner followed, showing extreme amounts of self-control to continue slowly rather than as fast as he could. Mavrik gradually continued until his head gently broke the surface, Gavner not far behind. The young vampire’s head popped up into the night air and he began to cough and gasp for air. His partner looked at him weird, Mavrik’s breathing steady and consistent, puzzled at Gavner’s reaction to the long swim.

“I- am only…. Thirty.. Two- remember..?” Gavner managed to splutter between gasps of air as he remained suspended in the water.

“Ohhh,” the other vampire replied, “I forgot you were so young.” Mavrik was two-hundred years old, but his body only appeared to be thirty years old because Anoterish vampires aged at 1/20 the rate of normal humans. Mavrik was also in the special forces of Clan Anoterish at one point as well; hence making his methane tolerance much higher than other members of the clan.

They reached a point in the water at which the cliffs had gradually turned into a sandy shoreline, being able to hear both the thunderous crashes of the waves on the cliff- and the soothing whooshes of the waves on the shore. The vampires swam into the shore and Gavner dragged himself over to a rock on which he sat as they rested for a bit before continuing their trek to the Ixian Castle.

Gavner gazed pensively into the cool night sky, his mind elsewhere. The distant stars shone in the sky like luminescent light peeking through holes poked in a black cloth when it is held up to a lantern. Thirty-eight years had come and gone, and what did he have to show for it? He had no family, as he had left his behind when he became a child of the night, nor had he built himself any type of legacy in the world. By forty years, a man had usually built himself a legend or he would never amount to anything. Thirty-eight years, and not nearly any of them had been successful or happy years. Gavner had certainly accomplished great feats, but none of the feats had defined the years, or been accompanied by happiness. But vampires apparently had all of the time in the world. Most vampires averaged about 800 years, some could even live forever if not killed. Why was a concept such as time bothering Gavner- a seemingly timeless creature?



“You okay?” Gavner heard Mavrik’s voice from behind. Gavner turned around to see the tall vampire approaching from the woods. His long silver hair that shone in the moonlight was slicked back from the water, and his glowing purple irises popped in the darkness, casting out a soft violet light.

“Yes, I am fine,” Gavner mumbled, avoiding the question. “Do you have our bearings?”

“Yes,” Mavrik replied in his calming voice. “If we continue until morning and rest for the day, we should make it to the castle by midnight tomorrow.”

“I like the sound of that,” Gavner said, rising from his rock, “Let us depart before the night grows too old.”

The slow, steady pounding feeling of Gavner’s feet, rhythmically beneath him on the ground of all different terrain drew out for hours as the two vampires trekked through the land. Trees, rocks, and plants of all sorts of shapes and sizes littered the vast land that they crossed. A headwind was constantly blowing in their face, making their running slower but easier to breathe, allowing them to not tire as quickly. As the sun began to draw closer, Mavrik and Gavner began to travel with an extreme urgency. Gavner knew that when the black sky first turned to a shade of indigo, there was exactly forty three minutes until the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon. Until then, neither Mavrik nor Gavner would be burned. Now, the vampires were crossing a large expanse of plains. Grassy fields, as well as wheat, hay, and barley filled the space that they traveled through, but the sun night seemed to be leaving them frighteningly fast. They were now crossing a large plot of farmland towards a wooded area at the other side.

“Gavner, are you sure we are headed in the right direction?” Mavrik called to Gavner over the howling wind as they were running, “I didn’t see anything about another wooded area being near the castle.”

“Well you do not exactly know where the castle is, old friend,” Gavner shouted back through the noise, “There are several landmarks on the way to the headquarters that only Ixian Knights know of. They are enchanted so that those who are not Knights will forget them shortly after leaving the castle. Not even those with the strongest willpower can resist it.”

“Well I hope your ‘landmark’ has adequate protection Gavner,” Mavrik yelled, “Because we-“

The two vampires were almost to the woods when the first light of dawn burst over the horizon, hitting them directly in the face. They both cried out in pain as they began to experience pain in their photo-sensitive skin, but the sun was merely a spur for them to continue on with a vengeance. Once they made it to the protective shade from the canopy of the woods, they could camp out for the day. But making it there would prove more difficult than they had imagined.

As they drew closer to the forest, a huge gorge began to show itself in the ground and Gavner- despite what his burning skin was telling him to do- came screeching to a halt, Mavrik following suit.

“That gap must be at least fifty feet,” Gavner managed to gasp out to his friend, wincing in pain, “The most I have ever cleared was thirty.”

“You can do it Gavner,” Mavrik said, “We don’t have time. Get a longer running start and- ahh!” Mavrik was cut off by a new surge of pain and he doubled over, holding his face, which was beat red now, “Lift your drive leg to the sky and raise your hands in the air like you must grab onto a bar one hundred feet in the air.”

Mavrik could not stand it any longer. He stood up straight and leapt across the gorge with a standing long jump and ran the remaining fifteen feet into the woods under the cover of the trees’ shade. Mavrik was several hundred years older than Gavner was, so it was no wonder that he was able to accomplish such a feat. Gavner was still a very young vampire, however, and even fifty feet was an accomplishment for a running long jump.

Gavner stood up urgently, cringing at the sun’s evil rays, and ran back until he was comfortable with the distance between he and the gorge. Not wasting a single moment, Gavner sprinted to the gorge and leapt with all his might.

His drive leg was up by his breast, and his arms were high in the air. The sun greedily burned his hands and exposed arm skin immediately, but Gavner firmly held his position, as he could not afford to lose his form lest he not make it far enough. Gavner reached the apex of his jump and remained patiently in his jumping position as he began the descent towards the other side of the chasm. The creature of the night could hear the sound of rushing water below him, and everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Now was the moment of truth, Gavner was less than a meter away from the edge, but he still wasn’t sure if he had jumped far enough. The vampire held his breath and readied himself to grab onto the ledge if he did not clear the jump, but to his relief his right foot hit solid ground and he rode the momentum into the woods.

The cool shade of the trees felt like ten thousand gallons of cool water splashing onto Gavner’s abused skin. He gave out a sigh of relief as he slowed to a stop and his aching muscles were given a rest. Gavner doubled over and began sucking in large quantities of air, filling his lungs and emptying them- filling them and emptying them. Gavner’s species of vampires could perform for long periods of time anaerobically, but they would be short of breath for a time after they had stopped- sometimes for up to a half an hour or forty-five minutes.

“I see… you… made it,” Mavrik huffed, stepping out from behind a tree, “…knew… you would.”

“Thank… You Mavrik, that… was a close one…” Gavner responded to his friend.

“Indeed it…. Was… but where’s the fun…. Without a little… risk?”

After catching their breath, the exhausted Gavner and Mavrik made camp further in the woods and slept for the day. When they woke up, the sun was still out, but they decided to travel slowly under the cover of the woods.

“You know,” Gavner said, “I think that we may be able to take the cover of the woods all the way to the castle. If we continue, we may be able to make it there by sundown.”

The two vampires continued through the forest, which Gavner noted was deciduous. Not many animals were visible, but Gavner didn’t take much interest in the nature of this area anyways. The landforms were not that exciting either, as all there was here were trees, plains, and rivers. After a while of trekking in silence, the sun began to set, and sure enough Gavner could see the familiar boulder that signified the castle’s clearing was not too far ahead. The sound of voices, however, stopped the convoy short of its destination. Sounds of distress, grieving, and crying rang out through the atmosphere that had now turned from peaceful to ominous. Something was wrong here- crying and grievances only ever followed catastrophe.

Gavner gazed, bewildered, at the scene.

“What’s troubling you?” Mavrik asked, sensing Gavner’s confusion.

“The fact that our organization is helping citizens, as well as the fact that only the public face team is having contact with the people here is… Somewhat perplexing. If we are even interacting with these people, they must be- involved in, suspects of, or victims of- a mass scale crisis. The Ixian Knights are not an international organization that is interested in helping refugees for the sake of helping.” Gavner said, still confused.

“So why don’t we just go ask the man in charge?” Mavrik asked.

“Because I am on the wetworks team and the mercenary team. It is best that my face is not seen near the castle by people who are not of the Knights unless it is by somebody who is going to die.” Gavner said thoughtfully, “No, we need to go in through the tunnels, or the back. Follow me.”

The now golden sunlight from the setting beacon in the sky flooded the clearing to Gavner’s left as he turned to weave his way through the trees. His first approach into the castle was going to be through the North tunnel that led underground to a safety chamber that had access to the castle.

“Keep an eye out for a large pine tree,” Gavner said to Mavrik, “Jensen said it was the landmark for the tunnel.”

“You mean that one over there?”

Gavner looked around but he could not make out any pine trees. He squinted, looking farther into the distance thinking that he may have missed something and, long behold, spotted a colossal trunk about seventy feet on the horizon.

“Oh, yes, I suppose,” Gavner said. “I did not notice it from that far away.”

“Remember, Gavner,” Mavrik said, “Your body is much stronger than that of a normal human in almost every aspect- including your mind. If you think like a human, you will be nothing more than a human with super strength and speed, and hyperactive senses, but if you start to think like a vampire, these abilities will become part of your everyday use. You will learn to naturally use your eyesight to see two-hundred more feet into the distance- you will be able to differentiate the scent of a deer, or your enemy, from the scent of the forest when he is fifty miles away. You can even learn to discern whether or not a person in a crowd is intending to do anybody harm. It is all a matter of honing your mind and body to be accustomed to these behaviors, and training your mind to attain such a level of perspicacity.”

“Wow,” Gavner said, pausing, “I never thought of it that way...”

“It’s all a matter of who you want to be- a human, or a vampire,” Mavrik said, “Of course, there are always certain lines that you won’t be ready to cross until you truly make your decision. Drinking blood is the first step, but small aspects of your life, little decisions such as walking around during the day or accepting that it is no longer a possibility- trying to cross on a voyage and remain well or accept the universal seasickness that we all get. I can tell you all of this, but it is up to you to make the actual decision.”

Gavner understood what Mavrik was saying- the young vampire still refused to sleep in coffins or lurk in the shadows for too long. At times he still indulged in feeling like he was human- he had made the decision to become a vampire when he was relatively young at that. He realized that he had now been a vampire for so long that he forgot what it was to feel fully human- and suddenly he yearned to be one again for some reason.

“Well,” Gavner said, snapping out of his trance, “Let us find that tunnel.”

A darkness slowly descended upon the land as the two creatures approached the landmark. Gavner could now see more clearly details of his surroundings, as his eyes were designed for the dark. Outlines of leaves littered the forest floor, as well as twigs and small rocks. The people outside the castle either grew quiet or all entered the stronghold because an eerie silence swept across the forest. Not even insects made any noise to break the complete absence of noise. A large flat stone was leaned up against the tree vertically, but showed no sign of damaging it or falling down. When the two vampires reached the conifer, Gavner stood back in awe of the sheer size of the thing. It was so big that if Gavner and Mavrik held hands and wrapped their arms around it, it would take five more people to completely encircle the tree. There was no way of gauging how tall the tree was, but it was likely to be taller than ten stories, if Gavner had to guess. This was surely too big for the species to be anything of natural growth.

“It must have been grown with the aid of some sort of magic,” Gavner said.

“Our clan may frown upon magic,” Mavrik said, “But they taught us how to identify it in Special Forces training. I know The Tap’s magic when I see it, and this is surely the doing of such.”

Gavner heard the crack of a twig and the crunch of leaves from behind him and both he and Mavrik spun around to look in the direction.

“That was about one-hundred yards away,” Mavrik said in an almost inaudible whisper, “I see a short thin man, mousy blonde hair, ovular head, clutching a big book with a knapsack on. Do you recognize him?”

“No,” Gavner whispered in return, but before he could continue Mavrik set off. Without looking back, Gavner’s friend motioned for him to stay put, and the young creature of the night just shook his head as he complied. Searching for the tunnel, he began to move around dirt with his foot, and search for holes in the ground surrounding the massive plant, but to no avail. The vampire tried to look behind the rock, where he found a strange insignia; an ancient symbol of the Thaynes was inscribed on this stone. Looking around, Gavner noticed the same insignia inscribed on the tree. Calling upon great reserves of strength, Gavner placed his hands on the side of the boulder and began to push with all of his might. At first it was to no avail; however, slowly but surely, the massive stone slid across the forest floor revealing a tunnel that lead into the underbelly of the world.

“That is our way in undetected,” Gavner said to himself with a brief tone of satisfaction.

By the time Gavner had started to step foot into the tunnel, Mavrik had returned with the unconscious figure of the man in in his arms.

“He put up a decent fight for his stature. He managed to react quickly enough to start to reach for his knife before I had him out cold.”

“A worthy adversary indeed,” Gavner said sarcastically, “Come on. The quicker we get to Jensen the quicker we can find out what is going on.”

Gavner stared pensively from the loft of the southeast tower. The Ixian Castle had 5 main towers, 4 of which were at the corners of the perimeter and the fifth, which was the tallest of all, in the center of the castle. With each edifice at least thirteen stories high, they were some of the most strategic lookout places- or secretive areas, as access could easily be blocked off.

Gavner and Mavrik took the ship's passenger to the seclusion of the southeast tower where he was held in a room. Unfortunately Jensen was out on a mission, so they had to send word to him via covert communications; however, in the meantime they did some digging and found out that the man they had caught was the Scribe of a ship called the “Orgulus.” Apparently a mass disaster had occurred and the ship had wrecked on its maiden voyage. That was all they knew at this time.

Looking out over the scenic landscape, Gavner sighed as Mavrik's words repeated in his ears. It's all a matter of who you want to be- a human, or a vampire.

The creature of the night had never really thought of the nature of vampirism. He knew so many things about his vampire species, and the limits of his body, but when thinking of such things and performing incredible feats of strength, there was a certain distance from what he actually was. Despite his having been a vampire for nearly twenty years now, Gavner still saw himself as a human with vampire abilities rather than a true vampire.

"Gavner, are you out here?" Mavrik's voice came from inside the tower.

"Yes, I am in the loft," Gavner replied. Mavrik gracefully hoisted himself up onto the beam and sat next to Gavner all in one graceful motion before joining his friend in looking out over the landscape. The two supernatural creatures waited for a time, neither saying anything. Time seemed to be no real entity, as so many things were on his mind.

"I have missed the point," Gavner said.

"What do you mean?" Mavrik Replied.

"Mavrik," he asked, "What do you see yourself as?" His friend stared back blankly.

"I'm not sure what you are asking."

"Do you see yourself as a vampire?"

Suddenly, a gleam of understanding entered Mavrik's face, and he looked sympathetically upon the younger creature of the night. Mavrik could still remember when the same thoughts that were plaguing Gavner had ravaged his own mind. Some vampires handled losing their humanity worse than others.

"Well, Gavner, that is what I am," Mavrik replied gently. His friend remained silent. “Are you okay?”

Gavner continued to stare into the distance. “I do not know. I just- I still see myself as a human. I do not want to see myself as anything other than that.”

Mavrik studied his friend empathetically. He studied Gavner’s young, teenage features that would remain that way for what seemed a perpetual time. In comparison with his own matured features, Gavner was a mere infant; additionally, even in terms of age, there was over one hundred years of gap between the two vampires.

“I suppose we all cling to a bit of humanity, as children of the night. It’s how we are who we are,” Mavrik said. “Without being even a little bit human, we couldn’t understand exactly what it is to be vampric.”

Gavner lifted his gaze to look directly at his friend.

“We wouldn’t appreciate it.” Mavrik said, looking into Gavner’s glowing red irises. “Which is something you’ll come to understand, eventually. Gavner, we are creatures who live to see centuries upon centuries. You, you and your thirty-eight years, haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.”

Gavner gasped on the inside as he thought of his best friend. Black Shadow was a human who wouldn’t live to see more than a century. What would happen when he was gone? Gavner looked down at his hands. This was unlike him. Vampire generals were not supposed to be vulnerable to others. The creature of the night never opened up to anybody other than his closest friends. He looked at Mavrik once more, but a new light was cast upon his companion.

“Let’s get down to the interrogation room, we got the ‘go-ahead’ from the leadership, and we are going to see what this guy knows.”