I walked up to the base of the mountain and touched a rock from which it was built. I tried to transform into a bat, however, as one could expect from a sacred trial cheap tricks didn’t work. I placed my hand atop a small protrusion, my feet on another and reached out.

I do not know how long it took me. However, I eventually pulled myself up the first cliff. I looked up. There were multiple different ways to get to the top; however, it would take me at least five stops.

“Hello Aidar,” this voice resounded in the surroundings. “You can address me as the Patriarch.” He spoke in vampiric. And although I now identified this language as my native tongue, his accent, seemed foreign. It was distinct and held power. His tone was sharp and the rhythm with which he spoke kept me waiting for more. “I’ll ask you questions, and you have to give me an answer. That’s all.”

I don’t know why but it seemed like his voice carried a will, intention, and persona. As such I nodded.

“First, what is the vampiric creed?”

At least we started with an easy question. “Life is long, yet it is our pride and responsibility to live long.” I answered. Wind rushed past me, and the smothering comfort disappeared. My hair stood on guard. For the first time, for an instant, I felt cold. My hands reached out to the jagged rocks, and I started to climb once again. When I reached the next cliff, warmth and colour returned to my skin.

“Now Aidar, what is the reason vampires exist in this world of ours?”

Already the questions had started to grow in difficulty, and I could understand how there hadn’t been any vampires that had gone and integrated into human society. Before answering I gave myself a few minutes to collect my thoughts. Still, this was something my father spoke about on a regular basis.

“Vampires are the ones who occupy the mountain top. We exist to push back those who stride too far up.”

Yet again the wind tore away the sensation of acceptance that had built around me. And this time it didn’t seem to dissipate. I was frozen, yet my drive to climb had only increased. My heart pumped blood with desperate fervour, unable to understand this state which was all too foreign to this body.

On the next cliff, I stood in mint coloured grass awaiting his words. The words which would sooth my soul. And when he did speak up, I couldn’t help but to place my hands over my heart. I stood there for five minutes. Only then could my brain begin to think up an answer; however, my thoughts seemed to have been tied to a poll. Unable to wander around my mind for clever responses, I tried my best to wrestle back my consciousness; however, I was only ever able to move when I headed forwards or backwards. Unable to find the keys to my freedom I moved forwards towards the smoky haze inside my consciousness. And with strained eyes I found a golden box in which lied an answer.

It was correct. I could move on to the last cliff.

“You’ve done well so far, however, being part of a group doesn’t only mean sharing what one owns, but also what one lacks. Now tell me, what are you missing?”

Perhaps this would be a hard question to answer for those who didn’t remember their previous lives. However, as someone who had lived these past fifteen under the suffocating oppression of nostalgia, moving back only cleared away the obstructions and I immediately found a transparent diamond chest. I bent down, opened the box, and words flowed from my mouth. “The will to live and the strength to take it away.”

This time when the wind stripped the patriarch’s warmth, a force beyond mine carried me up the rest of the mountain. And there, up atop the world where I assumed a great marble temple would tower above titanium white clouds, a cave entrance peaked into the clouds. Next to it an old man in yellow robes stood in absolute peace, a perfect match to his soft brown skin and greyish-white curls.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Seeing him made my steps draw to a close.

“How are you?” asked the man with the kindest of voices.

I instinctively went down to my knees, placed both hands over my heart, tilted back my head, keeping my eyes locked to his, in the process exposing my neck, and answered, “I am at my best.”

He didn’t say anything for a while. It let me feel the heart that beat under my flesh.

“Remember this, all of this.” He motioned to the rocks, the earth and grass, the clouds and the sun, the cave and me. “Now, follow me.” He smiled.

I did so and entered the mouth of the cave. There, a green robe hung on the wall.

“Wear it,” said the Patriarch.

It fit me rather well, however, the now rather foreign feeling of wearing clothes brought me back to my days with the Vikings.

We continued down the tunnel. On the walls made of dark red stones, the figures of men, dragons, and trees with mouths and wills covered the walls.

“What are these engravings?” I asked the Patriarch who continued down the tunnel.

“Engravings are meant to be seen not explained. And what I tell you will be decided depending on the vampiric fire’s will.”

And so, I continued to try and interpret the engravings. It looked like the origin story of a people. The engravings were more sophisticated than paleolithic cave paintings; however, they lacked the narrative and lingual might of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Well, that could all be wrong. I only assumed that paleolithic men were monkeys with human tendencies and that words weren’t hidden in these engravings.

In the beginning, a fire spread far and wide; however, it seemed to spread and burn the trees and flowers. From its embers and ash vampires emerged. From the smoke which rose above, dragons took shape and from the sprouts of burnt trees elves emerged. Other creatures took shape from other sources; however, there were too many to enumerate. As I continued to walk, we passed a rock twice my size and a dragon with outstretched wings stood above the corpse of countless species. After this final panel, the dark red rocks ended, and pale blue ones took its place. Once again, a fire spread, from which vampires emerged, and from smoke dragons emerged, etc. However, in this one, before all the flames could be tempered a great wave swept over the lands. Great krakens extinguished the first flame and drowned even birds. The next stones were green, and this time elves were present on the last panel.

This pattern of changing colours and victors repeated twenty-one times, dark red stones appeared thrice, light-green stones twice. However, I had yet to see vampires. But, finally after yellow stones which sported fairies, purplish-black stones took over the walls and on the last panel vampires stood tall for the first time.

That’s when we reached a circular open area with a small flame on a metal rod. The floor was made of that same purplish-black stone and the walls seemed to sport engravings in a different style than those seen before. However, heat emanating from the eternal flame distorted the air and made looking at these an arduous task, less to say reading, or interpreting these was impossible.

“Aidar,” the Patriarch spoke as I stopped next to him at the entrance of the room. “This fire has burnt for a full era. As you saw, each era ends when one species wipes out the rest and blows out their fire. In doing so the magical network dissipates and goes into a dormant era.” The patriarch took a step towards the fire, I did the same.

“This here is our fire, the vampiric fire. Be proud for we are now a part of the great species who have had a true eternal flame, a flame that has burnt through the dormant era. As our reward for this achievement in the next era, we can only be set dormant after all but one other fire has been snuffed out.” The Patriarch extended his hand and took a step forward; however, an invisible wall blocked it. “I’ve already been judged, and it has limited me to the position of Patriarch.” He looked down to me.

“For you; however, all possibilities are open. Once you touch the vampiric fire it may deem you to be a free vampire, one that would roam the lands. A helper who will stay near the holy fire. A priest who will learn the words and wisdom of the past. A patriarch, or if it deems itself ready and you worthy it may even assign you the role of Grand Patriarch, the vampire set to lead us in the twenty-third magical era.” He patted my shoulder twice over. His hands had a slight tremble, and his last words wavered in the air. “Each time a new one comes my emotions get the better of me. The more one knows, the more fright creeps into one’s heart. Now go before my heart seizes up.”

I entered the distorted sphere and realized that the heat and warmth I had felt earlier weren’t the patriarchs but these flames. Finally, after ten careful steps I reached out to the fire, as it fluttered around my hand. I took another step and let the flame consume my hand. In that instant, I heard none but white noise, my vision went black, and my skin melted. Finally, tremendous vibrations rumbled, shook my organs, and a great force flung my body into the air.