I soon found that the skies were no longer beautiful. Birds flew in circles, and the putrid smell of rotting meat emanated from the ground. What had I brought into this world? I flew for four hours, yet I spotted no human settlement.

A few hours later, I reached the last mountain of the highlands. My endurance had greatly improved as my wings did not ache even after I passed more than a dozen mountains.

I landed atop the last peak and peered down. My eyes set on a ruined castle. Although it looked like it had been abandoned a few years ago, I smelled blood. Human blood, its pungent fragrance punched through my nose and set my heart ablaze. Oh, how long had it been since my last meal. My stomach churned and growled. I flew down, beating my wings with enough strength to rip through the sound barrier if only I possessed a more aerodynamic body. My vision went red, and the blood of humans appeared scarlet neon. Unfortunately, it seemed to be splattered on the ground. My heart cooled; the world retook its varied shades. I neared the ground and as I unfurled my wings to land, that's when I noticed thousands of tiny white worms swarm around pools of red. Had I filled my stomach earlier, I would have puked. However, for now I could only feel queasy and fly off. Either, with the appearance of magic, the animals had become glorified beasts, or, most probably, another patriarch, king, or whatever title they held was born closer than expected.

Honestly, I wished to meet another like me, however, the last thing I wanted it to be, was a parasitic, or worse a hive type species. No doubt those birds were being controlled. But then, the question was what type of control did this leader posses? But then again, if they were in a hive, shouldn’t they have already known of my existence? Why wouldn’t they come after me? I had clearly trespassed into their territory, yet nothing had come for me. In that case this being was most likely a parasitic type. Those worms were probably the parasite’s children, or the parasites themselves. "Argh!" Well, it could be something else, I really don’t know much about parasitic creatures. Just looking at them in picture books was enough to make me squirm so I could never watch a documentary on the subject. Anyhow, I don’t think staying here would do any good. I flew off, towards the sea.

However, a few minutes later, out of a hole in the ground scarlet neon lights showed human blood stains. My vision turned red once again. I followed one of the many trails. At the end of which, I found a man, sword in hand who walked through the lands without any visible aim. Well, he was probably a deserter from the siege. There was no need to fret over his worth for he had forsaken his family and children.

Hunger had to be quenched.

I sped down and plunged my teeth into the man’s neck. Blood sped into my stomach and warmth; warmth finally assailed my soul. Oh, how long had I waited for this moment, finally a weight, unmeasurable with kilograms or tonnes fell off my conscious and soul like an old pair of elk antlers. Mana oozed out of my nose and mouth. When I let out a sigh of pleasure, purple dust blew in the wind. It flowed away towards the east and followed the neon lights. It followed blood, and it would lead me to more. My stomach still had space and I would fill it.

#

In front of me the entrance to a cave appeared. I smelled it. The smell of blood. I entered. A man slept against the rock wall intertwined with his spear in a fetal position. A cut ran down the side of his shoulder, and bite marks were engraved in his leather chest piece. Yep, they were no doubt deserters. My heart slowed in appreciation for their help, however, this sense of ecstasy made me feel light, and my vision dispersed. I had dematerialized once again. I tried to regain control of my body, however, just as my sight hadn’t disappeared, neither had my sense of smell.

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I wafted into the depths of the cave, I smelled more blood; its presence, almost palpable.

Heartbeats dispersed air molecules, and as mist myself, my particles undulated like a buoy in a sea of opposites. A few minutes later I was both next to the man in the entrance and in a smaller room where a man slept, a baby in his arms. Two women slept a little way’s off.

The man and baby snoozed in sync. A sheathed sword placed behind the pair, on which the baby rested its head. My brain, fuzzy as it was in this state of existence, started to harden as did my hunger soften. I rubber banded back into my human form, now in the middle of the cave, far away from both the sleeping guard at the entrance, and the baby hidden away in the back corners of the cavern.

I couldn’t bring harm to this group, not today at least. Taking the blood of one of them was more than enough. The fact they escaped that city is something to be admired, even if it was the ones with the most power and resources. Their future lives wouldn’t care for them anymore. They would pay for their past fortunes with many sleepless nights. This did not need to be their last.

However, when I arrived back at the entrance of the cavern, a blob of red paint landed on my eyes. I tried to wipe it away, going so far as to scratch open my skin. Yet nothing changed. I pulled off my robe and started to wipe down my face; however, ditto. The only thing in my vision was the man who slept against the rock wall. Enzymes drooled out of my mouth and canines. My two legs took two steps each. I stood above the man. Although I was of small stature, I could look down on him so easily and he didn’t even show a single sign which would lead me to believe he acknowledged my presence. How could he sleep so peacefully in such times? He had no doubt never lived through such hardship. He no doubt believed himself to be the main character. He no doubt believed that after such an incident nothing could even dent his skin. Yet here I stood above him, strong and proud. Drool trickled down my mouth.

Control. What concept? What person?

A blob of saliva fell and landed on his nose, it slid down and blocked his nostrils. He took a breath, it entered his airway, and he coughed once, twice, and three times before I sank my teeth in his neck.

How fresh his blood was, again, warmth, familiarity, and a rush of excitement flooded my body. And, then a blade pierced my back.

I turned my head. A man, with bloodshot eyes, and rough breathing stood behind me.

“How hard it was not to scream when I saw you,” he said.

I don’t know how I understood his words; however, I understood the danger he posed. Everyone appreciated and understood music, no matter its language. And life was the music of our souls after all. I looked back down to my chest. My tunic turned crimson red, and when it became saturated with blood, blood flooded, mixed with the dark earth, and drowned my knees. As I peered down to the object that would take my life, I noticed small brown sprinkles of mana emanate from his blade. Did human’s gain mana when I released magic?

The man pulled the blade out of my chest. A lump of blood splashed in what had already accumulated on the ground. I turned to look at the man, only to be greeted by the soles of his feet. My head crashed into the rock wall, and I now lay on the ground. My blood smelled distasteful and a small amount of it got sucked into my airway as I struggled to breathe. I coughed and tried to blow my nose, however, nothing but purple mist came out. Yes, purple mist. “Spr…” I tried to speak; however, blood blocked my airway. Mana spread and seep into the blood I lost. The mana created a cloud around my area and hid the man who walked back into the depths of the cavern, with a limp to his step.

My mana settled into my blood. Come back into me. I ordered, a ball of blood formed above my head. It headed towards my back as I lay down on my stomach. A lukewarm feeling permeated my body as my heart started to pump with strength once again. I exhaled more mana, this time telling it to enter my body and mend my blood vessels, restore my nerves, repair my muscles, and grow back skin.

When the process finished, I pushed myself up and sat against the wall. I was drained. My legs refused to move, my arms fell to my side, and my eyes fluttered and closed.