He was getting used to the loud noises of feeding that would

occur near the castle every morning. Finally he could sleep well,

relatively to before of course. Today’s agenda was almost identi-

cal to yesterday’s – training both his physical abilities and blood

magic. He used telekinesis to get his clothes on and concluded

that having his sword, ‘Vaurcarya’, attached to his body was too

uncomfortable. Instead, he decided to have it float and follow

him around. He levitated to the dining hall for breakfast and

then met Edward in the entrance to the Colosseum.

‘Good morning, Lodus. Today we will continue training

your dodging skills until you’re able to keep it up for at least a

minute. I don’t like wasting time so we will begin immediately.

Are you prepared?’

‘Yes.’

Edward unleashed his beast-like wrath and tried hitting Alduin

in every single limb he had. He was already a bit used to this

training and was able to dodge a lot of the attacks. Suddenly,

Edward decided to try out a new fighting stance and Alduin was

instantly cut in half.

‘You are improving but this is not good enough. Again.’

The next iteration began the moment his body was done regrow-

ing itself. This time he was able to last for eighteen seconds.

Better but not enough.

‘Again!’

A few hours went by and Alduin was already able to survive for

fourty seconds before getting some part of his body chopped off.

The process was tiring and repetitive but his motivation to get

stronger kept him going.

‘Again!’

‘Again!’

‘Again!’

‘Again!’

It was time for lunch but he decided to give it one more go.

‘Are you sure? We can always resume this tomorrow,’ Ed-

ward asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Ready?’

‘Always.’

Edward started with a swing to the feet but Alduin jumped above

it. Then a quick turn to land a horizontal strike to the shoulder.

Alduin ducked and then hovered back swiftly. Edward used

this opportunity to jump and try to land a vertical strike. The

fight felt almost poetic, like a dance of sorts. Alduin responded

to the high strike with a quick turn to the left and then a roll

forward. Five seconds have passed during that time. His op-

ponent suddenly decided to push him forcefully with his leg

and proceeded to try and cut him sideways in the chest. Alduin

dodged this maneuver using his newly-found levitation skills.

Flight was realized to be quite the wrong idea as it was instantly

met with dozens of throwing knives, forcing him to practice

airborne evasion. He was made to land and hover even further

away. Fourteen seconds have passed. This time Edward decided

to challenge him even further by pulling out another weapon

– a war axe. This axe was made from Orcish steel. Despite its

massive size he was able to wield it with ease.

‘How did he even get Orcish steel? There are no orcs in

Euphata...’ Alduin asked himself, ‘The orcs live in the planet of

the giants!’

As swift strikes with the blade were directed to Alduin’s chest

and arms, the war axe was directed straight to his face. He

decided to try out sidestepping techniques. His skill in this

art was rather basic though sufficient and thirty-four seconds

have finally passed. Having gotten intrigued by Alduin’s rapid

improvement, Edward decided to change his focus and use only

throwing knives for the time being. He pulled out five pouches

from his vest and tucked them onto his shirt, throwing more

than fifteen knives at once in astonishing accuracy. Surprising

both of them, Alduin was able to dodge each one of them. Fourty-

nine seconds have passed.

The deadline was closing in and Alduin grew excited. Edward noticed his grin and decided to make it even harder for him

to dodge. The velocity, strength and sheer quantity of knives

thrown had been increased greatly and Alduin felt cornered de-

spite having been standing in an open field. In addition Edward

decided to use telekinesis to make a few swords fly from the

weapon racks nearby. It became extremely difficult for Alduin

to stay on his feet and he almost tripped a few times. A slide to

the left, then a jump, then a duck, hovering around, backflip,

front flip and pirouette.

Every attempt was very close to hitting him but not quite

close enough. Alduin dodged every blade and knife like his life

depended on it. Fifty-nine seconds have passed. At the last

second of the exam Edward decided to try something entirely

new. He made Alduin dodge offensive blood spells like ‘Blood

Spike’ or the more powerful version of it – ‘Rain of Blood’. Rain

of Blood covered a wide area with spikes in dynamic sizes. He

was able to dodge most of them but suddenly he felt a swift

shock in his stomach and saw a spear piercing right into it.

‘Bravo, Lodus, bravo! Almost sixty-one seconds! Have I been

quicker it could have been another failure. You are lucky I got

excited by your drastic improvement! We are hereby done with

evasion training. Let’s eat lunch and then you will continue your

training with Gozo.’

Alduin pulled out the spear from his body and regenerated. The

earth surrounding him was all covered in the blood that oozed

from his wounds. Nevertheless, he had a marvelous smile on

his face. He was proud. After lunch he met Gozo at the entrance

to where they had practiced blood magic last time.

‘Greetings, Lodus. Today I will teach you the hand signs of

a strong spell called The Blood Sun. Are you ready?’

‘Yes.’

Gozo opened the seal and they stepped inside. He began the

exposition.

‘The Blood Sun spell is practically a levitating ball of blood

magic that drinks and drains blood from mortals in its vicinity.

The range of the blood sun varies with its execution and depends

on the amount of Olons the wielder lets it consume from them.

My soldiers usually use if for stealth missions.’

‘Okay.’

‘The hand signs go like this...’

Gozo began making the signs with his fingers and Alduin was

watching carefully.

‘Alright. Let me conjure up a few blood minions for you to

practice on.’

From the nearest pool rose four human-shaped minions made

entirely of blood. They were glowing.

‘Now, use it on them.’

Alduin tried mimicking the signs he saw. Instantly, a strong

explosion was heard and he was thrown off to the nearest wall,

missing an arm.

‘You are not precise in your usage of Olons and look what it

has done to you... Try again but don’t be so greedy and childish!

You are not used to your rich Olon pool yet and it takes time to

figure out your limits. Start small and improve. Again,’ Gozo

said.

Alduin regrew his arm and spat blood on the floor. He focused

on his hand and tried once more, resulting in him being shot

off to the wall, again. After five attempts he was able to shoot a

tiny ball of blood toward the test subjects.

‘Better. You’ll get the hang of this at some point. I have to

go now so keep practicing and show me your progress when I

return. It will be right before dinner.’

‘Okay.’

‘Bye.’

Blood magic was a lot easier for him to master, making its prac-

tice much more fun and interesting. The blood sun he was able

to produce was tiny but grew in size as he kept trying. After two

hours of practice he was able to produce a sun the size of his head, after four it was the size of his torso and then after five the

size of his entire body. Despite the changes in size the strength

of the sun seemed to remain the same. He began wondering if

it was even possible to destroy the minions using this spell. He

suddenly heard footsteps approaching.

‘I’m back. Let me see your progress.’

Alduin shot the blood sun onto the minions and it immediately

began sucking their essence, though at a rather slow pace.

‘The ball is satisfactory in dimensions but not as strong as it

should be. Nevertheless it is fine for now, we will keep practicing

tomorrow.’

‘Alright’

Alduin’s day ended and he went back to Edward’s secret spot,

for some peace and quiet.

‘Maybe I should check out that tavern I saw yesterday. It

could be interesting,’ he thought.

After a few minutes of retracing his steps he had finally reached

the tavern, the one called ‘The Dazed Human’. Most of all, he

was curious to discover why it was named that way. He stepped

toward the entrance and tried to walk inside, but a vampire who

guarded the entrance stopped him.

‘Welcome to ‘The Dazed Human’! I’ve never seen you before,

are you new in this city?’ The guard asked.

‘Yes, I am.’

‘What is your name?’

‘If I want to actually discover their culture then I should keep

a low profile. They would probably act a lot differently around

me. Maybe I should use someone else’s name, just to be sure no

one would recognize me,’ he thought to himself, ‘My name is

Virtholdr, Virtholdr Vinyi,’ he answered the guard.

‘Welcome, Virtholdr! In order to enter you must know our

rules and vow to follow them, do you understand?’

Alduin nodded.

‘Alright, so... Rule number one, absolutely no feeding on or

touching the humans inside. We need them to stay alive. You are allowed to give them drinks though, if you wish. Rule number

two, absolutely no fighting inside. We have a very strict no-

violence policy. You wanna fight? Take it outside, don’t destroy

the tavern. And for that very reason I am also obliged to cast a

spell on you that would block your ability to use magic as long

as you are inside.’

‘No violence? I thought your entire culture was based off of

violence! How bizarre,’ he thought to himself.

‘Rule number three, which is also the most important one,

no flirting with women that are aren’t of your own status!’

‘Wait, what?’ Alduin was confused.

‘We are one of the only entertainment businesses in this city

that allow citizens of all social statuses to enter. However, the

owner of this place is absolutely disgusted with race mixing.’

‘Aren’t all vampires members of the same race?’

‘You really are new here, huh?’ The guard began laughing.

Alduin stared at him, puzzled.

‘Anyways... Do you agree to these terms?’ The guard asked.

‘Yes, I guess so,’ Alduin shrugged and said.

‘Alright, stand still,’ the guard said.

He got closer and put his right hand on Alduin’s forehead, then

started chanting something, whispering.

‘Alright, you’re good to go. Step inside,’ the guard said and

opened the heavy sliding door made of stone.

Alduin nodded and got in. The first things his five senses came

across were very distinct aromas of red wine and irony blood,

strong sounds of laughter, conversation and aggressive yet ‘catchy’

music and loud groaning noises, vampires of varying genders

and sizes and a great quantity of red candles. There was a very

big bar area, a stage where a certain band was playing and

around twenty different tables that were mostly occupied by

heavily drunk customers. In front of each table there was a

small platform with a metallic pole, onto which was chained a

human of varying gender and age. The humans appeared in-

toxicated and confused, groaning and moaning with slurred speech. He decided to sit by the bar, on a stool of, you guessed

it, stone. A female vampire that was working there addressed

him. She had a black ponytail, pale skin tone and wore a black

tunic and leather pants.

‘What can I get ‘ya?’ She asked.

‘What do you have?’ He asked.

She rolled her eyes and pointed upwards, visibly irritated as the

entire menu was carved in the stone right above her. The menu

consisted of three types of products - drinks, food and ‘For the

Dazed Human’. The drinks options were split into two types -

glasses of red wine and blood, each one with varying options

and prices. He was able to recognize some of the brands of red

wine that they were offering, like the ‘Euphatan Crimson Gold

Wine’ that costed fifty Samarices for a glass and two hundred

for the whole bottle, or the ‘Kontaran Taiquani Wine’ that costed

sixty-five for a glass and two hundred and thirty for the bottle.

The options for blood were far more vast and sophisticated, of-

fering different options according to the age group (zero to five,

five to ten, ten to sixteen et cetera), blood type and race of the

mortal. For example, a glass of an elvish baby’s blood costed

eighty Samarices in average.

‘Hmm... That ‘Euphatan Crimson Gold Wine’ sounds really

good... Brings back memories of family dinners with Ley...’ He

thought to himself.

Options for the food were different body parts of human meat,

the ‘Balagas’ he tried last time for ten Samarices a piece, two

options for soups and what they called ‘Today’s Special’ for sev-

enty. Options for the ‘For the Dazed Human’ mostly consisted

of beer, human snacks like nuts and fruits, and a ‘Dance’ that

costed twenty.

‘What the fuck does ‘Dance’ even mean? Maybe that is the

price for having one of the employees force the human to dance?’

He wondered.

‘Well?’ The annoying bartender was visibly losing her pa-

tience (kids these days am I right?).

‘Hmm...’ He began pondering loudly.

He heard someone behind him in line clicking his tongue and

sighing in irritation.

‘Fine, fine, sheesh!’ He said to himself, ‘I’ll have a glass of

that ‘Euphatan Crimson Gold’ and three ‘Balagas’,’ he said.

‘Is that all?’ She asked.

‘Yes.’

‘That would be eighty Samarices, how would you like to pay?’

‘What are my options?’

The sighs from behind him immediately grew ever stronger.

‘Just fucking pay already!’ One of them yelled.

‘I honestly don’t care about your inconvenience,’ he thought

and ignored them.

The bartender rolled her eyes again childishly.

‘Are you some kind of alien or something?’ She sighed, ‘You

can either pay on the spot, or have it on a formal order of pay-

ment that we later send to the castle’s offices alongside your

personal information for warranty.’

‘Oh, um...’ He said, ‘Lysander would probably take care of

paying this for me then!’ He thought, ‘I would like to pick the

formal order of payment option,’ he said.

She sighed and took out of a piece of paper from one of the

drawers.

‘Under the name of?’ She asked.

‘Virtholdr Vinyi,’ he said, ‘I will tell Lysander later that it was

me under an alias,’ he thought.

‘Date of birth?’

‘13th of Ruyen, 1076 MDW’

‘How old does that make you?’ She wondered, many years

have passed since then despite Alduin’s young appearance.

‘Around thirteen years old,’ he responded.

‘Huh. Not my problem,’ she shrugged and sighed, ‘Identifi-

cation number?’ She asked.

‘I don’t know what that is,’ he said.

Unexpectedly, the sound of a woman’s voice was heard, address-

ing the bartender. She got off her chair and approached the bar,

standing next to Alduin.

‘I’ll pay for him,’ she said.

His confusion was very prominent on his face.

‘Wait, why? Who are you? Do we know each other?’ He

asked.

‘No, not yet anyways,’ she laughed, ‘Come sit next to us!’

She pointed at her table, where two other vampires were sitting.

Probably her friends.

‘Hmm...’

‘Come on!’

‘Fine,’ he said.

She handed the Samarices to the barkeeper.

‘How does this work? Do you call my name when my order

is ready? Or?’

‘We will deliver everything to you, don’t worry,’ the bar-

tender said.

‘Okay, thank you,’ he responded.

The woman grabbed his hand and brought him to her table. They

sat down. The human that was detained by it was a young girl,

probably not older than ten. She looked at Alduin, her eyes

begging for something. She was very thin, way too thin to be

exact. She mumbled something but he could not understand

what it was. They all stared at him, waiting for him to introduce

himself. Suddenly, he raised his hand and called a waiter. After

about two minutes one had finally come.

‘Would you like to order something?’ The water asked.

‘Yes, can I buy a cup of water and some fruits for our hu-

man?’ He asked.

‘That would be a grand total of nine and a half Samarices,

how would you like to pay?’

‘I’ll pay for it,’ said the woman who paid for him the last

time and winked.

She handed the coins to the waiter.

‘Coming right up!’ The waiter proclaimed and came back

with the food after a few seconds.

‘You have good taste, kid!’ The woman laughed, ‘Could I use

one?’ She asked him, pointing at an apple.

‘Okay,’ he said.

She grabbed one of the apples and held it close to the mouth

of the girl, but the moment she tried to take it she pulled it

away, laughing loudly. The human was so hungry she practically

leaped toward the apple, getting stopped violently by the length

of her chain which pulled her back powerfully; choking her too

in the process. The woman’s friends joined her laughing.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

‘What are you doing?!’ He shouted in anger.

‘What do you think I’m doing? This is what this is all about!

Don’t you see?’ She was perplexed by his reaction.

He looked around and it appeared she was right. The vam-

pires used the items on the ‘For the Dazed Human’ list for the

purpose of torturing said human. Some forced alcohol down

their throats, granting the business its name, The Dazed Human.

Some just used the food to toy with them, ‘feeding’ on the sight

of their starved, weak and thirsty faces completely focused on

the fake opportunity for food. Everyone was laughing, enjoying

this cruelty.

‘Stop it!’ He said and handed everything to the girl.

‘Pfft, have it your way then!’ She shouted, confused by what

she was seeing.

The poor child rushed to eat and drink as much as she could,

she knew a chance like this rarely ever happened. She mumbled

something to him again, probably thanking him.

‘So anyways... Where were we?’ The woman asked.

‘Do I actually want to make friends with these people? They’re

nothing but violent murderers! But, maybe this would be my

only way of understanding their culture? Maybe I could use this

intel to plan my revenge? I shouldn’t use my real name though...’

He pondered, ‘Yeah, so... My name is Virtholdr,’ he tried to fake

a smile.

‘I’m Tia,’ she smiled. She was the one who paid for his tab.

‘They call me Nexer,’ he said and shook his hand.

‘And I’m Ymmu,’ she smiled, ‘What’s your last name? I have

heard rumors of a certain Virtholdr!’

‘Oh, um, it is Vinyi,’ he said, ‘I really hope she doesn’t recog-

nize it. Getting caught faking my name might be troublesome,’

he thought.

‘Ah! No, the one I’ve heard of is called Virtholdr Tura, never

mind!’ She laughed.

He sighed in relief.

‘By the way, why did you pay for me?’ He asked.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said, avoiding the question, ‘We’re

all friends here.’

‘Yeah, it’s all good!’ Ymmu said, smiling.

‘Okay,’ he responded, puzzled by the situation he had found

himself in.

‘Are you some kind of tourist? I’ve never seen you here be-

fore,’ Tia asked.

‘Uhm, no, not really. I am new here though,’ he responded.

‘Ah, I knew it! I told you, didn’t I?’ She started laughing,

addressing her friends.

‘Yeah, we never should have doubted you. You know literally

everyone in this city. It’s crazy!’ Ymmu said, laughing.

‘Is he the one you told us about?’ Nexer asked.

‘Nexer! Shh!’ Ymmu nudged him with her shoulder myste-

riously.

‘What?’ Alduin was confused again.

‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ Tia was nervous, staring angrily at Nexer,

‘I just told them I saw a very handsome guy yesterday in the

main square,’ she said, looking at him in the eyes and waiting

for a response.

He blushed uncontrollably, having no clue how to react. His

chance at flirting and romance was forcibly torn from his child-

hood after all, and he had no experience with women.

‘Thank you,’ he said nervously but quickly regained his cool,

reminding himself that he hated them.

‘See? I told you he’s cute!’ Tia said, staring firmly at her

friends, like she was hinting something.

‘So what do you do around here, Virtholdr?’ Nexer asked.

‘Here you go, sir,’ a waiter suddenly approached their table

with Alduin’s order and placed at his side of the table.

‘Thank you,’ Alduin nodded and picked up his glass of wine,

‘Oh, what did you ask?’ He then proceeded to take a sip.

‘I asked what you’re doing here. You said you’re new,’ Nexer

said and continued drinking from his goblet.

‘Uhm... I train here. Under Edward and Gozo,’ he said.

Nexer suddenly spit out the red liquid he was drinking.

‘What?! Gozo and Edward?! How do you know them?’ He

asked.

‘They’re my teachers, I guess? I don’t know what to say to be

honest,’ Alduin was confused by the question.

‘Where do you live?’ Tia asked.

‘Uh... The castle, I think. I have a room there,’ he said.

‘Can you introduce me to Gozo? He is so hot!’ Ymmu yelled

out in excitement.

‘Here you go again with this obsession of yours! Grow up,

Ymmu! You’ve been talking about marrying him ever since we

were kids! You’re twenty now! It’s unbecoming...’ Nexer said,

‘Plus, the two of you are scaring him, stop it. I apologize for my

friends here, Virtholdr.’

‘It is fine,’ Alduin shrugged.

‘Pfft...’ Ymmu blew a raspberry, visibly irritated.

‘So... how come you’re living at the castle? Are you related

to Lysander somehow?’ Tia asked.

Alduin took a bite out of his first Balaga.

‘Uhm, I don’t know. They took me in and decided I have

potential, I guess?’ He shrugged.

‘Yes, but you know... Not everyone gets to live in the castle...

Hell, not everyone gets to live in the ‘Strong District’ even!’

‘What do you mean? Can’t you just buy a house there with

your money?’

‘No!’ Nexer started laughing, ‘It’s more difficult than that.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Tia said.

He looked at Ymmu and she nodded as well.

‘What do you mean?’ He asked.

‘Do you how our society works, Virtholdr?’ Tia asksed.

‘Not really.’

‘Nexer, tell him. You’re better at this than me.’

He looked at Nexer. He was chewing on a piece of meat. Finally,

he swallowed and parted his lips.

‘So, basically, our society is based around our military, or

rather, Lysander’s military. Every single one of us must serve in

the army from the age of twelve until twenty, and during this

period our strength is assessed. Then, according to our results

we are categorized and assigned a position. ‘Strong’, ‘Mediocre’

and ‘Weak’. We are currently in the intersection between the

districts, a zone where everyone is allowed to walk around. There

are few ‘free’ zones like that around the city.’ Nexer explained.

‘Oh, what are your positions then?’

‘All three of us were put under the ‘Weak’ class, but it’s utter

and complete bullshit if you ask me!’ Tia said angrily.

The other two nodded in agreement.

‘Huh. So you’re not allowed to enter the other two districts

then?’

‘Nope, we’d have to pay a fine if we get caught! Absurd,

right?!’ Ymmu said.

‘You see, the three of us believe that this is unfair. We believe

in equality and are trying very hard to change this disgraceful

class-system that is part of our city.’

‘How?’

‘Activism,’ Nexer said and took another sip from his goblet.

Alduin ate his second Balaga and drank from his cup.

‘Yeah, activism. We try to convince Lysander to change this

broken system!’ Tia shouted and lifted her cup in the air.

‘Hear! Hear!’ Two vampires shouted from a distant corner

in the tavern.

Tia chuckled.

‘See? They agree with us,’ she said.

‘Is it possible to move to a higher class?’ He asked.

‘Yes, but for that you must enlist yourself back into the

military and fight Lysander’s fights until he decides that you’ve

earned it. You see, the class you’re put into reflects your rank

in the army, and each class has its own acceptance threshold,’

Ymmu explained.

‘Can you leave the army once you rejoin it?’

‘Yes, you can join and leave as many times as you please. But

just bear in mind that the only way to progress in status in this

city is via the military.’

‘And how do you earn money?’

‘You can make money by either working in a business, like

that bartender for example, or by running a business, like that

man sitting over there in that comfy-ass chair,’ he pointed to-

ward a fat vampire with short hair, wearing a purple noble outfit

that was sitting on a golden chair next to the bar, ‘He is the owner

of this tavern.’

‘Yeah, but being just an employee isn’t worth jack shit! Usu-

ally only the ‘Weak’ class works under someone like that, because

it is the only thing they can get accepted to! The pay is really

bad. Honestly, really bad,’ Ymmu said in a frustrated voice. Her

friends nodded in agreement, semi-sulking.

‘The only way to make good money is via the army, or by

inheriting a successful business from someone. Other than

that, the game is rigged, I tell ya! Rigged!’ Nexer exclaimed.

‘Huh.’

‘Yeah,’ Tia said.

‘So anyways, how is that advocacy going for you? Have you

made any progress?’

‘Quite frankly, no... Lysander’s guards never let us come

anywhere closer to his castle, so we can’t really talk to any of the superior officers. Oh! I just thought of something!’ Tia said.

‘Hmm?’

‘Nah, he would never help us, Tia. He’s just another wealthy

boy, our problems don’t concern him. It isn’t even worth a try,’

Nexer said.

‘Yeah, he is probably just here thinking to himself ‘what a

bunch of peasants!’,’ Ymmu complained.

‘Shut up, everyone! You’re wrong! Let me talk to him. I trust

him, he has ‘good’ eyes. I can see it in his face that he cares about

us and our cause. You saw how he treated that filthy human! He

is pure of heart!’ Tia said, staring at Alduin, ‘He is probably our

ticket out of here, a naive do-gooder,’ she thought.

‘Pfft... Fine,’ Nexer said, ‘Have at it. Just don’t complain

later that he’s just like everyone else.’

Alduin ate his last Balaga, utterly confused. What were they

trying to do?

‘Virtholdr,’ Tia said.

‘Yes?’

‘Can you arrange us a meeting with Edward? Or Gozo? Or

even, and tell me if I’m exaggerating here, Lysander?! Please say

yes! Say yes!’

‘Wh-what? How? They don’t know you, why would they

accept?’ he said, ‘Why would I even help these people?’ He asked

himself.

‘Because you know them. Come on, say yes!’ Ymmu said

with excitement and fire in her eyes.

‘I told you he doesn’t care. He’s just a rich boy and we’re poor

kids. He isn’t any different than the rest of them fuckers,’ Nexer

said.

Alduin tried to hide his irritation.

‘Shut up, Nexer. Virtholdr, ignore him. I know you’re a good

person. Please, we need you!’ Tia said, full of passion.

They were all staring at him, waiting for an answer.

‘I-I can’t. I’m sorry. They would probably decline even if I

tried,’ he said, trying to remain polite. It was hard for him to both despise them and agree with the concept of their cause.

‘Well, you haven’t even tried yet, right??? So how are you so

sure? Just try and let us know, come on!’ Ymmu pressed him

further.

‘Pfft,’ Nexer sighed.

Alduin finished his drink and started pondering. He began rub-

bing his forehead, thinking hard on the matter.

‘On the one hand, they are nice to me. One the other hand,

they’re fucking vampires! But on the other hand, they were just

born into this and they have a point. But on the other hand,

they’re savage killers! Also, they were so cruel to that little girl!

Okay, I’ve decided,’ he thought, ‘My answer is no,’ he said.

‘What a fucking asshole!’ Tia suddenly yelled.

‘Excuse me?’ Alduin said, surprised by the sudden shift in

treatment.

‘Yeah, you’re just like the rest of these rich fuckers. Fuck

you! Fuck you all the way to Tyronah! You and all your family!’

Ymmu screamed.

Those last words triggered rage in Alduin, but he tried his best

to hide it. After all, violence was not allowed here. Plus, he didn’t

know what Vaonie or Lysander would do to him for attacking

vampires.

‘Yeah!’ Tia shouted and spit on the ground, ‘Fucking entitled,

privileged prick. Your discomfort is nothing compared to the

oppression you’re supporting. If you’re not actively dismantling

‘Strong’ supremacy, you’re perpetuating it!’

The fucking irony.

‘Silence is violence!’ The three began chanting together.

A few other vampires in the tavern joined them in their rant,

yelling at Alduin. The owner was getting visibly upset.

‘Fucking loud, obnoxious, lowlife peasants,’ he thought.

Alduin sighed heavily. His hatred for their kind was growing

stronger. He glanced at his table’s human and whispered ‘I’m sorry’. Then, he just stood up and headed for the door, hearing

loud curses and blasphemies on his way out.

‘I’m never going back there again,’ he said to himself, ‘Never

trust these savages again. They are all bad! Except for Edward

maybe. Is he bad? I’m not sure...’

He decided that he’d had enough for today and began his way

back to his room, to sleep. The following days were mostly repet-

itive and consisted mostly of tough training regimes. That spot

which Edward introduced him to had proven to be his primary

solace. It somehow managed to calm him down. He even started

etching his own lines onto the floor.

‘One day...’ He said to himself as he carved one more line.

After a few months, his training with Gozo had ended with a

surprising twist.

‘... Nevertheless, I think you need actual experience in battle.

Come with me to lord Lysander. He will assign you with a task

to test your skill.’

They walked outside and headed to the castle. The sight of Vaermiraiits bowing to him as he walked made him smirk in evil

joy.

‘I can get used to this treatment.’

‘You are acting like a spoiled child. I know you are mad at

us but you are a god now. Behave like one.’

‘I am also only fourteen years old so cut me some slack.’

‘And so are a lot of princes and princesses that are forced to

rule at a young age. You have great responsibilities now, grow

up.’

‘How are you even allowed to talk to me this way? I am your

god aren’t I? How can you treat me this way?’ He clenched his

left fist.

‘You are divine, in that regard you are correct. However, you

are very weak both in mind and in body. I may never be able to

kill you but I could easily seal you away forever. Vaermiraiits don’t blindly respect title, we respect strength.’

‘Then why do they bow to me every time they see me?’

‘Because they are unaware of your capabilities. The details of

your training are kept confidential to our society. The peasants

know nothing but your future title.’

‘So if they knew no one would have treated me that way?’

‘Precisely.’

‘Why do vampires not respect authority?’

‘Because we think it is stupid. We too are somewhat divine,

a mix between mortals and wild beasts, originating from an

Araqhaiit who fucked a human woman many years ago. Greatly

impure, inbred and full of genetic mutations that are not entirely

pleasing. Take our weakness to the cold for example. Our bodies

have changed for the better but also for the worse. Our instincts

and reflexes have grown supernatural but with it we’ve lost our

humanity.’

‘Wait, wait. This makes no sense. If you are weak to the cold

then why is your main base located in Euphata? All it has to offer

is snow and ice...’

‘Oh, hell, I shouldn’t have told you about that...’

‘Why not?’

‘It is kept as a secret in our society, only the generals and the

lord know of it. It might make you laugh but it is simply because

our ancestors built this place before realizing that this weakness

even existed. Later on, our people decided to stay here solely

out of respect. Today with the advancement of alchemy and

enchanting we are all equipped with amulets that nullify this

weakness to an extent. These amulets are given to our babies

and newly-turned without explaining their purpose.’

‘Huh.’

‘Enough chatter. We must make haste to Lysander.’

He was waiting for them sitting on his throne.

‘Hello, Lodus.’

‘Hey.’

‘I heard from Gozo that your training is coming along nicely.’

Alduin shrugged.

‘You are an ambitious boy. It will come to pass. Patience is

key to that sort of thing.’

‘You keep calling me a boy yet I have lived for many years,

maybe even more than you have.’

‘Don’t assume things you know nothing about. I have lived

for hundreds of years, even in Elvish counting,’ he rolled his

eyes.

‘What did you call me here for?’

‘For a task. To test your new powers and help you acquire

experience. Listen well.’

‘Will the task take place outside of this cave system?’

‘Yes, why?’

‘I miss the outside world. As a person who appreciates na-

ture the tree-shaped rocks you have here don’t really do it for

me.’

‘You offend me, Lodus. It was my very own research that

had made us able to mimic the outside world with the rocks we

have around. It took a lot of time and effort to make the shapes

so realistic.’

‘Arrogant pipsqueak!’ Lysander thought to himself.

‘Huh, okay,’ he shrugged.

‘You will go to a cave a few hundred kilometers southeast

and clear it out from sorcerers that have taken control of it. It

used to serve as one of our mining systems. Do with them as

you see fit but the cave must be cleared out entirely.’

‘Another cave, great... How am I supposed to locate it ex-

actly? I have never actually strayed that far from my village by

myself.’

‘See that warrior sitting beside the door?’ Lysander pointed

his finger toward a woman.

‘The one whose face is covered by a black mask?’

‘Correct. Her name is Lul. She will hand you a map of the

area and accompany you in order to assess your skill. Be aware

that she is not allowed to help you in this journey.’

‘Anything else?’ He rolled his eyes

‘Yes. Don’t dare to fail me.’

‘Fine.’

The unfamiliar figure was a very tall woman. Her face was cov-

ered almost completely by a black mantis mask, her red hair

running wild and free. Her mouth was not covered probably so

she could feast freely. A dagger was attached to her left hip and

a large scythe to her back. He was excited to go outside for a

change.

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Author's note - I hope to get reviews and feedback. Thank you :)