Blood and Knives. Truth and Fiction

Those who were cursed to roam the land of this world eternally had no rest. The sense of danger and hunger that could not be sated was ever-present, driving all but those with strongest will mad in a matter of days, weeks, perhaps few years. But Marianna seemed to be different. It was over a thousand years not since she was cursed with the mark of the Old Gods. And ever since, she could not find peace, not for a single moment. The hunger that was making her feel like her insides were to explode at any moment. The thirst, making her feel like she was roaming nothing but deserts until now.

Perhaps she had just gotten used to it. Or perhaps it was something else. She did not bother thinking about the reason. Not anymore. After living for so long, everything lost its meaning for her. There was no reason to survive, yet she had to. There was no reason to do anything, but she was forced to. And so, she found herself a sanctuary in the forest near a city of a great population - Magnolia. Only a few minutes past midnight, was it? Well, the skies were dark anyhow, stars trying to illuminate the land swallowed by darkness. But their light was far too dim, not poisonous enough for the vampire.

It was around this time that she would go to the city and prey on those who would not hide within the safety of their homes. Drunkards, throwing up in the alleyways, late workers or perhaps even couples that were enjoying the stars in a remote location, far away from anyone who could help them. And while she usually did not devour someone completely in order to sate her hunger, few reports of missing people were already present in this city. When the hunger grew great enough, she just could not help herself. But there was something strange that she started noticing a few days ago.

A reason why she was still sitting beneath one of the many trees surrounding her, rather than being in the city and hunting. There were reports of people missing, yes… but some of them were not her victims. Was there another force at play? Another predator hunting down the careless? It appeared so. And yet, she could not bring herself to care. However, her body twitched. A noise, not too far away from her. Did someone else enter the forest? If so, then perhaps they could prove themselves to be an easy target. And so she waited, those golden eyes of hers illuminating the darkness she was oh so familiar with.

The presence was a haunting one, its magic fairly strong, but not something that would bring other beings that could sense it to their knees. It was just as alive as any magic, but seemingly not rotten in its nature. So the vampire could most likely exclude the possibility of this individual being a dark mage of some sort that was hunting on these grounds as well. Not that it would matter. Those that called themselves vile and of the dark side, or those that would proclaim to bring justice to the world. As long as they would attack Marianna first, she would not hold back.

And she was not afraid of stronger foes either. After all, she was a vampire. An accursed existence that was destined to eternally walk this world. No matter how powerful of an enemy she would face, they could never kill her. Destroy - yes. But kill? No, that was simply impossible. Even if the very last cell of her body was destroyed, her soul completely shattered or even absorbed. The elder blood would seep out of the black abyss, blood from which she would be reborn once more. That was the punishment of the cruel gods that have chosen her.

No… it was because of her friends, family, the other villagers that have chosen her to be the sacrifice. But they were all long since dead. Their corpses turned to dust and then became new life millenniums back. There was no one she could hold a grudge against but the equally immortal gods that have given her the elder blood connected her to it through an unbreakable link. But those gods were out of reach, at least for now. So there was nothing to do but stay in this world and feed on the mortals all around her, or she would risk losing her mind completely.

A fate worse than death. She could not even starve herself into non-existence. Once she would go long enough without blood, she would enter a blood rage. It had happened several times in the past already. In fact, starving was one of the methods of suicide she had tried when she was transformed into a vampire. But she did not die. Instead, she had lost her mind completely, unable to control her body as it went on a feeding rampage. Drinking enough blood, she regained control again. But at what cost? It was just one of the many methods.

At this point, she had given up trying to kill herself. She knew it was simply impossible - that was the curse of her life. And it would consume her again in a bit. The hunger. It was growing inside of her again, she would have to feed. Drink the blood of mortals. Thankfully, it seemed that the magic signature she had been sensing until now was very close. Finally getting up from the ground, she would run one of her hands through her blond hair, closing those golden eyes of hers for a moment. The cloak of raven feathers would float behind her back as the wind pushed into it.

It was close. Finally, she would start walking in its direction. There was no need to even think about who this person would be. She had to feed, sooner rather than later. She would no longer be able to control herself in few hours. And then, even more lives would be lost. But as she passed between two trees, she had stopped. The man was right there, walking in her direction. He was a magician without a doubt, something that was clear from the moment one. Her golden orbs would scan him from toe to head. For some reason, she had an odd feeling about him, which was why she did not attack right away. Instead, she stood there without a word, staring at him.

Why did the vampire stop exactly? She was planning to feed off of whoever would pass through these woods, probably an easy target. But she quickly recognized something about this robed man with a mask covering his face. He was… unusual. It was often pretty simple for Marianna to recognize the odd and strange. After all, she herself was an Eldritch Vampire. Possibly the rarest type of blood-sucking creature on the planet. And the fact she lived for thousands of years already only made her all the wiser when it came to experiences. She did not always use them the best, but she still had them.

And in this case, she felt it. She recognized that this man was special in some way and that attacking him simply to take a little bit of his blood and nothing else would be a task far too tiring and one not worth pursuing. The act of feeding off of someone usually lied in Marianna finding a weak victim that was unsuspecting. Fighting over that right to feed was just plain counterproductive, as she would probably use more energy than she would gain back. By that point, she wanted to turn back and simply leave towards the town already.

But the voice called to her stopped her. Did he hear her come close? Perhaps. The vampiress looked around and spotted some creatures around the area. Another option was that he controlled the animals, was connected to them, or perhaps even created them himself. There was no shortage of abilities in the world of magic, and over the years, the girl had seen nearly all of the common types, as well as many of the more rare variety. Most tricks performed by magic would not surprise her. She closed her eyes for a moment and noticed her body weakening.

He was using magic already. He was cautious, but also did something that would not be considered very smart by some individuals. He was far too preemptive. Much like Marianna attacking him for a bit of energy would be counterproductive, he was wasting his ethernano far too preemptively, before even knowing if she was a foe or friend. If there were more enemies, one coming after another, he would soon exhaust himself. Perhaps she could use that to her advantage, tire him out in order to have easy feeding. But even then, it was just too much work, it was not worth it.

She could easily find humans in the city that would not resist her at all. Drunk humans that would not see her coming, sleeping people that could not defend themselves or even gullible males that would lust after her body and fall into the spider’s web instead. And yet, she still hasn’t walked away. Was it because she sensed something strange about this man just moments before? Perhaps. And so, to satisfy her newly found curiosity, she decided to perform a small test on the man standing nearby. Whatever he was preparing, the girl did not care. She would survive it all.

But if he was somehow connected to the Eldritch, then perhaps this would grow far more interesting. And the way to see if that was the case? She turned around again to face him, her golden eyes shining in the darkness and watching his every move. Just as he asked, she approached just enough steps to no longer be shrouded in the shadows, her figure fully visible to anyone who would look in her direction. And to answer his question, she opened her mouth and spoke. But it was not the tongue of humans and mortals. It was one only those connected to the Elder blood could understand.

“ᛃᛟᚢᚱ᛫ᛋᛟᚢᛚ᛬ᛁᛏ᛫ᛁᛋ᛫ᛋᛈᛖᚲᛁᚨᛚ᛬ᚨᚱᛖ᛫ᛃᛟᚢ᛫ᚨ᛫ᚷᛁᛚᛞ᛫ᛒᛟᚱᚾ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚦᛖ᛫ᛖᛚᛞᛖᚱ᛫ᛒᛚᛟᛟᛞ᛬ᚺᚨᚱᛒᛜᛖᚱ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚷᚨᛟᛋ᛫ᚨᚾᛞ᛫ᚨ᛫ᛏᛟᛃ᛫ᛏᛟ᛫ᚦᛖ᛫ᛖᛚᛞᛖᚱ᛫ᚷᛟᛞᛋ᛭”

If he was indeed like the girl, then he would understand and answer. But if not, then he would hear words so sharp, that they would hurt his mind. Illusions were not the only thing capable of changing one’s perception of the world around them. The old magic, the Eldritch. It had effects on one’s brain that could be absolutely fatal. Mere words spoken in the old language would bring pain to those who did not know them. And looking at the Old Gods in their true form? The one watching would not even be able to say what they were looking at.

Insanity and Chaos. Those were the concepts very closely tied to the Elder Blood, and thus to Marianna herself. But it mattered not here, for she no longer wished to attack the male. And this was reflected in her posture as well, more relax and uncaring. Her eyes were not focused anymore, simply looking tired, as if she was someone who had not sleep for a single minute in whole days. Not just that, her whole posture appeared… tired. And she was. After so many years in this world, she just tired beyond the breaking point.

But being the vampire she was, she simply could not end it. Or at least she knew not of any way to end it, not one that would be achievable at least. These moments, when she encountered something special and decided to experiment with it, were the only moments where she could feel at least a single bit alive. And right now, perhaps there was at least one single glimmer of hope somewhere deep inside of her. But she did not believe that she would meet another one of her kin here, so she did not hold that much of a hope in the logical part of her mind.

The man did react to what Marianna said, but showcased that he did not understand. Despite being able to sense something strange from him, he was not actually associated with the Old Gods in any way as she was. This was indeed the result she did not hope for, but expected from the moment she tested him. It would be far too convenient for her to have found someone who would be able to understand her pain and sorrow, perhaps even share the same goal as her. But that was life, something she had learned ages ago. And so she would simply continue on.

What was interesting, however, was that he assumed she was even able to communicate in the same language as him. She did not say a single word in the common language that mortals of this land use, and yet he went ahead and asked her to speak it. Perhaps it was simply because of the fact that just about everyone was capable of doing so, but it intrigued her nonetheless. For a brief moment, she had closed her eyes and started collecting her thoughts. If he did not understand her, nor could she feed on him, then there was really no reason for them to interact at all.

“ᚺᛟᚹ᛫ᛞᛁᛋᚨᛈᛈᛟᛁᚾᛏᛜ. Who I am matters no longer. Another one… nearby.” While she was ready to say her goodbyes, she had sensed another magical energy somewhere farther away. Moving her hand slightly forward, all of her fingers would suddenly turn pitch-black and extend forward like some manner of tentacles, suddenly piercing the ground and pulsating in a grotesque manner. This remained for few seconds before the appendages would retreat from the ground and turn back into humanoid looking fingers. And Marianna would look slightly to the left, as she discovered a vague direction.

It seemed there was another individual somewhere in this forest and she would probably run into them if she walked that way for long enough. Perhaps that could be her new victim that would allow the vampire to remain sane for few more days. Little did she know that it was actually a cultist, there was no way for her to know. Regardless, she would simply start walking in that direction, just slightly to the right from Oras’ perspective. She looked very clearly uninterested in him, even if she was technically closing distance between them as she walked closer, just to the side of him now.

Marianna merely continued to walk until she heard the masked man’s words. A single second long glace was all she gave him at that moment, though she also decided to speak words a little bit later. “Putting thyself above all else, such is the unchanging nature of a man.” When she lost interest in Oras and instead started searching for another being in the area, she discovered the cultist rather quickly. But only because of that did the man himself start searching and discovered this new prey as well. And yet, he stood there and put himself above the vampiress.

She had recognized this behavior as rather typical for humans and most other mortal creatures that would always do what they had to for their survival. And truth be told, the woman herself had some of those traits still left inside of her as well. Regardless, she wasn’t planning on letting the Cultist be killed too early, or something like that. She required blood right this instant, or her sanity would not last. Even this masked man would not last long then, for none could truly defeat an immortal beast, even if they were to overpower it thousand times over. She would just keep coming until she would be able to feed.

So the moment they got close enough to the cultist's location, a crimson red spear would appear in her hand. And albeit her throw didn’t seem like much, the weapon flew out of her palm like a bullet shot out of a high-caliber gun. A projectile out of nowhere like that would take anyone by surprise, especially a confused and already focused on something else individual. It easily went through the cultist’s shoulder when he was trying to fight the illusions around him. But the damage left behind? It was minimal.

But Marianna’s job was more or less done. She would remain standing a safe distance away for now and let the masked man do whatever he wanted, for only a few seconds later, all veins inside of the cultist's hand would start bloating, clearly visible on his skin if it were to be revealed. And only another few seconds past that, all veins inside of his hand, safe for the aorta. Clearly, Oras had some business with this individual, and she had the basic courtesy to leave him alive for it. What she cared for was the blood that was spilled all over the ground.

And as if it had a mind of its own, the pools would direct toward her feet, inching closer and closer as he bled. The stress from her spear would be spreading through his entire body, slowly forcing him to bleed more and more, yet keeping him by his senses. His heart would have to continue to beat as well, for the sake of the blood flowing out properly. Once the flow would get to Marianna, all of the red liquid would suddenly float into the air and around her body, suddenly absorbing into her skin and clothes. She did not have to feed like a regular vampire, she could absorb it through her entire body.

And just like that, she felt the strength slowly returning to her. It might not have been visible from the outside, as her skin was naturally pale due to the lack of sunlight and would not change even if there was now fresh blood floating through the woman’s system. But that feeling, equal to human drinking water after nearly dying from dehydration in the desert, it was enough to bring some semblance of life into those golden optics. The life force that she lacked, and thus had to take away from others. Her curse.