Viktor's POV
From the moment I saw the newborn baby boy on the floor of a dungeon, I knew Lucian was special. But whether he was a prodigy or just an especially dangerous kind of special, I could not know. Kill it, my initial judgment commanded. Nothing good could come out of the womb of such an abhorrent beast. And yet, I couldn't. This child was seemingly human, and clearly a new species all his own. We vampires were growing in number, as did the number of werewolves that profaned our dominions with their presence. Power was in short supply, and any chance of acquiring a super-weapon could be the difference between eternal life and death for the vampire race.
In short, I took the baby as my ward and called him Lucian—a proper name for a fiercer kind of pet. I considered it for the first five years my sole duty to ensure the wellbeing of the child so that our success as well as his would rise to its utmost potential. At the end of Lucian's fifth year under my wing, I had the good fortune to become a father to a daughter—my little Sonja. Naturally, I could not raise a warrior and a princess simultaneously and had to decide my priorities. Sending Lucian away to be privately trained by vampire combat warriors marked the discussion topic of our first real talk.
"Lucian?" I called to the young child from a stone bench in the pavilion of my castle. The boy was playing with some wooden toys on the floor not too far away and perked his head up at the sound of his name.
"Yes, Master?" His bright eyes stared up at mine with curiosity and respect. In his private lessons with me, I taught him all that he needed to know for the targeted course of his life: respect for elders, humility, trust, honesty, his name, proper responses to his name or to his orders, and a wonderful work ethic. Good behavior was rewarded with edible treats or new toys; bad behavior resulted in privileges taken away or physical admonishment. He was a fast learner and had a commendable will to please, but my mind never strayed from the fact that he, as a product of beasts, was not and could not ever be equal to a vampire.
"Come here." The boy immediately stood up and abandoned his toys to be nearer to me, his large eyes looking to the empty half of bench by my side. I snapped my fingers and pointed to the ground in front of me. Without a second of hesitation, Lucian averted his gaze from the spot and planted himself at my feet. Good boy, I mentally praised him. "We must discuss your future, Lucian. You are growing to be a big boy, and your years of being coddled like an infant are coming to an end." Lucien nodded his dark-haired head in either agreement or understanding. "As of tomorrow, you will begin your combat training with new instructors. They will teach you how to fight opponents, block attacks, and improve your physical skills. In return, you will not question them, disobey them, or use your instruction for any purposes aside from those being asked of you. Understood?"
"Yes, my lord," he replied in his small, boyish voice, nodding his head again.
To test if he really understood, I asked a follow-up question: "What will happen if you fight with your instructors?" Little Lucian pressed his lips together and stared at the ground in thought. After a few seconds, he made a fist with his right hand and imitated a throwing motion with his right arm with an accompanied Wah-tsh! noise. I stifled a small chuckle at his pantomime and nodded the affirmative with all seriousness. "That is correct. Furthermore, I would be very displeased with you. You would not want that, would you?"
"No, Master," Lucian answered almost immediately with his eyes still fixed on the ground.
"Good. Because I would hate to have to punish such a promising child as yourself." Lucian lifted his head and smiled at the praise. In his smile was a solemn promise that he would not disappoint me. Everything was going the way I wanted.
For the next five to seven years, I saw less of my ward but kept a continuous knowledge of his progress through my informants. "He is doing very well," they would say. "One minor injury to his arm, but he's healing fast." "Lucian is excelling beyond his years; he's even invented some of his own techniques." The results were always positive, and it made me happy to know that my time and resources invested in this child would not go to waste. When he began to show signs of budding male puberty, it was time for him to be evaluated. When presented with vampires to battle, Lucian stayed true to his promise and did not disappoint. His strength and agility rivaled that of about half of the grown male vampires in the coven. His reflexes were honed to where he could catch an arrow in midair before it could touch him. Out of my peripheral vision, my daughter Sonja was intently watching the performance.
"What do you think, Sonja? Shall we make more?" Lucian was still the only known one of his kind, and the test results were beyond successful by my judgment.
"Of him?" my daughter asked me in reply without taking her eyes off the boy.
"Like him," I corrected for emphasis. Cloning was not possible, but expanding the breed was, assuming that his blood was the only requirement for the changing process. Lucian gazed up at me from where he stood victorious against his opponents, no doubt curious as to what I could mean by that. "Lucian will always be the first of the breed, the first of Lycans." The little Lycan boy liked the sound of that—being a "founding father" of a whole new species to come. I gestured for Sonja to head inside so that I may have a private talk with my most recent success.
"Lucian, I am most pleased with you," I told him once the spectators had disappeared from both sight and hearing range. "You have a very promising future ahead of you."
"Thank you, my lord," Lucian beamed with triumph. He was not as emotionally responsive as when he was a little one, but that was to be expected among vampire men. It seemed that nothing was a greater joy to him than knowing that his guardian, his closest companion and caregiver, was happy with him. At a sudden thought, however, the smile disappeared. "What will happen to me now?"
"I want you to help me create my army," I summarized in short. "I will bring you the humans that you will need, and then you will change them with your blood." Lucian nodded in compliance. Of course he would do that small favor. Then, another question came to mind.
"Please, Master. How do I change them?" I knew he had seen a vampire change someone before, but as Lucian was a first in most respects, I hadn't a definite answer.
"You will know. I will help you."
As I had promised, the human prisoners were soon on their way to my castle. Word got around the vampire community that my plan to create a guardian species would bring security to my domain, and many flocked from all corners of the world to join my coven. My number in vampire guards grew, as did my quota for the new species. Every vampire wanted to share in the glory of having their own brand-new Lycan guardian to watch over their bodies in the daylight hours. To make this dream a reality, I gave my men simple instructions: pit Lucian against the humans and let his blood thirst be his guide to duplicate the species.
In under twenty-four hours of the humans' arrival, I had my answer: Lycans did indeed change their prey in a similar fashion to vampires. A simple bite on the neck was all it took before the human stock began to mutate into the stronger, faster, more agile new species. My vampire followers were floored and revered me for my genius find of Lucian. I spoke again with the boy after the first couple days as I felt that he could do with a little fresh air out of the dungeons.
"How do you feel knowing that you've single-handedly improved the security of our lives?" I inquired. Lucian allowed a long pause and took in a deep breath. For the first time in his life, he did not know what to say. "Is something troubling you, Lucian?"
"The new ones," he began with fear and worry reflective in his eyes. "They don't like their masters at all. They…They fight a lot." He frowned deeply with an emotion I recognized as shame. He had held himself responsible for the new breed being created and worked it in his mind that the project would be a glorious end to my every last worry. Now, seeing that his expectations did not even closely match the actual results, he could not help but feel that he had let me down.
"Do know that their behavior is not your fault, Lucian. They are wild and must be tamed. Then they will be as sweet as you are." That answer seemed to satisfy him, or at least take some of the pressure off of his shoulders. As with all good strokes of fortune, the bad strokes are soon to follow. The plan had become more complicated than I had anticipated. Naturally, I predicted that free men made to surrender their wills were not going to be the most compliant at first. This was also a great hindrance to Lucian, whose obedience was likely to be corrupted by these new savage Lycans. Humans were strong-spirited creatures, and breaking them was going to be a long and tedious process. Lucian was bound to feel sympathy for the creatures he helped create as he was never exposed to such an intense level of violence on a group scale. I resolved, therefore, to isolate him from the rest for a while until the Lycans were more compliant.
"I could talk to them, Master," he suggested. "I could show them that they can be happy here." What an intelligent boy.
"A thoughtful suggestion," I commended him. "But I would advise against it. As good as your intentions are, these beings were not raised with the common sense of knowing right from wrong as you were. They will mark you as an enemy, and I would not want you hurt. I would be more at ease if I knew you were safe in a secluded area." Then a curious idea came to my thoughts. To manage such a rowdy population, our holding cells would not be enough to subdue the new Lycans for much longer. For the breaking-in process, we would need more equipment: whips, chains, shackles, muzzles, swords, arrows, and armor, and anything else we could need to make my original plan a success. Metal. "In the meantime, why don't you take up blacksmithing? Think of it as a rewarding hobby that will increase your contribution to our society."
"Yes, my lord. I will find someone to teach me. Thank you." And so ended another one of our few private conversations. I had someone escort Lucian to his new home, a cottage ideal for a blacksmith's workshop, and I assigned someone else to keep an eye on him to make sure he would not be corrupted by the rest of his species.
The most distressing of our talks was not even a full week later when my guards reported that the adult Lycans had discovered how to shape-shift at will, resulting in a handful of injuries for the vampire race. Worst of all, I had to face my impatient coven members who I had aimed to impress. You said that this was going to be a revolutionary success! Now, we just have something of a revolution! They just can't be controlled in their wild state! In case you did not know this about me by now, I am a problem-solver. My solution: Keep them from phasing into their werewolf bodies. The blacksmith that Lucian was keeping in contact with set to work on a secret order of mine: two-hundred metal chokers designed for the necks of the average human male. I saw the prototype of the moon shackle and gave my approval before they were mass produced. The choker was a simple metal ring with pointed teeth facing inward at the front of the neck that fastened with a bar lock. There was no physical way a collared Lycan could attempt to phase without becoming impaled by the sharp spikes. Once the chokers were applied to the new species, they became much more responsive to pain and were showing positive signs of compliance. Soon, only one choker was left and only one Lycan remained with a bare neck. Both were reduced to zero on the day I paid Lucian a visit to his house.
"Good day, my lord," he greeted me fondly at the door, stepping aside to let me in. "How are you?"
"I am doing much better, Lucian. Thank you." I kept the small device hidden about my person as it would be a shock to him. "How is your progress?"
"Growing, my lord," he replied with proud eyes and an accomplished smile. He went to the workshop portion of his cottage and picked up a large sword from the cooling rack. It was two and a half feet of silver with a platinum handle, had decorative jewels crested inside, and sported a fine point just as sharp as he. "What do you think of my first sword?" He offered me to hold it, and I picked it up to test its weight and balance. As usual, my ward did not disappoint. It appeared that he had a natural gift for this profession and I told him as such.
"My pride for you swells with every achievement, my boy. When your training with your instructor is over, I hereby appoint you as head blacksmith of our coven." Lucian gasped with surprise at the position bestowed upon him and bowed his head with esteem.
"Thank you, Master. This is an honor I do not take lightly. I shall strive for perfection always." On the topic of accomplishments, he added after a pause, "How are the other Lycans faring?"
"Much better," I answered honestly. "They are now starting to accept their new lives with both feet forward, as the expression goes…once some changes were made."
"What sort of changes, my lord?" came the obvious follow-up question. At this point in time, I could not soften the truth any more than I had done before. I now had a reputation to keep among my vampire company. Vampires first, Lycans second, which included my own foundling.
"Lucian, put the sword away and we shall talk at the table." He did as I ordered and joined me at the table for what would be the longest conversation yet. "Last week, I received complaints that the other Lycans were unmanageable because of their tendencies to turn into their wild wolf forms, as you did when you were thirsty enough." Lucian nodded, listening intently. "So in order to initiate their training, I made a decree requiring every Lycan to wear a specially made collar to prevent shape-shifting." Lucian nonchalantly touched his neck with the top of his fingers, now looking away from me with questioning suspicion in his blank stare. The silence around us could have been cut with a knife.
"I never change without special permission, Master." It was true; he didn't. "And you know I would never defy you or cause you any trouble." I did know. "Everything I've ever done was directed toward pleasing you." Indeed. "Are you…going to collar me, Master?" I looked into his eyes for a long moment, nonverbally conveying my apologies as I held up the metal choker for him to see. Lucian's face fell as I locked the device onto his neck and stowed away the key. That was the first instance I realized that this half-human, half-wolf creature was capable of crying.
"I cannot change what has been done," I stated as a matter of fact. "I must think of the coven as a whole first. Do not take this as a break of my trust in you. This is only a precaution, and such precautions must be fair to all members." Normally at this point, Lucian would nod and agree, but he stayed quiet and unresponsive for a moment.
"You think I am only one of them?" He said this as more of an accusation than a question.
"Whether we like it or not, you are a Lycan. You are all Lycan and no vampire; you must abide by their rules." Another pause ensued.
"Meaning no disrespect, my lord—you are correct, of course—does not my loyalty and devotion to you all these years count for anything in regards to my treatment, perhaps not to my kind, but at least to me?"
"Certainly," I assured him. "I just made you head blacksmith, did I not? No matter what, you will always be my first and favorite Lycan. The collar, I'm afraid, is not negotiable, but do not think that I am blind to your wonderful qualities. I shall always be proud of you." Lucian brightened up at these words and gave a small smile.
"Really?"
"Lucian, I've come to care for you as if you were my own son."
As he always knew that he was a cut above the average, Lucian remained devoted to me for many years after that conversation. He and I shared many political viewpoints and visions for our coven despite the fact that he had been slowly worked into the acceptance of Lycan servitude. He continues to do wonders with metal and sets a positive example of an exemplary work ethic for the rest of his kind. As for me, the original idea of turning Lycans into daytime guardians was not successful. No amount of time could undo their stubbornness and pride. Fear of pain, therefore, had become the prime driver of production instead of honor or loyalty. The foundation of proper ethics must start from parenting to build a standard of values, and then the rest of productive society follows. Speaking of which, I wonder where my daughter ran off to…