Elegy of Faith

Chapter 1: Arrival

In this day and age, the castle looked like nothing more than an anachronism.

The ramparts were positioned to give the inhabitants a good view of the surrounding European countryside, yet no one manned them. A moat was dug around the circumference, but the water had long since run dry. The drawbridge was left down, and the gates were open. What a waste, Suzume concluded. If she had known that they wouldn't have been spotted during their approach, she and her companion could have taken a car and driven on the dirt roads, rather than purchasing horses and riding through the forest.

Whoever had moved into this fortress was clearly not experienced at owning a castle. Not like Dracula, back in the day.

Dracula, Suzume thought. She had heard the name far too many times in her church studies. Everyone was afraid of the name. Everyone kept worrying that he would show his face again. Suzume never understood why. As far as she knew, Dracula had been destroyed for good back at the turn of the millennium, and no attempts to bring him back had ever been successful.

Sure, there were still outbreaks of the undead. In the wake of such a major battle, it was to be expected. So Suzume had been surprised to learn at a young age that her own church had undertaken efforts to travel to the locations of such incidents and purify the interlopers. Her mother in particular was well known for her magical ability and her involvement in preventing further widescale attacks. As long as no Belmont is old enough to wield the whip, the teachers said, it will fall to the church to ensure that humanity is not killed or corrupted by demonic forces.

So she was forced into the family business, she thought. And here she was, riding to one of the least protected castles in the entirety of Europe, to combat an undead army that had only destroyed a single village to date.

She shook her head. This was no way for a priestess to be thinking. Every human life mattered. And the townsfolk really had been hit hard, from what she had witnessed. The streets were filled with bloodied bodies. The survivors barely reached the double digits, and they themselves were clearly injured in the attack. She wished, not for the first time, that she had chosen to undergo healing studies over the past few years. Her mentor was quite skilled, she remembered, and she would have given almost anything to have been able to help those victims.

She focused again on her current task. The church had sent out a larger team, and they would be arriving shortly. They would be able to help rebuild the town and heal the villagers, assuming that they hadn't already moved on like some of them said they would. The important thing was that the villagers were able to point her and Samuel in the direction of the perpetrators. They were the ones who needed to be handled immediately.

"Which entrance do we use?" the aforementioned young priest asked.

Suzume glanced at the two sides of the castle in view. "The front gate's not guarded. Should we take the direct approach?"

Samuel shuddered. "I don't know. It could be a trap."

She shook her head. "Look at the sky. It's still a few hours until noon. Any undead we meet will be in a weakened state. If we take too much time seeking an alternate entrance, night could fall and we'll lose our advantage and element of surprise."

"As you say, Miss Belnades."

Suzume winced. "Please call me Suzume. I'm only 20. Don't talk to me like I'm an old woman."

The courtyard behind the main gate was guarded after all. But not very heavily, Suzume noticed. Just a number of zombies. She was able to return their dust to the earth with only a quick incantation and display of holy power, and even Samuel seemed to be handling them easily.

He had improved greatly in the past year, she thought. There were so many other clergymen that she would have preferred as her partner. Even her younger sister, she considered with a smirk. But the word of her superiors was the rule, and Samuel needed some experience, and Suzume had been providing it to him. And now it seemed like he was almost to the point where he could take on a partner of his own.

The next door was simple. Suzume gestured to Samuel, then grasped the door handle. Samuel prepared a spell to be released and took his position. Exactly three seconds later, Suzume pulled the door open suddenly and Samuel rushed in.

Six seconds later, he ran out of the room again. "Run for your life! It's a trap!"

Suzume sighed. He had been doing so well, too. She immediately started to close the door, but found it obstructed by something on the other end. Slowly, she peered around the side of the door to see what was...

A hand grasped her by the neck and pulled her into the room. As the door slammed closed behind her, Suzume looked around quickly and tried to get her bearings.

It was a small windowless chamber with two doors on opposite sides, probably used by guards as a second line of defense. Blocking the door opposite the entrance was a pale-looking woman with brown hair, dressed in a black dress with notable red highlights. Suzume could not see the person who was holding her from behind, but the hand was equally pale and looked to be masculine.

The one holding her spoke first. "Intruders. What should we do?"

The woman smiled, revealing what were clearly fangs on each side of her mouth. "The other one was smart to run. Perhaps we should give this one a chance to follow him?"

"You're vampires!" Suzume shouted.

The male voice sighed. "Thank you for stating the obvious."

The woman shook her head. "Please. No need to be so impolite. Who are you to barge into our domicile without our permission?"

Suzume worked out a strategy in her head. It was still daylight out. It was amazing that vampires would dare to be awake at this hour, even in a windowless room like this one. They had to be weaker than normal. They were also being entirely too self-confident. All it would take to gain the upper hand would be a single, quick move.

Suzume elbowed the male vampire in the ribs and tried to escape his grasp. While he did not flinch, he loosened his grip, allowing her freedom. This task completed, she took a position where she could see both vampires, and prepared a spell in her hand. "The dead don't need to ask for names", she said in her best threatening tone.

The female didn't lose her smile. Instead, the male stepped forward to approach her again. Now that she could see him, she could tell that he dressed very similarly to the female, with the same color pattern in his outfit.

Instinctively, Suzume threw her hand out, creating a small burst of holy power. The vampire simply moved his head back and allowed it to fizzle ineffectively. She tried again from a different angle. He moved his head to the side.

Two feints, she thought. Now for the finale. She threw out her other arm and released the stored holy power in a much more explosive form at the vampire's chest. The blow struck true, and the vampire looked down to see where she had struck him. Then he looked up at her again and growled. "My turn", he said as he shoved her away a few feet with a single push.

As Suzume regained her balance, she saw that the vampire had drawn a sword from some part of his wardrobe. Where, she could not tell. This fight was not going to be won easily. She turned to glance at the female vampire, only to find that she was still smiling and had yet to move to aid in the battle.

The male took this opportunity to try to catch her off guard. Suzume expected this, and took a quick step to the side to dodge the swipe. Using her next amount of stored power, she shifted her balance from her dodge to take a quick step forward with intent to strike the head this time...

...and dashed directly into the blade of his sword, where it had been waiting for her.

As the pain started to become unbearable, Suzume looked down at the bloody wound in her chest, then up to face the vampire again. His expression had not changed. With an amount of speed not found in an average human, his other fist connected with her head.

"Are you injured?"

Suzume's vision was still foggy as she regained consciousness. Above her, the blurry figure of a man was kneeling down in front of her face. In her current condition, she could make out that he had reddish hair and was wearing dark grey clothing.

"You are alive. You are fortunate."

She blinked, then struggled to speak. "...who are..."

"Do not speak. Save your strength." He paused, lifting his head for a moment. "A group of representatives from the church will arrive shortly. They will be able to aid you."

Suzume remembered. The other team had been sent, hadn't it?

The man stood, revealing that he carried a staff. "I shall return when I can. Remain calm." And with those words, he moved out of her line of sight.

All was still for a few minutes. Unfortunately for Suzume, this meant that she had time to think about her situation.

How could she have been so stupid? Samuel was right. She had fallen directly into a trap. Everything she had done was anticipated by the vampires, and they had left her openings simply so they could counter the inevitable attempts to take advantage of them. And now here she was, lying on the floor, bleeding openly, quite possibly dying, with her only chance of survival resting in the hands of...

"Miss Belnades!"

"No! I hope we're not too late!"

The first voice was definitely Samuel, she thought. He had been smart enough to get out of Dodge before things got ugly. The man who accompanied him sounded older. More experienced. Not devoid of compassion for her...

"...Marcus..."

"Suzume!" the man said, kneeling down at her side. "Thank God you're okay!"

She could hardly believe it, but the evidence was right in front of her. Marcus, with his usual smiling face, slightly mussed black hair, and what appeared to be an attempt at a goatee on his chin. He was dressed in the white garments of a priest, yet in his usual manner, the shirt was left unbuttoned and worn as a jacket, revealing a buttonless black shirt below it. A rosary hung from his neck, completing the effect.

It was less than a week ago that her mentor had left the church on a pilgrimage. And now he was here, completely unexpectedly, just in time to see that his "prized student" had almost gotten herself killed in his absence.

To his credit, he didn't call attention to it. Instead, he focused on the immediate concern. "That's quite an injury. You're lucky we got here in time." As he spoke, he raised his right hand and moved it in the air in a counterclockwise circle as he drew magical energy. As he closed the circle, his hand proceeded to trace a pentacle within the boundary of where the circle would have been. Finally, he thrust his hand forward through the center of the pattern. "Heal!" he shouted, perhaps unnecessarily.

Suzume had been healed several times in her life, so this was not entirely new to her. She still enjoyed the sensation of the warmth running through her body as she felt the wounds close and the pain fade until it was nothing more than a memory. Marcus Williams had always been good at restorative magic, she recalled. According to rumors, he had specifically joined the church in hopes of having his actions formally supported by the group. Apparently in the past, he had been accused of dabbling in arts upon which man should not grow too reliant. That had never stopped Dracula, hearsay claimed he had said.

The truth was, despite his strong holy power and belief in upholding the common good, the church had never been sure what to make of Brother Williams. He was not a very pious man, and he had no qualms against breaking the rules of the church if he felt the results warranted his actions. Some felt that he should not be allowed to stay. Others were concerned that giving up an asset like him would be one of the greatest mistakes they could make.

The decision was quickly reached the moment Yoko Belnades requested him to tutor her daughters. When Lady Belnades spoke, everyone in the church listened. It would not do to ignore the opinions of the one who had inspired the church to reach the point where it was today, and who also had the benefit of coming from a long line of magicians who had been known to battle the forces of darkness many centuries before.

Suzume never knew why her mother chose him. There were always the stories of the great magical power inherent in the Belnades family, but there could have been someone more qualified...

Her attention snapped back to the present. Marcus was shouting out orders to the armored clerics who had accompanied him. "You two, move her back out to the courtyard. You," he said, pointing to Samuel, "make sure she has enough to eat. The rest of you, come with me. We need to seal off this entrance. We don't want them to ambush us again."

Suzume smiled weakly. "Marcus... thank you."

He turned to her and smiled. "No problem, my lady." Then, after a brief pause, he resumed his trip into the depths of the castle, accompanied by many armed men.

She watched the doors close behind him and sighed. If nothing else, he truly believed in her best interests...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Samuel's arrival. "I'm so sorry, Miss Belnades! I shouldn't have left you there alone! I should have stayed to help you! I should have made sure you were following me! Something! Anything but leave you there alone to be attacked by..."

"Who were those vampires?" Suzume asked. "I'm not a novice! I should have been able to at least hurt them! And what stunt were they trying to pull, leaving the gates open and standing guard when it's broad daylight out?"

"I don't know", Samuel replied, bringing her what appeared to be a leg of duck. "Perhaps we were still weary from our journey."

"And that man..." Her thoughts trailed off as she began to eat. It was a quiet moment, and for a few minutes, she was able to temporarily forget that she had almost single-handedly ruined the entire mission.

Two of the clerics returned later to guard the courtyard from the other end. Samuel was asked to join Marcus's group, one of them said. As the various other people reorganized, Suzume became woefully aware that she wasn't part of the process. She was guarded, yes, but she had no companions. She was not contributing. She was alone.

"Your name is Suzume?"

Suzume looked up quickly. None of the clergymen had returned yet. Instead, she was surprised to see the red-headed man from earlier, standing near the wall of the castle proper.

"Come with me. I would like to speak with you."

She stood and approached cautiously. "Are you a vampire?" she felt the need to ask.

"I promise you that I am not. I seek to destroy the vampires, like you."

Her immediate fear alleviated, she approached his position, eyeing him cautiously. The man looked to be several years older than herself. His hair was as bright as she remembered, and she could see now that he kept it tied in a ponytail behind his back. His dark grey cloak fit him loosely, with sleeves that only stretched to his elbows, and she could see the plated armor that he wore underneath it. His legs were completely covered in armor, and his arms, while not wearing gauntlets, were equipped with armguards. He certainly had the equipment of a warrior, she decided, even if one that hadn't been seen in the world in a few centuries. Oddly, the only weapon he carried was a quarterstaff that he held in his left hand.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

The man turned his head to the wall behind him. "There is a hidden passage here that leads into the castle dungeons. Follow me and I will show you."

"But... why? Who are you?"

He looked at her impassively. "My name is not important. This is the time for action, not introduction."

She crossed her arms. "If you won't tell me, I won't come with you."

He eyed her sternly. "If I give you a name, will it truly prove me to be your ally? I believe that we are defined by what we do, not by what we say." As she was about to protest, he continued. "If you cannot accept this, you may call me Gregor."

She nervously shook her head. "I didn't... I mean no disrespect. So Gregor, then."

He turned his head to face the gateway that led to the drawbridge, and the two men standing guard there. "These men may be able to stop the weakest of the creatures here, but they are no match for the true danger within. If you wish to stand a chance, I believe that it is in your best interest to assist me."

"And what is your business here, Mr. Gregor?"

"I am a warrior in servitude. To fulfill the wishes of my employer, I have come here to destroy the inhabitants of this castle."

He knows something, she thought. "The inhabitants? From what I've seen, there are vampires inside, and I do not believe they can be defeated with a staff."

"I assure you that I am quite capable in combat and am properly equipped to defeat vampires. However," he said with some hesitation, "not even I may be able to stand up to the power of Dracula without help."

Suzume's eyes widened. "Dracula? He's back? I thought he was..."

"No", Gregor interrupted. "He has not returned. It is unfortunate, as I ventured to this castle intending to confront him directly."

"But you said..."

"The vampires of this castle serve a master. From what I have witnessed, the master uses the power of Dracula, but not his methods. I am ill equipped to destroy him, and this is why I must humbly request your assistance." As he finished his sentence, he gave her a polite bow.

She looked around warily. "It'd be better to ask the church. I'm just one priestess."

He gazed into her eyes, reciting as if from a book. "In centuries past, there have been many warriors who sought to destroy Dracula and the minions he possessed. The Belmonts, they were called. And yet, in times of trouble, they often found their efforts insufficient to defeat the menace, so they turned to allies in their time of need. And few families rose to the occasion more often than the witches of the Belnades clan.

"You must be aware of the importance of your lineage. As a Belnades, you possess a holy power considerably stronger than that of the others who have come here. You have not perfected it yet, but when you realize your potential, you and I may be able to stand a chance."

She just stared at him. Then she lowered her head sadly. "Reputation or not, I don't know if I can help you. You saw how I almost got myself killed just now. I couldn't even defeat..."

"Take this staff."

As she looked up, she saw the quarterstaff being thrust in her direction. "What is this for?" she asked.

"Spells take time to cast, and holy power is not always the best option. One should never go into battle without knowing how to wield a weapon."

"But I've never used a..." She paused. She hadn't, had she? She remembered back to her battle with the vampires. Even after one of them had proved himself nearly immune to her holy power, she had gone for another such strike, because she simply had no other options at the time...

"...yes. I will try it." With some hesitation, she took the staff from his hand. It was longer than she expected, but not uncomfortably heavy. She would need to learn how to balance and swing it properly, but she could see herself getting used to carrying it around.

Gregor smiled. "If you hone your abilities, you will achieve your goal in time. I believe the creatures in the underground passage would be good practice."

She nodded slowly, and then stopped. "I don't know. Perhaps I shouldn't head back in so soon."

"You will not be able to accomplish anything if you remain here."

"Good point", she acknowledged. "I'll give it another shot."

He bowed again. "Thank you, Suzume. The entrance to the passage should be somewhere in our vicinity."

While Suzume was of the belief that the "false stone" method of concealing a passageway was horribly out of date, it seemed like a rational idea in a castle of this age. It took the pair less than five minutes to find it.

Gregor lifted his staff and turned to her. "I will scout ahead. Please do not forget my request."

Suzume felt the need to bring it up. "Um... your staff..."

"Weapons can be damaged. Those who do not wish to be eliminated from combat are wise to carry a spare." He glanced meaningfully in her direction, and then proceeded ahead.

Suzume followed cautiously, holding her own staff carefully. "Such an earnest man. I hope I don't let him down."