Author's note-most of this story takes place in the past unless otherwise noted-the last couple chapters in the story are back in the present, after the recollections have been finished between the two main characters in the story….I worried that there may be confusion and wanted to try something different. Thank you for reading and please review! And if you havent read my other stories, please do, I would like as many reviews as possible. Also, I have the reading order of the stories in my profile J

PART ONE

Chapter 1

The night was dark, dank and there was more than a little blood hanging in the air. Both caused by the fighting that had ended days ago and also by the two that had picked off the past of the fighters that they had happened across. The two would have died anyway and besides, the older vampire needed to teach the new one-all of a couple hours old-how to make it in a world that was going to be familiar and new to him. The rules for him were different now, no more daylight, no more food or drinking…at least, not in the way he once did. Godric had been impressed by the Viking on the battlefield and it was a stroke of good fortune that he had watched the fighter become mortally wounded. It was meant to be, he supposed, to bring him into the fold, to take on a progeny for the first time. No one had ever impressed him enough to get him to turn anyone before. But now….he knew that he and Eric would make a team that any human would regret crossing. It would be killing, hunting and fighting over and over until he had forged himself a worthy-worthier-companion. One with no conscience, one with no qualms about taking what the wanted, needed to survive. And though they would move in the shadows and certainly not allow any one to live with the memory of their encounter with them, there would certainly still be dangers to them. And having the sense that this one was stubborn and had a certain bravado that could well get him killed. Yes, there certainly was some training that needed to be done with this one. Tough love.

"Are you quite finished? I don't think you left a drop in that body." the older vampire looked to his left where his progeny was crouched over the body of one of his former comrades that they had come across. Wounded to the point of no return. At first, Eric had been hesitant to make a meal out of someone he had known so well but it hadn't lasted long, his hunger had overtaken him and it was within ten minutes he had drank the warrior dry. As he finished, there was a air of guilt about him. Standing up, he looked down at which he had done and seeing those two wounds in the neck of his friend gave him pause. "You wonder if you should have accepted my offer to join me." Godric said, standing next to the much taller figure.

"I fought at his side for so long…..and this is what I do to him?"

"You gave him a mercy killing. He was too far gone to save and in his death, he has helped you in learning your new abilities. I suspect you are to be a fast learner and yet I fear I will need to be hard with you. You have had to leave your former life behind and now….no throne, no fellow warriors to fight with…it is only the two of us now. I must say, being you are only a few hours into your new life, you have already impressed me with the way you….dispatched of that one. I have told you once and will remind you. That you can not be at the mercy of your emotions, that you must master…conquer…them. If you want to be strong, to survive." there was a long silence. "Let's move on, away from here. This land isn't somewhere we should linger around should we encounter anyone else you knew in your former life.

There was nothing said by the new vampire, though he turned to face the direction of the castle he had grown up. A castle that would likely be plundered or just abandoned to time. His family was dead and buried, his friends…everything was indeed gone. All he had now was his maker and a new life awaiting him. And it was then he knew he needed to do whatever he was ordered. And shrugging off the deep emotional wounds he still carried, Eric knew he had to do what was needed to survive. Change in more ways than one.

Chapter 2

They had managed to make it miles from the place what was once his home and he had waited for the right time to get them safely to cover. There was a cave that was deep and well protected from the light. But wanting to make a point as to the real danger that the sun now posed to him, Godric ordered his progeny to remain outside the cave as the sun rose. And for a few agonizing moments, the new vampire felt more pain than he had ever thought possible, his skin reddening and burning. Just as little licks of flame were about to flicker, flare up, Godric ordered him to retreat into the cave and with great relief, Eric launched himself into the safety of the cave. Though badly burned, he knew he would heal. And he learned, the hard way, the consequences of not being more careful when the sun approached.

"I wanted to make certain you were well aware of how fast you can go up in flame. A few more minutes and you'd be no more."

Nodding, Eric was leaning against the cave wall, eyes closed and wincing against the pain he felt. Within a few minutes, he had been healed, thanks in part to a leather skin that Godric had brought along. Filled with blood, he handed it to his progeny and the healing was helped along faster. Five minutes later, he was healed of all traces of burns but his Viking wear was about totaled, mere scraps of leather remained on his body and his armor, as good as it had been to him in battle….it was toasted. Literally. Though he still had his sword at his hip, the belt being the only thing not completely ruined by his exposure to the sun.

"Time to strip away the past and move for the future…..keep the sword if you wish but everything else…" Godric trailed off and they turned to see glowing eyes looking back at them. And there it was, a large bear with fearsome claws and a slobbering jaw. "Leave it to me." and with a flash, Godric had pushed the beast backwards, into the darkest area of the cave where there came a commotion of growls and snarls from both of those involved in the turmoil. And with a bloody sounding final roar, the bear fell silent and soon, he emerged, fangs out and a torn bear pelt in hand. "This should do for the time being…" he built a fire and soon, the pelt was dried enough that it could be used for something of a loin cloth. "There…until we can….borrow…you something more suitable. For myself, all I have ever needed was trousers. Simple and to the point. And a simple pair of boots. Now…..get yourself down for the night or else you'll get the bleeds." and after explaining what those were, Godric ordered his progeny to get rest, which Eric obeyed, as he had no option to do. But before he bedded down on the cold cave floor, he stripped off the remains of his Viking wear and threw the scraps into the fire, which roared bright for a moment before settling down. Step one of the rebuilding of the biking, thought Godric, was complete.

Chapter 3

Having affixed the bear pelt as rudimentary attire, Eris followed his make from the cave the next night, having survived his first night as a vampire. That the last day was such a learning curve…it was certainly jarring what he had endured already. And what he learned, it was certainly going to help him survive. And as they crept through the thick trees, they came across a traveler on a horse. Now, it was time for another lesson. Time to teach him how to glamour their prey.

Having explained the mechanics of how to do it, Godric stood back in the shadows as he coaxed the Viking out into the open. And once Eric's eyes had met the startled eyes of the man on the horse…..it was all down hill from there for the unfortunate traveler. Grabbing him off the horse which then raced off into the night, the meal was fast and much needed for the new vampire. Having taken a taste of the dead man for himself, Godric was impressed at how fast the young vampire was learning on his second day. "I do not think I made a bad decision in turning you, my friend….you will make a name for yourself…and I daresay you will become as legendary as I myself am."

The praise pleased Eric as he spoke. "I….Didn't have to kill him though…I could have glamoured him, had a taste and-"

"It is kill or be killed and he had weapons on him. Given the chance he could have killed you. Survival is paramount. Humans are nothing but a meal for us. And perhaps, with the women, a good time. Though I daresay you are well practiced in that."

Grinning a bloody smirk at his maker, Eric had to laugh. "I was a legend in my own right with the women in my village. And now….the possibilities are endless." he frowned again as he felt guilt once more take over. Guilt that Godric was determined to vanquish. And so for days and weeks, he ordered him to kill and drain, drain and kill. It was a unforgiving series of exercises and it was almost a year after the stubborn Viking had been turned when the work Godric had put into molding him had borne fruit. Cold and cruel, Godric was able to sit and watch the show at night, watching the skilled vampire take what he wanted from humans, leaving nothing to chance. No mercy. And on the race occasions when they stole clothes to blend into cities they passed through, he was well aware of the women drained and glamoured. Most of them wound up dead and those who didn't, they had no recollection of the handsome blonde who had visited them. And as always, they never remained in towns or cities for too long. The stole what they needed and were careful to cover their tracks. It was a match made in hell, the two complementing each other perfectly. There was no denying the affection and love that there was between them…the devotion.

Chapter 4

For hundreds of years they had been enjoying the sport of killing and doing whatever they so desired. But Godric, he had started to take things to heart, see the terrible things that he had helped bring about. It was a massacre of humans by other vampires that brought things home for him. Seeing dead children, babies that had hardly the chance to live….hearing the suffering cries of those dying…..Godric was feeling something he hadn't felt in centuries. He felt sympathy. Guilt. And those feelings only increased with every new kill his progeny wound up making. And it was then he vowed to better himself, it was at the massacre site that he vowed to try to atone for the sins of his past. That he now wanted to try to regain his humanity was something he knew was a challenge. The bigger challenge, however, was the fear that he wouldn't have a prayer in hell to try to undo the damage his teachings had done upon the force of nature, of death, that was the Viking. Godric could only hope and pray that someday, somehow, something….perhaps someone….could turn the heart of stone within the Viking back into one of honor, of gold that he had known was once there. That he had helped destroy and corrupt. Someday, Godric prayed, he himself would find forgiveness and salvation and he prayed that Eric too would find the same. And the happy life that had been denied him the moment the wolves slaughtered his family that fateful night, the night that helped guide Godric to him. Godric thought with worry and regret as he watched Eric kill yet again. No remorse, mo mercy. Would there be going back from what he had done? Only time would tell and being what he was, he had all the time in the world.

TO BE CONTINUED