To the Ancient Land

Prologue

Death can be an elusive creature when it chooses so. It takes the life of all who are born, no matter how long they attempt to lengthen their own life spans. Yet death is not an evil of this world, it is simply a requirement to the right of living. In order to live one must accept the fact of death, and accepted it two souls had on one fateful night. However, death was granted to neither of the two. They became unknowingly bound in their own searches for the meaning in their lives.

The world had changed greatly over the course of the earth. Armageddon had past many years ago, and the scattered souls that remained struggled to move on. Much of their Old World was lost. They grasped on to life as the world had presented now, new threats. The very fires of Armageddon that had taken the lives of so many in return granted new lives to others. It awoken powers slumbering within some humans. Fangs grew in their mouths and they felt a maddening thirst for blood. A new age of vampires had been born.

These vampires were not the first of their type to walk the earth. Long ago, the original race of vampires roamed the earth, striking fear into the hearts of all lesser creatures. Those vampires had gained great power, but suffered the loss of their own will. Their hunger for blood overpowered all other senses into a blinded rage. Those days were gone however. The technology brought along by the years of science had allowed this new era of the self-imposed "Methuselah" to control their hunger. All of the terrors of the old race of vampires were burnt away in the fires of Armageddon. None had survived, or so it had seemed.

One of them rather than being killed was awoken. It was not known how or why, but the vampire had been able to live once more. Among the few Methuselah who knew of his existence, he was referred to as an "Elder". Most Methuselah believed him only to be a legend; none believed a member of the old race could exist.

The vampire however, was quite real. His body had been altered during the long slumber. The blood of humans became thin and dull on his pallet. Little could satisfy his thirst other than the blood that ran through the veins of his own kind. An outcast to all other creatures, feared and alienated, he walked alone on the wounded earth, searching for a purpose.

Part 1 - Dietrich

White hands grazed the edge of a broken glass, jagged and stained red with blood. The delicate fingers belonging to the hand laced around the cup, lifting it from its resting-place. The one who held the cup tilted his hand allowing some of the chiseled pieces of glass to break of and descend, shattering on the floor. It was a vampire, known among his kind as the one and only elder. He was the only known living member of the first race of vampires to walk the earth. A handsome young face masked the many years he had lived. As if adding to the already strange aura which surrounded him, silky white hair tumbled from the top of his head, down past his shoulders. His skin was pale and cold, nearly devoid of warmth. The deep bloody red pupils in his eyes did not waver, remaining fixed on the quivering liquid within the glass. "Elder was not the only name used to define him, he was also known as the albino vampire. Truly not a specimen one would find all too often.

At last he broke the fixed stare, shifting his gaze towards the scarred land that lay outside. The barren wasteland showed no signs of even the slightest hint of life outside of his home. Although the night-walker had a fondness of solitude or privacy, the desolation had begun to wear on even him. Anger tickled at his heart as he succumbed to acknowledge his own reliance on the company of others. It was not the fear that other creatures felt in his presence that was responsible for their prolonged absence.

Death had swept across much of the land, conquering all who stood in his path. The albino slid his fingers across the edges of the glass, which remained in his hand, slowly cutting into the pale flesh and allowing droplets of blood to trickle down his fingers. He did not even flinch as if accepting the pain or perhaps even longing for it. "Why…why is this land so barren? It feels as if it were only the other day…this whole place was crammed full of those humans." He murmured to the empty chair that sat beside him. His grip hardened, shattering the fragile glass. Shards tore into his hand as they shot out, drawing more blood. He stared intently at his hand, hoping the pain would allow him to awaken from the foul nightmare.

Nothing could be more of a nightmare than this so-called life he had been given once more. The ancient walls of his home continued to surround him. There was no chattering of terrans, no Methuselah to comfort him. There were no birds chirping in the sky, not the scurrying of a mouse through the cracks in the walls, no spiders concealed within the dark corners of the ceiling. Yes, he was alive. He had known already; nothing but life could be so unforgiving. And then there was death.

To die. Death and life. They were two of the most intriguing subjects one would come across. They were puzzles man would wrap his mind around for centuries yet never connect the missing pieces. Life and death were eternally entwined. Was it right to take a life or not? How much is a life worth? Is one life worth more than another? Can someone be brought back, communicated with? And what of the immortal soul? Does it even exist? If so then what should happen to it? Is there an afterlife? Reincarnation? Perhaps eternal nothingness, and endless sleep? Is it more difficult to live than die or vice versa? So many topics could be brought up from the simple routine acts of life and death. This is what made the circulation of the creatures on the planet. Not the man-made terms of good or evil.

Humanity however, had long since integrated them into its societies. It had come to rely on them so, making them active forces. No light could exist without darkness; without the black night sky, no stars would shine among it. Despite facts such as these, that same darkness was often feared and oppressed. Without "sin" or "wrongdoing" in turn "justice" could not exist, there would be no need. The boundaries of these forces were no simple matter. The Methuselah were caged within the cycle of life and death, darkness and light along with the humans. The same fear that man showed towards the darkness was placed upon them.

Though the albino vampire supposed it to be expected, thinking of his own reigning time on the earth. This new era of Methuselah was different than he. His years were long past. His very mind seemed to disobey him, casting out many of the memories of his old life, loosing even his own name. In time, he had come to accept it and move on. He was a pure white phantom cast into a lonely exile. He wondered at the meaning of his own life, why he had been chosen for a second chance while all others had deceased. The dead land seemed to be beckoning him to come forward. Reproachfully, he took a step towards the doorway. Feeling slightly faint, he ran his hand over the eye-like tattoo centered on his forehead. It was almost as if he possessed a third eye. The mind's eye made visible, a window for the soul, yet it was simply a marking.

Back before Armageddon, there had been many destructive technologies all across the earth. Many of them had been lost, but the albino had managed to recover one of his own personal weapons to accompany him. The tattoo marked the scars of a surgery, which had implanted a chip into the albino's mind allowing him to control small octagonal weapons known as "Honeycomb" since they resembled one when massed together. The small, nearly unbreakable weapons could levitate, merge together to form shields, and the computers within them could absorb, reflect or release energy.

Some of the small objects drifted along around him, but he switched them off, knowing there were little dangers, which could threaten him in such a lonely place. They glittered within his home as if waving off a companion. He stepped outside and darkness blanketed him. Clouds had snuffed out all sources of light, even the two moons were absent in the boundless sky. Not a star shone. The elder began to walk forward, holding his head high and proud as if expecting an audience. His two bloody red eyes flickered in the dark. Despite his condition, he could still see fairly well. His eyesight however, could not aid him in the pitch black as he wandered astray over the hard earth.

A few minutes passed in total silence. The vampire wondered if had drifted into death without noticing. Even the air around him lay completely still. Minutes passed by in what felt like hours. Finally the vampire came across a few dim lights gleaming ahead of him. The lights belonged to a meager town of terrans. Feeling bored the nameless one strode across the skeletal land towards the town, a lone ghost-like figure. If any terran had seen him coming they would have thought a fallen spirit had arrived to pay them a visit from the other side.

The vampire arrived at the town after a few more and found it to be near deserted. Most of the terrans were most likely already asleep as he noticed the light he had spotted from before were beginning to fade. He walked amongst the shadows of the buildings for a moment, trying to decide what to do. He came to a stop once he heard voices penetrate the thick silence.

A young terran boy ran, tripped and fell before the vampire. The albino gazed down at him with slight curiosity, but broke his glance as three other boys in the distance began running towards them. The boy on the ground got up and darted behind the vampire, then clutched onto his leg with his eyes squeezed shut. The elder looked down in surprise at the boy's actions as he felt the body shivering against him.

"Come out and face us you bastard!" one of the other boys yelled as they came up to them. They had not even noticed the vampire until then and froze in their tracks.

"W-w-who are you?" one of the boys asked, backing away.

"I've never seen him before…" another observed, "Maybe it's a monster come to protect the devil child!"

"Children…" the vampire began, "I think its time that you disappear," he spoke menacingly, allowing his fangs to show from a cruel smile across his face.

"V-v-vampire!" one of the boys yelled.

"I was right! He must have summoned it! Run!" one of the others screamed and the three of them began to dash away.

Loosing interest in the other three boys, the vampire allowed them to escape and turned his attention to the young one beside him. The child looked relieved for a moment but he immediately let go of the albino. "Thank you….I thought they were going to kill me for sure."

"Did you fail to hear the conversation that was previously at hand?" the elder spoke coldly, his face darkening, "Don't you know that I am a vampire?"

The boy, loosing his strength, leaned back against the wall and sunk down to the ground. "Yes, I knew you were a from the moment I saw you."

"And you were not afraid?"

"The boy looked away, "Maybe a little…But I would prefer a Methuselah to any of those rotten people."

The vampire's interest was peaked, especially at the child's use of the term 'Methuselah'. "Oh? And why is that?" He asked, his voice beginning to calm and then fill with curiosity.

The boys eyes were slowly closing as his strength started to drain from him, yet he spoke anyway, "When I was younger, I started to become interested in Methuselah, the war and technology from the Old World, Armageddon and other 'evil things' as they would call it. Everyone began to fear me and my own father tried to kill me. I have been hunted like that ever since and I have no where to escape to…But I refuse to let myself be killed by them…I just…Don't know what to do now…" His voice grew weaker as he spoke.

The vampire knelt down beside the child and spoke softly, "Boy…I shall help you…if you wish it."

The boy's eyes widened slightly and his hand twitched feebly. He moved his lips but no sound came out. Rather, he gave a slight nod of his head in response. The vampire then slipped his hands underneath the smaller body, lifting it up and holding it gently as if fearing the fragile thing would break in his normally strong grasp. It was alien to him, using such tenderness on another and worrying over a terran. He would not admit it even to himself, but he was developing a deep fondness of the boy.

With the child in his arms, he began to stumble through the darkness once more towards his home. He abandoned the careful pace he had previously used, walking hastily towards the old house. He walked even quicker once he could begin to feel the heat of the sun that would soon rise.

Returning to his home, he lay the boy down slowly on a large sofa. He stared at the boy for a moment and felt strangely awkward. Trying to shrug off the feeling, he returned to his chair by the window, staring out at the brightening sky pas his own nonexistent reflection, then brought down the shades so that no sunlight would penetrate the building. He longed to sit down and indulge himself once more in thought, but he found his eyes continuously wandering back towards the small, shivering body. Feeling embarrassed, he placed a blanket over the boy. He chuckled at his own strange courses of actions and began to wonder why he cared so much about the terran boy.

Hours passed before the boy finally began to stir. The vampire returned to his side, gazing down at him once more, "So you're finally awake?"

The boy clutched the blanket that had been wrapped around him and stared back at the albino. "A-are you going to kill me?" he asked bluntly, his teeth chattering from the cold.

"No child," the softness returned to the vampire's voice. "If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Rather, I am going to give you an offer."

"A-an offer? W-what is it?"

"You said you had no place to stay. If you wish it, you may stay with me-"

"Yes! Oh yes please!"

The vampire could not contain his surprise, "Already? You've not heard all that I have to say…you have not heard what you must do for me in turn…Are you sure this is what you want, to live with a vampire?"

"I don't care what it is I have to do for you and I don't know why you want me here but I'd much rather stay here with you than live in that disgusting town with those wretched people."

The vampire smiled in pleasure; he was starting to like this boy more with each passing second. "Tell me your name, child."

"My name is Dietrich, sir." He said as strength began to return to his voice, "Dietrich Von Lohengrin."

The vampire ran one of his white hands across the boy's face, "Well then Dietrich, it seems you and I are now bound to one another."

"Yes…" whispered Dietrich as a smile graced his young face, "It would seem so."