Take note: Marcus has an encounter with a werewolf (a "Child of the Moon") that ends violently. I thought I should put a warning up so you can skim the icky part of the encounter that mentions blood only lasts a paragraph.

Also: I refer to Aro by a different name in this, because Aro is not a historically accurate name for the time he's from. I will refer to him more as Aro in the next chapter to not confuse anyone.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Meyer owns everything.

Marcus:

Born: 1350 B.C.E.
Turned: 1306 B.C.E.
Physical age when turned: 44

1256 B.C.E - The mountains of Peloponnesus, Greece:

Marcus was thankful for the new abilities that he had gained as a blood drinker. Among the many talents he now possessed was his body's impervious reaction to the cold. This worked well in his favor as he climbed the steep slopes of the mountain, the full moon shining down brightly upon him.

Marcus was somewhere on the mainland. He reluctantly fled there upon the advice of a nomad he met soon after he had transformed. "Leave Crete" the fellow blood drinker had said. "Wait fifty, sixty years before coming back. All of the people you knew and associated with will have perished, and then you can start anew."

Marcus missed Crete dearly. It was his home. He was born, raised, educated, married, and raised a family on his own on the island of Crete. At 44, he was en route with his brother to find a doctor for a sick relative when a wanderer turned him into a blood drinker. His brother had been too badly mutilated to survive the process. Upon awakening, Marcus had tracked down his creator in outrage and snapped his neck upon sight. Somehow in the midst of madness, he had found his brother's body and given it a proper funeral pyre.

A wanderer, he mused. Marcus leaned upon his staff as he walked up the mountain. That's all I am now. It's what Marcus had been for the past forty years. He was counting.

Marcus stopped for a moment as he took in his surroundings. His mouth was dry and his nostrils started to burn. He had been feeding on a mix of travelers and whatever wild animal he could find since he had left Crete. Lately, his diet had been consisting of local wild animals since he had yet to encounter any travelers. While the golden eyes he currently had weren't as gruesome as black or red eyes, Marcus had to feed on a great deal of game in order to match the energy that he gained from a single human. It led him to search constantly for the next source of blood.

Upon reaching the peak of the mountain, Marcus sat down on a flattened rock and drew out the pouch he kept around his waist. It was full of nothing but scrolls containing major events of his human life and anything that had happened since he was turned into a blood drinker. There were two reasons why Marcus did this. he wanted to remember everything, and he wanted to create order in a lifestyle he deemed as uncertain and chaotic. He skimmed through his notes, the night chill whipping through his long dark hair. Marcus sighed and adjusted his traveling cloak as he used the notes to conjure up memories that were starting to slip from his grasp. He imagined his wife was in the next world at this point, and his sons and daughter were either with his wife or in their elder years. Did he have any grandchildren? Marcus assumed so. He certainly hoped he did.

As Marcus rolled up his scrolls, his enhanced hearing alerted him to a rustle coming from nearby. He hesitated for a moment, and then stored the scrolls back in his pouch, tying the strap to his waist.

Barely seconds later, Marcus found the wind knocked completely out of him and he was pinned to the ground. Stunned by the attack, he became aware of a liquid substance dripping from above him. He watched as a drop landed near his face before he slowly looked up to find the source.

A monster had pinned Marcus to the ground. Its face was covered with tufts of dark fur and looked like something between a disfigured man and a feral beast. Its mouth was wide open with razor sharp teeth bared right at him. The monster swiped at Marcus's chest. He immediately rolled out from under it and backed up against a nearby tree. When monster stood, Marcus was able to get a good look at what he was up against.

It was twice as broad as him and slightly taller. Fragments of torn robes hung at its waist as it stood in a hunched-over position with clawed hands and feet. Wild yellow eyes stared at Marcus before letting out a long, loud howl.

Fear shot down Marcus's spine as the beast charged at him. Out of sheer luck he was able to get out of the way before the monster, with its jaws snapping, crashed into the tree Marcus just had his back up against. It didn't take long for the monster to right itself on its feet and re-focus its position on Marcus. The tree the beast crashed into proceeded to crack at the base. It toppled backwards and hit another tree, creating a domino effect all of the way down the mountain.

There was no way Marcus could take this monster with pure brawn. Marcus quickly looked to where the trees were steadily falling one by one and bolted in that direction.

The beast followed in hot pursuit. Marcus knew that if he could trap the monster underneath enough of the fallen trees, he'd get a head start in escaping it. At the moment, the monster was too close to him as he ran towards the falling trees. To Marcus's dismay, the monster was dodging the trees as easily as he was. He ducked underneath a tree that was just about to fall, and pushed it with everything he had.

The tree didn't fall on top of the monster, but it did knock it right off of its feet. That encouraged Marcus to put on another burst of speed to get some distance between him and whatever the hell was chasing him. However it was only a matter of time before Marcus could feel the monster's breath rather than hear it. Before he knew it, Marcus was in the exact same spot that he was when he first encountered the monster: on his back with the nasty, snarling, spitting creature crouched over him, with something that wasn't quite saliva dripping from its mouth (it smoked as it hit the ground), ready and eager to make its kill.

This was it, Marcus realized. He thought that the gods had cursed him to live a twisted second life when he couldn't remember doing anything to anger them. Perhaps, he mused faintly, I have been forgiven. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable blow.

The final blow never came. What came in its place was the sound of a strangled animalistic cry. Marcus opened his eyes and recoiled, backing away as he watched the monster's head get ripped right off of its body. Blood poured out from its body and onto the ground in steady streams. Marcus managed to scramble out of the way and avoided any of the monster's blood from touching his own body. He righted himself to his feet as he watched the monster's decapitated body stumble and grope blindly in midair. Just as it found the trunk of a tree, a shadowy figure moved behind the monster and slammed its foot onto its back. The monster's body bent backwards from the impact and smashed against the base of the tree. It then crumpled to the ground.

Marcus watched as the monster's body shrank and contorted into the form of a man. He looked at the head nearby. It had turned back into a man's head as well, and its face was etched in an expression of severe pain. Marcus thinned his lips into a hard line. When he was human, the sight in front of him would have severely disturbed him. Now, he was desensitized.

Marcus was very interested in meeting his savior. It wasn't a human; he would have smelled the blood if it was. He doubted a human could have accomplished what he just witnessed. The scents that Marcus caught from the direction of the shadowed figure were decidedly foreign to him.

"Thank you," Marcus breathed heavily. "Whoever you are." Even though he had discovered he didn't need to breathe in his new form, he did so in moments of high anxiety like this one. "Come into the light so I can speak to you properly."

The figure that came before him was a male blood drinker not much younger than him. Marcus had encountered a handful of blood drinkers since he became one, and he recognized the fresh glint in the male's red eyes and his slightly jerky movements. It indicated to Marcus that the blood drinker was still new to the cursed life they led.

Judging from the worn, yet distinctive robes the blood drinker wore, he was also a Mycenaean aristocrat. Marcus's lips curled involuntarily in distaste. Upon seeing this, the male looked at Marcus's robes and gave him a very smug grin in return.

"That's what you get for not being taught the art of war, Minoan," the man smirked. "You fall prey to the moon creatures."

Marcus ignored the blood drinker's arrogance for a brief moment. "Moon creatures?"

"That's what my creator called them," the blood drinker said as he glanced up at the full moon in the sky. "They turn into poisonous beasts at every full moon. For the rest of the time, they go around as humans -"

"A bit like us, you could say." Marcus mused.

"Indeed." The blood drinker whirled around and scrutinized Marcus with a superior intensity that he only attributed with Mycenaean noblemen - like the one standing before him. "I was once Lord Alektruon of Pylos." He held out his hand. "But I doubt I'll be able to go by that name anymore."

"No, I suppose you won't." Marcus didn't know if there were any customs that he should abide to which showed Alektruon was his superior. If there was, he figured he forgot them. It wasn't like he had any intentions on following them if he did remember. As far as he was concerned, him and Alektruon were now equals due to their situation.

"Marcus," he said simply, grasping Alektruon's hand and giving it a strong, firm shake. "My human life was spent in Crete -"

"Running your family's shipping business." Alektruon finished for him. He looked at Marcus with an unfocused red gaze, their hands still clasped together in a handshake. "You took it over with your brother after your father passed away."

Marcus froze, staring at Alektruon with shock and a new sense of cautiousness. "How did you know that?"

Alektruon responded with an eerie grin. "It's a gift."

Marcus's wariness increased at the glint in Alektruon's red eyes. "A gift?"

"Indeed." Alektruon's grin became wider as he took both of Marcus's hands. "When I touch you, I can read your thoughts. I also now know everything about you."

"Come off it," Marcus scoffed. "Tactile telepathy doesn't exist. The gods would not grant cursed humans like us with a gift like that."

Alektruon cocked his head and stared at Marcus. "Oh really? You said you lived in Crete, and you ran a shipping business with your brother."

"I said nothing about a shipping business," Marcus interjected angrily. "You guessed -"

"No," Alektruon said simply, staring unblinkingly at him. "I read it in your mind." He studied Marcus for a moment. "You were married, yes? With two sons and two daughters. It took you ages to leave Crete because you watched your wife finish up her life and witness your grandchildren being born as you crept among the shadows."

Marcus recoiled at Alektruon's accuracy and stepped back, wrenching his hands away from him. The action only made Alektruon grin even wider. "I have a hypothesis," Alektruon continued in a disturbingly pleasant manner, "that there are more gifted blood drinkers out there like myself."

Marcus's practicality made him scoff. Yet at the same time, Alektruon posed a curious question. Every once in awhile, Marcus would come across groups of traveling humans. Bands of light connected each human to the other like a web. Upon closer examination, the bands of light varied between being thick and thin, and differed in their brightness and color. Marcus hesitated at Alektruon's words. Do I have a gift like Alektruon does?

Alektruon saw Marcus's hesitation. "Perhaps you also have a gift?"

Marcus hesitated again. "I see...differently than I used to."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it." Marcus admitted. "But it makes me see..." he abruptly stopped talking. He wasn't about to tell a Mycenaean nobleman that he saw bands of visible multicolored light between people.

Alektruon regarded Marcus thoughtfully. "Why don't you come with me? We'll travel together and unlock your gift."

Marcus studied Alektruon. While he was a Mycenaean nobleman, he was still a blood drinker just like Marcus. Alektruon saved Marcus from the moon child, so it didn't hurt to have the nobleman as an ally. I'd gain extra brawn...and brain, he mused. They could cover more feeding ground. Wild game was something he severely disliked, but he fed on it when he was getting desperate.

Maybe with Alektruon, there would be less of a need for wild game. Marcus disliked thinking like this, but he was no longer a human. It was something he had to accept. Perhaps he was a servant of the Animal Goddess, giving her constant sacrifice.

It's a thought, Aro mused to himself. He looked at Alektruon. "It wouldn't hurt," Marcus said finally, "to travel with you for a little bit."

Alektruon's face lit up at Marcus's acquiescence and laughed. "Of course it wouldn't!" he clapped Marcus on the back. "After all, I am Lord Alektruon of Pylos!"

"You were Lord Alektruon of Pylos," Marcus corrected him dryly.

Alektruon scowled briefly. "True. But I will gain my own kingdom in time," he added confidently. "My creator told me that in our current state, we live for eternity."

"Not if the moon children get to us first," Marcus muttered.

Alektruon snorted. "You are an eternal pessimist. Let us get going."

Marcus glanced at the beast's decapitated body. "Indeed." The two of them strode quickly down the mountain, leaving the dead creature far behind them.

-I spent ages editing this chapter down. It was too clunky and worded. I fear it still is. I may get a beta for this story.

The Minoans and Mycenaeans existed together in Greece around 1300 B.C.E. The Minoans were merchant traders, and an aristocratic warrior class governed the Mycenaeans. Marcus's hatred of them stems from the fact that the Mycenaeans conquered Crete, which was where the Minoans mainly lived.

And yes, Alektruon is Aro. I will transition into using the name Aro a little in the next chapter to avoid reader confusion. Here, I felt it couldn't be helped. The next chapter will be on Aro and Didyme.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews! They made me so happy. Please continue to review. :) . I will continue this as long as I know I have an audience.