Hello everyone. I'm back with another chapter, and after a few technical difficulties...the next chapter is finished. As a point of interest, reviews are appreciated; as are constructive criticism, and honest questions. I try to throw things in the reader's face, but sometimes it fails. If you'd like to, a bit of research on your own part can be conducted about this chapter. The historical events involved are a series of interconnected webs that if you're careful, you'll find are actually realistic. If you have the time, look of Vlad the Impaler, his closer family, especially his sons. Then look up Janos Vitez. Use the information given to figure out what has happened. Good luck, and may your read be as enlightening as the writing was for me.

Thicker Than Mud Ch 6

Janos Vitez

The heavy book in his hands whispered softly to him, a story unfolding in his ears. However, it was interrupted in it's beginning by a sudden knocking on the door. Uncharacteristicly frozen, Tsukune held his breath. The unknown male youkai, he knew it was a male youkai because of the miniscule amount of testosterone and youki that inhabited it's body, waited before turning and walking away. As it's footsteps faded into the distance, Tsukune breathed an unguarded sigh of relief.

Turning back to the forgotten book, Tsukune grazed his thumb along the surface. Remembering his state of dress, or lack thereof, he began to search the room for something to wear. After sitting down again, a few drawers revealed nothing, except that who ever's desk it was had an unhealthy fascination with pens. Pulling open the last drawer, it only revealed the same as the rest, different variations of pens, and a few other office supplies.

Frustrated, Tsukune let out a grunt, before dropping his head onto the desk. The sound reverberated through the room before another thump accompanied it. Tsukune looked up and around.

What was that?

Sitting up fully, Tsukune scrutinized the desk, noticing a new compartment that had previously gone unnoticed. After a few attempts at trying to wedge it open, with no success, Tsukune jerked harshly on the crevice. It gave way, and a drawer slid smoothly out. A crimson garment of some kind lay within. Carefully pulling it out, Tsukune unfolded it, recognizing it as some form of pants. They were dark, mostly, with little chains crisscrossing at places, and there was a sash of some kind that wrapped around the top like a belt, with a few precarious crosses hanging from it.

The fabric was light, and soft at touch. Just by holding it, Tsukune knew that it had to be extremely expensive. He was reminded of the one time he had gotten to try on a pair of silk slacks when he was thirteen. They had fit perfect, but even then, his mother didn't have the money to waste.

Getting back to the situation at hand Tsukune held the pants up to his body. They seemed a bit big, but it'd at least cover the necessities. Making a mental prayer and apologizing to whoever owned them, he pulled them on.

Once he had tied the sash around his waist, Tsukune reevaluated himself. They fit snugly, light, and slightly breezy if he had to mention it.

Seems I'm not as small as I thought.

When Tsukune turned from side to side, the crosses didn't make a noise, and only a faint 'tink' could be heard by his vampiricly enhanced ears.

"Interesting..." he muttered to himself.

He was startled out of his reverie by the hidden runes that had most likely brought him there flaring to life again. Even without the youki in him acting as a sensor, he felt the large amount of energy they produced. With a flash, bright enough that he'd blink, everything died down to the dreary darkness it was before he had came.

Now, standing in the spot he had once lain, a white robed figure stood. His face was shrouded by the darkness of his cowl, and fierce, battle thirsty eyes glared out from underneath. Then, something registered in them, slowly turning them into eyes that Tsukune was all too familiar with.

"What are you doing in my study, Tsukune?" came the disembodied voice of the headmaster of the school, the exorcist of youkai, and resident Dark Lord.

"I don't know." Tsukune answered honestly. He tried to continue, but the exorcist interrupted.

"And wearing my clothes?" There was a tinge of annoyance in his voice, and Tsukune could see the smirk on the only visible piece of the exorcist's face.

"I didn't have anything else, I don't even know how I got here really. I'm sorry. I wasn't dressed when I was brought here." Tsukune bowed and kept his eyes fixated on the ground throughout his sentence.

The exorcist walked around the desk, and unbidden Tsukune rose from the seat and walked to stand in front of it. The exorcist paused to carefully slide back in the drawer the pants had came from, and after opening all the others to satisfy himself, turned his attention back to Tsukune. The artificial vampire stood by silently, eyes everywhere but the desk.

"How did you find that drawer anyways?" the exorcist asked.

Tsukune rubbed a hand against the back of his neck slightly before responding. "I was searching the desk with no luck and when I bumped it, the drawer sort of, came open..."

The exorcist continued to stare at him for a second before nodding his head, "I would appreciate it if you never mention what the contents of my desk were, and would implore you to never search an area that you know nothing about. It could lead to grave consequences..." His voice was grating and slow, measured as he spoke. "I'll call for Ruby. I assume she had something to do with you getting in here. After all, only she and myself are keyed to give permission for entrance...though, judging by the amount of time you've sat here, I'd say you got in while she was still with me...which leaves the question...How?" His eyes narrowed dangerously at Tsukune, and glowed brighter.

Before Tsukune could try to answer the eyes dimmed and narrowed, looking down towards his side. "What's in your pocket?"

Tsukune gulped, and slowly reached down, pulling the small ring Ruby had gave him. He was almost sure it had brought him to the study, how was beyond him, but he was sure. The exorcist leaned forward carefully inspecting the ring in his outstretched hand. Then ushering Tsukune's closer with a hand, grabbed Tsukune's wrist. After cutting on the light of a lamp nearby, that Tsukune had mistaken for some kind of ornamental statue, he pulled Tsukune's hand under the light of it. Careful to barely touch the ring, he took a closer look. Then he let go, sitting back in his chair, but leaving the lamp on.

Tsukune closed his fist, protective of the warmth it brought. The headmaster chuckled loudly, "Clever girl..."

"What do you mean?" Tsukune asked.

The chairman nodded his head towards Tsukune clenched fist. "That contains her magical signature and is keyed to teleport into my study. Very clever. You see, had anyone else tried, even you, at best the wards would have been detrimental to their health. Only she has access, and so, she found a way to bypass it."

Tsukune shivered slightly at would would be 'detrimental to one's health' in the chairman's eyes. Running a school full of youkai tended to lower the bar far too much in Tsukune opinion on what was 'detrimental'. Trying to shake the sinking feeling that the headmaster of the school would feel no loss at his gruesome death, after all, he had been doomed to burn once, with no effort by the chairman to stop it, Tsukune turned to leave.

The voice of the only dark lord he knew interrupted his thoughts, "Where do you think you're off to Tsukune?" Tsukune turned to answer and saw the headmaster of the school toss an object at him. Catching it before it could hit slam into his face, Tsukune identified it as a small cross.

"What's this fo-" anything else he was going to say was cut off as the runes before lit up.

"You and I are so alike Tsukune...so willing, curious." The exorcist chuckled before shifting through the piles of now rearranged books on his desk. "Now where did that book go?"

With a flash, Tsukune was stumbling to fall back onto the floor of his previous prison. The door was still locked, grate shut, and nothing had changed.

I'm not too sure this was the smartest thing I could have done...but...

Tsukune grit his teeth, eyes screwed shut as tears begged to spill forth, I have nowhere else. Diana's family is far too ingrained in everything. They own my dad's company, I work for them, hell, I'm sure they even own my bank.

Suddenly, Tsukune remembered the book. The diary that lay in his pocket had been forgotten temporarily, lost in his confusion during his talk with the chairman. Pulling the small book from the seemingly huge pockets, he ran his thumb over the cover again. Well, what do I have better to do. And so, for the first time in quite a while, Tsukune began to read.

Time passed slowly.

The book wove a dark tale. Janos Vitez began life as many a man had, young and foolish. However, upon recovering from a childhood mistake, that wasn't explained, he decided to pursue life as part of the church system. Becoming a priest wasn't particularly hard, he detailed, as it had all came naturally to him. Learning the prayers had been easy with near perfect memory, and evidently he had adjusted to life quickly. That changed though. His first rude awakening was when a dark young man had ventured into the church of God on that night. The day had gone perfect, and he was finishing touching up the floors of the church when the doors were loudly knocked upon. Baring in mind that many a drunk would try to wander into the church late, he prepared himself for the encounter.

Opening the doors softly, rosary in hand, he began, "I'm sorry...", but was interrupted.

"Can I not pray to God?" The voice was gravelly, as hoarse as many a victim of disease was before they died, and for a moment Janos considered turning him away upon those grounds. The people of the church would likely never know, and if they did, it would hardly matter; something stopped him though, and responded opposite of his thoughts.

"Please be more prudent when you next pray, at these hours, we generally rest, and maintain the house of God." As he finished he opened the door wider, giving plenty of room for the man to step inside. When he did, Janos got his first look at the late night visitor. Though his voice was gravelly, his features were certainly not. Long perfectly straight black hair hung out from underneath the hood before it was thrown back to reveal a pearly white smile, and deep gray eyes. The clothes on the man were of noble design, deep colored, and expensively embroidered.

"I apologize for coming so late. I have just arrived, and felt the need arise." His head tilted forward in a curt bow, as even royalty found some trouble with it at times.

Janos sighed tiredly but nodded his head, "I understand your precautions. To arrive in unknown territory can cause feeling of anxiety. Praying often alleviates such fears. You are welcome to spend as much time as you need, as long as you keep in mind that I must sleep some."

The black haired noble only nodded his head, smiling a bit. "I will try not to burden you any more than I must."

Janos continued upon his nightly chores, and was not bothered again by the man except for him to say he was leaving. The trend later continued. In the dark of nightfall, the man would visit, softly treading, and disarmingly polite. After a year, the two of them had developed a pseudo friendship, and spoke more commonly, even outside the church at times. Janos was frowned upon by some of the lowers, but with his rising power and influence, none would cross him regarding his choices. It wasn't long before he was a bishop, high in power and influence, called upon by many of the surrounding nobles.

Finally, Janos' perfect life began to crack when he decided on a perfectly normal day to take a calming walk down 'the path'. His frustration with the people of his church had reached an all time high; they complained of their lives, gifted though they were, spoke against belief, and worst, questioned whether the church was worth the ground upon which it lay. This naturally lead to a need for a bit of peace, and only one place would give him quiet. Said path was a trail that lead through the forest, looping about up through the hills and down past streams before winding back to civilization. Not many went down it anymore, as it was out of the way, and often enough, people went missing. Janos though, had tried retreating to his quarters, had tried retreating to his tranquil hall of prayers, and neither had given him the comfort or solace he wished.

So, with a small pack on his back, he set out to get a bit of a break. The trail was easily found, and for hours he walked in it's serene glow. The sun was high, the trees tall, and together they cast shadows all about, creating a sort of hidden-from-the-world feeling. Holes of light broke through the treetops on occasion, reminding him so much of the people for which he often prayed. They did so much to block the good from showing through, but even with all of their efforts, nothing held it back completely. Janos sighed lightly, almost wishing he could stay there, walking like that forever.

The bushes shook near him, and startled, he turned to see what had caused it. Nothing moved for a moment, before suddenly a deer practically charged him down. Before it even reached him though, it collapsed. Confused, the bishop took cautious steps forward and around the beast. It breathed heavily, occasionally shuddering. Janos was unsure of how to react really, as he had personally never seen such an animal up close. When he did finally notice the cause of the animals piteous attempts at movement, he could not stop the horrified gasp from escaping.

In the side of the great buck's neck, was perhaps one of the most gruesome gashes he had ever seen. Blood poured slowly from it now, and as the animal grew more still, he knew there was nothing he could do. Before he could move away and let the animal die in piece though, a new voice, a familiar voice broke into his thoughts, "Lovely isn't it? The way life ceases to exist so easily? How the flames of such an animal are easily dusted to ash."

Janos turned to look upon what many had taken to calling 'the mysterious noble'. The man with whom he had many a meeting, was casually walking toward him, wiping his bloody face as he did so.

Janos was too stunned to even move as the man walked past, carelessly twisting the animal's head until a soft crack could be heard. The noise only served to drive the point home more, and Janos knew that he was in the presence of what had caused the gash. When the stranger wiped blood off of his face, it had at first made Janos confused, but now, comparing the gash and horrendous amount of blood, only one conclusion was made.

"Va-va-vampire!" was the only stuttered word he could get out. Vampires weren't supposed to be real. Witches were burned at the stake, and anything else supernatural was killed off as far as he knew. It was the will of God that all that stood in the way be extinguished.

The charming dark haired man turned, "Yes, I am. I am more than you will ever be, infinitely so. Do you understand?"

Janos only shook in his shoes, and began to pray. "Dear Father,"

"Your father will not save you here!" and then Janos was flying. With a sudden awareness, he was shocked back to understanding as his head came in contact with the dirt. A fit of strength that shouldn't have been possible had launched him 20 paces across the clearing. Before he lost consciousness, all he saw was the man that he thought he understood walking closer.

When Janos next awoke, he wondered if it had all been a strange dream. He was back in his bed, and dressed for sleep. The sudden throbbing pain in his abdomen and head confirmed his fears though. The voice that spoke up deceptively close to his ear only furthered his instinct to move.

"I was beginning to worry that the little tap I'd given you would put you out permanently."

Janos jumped and turned to find the...vampire sitting in a chair at his bedside.

"I never told you my name, and for that I apologize. Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Radu, and it is very nice to truly meet you Janos."

Janos continued to write in the diary for many years, trying to understand what his new captor was. Janos was not stupid, having grown up near many an influential figure, and he knew, deep inside, that if he were to discuss what he had learned of Radu, he would not breath another breath. Radu was a silver tongued monster, and made no move to dissuade that opinion when in the presence of only Janos.

Delving deep into the archives of the church, using his new vast power as an archbishop, Janos searched for ways to save himself from the beast that he regular shared his personal space with. Some hidden documents shed light, supposed weaknesses, but Radu himself had on many occasion showed that all of the false weaknesses vampires were believed to have, were just that, incorrect.

Eventually Janos noted that Radu avoided water that Radu himself hadn't had time to tamper with. He always seemed to carry a small bag of herbs, too. This lead Janos to believe that on some level water was detrimental to the vampire. However, to test the theory would give away the secret that he had only begun to suspect.

Still determined to have a back up, he began to put faith in older beliefs, borderline witchcraft that he had been informed of. If there was one thing Janos had learned, it was that the power of God was not going to save him from this demon; and when it came down to it, Janos was in no way inclined to turn away avenues of help.

That had led to the first day Janos had successfully performed a form of magic. Though it was small, a small symbol that glowed with ambient power. With new found hope, Janos threw himself into his studies. Under the guise of studying astronomy and humanism, he learned the deepest of supposed witchcraft. After a few close encounters, where he was nearly found out by the church, he decided it would be wise if he at least held up the guise with some actual knowledge.

Years passed. Janos was well known for his abilities as an astronomer and humanist among many other titles. His level of diplomacy had soared admittedly after dealing with Radu. Radu had never confirmed where he was born or what family line he came from, but after some time, Radu had slipped up a bit. He only once mentioned that he had been named after his uncle, a man whom his father had disliked for being a traitor. In his moment of displeasure, Radu had stated that his elder brother had been named the same as his father, and their father's father, and so forth, leaving him shamed, as small, insignificant in comparison.

On a cold winter in the mid 14th century, Janos finally got his break. A runic circle had been mentioned in a book by the Pagan druids, a group of spiritual people rumored to still hide among the crowds. The runic circle mentioned was said to be able to contain any presence with demonic power. The runes were able to draw out the power of the demon, and use them to amplify it's cage.

Surprisingly, it hadn't been hard to find the correct runes with the church's vast influence and power; being an almost sovereign nation, the church allowed him to travel just about anyway free of issue. Tracking down the people he needed wasn't as easy as he had hoped, but with a thinly veiled threat, he finally had the closest thing to a druid sitting before him one night in a quiet inn outside the edges of town. It seemed the Ottoman empire had a group in the ruling class that regularly dealt with them.

The spiritual man was coaxed slowly to impart the information, alcohol here, money there, and threat everywhere else, never mind the fact that any crimes the church would hold against the man could also be held against Janos.

When Janos finally mentioned the word 'vampire' to the man, he fell deathly silent. He rarely spoke the rest of the night, and after many near silent nights, they finally overcame the core issue of what to do.

Janos wrote that the druid had said as simply as possible one night, "To take such power from a being... to take that much requires another to receive." And with their plans in mind, they met one final time.

In a clearing, just off the road near the edge of town, they discussed their plans. Radu, Janos later revealed, had been waiting. With less than a noise, he was there sitting between them, like he had materialized from nothing. The wind blew lightly, picking up in speed, as ominous a threat as ever.

"And what vampire would you two be talking about? Certainly you do not plan to kill me?" His voice was as serene as ever, and though there was a thinly veiled threat behind it, Janos was still curious as to how the man made almost anything sound attractive.

The druid for his part though practically fell apart. "Nno-No, never. We were just-" He rambled incessantly on and on about how he hadn't wanted to get involved, how he was too young to die. Finally Radu silenced him by merely holding up a hand, as if stopping some invisible flood.

"I know what you were planning. I've overstayed my welcome. I should have just killed you to begin with Janos." and with that, he turned to look one last time into the eyes of the archbishop.

"Ligare!" Janos roared. Instantly lights flared up all over the small clearing, symbols preciously carved into the area began to glow, and a dome of near clear blue appeared around Radu. The vampire laughed at the pitiful effort to contain him, before charging into the barrier. Surprising, he rebounded off, and received a serious burn for trying. Roaring louder, his energy began to coat the area, swelling and pushing against the barrier, but it was for nothing. The barrier only grew stronger, and began to shrink. The space around Radu was closing in tight, quickly, and before long he was screaming in agony, gasping hoarsely as blood flaked across the near invisible shield.

The walls converged on his body, slowly allowing his hands to pass through, now imperfect, blemishes in the once perfect tools of death viewable. Then his arms and hands were passed through as the sphere closed in towards the core of his body. He began coughing up more blood. With one final anguished scream, the barrier passed through Radu's head and stomach, moving forward to appear outside his body. Radu's once monstrous visage disappeared, elongated canines retracting, blood red eyes melding to dark brown, and before them stood a perfectly flawed human.

The malevolent energies boiled inside their blue container, stretching and strangely enough pushing outwards against the barrier on their own. Quickly, the druid stood up. "We must hurry. If we do not get them into another body, they may react violently." He moved forward chanting, carving runes out in the air with as fluidity as he could before making a pushing motion towards the sphere and consequently Janos.

Before Janos could object, as the plan had been to store them in the druid, they rushed forward and clashed with his body. The blue power dissipated and the red was already furiously burning his body to enter it before he could even get out a word.

Agony erupted like molten lava in his veins, indescribably slow and vicious with each tormented inch it spread. Vaguely he heard the druid apologize before turning and leaving through the brush. Finally he fell.

The pain ebbed away just as slowly as it came, and when Janos was finally able to stand, the world seemed more clear, his mind sharp, and for once, his strained body didn't protest to awaking. The clearing was as he'd left it, though light had begun to show, and Radu lay still on the other side of the clearing. Feeling suddenly more confident, he took measured steps to stand in front of Radu. His eyes stared blankly ahead, as if looking off into the distance.

"Here to finish the job?" came his hoarse voice, though now, it lacked the definite edge that made it so appealing before.

Janos shook his head. "I'm not here to kill you Radu, though you deserve it for the crimes you've committed. You'll do a good enough job of that on your own. You are now, in every sense of the word human, if the ritual was done correctly; judging by how...energized I feel, I'd say it was. See, though you were faster, stronger, and physically better, I planned...planned for years. I watched as you destroyed families, memories, homes, and even innocent children, yet could do nothing. Finally, you'll get what you've given all of them. Death."

"Who's the high and mighty priest now? You wonder what your 'God' will do now that you've decided I should die? I wonder what your 'God' will do now that you can't die of old age! You think he'll welcome you with open arms when someone finally finishes what I started? No! You're now similar to what I was, but worse off. I may have been vampire, but at least I was born that way. To steal such a curse out of greed. Bah, your time will come too, and I'll be waiting in the next life just for you."

Janos sighed sadly, shaking his head. "I'd be lying if I said I had too much faith in God right now. Everything I was taught to believe has been turned back, everything I had distinguished is now a blur. I may have doomed myself, but I've saved others' lives and my own for the moment. That will have to do."

"You're a fool, and always will be if you think by doing this you've saved any significant amounts of lives." Radu added spitefully.

"Then I am a fool, and I will hear no more of your rambling. Be gone, I don't expect you to live long either way. The loss of the energy will kill you slowly." Janos turned and began to walk away.

That was the last Janos saw of Radu, but he made sure to keep an eye out and ears to the ground in case. His life played out on it's own then. With the power came a confidence boost, and with that, strength to get farther in the world. He eventually became a trusted adviser of many, a father figure to students, and a diplomat of unprecedented value. The only issue was, he hadn't aged. In the 20 years after the ritual, Janos had barely aged, if at all, and it was beginning to draw attention. Determined to work around it, he began to dabble with the new power's granted. Eventually he was able to weave it like thread, and even bend it to his will with the correct focus and symbols. He began to do things unmentioned in all texts he'd read, like purging sickness from the people around himself with a mere motion, causing storms in distress, and once, he even controlled the king's mind.

The only drawback he noticed, was that the people around him seemed to age faster, the more powerful the act he pulled. It seemed that no matter the change, a curse was a curse. Vampires he knew, drew upon blood. He himself, well, he drew upon the very life energies of those around him.

He did find though, that if he were to be around larger populations, the draw on the individual was less, nearly unnoticeable. With that in mind, he involved himself with masses of students, teaching as many as he could his life lessons, his ideas.

Now wanting a particular ability, he began to search for ways to blend in. The energy, now potent and like magic, was eventually manipulated to form an illusion. He was finally out from under the public eye.

When he 'passed on' years later, he had accomplished much, and thought that it would seem suspicious if he stayed alive too much longer. After gathering everything he needed, he cast one final illusion, making a copy of himself, and though it wouldn't hold up to a real scientist, it hardly mattered as no one would tamper with his body. A rune in the center made the illusion permanent, and with one final glance around his room, he broke from his old age and walked into the night.

The diary was hardly done and Tsukune was gaping like a fish. A man actually succeeded in trapping and draining a vampire! Oh the irony!

Tsukune was truly in awe. Having dealt with a few vampires himself, and being one, he knew the power gap between human and vampire. What made him stop though, was that the book clearly outlined how to make the runic circle, symbols and all. Anyone that had the book had a clear weakness of all vampires! It was no small wonder the exorcist kept it in his study away from everyone, but why had he been reading it? The book's one dogeared page stood out, and with sudden worry, Tsukune opened the page.

This can't be good.

It was the page with the circle of symbols.