Thank you all so much for your patience. I finally got the time to post another chapter after so long. How long has it been? A year or two? More than that? Also totally random, but I am now picturing Chai Hanson from Shadowhunters as an inspiration for Martin because he is just drop dead gorgeous. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this new chapter, I am currently hand writing the next one so stay tuned!

Chapter 12 - Origins Revealed

Martin and I fought our way up the tower until we got to the Sigil Keep. And no surprise, Daedra were waiting for us, Dremora in particular. But I knew we were going to make it.

"I'll hold them off! You get the stone!" Martin said as he started fighting the groups of Daedra. This was a good distraction so that they wouldn't notice me going up to where the Sigil Stone was. I reached out and grabbed it.

Just like before, the walls sarted falling, the ground started shaking and then there was that bright light.

And as I had expected, Martin and I landed right where we were back in Tamriel with the remaids of the Gate, now closed. I was still holding the Sigil Stone which I decided to put in my pocket bag along with the other stone that I grabbed from the Kvatch Gate.

Martin looked down at the remains of the Gate and then looked at me. "Two gates in a row...you're brilliant."

"Well, I don't know about 'brilliant'," I said. "I don't really have the brains that you have, Martin."

Martin chuckled. "No, please. Even I don't consider myself brilliant."

I chuckled with him before we just stopped and looked at each other. There was that feeling again, that spark. I had to find a way out of it somehow so I cleared my throat. "Well, now that we're back, I suggest we catch up on sleep. We will continue on to Weynon Priory in the morning."

"Right," Martin said as we walked back to the camp and settled into our sleeping sacks and fell asleep.

We were still asleep when dawn approached. But I was awakened by a horse's muzzle nudging my face. I looked up expecing it to be Arwen only to see that it was a different horse altogether. It wasn't even Afshin, but it was another bay stallion. Riding him was a soldier. When I looked at his armor, it was clear to me that he was a soldier from Skingrad. Martin woke up to the sound of the horse's snorting.

"Are you Sonja Valus?" asked the soldier.

"Er...yes. I'm Sonja...Is - Is there a problem, sir?"

"Not at all, Miss. But you and your friend...Martin is it? You both need to come with me. The Count wants to speak to you."

"How does the Count know us?" Martin asked suspicious.

"Not for me to say. But he is waiting, so we need to leave now. I'm Captain Dione, by the way. I'm in charge of the town guard."

Martin and I gahered up our things, grabbed our horses and followed Captain Dione on the path to Skingrad. Once in front of the city gates, we put our horses in the stables and went inside the city.

It looked like a nice and peaceful town. Simple and yet not too simple. It looked like a city that I would want to live in one day. The city had two ins, a sweet roll shop, a general store, a blacksmith, an alchemy shop and houses for the Fighters and Mages Guilds. And then there was the Great Chapel of Julianos, the Divine of Wisdom and Logic.

We were walking near the gates that would lead us to the castle when I heard a voice behind me.

"Psst! Over here!"

I turned around and it was a wood elf looking right at me and walked towards me.

"Yes, you! We need to talk."

"Uh..." I said feeling awkward. "I'm not sure if -"

"Shh shh shh shh shh!" he said reaching up to put a finger on my lips. "We can't talk here. Too public. Meet me behind the Great Chapel at midnight! Don't let anyone follow you. I'll make it worth your while." And then he just ran off.

I looked at Martin and then looked at Captain Dione. "Er...is he okay?"

"Psh. Don't worry about Glarthir," he said. "He's a little, uh, crazy. But he's harmless as far as I know. But I got my eye on him. Now we should keep moving and not keep the Count waiting."

The gates opened for us and we walked through. We saw the castle from the bridge we were crossing.

"So what can you tell us about the Count?" I asked Captain Dione.

"Well," he said. "He's a very private person. No one outside the castle has ever seen him besides the town guard. Lets just say he's...different."

"Exactly how different?" Martin asked.

"You'll see..." he answered.

Castle Skingrad looked magnificent, though strangely...intimidating. I had an uneasy feeling growing in my stomach as we approached the castle doors. The captain said that the Count was different. But he never explained how he was different. I was anxious to find out. I'm sure Martin was feeling it too.

The doors opened and we walked inside Already something was up. I was expecting to walk into a throne room, only there were no thrones. But it was the main hall though.

A man in green robes approached Captain Dione. "Excuse me, Captain, but who in oblivion are these people?"

"These are individuals that the Count has asked to see," Dione said. "So I would appreciate it, Mercator, if you didn't act like such a hot head and quit being so paranoid."

"First of all, I'm NOT a hothead. Second of all, I am NOT paranoid. I am simply just doing my job as steward and I don't recall the Count requesting visiters."

"Mercator, I am no fool. And I know precisely what orders I have been given. And I was told to bring these two here so that the Count can speak with them."

"The Count will not see them now. Not now, not ever. You know VERY well that the Count does not allow visiters into the casle no matter what the reason is! If you think that I am giong to allow you to bring these outsiders into the castle, you are severely mista - "

Suddenly a voice echoed in the room. "MERCATOR!"

The voice came from up in the balcony. I looked up and there was a shadowy looking figure with glowing red eyes.

"What in oblivion are you doing?"

"M-m-my lord," said Mercator slowly backing away from us. "I-I was just reminding Captain Dione here about your rule about not letting anyone see you."

Mercator was sweating. Why was he sweating?

"There is no need," said the figure who to my surprise turned out to be the Count. "These two indviduals are an acception. I specifically asked to see them so that is why they are here."

"But sir," said Mercator. "Are you sure you want to let them in? We don't even know if we can trust them! I have already -"

"Enough!" the Count's voice boomed again. "As much as I appreciate your loyalty, I will not allow you to speak for me."

"Y-yes my lord. My apologies."

"Next time, speak to to me before sending people away."

"Yes sir."

"Thank you Captain Dione for bringing them here. Now leave us. Both of you. I wish to speak with these newcomers alone."

Mercator and Captain Dione bowed and then briefly glared at each other before leaving the room.

I turned to Martin. "Martin, I'm not sure if we should stay."

"I'm getting a strange feeling too," Martin whispered back to me. "But it would be rude to leave now."

The Count, still merely a shadowy figure with the acception of his glowing red eyes, started speaking again while coming down the staircase. I had forgotten to mention earlier that there wasn't much light in the room.

"Please forgive my steward," said the Count. "He can be rather...overprotective at times, but he means well."

He walked down the staircase slowly but not too slowly. His steps hardly made any sound. it suddenly felt slightly cold in the room. I was beginning to think that this man was not...human.

"And please forgive me. I hope I didn't frighten you."

"No, sir. You didn't frighten us at all," said Martin. "We were just -"

When the Count finally reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the light, Martin and I just froze where we stood. Marin was barely able to finish his sentence.

"...j...just taken...by surprise..."

I was right. The Count wasn't human at all. His red eyes and pale gaunt skin gave it away. There was no doubt in my mind that he was a vampire. I could even notice the ti[s of his fangs when he spoke again.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Count Janus Hassildor. Welcome to Castle Skingrad." Even if his greeting was propber and polite, Martin and I continued to stare in shock. "Is there something wrong?"

"Er...no, sir," I said. "Its just that...well, they - they said t-hat you were different...but...but..."

"But...?" the Count said raising his right eyebrow.

"I was practicaly stuttering at this point becasue I was so nervous. "We just...we didn't expect you to be a...t-to be a...w-what I''m trying to say is well...we didn't...think you would be a v...a vv...a..a-a..."

Martin sighed and finished the statement for me. "We didn't expect you to be a vampire."

"Yes, exactly! We didn't expect you to be a vampire."

"Ah," said the Count in a sigh." I understand. Its normal. No one in Skingrad or Cyrodiil knows about this except for my guards and servants."

That would explain why he hardly ever showed his face outside of the castle walls.

"Well, sir," Martin said. "Was there a reason why you brouht us here?"

"Yes," said the Count while looking at me. "There is..."

I didn't know why the Count was looking at me the way he was. He looked at me as though he hadn't seen me in a long long time. Either that or he was trying to seduce me like most vampires would.

He looked at me right in the eyes and said, "You have your father's eyes...what a beautiful woman you have become, Sonja."

I was surprised that he knew about my family. "You...you knew my father?"

"Your father was my best friend," he said. "We were like brothers...I see a lot of him in you. You even have your mother's face."

"Am I supposed to know you?" It probably was a rude question for me to ask but he knew my parents and possibly my broher too. I needed answers.

The Count sighed deeply. "Despite our friendship, your father did not want me around you much...but even then, he still wanted me to be part of your life...Sonja, what I'm trying to tell you is that...I'm your godfather."

My eyes widened. I knew there was someone who sent me letters and pictures and other wonderful things when I was younger but each letter was sent by someone named "J". Well by then I finally knew what "J" stood for. "J" as in "Janus" as in Count Janus Hassildor. But I didn't know why my father kept this a secret from me. Why didn't my father tell me about my godfather? Was he afraid that he would hurt or kill me or what not? The Count didn't seem that way to me at all. A vampire, yes, but he seemed to have a large amount of humanity in him.

"I didn't know I had a godfather," I said to him.

The Count bowed his head and sighed. "That's not surprising...I wanted to be present in your life, but your father didn't allow me, which put a strain on our friendship."

"Why did he keep you a secret from me?"

The Count lifted his head to look at me. "That's why I brought you both here, Sonja. Your father made me promise not to say anything. But now that he is dead and the time for you to know the truth is overdo. I cannot keep these secrets any longer."

"The truth about what?" I asked.

"The truth...of your true nature. It is time for you to know of who you really are...Follow me."

Martin and I looked at each other before following the Count upstairs. Apparently there were more secrets that my father kept from me. But what kind of secrets did he keep from me? He seemed to me like the typical hardworking father. Although I did remember that he was...unusually strong.

The Count took us to a room filled with ancient relics. Some were related to vampires and vampiric deities. Others were related to dragons and Akatosh. In the middle of the room was a crystal ball. Whatever my father was hiding from me, it had to have been really big.

"Tell me, Sonja," he said. "Was there anything that your father told you in regards to your ancestors?"

I shook my head. "No, he never did...I suppose he hasn't told me a lot of things..."

The Count sighed when he saw my face and heard my response. "I will tell you what I know...but you might be shocked at what you hear."

I sighed and nodded allowing him to talk. Martin would listen as well.

The Count went on. "Thousands of years ago, the first Dragonborn, Miraak and the first vampire, Lamae Bal were once lovers. It has been rarely documented, but it is true. One day, Lamae became pregnant with Miraak's child, a child...of both worlds. The couple was happy with the news, but things would take a turn for the worst. Throughout Lamae's pregnancy, Miraak was hungry for power, taking advantage of Akatosh's gift. He went as far as making a deal with Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge for immortality and endless power. In doing this, Miraak was forced to be a prisoner in Mora's realm of Oblivion, Apocrypha, for all time, leaving Lamae to raise their child alone. Lamae would give birth to a son. She named him Lin. And he would grow to become the first of a new breed of humanoid beings - the Aetherials. As the race expanded, the Aetherials looked to Lin as their protector, their king. But one day...he disappeared. No one knew what happened to him. Most assumed that he was dead. Without Lin, the Aetherials felt vulnerable...and went into hiding. His bloodline, however, continued. As the centuries went by, Lin's family tree grew and grew. Many generations...all the way down...to you."

I froze. My eyes widened. I thought my heart was going to stop.

"Sonja, what your father didn't tell you...is that you are the last direct discendant...of Lin...an Aetherial."

I felt sick. I didn't think that my father would keep something like this from me. I didn't think he had any secrets to keep from me. I thought he told me everything. I thought he would never like to me, but...he had been lying to me my entire life.

"Your reaction doesn't surprise me..." Janus sighed. "I'm...I'm sorry that you weren't told sooner...the most that I can do is give you this." He pulled out a red vial. From the looks of it, it was a vial of blood. "This is blood from a master vampire, your Sire. Every Aetherial born without their vampiric abilities is required to have a Sire. When...if you drink this, your transformation will be complete. The good thing is you'll still have your humanity. You'll be able to continue to walk in the daylight, eat food, drink water and live the live you've been always been living...however, you will also have the thirst for blood...that is something that cannot be avoided...but it can be controlled. It is your choice...at least take the vial. You don't have to drink it."

At this point, I had one of two choices. One. I choose not to take the vial and keep living a lie. Or two. I choose to take it, embrace my past and accept the truth. This was already difficult to take in. My dead father...lied to me. I spent my whole life thinking that I was...human.

I sighed. "I'll take the vial. But that doesn't mean that I will drink it."

Janus sighed as he put the vial in my hand. I looked at the vial for a monent and then looked over at Martin, who was looking at me with sympathy which triggered me a bit more. I put the vial in my pocked bag before starting to walk to the door. "Lets go, Martin. We need to get to Weynon Priory. Now."

Before I could touch the doorknob, Janus called out to me. "Sonja, please...I'm so sorry...I just...I wish you had known a long time ago."

I turned back to look at him. "I'm not blaming you for telling me the truth. I'm glad you told me...at least somebody did."