(I do not own LOK)
Vorador had taken his leave sometime when Ewoden had been asleep. Being with nocturnal creatures it seemed had strained his sense of time somewhat as when he roused from his dreams of strange blue angels, it was early in the afternoon. For a moment, he almost believed that he was back at the fortress and any moment now Razeil would storm through the barracks, rousing everyone for early morning duty or training, the reality set in and he remembered where he was and was intensely grateful for it. The blizzard outside had stopped, and as he rubbed the thick clump of sleep from his eye, he was granted an impressive view of the canyon and lake below. As Sarafan reports had stated, the fortress of Janos Audron had been carved directly out of the cliff face of a mountain overlooking the frozen lake below.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun shone brightly, it's rays however didn't reach into the retreat's main chamber. The arched roof above the balcony prevented it. Probably why Janos chose to live here.
Remembering where he was exactly and what he was doing here, he rose from his sleeping place, the chair in front of the fire and he turned to survey the chamber, which was empty. Both the ancient vampire and Sally has disappeared. A loud growling in his stomach caught his attention and he remembered he hadn't eaten for days. One event after another had distracted him from it. Regaining his sense completely, his stretched out to exercise his muscle and removed his armour, piece by piece, placing down it in a relatively tidy pile on the floor next to the smouldering fire place, a gently trail of smoke still rising from the ashes. Rising, Ewoden noticed the clothes placed upon the glass table, lightly laid in a pile on the edge of the table. They were very much like those Janos wore, with trailing over the shoulders, delicately embroidered with gold and silver thread. Not even the richest noble in Willendorf wore clothes like these. Obviously either Janos or Sally wanted him to wear it, not wanting to disappoint either on he slipped his shabby pants and shirt off and quickly slipped into it.
He looked won at himself, deciding to reverse judgement as he wasn't exactly sure this was intended for humans to wear, indicated by the two holes in the back for wings. He tried to locate a reflective surface to see how he looked in it, finding none, he settled on the glass table and his distorted reflection in it's surface.
There was a loud thump from behind him as a dark figure gild effortlessly on a pair of majestic black wings over the edge of the balcony and landed only a few feet away from him. Again the former Sarafan was captivated by the impressive stature and overpowering presence of Janos Audron.
"Good morning young human." He said as he straightened himself up, his wings folding behind his back. "Your fellow student is already waiting downstairs, but before we join her…" His face suddenly acquired a very serious look. "I must speak with you." Ewoden could hear him saying, but still couldn't muster the nerve to actually engage in conversation with the very creature he had been taught to hate by the Sarafan order. It wasn't the hatred that stayed his tongue, he had cleared himself of that long ago, but still it felt strange and awkward. "I should have every reason to hate you." Janos continued. "A short ways toward the village, the Sarafan stake their kills in a hideous forest of rotting corpses." Ewoden felt a pit forming in his stomach. Although he had never had a hand in constructing such testaments the warrior priests were so proud of, he had most certainly contributed to the countless bodies placed upon the stakes. "Unlike Vorador however I do not let hate rule my judgement." He smiled a strangely reassuring smile, putting the human at ease. "I harbour no ill will toward humans, and not toward you if it puts you agitated mind at rest."
"Why?" Ewoden asked, almost in an early morning daze. "After all you say, how could you not."
"Very good question." Janos laughed, folding his arms. "Vorador himself doesn't know the answer. But it's like I said, I do not let hate rule me. The Sarafan, and their founders Moebius and Mortanious have made that mistake." Ewoden blinked.
"Moebius, what did he do to you?" Janos suddenly looked very solemn.
"What didn't they do? Yet I suppose from their point of view we had it coming really, I suppose none of the guardians actually had a choice when they came of age, inheriting the responsibilities. Although we did tell them, we told them that their humans selves simply couldn't…" He suddenly remembered exactly what he was doing, pausing in mid breath. "Yes…but that is irrelevant." Ewoden could see plainly that he had let his tongue slip on a subject he would rather not discus. "Come, we should join your fellow student to begin your studies."
"Just what do these, studies, involve? Vorador failed to tell me, although I realize now I was slightly overcome to ask."
"History and Science young human." Janos replied sharply, moving over to the bookcases near the fire place and searching through the titles, holding one finger out in front of himself as he briefly scanned for the book he was looking for. "Although a history and science not of your race, but mine." He pulled out a large book and threw it open, the pages falling either side. He paused to study the former Sarafan's confused face before showing him the books. Drawn upon it's pages seemed to be architects blue prints, but of machines rather than buildings. Lines, circles and other shapes drawn on the paper looked more like a confused mess to him, although the human suspected the ancient vampire saw some sense in it all. Again there were similar rune like alphabet shapes written in note form here and there.
Time became meaningless once again as Ewoden settled into this somewhat new and different lifestyle. Over the passing months, he explored much of the retreat, discovered a labyrinth of towers inside the very mountain. Structures no human hand created. He was always however, denied access to a chamber that diverted off from Janos' main living area. The stone door remained sealed completely. Lessions in the history of Janos people' the winged race Ewoden so admired, always took place at night and rather unorthodoxly outside in the cold air, on a small platform at the top of the mountain where they could see the Pillars of Nosgoth in the far distance. Either Janos preferred being outside or there was some relevance to his lessons, although both Ewoden and Sally failed to see what it was. Here they learn of the circle, the elements each Guardian who served a pillar was bound to, the heritage that passed when one guardian died and most importantly, how balance between each of them were held together by the central Balance pillar.
The former Sarafan had never experienced the privilege of scholarship before. That was a rich nobles entitlement, hardly something a slave was expected to receive, but as time past it felt less and less odd and the lesions less and less difficult and mind boggling, although it became obvious that Sally was far better that this than he was. She enjoyed rubbing that in his face executively, seemingly happy that he couldn't get mad at her now matter how much she tried. Within half a year, summer rolling around, both of them had managed to learn the language of the ancients and were now able to read the books Janos had in his chamber.
Throughout it all however, Ewoden did not neglect his physical training as he finalled managed to persuade Janos to teach him the basics some of the more advanced forms of combat described in the many books.
Two summers came and went by the time Janos moved them on to the study of the various devices and technology hidden away in the depths of the sanctuary. Although a lot of the work involved studying a lot of ancient diagrams, when winter rolled around again when they were just about able to understand what those diagrams said.
Janos seemed, almost patriotic in behaviour toward their studies. He was almost desperate to pass on the knowledge, like he was afraid that if he didn't it would cease to exist.
"Exactly how many years have we been here?" Sally asked, floating overhead one day near the beginning of Fall, a bored expression on her face, her arms behind her head, her hair falling down toward his face Ewoden himself was sitting on the edge of the Aerie, lying down looking up toward her gently floating around. Janos had left to visit Vorador at his mansion for a while and probably wouldn't be back until well past nightfall, leaving the two of them alone for a good long while. Ewoden suspected this had given Sally ideas. The sun had disappeared behind a large mountain as it began to sink in sunset, allowing Sally the darkness needed to venture out into the fresh air. Both of them were dressed the robes Janos had given them and by now they were used to the freedom of movement they provided. Ewoden noticed now that although these robes were identical, it flattered Sally's figure more, almost as if their designer had had that in mind.
"I don't know." He confessed. "I stopped counting after the third summer." Sally flipped over and looked down at him with a playful look on her face.
"That means you don't even know how old you are." Ewoden shrugged his shoulders.
"I didn't know the date of my birth before I came here, I've never had idea what my age is exactly." Sally floated down closer, only a few inches away from him now.
"If I were to hazard a guess." She said. "I'd say you're twenty five." The human yawned loudly, having just woken up. Being around beings with such nocturnal habits as the others had given him similar traits.
"And just how are you?" He asked with a smile. Sally looked away innocently.
"Oh, I was only one hundred and fourteen when I came here." Ewoden chuckled at the joke.
"You don't look a day over fifty." She smiled as well, descended a lightly pecked him on the cheek. Without warning there was a suddenly battle cry down from the canyon below, followed by a very familiar bellowing war horn. Ewoden knew that that horn, he had blown it himself once. They both stared down toward the mountain path that lead south and upon it, on the banks of the small lake were a large group of Sarafan Warriors, brandishing banners with their symbol upon them. For a moment, Ewoden was reminded of what it had been like to be one of them. Yet with the knowledge he now had, he knew that the cause these men were so fanatical about was little less more than a tangle of lies. Over their shoulders they carried the reeking bodies of their latest kills, which one by one they began staking out on the lake's banks, adding to the already enormous forest of dead bodies surrounding the body of water. Some vampires were still alive and their dying screams resonated throughout the mountains as the Sarafan forced them onto the stakes laughing all the time and sneering in contempt. This happened regularly now. Every so often, large numbers of Sarafan would come, set up these grotesque warnings, shout more insulting curses up toward the sanctuary and then go.
"Their visits are becoming more regular now." Ewoden stated. The female vampire nodded.
"And the number of kills they pitch up has increased to." She hesitated, lowering her eyebrows. "How many have they killed in cold blood now?" Ewoden closed his eyes and remembered the faces of the vampire he had slain. It was nothing in comparison to the numbers other Sarafan knights managed to claim, but it was enough to stain his conscience. As if reading his thoughts, Sally laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
The Sarafan began chanting once they'd finished, Odviously they not realized that their cries did not reach the Aeire platform this high up and sounded like muffled screamed from there. After several minutes of this, they disappeared down the winding path back towards the town.
"A wonderful sight for Janos to return home to." Ewoden snarled, turning his back on it.