Chapter 1

Luc awoke with a jolt. It was still night, the bodies of the warriors lay around him. However, the body of the vampire was gone. A throbbing pain seemed everywhere and it took most of Luc's strength to stand. He rubbed his head.

Bertrand stood paralyzed as he observed Luc. "Don't come closer..." he threatened waving his spear. "Back! Back!"

Luc looked at his hands. They looked normal...at first. Then he noticed their pallor. "What's wrong Bertrand?" he asked. The man quivered.

"I said back!" He swung his spear hitting Luc across the face.

"What are you doing?" Luc asked. Suddenly, Luc was thirsty...he looked at Bertrand who now seemed extremely appetizing. He approached the man, who continued to attack him, but to no effect. Luc felt no pain as each attack pierced his flesh. He grabbed Bertrand and slashed him with his sword. Instantly, he put his teeth to the man's neck and began to drain the precious red fluid. After several seconds, Luc jumped back. "No! What have I done?" Luc looked upon the lifeless body at his feet. "What has happened to me?"

Luc found a discarded shield and looked at it. The reflection that he saw shocked him. His face was the same, but his teeth were elongated into fangs. His skin was deathly pale and his fingernails were longer and sharper. "Have I become...? No, I can't have! It's not true! It's not true!" Luc screamed in rage. He kicked at a dagger on the ground sending it flying into one of the walls of the village. "Damn that bastard of a vampire! Now I have to live with this curse!" Luc roared again and swung his sword cleaving the shield in half.

Then, something clicked in Luc's brain. "The library! There was a book there about undoing transformations. I must get to the library in Middeheim." Luc looked around for a horse to ride. However, none could be found, so he set off on foot.

Eight months later...

The months had been grueling for Luc. His lust for blood had driven him to slay countless humans without his own control. After every murder he prayed to the Lady for forgiveness. Being a vampire, he could only travel by night, during the day he sought shelter in abandoned forts and towns.

Now, the gates of Middenheim loomed before Luc. The city was heavily guarded with hundreds of sentries on each wall and several cannon emplacements. Luc had no clear plan for entering the Library of Middenheim undetected. He had been their once before, in his youth his parents had made a pilgrimage to worship Ulric. While his mother was of pure Bretonnian blood, his father was born in the Middenstag. While she did not support the beliefs, she gave her husband chances to worship. Luc remembered being sent to the library while his father was off at the Church of Ulric and his mother was in the market purchasing goods. He walked between the shelves and looked over book after book, tome after tome, manuscript after manuscript. Luc was almost sure of a reversal tale of the sort he was in.

It was a tale of some ancient warrior who was turned into a vampire. Despising Undead, he tried everything to change himself back. Eventually, after going through many ordeals, he was successful. But without the title of the volume, it would be nearly impossible for Luc to find.

There was no way around it; Luc would have to get rid of the sentries somehow. But with only a sword and some armor, how would this be possible? Luc examined the soldiers and noticed their armaments. Most carried a handgun while several held shields and spears. All wore swords at their waist as a last resort. There were torches every few meters to provide them with light. As Luc approached the gate, a rough voice split the silence.

"Who goes there?" Came the voice of one of the soldiers aiming his musket at Luc. "I'm not afraid to fire!"

Luc kept to the shadows as to not frighten them. "I am Luc de Fevre of Bretonnia and I have come to study at your great library. May I be admitted to the city?"

The soldiers all looked at him and aimed their weapons. "Show yourself," the same voice as earlier yelled to him. "Maybe then we'll let you in." Luc hesitated, but seeing he had no other choice, stepped into the light of the torches. The men gasped. "Damn it...the Undead are upon us again! Fire men!" The cry of muskets echoed through the city and surrounding area. Luc ran as fast as he could, which wasn't very quick with several dozen pounds of armor. Several bullets pierced his armor, but Luc felt no pain as the marks began to cover his chest and arms. Many of the soldiers retreated to the angry cry of the officers. Luc however, advanced. Marching up to the gate, he began to slash at the hinges with his sword. An unholy strength pulsed through him and soon the hinges broke and the gate collapsed.

"Impossible..." a guard stuttered as he watched Luc walk through the ruined gates. Luc flashed his teeth, causing the guard to drop his rifle and stand stock still. Luc continued on his way toward the library, leaving the guard trembling.

The library stood before Luc; a great stone building with ivy slowly creeping up the left side. The door way wooden, old and decrypt. Luc angrily slashed the door with his sword, leaving only fragments of oak at his feet.

The library was dark but Luc's condition gave him excellent night vision. He looked around the high shelves searching for the book.

"The Legend of...what was it?" Luc asked himself pouring over the volumes. However, it seemed hours that he did this, with no success. Luc cursed his luck and was ready to leave when he noticed a table in the back. On it were five books, all arrayed open on it. Luc rushed to grab one. Studying a page quickly, he found it to be the book he sought.

The pages were ancient and Luc was careful as he turned the thin pages and read the story.

The Tale of Erik von Definhoff

There are those who say that vampires are the most foul creatures found in our world. Little is known about them, as they are reclusive. They resign themselves to castles and ancient burial grounds. Once they deliver the Blood Kiss, as it is called, to you, you shall become one of them.

There was a man who once had this predicament. His name was Erik von Definhoff. Erik was a merchant who lived in the northern Empire. One night, while on the way to deliver his goods, he was assaulted by a vampire. However, Erik despised his condition. Day after day, he refused to drink the blood of others. To stop himself, he built a hut and barricaded the door with boulders.

But as time went on, Erik became weaker. He needed sustinence. Therefore, he set out to rid himself of the curse. Along the way to ask a wise man what he should do, Erik saw an Imperial Museum. Being curios, Erik entered and was astounded at what he found. There on the floor lay five magical artifacts. As his hand touched each one, he felt stronger, and more alive. Finally, when he had touched the final one, he became human again.

Little is known of what artifacts they were, but this is what was recovered from accounts.

A skin of a reptile, a shield of an elf, the bone of a Khemri, the blade of a king and the blood of a demon.

End Tale

Luc smiled as he read the list. "Items...I must acquire items...I know just where to start." He rushed from the library and hid behind a corner while two soldiers passed. Luc ran from the city and into the deep woods outside just as the sun was rising. He retired to a nook between two trees and awaited the next night.

End of Chapter 1