Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or TO

Warning: Thoughts of suicide, physical, and emotional abuse.

Welcome back, everyone. I don't have a Beta so please excuse the grammatical and spelling errors. I'll fix them and update the chapters later.

Question: We all know that the Originals go back to the Old World (east) and end up in France by ship. Since Anastasia can't be with them, she'll be traveling through the Continental US (west), up through Canada, and Alaska through the Bering Strait into Russia. She'll move back south into Song Dynasty China.

So what would you, my lovely readers, like to happen? Where would you like her to visit throughout her journey through the past 1000 years of history? Which people should she meet, and where should she live?

1. Anyone who wants to recommend historical events and settings can place them in the review box and we can have detours and see new places we've never seen before. My Indian readers, please tell me what you want to see about India during the 12th century. Please send in your requests and suggestions.

2. The traditional way to write Chinese names is to have the family name before the person's given name (Family name, Given name) and I'll be using this format to be historically accurate just like when I used "Mikaelsdotter" for Rebekah's surname. It's respectful to refer to a person by their title or family name rather than their given name, especially if the person is older and/or is of higher status. Since most names are only 2, 3, or 4 syllables, most people are referred to by their full name. And our characters are taking on Han Chinese names to fit in. I'll be using their English names during narration and their Chinese names in dialogue since they're speaking the language.

Read, Review, and Enjoy.


Chapter 6: Two Centuries with the Song

Within the port city of Lin'an (1) in the Song Empire, east of the Grand Canal lies a great commercial-industrial complex ruled by the prominent Zi (2) family. A large portion of the street was owned by the Zi family, where their many stores and business were located. At the end of the market street, at a 90-degree angle, tall wooden gates rose high in the air with a great plaque that spelled Zi in large letters above the gates. A great wall surrounded the large complex that housed many of the Zi family's businesses. Many buildings littered the large courtyard, each for a specific purpose. The buildings nearest to the streets managed the finances of the many different businesses as well as a research center for new technologies needed by the businesses. These managers and inventors were also responsible for making daily reports to the elder members of the Zi family as well as managing the family's wealth. In the middle of the grounds, was a complex of buildings for cultivating mulberry trees to feed the large population of silkworms that an army of women wove into the most beautiful fabric.

In the back of the compound, several barges docked as workers unloaded bundles of bleached rice straw pulp and bamboo through the back gates to be treated by another group of workers to become paper with the aid of the waterwheel. On the south side of the complex was an apartment complex where many of the workers who were employed by the Zi family lived with their families. Near the apartments was a school that trained children in the crafts of their parents so they could come to work for the Zi family in the future. North of the factory complex was the central home of the Zi family. Generations of the family resided there for over 60 years, growing in influence, wealth, and power.

Seventy years before, the Zi family did not exist. They were simply a mother-in-law, a widow with her three sons, and a daughter living in a small village at the northern frontier of the empire. The mother-in-law had lost her sons due to the numerous raids by their neighbors the Western Xia Empire and the Liao Empire, her daughters had married into families from other villages. The only one left was her youngest son and his wife and children who were taking care of her. The youngest son worked as a farmer and laborer in the village and the surrounding villages. He married a slave girl from a nearby and they had three sons and a daughter together. The man had always been weak, but he was a man who needed to support his widowed, his wife, and four children. He had to work and he worked until his body could no longer hold his weight, even in his weakened state.

Before the weak man died, he had brought five foreigners accompanied by a young Han (3) mother and her child into his mother's home. He learned that the foreigners had come from the land of ice and cold in the far north and had been traveling for years. They got lost in the Gobi desert until they came into contact with some nomads in the steppe, where they found and rescued the young woman who had been captured from the Song Empire, enslaved, and raped by the nomads. They took the nomads' horses and belongings and escaped south with the young mother as a guide into the Song Empire.

The man's kind and compassionate heart saved his family. After he passed onto the afterlife to be with his ancestors, the foreigners helped his family. They had brought strange items with them and they were skilled in many trades. While the men went hunting, the women remained home to make crafts to sell and trade for food, clothing, and other goods. The foreigners were also well educated, even the women. The eldest son of the family, Yi, was a craftsman and inventor. The second child, the only daughter, Er, spent her pastimes studying the arts and calligraphy. The third son, San, was studious and wished to become a civil servant, but his family did not have the means to allow him to take the exams so he worked as a laborer. The youngest son, Qu, was still a child and a dreamer, always seeking to know more about the world beyond his small village. He was ecstatic to meet the travelers and took it upon himself to teach them the Han language to communicate with them about their travels.

Balder (Ba Di) (4) was the son of a yellow-haired woman, Jorunn (Yolan) with ocean eyes, which he shared with his mother. He was a stone carver and a hunter. He worked with Yi every day, carving different animals and figurines to sell to make a little extra money. Yolan worked with Hong, the grandmother, and Lan, the mother, harvesting silkworms to make fabric. Niu, the former slave girl with the baby boy, worked with Er on the embroideries that went into the woven silk fabrics. Anastasia (Ana) and Aslaug (Asha) worked with San and Qu during the harvest to collect rice straw and bamboo to make paper to sell. As they worked together, they learned together, not just language but also each other's crafts. With the money they were making from the many different products made by the family, San was able to purchase books to read and study in preparation for the civil servant exam. He was mostly interested in the economy, finance, and commerce since he had been the one who was managing the family's increasing wealth. With Ana's aid, he quickly learned his numbers. The more he studied, the more he realized that his family could do much more if they mixed their different crafts.

Yi was finally able to take a wife at the age of 22 and had a child soon after. Zi Er had a dowry and was finally able to marry into a peasant family in a nearby village. San also married soon after his older brother and his wife had their first child.

Ten years passed and the Zi family rebounded and flourished. The brothers were happy with their lives and their wives and children.

After several years of living together, the vampires had learned the Han language and presented the Zi and Xiao families with the gift of immortality. She made sure to explain that they would no longer be able to have children once they became a vampire. One by one, from eldest to youngest, even granny Hong, received blood from either Jorunn, Aslaug, Balder, or Umky (5). Qu, at 25, was not interested in marriage and children like his brothers. His love was exploration and learning so he received his blood from Anastasia and turned.

The family went through the same training Aslaug, Jorunn, Balder, and Umky had gone through, learning to hunt not only humans but also animals game. Each person learned to control their bloodlust by crossing the border from the Song into Western Xia territories to feed on the soldiers, raiders, mercenaries, and vagabonds who would cross into Song territory during the multiple military conflicts in the region. The family had suffered at the hands of both the Liao and the Western Xia. They had killed, raped, and plundered the Song so they got their revenge as vampires.

Zi Hong had lost most of her husband and most of her children to the border conflicts so she was the most vengeful. Turning into a vampire had rejuvenated her, repaired her spine, and strengthened her bones that she could take on an army at the age of 70. Entire armies fell at their hands.

After a few years, they could not remain in their small village as they would attract suspicion when they no longer aged. The family finally decided to leave their ancestral home and move south to a large port city to grow their business by trading with foreign merchants. They sent a letter to Zi Er, in her husband's home. As they were getting ready to leave, they received a secret message from Zi Er, begging for help fearing for her life. In the neighboring village, during her ten years of marriage, Zi Er had been mistreated and abused by her husband and his family. In the Song Empire, Confucianist values dominated the culture. As the wealth of the Zi family increased from the sale of their goods and crafts, their social status lowered from a working peasant to a merchant. Merchants were not seen in a favorable light because they were created their wealth from the labor of others. And because of that, Zi Er was mistreated and abused by her in-laws.

The Zi family went to their in-laws' home along with Anastasia. With a bit of compulsion, everyone in the family spoke the truth about the treatment of Zi Er while she lived in the house. Her husband, her mother-in-law, her father-in-law, her sisters-in-law, her brothers-in-law, and their wives were all perpetrators of the abuse. She was forced to work without food or rest, taking on most of the chores in the house. She had to work in the fields, summer and winter, without appropriate clothing. The poor woman had become informed and had multiple miscarriages, due to her ill health for which she was blamed. There was also emotional abuse and distress. While her sisters-in-law had many children, she could have none. She was blamed by her husband and parents-in-law for not having children and she internalized their abuse and blamed herself. She was ashamed and they told her that her family would be ashamed and disappointed in her for being unable to bear children. And so she kept her mouth shut and never told her family a word, even as she was beaten and raped by her husband repeatedly.

She was filled with dread when she became pregnant once more. She was tired all the time and her body had become nothing by skin and bones. She knew in her heart that she would not be able to carry this child to term, nor did she want to give birth to the monster family's spawn. She had had enough and the only way out for her was death. One night, as she planned her suicide, she overheard her husband and in-laws speaking of a letter sent from her family. She broke down crying silent tears behind the house when she heard that all the letters her brothers, her mother, and her friends had sent her over the years were intercepted and never made their way to her. The last letter stated that her family had decided to move to a port city in the south.

She stole a piece of parchment from one of her in-laws and write a short message to her family. When she went to the market the next day, she asked a neighbor, a widow who pitied her, who had been her only friend and ally during her years in hell, to quickly take the letter to her home. Her family came for her the next day.

When the Zi family saw Zi Er, and heard her please as she begged them to take her home, the rage they felt for her husband's family was incalculable. Anastasia had to order them not to murder the family in broad daylight. Zi Yi carried his younger sister, who had exhausted herself, all the way home. He remained at her bedside as she rested in her old room while the rest of the family left to massacre the people who had mistreated her. They killed the adults and compelled the children to forget their identities and the events that took place that night. They burned down the house with the bodies inside and took the children to nearby temples and nunneries that accepted orphans.


Spring 1111 - Hangzhou, Song Empire

Through the Zi family manor, domestic servants, guards, laborers, and skilled craftsmen moved about in every direction. From the main financial office, the butler rushed through the maze-like courtyard, dodging people left and right as he made his way to the main hall of the Zi family manor carrying a tray of scrolls. As the butler approached the main room, he could hear discussions taking place between the family heads. He lowered his head and raised the tray of scrolls in front of him as he raised his foot over the threshold. "My lords," the butler said.

"Come in," said Zi San. The butler walked around the screen and walked between the two rows of chairs that spanned the length of the room from the back wall to the door. At the very end of the room, against the wall, Balder and Zi San sat together, each one on one side of a small table. Foreign traders sat in the chairs perpendicular to the two men who served as head of the household. While Zi San managed the wealth of the family and the profitability of their many businesses, Balder was the one responsible for carrying out deals with the merchants who arrived from different parts of the globe.

The butler placed the tray on the table between the two and slowly backed out of the room. Balder placed down his cup before he took a scroll from the tray. His eyes raked over the paper glued on the silk brocade. Zi San and Balder were entertaining a few guests from Persia and India. With their wealth growing exponentially, they were Zi Yi had formed a large fleet of their own merchant ships, so they would have no need to rely on foreign ships to ferry their goods. Their business partners in India and Persia would allow them easy access to ports in their home cities and quick trade once the goods left the ships. They spoke with the men for hours to finalize the deal. Spice from India, sugar from southeast Asia, jewels and gems from Central Asia, and gold, copper, and other precious metals from Persia would flow into their stores while the Zi family's silks, tea, porcelain, and paper would flow into markets all over the known world.

When night came, a feast was prepared in the great hall. The wives of the foreign business partners, who had spent the afternoon having tea with the women of the Zi and Dagson families, finally joined the men for the celebration. Just before the celebration was to start, a group of women entered the hall. Balder, Zi Yi, and Zi San stood up as Zi Hong, Jorunn, Zi Lan, and Aslaug made their way to the front of the room. The three men bowed slightly to the older women. "Gentlemen, allow me to make the introductions," Balder said. "The Zi family matriarch, madam Zi Hong and madam Zi Lan." The men nodded their heads in the direction of the older woman while Zi Lan simply nodded in greeting. "My mother, Da Son Yolan, and my sister, Da Son Asha."

The four new arrivals took their seats beside Zi Yi and Zi San's wives and the wives of the other businessmen, eating and speaking in hushed tones. Even as they spoke politely to one another, the families did not fail to notice the lecherous gazes from some of the older men toward the younger girls. Especially Aslaug.

One of the men who had gotten drunk of more wine than he should have, spoke, "Lord Dason. Your sister is more beautiful than any woman I have ever seen and her eyes look like honey. Yet she is unwed..." Most of the women stopped to stare at the man who stared at their friend with lust in his eyes, completely unaware that he was sitting amongst a predator who could take his life in less than a moment.

Balder interjected when the man paused to stop the situation from escalating. He could feel saw the tension in the women's bodies as their pulses increased, forcing the blood into their eyes. If he didn't do anything to diffuse the tension, the feast would surely turn into a blood bath which would be a mess to clean up. "Ah," he laughed. "I must say that I find it difficult to part with my sisters. My sister and mother manage our silk production. They are responsible for the women. We are a family business. The family always comes first. We prefer to keep key positions in the family."

"Yes. I handle the money while Badi is responsible for making deals with our other merchant partners as he has done on this day. Our wives and daughters manage the domestic side of the business, keeping the women, servants, and laborers who work for us in check in the manor. Women become lazy when you give them free money. They benefit from our success so they must contribute to that success. I do not need a useless leech for a wife. A woman must be skilled to handle the household. Do you not agree with me gentlemen?" Zi San phrased it in a way as to try not to be too offensive toward the very predatory women who were currently in the hall.

"Ah, yes, yes. Quite right," one of the men agreed enthusiastically. "Women must contribute to wealth rather than leech wealth. I take it your wives and daughters do not spend their days lounging, eating, and throwing away your wealth on frivolous things?"

"Of course not." Drunk laughter rang through the hall.

"Ah, Lord Dason, you spoke of sisters? Where is your other sister?"

"My other daughter is a widow. She is convalescing in a monastery a great distance from here," Jorunn explained.


Year 1060 - Song Empire

Anastasia was bathed and dressed by the nuns in the monastery. It was before dawn when she and the nuns gathered in a large hall to say their prayers and practice their magic. When she first arrived in Asia, she did not trust witches, especially after what happened in Cahokia. She did not want to put her friends and family in danger. But she needed to learn more about her magic. She compelled scholars of the three schools of faith in the country to teach her about each one to see if any of them related to her magic. She found a group of warrior monks and nuns who could use magic to manipulate not only their bodies but the natural world around them.

She cautiously approached them, seeking to learn all she could about their magic. She also made up her mind that if they tried to betray her, she would kill them. As she spent more time with the monks and the nuns, she learned that their magic was more internalized. They used a mix of Taoist and Buddhist practices, focusing on meditation and mindfulness to gain enlightenment. They lived simply in their temples, practicing martial arts, doing chores, and meditating. Unlike witches who drew their power from Nature and were at the mercy of the spirits and their ancestors, these Sorcerers focused on using their souls to reach out into the Universal Consciousness. They were fairly a new group and the leader's powers allowed him to live for over 100 years.

"I have waited for you for 60 years, Sister," the man greeted. "There is no need to lurk. I've seen your struggles and I understand your apprehension. I will not betray you."

Anastasia felt a strong connection to the old man so she moved out of the shadows. She flashed before him and quickly grabbed his hand while looking deep into his eyes. The next moment they were both pulled into an extra-dimensional space that was surrounded by stars as far as the eye could see. A blue flame came alight before her, slowly transforming into a man she was familiar with. "Dag?"

"Hello Anastasia," he said with a peaceful look on his face.

"How are you here?"

"When you burned my body with your flames, my soul was transported into the AllFather's domain rather than the other supernatural dimensions," he explained. "The same happened to everyone you've ever killed and burned."

Tears slowly welled in Anastasia's eyes as her lip trembled. "Dag, I am so sorry. You trusted me and I couldn't save you and your family..."

Dag took her hand in his. "My family is safe because of you. My wife and son have grown and flourished because of you. It was inevitable that I would die if not from the werewolf poison, then from my injuries. AllFather showed me what would have happened had I not accompanied you. My entire family would have been massacred in the feud between the werewolves and the Mikaelsons. You saved us." He turned around as a large castle materialized inside the galaxy before them, supported on pillars of nebulae with walls decorated in starlight. "Come. The AllFather awaits you."

They passed a barrier, separating the emptiness of space from the green hills and forests of the AllFather's domain. As the two walked following Dag through the vaulting halls of the center palace, the souls that inhabited the space stopped and bowed low to them. They passed another wall and another barrier, entering the private chambers of the AllFather, decorated all in 21st-century architecture and technology. Dag led them to a theater room with a large screen. In the front seat, the AllFather sat, one leg crossed over the other as he ate popcorn while watching the events taking place on earth.

Anastasia looked at the man beside her, who rolled his eyes, showing that he was familiar with the scene before him. "My children, welcome." The movie paused as he stood up and turned to them. "Anastasia, meet your brother, Gabriel Ki Yong Manuel." He looked at Gabriel and pointed to Anastasia, "Gabriel, your elder sister, Anastasia Abigael Manuel." He simply smiled. "Now, Gabriel, you need to teach your sister to use her magic. Anastasia, you need to turn your brother into a vampire." He returned to his seat in front of the screen. He waved his hand with his back to the two. "Now that that's settled, goodbye children. Don't forget to enjoy your immortality." And with that, they were pushed back into reality just as suddenly as they were pulled in.

Anastasia removed her hand from Gabriel's and stepped back. "So, did we come from the same world?..."

Gabriel spent over a decade teaching Anastasia about her magic, training with the nuns and monks in the Martial Arts. As she trained, Anastasia found that her magic could enhance her vampire abilities, from increased strength to programmed compulsion. She had been using the programmed compulsion instinctively when she arrived at Mystic Falls, by using keywords to activate orders. She could use the compulsion on animals as well as control people under her compulsion from a distance (6). In Monastery's garden, Gabriel grew vervain that he forced Anastasia to drink daily and bathe weekly so she could build a tolerance to the poisonous plant.

The Sorcerers, like Anastasia, did not draw their powers from Nature. They had no ancestors to draw power from. Their powers came from their souls when they connected their consciousness to the AllFather when they discovered the truth about the origin of the universe. Through hard work, physical training, and mindfulness, they expanded their powers from their bodies to allow them to manipulate the natural forces of the universe from the mental manipulation of the weak-minded to controlling the natural elements that allowed them to create a habitable environment high in the Himalayan mountains with several layers of protective barriers to hide the compound from humans and supernaturals.

Due to the nature of their powers, when Gabriel became a vampire, he did not lose his magic. Over the years, a small group of highly-skilled monks and nuns were chosen and turned into vampires. I named the sorcerer-vampire hybrids Chimera (7).

Anastasia left the Himalayas and returned to the Song Empire to be closer to her family. She formed her own mountaintop monastery with her own group of Chimera that kept up the barrier spells and several protection spells. I also had vampires guarding physically guarding the monastery as well as human workers and martial artists. She travels often between the Monastery and the Zi family's manor which also had human guards during the day and vampire guards during the night. The sorceress of the Zi family had a barrier around the manor as well, in order to know when danger approaches so the guards can easily subdue the enemy.

After morning prayers and meditation, Anastasia and the nuns began their magic practice. They were trying astral projection. Anastasia found astral projection to be easier when she was projecting to a person she had a strong connection to rather than a random place.

Once her training with magic finished, she went to the training yard to spar with the Vampire Guards. They practiced for hours with an array of different weapons from spears to swords to hand-to-hand combat. A lot of her vampire guards were already martial artists before they turned so they could handle her strength while also teaching her how to fight.

After training, Anastasia smiled to herself as she settled in her bath. Over the past century, she had mastered many skills from languages to weapons, to martial arts, to arts and crafts. She would spend the next nine centuries amassing knowledge, rediscovering lost technologies, and generating the largest concentration of wealth in the world.


Year 1111 - Song Empire

"Ana! Ana!"

"Shut up, Zi Qu," she replied as she flashed in front of the young man who had been screaming her name at top of his lungs. "Everyone here has supernatural hearing. You'll make my guards go deaf."

Zi Qu beamed at his sire. "I've found them."

Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "Really? Where?"

"You were right. All I had to do was follow the Normans and I found them." When he was young, Zi Qu was curious and wanted to see the world beyond his village. He had pestered Anastasia to tell him of her travels from the other continent and across the sea. When he saw her map, he was in awe that the world he lived in was so large. As he grew up, his family's wealth increased and he became an immortal, powerful vampire. For decades he had traveled across the Gobi Desert to the nomadic Steppe and into the frozen north. He had seen animals he could never have imagined existed. Every so often he would return home to see his family, stay for a few months before he set off again to other parts.

At the turn of the century, Anastasia had asked Umky and Zi Er to travel to the west into a land called Europe to find a trade route for the Zi family and begin setting up new homes for the family across the continent for when Anastasia decided to travel to the land that was the childhood home of Jorunn and the ancestral home of Balder and Aslaug. And of course, when Zi Qu heard of this, he joined Umky and his sister on their expedition. At the same time, Anastasia also asked him to try to discretely find the Mikaelson family of vampires. Although she did not tell him who they were, he quickly found out that the Mikaelsons are the originators of all vampires based on the fact that a great number of vampires he found sought their approval.

"Well, tell me where they are."

"No," he replied cheekily.

Anastasia furrowed her brow at him. "I can order you to tell me."

"I only have a few questions for you, my dearest sire," Zi Qu replied, raising his hands up in surrender. Anastasia simply motioned for him to continue. "For what reason are you searching for the Progenitors of our race? What is your relationship with them? And how did you know they would be among the Normans?"

"I am one of the Progenitors, just like the Mikaelson family. The seventh in fact," Anastasia replied. It was not as if the fact that she was an Original was a secret, but it had never come up before so she never told anyone. Perhaps that was a good thing because she did not want word to get back to the Miakelsons about her being an Original. "I knew the family just after they turned. Jorunn and Aslaug were from their homeland in Europe and moved to the land across the sea in the east. Remember the map of the continent I showed you?"

Zi Qu nodded. "Yes. The land lies between two vast oceans. The East sea leads to the old land, to Europe, and to west leads here, to Song."

"Yes." Anastasia told him the life story of the Mikaelson family from their arrival to America to the death of Henrik and the creation of the immortality elixir that turned the family into vampires. "I've told you of the AllFather..."

"Yes, the one above all. He sent you here."

"Witches use Nature to draw their power and Nature is the AllFather's child. It was Father's will to create vessels powerful enough to withstand the might of his power, but 900 years in the future, the Originals were destroyed along with the rest of the vampires. I know the future, however, I can't interfere in anything or else Nature will become aware of my presence and try to destroy me. This is why I act behind the scenes, making allies, accumulating wealth and power, preparing for the time when I can act on my desires without any fear that Mother Nature will interfere to thwart me."

Zi Qu remained silent for several moments. "I see. Well, Mother Nature is known for being a cunt."

Anastasia chuckled at his nonchalance. She lounged back in her hair behind the large desk. "So, where are they?"

"The Duchy of Naples."


Year 1112 - Naples, Duchy of Naples (8)

The servant led the tall man into the large courtyard where the five Original siblings were enjoying their meals. "Lady Rebekah, your guest has arrived." The servant bowed her head before she quickly left the man with the Mikaelsons.

"Another one of your lovers, sister?" Kol drawled.

Rebekha huffed, "I have never seen this man before in my life. Who are you?" Rebekah asked.

The man reached inside his tunic, taking out a beautiful silk scroll. He held it in both hands, bowing to her slightly as he offered it to her. "I have not met you before, Lady Rebekah. I was sent here by a mutual friend. She says that you will know who she is."

Rebekah's eyes widened when she saw the ribbon tied around the scroll. "This is..." she trailed off as she hastily took the scroll from the man's hands. She examined the ribbon before she unwrapped the ribbon and opened the scroll.

My dearest Rebekah,

Did I not tell you that we would see each other again? Alas, we cannot see each other at the moment. Not a day has passed that I have not thought of you, my first friend. When we last saw each other, you were mourning the death of your younger brother. Has the pain dulled? Even if it has not, do not fret. You can mourn for as long as you wish for you have an eternity. As do I. Over the past century, I have traveled the width of a continent. I watched the birth of a child who has become my little brother and a pillar of support. I paddled a seal-skinned boat across a strait of icy waters from one continent to another. I have trudged through ice and snow and seen places full of wonder. I have learned to speak, read, and write in many languages and I have learned many things. I have made enemies, but I have made even more friends. I have created a family to accompany me in my eternity.

I am currently living in the Song Empire in the Far East. I plan to spend another century in this region before I make my way over to Europe.

I pray to the AllFather that you and your family are well. My people have heard many things about your family, though I cannot say they are nice things. How are your brothers?

I am not good with words. The man I have sent to your estate is one of my progeny. His name is Umyk. I have gained a lot of wealth in the East. To commemorate our century-long friendship, I have sent gifts for you and your family. I did not know what your brothers would like, so I have sent many things for them to pick and share amongst themselves.

Please do not kill Umyk because he is the one who will bring me back your reply. And he has many tasks to do for me while he is in Europe, to prepare for my arrival in the next century. I will see you then.

All the best,

Your oldest friend,

Anastasia.

Rebekah's fingers caressed the ribbon as she looked in the distance. "Is it really her?"

"What is it, Rebekah?" Finn asked.

Kol and Niklaus stood over Rebekah's shoulders, reading the letter that had been written in Norse, their native tongue. "Anastasia?" Niklaus asked.

"That woman from the village who gave you those mittens you treasure so much?" Kol questioned. "How is she still alive?"

"She calls this man..." Niklaus motioned to Umyk, "her progeny. He must have been turned not long after she left the village." Klaus flashed Umyk against the wall, grabbing him by the throat. "Tell me who really sent you?"

"Niklaus, stop," Rebekah called as she rushed to Klaus and Umyk. "If it was father, he would have come in full force with an army."

Elijah stepped in. "Rebekah is correct, Niklaus. Father is not one for theatrics. He would have come to kill us himself rather than send a spy." Klaus released the man, listening to his siblings' reasonable deductions. Elijah turned to the man, who was the epitome of calm as he fixed the lapels of his tunic. "My apologies. My family does not often receive friendly visitors. Though I must say that you are quite calm for a man whose life had just been threatened."

"Lady Anastasia warned me to expect hostility. Lord Niklaus' reaction is fair. It is unwise to trust a man who enters your home with promises of riches. However, I have not come to deceive you," Umyk said. "Please, allow me to call the carts in."

The Mikaelsons' servants opened the gates to allow the dozen carts into the courtyard. As the servants opened the carts, Umyk handed Rebekah another scroll that listed all the items in the carts. Silk brocade and cotton fabric to make dresses. Jade, silver, gold, and other precious stone and metals. Sugar, spices, and teas. Perfumes, pearls, ivory, and porcelain.

Another cart was opened and filled with nothing but books. Some of the books were filled with Chinese classics, translated into Norse by Anastasia herself, as well as in the native Han language. Other books were grimoires she found in a variety of languages. Stacks of hundreds of sheets of paper were wrapped beautifully with a stylized M imprinted as a watermark. Beautifully carved ivory flutes behind a cart of iron swords and armor. Once the carts filled the courtyard, the servants pulled in five beautiful Arabian horses by their reins.

Niklaus was in love at first sight as he approached the horse with the shiny black coat. He approached slowly as to not spook the animal and placed his hand on the horse's nose, who huffed and neighed happily. Niklaus caressed the horse's neck before turning to Rebekah, saying, "Bekah, your new friend is growing on me. Do send her my greeting, won't you sister?"

Rebekah huffed out a laugh as she watched her brothers gravitate toward the gifts. Elijah went for the books while Kol only had eyes for the grimoires. Finn went admired the expert craftsmanship he could see was used to forge the weapon with Nordic runes carved into the surface of the blade. Sword of Kings.

"Lady Rebekah, there is one more gift." Umyk brought a small box to Rebekah. When Rebekah opened the lid, she reached for the cutest thing she had ever seen. A beautiful small sleeping pup that looked like it had a lion's mane.

"Oh gods, it's so cute." Rebekah raised the dog in front of her as the pup slowly opened its eyes when its nap was interrupted.

"Lady Anastasia said that since she cannot be with you, she sent you the next best thing: the most loyal friend."

Rebekah smiled brilliantly as she hugged the pup to her body. Who knew a half-hour-long meeting between two strangers more than a century before would turn into a millennia-long friendship.


Notes: (1) Lin'an is modern-day Hangzhou. After several conflicts with the Liao and Jurchens caused the Song Dynasty to lose their capital (Kaifeng 1129) and 40% of their territory to the new Jin Empire, the new emperor moved the capital to Lin'an in 1132. (Song Dynasty (960–1279), History and Culture of Northern Song and Southern Song - China Highlights)

(2) "Zi" is written with the character meaning "child/son"(子 zǐ). The Zi family: Zi Hong (Grandmother - Hong means red, which is also associated with good luck), Zi Lan (Mother - Lan means orchid), Zi Yi, Zi Er, Zi San, and Zi Qu (the four siblings - Yi means one, Er means two, San means 3, Qu means interesting or delightful person. The children are numbered in accordance with their birth order, except Qu because the number 4 (si) sounds like the word for death so it's bad luck). Zi Yi is the oldest and public head of the family, but Zi San is the more pragmatic planner, manager, and organizer so he's usually the one who makes the big decisions about the family's business. Niu (means girl) was given the surname "Xiao" written with the character that means "small" so she's Xiao Niu and her son is Xiao Shen (Shen means spirit or something supernatural).

(3) Han is the ethnicity of the majority of people in China. They're called Han Chinese. Their writing is called Hanzi (Han characters/writing) and their language is called Hanyu.

(4) As they travel, the entire family took on the Dagson family name. Balder is the only male in the family so he acts as the family head. The family took Chinese names that are easier to pronounce. Balder Dagson becomes Da Son Ba Di; Anastasia became Da Son Ana; Jorunn became Da Son Yolan; Aslaug became Da Son Asha.

(5) Umky is a Chukchi Siberian man who was found and saved by Jorunn after he had been headbutted, trampled, and left for dead by muskoxen. His name means polar bear.

(6) In the first season of TVD, Damon was shown to be able to control a crow as well as call Caroline to him through his compulsion, then we never saw the ability again. I'm going to make these abilities more prominent in my stories, but I'm ignoring the fog thing. It made no sense. (If a baby vampire like Damon can compel animals and call control Caroline without being near her, the Originals should have these abilities. The producers dropped the ball on some powerful abilities).

(7) I'm not calling my hybrids Heretics. I want to make the distinction because Heretics are Syphons who don't have their own magic, turned by vampire blood, so they take magic from their blood. My Sorcerers have their own magic in their bodies that does not come from Nature.

(8) In the Originals' flashback about 1114 when they met the Brotherhood of the Five, Klaus mentioned that they followed the Normans as they conquered the south. I didn't want to deal with the papal states or the Holy Roman Empire, so Naples was my referable choice since they had some skirmishes with the Duchy around that time.

Face claim:

Balder Dagson (turned at age 34) - Iain De Caestecker (with a very lovely beard)

Umky (turned at 50) - Konstantin Khabenskiy

Zi Hong (turned at 70) - Elizabeth Sung

Zi Lan (turned at 50) - Sandra Oh

Zi Yi (turned at 32) - Daniel Henney

Zi Er (turned at 31) - Julia Ling

Zi San (turned at 29) - Godfrey Gao

Zi Qu (turned at 25) - Ryan Potter

Xiao Niu (turned at 36) - Jamie Chung

Xiao Shen (turned at 40) - Vanness Wu

Sorcerer Supreme Gabriel Ki Yong Manuel - Daniel Dae Kim (If Gloria can live for 100 years and not look a day over 40, Daniel can pass for a 60-year-old sorcerer).

The AllFather - Jonathan Majors

Timeline

January 12th: Henrik dies.

February 10th: Esther casts immortality spell. Esther and Mikael kill their children to turn them into vampires. Anastasia arrives.

March 8th: Esther makes daylight rings for her family. Rebekah meets Anastasia. Anastasia leaves the village.

March 12th: Esther curses Niklaus.

Mid-March: Niklaus kills Esther. The Originals run from Mikael.

Early April: The Originals take a ship from Vinland to the Old World.

April 19 - September 29: Anastasia arrives at Cahokia. A week later, Anastasia leaves Cahokia. Dag dies in June in Winnipeg. Anastasia, Aslaug, and Jorunn arrive in Wales Alaska. Balder is born.

October 1001: The Originals arrive in Denmark.

Spring 1002: The Originals meet the De Martels and Lucien in France. (The timeline said late Winter/early Spring. I chose Spring because it's during the spring season that European court starts and we saw a lot of nobles in the De Martel castle. It's Spring or Summer, especially with all those flowers Aurora was lying on).

Summer 1002: Jorunn becomes a vampire.

Spring 1007: Aslaug becomes a vampire.

March 1015: Anastasia and her friends leave Alaska for Siberia.

September 13, 1035: Balder becomes a vampire.

Spring 1036 - 1049: The Dagsons enter the Song Empire. They turn the family they lived with into vampires 13 years later.

New Year 1060 - Anastasia meets her Brother, Gabriel.

Spring 1114 - 1167: The Originals meet the Brotherhood of the Five in the Duchy of Naples. They're daggered. Klaus kills the Five and is cursed for 52 years.

1167 - Early 1200s: Elijah forms the Strix (I highly doubt dutiful Elijah was falling in love with Aya and creating a secret society while his brother was cursed). The Strix falls into the hands of Tristan de Martel.

Thanks for reading.