Thanks to my reviewers once again.
-To Kayla
No Ardid and Suniria are not real places I just made up.
Thanks for the support. There have been some slight complications with the writing because I have had certain problems with my computer where all my work is at…but neway. My postings will not be so often because the internet in my school laptop varies from time to time since I am now doing my work from school. More chapters will be written but you have to be patient because it makes take weeks to post now. Keep reviewing. Also visit my Xanga site for more info on my writing. Any CC helps.
Mucho Love!
"When I was a young boy, I was a slave. In fact, I believed I have told you part of this before but there are things that have been kept from you for certain reasons. These reasons I will explain with time but first you must hear the full accounts.
"I was born into the house of a Roman by the name of Ambrosius whom many believed for him to be my father. I never cared to know the truth. Ambrosius was a hard man, father or not, and it made no difference to him either for I was only just another slave. My mother had obviously been a slave in his home and slave she died not long after my birth. I will not make a pretty tale of my life there. My life as a boy-slave was no easy especially with Ambrosius' wife who believed me to be his son. Dementia, his wife, was a bitter woman because she was not the first to have given her husband a son though in the end she finally did. Of course, having a son did not stop her hate for me and she would do anything that she could to make my life there intolerable but of course she never succeeded. After the death of Ambrosius who left behind a great debt, Dementia had to sell many things, including slaves, to be able to pay for what was needed. She was all to happy to sell me as I was too. The buyer was a Greek man by the name of Pheneus, who had been an acquaintance of Ambrosius and was passing by the city of Rome. At once, he bought me when he knew that I was being sold.
"I was nearing my twelfth summer when this happened and I was glad to leave the household of the late Ambrosius and his wife Dementia. I had nothing in Rome that truly belonged to me, I was born a slave and I had expected to die a slave as my mother did. It was all planned out that way, as many would say; the Fates had set my path. I was no devout believer of the old religion. I believed in my own actions and I had no Christian religion that I knew of at that time to hold me down. We left Rome after I was bought.
"My time was spent accompanying Pheneus would spend restless nights writing down things I had no knowledge of in his parchments with the finest inks from all over the journeys he made. I wanted to learn. I wanted to read. When I lived in Rome with Ambrosius and Dementia, I would hide behind the wooden doors or any dark corner I could find and listen to their young son's lessons. I was good quite at hiding so I was never caught. I learned much from those days though I was never quite able to read.
"Each day, Pheneus would tell stories to his fellow companions that joined him at nights. I would hide in a dark corner, not caring for the small spiders that crept along my shoulder as he spoke of travels to Egypt and of the beautiful desert sand. It was during those moments that I envied their freedom, their choice to go anywhere and everywhere they chose.
"Pheneus noticed my eagerness to learn more than what was shown to me now and then. I was thrown into this new world of beauty and mystery each time we went to a city. Different faces, voices, and customs amused me. I yearned to be part of them; to walk free among them was my greatest wish.
"It was not long after he bought me that he began to teach me how to read. My only way of thanking him for this great kindness was to put my best effort in learning and each day, Pheneus was pleased with the outcome. He was still a mystery to me. He would always sit by a small old desk with parchments and inks spilled everywhere. The books were never in order because he was always reading them and leaving them around. Each day, he would sit there and read his books and write while the candlelight reflected upon his silvery hair. His face held lines that were more pronounced in the shadows of the candlelight than by the sun. He was like a father to me, the first for me to ever know and the last. I learned that he had never married, never had children, and never had had a family. Maybe that was why he had taken a liking to me. He began to call me son and even though it was clear that he and I were not related I had no problem with that.
"During that period of time, I also began to know a truth of me that only a few know now. It is a truth that even you have been kept from. I have one of the earliest traces of witch blood in me. It was never clear of which kind and I have no interest in finding out the real truth now but I do know that it was somehow related to the Vida blood line. What surprised me during when I found out this truth was that Pheneus was neither alarmed nor bothered at this. He was the one that had told me this truth. He was the one that tried to teach me the simple ways of the witch kind. When I asked him how he managed to know the truth he would only say that it was the energy around me, the strange energy that always surrounded me. I stopped asking him after I realized that he was not going to let out more than he knew.
"Not long after I learned of this truth, Pheneus gave me my freedom. He said that I had I earned it and that I was not meant to be anyone's slave. In fact, no one was meant to. I stayed with him even though he said he had no problem in me deciding my own fate. He was the only fatherly figure that I knew and even though I did not care about learning to hone my powers, I stayed to accompany the man that had helped me so much.
"One night, a cloaked figure came into our small home in Greece with a message from a mysterious subject. Pheneus was the one that received him and after a few spoken words the stranger left, leaving Pheneus in a hesitant mood. We were to meet with a woman by the name of Oeliana who urgently requested both of us to come to her home. One thing was for sure though; she was involved with the witches of that time. Neither of us knew why she needed us but after giving it a good thought, we decided to go anyway.
"We walked only a short way before we reached the small villa where she made her stay. The streets were empty and the stars were scattered across the midnight sky so gracefully. No sign of danger, no ominous sign was laid before us to be wary of. We opened the small gate and walked inside the garden that was nearly dying. We were greeted by to heavily guarded men who guided us inside the villa and into this lavishly decorated room. Incense mingled with the smell of spices delivered all the way from Egypt and Persia. The room was dimly lit and quite small. A large wooden desk was placed near the front wall and it took up most of the space there. The room had no sign of anyone living there for everything was in its place and no empty ink flasks were thrown across the desk as Pheneus' was. Oeliana did not make us wait long. I heard the small rustle of silk and the smell of a strong foreign perfume. Her manner of dressing was no different than that of the Roman women but her eyes and skin color said otherwise. She smiled at us briefly and welcomed us in a mannerly fashion. She bade us to sit but unlike Pheneus who quietly took a seat on a wooden chair, I remained standing.
"She was a woman in the years of her full bloom. Her skin was dark golden tone as if she had been bathing in the golden light of the sun often. Her eyes were dark, almost to the point of being black but the candlelight revealed brown tones. Her hair was held up by large golden pins as was the fashion back then and the jewelry was simple but elegant. She sat behind the large desk that overpowered the whole room and looked at us, at me, with a quizzical stare. I grew impatient but I did not show it. Whatever it was that she called us for she would tell us sooner or later.
"She sighed before she began; placing her hands on her desk as she straightened her back and looked at us once again, this time without that wondering gaze she started. 'Urgent matters have come to us during these times and I have no choice but to call upon you, Pheneus and your…apprentice.'
"I leaned against the wall that was nearest to the door and looked around the room as she spoke. I wanted to get to the main point but she was going around it as if she was unsure to say it. If it was because she was unsure to share such facts with me, a freed slave, then she was rather stupid to have invited me along with Pheneus. Still, I listened intently.
"'It is said that a new breed of creatures that has existed for a few centuries now is rising to greater heights. It is said that they cannot be killed, that they are immortal. Their complexion is pale even for those that are dark and their eyes are black pools that hold its victim in a sort of trance. Worst of all is that they hold no mercy, the drain the blood of the humans and hold no human compassion even though they were once human too. They have taken a few shifters in their kind after the humans and wars have driven them away from their homelands. I do not know who their leader is or the way they were created but their powers rival that of any us.'
"I looked at Oeliana and Pheneus and noticed that there was tension at the talk of this but I sensed nothing wrong. I was no one to judge if they were good or bad and I had no interest. It fascinated me that these new creatures were powerful enough to rival the power of the greatest witches of that time and in fact I wanted to know their story. I have always loved power. Pheneus only sat in his chair, apparently thinking about what Oeliana had just said but he did not say anything during her pause. In fact he only looked at her and signaled for her to continue. She looked at me once again, studying me once more but instead of being uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze I challenged her with mine. She looked away, shaking her head away as if trying to shake away her thoughts. She continued.
"'Recently, after this new discovery, I made a visit to the outer lands near Egypt far along the east and heard of a woman with the gift of foresight. I had heard tales of her during my visits there and after the new discovery of these new creatures; I went to her for help and advice since it is known that those with her gift hold great wisdom. I did not have to travel far; she was residing in the outer edges of a prominent city by the name of Suniria which is located not far from Egypt. As soon as I explained myself and the reasons why I sought for her help, she pulled me into her simple shack and told me of what she had seen. What she said left me... has left me wondering all this time. She spoke of a vision not long before my visit to her, a strange and dark vision. She had seen a woman, a deadly woman that was of the new blood drinkers I had just talked to her about. She was powerful and was slowly rising to power in her vision after being in hiding for a long time. Yet, the blood drinkers had spread and formed their own cities and small empires. They were at constant war with our witch kind and many were holding humans as their slaves. The shifter kingdoms had been destroyed and only few remained either struggling to survive or succumbed to the power of man and the blood drinkers. The woman would strike during that time and slowly make the world like the small realms where humans were slaves. This was just a vision but visions are known to come true so often that I fear that this will happen too. It was not clear when this would happen for the vision that the woman had was to complex for such details. All I have left is the knowledge that these blood drinkers, these Blood Gods, as they call themselves are no good. I am gathering all the help I can get to destroy these fiends before they destroy us but what I ask of you is not join me but to help me, to help all of us, in some other way.
"'The woman, named Masreya, did not let me go before she told me of one last thing that might come of great help in my quest. A few years ago, she had attended the birth of a girl, daughter of a rich man who resides in Suniria by the named of Geiraen. His wife, Sehret, also possessed some our magic though sadly, she had decided not to use it in fear of being placed among the scrutiny of the people around her. She feared that such magic was only for the gods and that though it might be a great gift from them, she did not wish that burden upon her. Her daughter, Aisha, who is the fourth child of Geiraen, now carries her mother's burden. Just a few years ago, Sehret died after birthing her last child who is the youngest though it was only Aisha that inherited the power. Aisha is said to have a prophecy though Masreya never cleared it with me as to what it was. All I am left with is the fact that Aisha plays a part in this vision as well. I ask of you to visit Suniria and speak with Masreya herself so that she can explain the prophecy and the vision properly. Not only that but Aisha also needs to be taught our ways, Masreya said that her magic will help us into this newfound crisis.'
"After she was done, Oeliana only looked at both of us nervously as if she was unsure of what our reaction would be to this request that she had lain upon us. Pheneus was nearing the end of his years and to ask for him to something as great as to what Oeliana had just asked us was a great feat. Of course, Pheneus was all too eager for one last journey before his death and the task would somewhat of a new and last challenge for him. I had no say in dealing with the matter. I would follow Pheneus and learn from him as much as I could.
"As I had guessed, Pheneus accepted and I could only agree. I had never gone to Egypt, much less Suniria but at that time, my youthful eagerness was also what drove me on inside."
Well boys and girls that's 17 for you. Aubrey will continue in his story but since it's a bit long I am going to divide it.