SEQ CHAPTER h r 1Thanks for the reviews, criticism, and support. Well been busy with exams and such with getting new ideas.
"My initiation as a vampire was no different from that of all the rest of my kind. Ather became my new teacher in my new life and I learned from her as much as I could and left her side once I knew how to survive. I would meet her again many times, even hunt with her but that is later on. And now I come to the final truth and answer to which you were searching for, the reason why your father died, why Suniria remains a lost city, and how Julia came to be in all this.
"After leaving you with Silver in Nuuruk, I made my way to Suniria after Jager had informed me of the recent events that were taking place there. It was like a plague, he said, that would slowly spread until there was nothing else to take. The prophecy that Masreya had predicted was coming to be. My curiosity won the best of me and so I left, telling you nothing out of foolishness and cowardice.
"My arrival to Suniria was a secret; after all, I was no more than a ghost to those that remained in Suniria. It was all strangely quiet, the sun was covered in clouds as if afraid to face the city and slowly, each day it became worse. There was something wrong and I could only turn to Geiraen, who was now married to Arian, the slave girl from before. She was said to be a great lady in the first years of their marriage but as time passed, they receded back into their home until no longer could they be seen to go out. Many said that she was controlling Geiraen, poisoning him to his death so that she would remain his only heir before he died. Karicia had left many years ago to the lavish courts of Egypt and Tiriao and Helios had both died long ago, their sons and wives most likely killed by warring enemies of Egypt. There was no one left for Geiraen except for Arian.
"It did not take me long to enter the home of Geiraen, to see what it was that affected your beloved Suniria. It was something otherworldly; a great evil seemed to have taken place just as Jager had said. Yet, as I entered through, everything was quiet and lifeless. The only thing that moved now and then was the veils that graced the walls. I walked around the large empty corridor, hearing my own footsteps echo in return. There was something moving from the corner of my eye. A woman's hand. She stroked a white veil that lay on the floor gently as if it was frail. She lay on her knees, her hair covering her face and as she prayed to the gods, though it was evident that she did not hold much faith in her words.
"Startled by my own footsteps, she looked up, her face finally visible under the curtain of black hair. Arian. 'You . . .' she gasped in fear. 'Has Anubis sent you to punish us? Or has she sent you . . . '
"She? Knowing not of whom she spoke of, I remained silent, listening to her. 'Yes. YES! She has sent you . . .' she cried out. 'Speak! Spirits speak! Kill me now for your revenge! Kill me!' Her eyes were filled with tears of fear, of rage, and of despair. She still held the same girlish and naive beauty that she had from long ago though her suffering darkened that beauty into something else. Finally, in seeing that I would not speak to her, she placed her palms on the stone floor and then bent forward until her forehead touched the floor and wept. 'Why would I kill you?' I asked her calmly.
"Arian shook her head, her hair dragging across the floor. She raised herself with her palms, no longer crying. She was ashamed for letting me to see her in her weakness. She turned her head slowly toward me, studying me close, my skin, my face, my eyes. She knew who I was, what I was.
"'You are just like her . . . not a ghost . . .' she gasped. 'Take me to Geiraen.' Was all I said to her. She shook her head but stood from the floor and straightened her dress and disheveled hair. 'If you are going to kill him, do not make him suffer more than he already has . . . ' her voice sounded faint and tired. She led me across the room and opened the door to reveal a room without windows and only a candle lighting the bedside of a man who lay there apparently dying. Geiraen was sleeping, mumbling about the things I knew nothing of. The look on my face could have been that of surprise. Here lay a man that had invited me into his home during his years of strength and now he lay weak and old in front of me. It was clear to me what was ailing him, any vampire would know. All the blood that was drained from him was slowly killing him and it became clear to me that there was another vampire involved. The blood drained from him each time was not enough to kill him but it was enough to keep him in bed until his final hour came. Whatever the vampire wanted, I did not know, but it was evident that a lust for power was involved. Arian looked up at me, wide eyes filled with tears, wondering if I was their salvation or their end.
"'She will kill us both . . . She will kill us both.' Arian closed her eyes as she said this and walked away from us, her steps slow and breathing softly. Geiraen lay still, not knowing that Arian was beginning to be driven mad by whatever was happening. I reached into her defenseless mind, extracting what I needed to know of what had happened to make them be in the state they were in. It was shocking to see what I saw, I was lost in her thoughts while she stood, not knowing of what I was doing. Her thoughts were in a mess but it was clearly visible that a vampire, a different kind, had come into Suniria and taken over slowly. A woman with flowing blonde hair who went by the name of Julia had come with the purpose of enslaving those around her, looking for a better world. It was no different from Midnight or the other slave cities but her purpose was far darker, her mind twisted in many ways and her power so enchanting.
"She was an interesting woman in a way. She was a vampire like me and yet far different. It was she that was hiding Suniria from the sun, pushing it back in a world of darkness much like Ardid. She had such power to do so. And that is why Suniria cannot be found. Many cities have been lost that way, I know that now. I managed to meet her not long after seeing Arian. She interested me, her knowledge and power. She had lived with the shifters, in their lavish courts and had witnessed their bitter wars. My curiosity had me crawling after her knowledge and she took pleasure in it. I did not realize that she had many in her power with her charm; her words were like the song of a siren, luring many to her into their doom. That is why Geiraen fell to her charm while Arian watched. I had to kill Geiraen, I did it because I could not let him go on forever the way he did with Julia. Arian watched as I killed him, draining him of his blood as I filled his thoughts with precious memories of his children. I killed Arian too after Geiraen. Her last breath was but a simple and last prayer to the gods for mercy.
"After you left and were proclaimed dead, I put a stop to Julia and it was surprising to me that she understood without a fight. It was later on that I understood her departure from me so quickly, she was the woman that Masreya had spoken about, and she knew that I had you with me. She knew you were a danger to her. She bled Geiraen daily to find out about your whereabouts, thinking that Geiraen had such power to block his thoughts from her. Maybe he did. Sehret may have taught him that much before her death. Arian suffered along with Geiraen. Once ensuring that you were dead, she left. It was she that sent those that attacked Nuuruk and wounded you. It all made sense but it was useless. In the end, I had nothing but myself and eternity, and eternity is a very long time."
Yes! I'm done with Aubrey's story. Quite long but done. So now I'm moving on to the action once again and the last half of this tale.