Disclaimer: Neither Vampire Hunter D nor The Little Vampire belong to me. I am making no money from this fanfiction, and all recognizable characters, events, and locations belong to their respective copyright holders. All original characters, etc. belong to ISJ, and are not to be used without my permission.
Apologies for my long absence. A two-chapter update, this time, because I've recentlybeen on an "Overcomers" writing spree. Hope you all enjoy!
Slainte!
ISJ
Chapter 5
There exists a legend among the vampires, a tale handed down for almost twenty millennia, of a small group of humans who from time immemorial had learned somehow to extend their time on earth indefinitely. There had only ever been a very few of these immortal humans, though their exact number had since faded away into obscurity, and, until recent reports of a pair, only one had ever been known to wander the earth at a time.
They were known only as the Wraiths, or the Keepers of the Way.
The "Way" to which this title referred was the means for a damned being (an irredeemable vampire or dhampire) to shed their curse and return to being (or, in the case of the half-breeds, become) human. It was believed that only the Wraiths held the keys to the gate separating eternal existence from mortality and thus were the only ones who could help those who wished to be human to, perhaps, get another chance at life and heaven.
Because of this, with time and the spread of endlessly repeated rumors and facts, the very much human Wraiths had risen to almost god-level in the view of vampiric society. Admittedly, there were differing opinions on whether these rarely-seen, earthbound deities were benevolent or malicious, mostly depending on whom you asked. Nearly all dhampires worshipped them as the closest things they had to patron gods, and many of their time-weary, repentant vampire kin had adopted this mindset. The more stubbornly arrogant lords and ladies either tried to disregard the Wraiths as petty nuisances or figments of addled imaginations, or became vengeful and paranoid toward entities they saw as a threat to their way of life.
Either way, the Wraiths were the greatest and most holy of the vampire myths, right after that of the legendary Count Dracula. Whether they were more than just myths, few could say for sure. After all, who'd ever heard of humans double-crossing time?
