Part 2
Valkenhayn returned not long after with the fresh tea. "Do you wish for me to continue?" he asked Rachel as he poured her a new cup.
"You don't need to if you don't wish to Valkenhayn. . ." Rachel said, regretting making him start in the first place.
"It's no trouble Madam, as I said earlier—there is only a little bit left anyway," he replied.
After he poured her cup he turned and regained his gaze on the moon again. "I had been wandering the forest around Gvenrich for a few days when I ran into a man named Cecil. He was a rather large man, intimidating at that. He had a thick moustache that seemed to have all a life of its own!" Valkenhayn chuckled—an attempt at humor that failed to mask a growing nervousness in his voice, "But I digress, I ran into him and 6 other men who were camping in the woods. They were all burly and somewhat unsettling men. When I stumbled upon them they stared at me with gazes that seemed—inhuman," he said.
Rachel shook her head, "How do you mean?"
"I asked them if I could share in their bounty of the forest and they agreed. I thanked them and ate alongside them—it wasn't long before someone asked my name. I told them, Valkenhayn R. Helsing. I will never forget their faces and the expressions that fell upon them when I muttered that. Cecil, the leader of the group, looked at me with a gaze that seemed almost murderous. I remember how terrified I became; I stood up and offered to leave. Cecil then smiled and told me I was among friends, he led me to sit down again. I was confused; I didn't know what they meant. And then Cecil asked me that fateful question, "Do you know what Lycans are?" I had never heard the phrase before yet it somehow sounded familiar. Cecil went on to describe the werewolves of the woods and packs of the night warriors that shape-shift to destroy their enemies under the moon. I remember how interested I became, yet again—it all sounded so familiar. Then of course Cecil told me the biggest news, Helsing was a Lycan bloodline. I couldn't believe it, I was one of the night warriors—well not yet. Being so young I fantasized about the power and strength I would have becoming one. Another man, William, went on to tell me that they were all Lycans, and that they all could turn me into one of them. I was a bit reluctant at first, by then a few hours had passed and it was getting dark. I wondered what it would be like to run the woods at night as a wolf.
Then I remembered Lydia. It was strange, by then I had already been using my mental tools to forget about the tragedy of losing my beloved, yet the idea of vengeance sounded so appealing I just couldn't resist. I agreed, I agreed to join them if they would help me get vengeance on the ones who killed Lydia. I began to tell them a brief summary of my experience in Gvenrich, apparently they had heard about the robbery, and immediately agreed to help me. There was no time for logic, there was no time for forgiveness, there was no time to move on, now was the time for vengeance. I swore on that night under the moon, in front of Cecil and his men—his wolves, that I would avenge her.
"You decided to join them to avenge her?" Rachel said, finishing up her tea.
"Indeed, it was the least I could do—in fact I was originally planning on bringing the mauled corpses back to Gregory to show him, yet I soon decided against it." Valkenhayn replied.
"Now, that night they led me to the creek nearby. Madam, I can't share all the details with you, it is a sacred ritual amongst us. I will tell you this though, three animals needed to be sacrificed—their blood drained, and the blood of another fully developed Lycan needed to be consumed as well. After the ritual chants and ceremony was complete, I fell ill." Valkenhayn said.
"You fell ill? What happened?" Rachel asked, again pulled in by curiosity—Gii and nago close behind her.
"If you aren't a Lycan and you undergo the ritual, you die. If you are a Lycan and you undergo the ritual, you experience what can only be described as a horrific transformation. Your body begins to adjust and form to fit the 'beast' inside. I collapsed and began to cough up blood. Cecil kneeled down alongside me and told me to not give up. He told me that the next few hours were going to be a living hell, but to make it through was to make it through the worst of the transformation. I nodded and struggled with my blood. We were at war alone there at the creek. Cecil sat along the edge of the woods to make sure I was alright and the others returned to the camp. I could feel my bones reforming and shifting inside of me, my very nerve endings stretching unto my new ligaments. I could feel my muscles contorting and reconnecting to my newly forming limbs. It was agony Milady, sheer agony." Valkenhayn trailed off.
"That sounds terrible, how could you survive such misery?" Rachel said, a small tint of disgust on her face.
"I hardly did, I remember being very close to Death himself as I lay there under the moon. Cecil helped me up after the transformation had finally slowed down. I felt, strong. I felt as if I could destroy anything in my path. I remember looking at my body in the water; I could see my newly formed muscles and the glow of the Lycan behind my eyes. Then, I blacked out," Valkenhayn said, staring back up at the moon.
"So, it was a success? And how can you transform into a wolf in the sunlight too? I recall you doing that many times Valkenhayn. I do hope you aren't pulling a tale over my eyes," Rachel said, a somewhat suspicious expression on her face.
Valkenhayn smiled, "I assure you Madam this is the unfortunate truth. It is true that normal Lycans can't transform without moonlight, but with age comes mastery. Over the decades I mastered the blood inside me and soon, I could store up the moons aura within me and use the energy when needed to transform in the daylight if needed. That is the mark of a truly succeeded Lycan."
"Wowwwwwww!" Gii said, "Shush Gii! Do continue, I'm very interested to see where this goes," Rachel replied.
"But of course Milady. That morning I had awoken to Cecil and the others packing up their things. Cecil went on to inform me that apparently they had caught wind of the robbers. A man by the name of Caesar, another Lycan under Cecil, had been scouting a few miles off when he found a campsite with much loot. He immediately returned and the story seemed to sync up with mine—it was then that Cecil told me that him and his men were a guild of vigilantes, and this was the main reason they decided to help me with my vengeance. I was a bit surprised, but regardless I now thirsted for revenge all the more," Valkenhayn finished, taking a small sip of tea.
"So you went to destroy these men?" Rachel said.
"Indeed. We packed up and left that morning. The woods outside of Gvenrich were thick and very old, it seemed time itself slowed down inside of them. Eventually, by the afternoon we could see smoke in the near distance. Cecil told us to wait and stop here—under the cover of night we would go in and dispose of them. So we did, we sat and discussed our plan. Caesar informed us on the layout. It was wide open on the left side—there were only 5 men, one or two would not be able to stop us Lycans, and certainly not eight. We confirmed our plans and feasted on what rations we had left; I remember being incredibly ravenous after the previous night's transformation. Soon night fell and we were ready to strike, this would be one of the most memorable nights of my life," Valkenhayn said, taking another sip.
"So, is the Lycan bloodline a beastkin line? It seems very similar to such a thing," Rachel said, leaning back into Nago.
"Indeed it is Madam, although Helsing is what is known as a lesser beastkin line. As I said earlier my blood was receptive to the transformation magic. Helsing blood in essence is only receptive to beastkin attributes—however this is a strength, because it allows us to be receptive to any type of beastkin attribute really. To put it another way, the 'lesser' your beastkin bloodline is, the more receptive it is to any attribute you chose. Helsings just so happen to be famous for wolf beastkin," Valkenhayn replied.
"Wait, you could have become another creature if you had pleased?" Rachel asked; a bit confused as were Nago and Gii.
"Indeed I could have Madam, if I had under gone the right ritual that is. Those rituals are known as Bestiary Magic; an ancient art," her butler replied, somewhat shocked his young master didn't know these things. Her knowledge on magic was very large and focused, perhaps Clavis hadn't shared that knowledge with her.
"Hmm, well, go on—continue," she said.
"Very well. Now, we waited until night as discussed and Caesar briefly left to scout out the location one last time. We followed close behind just in case. Sure enough the 5 monsters were there around a campfire. Bandits, I would come to find, bleed just as all humans do," Valkenhayn said, his eyes narrowing. Rachel could sense that anger boiling up in him again, his aura seemed to grow intimidatingly large. "Cecil gathered us around for a brief discussion. He told us to strike in a particular order, telling me to wait for his signal. I was angry, I didn't want to stay behind and await his orders—however this would be my first true transformation and he did not want me to hurt myself-or get hurt. He informed me that him and his men would go in first and strike down the bandits as a mass, they'd be sure to save the leader for me. I was reluctant but agreed, at least I'd get the man who coordinated the effort," Valkenhayn added, his fangs somewhat gleaming in the moonlight.
"Did they stand a chance?" Rachel said; Gii just behind her shoulder with a small and fearful expression on his face.
"No Miss, Cecil and his men overran them," Valkenhayn smiled, "I watched as seven Lycans swarmed and decimated a group of five men. I observed the brutality of the Lycan firsthand. A Lycan by the name of Johannes tore another man's limbs off, then his jaw, then his body was tossed to the side like a rag doll. I watched William viciously rip the flesh and muscle off of a man, before ripping out his throat. Cecil was not short on brutality, he and Caesar teamed up on two other men and both pounced on them, tearing out their innards. Gore and flesh was recklessly tossed around, shredded organs and tissue littered the ground when all was said and done—that is there was only one man left," he paused. There was a bit of an odd silence as a soft breeze danced across the rose garden. Rachel waited anxiously for Valkenhayn to continue his story, Gii was now hiding under her dress in terror. Nago however shared Rachel's interest and eagerly awaited him to finish. Valkenhayn seemed lost in memory for a moment. He pulled out his watch and glanced at it, at the girl inside.
"The leader had been indeed saved for me. He had cowered to the edge of the campsite only to be stopped by the other three Lycans—I can't recall their names. I approached silently; I remember a feeling of uncertainty. Cecil nodded for me to transform. The man was cowering in terror now, I can recall his screams and pleads for us to cease. I had no such idea. I stared him in the eyes and then looked up at the moon. I fell into a brief trance before I felt the pangs of transformation take hold of me. Quickly my body began contorting and shifting and before I knew it, I had regained my Lycan form. The man was crying now, his tears and snot muddled his face," Valkenhayn's face made a disgusted expression, "I then remembered why I was there. I had never killed anyone before but this was it, the crossroads of my innocence truly falling behind me," he said, putting his pocketwatch away.