This story is an accompanying fic of my story "Basilisk-Born". It can be read alone, but it contains spoilers for the main story.
Disclaimer: I'm too young to be Rowling so there is sadly no way Harry Potter is mine…
WARNING: This chapter contains some hints of religion/religious wars. Since I'm using historic events, I guess it had to come up sometimes. I kept it to a minimum and tried to take no side. Please understand that Ana has been raised by someone who was born way before most of the current religions started, so Ana's views reflect that. No disrespect towards any religion was meant.
Partly beta'ed by DebaterMax.
Hope you enjoy it! -DebaterMax
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CHAPTER 2
SANGUINITY
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1993
…
"Say, Sanguini." Ana hummed to show that he was listening. "What was it like to be human for you? I mean, you must remember something at least!"
Ana crooked his head and looked at Eldred thoughtfully. The other man was sitting on a chair, a dicta-quill in front of him on another chair eagerly writing down whatever Ana would answer.
How should Ana field that question?
"It was different," he settled on, not sure how humans felt at all. It wasn't as if he ever had been one and interacting with them was quite different than being one. "But… I can't really tell you. Looking back, what I remember feels quite dream-like, actually."
"Dream-like?" Eldred asked, confused and Ana mentally sighed.
Wizards.
They always took things too literally.
"Yes," he said instead of voicing that thought. "It's a bit like waking up after a dream. You remember sequences of what you dreamed about, but you don't remember everything and a lot is disjointed."
Ana shrugged.
"Me being human is the same," he continued, getting in the swing of his tale. "While I remember bits and pieces, it's all out of order and a lot of stuff is simply missing or doesn't make sense anymore."
He barely suppressed the satisfaction he felt at having thought up that explanation. Then he looked at Eldred who was hanging on every word that Ana uttered and decided that even if he hadn't managed to do so, the oblivious man wouldn't have noticed.
Honestly… some of these wizards were really bad at noticing anything…
Ana dismissed that thought from his mind.
"So… what do you remember?" Eldred asked thoughtfully.
"Pastries," Ana immediately replied, suppressing a shudder of revulsion at the thought of them. He hated pastries, and he always had!
"Pastries?" Eldred asked, confused and Ana nodded.
"I miss them," he said. "Sadly, as a vampire, I can barely eat anything but blood."
"Barely?" Eldred inquired, leaning forward in excitement. "So, you can eat something else?"
"A tiny bit, yes," Ana immediately answered, trying to sound as sincere as he could. "It's sad. A lot of things are uneatable for vampires. And even if we eat, things simply don't nurture us at all. The only thing that gives us energy is blood. Eating something else – well, it's fun, but that's all that it is."
Ana shrugged in a that's-the-way-of-life kind of way.
"That's like a human being able to eat dirt," he said. "You can eat it, but chances are low that you can survive on it."
Eldred hummed thoughtfully. "I understand."
"It's tragic," Ana said. "Especially if we eat too much that isn't blood, we end up throwing up. Not pretty, I have to tell you."
Eldred nodded. "I guess that's hard for newly turned vampires?"
"Sure, it is," Ana immediately agreed. "The first weeks are really an adjustment. But in the end, most vampires get used to it just like a human is used to eating regularly. It's not as if a vampire ends up being grossed out by blood, you know?"
"Wouldn't do them well, I guess," Eldred immediately agreed.
"Exactly!"
Then, Eldred leaned forward, clearly having concluded that part of Ana's 'history' and willing to go on to the next question he had about Ana's life.
"But… what about religion?" he asked thoughtfully. "I mean, do you remember the religion you had before you were turned into a vampire?"
Ana crooked his head.
"Religion?" he asked and raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me if I was Christian?"
"Well, or any other religion," Eldred agreed. "I mean, I heard it's a huge part of a non-magical life, so you must have had a lot of contact with it."
Ana mentally snorted.
That implied that Ana had been non-magical in Eldred's eyes. Ana knew he had never said something along those lines… but, oh well! It didn't actually matter, did it?
"Well, let's tell me what I remember," Ana said and then started to spin a tale about what Eldred wanted to hear all the while remembering his actual past and his actual brush with religion…
…
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…
1191 A.D.
Ana was walking through the streets, looking around with a frown.
"Deus lo vult," he said with a scoff. "God wants it – what a load of codswallop!"
He scoffed again.
"Really? Who wants anything here? It's hot, smells and there are more poor people than rich ones just like anywhere else?" Ana murmured to himself. "Not to mention that getting here is more or less half a journey around the world – and takes just as long since those retinues are lame."
Ana looked at the city around him.
"Not to mention that the whole city is anything but pretty," he said to himself. "I mean, it doesn't look too bad – but I've seen prettier, too."
"So… you're not here because you believe that Jerusalem is the holy city that has to be returned to the hands of you Christians?" a strongly accented voice asked Ana from the side.
Ana looked towards the speaker and met the eyes of a man. From the smell of the man Ana determined that he was another vampire.
The man was clearly Arabian. He had black hair, dark eyes and was tanned from the sun.
Ana crooked his head.
"I'm not Christian," he told the stranger, deciding to focus on the most important part of the other man's statement.
The other man narrowed his eyes on Ana.
"If you're not Christian, why are you here?" he wanted to know. "Every other stranger here came because they wanted to free Jerusalem from us 'Saracens'!"
Ana shrugged.
"Yeah, well, I know," he agreed. "I just came because I wanted to know what that hype is all about. I mean, this is the third time that people from Europe decided to come here and fight for a city… that honestly? Well, it doesn't look that special to me."
The other vampire raised an eyebrow at that. "This is the Holy City! You're telling me that you're not interested in it?!"
Ana looked around.
"It doesn't look very holy to me," he countered and when the vampire frowned, Ana just shrugged. "Look," he explained. "Pater grew up way before the idea of Christianity took hold of humankind – not considering that the magicals of Europe have an ambiguous relationship with the new religion anyway – and while there were already a lot of Christians when I was born, I grew up with my father and his beliefs, so no, I don't see Jerusalem as holy or whatever."
The other vampire stared at Ana as if he had lost his mind.
"Your father must be ancient," he said full of awe.
Ana thought about that for a moment, before he declared, "sure he is. But I guess that's expected if you're partly phoenix and partly basilisk."
"He's not a vampire?" the other man asked, surprised.
Ana shook his head.
"As far as I know, my mother was one," he said, not willing to go into the whole adoption thing. "But she died when I was four. It was Pater who raised me."
The other vampire looked Ana over.
"So… you're a half-blood, then," he said thoughtfully.
Ana squared his shoulders. "Is that a problem?"
The man waved it off.
"It might have been had your father been a non-magical or even a magical human," he said. "Most of us aren't that happy with them considering their holy crusade stick they have going right now – even if that's more the non-magicals than the magicals – but… your father is a pureblood just like us. Him being a different species, or a mix from what you said, doesn't matter that much to us."
Ana frowned.
"And if my Pater had been human?" he wanted to know. "What would you have done then?"
"Most likely first politely asked you to leave – and then forced you if you had refused," the vampire admitted. "We have enough trouble as it is. We don't need more by allowing someone into the city who has connections to the humans in that kind of way."
"What if I had been a bitten vampire?" Ana asked interestedly.
"Then you wouldn't have been a half-blood and the discussion would have been mute," the vampire countered. "We vampires aren't invested into the war – and as long as a foreign vampire shows the same attitude, they're always welcome. It's just that half-bloods… especially those raised by the non-vampiric parent – might be more inclined to follow the lead of their parent and ignite a war. We don't want war, so we don't want half-bloods with human relations around."
Ana thought that was pretty biased, but… he understood where they came from. Sometimes it was riskier to be open-minded – especially in the war-like situation they had around here thanks to the crusades…
"Fair," he decided.
The other vampire looked Ana over. "I am Altaïr ibn Yusuf ibn Mohamad ibn Malik ibn Ahmad ibn Rashid ibn La'Ahad by the way. Who are you?"
Ana smiled.
"I'm Ana!" he replied and when the vampire frowned, Ana frowned as well. "What?"
"You don't claim your father?" the vampire asked and Ana mentally sighed. It seemed that even with vampires the whole 'son of' thing seemed to be common right now.
"Alright," Ana said. "I'm Anastasius son of Salvzsahar son of Myrddin son of Fawarx son of I don't know – better?"
The vampire snorted.
"If you don't want to claim your ancestors, that's your decision," he said. "You don't have to respect them if you don't want to."
Ana grimaced.
"It's more that I'm not used to introducing myself like that?" he offered. "I respect Pater and his father and my great-grandfather. I'm just not usually in the habit of introducing myself with them."
While the other vampire frowned at that, clearly thinking something akin to 'barbarian' if Ana guessed right, he didn't say anything and just nodded.
"So… what are you doing in our city, Anastasius?" Altaïr inquired.
Ana grimaced.
"It's just Ana," he corrected the other vampire. "Well… except I did something wrong. Pater only calls me Anastasius in those circumstances, you know?"
The other man raised a surprised eyebrow at that.
"Your father doesn't call you by your full name?" he asked, surprised.
Ana scratched his head and then decided to explain it in the easiest way possible.
"Family habit," he said. "Pater isn't called with his full name as well and the same, as far as I know, could be said for Grandfather."
The vampire hummed.
"Interesting habit," he finally said. "Alright, Ana it is. What are you doing here, Ana?"
Ana shrugged.
"More or less just looking around and wondering why people would fight for something like that," he immediately answered. "I mean… the city looks dirty and while there are some impressive buildings, I can't say that I'd understand why people would fight for something like that." He frowned. "Maybe I don't understand because I'm not part of any of your religions?"
"Mayhap," the other vampire replied. "Or mayhap you might not understand because you haven't seen the true beauty of this city." He held out a hand. "Let me show you around and introduce you to my coven."
Ana scratched his head. "I'm pretty sure there was something about 'not going with strangers' in my Pater's teachings," he said aloud and then shrugged. "But sure, why not?"
And with that, he followed the vampire into the depth of the city.
…
"Hello Ana."
Ana stopped and looked around Acre. He started to smile when he saw who had called out to him.
"Pater!" he greeted happily. "What are you doing here?"
His father snorted.
"I could ask you the same, Ana, dearest," he said amused, his eyes trained on his son. "Not to mention that I heard a lot of rumours about you throughout the last few years."
Ana blinked, looking at his father in confusion.
"Rumours? About me?"
His father hummed in agreement.
"Especially in the vampire communities around here," he said amused.
"You have contacts in the vampire community?" Ana asked surprised.
His father snorted.
"A few," he agreed in amusement. "And I heard some stuff from them about you."
"I didn't do anything," Ana immediately defended himself.
Sal snorted.
"I think it's more the fact that you exist that ensures the rumours around you than the fact that you did something," Sal countered in amusement.
Ana blinked.
"That I exist?" he repeated in shock.
Sal hummed.
"There are rumours that there's an immortal vampire in the world," Sal elaborated amused.
Ana stared.
"An immortal vampire?" he repeated.
Sal's lips twitched. "That's what the rumours said."
Ana thought about it for a moment.
"That's weird," he finally decided. "I mean, I'm barely a few decades older than vampire's usually get." Ana shook his head mock-sadly. "Well… vampires usually like to hyperbolise sometimes."
Sal snorted.
"So, you want to tell me it has nothing to do with what you told them?" he asked amused.
Ana frowned. "The only thing I told them was that I'm not Christian and wasn't raised Christian."
Sal raised an eyebrow.
"That's dangerous talk, Ana," he cautioned. "You are aware that heretics are hunted and killed right now, aren't you?"
"Yeah, well, but I'm not in Europe," Ana countered. "And the magical and vampire communities are far more open about stuff like that!"
"That doesn't explain why the rumours about you came up, though."
"Well…" Ana hemmed and hawed. "Imayhavetoldthemaboutyouandtherumourstranslatedtome?"
"What?"
Ana cleared his throat. "I may have told them about you and the rumours translated to me?" he offered up. "But… it's not that untrue, is it? I mean, I will live a lot longer than other vampires, being your son and all, and… why not start those rumours early? They will crop up anyway over time! It's just an acceleration."
His father snorted.
"So that's what you call it?" Sal asked amused.
Ana pouted. "Well, it's the truth, isn't it?"
When his father raised an eyebrow, Ana shrugged.
"It's not as if I'm already over a thousand years old," he said with a pout. "So… I'm clearly in no way immortal."
Sal snorted.
"Are you implying that I am?" he countered with a raised eyebrow.
Ana looked at his father innocently.
"Do you want to tell me you aren't?" he countered.
The answer was an eye roll.
"Let's see how funny you think all this if they start calling you 'the Immortal' – and when you end up reaching the thousand years," his father countered.
Ana pouted. "Are you telling me you think I won't like it?"
"If they follow you around like little ducklings? Yes, then I'm pretty sure you won't."
Sadly, his father would end up right when it started to happen.
… … … … … … … … … … … …
Vampires just like us have their own legends. My friend Sanguini told me that one of the oldest vampire legends is the one about the Immortal. He couldn't tell me if there's a grain of truth in that legend, he never found out. I tried to see if I could find something, but sadly, most vampires are really shy so in the end, I didn't gain more information than what my friend Sanguini could supply.
(Excerpt from 'Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires' by Eldred Worple)
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1275 A.D.
Ana was sitting in the corner of a shady bar. In front of him was a plate full of different sweets, most of them at least bitten into once.
Ana was in the middle of trying a sphere-shaped sweet, which was mostly made of flour, fat and honey as well as dried raisins and chopped nuts when someone sat down on the opposite of Ana's table and sighed.
Ana paused with the sweet in front of his mouth. He closed his mouth and glared at the other man.
"This table doesn't accept sorrows," he said in the local dialect. "Either sit down somewhere else to wallow or stop wallowing."
The other man raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm… not even sure what you've said right now," the other man commented in Italian.
Ana raised his eyebrows.
"Italian?" he asked, changing the language to the one the other man had used.
The other man looked at him in surprise.
"You speak Italian?" he asked, his mood brightening.
Ana frowned. "I do. So?"
"I've not heard anybody speaking Italian in months," the other man replied with a sigh. "I've just been surprised that someone from here actually does."
"Yeah, well, I'm not from around here," Ana countered.
The other man looked at Ana in astonishment, before he narrowed his eyes and scrutinized him closer.
"Where do you come from, then?" he wanted to know.
Ana scratched his head thoughtfully. "Originally? Rome."
The other man's eyes widened.
"You're from Rome?"
Ana thought about it.
"Originally," he repeated. "I didn't grow up around Rome, though. I grew up in the Black Forest and on the Isles."
"The Isles?"
Ana hummed.
"Near London," he agreed. "Pater… my father… has always been drawn to the Isles. He's been travelling all of my life, but whenever he had enough of travelling, he returned to the Isles."
The other man scrutinized him for a moment, then he held out his hand.
Ana clasped it.
"I'm Marco," the man said. "Marco Polo."
"Anastasius Sanguini," Ana replied, quite willing to tell the truth. "But most call me Ana."
Marco Polo raised an eyebrow at that.
"That's… an unusual choice of a nickname," he decided.
Ana shrugged.
"It's an international name," he countered. "A lot of countries I went to have a variation of that name in some way."
"I guess you have been travelling a lot, then?" Marco said thoughtfully.
"Sure," Ana agreed. "Just like Pater. We've been all over the world – and met each other in the most unusual places… last time, it was China."
Marco perked up in interest.
"China?" he asked and leaned forward. "What did you do in China?"
"Pater worked there as a healer," Ana said with a shrug. "He was good enough that he was called to the emperor's court as an advisor."
Marco looked surprised.
"He was an advisor in the emperor's court?" he asked. "And you were with him?"
Ana shrugged.
"I stayed a bit longer than him," he countered. "Pater left when Temüjin died."
"Temüjin?" Marco Polo asked, confused.
Ana hummed in agreement. "He's later been called Genghis Khan – but Pater never called him that so I don't, too."
"And you… stayed?" Marco Polo asked, sounding a bit unbelieving by Ana's claim – not that Ana could fault him for that. Genghis Khan had died in 1227 – which was nearly fifty years ago.
"Yes, I stayed," Ana agreed happily. "Well, not the whole time, though. I went to the Song Dynasty, too."
Ana had managed to be the power behind the crown, too, for a while, but in the end, he had left, bored by it. Ana had to admit that being the power behind the Chinese throne had cured him of the vague idea to be the emperor of China for a while.
"I have to say, being a good ruler is quite a bit of work," Ana declared. "And honestly? It's not worth having a throne when you want to be a good ruler – because that's a lot of work."
Marco Polo raised an eyebrow at that.
Ana waved it off. "Don't listen. I'm rambling."
Marco shrugged.
"I like stories from around the world," he countered. "And I haven't yet been in China, so stories from China are very interesting for me."
Ana hummed thoughtfully.
"Well," he said slowly, "I could tell you some stories about my time at Genghis Khan's Court."
Then Ana leaned forward.
"What do you want to know?" he asked.
"I'm interested in everything," Marco replied. "What is their culture like? What about their religion?"
Ana grimaced.
"I honestly don't know that much about their religion," he said. "I mean, I know some of their practices and all that, but… I've never been interested in religion, so I didn't really care about learning about it."
For a moment, he hesitated.
"But I can tell you about their culture a bit – and about some things I or my Pater encountered or heard about," Ana decided happily. "If you want that, that is?"
"Everything you will tell me, I am willing to hear," Marco immediately replied.
Ana grinned.
"Well, then let's start," he said and clasped his hands together. "So… when Pater came to China first…"
"Does your father have a name, too?" Marco interrupted him amused. "If you want to tell me about your father, I'd like to have a name with the person."
Ana blinked.
"I never call Pater by name," he countered immediately. Then he scratched his head. "But I guess, you're right, a name might not be out of place," he agreed. "Pater was called Mèng Xiá Lù when he was in China – Mèng being the family name. In Europe, he's mostly called Sal."
Marco raised his eyebrow at that.
"The foreign version sounds quite a bit more exotic," he decided before looking Ana over. "Did you get a foreign name, too?"
Ana pouted.
"Yes," he agreed. "I was called Xiăo Xiá Lù or Xiăo Lù… instead of Ān Na – which would have been far more logical."
"Shao Sha Lu?" Marco repeated. Ana winced at the accent.
"Xiăo means little," he elaborated. "Basically, they called me little Pater."
Marco's lips twitched in amusement.
Ana rolled his eyes.
"Just laugh at me," he said. "Who knows what you will end up being called if you ever end up in China!"
"If you say so," Marco agreed and then leaned forward. "And now tell me what happened."
"Well, when Pater reached China, his reputation had already reached the Chinese Emperor, and so he was called pretty quickly to the Emperor's Court…"
Like that, Ana and Marco Polo would spend many hours talking.
And if some of Ana's stories would later inspire Marco Polo in his own travelogue – well, that wasn't like anybody else would ever know…
…
"Care to explain why some of those stories sound quite familiar to me?" Sal greeted his son. In his hands was a travelogue, written by one Marco Polo.
Ana blinked innocently.
"Why are you asking me that, Pater?" he asked.
His father just raised an eyebrow.
"Because you're my son and the way some of that stuff in there is told sounds like my own letters to you before you joined me in China," Sal said calmly.
Ana looked at him with huge eyes.
"What a coincidence!"
Sal snorted and then reached out towards his son to tap the back of his head gently.
"Idiot," he declared fondly.
Ana pouted.
"That's not a nice thing to say to your son, Pater," he declared.
His father just changed his grip on Ana's head and pulled the vampire closer.
Gently, he kissed his son's forehead.
"I'm not taking it back," he said amused. "You're my son. I've always known you're my little idiot."
Ana pouted some more, but didn't try to flee his father's grip. Instead, he leaned into Sal and closed his eyes.
"You're the worst, too," Ana declared. "You're the reason why I'm known as a little you in at least half of the world."
"I doubt that China is half of the world," Sal countered amused.
"Doesn't matter," Ana countered. "They called me little! I'm taller than you!"
"And younger," Sal countered.
Ana fake-sobbed. "But… I'm older than most of the people we meet by at least three hundred years!"
Sal rubbed his head soothingly, his lips twitching in amusement.
"And yet, you're still younger than me," he countered.
Ana buried his head in Sal's shoulder.
"That's not fair, Pater," he complained. "Why don't people look at me and see wisdom and age? I mean, they look at you and see wisdom! So why don't they do that with me?"
Sal patted his son's head, his lips twitching even more.
"I have no idea," he said amused. "Absolute no idea, childe of mine."
"You're laughing at me!"
"I wouldn't dare, Ana dearest," Sal replied immediately.
"If I had taken over as Emperor of China, you wouldn't have dared to laugh at me!" Ana said with a pout.
"You're my son," Sal countered. "I would have treated you all the same."
Ana looked at Sal in betrayal.
"Why?" he whined.
"Because you're my son – and as a father, I have every right to treat you in ways nobody else would dare," Sal countered.
For a moment, Ana stared at him, then he slumped against his father with a sigh.
"I'm never going to pull off being the wise one, am I?" he asked in defeat.
"At least not as long as you don't stop acting like a child whenever you're around me," Sal agreed.
For a moment, Ana thought that over, then he sighed deeply.
"Not going to happen," he decided. "You'd have to lose your memory to ensure that I wouldn't treat you the way I always treated you… and even then, I would be more inclined to go and look for a way to regain your memories than to continue to act grown up in your presence."
Sal kissed his son's head.
"And that's the reason why nobody will ever come running to you for being the wise one, Ana, childe," he declared amused. "People would never think you're as old as you say you are when you go and act like you're ten around me."
Ana pouted.
"But… that's the best part, Pater!" Ana said. "Being always grown-up would be the worst thing I would have to endure – ever! So… I guess I'll abandon that thought, then…"
He sighed and leaned some more against his father.
"Guess there goes my plan to end up the next legend of Myrddin," he decided. "But… maybe I'll manage something else instead… maybe I'll immortalize myself in a story instead. I mean, I had quite a bit of success with Marco Polo already when it comes to that – and I didn't even try!"
He looked thoughtfully up at his father.
"What do you think?" Ana asked. "Me – the muse of writers all over the world?"
"I think you should keep dreaming," Sal said amused. "But… if you really want to try, I certainly won't stop you."
Maybe Sal would have thought twice about it if he had known what story ideas Ana would give some people in the future…
… … … … … … … … … … … …
Vampires always kept to themselves throughout history. There was no vampire that ever went out of their way to interact with another species.
Fact is, vampires are shy creatures. It will often take years to get them to trust you, and longer than a mortal lifetime for them to start sharing important stuff with others. There are only a few exceptions. Those vampires are often called extroverts. After meeting my friend Sanguini, it took him only a year to start trusting me. He hasn't told me everything about himself, but at least a lot about his species in general. But sadly, he is one of the few who are extroverted enough to accept a friendship with a mortal. Usually, vampires only have friendships within their own species – if at all.
(Excerpt from 'Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires' by Eldred Worple)
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1347 A.D.
Ana was silently walking down the streets in Marseille. He had a cloth over his mouth and a brown spinel wrought in silver – both covered in runes – on a chain around his neck.
The streets were silent, but in every corner and at the sides of the streets, dead bodies could be found. They all were displaying black bulges on different parts of their bodies – most of them found in the neck, beneath the armpits and on the groin.
The bubonic plague had found its way to Europe.
And Ana had managed to end up in the middle of the newest outbreak.
He looked around and then reached to his neck, clutching the silver-wrought stone hanging there.
"Spinel?" someone said from his left and Ana turned to look at the speaker.
"Pater!" he greeted the other man.
His father looked tired – exhausted beyond endurance. Dark smudges were adorning his father's eyes and he looked pale.
Ana frowned.
"Are you alright?" he asked, full of concern.
"I reached the city shortly after the outbreak in September," his father answered tiredly. "I doubt that I have slept since then."
"You don't look as if you have," Ana agreed and frowned. "It's December now, Pater."
"I'm aware," his father replied and sighed. "But… there is work to do and the plague… well, it's unstoppable. I'm just one man fighting against the belief that the plague is God's punishment, to be cured by praying, on top of the epidemic that's killing people faster than I can get to them to help them."
Ana crooked his head.
"You're aware that your view is quite unusual when it comes to illnesses, are you, Pater?" Ana countered.
His father hummed in agreement, without commenting further.
Ana's face turned thoughtful.
"I know that even for magicals the view that illness is something that just happens by chance and that can be cured if you know how to… is… well, unusual," he pointed out, finally.
"I'm aware," Sal agreed and reached for his own spinel – a red one – wrought in silver on a chain on his neck.
Ana looked down at the stone adorned with runes.
"Spinel?" he asked, a bit surprised.
"And silver," his father agreed.
"Spinel to concentrate the healing effect and to help with the detoxification of the body and silver to keep infection away," Ana said softly, and a bit happily. "Not to mention the runes to strengthen their effect."
His father smiled tiredly.
"I guess I don't have anything to teach you anymore when it comes to stone magic," he said warmly.
"Well, I'm more than five hundred years old, Pater," Ana said amused. "Not to mention that I've been learning stone magic for about four hundred sixty years of my life! I think, at that point, I should know a bit about it – or I would be a very bad student. Don't you think so, too, Pater?"
Sal laughed, even if he looked a bit drawn while doing so.
"I guess so," he agreed and looked around, his face turning serious again. "I will have to go back to work now. It's… hopeless… but I can't stop." He shook his head. "It's a lot to do."
Ana frowned.
"You won't win," he said and looked around, too. "I mean… what can you even do against – this?"
He gestured towards the dead bodies.
Sal sighed and looked around, too.
"I don't know, yet," he finally said tiredly. "I've been looking at the illness and I've been going through my knowledge in the hope to find an answer."
"I guess it has been fruitless until now?" Ana asked with a grimace.
His father grimaced as well.
"You guessed right," he agreed with a sigh. "I know that there has to be something that infects everyone. It's either in the water, the air or brought by animals to the humans."
Sal shook his head.
"I tested the water," he grimaced, clearly disgusted by some things he found. "And I tested the air. I've not yet found the animal that might have been the one infecting people."
"Rats?" Ana suggested immediately.
Sal grimaced.
"Definitely part of the whole thing," he agreed. "But… it's not easy to prove." He shook his head. "I've caught a few rats, but the tests aren't done yet. And even if I'm done and I found the way the infection spreads… I'm still not able to stop it. I will have to look into it a bit more in the hope that I might find an antidote or a vaccine."
Sal shook his head tiredly.
"I haven't found an answer, yet. And I'm not sure I will find one soon enough," he told his son tiredly.
Ana frowned.
"So… what are you doing?" he asked. "I mean… until then?"
Sal grimaced.
"The most I can do," he said. "I will have to try to quarantine the people I treat… and try to find ways to help them while the illness works through their body."
Ana grimaced.
"That's… not going to be easy," he declared. Ana knew his father well enough to know that the other man wouldn't stop until he found a way to either treat the illness or at least help the people with their suffering.
"It won't," his father agreed with a sigh. "But I will have to try, at least."
Ana opened his mouth, and then closed it with a sigh.
"And I guess the fact that there's an on and off war between France and the Isles won't stop you, too," he commented.
Sal raised an eyebrow at his son.
"I'm not part of that war," he pointed out calmly.
"You're the true heir of Arthur Pendragon, the King of magical Britain," Ana immediately countered. "What will happen if the magical royal family of France finds out that you're here? They might think that you're trying the same that your mundane counterparts are doing right now."
Sal threw his son an amused look.
"You mean that since I clearly refuse to take over the British throne – of course I go and try to take the French one instead?" he pointed out dryly, then he shook his head. "No, unlike mundane kings, we magicals are bound to our land. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to take over France."
Ana crooked his head and Sal's lips twitched.
"There's a reason why there are no real wars between the kings and queens of the magical world," Sal said with a shrug. "If there are wars, they happen through dark lords who hope to take over the land. They… well, I guess nobody really understands what it means to be royal in the magical world. There's… a pressure on you… like a weight on your shoulders that keeps you aware of the land that belongs to you. There are ties that bind you to the land you belong to, and to its people. It's… something always there in the back of your mind."
His father shook his head.
"I am Prince, not King," he said calmly. "And yet, I feel those ties, I can feel that weight – and I'm not even sure that I want to know what it's like to be King. I'm not sure how strong those ties are for a King or Queen – and I'm not sure if I want to know."
Ana frowned.
"So… in other words… even if you're here in France and the French royals will find out… they won't feel threatened?" he asked surprised.
"It's not likely," Sal agreed. "Not to mention that since I'm Prince and able to control my magic unusually well they won't know if I don't say anything." He shrugged. "I also doubt that I will ever meet them. We walk in different social circles."
Ana looked around.
"I can see that," he agreed and grimaced.
His father snorted.
"Will you help me?" he asked instead.
For a moment, Ana hesitated. Then he sighed. "A nearly hopeless quest to curtail an illness we don't have any way to stop?" he asked, and then shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's not as if I don't have anything else to do."
Sal smiled tiredly.
"Thank you, my childe," he said, sounding a bit relieved.
Ana shrugged.
"I keep to the easier cases," he countered.
His father snorted.
"There are no easy cases, this time around," he said, amused. "But sure, if you want to, keep to the easy ones."
It would end up being quite a few gruelling years.
…
"Are you Sal, le Médecin?" Ana looked up and at a regal looking man with a Roman nose, blue eyes and dark hair. He wore quite expensive looking clothes and had a wand sheath on one of his arms.
Ana discretely looked at his own, old and slightly dirty clothing and barely suppressed a grimace.
Sal, the Healer, the other man had said. Did Ana really look like a Healer?!
"I am not," he said instead of complaining. "I am Anastasius, his son."
The man looked surprised at that declaration.
"I heard that Sal Malfoire is quite young, but if you are his son, he has to be older than I was told," he commented.
"Pater looks quite young," Ana said with a shrug. "So, I fear everyone estimating his age usually gets it wrong."
The other man looked amused at that.
"Will you tell me where your father is, then?"
For a moment, Ana scrutinized the other man, then he sighed.
"Sure," he agreed and then looked at the plants he had been mincing. They would keep. So, he stood up, cleaned his hands at least a bit on a rag and then gestured for the man to follow him.
They walked towards the building Sal had appropriated. It had been standing empty, its inhabitants having already died from the plague.
Before entering, Ana stopped and turned to look at the man following with a frown.
For a moment, Ana hesitated, then he mentally sighed and reached inside his pouch. His fingers skidded over different stones inside until he found the one he was looking for by touch alone.
He pulled it out and then held it out towards the stranger.
"Haematite," he said when the other man stared at the stone in Ana's hand. "It's used to safeguard from all detriment. It's not a perfect choice, but I don't have another spinel wrought in silver with me – not even a spinel." Then he crooked his head. "If you have some silver, I can alter it so that it'll protect you at least temporarily. It won't be as good as my usual work, but it will help."
"And the reason why I need a safeguard to see your father?" the stranger asked with a frown.
Ana blinked.
"Oh!" he said. "Er… Pater is not the reason why you need the safeguard. It's the plague. The house houses quite a few infected."
The stranger looked at Ana in surprise.
"I heard that you have a way to help with the illness," he said. "That's why I came. I didn't know that you had something that would keep you safe from it."
"There is nothing that ensures complete safety," Ana countered calmly. "But we have ways to lessen the chance of infection." Then he grimaced. "Sadly, most people don't listen to us when we try to tell them about them. Or they hope for a miraculous cure – and we don't have that. We can't keep anybody safe – we can just work on a solution and help to the best of our abilities."
With that, Ana held out the stone.
"This is me, trying to keep you safe," he added and raised his eyebrow in a silent challenge.
The stranger looked at the stone, then hesitatingly reached out towards it.
For a moment it looked like he wouldn't take it, but in the end, he closed his fingers around the stone, taking it from Ana.
Ana hummed.
"Channel your magic through it," Ana said calmly. "It's not perfect, but it will keep you safe most likely."
"Most likely?"
Ana hummed in agreement. "I can guarantee only up to seventy per cent when it comes to your safety from the plague," he said. "But seventy per cent is more than enough considering that we will keep away from the infected as much as we can when we enter."
"So why do I have to take it at all?" the stranger countered.
"Precaution," Ana replied. "Better too paranoid than not paranoid enough."
For a moment, the stranger stared at Ana, then he snorted in amusement and inclined his head. The stone in his hand lit up with his magic.
Ana looked at it for a moment, determined that the man was someone one shouldn't mess with – the strong light coming from the stone told him as much – and then turned and opened the door to the house.
They stepped inside. Ana led the stranger down the corridors towards the room he expected his father to be in.
The door to the room was closed, so Ana knocked before opening the door right after.
"Pater!" he greeted his father happily and then slung his arms around Sal's neck.
Sal looked up from the sphere he was working with.
"Ana," he sighed. "Weren't you mincing plants for me?"
"I was," Ana immediately agreed happily. "But then I was interrupted by that gentleman. He wants to talk to you."
Sal raised an eyebrow and then looked at the other man behind Ana.
The stranger had stopped in the middle of entering. His eyes were set on Sal, his eyes suddenly shining with an internal light.
Sal's eyes met the strangers and a less-strong light lit up Sal's eyes similarly to the strangers.
Sal's shoulders slumped.
"Pendragon," the stranger acknowledged him.
Sal sighed.
"That's not my name, Altesse royale," Sal said calmly. Ana blinked and then turned to look at the stranger with huge eyes.
"His royal Highness – of France?" he asked surprised.
"The same," Sal immediately agreed, his eyes still on the other man.
The stranger inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"I am surprised that your son was able to cozen me," he commented, his eyes searching Ana's.
Sal stepped in front of his son, ensuring that he was standing between the magical King of France and Ana.
"There was no deception involved," Sal countered. "Pendragon has ended."
The other man scoffed.
"Your blood says otherwise, Prince," he pointed out. For a moment, he threw a look towards Ana, but when Sal moved slightly, he turned his eyes away.
Sal inclined his head, but his eyes were still firmly fixed on the King.
"And yet, my blood is the only thing that tells such things, Altesse," he said. "And if you weren't who you are, if we hadn't met in these circumstances… you would have passed me by, not looking or acknowledging me in any way or form."
The stranger hummed thoughtfully. Again, his eyes flickered towards Ana, before they returned to Sal.
"I can see that," he agreed finally; his eyes wandered around the room, saturated with Sal's magic. "You have a tight control when it comes to your magic – and you taught your son the same. You would have most likely been able to hide who you are if it hadn't been for these circumstances."
He frowned and his eyes returned to Sal's, caution in his gaze. Sal sighed.
"Please don't prove my son right by accusing me of being here to steal your throne, Altesse," he said dryly.
The other man blinked in surprise, before he started to laugh loudly.
"No," he said, clearly amused. "Considering the fact that you don't even go and claim your own throne – not to mention that you and I both know that there would be no way for you to claim mine… no, don't fear. That's not something I will ever accuse you of."
"Thank the winds," Sal sighed, before he said. "Then… do I have to fear other repercussions for being here?"
"No repercussions," the magical King of France replied calmly. "But maybe some questions. I am very surprised that you are here, helping my people, instead of over there, helping your own."
"Circumstances," Sal replied with a sigh. "I was in Marseille when the epidemic hit the city. I couldn't stand by and watch when I am trained as a healer and maybe able to help."
Sal grimaced. "Not that my help was that great."
"You've been containing the plague quite well from what I heard," the King countered. "There's a reason why I came, after all."
Then the King frowned.
"Even if I have to say that I'm still surprised who you are and that you're here," he said and shook his head. "Normally, as the Pendragon Prince, I'd expected you to be drawn to Britain, not to travel the world."
Sal hummed in a mix of agreement and disagreement.
"I am bound to the Isles," he agreed. "But I am Prince, not King. I feel the draw a lot less than you as a King would."
Then he shook his head. "And even as a King there is nothing that will force you to stay. You might be more reluctant to leave, but you can, just like everyone else if you want to."
"It's harder, though," the King countered.
"Sure, but not impossible."
For a moment, the King's eyes flickered towards Ana again, who was still standing behind Sal, leaning on his father.
Sal twitched and the King looked back towards Sal.
"He's not fully trained, is he?" the King finally said. "You would be calmer if he was."
Ana pouted. He might not be able to get the full sub-conversation that was happening between his father and the King, but he understood that the King has more or less called him a child right now.
Sal's lips twitched. "Something like that."
Which quasi translated to 'Ana is not mine by birth, but I won't tell you that so I will leave you to draw your own conclusion'.
Ana agreed with the vagueness of his father's statement. Sometimes, it was better to keep their true relation vague – especially when it came to strangers from high rank and standing. Most people that belonged to high status put a lot of value on blood relation.
The King sighed.
"I apologize," he said. "I thought he was fully grown."
Sal waved it off.
"You said you came because you heard rumours that I was able to contain the plague and came because of that?" he redirected their conversation.
"I did," the King agreed, obviously willing to drop the subject as well.
"Care to explain?"
"My people are hit by the plague as much as the non-magical population is," the King elaborated, his eyes closing tiredly. "When I heard the rumours – including the ones that you're magical – I came to plead for your help. My people are dying. I am King. I have to try something – anything to help them!"
Sal hesitated only for a moment. He looked around, then back down at the sphere in front of him.
"I have reason to believe that the illness has been spread through animals – fleas, to be exact," he finally said and looked the other man into his eyes. "Are you willing to believe my research and do what I say to stop the illness and it's hosts from spreading – no matter how odd my advice sounds?"
The King frowned.
"That sounds like a deal-breaker," he said hesitatingly.
"That's because it is," Sal countered. "If you aren't willing to listen, then I won't come with you. Instead, I will have to ask you to leave. I've been working against faith already, I'm not willing to subject myself to another battle against it if I can fight the same battle here."
For a moment, the King hesitated.
"I can't promise that my people won't declare you mad," he finally said.
"Doesn't matter," Sal countered. "As long as they follow my advice, I don't care what they think about me."
The other man nodded slowly.
"Then I will try my best to ensure that they'll listen," his eyes flickered towards Ana. "And your son can join my own children in their training for the responsibility they will have to take up once upon a time in the future."
"Pendragon doesn't rule," Sal countered.
"But you were still trained to do so – and I can see the same training at least partially in your son as well."
Ana blinked in surprise, before he shrugged. It was expected that his father might have ended up raising Ana partly with the conduct Sal had been taught as a Prince, after all.
Sal hesitated. His eyes met Ana's.
Ana looked at him with puppy dog eyes.
"Can I have some playmates?" he begged innocently.
Sal snorted and then shook his head in defeat.
"Don't you dare to influence the next King or Queen of France negatively," he just said and turned back to the current King of France. "We have a deal."
In the end, the magical community of France lost just about twenty per cent of their population to the Black Death – which was quite little if you compared it to the overall sixty per cent that the rest of Europe lost to the plague.
… … … … … … … … … … … …
Vampires have never been concerned with the happenings in the magical or mundane world. They normally live in isolated communities that have little to no contact to either world. Things like famine or plague are nothing that is known to the vampiric community. While vampires once were 'mortals' – non-magical or magical just like you and me – the moment they were bitten and infected, they lost that tie to the mortal world.
My friend Sanguini told me once that their human lives are just like a dream to a vampire. It's vaguely remembered, but not taken seriously any longer. It's over and unable to affect them in any way or form. Like that, one can expect little to no understanding from the vampiric community when it comes to human matters.
(Excerpt from 'Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires' by Eldred Worple)
… … … … … … … … … … … …
1430 A.D.
Over the centuries, Ana had learned to enjoy travelling very much. He had travelled the whole of Europe, he had seen Asia and India. He had been to Africa. Nevertheless, no matter how far Ana had travelled, in the end, he always returned to the island that had been his home ever since his father brought him there when he was barely a decade or two old.
Of course, since his father always returned to the Isle – no matter if it was known as Angleterra, Britannia or Britain – as well, Ana had more than one reason to return there. The other was that no matter where he travelled, in his mind, home was the Isle.
That was also the reason why Ana had returned to Britain this time around and why he was travelling with a group of merchants through the forest near York, when they were attacked by a man who downed the merchants and their wardens within seconds with the help of magic.
The men going down, went down with a groan or clutching their stomach and only Ana, who had dodged the spell aimed at him, was spared from whatever magic the stranger had cast at them.
"Behold!" the man exclaimed. "I am Merwyn, the dark lord of this forest! I have come to make you suffer!"
Ana blinked, looked at the other men around him and then back at Merwyn.
"I doubt they could hear you," he commented. "They seemed to be a bit preoccupied with their pain to notice that you were speaking."
With that Ana pulled out his little sack of stones, selected one – a yellow Amber for healing – and turned it in his hand before guiding the magic at his comrades, not caring that until the magic was done, his comrades wouldn't be able to stand or move.
The other wizard gawked at Ana.
The vampire frowned.
"What?" he asked. "It's the truth!"
"You shouldn't be standing!" the other man finally uttered. "I'm a dark lord! You should cower before me!"
Ana blinked and then narrowed his eyes. His face turned thoughtful.
"So…" he said slowly. "You're a dark wizard."
The other man sneered and raised his hooked wand towards Ana in the clear intention to curse him again.
Ana crooked his head first in one direction, then in the other.
"Honestly," he said thoughtfully, totally ignoring the other men lying on the earth moaning all around him. "I can't see it."
The wizard scowled.
"I am Merwyn!" he exclaimed. "And you will bow to me or suffer the consequences."
Ana blinked.
"Pater always told me that I should only bow to my superiors and my elders. I can't see how that includes you?"
The wizard hissed wordlessly and then threw a jinx at Ana.
Ana blinked and dodged.
"Huh," he said. "Is that a new one? I can't actually tell what it does and the colour seems to be a bit off compared to others spells with a similar colour. What does it do?"
Merwyn growled.
"I invented it!" he exclaimed. "And you will know what it feels like quite soon!"
Again, the spell was fired at Ana.
For a moment, the vampire contemplated letting it hit so that he could see the consequences, but then the well-known voice of his Pater reprimanded him even for the thought of it and he sighed and dodged.
"Can't you just go and explain?" he whined. "I'm not allowed to get hit by curses that I don't know and might not be able to counter!"
As an answer, another spell was thrown at Ana.
"Hey!" Ana complained. "You haven't even explained the first spell and now you go and use others I don't know! That's not fair!"
Merwyn reacted by trying to hit Ana with a volley of spells.
"Oh!" Ana said and danced away from them. "Those I know! Leg-locker, tripping jinx, and a stunning spell!"
Then he stopped and frowned.
"Are you sure you are a dark wizard?" he asked, concerned. "Those spells are all magic I saw regularly used by students at Haugh's Wards – and I doubt they count as dark wizards…"
At that observation, the other wizard made a sound like a wet cat and pounced at Ana.
Ana dodged the other man's flailing limbs.
"You should learn a bit more about fighting without a wand, too," he observed. "You might end up losing your footing if you keep it up like that."
Then he nodded thoughtfully and when the man pounced at him again, he simply lifted one of his hands and parried. The man went down like a sack of potatoes.
"Look," Ana said and bowed down to meet the dark wizard's eyes who was sitting dazed on the ground, holding his head. "Just like I said. You really need to learn a bit more if you want to be even close to a passable dark wizard."
"I'm going to kill you!" Merwyn threatened.
Ana crooked his head with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I think you might need to work on your threats and your voice, too," he observed. "My four-year-old sister was scarier when she was barely two years old and pouting."
With that, he patted the other man's head.
"Don't worry," he assured the man. "I bet you'll get it someday. Just… grow a bit more, before that, will you?"
"I'm sixty!" Merwyn cried indignantly.
Ana blinked.
"Oh!" he said. "Well… better luck next time, then?"
And with that, he pulled out an orange-red stone – a Carnelian – and then gestured at his comrades on the ground. They were lifted in the air. With a twist of the stone, Ana ensured that they would follow him, before he pocketed the stone again and walked away whistling.
Merwyn, later known as Merwyn the Malicious, watched him go with confusion in his eyes. Confronting Ana would be the last thing he would do. After, he would spend the rest of his life to find a way to look scary – with moderate success.
…
"Pater!" Ana greeted his father joyfully and threw himself at the man who was in the middle of buying fruit in the market.
"Ana," he acknowledged his son with a sigh and didn't even try to free himself from Ana's grip. Ana took that as an invite to sprawl across his father's back.
Sal just sighed and braced himself so that he could bear both of their weights.
"What dark wizard did you taunt this time around, son of mine?" he asked with a sigh.
Ana pouted.
"Why do you think that I taunted a dark wizard?" he asked innocently.
"You're always more energetic when you end up taunting someone," his father countered dryly. "And with your usual habit, it's normally a dark wizard."
Ana pouted.
"I'm not sure if that one counts," he objected. "I mean… he used spells a first year in Haugh's Wards knows! You can't call him a dark wizard if he uses leg-locker and tipping jinxes!"
"Ana…" Sal sighed.
"What?!" Ana asked. "He didn't tell me the other spells he used, but whatever they were, they didn't really harm my comrades!"
Sal just sighed.
"And he wasn't scary at all!" Ana added. "I mean, Perdita is scarier – and she's four!"
Sal buried his head in his hands.
"Just… don't say that when your step-mother is anywhere near me," he finally decided. "I really don't want to explain to her what you're teaching our daughter whenever you look after her."
"Hey!" Ana exclaimed, indignant. "I don't teach her anything that she doesn't need to know!"
"If you tell dark wizards she can look scarier than them, I doubt it," Sal countered. "And now, let me actually buy my stuff. Andromeda is waiting for me to come back home."
"I come along!" Ana immediately decided.
"Of course, you do," Sal said with a sigh. "I didn't expect anything else."
And with that, the two bought the groceries and then returned to the school and Sal's family.
… … … … … … … … … … … …
Vampires can't consume much besides blood. In fact, Sanguini bemoaned that he's been missing the taste of pasties since he had been turned. He loved them before and eating only one is never enough according to him. Sadly, I also watched him nearly choke while trying not to throw up when he tried to eat a second one once. It's a sad fact that even candies containing blood are not really palatable in huge amounts for a vampire. Instead, they can only survive by regularly consuming fresh, human blood.
While vampires normally don't kill their prey, they often attack their victims in dark alleys and take what they need from them before letting them go. Vampires don't drink magical blood at all. They prey solely on muggles.
(Excerpt from 'Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires' by Eldred Worple)
… … … … … … … … … … … …
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
…
… … …
Well, this was an idea I had ever since I finished writing "Basilisk-Born". I started to write it back then, but the story grew and grew and it took some time until I could get everything in a passable order and actually write it down into a comprehensible story.
I hope you liked it.
Ebenbild
… … … …. … … … …
Remarks:
1191 A.D.: Historical event. The third crusade happened from 1189 to 1192 after Saladin conquered Jerusalem in 1187. One of the participants in that crusade was Richard Lionheart.
Deus lo vult – God wants it (lat.); the Pope's slogan for the first crusade.
1275 A.D.: Historical figure. Marco Polo (1254-1324), a Venetian merchant, explorer and traveller wrote the book "Book of the Marvels of the World" (also known as "The Travels of Marco Polo") after travelling the Silk Road. It's an interesting fact though that there's no recording of a stranger favoured by the Chinese Emperor/ Mongolian Khan of that time; not to mention that Marco Polo was known for his interest in foreign cultures and religion, but his entrances about the Chinese culture and religion are deficient (no mentioning of the Chinese writing system, for example) compared to those of India and other countries; hence, some scientific texts doubt that Marco Polo was ever in China.
Temüjin (Genghis Khan; 1158 – 1227 AD): founder and first Emperor of the Mongolian Empire; by the end of his life the Mongolian Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China.
Mèng Xiá Lù – I chose the characters "孟侠鹭" for Sal (Mèng is a typical Chinese family name, meaning "little brother"; Xiá means "knight-errant"; Lù means "heron" (a symbol for the right way in China)
Xiăo Xiá Lù / Xiăo Lù – written 小侠鹭 / 小鹭 (Xiăo means "little" or "young"; the rest is taken from Sal's name)
Ān Na – written 安娜 (Ān means "calmness", Na is often used in personal names, even though I just know it being used in female names; the name might not totally fit poor Ana. Lol)
1347 A.D.: Historical event. From 1347 to 1353 the bubonic plague spread over all of Europe. Marseille was one of the first cities hit after the plague spread from Crimea. The plague was spread by ship and in the end about 60% of the inhabitants of Europe died from it.
1430 A.D.: Fictional character. Merwyn the Malicious is a character mentioned in Harry Potter Wiki. He is credited with the invention of unpleasant jinxes and hexes and immortalized on a Chocolate Frog Card.