Renaku opened his eyes. There was nothing to see. Renaku blinked, and looked around. Nothing but...dark fog. He was floating...he didn't understand. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered... Remembered... Images rushed past Renaku, clawing at his mind. He grimaced and clutched his head. "No," a voice said, "you have to see." Renaku blinked. The voice of...himself? "Why?" he yelled at the darkness. "Where am I? What's going on?" "Remember..." And he remembered. ===== ------------------------------------------------ Vampire Legend R, Part 10: (Un)Life of a Legend ------------------------------------------------ ===== Warning: Contains a warning. ===== The clouds swarmed over the valley, shutting out Lord Moon's light. Renaku stared. The last time he had seen clouds like that...but that is a story that has already been told. Renaku shook himself out of his memories, and started down the path. The darkness in him had long ago seeped into every corner of his body, enhancing not only his strength and speed, but his senses as well...even though it made him vulnerable to certain situations. And the only price was blood... Renaku gently loosened his sword in its scabbard. A normal human wouldn't have heard the faint rustling, and there was no point tipping off whoever (or whatever) had made it that he didn't exactly fit into that category... Suddenly a figure appeared out of the darkness. Renaku's blade was in his hand, but he checked his lunge upon seeing that the figure was holding his hands up, empty palms outward, in a more or less universal gesture of peace. Renaku almost started to sheath his sword, but stopped when he noticed the figure's face. "Hello, Renaku," David said with a smile. Renaku's lip curled. "What do you want?" The boy chuckled, still looking as young as he had twenty-five years ago. "It's funny you should ask that...but I guess you wouldn't get the joke, would you? In any case...I just want to talk." "You already are talking," Renaku sneered. The dark elf made an expression that Renaku couldn't help but think of as a pout. "But that sword of yours makes me nervous. Why don't you put it away?" "Why don't you go to Hell?" Renaku suggested. David grinned. "Will you fly me there?" Renaku couldn't quite think of any response to that, so he just stood and tried to look menacing. David shrugged. "I guess it's not that important...the point is that I wanted you to join us." "I have four more Fumu clans to take care of," Renaku replied. "And by 'take care of' I mean 'kill'. I'm sure you'll understand when I tell you to go to Hell again." The boy held up a hand, with one finger raised. "Ah, but at the moment I'm asking you to help out the Darkchylde clan of elves. I'm going back to the Blood Moon Society, but you could stay and help my clan. You'd never even have to see me again, if you wished." "While not seeing you again does appeal to me, I must still decline." "Oh, come on, Renaku," David said, a bit of wheedle in his voice. "You're an educated vampire, you should know all that 'dark elf' stuff is mostly superstition and xenophobia...on the part of the humans, anyway. On the part of the elves, it's more like civil war. Those are always the bloodiest kind, you know?" He shrugged philosophically. "They think we're tainted, somehow. Personally, I'd just be happy to leave the 'normal' elves alone, but at this point it's more a matter of survival." His eyes glittered. "I would have thought that you, of all...people, would understand what it's like to be thought of as 'dark', and 'evil', with no justification..." Renaku hesitated...and lowered his sword, slightly. There was a part of him that thrilled at the dark elf's words...hungered to make the 'normal' people realize his pain...feel his pain... "I am not interested," Renaku said, keeping his voice flat. "I have other tasks to accomplish. We have nothing more to discuss." The boy looked at him for a long time. "Then," he finally said, "I guess I have no choice but to--" Suddenly he whirled to look behind him...then turned back, baring his teeth. "I'll see you again, vampire," the dark elf hissed, then swiftly ran past Renaku into the night. Fully a dozen dark elves appeared out of the darkness and followed David, rushing past Renaku with hardly a sound. He was almost startled into attacking, but none of the elves made any hostile moves...so Renaku stood, with his sword drawn, and watched them pass by on either side of him...until they were gone. Then he heard footsteps approaching, from the direction the elves had come from. Renaku fell back into a combat stance, and waited. Within moments a warrior came into view. He stopped and stared at Renaku in surprise. Renaku studied him calmly. The man was solidly built, though perhaps an inch or two below average height. He held a medium-length sword in each hand, and wore armor of some light gray leather, with a cloak of matching color. Renaku blinked. Two swords, and gray clothing... "Did you see some dark elves come by here?" the man rumbled, sounding wary. "They went that way," Renaku replied, jerking his head behind him. The man nodded, and continued to stare. "Are you...Renaku?" he asked finally. Renaku's muscles tightened. "I am." "You cannot pass through this valley." Renaku regarded the warrior with narrowed eyes. "I am traveling to the Rylor mountains." The warrior pointed off to the west with one sword. "There is a pass through that side of the valley. Perhaps one or two days...excuse me, *nights* out of your way...but you cannot pass through this valley." Renaku and the warrior stared at each other some more. "I was hoping to find a warm bed to sleep in...rather than roosting in the rain," Renaku said. "Find it somewhere else, vampire. This valley, Alokin Valley, and the town of Alset, are under the protection of Lady Leandra." Renaku blinked. "Leandra..." Then his face darkened. "After we fought the Fumu together, this is how she remembers me?" The warrior leveled his swords at Renaku. "I would have cut you down as soon as I recognized you, had the Lady not issued standing orders for you not to be harmed. You should be grateful to her, for your life. Now, as your presence will surely disrupt the conflict with the dark elves, you will leave this valley...one way or another." Renaku raised an eyebrow. "Whether it's to the Rylor Mountains, or simply the next life?" "Your choice." Several moments passed, in silence. Finally...Renaku sheathed his sword. "I have no reason to fight you." He turned, and set his foot on the path to the pass the warrior had indicated...then looked back. "And you have no reason to fight me." The warrior remained impassive. "Perhaps." Renaku began his long walk to the pass. Every time he looked back, he could see the warrior standing in the same place, watching him...even after he knew he was beyond the limit of human eyes. ===== Renaku floated in the darkness again. "I don't understand..." he said to the surrounding area. "David is dead, at least Diana said he was, and I've never been back to that valley...why am I remembering this? What possible reason could there be?" "You think too straight," the voice said again. "Everything and nothing has a reason." "What does that mean?" "Everything. ...and nothing." "What are you TALKING about?" Renaku cried. Suddenly a woman appeared in front of Renaku. She had long silver hair, and was very pale. She wore a shimmering white robe that stretched from her neck to her ankles, but had no sleeves, leaving her shoulders bare. She was the most beautiful woman Renaku had ever seen. "Sadaku," she said, "you must go to Izgan." Renaku winced at the sound of his former name. "But...why? I don't even know where it is..." Yet the name stirred something, in the depths of his mind... "It will not be hard to find," she said. "Continue as you are...and you will find out about your real parents." Renaku looked at the woman. The weight of the years seemed to press upon him. "That was all part of my human life...over long ago." "Your human life was the foundation your current life is built on," she replied. "Thirty years...to the day, now." Renaku started. "To the day? But...well, I don't remember the exact day, so...well...are you sure?" "Trust me. And take care..." She faded into the fog. "Wait..." Renaku stretched out a hand, then pulled it back. He rubbed his chest. It felt like something was missing, now that she was gone... "You do not understand," the voice of himself said. The fog reached up to claim him... "...but you will," Renaku heard himself whisper. ===== Thiesra peered into the village square, then pulled back behind the wall. "It's quiet," she muttered. "But there's definitely a lot of magic around," Renaku said. "Yes..." She frowned. "But...it's not like a demon. It's...like a big sound or something...like...the ocean. I can't make anything out..." "Camouflage," Renaku said suddenly. Thiesra's eyes widened. "You're right...there's so much magic, it's blocking out any individual perceptions of demons..." "So there could be dozens of them hiding in the houses right now." "Hundreds, even." Silence. "Maybe we should try a different village," Renaku suggested. "I don't know," Thiesra murmured. "Atlan, Ergin, Izgan and Orsolovan are all on the other side of this village, Terinin...it would take a while to get around, we'd have to climb some cliffs..." "Not hard for us," Renaku noted. More silence. "But we aren't here to run away from demons, are we?" Thiesra said finally. "...No." They looked at each other. After a moment, Renaku unsheathed his demon slayer blade. Thiesra smiled. "Well, if this goes badly...maybe I'll see you in Hell, Ren-chan." Renaku smiled in spite of himself. After a moment, they rushed out from their cover into the village square. And Renaku exploded in fire. ===== Renaku screamed...then stopped. He was back in the fog. "So...I've been here in this dream since then," he said. "Yes," he answered. "...and Izgan is in the Rylor Mountains!" he continued. "Yes," a new voice said. Renaku spun. "Who..." A tall figure, cloaked in shadow, stepped into view. Renaku stared...and fell to his knees, bowing his head. "Lord..." "Greetings, Renaku...my child. More mine than my brother's, now." Renaku trembled. "I..." "Or are you, Renaku?" a feminine voice asked. Renaku raised his head incredulously, to see a beautiful woman with black hair and dark skin, clad in a flowing black gown speckled with points of light, her face hidden by a veil. "Who...?" "Renaku...you do not understand much about gods and goddesses," the woman said, her voice rich and deep. "...I must confess that is the truth," Renaku replied after a moment. She knelt down to look Renaku in the eye. "Most of the world knows me as Nyx, Lady of the Night. But you...your faith is old, and obscure. You know me as a Lord..." "The Lord of Darkness," Renaku whispered. "Exactly. And my sister, whom you met recently...you would call her Lord Moon." Renaku blinked. "You mean...Diana?" "I do," Nyx said. "A cunning trickster, incomprehensible to mortals." "But..." "Yes?" Renaku swallowed. "But...which is real?" "You do not understand," the voice of Renaku's other side said. "But the other part of you does," Nyx said. Renaku looked confused. "They are both real," the answer echoed. "And both unreal." "But that's..." "Irrational?" Renaku heard a smile in the goddess' voice. Renaku said nothing. "Now, Renaku..." Nyx stood, and the fog swirled behind her. Two characters formed, towering over them. "Is this you?" Renaku looked. The first character was 'ren'...purity. It shone with a white light. The second was 'aku'...evil. Darkness seeped from it. "That is...the name I use," he replied. "Indeed. But what about this?" Nyx raised her hand, and the first character changed. The new character was also pronounced 'ren'...but it meant 'forge' or 'temper', as you would a sword. It was colored a dull gray. "...What?" "You must be wary," Nyx continued. Black tendrils reached across from the second character, tainting and dulling the first. "...The destiny, Kanouseiko mentioned?" Renaku asked. Nyx nodded. "Now all three of us have warned you. Take care that our words are not in vain." She began to fade. "You will understand soon enough," the voice of Renaku's irrational side echoed. "You have my blessing," the Lord of Darkness murmured, "and that of my brother." Renaku closed his eyes, and felt the world changing. "I will try to be worthy..." ===== "Worthy?...Renaku? Are you awake?" Renaku felt lost...then he recognized the feeling as that of waking up, and relaxed, letting consciousness take shape at its own pace. He realized that his body ached...but not overly. In fact, the worst pain was centered on his face...and fortunately, he didn't need that to fight. He was lying on his back, on something hard, though his head was supported by something soft. Judging his current situation to be pretty good, as far as "post-losing battle" situations went, Renaku decided he was ready to open his eyes. He saw Thiesra's face, looking down at him. For some reason, she was upside down. Also, her eyes were red. Actually, her eyes were always red, but something about her face made it seem like she'd been crying. Renaku smiled up at her. "Good morning," he said, hoping the weak joke would cheer her up. Thiesra smiled in relief, and wiped her eyes. "You *are* awake!...I was worried...I mean...well, how do you feel?" "Good, except for my face...does it look bad?" She smiled a bit, and nodded. "Sorry you have to stare at it." Thiesra smiled a bit wider, and gently stroked his hair. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're alive..." Renaku tried to raise an eyebrow, but winced as his skin crackled. "Well, I'm not alive, am I?" She almost giggled. "I guess not." Renaku smiled, then his smile faded. "What did they do to me, anyway?" "Reflected sunlight," a somehow familiar voice beyond Renaku's feet said. Renaku blinked. He hadn't realized anyone else was nearby...which meant his supernatural senses hadn't quite recovered yet. He raised himself to one arm and peered down the length of his body toward the voice (noticing, as he did so, that the 'something hard' he was lying on was in fact the ground). A warrior in gray looked back at him, impassively. Except for the scar running above and below his left eye, and the absence of weapons, he looked the same as he had telling Renaku to leave the valley. "Reflected sunlight?" Renaku asked. The warrior nodded. "When you attacked, the sun had set behind the Rylor Mountains...but that just meant it was blocked from view. On the other side of the mountains, it was still shining. So the demons reflected and redirected the sunlight over to this side...probably using crystals mined in these mountains." Renaku let his head fall back down. He suddenly realized that his 'pillow' had actually been Thiesra's lap. He didn't quite know how he felt about that...but it *was* rather comfortable, and she certainly didn't seem to mind... "So you just have a bad case of sunburn, Ren-chan," Thiesra said. She laughed suddenly. "Your face is almost as red as Makath's." "But the shock to my vampire side knocked me unconscious," Renaku murmured. "Clever...I wonder how they got the idea of doing it?" "I gave it to them," a voice from behind Thiesra said. Renaku raised himself to his elbows, and then to a sitting position. He took a good look around. They were obviously in some sort of cell; the town was small enough that this might be the entirety of the jail. No guards were in evidence, but some might be just out of view. Satisfying himself that no other surprise voices were going to pop up, Renaku turned his attention to the final occupant of the cell. A scarred, grizzled man with iron-gray hair met Renaku's gaze. He was garbed in a stained warrior priest's half-robe, the kind of garment that was designed to show the wearer's devotion to the cleric's craft without restricting movement in any way. Under the half-robe was a battered suit of armor, obviously patched and repatched many times, so much so that the crest of Asurion on the chest could scarcely be made out. The man looked at Renaku with an intensity that made him pause. Something tickled at his memory... "You...that guard? Guard captain? From...fifteen years ago?" Renaku ventured. The man nodded. "Jouo Ben Trevant...vampire hunter." Renaku stared at him for a while. He stared back. Thiesra and the nameless warrior stared at them. Then they all heard footsteps approaching, and turned to stare at the door. A man walked into view. At least...he might be a man. Renaku noticed that the man wore loose, dirty beige clothes over every inch of his body, except his face. And if the rest of his body was like his face, it was easy to see why. What seemed to be stone covered half of his face, like a rash. Engraved on his right cheek, like it was chiseled into the rock, was a symbol Renaku knew all too well. "Well, well," the man said, "and how are my fine captives doing today?" Renaku thought the man had a strange accent, until he realized that the rock on his face was as inflexible as it looked, affecting his speech. Somehow, though, he still managed to convey the impression of a sadistic grin. "I'd like to welcome you to our little camp," he continued. "Especially *you*, Renaku...you and that wizard destroyed our Dark Flame brethren..." He leaned forward, and his eyes glinted like diamonds. "But rest assured that the Dark Stone Fumu will be much...*harder* to break..." ===== Vampire Legend R started by Ben Overmeyer. Vampire Legend R Part 10 by John Evans, jevans@datablast.net. Wow, we got to part 10. That's pretty cool. Warning brought to you by Homage Productions. "It's not a ripoff...it's an HOMAGE!" Anachronistic references: 5, 6 if you count 'inspiration'. Beware the Radish.