Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 12:14:15 -0800 (PST) From: Linda Subject: heir to the darkness: dawn of an empire prologue Dawn of An Empire-Prologue Nick kept his hood on as we both walked out to the town's main street to begin another day's work. I smiled as he tried to pull the hood down a little more to cover his blond locks. Once we reached the the quaint streets towards our little shack, we sat down. He stayed within the shack, weaving baskets while I stood at the window, selling them. This was our simple existence. We would travel place to place, selling whatever Nick felt like making. I stared out from our little shack contentedly. The rain had slowed down and the raindrops were slowly dripping from the rooftops. I turned around to look affectionately at Nick. He was an artist through and through. He could cook wonders. He could weave. He could build. He could entertain, although we had to keep a low profile. But everywhere we went, his abilities were limitless and we found that we could live anywhere. The baskets that he made were absolutely gorgeous. And the most amazing thing was that he didn't use any magic to make anything. Within minutes of opening our little shack, customers immediately flocked our window, admiring the craftwork. They were all commonfolk, but at this moment in time, I'd rather be confined to their common existence than suffer the bane presence of royalty. Half the day was gone without us realizing it. Nick had stopped his work to go towards the back of the shack and make us both some wonderful refreshments. He handed the cup to me and smiled at me lovingly, his lips the only part of his face that the hood did not conceal. Yet, I could picture his beautiful face underneath. The hood was more to conceal those mesmerizing lavender eyes of his. Thus, we continued our relaxing work, watching the townsfolk come and go. It turned out to be another wonderfully uneventful day. We would close the shack in about an hour or two and head home to our comfy little house and rest in our comfortable bed, me and him. Our romantic life was at its peak and every night felt like the first night after our engagement. Our passion was wilder than ever. My daydreaming was caught off guard when I noticed a man approach our shack. He did not look common at all. He had a good build with a charismatic stroll. He looked, if anything, like a wanderer . . . a wanderer with a probably fantastic history. But he did not look like royalty. He appeared to be more of those rebel-justice kind of guys. And behind him, his sidekicks waddled, all with an air of confidence and pride. My heart skipped a few beats, hoping to avoid any trouble. "Ravaging," he exclaimed as he turned Nick's favorite basket over in his hands. He immediately took an interest in Nick, which made me proud all the while possessive at the same time. Even with the brown cloak shielding his beauty, Nick was difficult to conceal. Nick turned to face the wall as to avoid his stare. 'No need to stare' I said in his mind. To my shock, his mind answered. 'Name's Craig. Not staring. Just admiring the handiwork.' I was a little more than surprised to find ourselves amongst more vampires. 'What?' Craig smiled. 'You have not left the boundaries of the vampire world yet, my friend, even as far as you have traveled. But mind you, the only vampires that survive here are unruly ones. The rules are our own.' Craig looked down to admire the craftwork once more. "Beautiful, just like its creator." His eyes wandered to Nick again. "How much?" he asked as my skin crawled. We had traveled so far, hoping to be rid of our heritage. Every week we had traveled during the night, edging our way away from Sangria! "Twenty darli's," I answered. Craig's sidekick placed the money on the table and claimed their basket. "If you're looking to escape Sangria, then I can assure you that you are far enough and need not travel any further. We have no contact with such fiends. This little town only holds those who reject that shabby leadership." I felt Nick's fingers stopped. Craig too focused his attention on Nick. "Perhaps you can introduce me to your charming, but quiet little friend here," Craig nodded towards Nick as he addressed the statement to me. "Brian . . . " I heard Nick's soft voice call out, hinting at me not to get into an argument with these people. I had learned that his intuition was impeccable. I sighed. He was right. We couldn't afford to cause a commotion in this town. We had traveled for too many months to afford any hostility. I walked towards Nick and motioned for Craig to follow me. Realizing that I could not lie to Craig, I said, "This is Nickolas." "Nickolas," Craig said the name almost affectionately. Nick smiled under his hood and he took my hand in his and squeezed it affectionately. "Please forgive my fiancee," Nick said softly. "We've had quite a few run-ins during our travels. We're both a little jumpy." "Understandable," one of Craig's men stated. "Under that shabby leadership, there's nothing but slimeballs traversing the country. We're surrounded by imbeciles and greedy, lustful, unworthy living forms." "That's kind of an overstatement, wouldn't you think?" I shot back, rather disturbed by their pessimistic view. Craig laughed. "I wouldn't say so, judging from what you both have gone through." I looked to Nick alarmingly. He smiled reassuringly. "My fiancee and I only wish for a peaceful existence," Nick implored. Craig laughed before his sidekicks drew out their daggers. By now, we have commanded quite an audience. Apparently, Craig commanded more power than we had thought. It appeared that he held some leadership position in this town. "You've come to the wrong town for peace, friend," Craig answered coldly. "Tell me, what are you doing here in our little town. We don't welcome any visitors, especially those from Sangria!" Outside the shack, the rain was starting to sprinkle the town. I hope that wasn't an omen. I was ready. These guys are no match for me. I quickly tensed up, before Nick placed his hand on mine, beckoning me to not get into a fight. Craig only laughed and flipped his dagger around. A pretty impressive show. He turned to walk to the other end of the shack and sat down, his cold eyes piercing us like poisonous arrows. "We don't welcome people who smell of Sangria, friend. We have cut ourselves off from their bane existence. You have only one alternative. Leave our little town." "Tell them, Craig!" the townsfolk agreed. My face heated up. "Well, if you didn't want strangers, you should have put a sign outside your town limits," I flared my nostrils. Defense tactic. "Come on, Nick." I gracefully took hold of his hand, pulling him out of his seat gently and led him out of our little shack. The nerve of them. We've been here for two days, and no one said anything until now. And this Craig . . . what the hell was he? Representing the town or something? "Hold on!" Craig's voice boomed. "No strangers may stay here for two days without showing their face. He was referring to Nick. At this time, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of displaying Nick. We kept on walking, my hand firmly on Nick's. We had barely taken a few steps when I felt a strong arm on my shoulder. One of those sidekicks. I wasn't too afraid. If anything, my powers have grown tremendously since I left Sangria, thanks to Nick's little lessons here and there. We had trained every chance we got, him giving me hints or phrases from books he had read in the past about the art of fighting. He was a master when it came to assessing and critiquing my fighting skills, always knowing how to analyze an enemy's fighting stance and finding a way to defeat him. With his insight and my fighting abilities, we were probably undefeatable. I quickly flipped the person's arm around and flung him to the ground, surprising most everyone. I might not look menacing, but I have a bite to my fighting that's deadly. A few others approached us, but I had successfully defeated them with a few sweeping motions. We were ready to leave, Nick smiling appreciatively at me. That was before I felt Craig step forward. It was then that I realized that Craig was no ordinary being. He felt very strong, just like Kevin . . . I tried to focus. But that was when I realized that Craig . . . hmmm the name sounded familiar. Craigler! That's right. Craigler the Great-one of the most beloved war heros of our time . . . had retired and given his own plot of land from the Queen of Sangria. Since then, his name had died and no one knew what had happened to him. I looked on in consternation, but Nick's gentle touch brought me back to reality. "Careful," he warned me, the concern evident in his voice. I nodded before nudging him aside, warning him to stay far from us. Within seconds, I felt Craig step into the inner circle, eyeing me and Nick closely. Craig smiled confidently, obviously loving a good challenge. "I win . . . and he takes off that ghastly hood!" Craig beamed, the excitement showing on his face. Obviously he has not had this much fun in a while. I could see the mischief in Craig's eyes. I remember now . . . he was very well-known for his quirky attitude and informal character-a favorite of the Goddess Mother. I made the first move and kicked, only to have him grab a hold of my foot and flipping me over. I landed without difficulty. The match then truly began in earnest as each of us threw deft punches at each other, each deftly averting the other's punches. We fought for quite a few minutes when we took it onto the rooftops. The townspeople were very awed that someone could match up to the abilities of their leader. I was mesmerized that I had found quite a match in a long time. We fought until the sweat poured onto our faces, each fatigued to no end, but no one wanting to lose. With effortless glides, we flew from the rooftop back down to the ground, Nick now within a few hundred feet. I tried to keep the fight away from him so that he wouldn't be hurt, but Craig seemed to have picked up on this weakness of mine and moved closer to where Nick stood. But that seemed to have been Craig's mistake. Nick's voice was gentle yet firm when he spoke. "Brian . . . his knees are weak." That was enough of a hint for me. I changed my tactics like I did so many times while training with Nick. My movements slowed but the force I exerted increased exponentially as I aimed for his knees, surprising most everyone, including Craig himself. I expertly swept his knees, making him lose his balance and tipping him over until he had to take a few steps back. We both paused in our fight, he all too awed by this sudden loss of his balance, as if that were the first time anyone got upper hand in a fight with him. I had hoped the fight had ended, but Nick spoke up once more. "His body is sturdy, but he is not fast. He has momentum, but his momentum can easily be misdirected, tipping his balance during his fighting. His arms are strong, but likewise, they aim for the center of the victim. His blows are aimed only to kill and no other reason. Therefore, he is entirely too predictable in his movements." As he said this, Nick paced around. He shocked everyone by his critical nature. He had deceived everyone with his mild demeanor and gentle voice. His words were firm and unforgiving. The townsfolk all stared in disbelief, and Craig looked on warily, apparently not finding just one ominous foe in me but another in Nick. "Who are you?" Craig's voice boomed across the street to reach Nick's ears. Nick's lips tilted into a small smile. "We've won." With that, he looked to me expectantly. I smiled at him and approached him. He held his hand out to me and the two of us walked down the street holding hands affectionately. We had probably only taken a few steps when another man blocked our exit, his build just as bulky as Craig's but commanding a greater respect. The man smiled. "Excuse my Craig. He's second in command, but had not found a challenge for a long time. And I myself am amused and delighted to be amongst such talent. I challenge you, but not because I want to be belligerent. I just haven't had a chance to try out my rusty sword for so long. Would you do me the honors?" The man's sturdy figure betrayed the quickness in his actions. He swept out his sword effortlessly. A moment of silence. I could feel Nick's gaze on this man, gauging his every movement. "Careful," Nick whispered to me. "The tip of his sword is blunt, but the rest of his sword is sharp. Try to avoid the edges. Don't use force when dealing with him. He'll tire you out." With a good luck kiss on my lips, Nick stepped aside. I only wish that they would not take advantage of my preoccupation with this guy and hurt Nick. I let him have the first move. With lightning speed, he aimed the sword for my forehead. I blocked with the two small daggers that I pulled out of my pocket. Nick had spent countless nights sharpening them. I could hear the claps in the background, awestruck probably from seeing their leader spread his arms in a fight for a long time. Hero worship. To my surprise, when I blocked his sword with my daggers, they each created a little nick in his sword. I was more than impressed to say the least with Nick's skill. I flipped both daggers in my arm, spinning them and creating a little radius around my hand that he could not attack and forcing him to back up. With a small flip, I aimed for his arm, trying to shake his focus. He deftly averted my attack and managed to link his knee with my stomach. With a shock, I fell backwards from impact. I was too anxious that I forgot to defend myself. I quickly recovered and slipped from under his foot as he nearly stomped on me. I threw one dagger at him and he took a few steps back, the dagger too fast for him to catch. I called the dagger back to me and blocked another one of his advances, once again, nicking another part of his sword. We fought for quite a few minutes, none of us getting the upper hand. As Nick had said earlier, I began to feel my muscles tighten. This man was quick. We took our fight to the gates of the little village, all the observers following us. I could feel my body hedge slightly as my movements became clumsier. We once again flew back to the little basket weaving shack. We were within fifty feet of Nick. Nick's voice yet again had a calming effect on me. "The daggers are sharp, Brian, but you need to put more force when wielding them. " Nick suddenly became silent, and even though I understood his words, they were not enough to carry me through this fight. The man had knocked one of my daggers out of my hand and it slid across the ground out of my reach. I was trapped. With deathly speed, he attacked my arms, bruising them. He had the chance to slice them off, but he preferred to humiliate me and attack the arm with the other dagger, also sending that dagger flying off towards the side. And then, he aimed his sword for my head . . . I could see the tip of the sword becoming larger as it tried to sink in between my eyes, but to my surprise, the man had jumped back in surprise. I saw the dagger fly towards his face and he had to lean back to avoid it from cutting through. Nick quickly ran to my side. "Are you all right, Brian?" he asked worriedly, not caring that the man had jumped forward to attack him. When Nick didn't turn around to defend himself from the blow, the man stopped in midair. With a quick flick of his wrist, he brushed off Nick's hood, only to reveal Nick's blond locks and mystical lavender eyes. The man stared in awe, fascinated with this newfound beauty that was entrapped in his own village. I held onto Nick possessively. Ever since I found that he had lost his powers, my fears that he would be taken advantage of had exponentially rose, making me jumpy by every glance that was directed towards him. "Exquisite!" Craig said in the background unabashedly. I stood up to shield Nick from them as Nick pulled back his hood. But it was too late. Just like it had been for the entire duration of our trip, we had to figure out an escape route, and fast!