The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Do not steal this novel in progress. I've given this months of thinking. Please do not steal this. Thank you.

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Beginning



The skies were clear, and the stars shining like little dots of light outside. There was a cool breeze too. Yes, it was nighttime. But Hantas, the capital of the telis race, was usually this peaceful at night. Normally, during the day, the capital city would be busy with telis moving in and out of the many libraries that dotted the large city. It was peaceful because 99% of the population was of no other race. Maybe a very few would ever visit and stay. As the streets lay dim and silent, however, one telis seemed to be up and moving. Knowing that it'd be quiet enough. Hantas had been her home for the past 42 years. Though she was still very young. Her race had a long life expectancy. And although the society she grew up in expected her to be nothing less of what their own standards demanded, she was....different. Pale skin, dark green eyes, white roots with light brown as the strands of her hair got longer. Which gave the appearance of her hair being half dipped in a dark colored dye. The telis' hair was fine and straight, while being two different colors. Her figure was of an hourglass shape, instead of the tall slender form that defined the telis. Her parents pressured her constantly to abide by their utmost rules. But as she walked the streets of Hantas, there was a strange sense of being pulled to go beyond the borders of the city.



"What am I to do..?" She whispered softly. A gentle wind began to blow in that instant, as if answering her question. Despite not really understanding it, she stood there for a few moments until that wind gently eased away. A silent thought had been passed into her mind without her realizing where this idea came from. There was a friend that used to live here in Hantas, before the rules and principles had gotten onto his last nerve. A year ago he had packed up and mentioned something about going to Kairilfella City. Thinking about it now, he did mention that it was a port city a few hundred miles away from Hantas. A few hundred miles. She shuddered at the thought. Again, a gentle breeze began to blow across her cheeks like silken sheets of cool night air. And with it, another idea. There was a hulim that had recently settled into the city of Hantas. The woman was tattooed from her neck down to her toes. And although much of the telis made it a point to be openly disgruntled by the hulim woman, she didn't seem to notice. As the carefree nature of the Hulims oftentimes made them oblivious to other's normal behavior. As the telis thought of the woman a low voice reached her ears, and interrupted her thoughts altogether.



"Outside for a nighttime walk Sita? I normally never see a telis outside. Especially at nighttime."



She turned around to see her childhood friend Jessie. He was in another form, but from the way he spoke, it was obvious he wasn't a telis.



"Did you sneak into the city? Why are you not in your usual form Jessie?" She asked him. Sita had thought he moved away for good, but yet here he was. As his eyes seemed to sparkle with that mischievous look that he sometimes wore, he spoke up again.



"Something like that. I don't trust the gate keepers of this particular city thanks. Heh.. Besides, it's fun seeing their face look in confusion when they see their own acting strangely. And before you say anything, let's get off the streets. I had two people to come visit. You were one, now lets go meet the other shall we? I'm in a hurry with not a lot of time before those gate keepers realize who I really am." Jessie spoke quietly and quickly. He remained in a telis form, gesturing an arm towards the direction he wished to go. Sita followed him quickly as the two quietly headed further into one of the residential streets. Their pace was speedy to say the least. And as she followed her childhood friend, a few questions came to the surface in her mind. She wondered why he was in a hurry, and what may be happening that is of utmost importance. As the two quickly moved even further down the street, Jessie paused in front of a one story home. The lights were out, but a faint movement at the window caught his attention. Looking around quickly, then turning back to the same window, he went through an inside pocket just on the inside of his thin shirt. What he pulled out was an avian whistle. He blew into it three times. The sound that came out was barely audible to Sita. A low, faint humming sound. The front door opened up as a tattooed hulim woman stepped out quietly. She eyed first Jessie, then Sita and back to Jessie again. In a thick and heavy accent, she asked quietly a question.



"Who are you two?" She kept her bright golden eyes fixed on Jessie, who had the whistle.



"Let us inside, and I'll tell you." He replied. The woman merely rolled her eyes and made a half smile. But she stepped back, and turned on a light in the foyer of her one story home. He moved in, but not without looking at Sita first and beckoning her to follow him inside this woman's home. Sita hesitated, looking at the woman. The same smile didn't even fade, and those gold colored eyes looked as if they were expectant of something. It wasn't until Jessie reached to grab her hand and pull on it did Sita's gaze get torn away from the woman's golden eyes.



"R-Right.." She muttered to herself as she followed her friend inside the home. Once inside, cold air drifted lazily onto her pale skin. It was cool outside. But inside this home it was colder. Sita quietly wondered why. Looking at the inside of the foyer, the walls were white, the windows were frosted to stop anyone on the outside from looking into the foyer. The room itself was only big enough to fit five adults. The section of flooring was beautifully tiled. The ceiling was white too, and it was cathedral styled.



"Alright, we are inside. Now who are you, and how did you know I lived here? Hm?" The woman asked as she closed the door quietly once both Jesse and Sita were inside. Her expression becoming a little impatient almost.



"It's me, Jessie. Marlet I've come to see you about something, and this is Sita. She's more understanding then others." Jesse looked at his friend and smiled a little. Sita looked down for a moment before slowly raising her gaze to meet with Marlet's golden eyes.



"Jesse? Jesse Beara?" Marlet looked at him astonished, then her eyes swept him from head to toe as a grin creased her weather worn face.



"I'm afraid so. I had to sneak in, so don't tell anyone." Jessie returned the grin, then his expression looked more serious. "I've come to visit you to ask about something. It's about that book you have, on Gillis, the Ocean City."



"I still have the book you are asking for. But, I must ask, why do you need it? You can shape shift into a water breathing fish after all. Unless you were going to take her with you." Marlet motioned towards Sita which made her a little uncomfortable.



"I'm not sure I want to put her in a position for travel. Especially if it's dangerous." Jessie replied. There was a certain level of seriousness in his expression, his eyes looked directly into the hulim woman's eyes. There was a certain tension. It was almost like electricity. And it was spooking Sita. Marlet, unflinchingly, kept her gold gaze on Jesse's blue eyes. As the two stood there, having a silent stare down, Sita began to glance, as discreetly as possible, parts of the home. There was a sitting room nearby. The room was even larger then the foyer, with two large sofas that looked comfortable and soft. There was the corner of what looked like a coffee table in between the two sofas. There was white carpeting. And from the brief glances she was able to get, the carpeting looked brand new. In fact some of the furniture looked brand new as well. The walls, even, looked like they had a fresh coat of white paint on them. This seemed odd to her as she looked back at the hulim and hilka staring each other down. Sita took the initiative to clear her throat so the two wouldn't forget the third person standing next to them.



"I need to see that book Marlet. And you know how stubborn I am. I will not leave without looking something up." Jessie spoke softly in an attempt to keep any irritation from his voice.



"Hmph. A creal la din." Marlet replied ruefully. "Have it your way then hilka." She disappeared from the foyer and into a deeper part of the home.



"What?" Sita asked her friend quietly. Jessie merely shook his head and waited for the woman to come back. As Sita blinked her confusion she could do nothing else other then wait like he was doing now. Distant sounds of rummaging could be very faintly heard. And as Sita tuned in to the sounds, she heard a faint muttering noise. Unable to make out the words, if they were words at all, she sighed softly to show some irritation at all of it. Then she noticed that the cold air that was in the foyer when they had entered the home, was suddenly not there anymore. Only the still warmth of the home could be felt.



"Jessie? Did you notice it isn't cold in here anymore? Or is it just me?" She whispered quietly to him.



"What do you mean? It's been warm the whole time Sita." He responded back. A curious look in the blue hues of his eyes. But before she could reply, sounds of footsteps were coming towards the foyer. The two seemed to fall silent again as they waited. Marlet reentered the foyer where Sita and Jessie stood. But she was not empty-handed. There was a heavy old looking book. The edges of the pages looked very fragile and ready to turn to dust if touched. Marlet sighed quietly and held out the book, then motioned with a quick motion towards the next room.



"Sit. Read as much as you need to." She said quietly. Jessie gently took the book and nodded.



"Thank you Marlet." He replied then headed into the sitting room. "Come on Sita." He added, throwing his blue eyes to look at her before turning them back to the sofas. Sita looked at Marlet for a moment before slowly following her friend. The hulim woman then disappeared further into the home again. Leaving the two by themselves for now. Jessie had sit down by the time Sita got to the sofas. He had opened the book after reaching over to a nearby lamp and turning it onto it's lowest lighting. He was carefully flipping page for page, as if he knew which page he needed to see. Once she was seated, Sita watched her friend pour over the book for what seemed to be a good long hour. Until finally he looked up, seeming to have found and read what he was searching for. Though his expression was unreadable.



"Sita? I'll be going on a dangerous journey. And I am not sure you would want to follow me. If you don't then that is perfectly alright. I'd prefer it if you did stay here so that I'd have one less thing to worry about. But that's my personal opinion. It's up to you if you wish to come with me or not." He said quietly. A few moments of silence passed by them as she thought a few things over. Yes, Hantas was her home. No, she never really liked it here to begin with. And to add to her thoughts, she'd always been more of a solitary telis compared to the rest of her people, who socialized only with their own. Sita was the oddball. A gentle smile played onto her lips as she looked at her longtime hilka friend.



"I'm going. With or without your permission. Besides, I've been thinking about leaving this city for awhile now anyways. I'm not like others of my race, and I don't know why that is. I've poured over so many books and scriptures to try and find out why. But all I've been able to turn up, is a great big nothing." Sita finished by sighing quietly. Jessie nodded his head as if in thought. Then he spoke quietly to her again.



"Well, if that is the case, then I should warn you now. This journey I'm going on is dangerous. And I'm not sure how well my fighting skills have improved over these past few months. Probably not a whole lot." He concluded. Sita nodded back, and smiled gently again. She's a brave one.. He thought to himself. Where they could not see, a Limisia watched them quietly.



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Glossary



Avian - Another term for a bird.