The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Mortality and its end.





I am, or more accurately was, a man born to a humble station, but that was long ago, what was merely humble in those days would have seemed barbaric to you, who’s most menial lives look like those of gods, at least to those I called my kinfolk. But now they are all dead, long taken by time and fate, for I was born some time around 1276. Somewhere in the area now known as Western Germany, it was a heavily wooded place, the morning mists rising to greet each day anew, my father and I would leave the village and forage for food, wood and everything that was needed. He was an expert huntsman and taught me about how to track and catch the creatures of the wild. Little did I know that one day I would make us of those skills against my own kind, or at least what had been my own kind.



As with all the families in the village, we were close, you needed to be to survive in those days. Each family looked out for themselves, but also for its neighbours and all the other members of the village. Some farmed the land, that barely provided for most, the soil was so poor most of the crops shrivelled and died, so it was to the forest we turned hunting, gathering what we could. But we also knew to respect the woods and its bounty, to do that we didn’t go out after dark, we believed it was a sign of respect, but I now know that it was as much about staying safe, there was something in that wood, something old.



By now you’ve realised that I was not exactly highest in the pecking order round there. I was just another brat that lived among the village folk and scrapped in the muck. So things didn’t bode well for me, I would go the same way as my father, my grandfather and all the rest if something didn’t happen. Not that was too much of a hardship, there were shall we say, compensations.



I had friends my own age there, and one person in particular. I can’t even remember her name now, that sounds bad but when you’ve lived as long as I have things tend to blur. She and I had known each other as long as we had lived, born almost within a week of each other. We were always getting into mischief, I remember one time, this was probably the biggest stunt we pulled, we hid out in the forest. Waiting for a hunter, then I made a horrible sound, he ran like hell and she hid elsewhere and started making another noise. We chased the poor man back to the village, it was obvious it had been us. We got a thrashing from the huntsman for it but we didn’t care.



It was obvious that unless our parents found matches for us. We were going to marry each other one day, probably sooner rather than later, not to mention that her parents and mine knew each other well. Although that was partly through our exploits, they just saw it as children being children. Then there was that one time, she and I were about thirteen summers then, but I don’t think you really want to know what happened, and I’m not telling. Suffice to say despite the wretched existence you’d think we had, we were happy and content to live as we were, not venturing outside our pleasant world.





Childhood waned, we aged, became closer as time passed. But it was destined not to be, unbeknownst to us our parents were brokering a marriage between us, which was all for the good, but fate had other plans for me. As I grew I had to take more of the responsibilities of the house, more work collecting firewood, hunting and scraping to keep our bones together. It wasn’t to put food on our plates, we had no plates for that, and derided those that did as upper class. I had less time for the girl, although we remained close. But despite the life I spent trying to keep things together, I was always warned, no matter how desperate the need was, do not go into the forest after dark. It was advice I should have heeded.



One day, I’d been tracking a deer, a fine buck that had fled from me a few times before. I knew its spoor well enough now, and could predict where it would go next, what it would do to lose me. I was so enveloped in the hunt, and what I would do when I caught it, for I felt that today would be its last, that I didn’t notice the cool of the evening descending over the land. It was only when a chill wind blew, and I had difficulty following the trail that I looked up, and saw the sun near the brink of the horizon. It was nearly night, soon I’d be alone, in the dark, in the woods. I was scared stiff, then with a speed born of desperation I ran, crashing through the forest making enough noise to waken the dead. In deed that was an apt term for what was about to happen.



Out of nowhere a hand seized me in a vice like grip, I struggled but there was nothing I could do, I was trapped fast in the grip of a man with eyes like fire. He pulled me to him, I thought was this a man or demon sent from Hell to punish me? The more I struggled the less I could move, but I felt the sensation of movement, he was carrying me. Me, a young man, in the full bloom of life being carried like a child by a man. It seemed almost impossible, but I could see it happening before my very eyes, the man moved with an inhuman swiftness, his feet barely brushing the undergrowth that I had crashed about in only a few moments before. Then I saw a cave, and my heart grew faint with fear.



Still on he ran, into the cave, into the dark, and I was gone, I do not know whether I fainted or just could not see in the pitch black of the cave, but I lost all sense of time and space. When I did regain some semblance of normality and could see where I was, I looked about me and saw a chamber hewn into the cavern, it was lit with a small fire that gave forth little light, and little heat. I lay on a pallet in the corner, facing the fire, the man was nowhere to be seen. As I crept from my spot, and came close to the fire, for I was cold now, deathly cold, I saw him, hidden in shadow, the only thing visible in the darkness were his bright eyes. I could hear him speaking, maybe to himself, maybe to others hidden. Yes, this one shall be perfect. I wondered what he could mean, was about to ask, when without warning he pinned me.













I was trapped yet again, this man had enormous strength, he easily overpowered any feeble attempts by me to escape. Then it was that I first saw his face, it wasn’t human, nothing human could be that white. Then he smiled, and I screamed, yes I admit that I, considered in those days a grown man screamed when I saw him smile. Instead of normal teeth his whole mouth seemed filled with fangs, barbed and needle sharp. I thought he was going to tear me to pieces then, but he didn’t. I caught a whiff of his foul breath, more like that of a corpse than any living creature. As I blacked out I felt the skin of my neck being pierced and knew no more.



This was the end of my life, at least the human part of it, I never did understand why or how it happened even talking to others about it didn’t bring any explanation, so now I just dismiss it. In my tortured sleep after that encounter my dreams were filled with blood. It was a madness driven world, the skies dripped constantly and dark figures seemed to leer from every corner with sharp teeth, nowhere brought any solace. Then through the red haze I saw something, akin to a bright light, but it could not be that, as every time I tried to go into the light it seemed to almost burn my flesh from the bone. I groped towards the source of that cooling balm, ever expecting it to fade away like any of the other visions, but it stayed. Then I began to see the source for what it was, a figure, a man, the man.



He reached out to me, and I could not resist him, I could neither run, nor turn away to ward myself from him. But he grasped my hand, gently but firmly, and spoke to me. Come boy, it does not do well to linger here. I could do nothing but obey, and slowly the red haze and all about me faded into dark oblivion. Slowly, as if many years had passed, I woke, surfaced was more the word to use, it seemed as if I had come through deep water and had finally surfaced into the light. But there was not light, the fire was out, yet somehow I could see, almost as if the pace was lit with sunlight. There was the man, standing before the pallet his eyes closed and murmuring to himself.



I looked at him properly now, and saw that what had been my earlier impression of him was wrong. He was not some barbaric creature with a mouth full of needle sharp teeth, but seemingly a human. I spoke, my voice edged with fear. Sir? He opened his eyes and looked at me, there seemed to be an oddly calculating look to his glance, as if weighing up a catch’s quality after hunting. Then he spoke, his voice deep and slightly unsettling. Boy, I am Misrael Draconis, you came across my lair and have paid the price. You may no longer return to your village, indeed should you try they would reject you and try to kill you. You are no longer anything like them. I looked at my hands, they did indeed seem different, paler, much like his. But if I was no longer like the people I had called my family and friends, what was I? He answered my thoughts, without me even asking. You are a vampire now boy, you are no longer Harkon Smiel, you are Harkon Draconis, and you are my son.











So that was it, I had been changed, I was no longer human, I could never go home, never see those I loved, but what hurt the most was that I would never see the girl again. I felt weak, ill used by life and ready to give up, lay down on the cave floor and die. Almost as if he could read my mind Misrael, my new “father” as he termed it put a hand on my shoulder. Whether to comfort of to stop me falling I’m not sure, but when he spoke he did not chide me. Harkon, you are Draconis now, that means you will need to be strong. It will be hard and at times you will wish you’d never strayed from the village, but there are rewards. As for those you leave behind now, you can see them one last time, tonight we will go to the village tonight and you will have time to take a last look at them.



Misrael was as good as his word, as he spoke I felt something descend, like a calming wave over the area, he told me later that all vampires felt it as night fell, it told us we were safe to go out. We walked out into the woods, and I saw everything, every single animal and plant, heard every sound. I could see as if it was clear as day, even though it was a moonless night, what a joy to be awake and alive at such an hour. Your kind could never experience such feelings, the breath of the wind magnified a thousand times upon your cheek, the sound of a bat’s wing beat. But we knew we could not go to the village so soon, many would be awake, and we would be seen. So I asked if we could go to a place in the woods so that I could do something.



It was a few hours later, and the moon was near its zenith when we finally got to the village, it was walled round with a rickety palisade, which was more to hem the animals in at night than to keep people out. We scaled this, with almost criminal ease, and dropped silently into the village. Each house was asleep, the occupants huddled together for comfort and warmth. Misrael let me do what I had to do alone, I crept into the girl’s family home, and by her side place a small bunch of flowers, from the same place as we had lain together when we were thirteen summers old. Just outside in our old meeting spot I carved my symbol into the earth. She would find it, and know that I’d thought of her. Lastly I paid a brief visit to my parents house, but I didn’t go in, they were still awake, worried about me obviously. I wanted to soothe them, but I daren’t.



It was with that parting thought that I rejoined Misrael, and he and I together scaled the palisade and dropped out of sight. It was the last time I would see the village inhabited. We returned to the cave, collected some things together and left. And so I was gone, no longer the boy who had grown up in a small village in Western Germany. I was now a vampire, undead, and what’s more, I was now Harkon Draconis, son of Misrael Draconis. Though I loathed what I had become, I accepted it, one day I’d turn on this creature that had robbed me of my life. I’d show him, I thought.



But as with most things this was not to be, my plans never saw fruition and I started to see things that I would never have seen otherwise. Now looking back on things I can thank Misrael because he showed be how to be true to my nature, yet not cause needless death.