Chapter
1 – A Legacy to Live Up to
A lone man in a black cloak stops
at a town on his way to his destination.
“Can you spare any food or water?” he
asks in various ways to the townspeople he comes across.
Everyone who sees him is wary of
the man since he doesn’t show his face and because he has pale skin like that
of a vampire. His cloak is stained with dirt and blood, and he stinks of sweat.
It doesn’t help that the vampires have recently taken their fair share of the
infants, priests, and young for their blasphemous sacraments and to make more
serfs. A nearby scream attracts the attention of the lone man who runs to find
out what the reason behind it is. He finds a crowd gathered around a vampire
that’s holding a bloody infant.
“I’ve ripped this infant from his
mother’s womb because you would not pay your due tithe to us. Let this be your
final lesson or else it will happen again and it will only get worse
from there,” the vampire says with the crying twitching infant held in the air
like a trophy.
It is then the lone man takes off
his cloak, jumps into the air, and slices the vampire in two at the torse with
his whip before catching the infant, wrapping him in his cloak, and giving him
to a relative. Now that his cloak is off, the townspeople can clearly see who
this lone man is.
“It’s Claudius Aurora of the Aurora
vampire hunting family!” a townsperson says.
Most people in the crowd are glad
to see him except for another band of vampire hunters that approach him.
“I didn’t expect the son of a
coward to be out here by himself,” one of the hunters says.
“I’d hit you in the face, but I don’t
want to stain my hands with the blood of a vile sinner who would insult my
father,” Claudius responds in kind.
Claudius passes by the hunters.
“If your father was on the field rather
than comfortable in the political sphere then we would actually respect him,”
another hunter says.
“Ignore him. Our job is done here,”
yet another says.
“Our job is done? He took our job.”
“They’ll be another. I say that we
follow him and return the favor he did for us.”
The words of the hunter are ignored
as Claudius is on his way out of the town.
He is stopped by a townsperson that
says, “We didn’t know it was you asking for food and water, so here’s some. We
have more if this isn’t enough.”
“No, as it said, if you do not help
the least, you do not help the Lord. This town deserved to be tormented by the
vampires,” Claudius coldly says while taking the food and water and throwing
them on the ground.
The townsperson recoils in fear
with the others who hear what Claudius has said. Meanwhile, Claudius’ stomach
growls. He offers up the pain of his hunger and thirst before continuing on. As
he travels to his next destination, he asks a traveling merchant for food and
water to which the merchant gives it even though Claudius can’t pay for it.
With a drooling mouth, Claudius almost devours the bread from the hands of the
merchant, but he stops himself, thanks God for the bread and water, and then
calmy eats and drinks.
“Haven’t you eaten anything, boy?”
the merchant asks.
“No, not since the last daily mass I
attended,” Claudius says.
“I mean food like meat, vegetables,
and non-consecrated bread.”
“I haven’t since I left Rome.”
“Rome? That’s a week’s journey from
here. You’ve gone this long without food or water?”
“It’s been a three day journey thanks
to the kindness of strangers.”
“How can you survive like that?”
“By the gifts of God and strangers.
I’ve drunk from rivers and lakes and eaten the leftover pieces of bread from
those who could offer it.”
“Why are you putting yourself
through this? I mean have you taken a look at yourself in a while? Are you some kind of warrior penitential monk?”
“No, I have just taken many penances
on my quest so that I may pay for my sins, the sins of the world, and for the
Holy Souls in Purgatory along the way. These scars that you see on me are self-inflicted
such as my bruised and bloodied knees from intense praying and mediation. I
tattooed and cut the cross and monogram of Our Lord on my chest both as penance
and as a sign of who I’ve given my soul to. This hundred decade rosary on my
right arm is here for me always pray to the Blessed Mother, and these bandage
on my face is meant to conceal my identity so people won’t treat me better
because of my upbringing.”
“Who are you exactly?”
“Claudius Aurora.”
“Oh, Aurora. I’ve heard that your
father and his band of vampire hunters have really helped the allies of the
Church and more. Why aren’t you back in Rome with him where it’s much safer and
more comfortable?”
“Because I must live up to my
grandfather’s legacy. It’s right that I should be since I'm his grandson. He always
said that I would do great things and become even better than he was when he
was alive on Earth. I’m not going to let him down.” Claudius falls to his knees
and looks towards the sky. “Grandfather Nevar, look down upon me with favor, and
please intercede for me in Heaven.”
After parting ways, Claudius sees a
party of vampires and their serfs making their way toward the town he was in.
Because of how they treated him, he decides to ignore it. A ray of light shines
on him as an angel appears in front of him, his guardian angel. This divine
being manifests itself as a being with a cloak made of thorny vines, four wings
and four whips that float independently of the body, and four eyes with no mouth
that reside in the dark hood.
It says, “Be merciful, Claudius. There
are repentant souls in the town now because of your actions. They are now worthy
of having their punishment lifted from them for the time being.”
“Is that so? A harsher punishment
could further prevent them from being uncharitable to strangers,” Claudius says.
“The vampires will not take kindly
to one of their own being killed and the people that they spare will become
their serfs. This town won’t last a day.”
“Becoming a serf is a horrible fate.
Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll go.”
Meanwhile, the vampire hunting
group from before eagerly awaits the approaching vampires and sets up a trap for
them. The archers perch themselves on the roofs while the warriors and
assassins lurk in the shadows or act as live bait. This trap works in taking
out a vampire and some of the serfs, however, the vampires have brought their
best since they heard that a member of the Aurora family is headed this way and
the hunters are soon killed. Each of them is killed in brutal ways with some
being beaten to death with their own limbs. A survivor is left alive and forced
to crawl to the approaching Claudius with his arm being the only limb he has to
pull him forward. The townspeople fearfully hide in their homes and pray that Claudius
is successful.
“Please…help. I don’t want to die,”
the dying hunter says.
Looking down at him, Claudius says,
“Vampire hunting is a job, not a lucrative career choice because it will one
day end forever. I hope you know that now. There’s no saving your life, so use
the shameful state you are in as penance and hopefully, God will save your soul.
Perhaps you won’t even go to Purgatory.”
After leaving the hunter to their
fate, Claudius boldly approaches the vampires and readies his whip for the
fight. The vampires who are hungry for a glorious victory of taking the head of
an Aurora leap into action and are swiftly killed by Claudius. He whips them in
half then sighs at the lack of challenge. It is then that the other vampires
use a pincer attack on him and try to attack him one after the other in an unpredictable
pattern. Still, Claudius is able to dodge and kill each vampire thanks to his
training. When the dust settles, the townspeople come out of hiding and cheer.
“You have seen the fruits of faith
and will of God shown through me. Go and sin no more,” Claudius says before
heading off.
It is then that a townsperson
offers him a horse and satchel of bread, which he reluctantly accepts because
of the silent whispers of his guardian angel. He then crosses himself in thanks
for the gifts and heads out while silently praying his rosary.
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