Venatores Noctis: Defilement of Falsehood: Chapter 2 – Tempted to Justice

Chapter 2 – Tempted to Justice

After getting an earful from her superiors, Maryam joins the meeting of Church leaders.

“Did she lose control of herself again?” a leader asks the commander that took her in.

“Thankfully, she didn’t even though it seems like she did because of all the dead she and her allies left in their wake,” the commander says.

“The dead were all vampire wolves and traitors to the Church,” Maryam’s allies argue.

“Some of those wolves were ignorant civilians.”

“And nothing could’ve been done to change them. It’s a tragedy that we must deal with and something that I bore the weight of,” Maryam says.

“Still, you shouldn’t have acted first without our permission.”

“I’ve asked for your permission and I’m done waiting. We cannot let the evils of the wolves go unpunished any longer. We have the weapons we need to stop them, so why aren’t we using them?”

“Because God’s darkness that you are blessed with lasts only for a certain time and being in the Eternal Sun blinds the conscience of everyone touched by its false light or have you forgotten?”

“No, I haven’t, but we still can’t let them do what they want. I’ve been investigating rumors of the wolves trying to bring about the second coming of Christ and now I know that it’s going to happen in London. People from all over the world will indulge themselves in the flesh of the innocent in a few days and we must be there to stop them by any means!”

“We don’t have the numbers to overtake them.”

“We don’t need numbers when we have God’s favor.”

“And we hardly have that nowadays.”

“Faithless imbeciles! If you had any faith in God, the Church wouldn’t have to live underground nor would evil have any hold on the earth.”

“If the Meridies didn’t let the Church down generations ago, then we wouldn’t be where we are.”

“My parents, siblings, and other related family members are  still doing penance in isolation for my family’s giving in to the Eternal Sun while I do my penances every day with every action I take.”

“Regardless, there’s a reason why it took fewer generations for humanity to fall to the Eternal Sun than the Eternal Night. Its cursed light even reaches us in here and can affect our decision making. We’ll go over what we know, bless ourselves, then reconvene to decide on our course of action.”

“I think our next course of action is obvious and there’s no need to go over anything else.”

“We’ll take a vote on it.”

The leaders vote and those who want to wait to make a decision win with the most votes. Annoyed by this, Maryam goes off the area of the underground city where most of her supporters live. This area like the others is decorated with pictures of scenes from Scripture, saints, the Blessed Mother, and Christ. blessed Stained glass windows let some of the light from above in for the underground farms while dimming the influence of the Eternal Sun. Candle lighters go about their business replacing the old, blessed candles with new ones and relighting them for the deceased, the people suffering in the world, and to further dull the influence of the Sun.

Unique to this section of the underground is the number of penitents doing their penance for the sins of the world and the beastmen that make up more of the population here than the rest of the underground not because of discrimination, but because of the Meridies family history of utilizing and obtaining equality for them so they are viewed as humans and the sacraments they receive are considered valid. Many greet Maryam and give her gifts for her return and news of her victory. In return, she gives her simple thanks to the gift givers and cuts her conversations short so that she can go back to her house, which is a large three story house that is embedded in the rock of the underground.

She gets on her knees, looks at the dagger on the end of her scythe then says, “St. Nave grant me strength through your dagger, the last piece of the whip that scarred the body of Christ, and weapon of the Aurora family.” Turning it around to the other end, she says, “St. Longinus, through this spear that pierced the side of Christ, grant me your strength from Heaven.” Turning her eyes to the scythe end, she says, “Saints of the Auroras, the Meridies. Grant me strength.”

After saying her prayers and rosary, Maryam looks outside her windows. Seeing the faithful, happy people go about their business fills her with a burning sense of purpose as if an invisible hand and voice are pushing her to move. It is then that she sees her ancestor, St. Claudius, appear only to her sight. He still bears the scars of his many penances, especially the IHS and cross that glow brighter than the rest of his wounds. His green eyes and blonde hair also glow with a sort of divine radiance that clothes him with grace.

Bowing before him, Maryam says, “What do I owe the honor of your visit?”

“First, you must stand and sit down. I know how tired you are and the desire within you for justice. I had much the same when I was on earth,” Claudius says.

Maryam does as Claudius says. “So, what should I do?”

“When it comes to making important decisions, then you should calm yourself, think, pray, listen to God’s answer in the silence, in your heart, or through some messenger whether it’d be your angel, a stranger, or someone you knew, then you should act. Doing these will ensure that you will make the best decision possible and not fall to any sin or human weakness.”

“I’ve been following that and my heart is telling me to move. The false holiness of the wolves can no longer go on and we have very little time before something big will happen. I must do something even if I have to do it by myself.”

“That is what I thought when I was in your place as well. I know you fight with traditional values and motives in mind.”

“Yes, my family has even given the middle name of Aurora to me and my siblings to remind us of our lineage. If they weren’t doing their penances or protecting the ones that are, then they’d agree with my course of action.”

“Then talk to those who you think agree with you and ask for their advice. If they agree, then make your move. If not, wait for the right opportunity. Remember that what God thinks is the right opportunity is not always what we think it is.”

Thinking about bringing people with her, reminds Maryam of the times when she let people down. Part of her black hair turns white before going back to being black.

“No, no. Enough with these reminders. I know what I must do and I have to do this by myself.”

“I cannot make you do what you aren’t convinced of. I can only intercede for you so that you may be granted God’s mercy.”

“Let God’s justice engulf me if I make a mistake so I may better myself and pay for anything wrong and evil I do. My sins and failures warrant it.”

“You’re thinking about mercy, but I’ll be there should you fall. Just don’t beat yourself up too hard in penance. God is glorified more by your repentance and joy than sorrow for your sins of the past.”

Claudius disappears from Maryam’s sight leaving her to think over what he said to her. Looking back at the people below her and remembering the past, puts stress on her that makes her crave justice and violence, which slowly turns her black hair white and removes the golden glow from her eyes so that they become black.

“No, no! Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. I must do something!” Maryam says before swiping a map, picking up her scythe, and leaving without telling or alerting anyone of her departure.

Using her bestial abilities, Maryam leaps and runs in the direction of London. Along the way, she comes across a convoy that she knows belongs to the wolves. She attacks it without hesitation and kills everyone involved even if they aren’t partially wolf. Going through the contents of the convoy, she finds a map of the area and a supply of the so-called bread in many boxes along with other valuables such as fine clothes, gold, home decorations, and the like. Seeing everything here grows Maryam’s anger, which is also affected by the Eternal Sun. She crosses herself and places the trust of her soul in the hands of God, the Blessed Mother, and many saints before using the darkness within her arm to block out the sun for a bit.

Once she collects herself, she takes a closer look at the map to see that several locations are marked along her path to London that are producers of the so-called bread. Since she still has time to get to London, Maryam decides to hit these locations before she gets there.

“They’ll have to be destroyed sooner or later,” Maryam says to herself.

More temptations begin to come into her mind as the darkness over her is dispelled by the light. Maryam holds her head in pain while she tries to fight the silent whispers some of which almost seem to be reasonable in telling her that she’s doing the wrong thing.

“No, no, no! These temptations are only proof that I’m doing the right thing. The devils don’t tempt their own after all,” Maryam says before continuing on her way while fighting the temptation in her mind.

Venatores Noctis: Defilement of Falsehood: Chapter 1 – Invasion of Sacred Darkness

Chapter 1 – Invasion of Sacred Darkness

Another day comes around as the night sunsets and the morning sun rises. Everyone smiles as they awaken, say their prayers, go about their morning routine before getting to work, and say good morning to all their neighbors. No one is poor in this town nor in the world and everyone helps everyone no matter how much of an inconvenience the other person may be. There are even citizens in the world that jump around and lift heavy objects with superhuman strength. In addition, the kings, queens, and business owners keep each other in check to the point where the guards and soldiers of each nation question the use of their job.

“Yeah, there may be little to no crime going on, but thank God for that,” a guard says.

“You’re right. Hears to another day without crime, tragedy, and evil. May they soon be entirely forgotten as if they never existed.” another guard says.

“May the vampires and their serfs be forgotten as well.”

“Vamp-oh, those things. They’re nothing more than footnotes in the books of history now.”

“And may they be now and forevermore.”

The guards open a bottle of white wine and share it with their fellow guards and citizens that pass by to celebrate another day of world peace. While they are drinking, a pale woman dressed in black with a scythe runs past them. They nor the citizens of the town pay much attention to her because they are too busy enjoying life and their positive mindset of people and hardly think anything of her as a result. In the distance of the pale woman’s destination, a morning mass is going on that is packed to brim with people who are eager to worship God. A priest and his altar servers walk in with doves flying around them while a choir and the congregation sing songs of praise and dance in the place they are. Meanwhile, the altar servers behind the priest hand out the finest seasoned bread to the congregation.

“May God bless our bountiful harvest,” the priest says at the altar. He holds out his hands where a golden light comes out that touches the bread. “Eat and be filled.”

As the congregation takes a bite, the bread either turns into a soft valuable gold or gives them superhuman strength and agility. Many are overjoyed at this, but their mass is stopped by the pale woman who kicks open the front door and walks towards the altar. This woman’s skin is almost entirely white save for the crescent black marks on her shoulder that connect to a larger symbol that is hidden by her clothing and her right arm which is strangely half black. Her dress is all black, she has a miraculous medal choker, her boots are leather with some metal armor in them for protection, and her shoulder guard on her right arm has a black cross on it. A black veil with dark roses covers her face, however, her black and gold eyes shine through it. Another oddity is the cracks around her eyes that close when she blinks and part of her pitch black hair that is white. She carries a large scythe that has two sharp ends, which is the most concerning thing for everyone in the church.

Composing himself, the priest asks, “Please take a seat among the congregation and put away the weapon. You are with fellow Catholics, your holy family.”

The pale woman does not say a word even though she seems to be holding back something.

“What is it? Is something urgent that is happening that justifies your reason for carrying your weapon?”

Before the priest can say anything else, the pale woman cuts him in half along with the cross behind him. Scared and shocked by this, some of the people run out of the church while those who have superhuman abilities try to fight her, however, they are cut in half, decapitated, impaled, or delimbed by her scythe and its spear-like ends.

She then raises her hand and says, “Wake up you fools!”

A sphere of darkness comes out of the pale woman’s hand, goes through the ceiling, and explodes in the sky. The darkness that explodes from the sphere makes people squint as if it were brighter than the sun and reveals to them things that they were blind to because of the light. Thanks to the darkness, the citizens in the church can now see that the cross that was cut in half had a perverse version of Christ on it that was half woman, half man, and part wolf. It is also revealed that the priest is a vampire wolf and those who ate the bread and the people who have superhuman abilities are revealed to be part wolf in some way such as part of their face, their hand, leg, or another part of their body being like that of a wolf. Confused by this, the people throw their questions at the pale woman in a mess of noise, anger, confusion, and worry that all blends together into incomprehensible noises.

Annoyed, the pale woman says, “Silence unless you want to share the fate of the wolves! Either get out of my way or rebel against the false church and god that has blinded you with false happiness.”

Before the people in the crowd can decide, the pale woman leaves them and is confronted by a group of men and women, some of which are half beast, half human, that are holding blessed weapons in their hands.

“Maryam!” one of them calls out to the woman.

“It’s Maryam Aurora Meridies! We finally caught up to her,” another announces.

“Your majesty, you should have waited for us before you attacked.”

“I’m not your majesty, and I didn’t want another blasphemous mass to go on, especially when they use the congregation as test subjects for their experiments,” Maryam says.

“I don’t understand how they eat the flesh of baptized infants without realizing it. It’s sickening.”

“They’re under the influence of the Eternal Sun so they’re blinded to what they’re really seeing. Still, I can’t completely see the purpose behind this. I’ll find an answer soon.”

“What will you have us do?”

“Secure the rest of town, stop the other blasphemous masses, and recruit whoever you can then go back to the underground base for further orders from our superiors.”

“You don’t want any help?”

“No, because this is my duty and you’ll just get killed if you do.”

“We’re bestials like you and just as skilled. We can help,” one half human, half beast says.

“If you really think I’m above you in rank, then follow my orders. God will punish me if I’m wrong or push you to move.”

Maryam heads off on her own as the darkness in the sky continues to spread throughout it. Seeing this causes the vampire wolves within the town to mobilize their guards and themselves. As she faces down her enemies, her guardian angel appears. The angel has three heads, one has a human skull with an eye and nose that all connect, another has the face of an insect, and the last has the face that could be said to be that of a demon. It has six arms, two of which are connected to the demon-like face and the insect one. In addition, its dark cloak has hands on the outside that it uses to take its enemies in who don’t return.

The sight of Maryam and her angel slaughtering the wolves and the citizens of the town either turning away from or turning against the wolves forces them to retreat, which Maryam hardly allows as she goes after them. She cuts up whoever she can, injures a few then begins to question them.

“What are your plans?” Maryam says with her scythe to the throat of a wolf.

“They’re holy and nothing more than God’s will-” the wolf hardly manages to say before they are beheaded.

Moving on to the next person who is only part wolf, Maryam grabs them by the leg as they crawl away and crush their leg as if it were paper.

They scream out before saying, “Get away from me, monster!”

“I’m not the one whose leg crumbles at the slightest squeeze from a blessed arm,” Maryam says.

“How is that black arm of yours blessed?”

“It’s blessed by God’s darkness, the one that shows you the harsh reality of the world and enforces its justice upon sinners such as yourself.”

“But-but I’m blessed and I’m no sinner!”

“Have you looked at yourself recently? You’ve been turned into part vampire wolf. You might not be damned because you seem ignorant, but the slightest cut from a blessed weapon with having you bleeding without end.”

“I didn’t know this would happen to me! I thought that what my superiors were doing was justified. They said the vampire wolves were God’s true servants because of this Eternal Sun that they cast over the world that made everyone in it happy and love each other. Now…I don’t know what to think.”

“You can tell me what they’re planning by making everyone part vampire wolf.”

“It’s part of some plan to bring about the second coming of Christ, but I don’t know if we even worship the same God.”

“Tell me more.”

“They think that if more people eat the bread and gain abilities, the more likely Christ is to return. There’s an event happening in London in a few days where many will be given more than their fair share of the bread. People from all over the world will be there. If people gain superhuman abilities and partially transform into wolves with just one piece of bread at daily masses, I can’t imagine what will happen when they gorge themselves on it for the entire day.”

“They’ll be more than beasts if they do that. I’ll stop them.”

“What about me?”

“A vampire is already dead and the state of their soul cannot change no matter what they do.”

“Then what can I do? How will I know the state of my soul and whether or not I will go to Heaven or Hell?”

“I can help you will with that.”

“Really? How?”

Maryam stabs the half wolf with the dagger end of her scythe. “You’ll know now.”

She then turns to the other injured half wolves who are unable to escape because of their injuries.

One of them says, “Wait! We’ll talk too!”

“I don’t need to know anything else.”

After killing the survivors, she heads in the direction of London but is stopped by soldiers of the Church who are dressed in scrapped together armor.

“Maryam Aurora Meridies, you are ordered to come back home,” a commanding officer who is dressed in a much nicer set of scrap armor says.

Seeing that she is surrounded by weapons pointed at her, she complies with the officer’s orders and begrudgingly goes back to the underground home with the soldiers while silently praying that she has enough time to stop what will happen in a few days as the Eternal Sun begins to shine again through the darkness that Maryam previously used to block it.

“May God’s darkness eventually snuff out this accursed day,” Maryam silently prays under her breath.

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The birth of a child is a blessing, but the birth of a child of a human and a beastman is considered a curse. Nave is one such child whose entire life has felt like a curse. He's lost so many people, is expected to do more than he can, and suffers for little to no reward. As the weight of his cross grows heavier, he has the choice of either continuing to suffer for God or giving up on everything.

Venatores Noctis: Bastard Inheritor: Chapter 4 – Under Paid, Little Appreciation, Still Blessed

Chapter 4 – Under Paid, Little Appreciation, Still Blessed

As the beastmen enter the city, the citizens of the city are taken aback by their number and all the types of beastmen entering it, especially the ones that have the appearance of pests, insects, and some of which are Corpus. This large force scares many including the Church’s guards and army who hold their weapons at the ready as if anticipating some attack. Word of their arrival reaches the leaders of the Church before they reach the capital building and the leaders go to meet them.

“Stop right there! What do you think you’re doing marching down the streets with that army?” one of the leaders says.

“It’s what you told me to bring. I have new recruits plus my old soldiers who will fight in the final battle against the vampires,” Nave says.

“Yes, but-”

“But what? I think it’s obvious that our participation in this historic event is God's will.”

“God’s will?! God wouldn’t want insectmen, ratmen, lizardmen, walking corpses, and the like to fight for Him. They’re all wretched sinners and so are their cursed spawn,” another leader says.

“We may all be sinners, but so are you and yours, and how can you say that it isn’t God’s will that we serve Him when no human on earth is without sin. We even have some Corpus in our ranks, people who somehow became vampires and are in a state of grace so that every action of theirs is a result of God’s direct control and permissive will? In addition, this large force was gathered with time to spare, train, and gather more men to add to it. Does that not seem like a miracle to you?”

“It’s all rather impressive,” Zhuge says while clapping.

“What’s more is that we are willing to fight in this battle with no expectations of receiving our just dues. Instead, we fight because it is right!” Nave’s army cheers out. “We fight because we are called to by our God!” The army cheers out again. “And we will claim victory even if it comes at the cost of our deaths!” Again, the army cheers, but even louder.

The surrounding crowds become mixed in their reactions. Some think the beastmen are truly willing to give their lives for God and are thus actually good or still wary because of their bias against them. While this is happening, the leaders talk amongst themselves.

Zhuge approaches Nave and says, “It really is a miracle that you managed to do this. Even I had my doubts that you would accomplish it.”

“Trust me when I say that I doubted it more than you did,” Nave admits.

It is then that the army and crowds begin to quiet as the pope finally makes it to the scene.

“What? Can’t I join in on the fun?” the pope asks.

“Your excellency,” Nave says as he bows down with his army, Zhuge, the leaders, and the crowds around them.

“I’m glad you’re back from your assignment, Nave. I was hoping you’d join us in the battle so I can give you a job offer.”

“What will it be?”

“I’d like you and your beastmen to be my personal guard in Rome. We need soldiers with enhanced senses and strength like you to defend the Church from our next greatest threat. Do you know what that might be?”

“The wolves.”

“Correct. The worst enemy is the one that used to be a friend and still pretends to be even as they stab you in the back.”

“My soldiers and I have been relentlessly attacked by them as I was gathering them. It goes without saying that we should weed out the traitors as soon as we can.”

“And I trust that the son of a great strategist who already was doing that already has a plan for this?”

“We do.”

“Good, then I charge you with accomplishing as much as you can of this while also training your soldiers for the battle ahead of us. After the final battle against the vampires, we will divert all our attention to the wolves.”

“As you wish, your excellency.”

Some of the leaders of the Church disagree with the pope’s decision and try to change his mind, but the supporters of Nave and his army push back and silence their complaints. After a few days of training and gathering more recruits, the Church’s armies meet the vampire’s armies at the vampire’s last castle, which is more like a city because of how far it stretches and how many castles that comprise it. The many castles have different designs and crests on them and are separated by walls that group the castles together implying that the castles in the inner circle belong to the most important vampires. On the outskirts of the castle are ruins that are said to have belonged to a sinful city whose name is lost to time.

Before the battle properly begins, Nave tells one of his senior soldiers, “Be wary of any wolves that may strike us while we’re busy.”

“We should enact the same plan that your father did,” his friend says.

“No, we shouldn’t at least not until you know for sure that they’re here.”

“Why?”

“Because the pope and many other spiritual leaders are here giving their prayers and penance for our success.”

“But the pope has already given his permission to find the wolves and you’ve already read the reports.”

“They’re unconfirmed and just rumors. I mean, can you possibly believe the rumor that the pope is a wolf when he’s given us his permission to smoke them out? You have permission to keep a close eye on our leaders and protect the pope. Just don’t act unless you think it’s absolutely necessary, so I am, in a way, permitting you to use the same plan as my father’s. I only ask that you show restraint.”

“But why?”

“Because even though my father’s plan worked out, it was also controversial and didn’t help the negative image people had of the beastmen since they saw us what we deemed right without any permission other than our own. We have a chance to completely clear our image thanks to the role the pope gave us. Trust me on this.”

“Okay, fine.”

The final battle against the vampires then begins with the Church surrounding the castles and firing their catapults at them. Meanwhile, the vampires send their flying serfs and lower vampires out to sacrifice themselves to stop the catapults, however, the flaming rocks sent by the catapults are blessed and the catapults are defended by archers and other soldiers, so the serfs and lower vampires do very little to stall the catapults. In addition, the vampire devils are sent out to cause mental disruptions to the Church’s soldiers in the area, but thanks to the prayers of the pope and spiritual leaders, this disruption is lessened. Seeing as how they can do nothing else, the vampires send out their army to clash with the Church’s. Both sides push against each other and the battle seems to go nowhere with neither side gaining any ground at this point in time. Meanwhile, Nave has found his way into the castle thanks to a hidden entrance that his scouts found before the battle. Some of his other beastmen take the other secret entrances and clear it of the vampires and their serfs who are trying to flank the Church’s soldiers from behind.

Inside the castle walls, Nave finds himself inside layer one out of three. Thankfully, the catapults have broken the walls in front of him so that he can enter the second layer of the castle. He sneaks through the shadows and sees some vampires and serfs moving to the third innermost layer with blessed weapons in their hands. Following these suspicious people leads Nave to a secret entrance to the inner layer and center of the entire castle. There, the vampires and their serfs encounter others like them.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t your class be out on the front lines?” one of the vampires asks.

“I have better things to do than that such as taking back the throne that my family once had. You can either join me or fall by my blade,” the other vampire answers.

Lower and middle class vampires join forces or fight among themselves outside the main castle while some take advantage of this to make their way in with no one knowing that Nave has made his way in as well. While the vampires and their servants are busy with their civil war, Nave finds his soldiers in the castle with him.

“Glad you made it here. It looks like the scouts were right about the vampires wanting an excuse to kill each other were true,” Nave says.

“They always want an excuse to steal power from one another. It’s just in their sinful nature,” a beastman says.

“Looks like we have our work cut out for us then. Clean out this castle, free any prisoners you find, and kill any stragglers from the in-fighting. I’ll take out the vampire gods and high lords by myself or rather with my guardian angel.”

“Are you sure?”

“I can handle them and hey, maybe my ancestors in Heaven will help out like they have before.”

“Okay. We’ll do as you command, sir.”

Nave makes his way up the sky high castle as stealthy as possible. He kills every enemy that he comes across and frees the few slaves that he finds. Further up, he begins to feel the influence of the vampire gods who whisper tempting thoughts into his mind.

“Why did you come up with this plan by yourself? Who are you trying to impress?” a voice asks.

“I thought you fought without thinking about a reward.”

“Why risk your life this way?”

“We can give you the love you desire.”

“Abandon those who have abandoned you.”

“Your life will get no easier after this-”

It is then that Nave’s guardian angel appears and kills several of the vampire gods to bring them out of the shadows where they were.

“Good timing as always,” Nave says. More vampire gods converge on Nave’s location. They come from the walls, ceiling, and lower floors. “I’m not saying that we can’t take them, but is back up coming?”

As if to answer him, more vampire gods are killed by two other lights that then appear next to him. These lights form into Nave’s parents. His mother, Loretta, appears with her golden hair, fierce green eyes, and clothed in a golden dress while his father, Evan, still has his bestial appearance, white skin, jet black hair, dark green eyes, and white as snow skin with patches of beige and brown bits.

“Mother! Father! You’re here,” Nave says in surprise.

“We’ve always been watching over you,” Evan says.

“Never forget that. Let’s sort this trash out, son,” Loretta says before heading into the fight.

With his family and guardian angel, Nave kills the vampire gods and high lords of the castle. Together, they blow through the castle going up and down it, and are so effective at cleaning house that they take some of the kills of Nave’s soldiers.

“I told you I had this,” Nave says to his soldier before continuing the fight and jumping through the hole in the ceiling that he came through.

“Yeah, but you don’t have to be such a show off about it,” his soldier says.

The battle is won shortly after and the other vampires and their serfs who sought to take the innermost castle for themselves are disposed of as well. Nave’s soldiers bring the slaves they freed to the Church’s army who have just broken into the walls.

“Can you stay a little while longer?” Nave says to his parents.

“We can’t, but we’ll be listening and interceding for you,” Evan says as he disappears.

“Don’t lose hope. I love you,” Loretta says as she disappears as well.

Nave sighs and then looks at the sky. It changes as the veil of the night put up by the vampires to enhance their power is lifted and the noon sun shines through it.

One of Nave’s soldiers runs to him and says, “Sir! You have to get back to camp!”

“What is it? Wolves?”

“Yes!”

Running back to camp, Nave finds out that sympathizers of the beastmen have been killed including the pope. Among the dead and dying, are Nave’s soldiers one of which is still alive.

He grips her hand as she dies and says, “I’m so sorry! I should’ve-”

“You didn’t do anything wrong…”

Even though the girl dies, Nave still grips her hand and shakes it as if trying to bring her back to life. It turns out that there were wolves in the area, but there were also normal humans who worked with the wolves that wanted to make sure that the beastmen’s status stays the way it is. These traitors that are still alive are taken into custody. Despite what the beastmen did, the leaders of the Church punish them because they went through with the plan inspired by Nave’s father and cut some of the people in the camps with blessed weapons, which they say forced the hands of the wolves into action. Their army is dissolved and their authority to investigate the wolves in the Church is taken away from them, however, their supporters lighten their sentence by allowing them to go without any other punishment. They aren’t given any recognition in the celebration over the final victory nor any help in burying their dead. As a result of all this, Nave secludes himself in a dark place in a part of the city that’s mostly inhabited by beastman after coming home from the battle. He stares at a dagger that isn’t his own as suicidal thoughts renter his head.

“Sir!” one of Nave’s soldiers says.

A large crowd of beastmen and Nave’s surviving soldiers finds and surround him.

“What is it? Go and celebrate however you can. Don’t mind me,” Nave says while hiding the dagger.

“What do you mean? We still have traitors to bring to justice.”

“We don’t have the authority to legitimately do so.”

“So what?”

“So, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to find them all and if the authorities find out what we’re doing, then the beastmen will look even worse.”

“Again, I ask so what? We still have a duty to God to fulfill even if the so called leaders of the Church won’t allow us to do it. Besides, do you have anything better to do? Is sulking in your sorrow really the best thing to do right now?”

“Okay, okay. Let’s get to work.”

Throughout the next few months, the beastmen work together with their sympathizers to root out the wolves from within the Church. They question the human allies of the wolves and follow the trail of the wolves to the location of each one of them. Eventually, the wolves are killed one by one or group by group unbeknownst to the average citizen. Even the higher ranking members of the Church, law enforcement, and military are completely unaware of what is happening. Sometimes, Nave’s father's tactic is enacted in secret so that groups of people were checked by being cut with blessed weapons to see if any were wolves.

One day, the location of the traitor who killed the leaders of the Church when Nave was guarding them and who also killed the pope that supported the beastman is discovered. His name is not known nor his motives but knowing that getting rid of him will greatly help the beastmen, Nave decides to personally kill him. He finds the traitor with his other wolves meeting in a secluded area underneath a church. Without wanting to waste any time, Nave kills the group of wolves with his guardian angel, which makes this a quick and easy victory. Curious about the main traitor’s identity, Nave moves the man’s cloak aside to see that the traitor was Zhuge. Now of all times, he wished that he stayed his blade, but then he thinks that he would’ve hesitated if he knew this beforehand leading to Zhuge getting away again.

Because of the decrease in wolves and their influence, more sympathy grows for the beastmen even though their heroic actions are only spread through rumors. Nave, feeling unsatisfied by everything and the slow grind towards any small real change, goes to a place in his hometown where beastmen and humans live in relative harmony. He sits underneath a tree and looks up at the noon sun.

 

“My role here is done. There’s nothing else for me to do,” he says to himself.

A legless beastman sees Nave and approaches him as she walks to him on two hands. She wears a large white shirt with the ends tied up where her legs used to be so that she’s covered at the bottom, has two cat ears, two human ears, one arm covered in fur that has a hand with the claws of a cat, and cat-like eyes but no tail.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“No, I’m not,” Nave bluntly answers.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can.”

“I can try my best. What’s your name?”

“Nave.”

“Oh, you’re that famous general. My name is Rowan.” Rowan sits next to Nave and looks intently at him. “I know that look in your eyes. You’ve given up on life, haven’t you?”

“It’s not the first time. I’ll get over it.”

“You don’t sound too hopeful.”

“Frankly, I’m not, but what else am I supposed to do?”

“You should be somewhat at peace and relax, maybe even celebrate. I heard that you got rid of a lot of vampire wolves within the Church. Is that true?”

“It is but don’t tell anyone I told you. It’s meant to be a secret.”

“Okay. Still, it’s a good deed to feel good about, isn’t it?”

“Sure, but…”

“But?”

“But I thought more would happen because of it. I feel that the event should’ve been grander, lead to the beastmen slowly but surely getting the respect we deserve, and answers as to the motives of the traitors and why they betrayed us all. All that’s happened as a result of our actions is that we’re kind of getting more respect, but everything still seems the same as if nothing happened.”

“I understand and get it, but it was still all worth it, wasn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it was still worth it because you’re doing the right thing no matter the reward. Doing what God wants you to do is always worth it even if you aren’t immediately or ever rewarded in this life because it’s the right thing to do and because God loves us. Isn’t that right?”

“It is, but just saying that doesn’t make all the suffering feel like it was worth it.”

“Then I’ll help you.”

“And again, I’ll say that I don’t think you can.”

“Do you have anyone to talk to about how you feel?”

“Not really.”

“Then I’ll be that person and encourage you to keep going. How does that sound?”

“I mean, okay, I guess, but I don’t think you should. Most people who I know either die or disappear.”

“Do you regret the time you spent with those people?”

“No.”

“Then let’s make the most of our time together.”

“If you say so.”

“Oh, cheer up already.” Rowan hugs Nave, which makes him feel warm and his spirits somewhat lifted. “There. Do you feel better now?”

“A bit.”

“You better because my friends say my hugs make everyone feel better.”

Through Rowan’s hug, Nave is reminded of the little things that keep him going.

“Actually, I feel a lot better. Thank you, Rowan. What you said reminded me of something I needed to hear again.”

Nave lifts her up into his arms as he hugs her as well.

“You’re welcome, but you don’t need to carry me. People will think we’re a couple.”

“Well, since you’re coming with me and you have no legs, I thought it would be very gentleman-like of me to carry you.”

“That’s very sweet of you. I accept it.”

“How would you like me to take you around the city? I can leap around it and show the highest heights.”

“That would be amazing!”

“Let’s go then.”

Nave leaps into the air with Rowan in his arms and is happy that God has given him a gift and another reason to live.

 

The End

Venatores Noctis: Bastard Inheritor: Chapter 3 – More Human than a Sinner

Chapter 3 – More Human than a Sinner

On the way to where Nave’s ex-soldiers might be, he and his beastmen are ambushed by vampire wolves, and not just any wolves, feral wolves that attack like real wolves rather than the manipulators that they typically act as. Some are injured during the fight, but they manage to make it through it without any casualties.

“Those vampire wolves were strange. I’ve never seen a feral one like that before. Do you know about them, Nave?” one of the beastmen says.

“They’re rare and used as if they were attack dogs by the normal vampires and vampire wolves. As far as I know, they’re feral because they’ve sinned too much. It is also said that their sin mutates their body, which is why their limbs and body seemed to be different sizes to one another as if certain parts of their body shrunk or were extended by some supernatural means.”

“Well, at least it’s a comforting thought that all vampire wolves will eventually become feral since they have to sin to use their wolf form.”

“But then someone has to deal with their feral form.”

“Speaking about that, who do you think sent them after us?”

“It doesn’t matter as far as I know,” a beastman says, “Normal vampires, vampire wolves. It’s all the same and we’ll defeat them both!”

Upon hearing this, the beastmen cheer to uplift their spirits much to Nave’s comfort and nostalgia for having such spirited soldiers. Eventually, Nave and his soldiers come to a ruined settlement on the mountain they are on with no signs of life in the area and many signs of a past conflict.

“They said they’d be here, sir?” a beastman asks Nave.

“It’s one of the places they said they’d be. Search the area for any survivors.”

The beastmen search the settlement with Nave who goes through several houses and buildings.

“This place has been picked clean and nothing’s been left behind,” Nave notes, “There aren’t even any corpses or pieces of rotting flesh left.”

After looking through a few buildings and moving aside everything he can, he finds one place with a rug hiding a door. Nave gets his soldiers so they can go through the hidden door together and into a series of caves that goes down into the mountain.

While traveling down the dark series of caves, the beastmen who can see in the dark and those who can smell poisonous traps safely guides the group. They almost open a few false doors that led to traps, however, the beastmen that can hear the traps being set off save the group before the door opens. The group does get to a door that isn’t trapped and carefully goes through it. On the other side, they find a dark room with pillars of stone that almost appear as if they were handcrafted to hold up this part of the mountain. As they make their way through the room, the beastmen that can hear the subtlest of noises and see into the dark alert the rest of the group of people moving in the room.

“We mean you no harm and come in peace. I’m Nave Meridies. Some that are with you know me,” Nave says.

“Nave! It’s really you. Lower your weapons, guys. This one is a friend,” a beastman says.

More beastmen come out of the darkness and introduce themselves to Nave and his soldiers. After their introductions, they are led deeper into the mountain where the beastmen have set up a home for themselves. Little homes and stores are made out of the stone of the mountain, pieces of wood, and rugged clothe. Beastmen go in and out of secret entrances of the mountain to bring supplies, food, water, and new beastmen to be introduced to new friends and a home. While Nave’s troops and the other beastmen talk to one another, Nave spots the flag of his army that his father made. The flag has a cross designed in the form of the word IHS with thorns surrounding it.

“I hope you know that we didn’t mean to show you any disrespect. We were trying to show the leaders of the Church that they couldn’t take advantage of us anymore,” a former soldier of Nave says.

“I know that. It’s just good seeing my father’s flag to remind me of what he and my mother fought so hard for and what they endured.”

“Really? You need the reminder? Aren’t you able to talk to your saintly ancestors that are in Heaven?”

“It’s only when God allows and yes, I needed a reminder. I didn’t come out here to join you. I left the city because I gave up on everything and-”

“You’re going to fight the last battle against the vampires then the wolves?” a beastman asks one of Nave’s soldiers.

“We are and we’re going to win with Nave leading us into battle, and when we win, the Church will have to respect us and give us what we want.”

Excitement begins to build among the beastmen who hear and overhear the conversation with many of them approaching Nave to join his army.

“Is this true?” a former soldier asks Nave.

With all this commotion around him, Nave slams the table and says, “Quiet! Shut up, all of you!” Once everyone has quieted down, Nave continues, “It’s true some of the Church may respect us and reward us for our deeds accordingly, but that is not why we fight. Look at my father’s flag and the thorns that surround the IHS. That is a reminder of the crown of thorns that Christ wore and reminds us that He died and suffered even for those who spat at Him, mocked Him, and would not repent. We should be following that example and not think about the rewards or how we will be treated after. This is why we fight. This is why we live and will do what’s right no matter the cost or the rewards. I no longer will be so shallow as to think of only myself because I will live and die for my God who is truth and love itself. Now, who’s with me?”

The beastmen cry out and volunteer to fight and those who abandoned Nave and those who recently joined renew their vows to fight for God and for him.

“There’s the inspiring Nave I know,” his former and now retuning more solid says.

Gathering up their blessed weapons, the beastmen prepare for war, however, their scouts report, “The vampire wolves have surrounded the mountain. Our traps have slowed them down, but they will eventually figure out a way around them.”

“I’m surprised they would send so many after us. I guess the traitors in the Church fear the force we can gather that much.”

“I’m surprised you even trapped every inch of those caves in the first place since this is supposed to be a safe haven for beastmen.”

“It is a safe haven for beastmen since only beastmen can avoid the traps with no problem.”

“But what about those who aren’t beastmen who are seeking shelter?”

“We have scouts watching the traps, so it wouldn’t be a problem to save them, but that’s enough of that since we’re abandoning this location. Come on, we have some traitors to punish. It’ll just be like old times.”

“Right, just like old times or less than a week ago.”

“Specifics, specifics.”

Together, Nave and his beastmen attack the wolves with every advantage they have by using the last of their traps and knowledge of the caves to catch the wolves by surprise. By the end of the battle between beasts, the beastmen come out of it victoriously with very few injuries on their side. The beastmen try to take some of the wolves alive for questioning, however, the wolves kill themselves with a blessed dagger they have so they wouldn’t be forced to talk.

“This is a pain. That was our best bet at getting a hint about the other traitors,” Nave says.

“Well, looks like we’ll have to find out the old fashioned way,” a friend of Nave says.

“And that would be?”

“Do the same thing your father did and just force out the traitors. We’ll give small cuts with blessed weapons to people. If they bleed profusely, they’ll be exposed. If not, they’ll only be scratched.”

“I was thinking about using my father’s strategy but didn’t want it to come to that. I wanted to get rid of the traitors through more peaceful means.”

“But even your father knew that even the simplest of plans were sometimes the best.”

“That plan was actually inspired by my mother’s straightforward strategies. They both learned something important from one another. Did I ever tell you that she was inspired by his strategies and made up her own by making my father marry her on the spot and threatening to cry until he accepted the proposal?”

“No, you never told me! You must tell me more.”

“I’ll tell you more on the way back, but for now, that’s the plan. We’ll aid the Church in the final battle against the vampires while rooting out the traitors as everyone is focused on the battle. After that, we focus on the traitors and celebrate by ourselves because the leaders will most assuredly not approve of our course of actions.”

“So what? It’s the right thing to do.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m still hoping they’ll give us a better option. Maybe it’ll be better as a last resort now that I’m thinking about it.”

“You know it’s the only option we have. We’ll need a more than a miracle to get anything better.”

Knowing that this is true, Nave says nothing more and gathers together his beastmen before heading back home with his newly reformed army of beastmen.