#doomedlovers

She explained her plan, to use a dark ritual to turn herself into a blood-drinker which would make her immune to the degrading effects of any illness and even save her from the ravages of time. But, as she did not age, Elekses still would…unless he joined her. The Baron paused, unsure for the first time in his love. But as he turned it over in his mind, he knew there was no other way she might live, and agreed to spend eternity with her, though he would never feel the sun’s warmth again. That night, the two of them descended deep into the catacombs of the Duskvale Keep, into places where the sun had never shone. Together, they performed the incantations which would enact their transformation, and finally they each tasted the others blood, and the night claimed them.

Elekses and Hemora became blood-drinkers, and rejoiced at their promises of eternity to each other. They were careful to not reveal their change to anyone, however, as they knew the templemen of Thron the sun-god would stop at nothing to destroy them. The only blood they drank was that of animals, which they killed in the private hunting grounds of Elekses’ family. They made certain to never stand directly in sunlight, citing a new theory from a scholar that it caused premature aging. And they performed all their religious duties at the Keep, which they explained as trying to appease Thron to give them a child. Amazingly, for a time it did work, and no one was the wiser. But nothing stays the same forever, and the change that came was greater than any could have expected.

It started with Hemora asking to kill her own deer one night. Elekses did not see any harm in Hemora trying a bit of sport, so he let her. And she did well, but almost too well, like she was almost talented in a strange way. The next thing was when the servant boy disappeared, and then it was discovered the lady-in-waiting had also vanished. Hemora told Elekses they had eloped, which surprised him since he knew the servant boy had fancied a barmaid in town. What finally made him truly suspicious though was when he caught his wife sneaking out of the dungeon one night. He asked her what she had been doing down there, especially without one of the guards. She said she didn’t need a guard to protect her, even though she was the one to suggest they keep up the appearance of her frailty.

And then he smelled it, the smell of blood coming off of her. And he realized it wasn’t the smell of deer blood, or wild hog, or even the rare mountain lion they had managed to subdue. No, it was the smell of human blood, and more horrifying was that it was not just one scent. He pushed past her while she began pleading with him not to descend the stairs, only come back up with her and she would explain. But he moved swiftly, and before her words could turn him back he came upon the grisly scene. The half-dozen prisoners, the guards, and even one of the cleaning servants were all dead with vicious bite marks on their necks.

Elekses turned to his love, and found her face had changed to an almost coy but surely disturbing look. She told him yes, she had killed them, and she had taken her fill of their blood, which had given her such pleasure. The power she felt run through her, the strength of the shadows made her feel invincible, and she told him she knew they could drink their fill as much as they wanted. With their strength, speed, and guile, no one could stop them. The Baron of Duskvale was frightened as he never had been before, but what scared him the most was that the one speaking of this savage conquest was the woman he’d pledged to spend all of eternity with. He knew then that she had become corrupted and had to be stopped. So, he tried…but he could not. With all the human blood she had consumed she had become far stronger than him, and after his betrayal flew into a rage. She sped up into the Keep, and within seconds Elekses could hear the screams. He chased after Hemora, but every time was too late: another body, drained of its blood with no mercy or empathy.

Finally, he found her in the entry hall, and saw the ruby red dripping down her chin. She called him weak, a pathetic excuse for a nightwalker, one who could not see the true power that lay in the blood. And then the shadows extended from her, and she brought forth awful spirits to attack him. Their claws of darkness ripped into his skin, and he fled his own home into the night. In pain of flesh and heart, he ran far into the forest, farther than he had ever gone before. Deep into the old woods he raced, until he finally came to a stop in a clearing. There he began to weep, for he knew his love could never return to him and her face was now worn by a monster.

Elekses resolved himself that he would stop her and destroy her, whatever it took. He had allowed this abominable event to come to pass, and so he would take the responsibility of atonement. But he knew that he could never outmatch her while he only drank the blood of animals, and he would never bring himself to drink the blood of another person. The easiest way he knew to destroy her would be with the power of Thron, but the sun-god would never grant him the chance and might simply smite him on the spot. He quickly sank into despair, seeing no way to fulfill his goal. But then, her heard a footstep, and turned to find a strange figure approach him.

A woman, dressed in a long cloak that seemed like it was woven out of grass. She walked without hesitation, without fear towards him. She asked him if his resolve was strong. Confused and suspicious, Elekses surprised himself by saying yes. The woman asked him if he would go through any hardship to atone, and the Baron again said yes. Then the woman asked if he would even face death to see his goal attained, and thinking back to the promise he’d made so long ago he said yes. She told him to wait with her through the sunrise to prove himself. He gawked at her at first, but then he quietly, almost unbelievably agreed, because he felt there must be more to this than there seemed.

Then the sky started to lighten, and before he knew it the sun was peaking over the trees and into the clearing. He felt its light begin to hit his skin and it burned like hellfire. His instincts told him to run into the shade of the woods but he knew he had to stay and see it through. The pain built higher and higher, until he knew he would surely combust and leave nothing but ashes behind. Then there was a loud rumbling sound and something huge burst its way out of the ground in front of him, blocking the sun and granting him reprieve. As he watched, astonished, he realized it was a tree that was reaching an enormous size within seconds, and finished off at least a hundred feet tall and with leaves that only let the dimmest of light through.