17 A past told

It took us around two days to find the perfect place to set up camp.

The whole time I told Julius my story with a few lies here or there.

I also told him about the different covens and what was happening in the world of shadows.

"So in other words you are running Rome from the shadows?" Julius asked.

"kind of. Mostly I let the emperor and the senate run things. But if I need something done all I have to do is pay them and they will get it done for me."

"But what if they won't do something for you."

"Well, they don't have much of a choice. I have most of the Senate on my pay, willing to do anything for a gold coin. So they would use their sway to get them removed from the senate."

"That's a little scary. I've lived in Rome all of my life and I had no idea Rome was this crooked."

"Well, that's how life is for normal people, Julius. For us money doesn't really mean that much anymore. I could lose every single gold I own and I wouldn't care. Because I know I can make it back. Maybe in a few hundred years or a few decades. But normal people only live for so long. And they can never make as much as us. But they are willing to do anything for gold to make the years they have comfortable." I said

"I see," Julius said while kicking a small stone.

It was quiet for a while as Julius thought over my words.

It only took around fifteen minutes for us to arrive at a small field surrounded by trees.

"This will do," I said, dropping my pack to the ground.

Stretching my back I said.

"Are you ready to get started?"

"started?" Julius asked.

"yeah on your training"

"oh yes I am"

"Good. For starters I want you to go and find yourself an animal to hunt, I'm going to be following you and watching. Once you're done I will show you what you might have done wrong."

Julius took off into the forest in search of an animal.

Julius was like a boulder moving through the forest. Stepping on anything that could make noise.

Thankfully he used his hearing to pick up the heartbeat of some deer close by and didn't just use his sight.

Moving at his full speed, Julius ran right at them.

The large male deer didn't even know it died.

It was lying down with a few other deers eating close by then darkness.

Julius tackled the deer at full speed, breaking its neck just by the impact of him hitting the deer.

And instantly started drinking.

The boom of him hitting the deer caused The other deers to scatter.

It only took a few seconds for him to drink the large deer dry and Finally lift his head.

"Not bad kid. You practically decapitated the deer." I said jokingly.

Julius looked down with a sheepish look.

"Sorry," he said but I could see the small smirk on his face.

Once he cleaned up I began to teach him. I started by showing him how to be quieter while moving through the forest instead of making as much noise as possible.

Once done with that I started to show him some self-defense.

Thankfully Julius managed to pick up on them quickly enough but he still had a long way to go.

That night me and Julius talked.

"Are there any vampires in Rome?" Julius asked

"Thankfully most vampires stay out of Rome."

"Why do they stay out of Rome?"

"mostly because I won't allow it. Rome is my city and I don't want murderous vampires killing innocent people."

"How do you keep them out?" Julius asked.

"There's a group called the Volturi. They are a coven who rule most of the vampires in Rome's territory. They are currently making an army to fight another coven. They know that if any vampires go into Rome I will kill them. And at the moment they need every one of them to fight the other coven. So they keep them away. I'm sure if they beat the other coven they will use their numbers to move into Rome but by then I will already be out of Rome anyway."

I knew that the Volturi couldn't take down the Romanian coven until the 900s and Rome fell apart around the year 500. And by then I planned to move somewhere else.

"Where to?" Julius asked.

"Who knows, probably north to britannia. Or to the land of the Franks. I have a feeling that in years to come they will become very good places to live."

" Very profitable places as well," I said with a bit of a smile.

I looked over the fire at Julius and finally asked.

"What happened to you when you were attacked? If you don't mind me asking."

Julius didn't say anything for a few moments.

At first, I didn't think he would respond when he lifted his head and looked at the fire, and spoke.

"it was me, my father, and my little brother. We were going north to visit some of my father's old military comrades. We had just made camp on the second day when two men came out of nowhere. At first, we thought they were travelers who came to camp as well. They didn't even say a word when they attacked us."

Julius' voice began to tremble at the memory.

"One of them went for my father, then the other went for my brother. I managed to get my father's old sword but I knew it was too late. I went for the one holding my brother and swung the sword hitting it on the neck but it didn't do anything. Not even a scratch. I tried again but the vampire kicked me. It felt like every bone in my chest was broken. And while I was lying on the ground he walked over to me covered in my brother's blood and looked down at me and smiled. Then everything went black. I woke up in the dark uninjured. My father and brother were dead and I was…different. I didn't know what to do. I was scared. So I buried them and then started walking along the road in search of help. After a little while a pain started to grow in my throat, but I pushed on. When I came to the village. I could hear their heartbeats. And that's when I knew what I had become. The monster I now was. I couldn't bring myself to become like them. The ones who killed the only family I had and loved. so I started leaving when I saw your fire. And well you know the rest." Julius said, lowering his head again.

I didn't say anything for a few minutes absorbing what he just said.

I could feel the sadness and pain in his words And the look in his eyes. But I could also see the rage and fire that he had been pushing down.

Leaning forward I asked Julius.

"do you remember what they look like?"

Looking up at me Julius said.

" It's impossible for me not to."

I smirked at that.

" Then what do you say about getting some revenge for your family."

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I meant to post yesterday but I got caught up playing the new Assassin Creed game. 😂