The Court Wizard Pt. 1

Voltaire and I strolled through the distant road away from the city. On the pavements of stone and cobble with our horses walking by. I started a conversation in mid-day.

"So, if I am a vampire, why didn't the doctor at the east world see any symptoms of vampirism?" I asked him, "Such as lack of heartbeat or pulse, or lack of breath?"

He answered, "Well, you see… Ampiers are different. They are beyond vampires, which makes them more human because their blood potency is so high that they can use it to evade the power of sunlight. Despite walking under it."

"If I am a vampire, no wait, an 'Ampier'. Meaning that I am beyond vampire that is more humanlike, I can eat food, drink water, even beverages. Do potions work on normal vampires?"

"Vampires that are normal are infernal. We are celestial vampires, my dear assassin. Back in before the ancient era itself which they call The Dark Ages, or the Medieval Times. The vampires back then were Infernal, but they were beyond stronger than any Ampiers. They called them Upyrs or revenants, since the age of Vlad the third Tepes."

"What was your life like back in the technological era?"

"The so-called ancient times you people so-call it. Well, you see… I was a lunatic, a madman. I've been locked up inside a mental asylum for years, just to be locked up again under house arrest."

"What was the cause of your madness?"

"I could not contain my vampirism; it was too powerful to bear."

"But you seem fine now, in fact, you are superficially intelligent and charismatic without having to look too prideful to the point of exaggerated bragging."

"Well, you see… 'patience' was key, still is today. There are multiple archetypes of ampiers. The Pride vampires are known to be charismatic but highly narcissistic. They don't have a reflection in the mirror. Although, their power is to dominate the minds of mortals into doing their bidding. By the glare of their eyes or speech by itself. As for their weakness, if their ego is killed and out-bested by a mere mortal, so are their unlives. Still, they are incredibly manipulative, so they are not easy to kill.

The Wrath vampires are known to be the strongest and fastest by physical strength and speed. Their weakness is their repressed anger issues like a ticking bomb. They are wild cards and war freaks. Once they are triggered, they will not become more powerful but weaker, so do not be deceived if they seem angry enough to look stronger. They are weeping in sorrow deep inside for the rest of eternity, and their anger is their way of coping.

The Lust vampires are the so-called physical manifestations of a succubus or incubus. Some say they used to be humans who gave themselves to the infernals in exchange for vampirism. Having them be cursed to be possessed by fifty legions of sexual demons. They are the type to be dominant in relationships or seducers and mistresses that can easily manipulate the emotions of anyone they wish. Still, they cannot control their lust to the point of committing rape or bestiality if they are desperate enough.

The Envy vampires are known to be lonely vampires who have a prey exclusion of feeding no one else but the person they love. They don't even have to drink blood. Having a one-night stand or a toxic relationship with a human lover for long is enough for them to be satisfied. Their weakness is that they slowly die the longer they don't have a lover and are extremely possessive and obsessive.

The Greed vampires are known to be great politicians, businesses, kings and presidents, let alone just a prince. They are materialistic and corrupt. And due to this nature, they have an inferiority/superiority complex, and failure is not an option. They get weaker in poor places such as a simple peasant houses, and they get more potent once they enter luxurious grounds, especially if they own the place.

Other ones are called Gluttony vampires. They are known to have a palette for blood. They can only feed on virgins, young people, and especially their only one to three preferences of their choosing. Depending on what kind of person they are into dating before they turn into vampires as humans.

The Sloth vampires are known to be perfectionists with obsessive-compulsive behaviour. They are the brightest scholars and students, but the problem is that they cannot focus on anything they are not interested in. Unless they find something, they slightly like. They begin with the obsession of finishing a task or project of that particular subject of obsession and never stop. Let alone sleep, as they would stay up for weeks, months, or years even until the project is finished in perfection.

And most of all, The Hidden Ones. The most powerful race in the entire lineage of the vampire clan. They are psychics who know too much about the universe's secrets beyond comprehension. They can have all of the powers of every race of the vampire bloodline without the exclusive weaknesses, but their only weakness is their madness. They say that their psychic abilities are so powerful that it drives them mad because they cannot bear it. So, fifty-fifty chances that their psychic readings are either outlandish delusions or extremely terrifying accurate results of foreshadowing. And I am a hidden one."

"Wow, so you were insane, back then! Now you're completely normal, even better you are actually charming more than anyone I've known!"

"Exactly. Being a hidden one creates the illusion of time, wherein an entire day feels like ten years. Until I practised patience and meditation."

"Did you have any company throughout these years? At least, had any friends back then?"

Voltaire was quiet as he stopped his horse.

"How about your family, what were they like? Were they vampires too? And did anyone use magick back in the ancient era?"

"It's complicated. Plus, magick isn't easily used back in the day. There are too many people in the world's population taking the energy of mother earth and the air it gives to the people, not enough for witches to use enough potency for their spells. To the point elemental sorcery never existing anymore. Back then way before the technological era, since before the birth of the Shepperd himself, magick was broadly acceptable and used, to the point everyone uses it. They called themselves as Pagans, such as the Greek deities Zeus, Poseidon, Hades. The Norse deities Loki, Odin, Thor. The Egyptian deities and so on, and so on. The Pagans used magick to empower their lives so they can learn how to make houses for shelter, cooking for food, make-up for cosmetics, clothes for hiding the delicate parts of the body, tools for building monuments, languages for better social interaction, writing for understanding alphabets and entertainment, and weapons for hunting. This was all done by the power of 'fire', then the rest of the elements were given breath into life by the flames of Prometheus."

"Then what happened?"

"I could not say, without having to be controversial, the old gods were dead ever since. But a few in the world worshipped them still, some of the remaining pagans turned into heathens to the next generation to bargain with offerings and request deals with the dead gods of the inferno, now making them look evil demons, as their new incarnated aspects from their former divinity, now infernal and inferior, they made themselves equal to humans to the point they only want to help people without a reward, and offerings are rather just a bonus, making them now as business dealers for the material world, although, they are no longer physical."

"How did they die? I thought deities can never die. They are immortal and beyond that."

"I… do not want any controversies… the fact I'm going to write our legendary tale down into a form of a technological book. I am going to do a business out of it. Well, you will do that, once you die and come back sober as me in your previous life, to which that is me as myself in the past in the ancient era itself."

"I'm confused…."

"HAH! HAH! HAH!"

"I think what makes you seem smart is because not just because you're a vampire, because you are old and wise, despite of young appearance. You do kind of look like me, as everyone claims. People say you are my father."

"HAH! I am your sire after all."

"About the pagans… by any chance were you religious? Did you worship them?"

"By Gods, no!" He laughed, "Yet, I was spiritual once, I dwelled into the occult once. It was a gothic phase I had. Although, you seem to be the type not to believe in any deities in this era."

"I never saw any deities. I haven't seen one yet. Why do people here believe in deities that are not helping them? If the Celestials even existed to begin with, why are there so many problems in the world right now? Such as the wyvern crisis, the war crisis, the inflation crisis, the plagues, the high-rate crimes, the corruption, the Grand Empire itself trying to take over the world. It's all none but utter foolishness! Yet, they still linger to their deities as if they're going to help."

"Well, you did fix one of those problems. And it was the biggest deal and issue we all had before and no one even knows about it. Why didn't you expose them and tell the truth to the citizens of Arcadia?"

"I suppose it would be because of too much attention… plus, my head is on the execution board beneath the edge if I even tried so."

"People will finally have a hero to look up to. To be inspired, to spread your influence."

"And what? A civil war worse than the war we already have right now will be worse? There will no longer be order."

"Back in the ancient era you people so-call it hated capitalism, and they wanted equality for every worker. The lower classes worked fifty times harder than the rich fat pigs at the top who do nothing but sit and milk all their money. Ever since, democratic capitalism was overthrown by communists. But that was before, the economy and laws would collapse if you did happen to tell everyone the truth. Everyone would be fighting for their own wars instead of the city guards and the government trying to provide protection for every single citizen with the laws abiding peace. How about the time when you got caught in the act of killing the emperor 'twice', as they accused?"

"I told them the truth; I was contracted by the nephew of the second previous Emperor but they never believed me. Since of course, Norsemen are highly discriminate to other races. Why can't we just all be united and work together as equals and as one in the collective?"

"True."

He paused, then spoke again, "Here we are, assassin. There it is."