The Wanderer

Many years later, I am now 15, on the cusp of turning 16, the coming of age for boys in Farlow. If I so chose, I could own property, marry, or set out on my own. My responsibilities would officially be my own. My elder brother is still living here, as he works with my father and most of the men on the fields. My sister has married and left with a nearby farm boy, but it does not stop her from showing up every now and then. My mother and father are the same as always though, except now there is some gray hair peeking out on their heads.

As for me, I do not know what I want to do with my life. I enjoy hunting, though I would rather do it for survival than for some money from the villagers. I am thinking about adventuring through the cities. I learned some things about the cities from the cart drivers that come from the cities to collect grain. Some of them are nice enough to answer, but most of them don't want to associate with a random kid on a farm. Every few months though, some strangers will wander in from far away. I stick to them and ask them questions about their lives.

I've heard from refugees about neighboring cities at war, and I've heard from young explorers seeking new adventures abroad. Some are filled with optimism and grandeur, but some… some are just horrific. Dead men, killed by war or plague, piled up and burned in the hundreds. I've never counted the number exactly, but I'm sure our village doesn't add up to more than a hundred. Life outside the village seems filled with opportunity, but it also seems to have its share of misery.

The thoughts lingered on my mind as I hunted for my dinner tonight. I've seen a few big game while prowling, but they are too much for my family to deal with, so I left them alone in search of smaller prey. It took me a while to notice despite everything feeling off, but once I caught on, it was hard to draw my mind from it. The forest was nervous. The animals seemed disturbed and in a hurry, birds constantly heard flying off.

I wasn't sure if I had made a large mistake, or if there was something coming. I did not like the feel of the forest, it was not its usual comforting green, so I left as soon as I caught enough to share with my family.

The sun began to set and the day began to dwindle. I sat around the dinner with my parents and elder brother eating the meat I had caught in a stew with some freshly baked bread on the side. My mother couldn't help but notice something was off when I looked at the meat.

"Is something wrong with the food honey?" She asked me, a frown on her face.

"No… The food is delicious, thank you. It's just that the forest today… I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. All of the animals were nervous." I answered, sharing the scene I had seen earlier with them.

"There's probably just a storm coming. You don't need to worry about it, Lucian." My older brother complained haughtily, digging into the stew.

"You're probably right, Rick," I replied with a sigh. I stirred my food and my thoughts recalling the scene. Today has just felt wrong. We continued to eat until there was no stew left. After we thanked her for preparing the meal, my mother brought up the topic of my birthday.

"You remember right? Tomorrow is your birthday, you know. You'll finally be an adult!" She exclaimed in joy. My father also grew a smile while thinking about it.

"Any idea what you're gonna do yet? Or will you just keep doing the usual?" My father asked.

"Still no idea. I'll tell you though, the sun will freeze over before I willingly walk into those fields." I joked with him. Conversation continued for a while, talking about everyone's day and such. My mom told me about some of the plans she had for the day tomorrow before she retired with my father to their bedroom for the evening. My brother followed suit.

I decided I would go walk for a while to clear my mind and left the house. I walked the dirt paths weaving through the fields, lanterns occasionally illuminating the crops. My eyes were above the lanterns though, at the stars appearing in the night sky. It wasn't until I hit the edge of the village that I'd seen him. A wanderer. He wore a tattered cloak around him, so I couldn't see exactly what he was wearing, but I could tell from a glance he wasn't like the wanderers I had met before. Of course, I would treat him just like the others regardless.

"A wanderer!" I blurted out as I began to jog in his direction. He stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at me. Dirty blonde hair covered his eyes, and he gave me a smirk. As I approached him, he felt giant. He stood over half a foot taller than me. I gazed at him with passion in my eyes, curious for what knowledge this individual possessed. The evening was turning out better than the day.

"Farm boy... Need something?" His deep voice struck chords in me, the sound a symphony for my ears.

"I want to ask you some questions, if you don't mind." It was the usual routine with all of the wanderers unlucky enough to come into my sight.

"Go ahead then. Ask away, but you'll have to walk with me, I won't slow down for you." His feet began to pick back up and he turned his head back towards the road.

"Of course!" I picked up my pace to match his. "Well, Where are you from? How old are you?"

"I'm from a distant city. As for how old I am, let's say I'm in my 40's. That satisfy you kid?"

"Distant city?" There were many cities so his vague answer did little to satisfy me. "Which city exactly? And besides. You don't look a day past your late twenties."

He paused for a moment before answering. "The crimson city, Sanguine. I'm older than I look."

"I've never heard of Sanguine before… I see." I thought for a moment before asking another question. "What do you do for a living Mr..." I paused, not knowing his name.

"My name? Vaughn. As for what I do..." He closed his mouth and paused again before answering. "I am a knight, serving a king." His lips perked up after saying so.

"A Knight!?" I was surprised again. "You must be very powerful, but if you are a knight, then why are you out here, wearing such poor clothes?"

"Ha, you say it if you are not a poor boy yourself." I couldn't see them, but I could feel his eyes looking at me. "I am on a trial of sorts given by my king, to make myself stronger. I will say no more on the subject." He returned his eyes to the road and a shiver went down my spine.

It took me a minute to recover, but I continued to ask questions fueled by my curiosity. He continued to answer, sometimes very vaguely, but they did not hinder my pursuit for knowledge. The stars shone quite brightly now that we had spent some time talking. The crescent moon made its appearance in the sky amidst the fellow shining lights. I spent too much time looking away from the ground, so I was unprepared when we hit a bump in the road and I stumbled and fell.

"Ah shit..." I hit the ground hard enough to draw blood on my elbows. Mr. Vaughn stopped and helped me back up before looking at my scrapes, bending my arms to get the best look at them.

"Mr. Vaughn, you don't have to worry about these, I'll get patched up at home-" I was interrupted as he slid his finger across the wound, my blood spilling onto it. It stung but I was more stunned about his abnormal actions.

"What are you..." He brought his finger to his lips and tasted my blood. Was this normal in his customs? Something cultural I didn't understand? His eyes turned to me. It felt as though they pierced deep into my soul.

"I can hardly believe it." He spoke softly. "It's almost perfect... Here on this barren continent... Is it luck or was he bred for it?" He spoke to himself softly, uncaring for my estranged look. "Farm boy, what is your name? Answer me quickly from here on." He dragged me along by my wrist, changing our course into the forest, off the beaten path.

"I- My name is Lucian. Why did you lick my bl-" I was interrupted by his grip tightening on my wrist.

"No more questions. I'm quite lucky to find someone as perfect as you. I'm more lucky I did not pass by or shoo you away. They would have found you instead…" Vaughn shuddered as he spoke of others finding me. My mind was spinning as quickly as it could trying to figure out what was going on, or how Vaughn was so strong that one hand could hold off my entire strength.

"Lucian… I hope you do not resent me for what I am about to do." He dragged me with more force than before, deeper into the woods. After finding a small clearing, Vaughn stopped abruptly.

"Close your eyes. This will hurt a little bit." He turned to me and although I wanted to refuse, I could not after looking into his eyes. I closed my eyes tightly and Vaughn placed his hands on my head and shoulder, spreading them out.

'Am I going to die? Right here? For reasons I don't understand?' My thoughts caught up to me a little too slowly. Sharp pain came from my neck as soon as the thought was complete. My eyes shot open as a burning sensation spread throughout my body, paralyzing me. I was utterly unable to resist Vaughn as he dug his fangs deeper into my neck.

The pain flooded through my limbs, overwhelming me. It felt like fire had consumed me, and yet like I was submerged naked in snow. It continued for minutes, Vaughn's fangs never leaving my neck once throughout that time. Darkness invaded my vision, dampening the light of the stars. My limbs grew heavy and weak. I was not upright because my legs were holding me, but because Vaughn was holding me up. And then Vaughn withdrew his fangs.

I collapsed to the ground. My ragged breath struggled to fill my lungs, and my eyes looked up upon my assailant. My fingers quickly found their way to where he bitten me, to find nothing. No liquid, blood or saliva, and no puncture. If I wasn't in such a state, I would say he had done nothing to me at all.

"What I have done to you is both a blessing and a curse. You can no longer live in these small farmlands regardless." He took off his cloak and placed it on me.

"You need this more than me from here on Lucian. Try to stay out of the sun whenever possible, but do not linger in any cities for more than a day. You must go east to the port City Norgal. It will be a tough journey. But unless you want to die, you must keep moving your feet."

The sudden rush of information was more than I expected. What did he just do to me? Why do I have to leave?

"Finally, take these." Vaughn took a ring off of his finger, and placed it on mine. He also drew a coin from his pocket. I was engraved in letters I could not understand.

"A man in Norgal dressed in blue at night will receive you by the docks. By the time you reach Norgal... You should be fully turned by then at least." He turned to leave, but remembered something and turned back. For the first time I could see his eyes, and I hoped they would be the last. They were glowing red, staring directly into my own eyes.

"You must not lose to the hunger Lucian. You should have enough time to reach Norgal without issues. I regret not having the time or ability to look after you myself right now. Instead, I offer you the best luck that I can give. Farewell young Lucian. We will meet again." His farewell drew my gaze from the ring and coin, but I did not see him anywhere around me. He had vanished without a trace.