The Making of Vampires Ch. 02

Ignoring the tone in his brother's voice Martinelli answered, "You don't understand, Gabriel. I was unbelievably angry with my wife for rejecting me. It was almost as if someone was arguing with me of how special and deserving I was. I wasn't sure if I had really been alone. I fear I am going mad. If that is the case, you and August need to kill me. A mad vampire would be devastating to the city."

Gabriel slumped. "Martinelli, I can't kill you. Think of what you are asking me. You won't hurt anyone. You live by the warrior's code."

Martinelli shook his head. "I used to live by that code. That code included fidelity to one's wife. That is one of the most sacred because it meant that soldiers won't let the battle fury run amuck raping helpless women after the battle ends. I broke that, so I can no longer claim to have any discipline. Something is wrong, very wrong."

His mind went back to his earlier fit of rage. "I have never been that angry with Lucina. I have never been that angry with my enemy. I exploded because she rejected me. I broke the damn door!" He lifted his hand holding the knob and finally dropped it and the accompanying fragment of splintered wood. "I have never allowed myself to desire others. Then I take a servant and now my body hungers for more, for others, not Lucina."

"Hey, listen to what I remember from studies on vampires." Gabriel seemed almost excited. "Vampires are sensual creatures by nature. Maybe you are being overwhelmed and can't control it right now because it is all so new. I'm sure you will learn and regain your discipline again."

Martinelli looked doubtful and asked, "Are you suffering from being overwhelmed and is it affecting your judgment?"

Gabriel conceded, "Well, no."

Martinelli continued, "Is August suffering from such decision making problems?" He expected an answer, but the silence told him plenty and he sighed with relief. "Oh, thank the heavens. Maybe it is some vampire adjustment thing."

Gabriel nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure of it. I'm going to do some research. We will figure this out. So don't worry AND don't try to get anyone to kill you, please. Let me see what I can discover."

Martinelli agreed, "Okay. Sure. If this is some phase, that will pass, I can wait it out. Just make sure to find out as much as you can about us. I really need to understand what is going on."

Gabriel gave his brother a wink. "I promise."

***

Gabriel stood in the center of the Great Magic User's Library. He had no idea where to start. If he had to research spells to defeat a vampire, then he knew where to go. However, he had no idea if the library contained anything to explain what a vampire experienced on a daily basis.

He slowly walked along the carpeted floor glancing at various shelves. He remembered the general categories: Elemental based spells; Human influence spells; Magical creature spells of offense and defense. He had to memorize those categories, as all young mages had to memorize them. Otherwise, they would never know where to go when their tutors needed them to find information.

Then Gabriel remembered. In the back of the library was a small section of tombs and scrolls unrelated to spell casting. Many were of history, people and events. Many were of legends and lore of artifacts and magical creatures. That was where he needed to go. He had to search through the legends and lore of magical creatures. He quickly walked to that section.

Scanning the shelves, he discovered a thin, leather wrapped scroll. The stamp on the outside read 'Lamia by Uruku'. He knew that 'lamia' was the old tongue for 'vampire', but he had no idea who 'Uruku' was.

He found an empty table and unrolled the scroll. He opened his canvas bag and pulled out a sheet of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. He placed those items on the table. He almost gasped as he read that Uruku had been vampire.

Well, thought Gabriel, the author must know something about vampires. He read for almost an hour studying the scroll and making notes.

He discovered that most of what humans know of vampires was wrong. Most of the lore was false, written in order to confuse humans or place their minds at ease. Daylight did nothing to a vampire. Gabriel hadn't realized that it was supposed to do anything at all. He must have missed those stories.

Garlic did nothing to vampires except give their taste buds a sensation. Again, Gabriel didn't know that it was supposed to damage them. Good thing it didn't since he and his brothers loved the herb and had continued to eat it after their transformation.

Holy objects did nothing to vampires unless the one holding the said objects was a devout believer. Then they could harness the energy of their faith to cause vampires harm, but those people were rare. Too many charlatans ran around steeling from the poor with an offer of a wonderful life after death. He wasn't surprised that devout followers of any faith were few and far between.

He continued to make notes on his parchment fearing he would run out of room. He could always ask someone for more, but he was one of the master mages and didn't like how that would look to others, especially the young men who were barraged with messages to be well prepared. If need be, he would send someone to his brothers with a message to send a bag of supplies to the library as if he could not pull himself away from this studies.

Gabriel was amazed to discover how invulnerable vampires were. Instinct had told him they were powerful, but he had not realized that death could only happen in a few limited circumstances. Vampires died from fire. Vampires died from beheading. And the most familiar one, vampires died from having a wooden stake or other piece of wood shoved through their heart. It was good to know how to keep his brothers and elite soldiers safe. He had to keep them away from fire, chopping blocks, and sharp wooden objects.

Surprisingly, all vampires had the ability to control someone's mind to some degree, depending on the power of the vampire and the strength of will of the human. Some vampires could compel a human to carry out acts that they never would normally do. Other vampires could alter someone's memory, but they had already figured that out. Heck, Martinelli had successfully altered his servant's memory and he had no magical training of any kind.

It was interesting to note that a vampire's skills grew stronger with age. Many considered the newly created as powerless. Human traits amplified after the change. That explained why his spells were so powerful now. He suspected that August would be a stronger leader and that Martinelli would be a greater warrior, comparable to no one. The three brothers would be quite the force as the years passed.

Uruku explained that vampires were neither living nor dead. Some classified them as undead. Others believed vampires to be creatures of powerful magic, but as with all power comes corruption. The vampires had internal beasts, or some called them demons, that manifested from the evil acts committed by the vampires.

Gabriel remembered the demon and beast explanation. Fighting a vampire's internal beast was greatly discouraged, as it was incredibly potent in all aspects. The manifestation of such infinite evil in the beast was the reason a vampire would commit atrocities that could scar the world beyond repair. Many of the brothers' vampires had done horrible things during the war to the enemy, but not so much that the world was beyond repair. Perhaps it was poetic license that Uruku included that phrase.

A vampire existed because they drank blood from humans. The combination of a vampire's magic and the human's life force would create an eerie bond to sustain the vampire. Each vampire needed to feed at least once during each quarter phase of the moon. Vampires who were injured, or had greatly exerted their energy, would require more feedings.

Uruku warned that killing a human, while feeding, would leave the telltale marks of a vampire's fangs. That mark would alert surviving humans, which often resulted in the vampire's death. If the human lived, the magic of the fangs would heal the flesh erasing all evidence of the bite.

Magical creatures could detect a vampire's venom in the human. The venom marked the prey as a pet or as claimed by a particular vampire.

He had to read the next paragraph over several times and was still confused him. Something about how some vampires would develop extra talents granted through the magic that kept them alive. The magic would determine what skill was best for a particular vampire.

Gabriel always thought of magic as an inanimate object to be used and manipulated by humans. This made magic sound alive and dynamic, but that couldn't possibly be the case. He ignored the nagging questions and continued to read.

Only compassionate love, agape, given to a vampire can keep the creature connected to his humanity. This can be from any being. Gabriel thought of his brothers and how they loved each other. They would die for one another with no hesitation. They even journeyed into damnation together. As long as the three remained close, they would not lose their humanity. He almost sighed aloud. They had hope.

Only true erotic love, eros, can tame the inner demon. The inner demon will call to a lover and his fangs will grow. Growing fangs was the first sign that the inner beast was trying to break free. The beast determined who their intimate partner through eternity would be, never the vampire side. The conscious vampire had little say in the matter. The beast knew which person would help tame the evil to a manageable level.

Centuries or millennia could pass before finding a true love. Some never found their special someone. They would forever feel the sting of loneliness, which would be their curse for all eternity.

Gabriel almost jumped out of his seat. August had found his partner for eternity. Leave it up to his older brother to be efficient and not wait centuries to find a lover. Unfortunately, that was very bad news for Direca. August's inner demon had rejected her. She and August would be no more.

A rare form of eros caused 'amore donationis'. Okay, that was the old tongue for 'gift of a lover' or was it 'love's gift'. He couldn't remember. The amore donationis would transform without the usual qualities of a vampire and thus be forever vulnerable needing protected by the vampire who turned the amore donationis.

The amore donationis would not have fangs, nor power, nor an inner demon. That amore donationis would be much like other humans, even possessing a heartbeat, but for their immortality. For eternity, they would provide their vampire lover with a euphoric blood that all other vampires would envy. Amore donationis had been humans with an almost infinite ability to love, a rare quality indeed.

Gabriel scribbled more notes on the parchment and ran out of space on the paper. He jumped up and ran over to a group of young students. He pulled a few coins from his pocket, slammed them on the table, and grabbed a few sheets of unbound papyrus from the young men. Without a word, he hurried to his table and continued to read.

Vampires were hedonistic by nature and could lose themselves in the pursuit of pleasure. Their inner beast would convince a vampire to indulge in all forms of debauchery. Pleasure was their goal and often their only reason for existence after thousands of years. That was what Martinelli was dealing with! There was no reason to kill his brother as he was only falling into the hedonistic call of the vampire. Anyone could learn to curb desires. They would help their younger brother for as long as he needed it, in order to keep him safe and alive.

In his haste to create more notes, he spilled his ink bottle. He removed his shirt to sop up the stain on the table and wrote notes shirtless scribbling faster and faster lest he forget something important. There was so much to share with his brothers. They needed to prepare the other vampires for what was to come. They needed to create ways to control their hedonistic sides so they didn't become the monsters of legends, to prevent humans from hunting and killing them.

He tapped his chin. Maybe they could create a governing body for their vampires with laws and penalties to help each vampire to stay alive and not fall prey to habits that could get them killed. There was so much of which to think. There was so much to do.