| Aelah, Aspirant of Alamut |
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| A luminance rainbow of colors begins to commence in a circular motion, piercing through the darkness night as it shines down upon a small baby girl named Aelah lying on a sheepskin blanket in the center a empty room. Her mother a beautiful dark haired woman in her twenties pressed the hungry child to her breast and the girl fed robustly. After taking in her fill the small child rubs her eyes and stirs a bit, the feel of her mother's soft and smooth hands caressing her arm soothing her. Looking up Aelah's mother smiled as a shadow flowed into the room, a massive beast of a man looking down at the tender scene. "She feeds almost as hungrily as you" Aelah's mother whispers then leans down and kisses her daughters forehead ever so soft, telling the small infant that today begins her walk upon the journey of honor. Small Aelah coos and giggles as she listens to her mother's words though somehow, someway, the small child understands what her mother is saying even as the creature slides behind her mother and she in turn offered him her neck.
The village of her birth was like any other, and unlike any others on earth. As a young child knew only that she was loved and very protected. Her father served as a scribe, and her mother as a healer and spiritual leader as was her inherited path. Their town was underground in a hidden fortress inhabited by the secret vampiric society the Web of Knives. The people of her village provided to the vampires the vitae they needed to survive; in return the vampires protected the humans and provided for them. Other than the fact that the inhabitants fed their protectors, life was normal in the fortress. Children were born, learned a trade, married, had children of their own and passed on. In the early mornings the vampires would begin training, often under the eye of Aelah's own personal playmate, the leader of the Web. In her earliest memories Aelah could remember the excitement of going with her mother to see him. The room was forbidden for any other to enter, filled with artifacts collected over many lifetimes. To be found within the walls meant certain death after much torture, (a statement proven on at least one occasion in Aelah's memory) and yet she and her mother were allowed unlimited access. The ancient armor and crystal adornments were Aelah's playthings, she would place a helmet on and rush inside and out to the jealous stares of the other children, who were terrified of the Master but to Aelah he was never scary, he was just a part of her and her mother's life, many times she would watch as her mother would slide into the vampire's lap to be held as she fed him even and as she grew older Aelah herself began curling up with her head in her mother's lap at these times, playing with both of their hands. As she grew from a young child into the form of a young woman Aelah began to notice the way the other vampires acted around her personal protector. She worked hard to learn the ways of the priestess from her mother and would seek out stories of her protector and just how it was that she was allowed to do things no one else could. Her mother would smile and tell her of how it was one of her own family who first caught the eye of the vampire elder, and it was her own bloodline which saved the village from being destroyed. Her ancient grandmother has beseeched the Elder to save the village from an approaching army. He had at first declined but her ancestor had refused to give up, offering herself for their lives. Thus the bargain was struck and he had indeed destroyed the approaching waves. After the battle the rest of the village refused to abandon the young girl and instead accompanied her, in time the arrangement growing completely natural. For generations the women of Aelah's family would satisfy the originals thirst. The village never forgot the ancestor's dedication and each one who served as the beast's source was revered as the leader of the humanity. After learning of the story, a ten year old Aelah accompanied her mother to his lair, though this time she herself saw an opportunity and sat down in his lap looking up at him she brushed her hair to the side as she had often seen her mother do. Shaking his head he hugged her back to him, whispering to her "Some day... but not this one". It was the last time her mother allowed her to accompany her, and young Aelah was heartbroken... through her tears she was determined to find a way to be close to her protector. Approaching her father, Aelah convinced him to teach her to read and write. For months she dedicated herself to this task, refusing to leave until she had accomplished a new word or style. After a year the beast was surprised to see his small one enter his laboratory and sit down with a quill and parchment. When he asked her what she was doing and where was his scribe she answered matter of fact that she would do this for him. She never knew what but something about her demeanor caused him to smile and nod, and without another word he began to dictate to her. Over the next decade she began to develop a keen understanding of the magicks he spoke of, and instead of just writing she would question him, interjecting in his studies and on at least one occasion assisting him in seeing how to adapt the steps. She was happy and content, for when he was proud of her then nothing else mattered. It was in his presence she felt most comfortable and she constantly rebuked his advice she leave to go out and find one of her own to grow close to. A few days before Aelah's eighteenth birthday, her mother suddenly becomes very sick, a strange illness soon overtaking her body and weakening her day by day. On the night before Aelah's birthday, her mother passes away in her daughters arm, holding tightly to her daughters hands as she whispers her last words, "I am going to join your father...It is your time to serve him my daughter, guard him and the people of your village". Aelah nods and cries, clinging to her mothers lifeless body in her arms for a bit before letting her go and walking straight to his chambers. Without a word she crawled into his lap and brushed her hair to the side, as she closed her eyes she was unprepared for the tenderness which accompanied. The brief piercing pain was replaced almost instantly by indescribable warmth as she felt the gentle feeding. His arms slid around her and she took his hands into her own just as her mother had. Looking behind her she catches sight of a single drop of blood rolling from the corner of his eye and she began to shake and cry as she pressed back to his embrace, utterly relaxed and vulnerable she shared her grief until he was filled, then she curled up in his lap and slept peacefully. Four years have passed since that night and much has changed while some has not. Despite his continued attempts she has continued to reject all suitors, finding fault in each. Secretly part of her wants to wed, if only to provide him with another generation, and yet another part wants to remain his and by not providing a daughter yet she can prolong her time with him alone. He has relocated the fortress into a city controlled by those of his blood, and for the first time Aelah walks in the light of the sun, though it is the time she spends under the moonlight that she holds most dear. |
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