The Isperalda Legends: Vinrye 'Not all stories have happy endings,' I mused as I lied on the ground, crimson liquid slowly pouring all around me out of deep gashes on my legs and arms. I smelled and could almost taste the coppery liquid as it ran into my hair. No one was coming to my rescue, and I was going to die alone. I didn't really mind one or the other seperately, but together they scared me. I was past the hysterics of dying though, and as it became hard to keep my eyes open, I saw a shadow come towards me. 'You're too late, I'm already gone' I thought as my eyelids slowly closed. When I next became conscious, I was aware that my lips when heavy and wet with a foreign substance. I licked them and found it was blood. I sat up my eyes wide and my mind suddenly aware. I wasn't dead, but how? I looked at my arms and legs for the gashes, but there were only very faint scars on otherwise unscathed appendages. I was terribly thirsty, and I saw a sink in the left corner of the small room I was in, along with several plastic cups. I tried my legs, and they seemed stable enough, until I tried to walk. They gave out from under me and I cried out as I fell flat on my face. "Traitors! Worthless excuses for legs!" I yelled at them. I crawled to the sink and lifted myself up to stand. I fixed a glass of water and downed it quickly, I was still thirsty, so I got another cupful. Six glasses of water later I was still thirsty, and I had to pee very badly. Luckily there was a toilet in a large bathroom so one problem solved. I silently took note of everything in the room and wondered where I was. The walls were painted a dark red and there were few furnishings in the room. I saw a large vanity dresser next to the bed, which had a tall dark green canopy and matching covers. There was a decent sized table to eat meals on, with two matching simply carved chairs made out of what I think was called Red Oak, but I never paid much attention in my classes. In the large bathroom with a large tub that could easily fit two or three adults in it. It had a burgundy tiled floor and there were many shampoos, soaps, bubble baths, cosmetics, and appliances in the red stained cabinets. The tub was surrounded by several mirrors, vain much? I thought to myself, slightly amused. There was one window in the whole room and it was barred. So I was given these nice things, but I wasn't allowed to leave? Where the hell was I? I now longed for the comforts of a home that no longer belonged to me. How long had it been since that day? I lost track a long time ago. I didn't wander for long in my thoughts through my new quarters when a young man that looked to be a little older than me opened the only door to my cell-like room, and he was carrying what looked like dinner. He had shaggy jet black hair and eyes the palest icy blue. He was tall, very tall. "You're awake already. You develop faster than the others, it seems. You can already stand and you seem to have your basic motor skills. It took the others weeks to awaken and months more to be able to move as much as you do in three days. You are a most fascinating subject, number 495975, or your mortal name Vinrye." I narrowed my eyes at this man, " Who are you? What is this place? How do you know my name and what do you mean "mortal", I'm still alive!" I was flustered and slightly confused. I wanted to get out of this place, it had the feel of an asylum with a hidden agenda, like in those creepy horror movies. I didn't want to be in this place any longer, but I wouldn't get very far now as I was too weak. My only hope would be that they would let me go soon. The orderly chuckled,"So many questions. Yet they are always the same four and I already have your answers. I am Draegon, and I brought you here when you nearly died from your wounds. This place is Kestyn Academy for Fledgling Paranormal Beings, and the name should be self explanatory. I know your name because I asked it of you and no, you are not mortal anymore. You are now a newbie Vampire, and I believe you will be a natural. After you graduate the Academy you will be released into Isperalda to start your new life as a supernatural being. Isperalda is a city where humans and other beings live together, quite successfully I might add." He said, pausing to make sure I was taking this in. I crossed my arms, "If this place is so great, why are there bars on the freakin' window?" He chuckled, "They are just a precaution. Some people don't handle the news very well. It also keeps out rogue Otherbeings. Now, you start your classes in two weeks and should graduate in a year's time. From now on your last name will be Vampyr, as all Otherbeings are given the same last name according to their race, though there are spelling variations. The main are Vampyr, Fae, Were, Daemonus, Angelus, and Ghiest. So you should be able to distinguish your classmates by their last name. If I have forgotten anything or you need anything just yell for Draegon Vampyir and I will show up. Oh yeah, two things: I am volunteering for this job since I found you, but I am also one of your classmates. Also I am the one who changed you and I did it before we came here. I'll give you the details later but lets just put it this way, anyone that might have seen it would've just thought it was some lip action." With that, Draegon left. I ate the meal he had left me which consisted of a raw steak and chicken with a glass of what smelled and looked like blood. I just shrugged my shoulders and downed it. I wasn't in the mood and didn't have the energy to worry much about my becoming a vampire, and it was a step up from my previous situation. A runaway who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I supposed I owed Draegon my life and my thanks. I found a small dressing table in another corner of my room and stared at my reflection. Hmm so the no reflection thing is a myth, well I thought it was all myths so I wonder what is actually true? At least I would see my seventeenth birthday, 'maybe even your seventeen hundredth?' I chuckled at my own thought. Vinrye Vampyr? It sounded awfully cliche. Well, I could go by 495 something, I suppose the name is more individualistic than the number. Vinrye Vampyr doesn't make you sound like a robot when you say it. I stared at my reflection. My dark blue violet hair looked smooth and shiny, even though it wasn't brushed and was bed-raggled. My dark hazel eyes were exceptionally deep hues of amber and forest green. My skin was a very pale and creamy color. I had never considered myself beautiful before, but as a vampire I looked almost pretty and I definitely had that creepy but oddly attractive ethereal glow. I yawned, and decided it was time to go to sleep. I saw a large dresser next to the bed. I looked in it and was surprised to find clothes and jewelry in it. I found some really cute pajama shorts and a plain black tee shirt that fit perfectly. I crawled into my warm bed and fell asleep wondering how they knew my size. I awoke the next morning to the smell of food. I dressed quickly and put my hair up. By the time I was finished, Draegon came in. "Today I'm going to help you catch up to where we are now in our studies, which by the time your two weeks are up you will know everything I do, including combat skills." I was excited, "We get taught how to fight? That is so cool!" If I had known how to fight before I was a vampire, I wouldn't... Be a vampire! I was pondering the situation when Draegon's face got very serious and his voice became stern when he spoke. "We only fight in self-defense, never for sport or because of an argument. Do you understand that Vinrye? There are severe punishments for those that break the rules." He turned around and raised his shirt up, showing me his back. There were many burn scars running across his back. "You are placed in a chamber for a week, chained with your back to a wall with small but serious cracks. When the sun comes up, it sears your back, but not enough to destroy you. There are different levels of this same kind of chamber depending on your crimes' severity. Mine was the lowest level. The highest level is where they chain you outside and you just sit there waiting for the sun." He seemed to recall something painful. "Someone you were close to got the highest?" I guessed. I knew it wasn't my place to ask, but I was curious to learn about Draegon and his past because it seemed interesting. I wonder if he has a girlfriend? I asked myself. No, I don't answered a voice that wasn't my own. My eyes snapped up at him and he was looking at me with a slight smirk. "Yes it was my best friend, and no I do not have a girlfriend because I don't have time to think about girls much, though your thoughts at night are intruding on my sleep." It took me a few minutes to realize he was talking to me. "You hear my thoughts? Why don't I hear yours?" I was actually very embarassed. I had a very innocent dream where he and I kissed the night before and I hope he hadn't seen that, even though it was just a dream. I wouldn't have minded if it was for real though, because he is seriously gorgeous with a capital g. If he had he didn't give it any acknowledgement. "You can't hear my thoughts because I can guard them. You will know how to do it instinctively when your powers reveal themselves. Now, how about those lessons?" The lessons were really fun and exciting. They were about the history of the supernatural races. I took down notes on everything, because for the first time I was interested in the material. I didn't want to forget anything about the other supernatural races. Then after the academic side was finished, Draegon gave me my first combat lesson. He taught me how to block and land blows on a target. He showed me the main spots to aim for on a person. We practiced hand-to-hand for a good six hours because I was a slow learner. We were exhausted afterwards and after a quick dinner we bid each other good night.
Copyright © 2009 Taya Sommel |