Rei's sharp vampiric eyes finally adjusted to the blinding lights. He found himself in a small room with only two chairs and a table. The chairs were on opposite ends of the table.
On one chair was a middle-aged man with shining blonde hair. He smiled back when Rei stared at him.
Rei's face flushed when he noticed he was caught. He regained his composure immediately and took his seat on the chair.
"Blessed night, sir!" greeted Rei.
It was the custom greeting for the Acheron region, quite explanatory. The man responded back with a smile. He was reading a file that Rei thought was about him.
Rei allowed to man to finish reading. When he was done, he spoke with a hoarse tone, "If I'm correct, you are Rhazien Az Morgen, right?"
"Yes," replied Rei.
He squeezed his face when he thought of something strange.
Since he picked this room randomly, then how did the man know who he was?
Why was he already with his files?
Noticing his stream of thoughts, the man explained with a smile, "I know what you are thinking. I have my means. You see, I'm a diviner!"
The man dug a sanguis out of his pocket and flung it up, allowing it to land on his palm freely.
"Rhazien Az Morgen, son of Lucina Morgen and Damian. I'm Barak Cien, from the house of the Abyss."
Rei let his words slip, "The Abyss Wanderers!"
Just like the Morgens, the Ciens were yet another prominent vampire clan. They were known to be the most elusive vampire clan so it was a surprise seeing one of them here.
"Yes, the Abyss Wanderers. I'm your inspector for the baptism," mused Barak.
He started his interrogation with a technical question, "What is the vampire creed?"
Rei was about to let his mouth speak when he suddenly stopped.
'The vampire creed…..?' wondered Rei.
This sounded too sketchy. He tried to remember if his parents taught him about it but he could find such a memory.
Rei squeezed his fist and confidently stated, "There is no vampire creed."
"Oh….why is that?"
It was Rei's turn to smile, "Vampires are free creatures. We are not bound by rules and logic."
His words were filled with every bit of pride. He meant it. Vampires were best known for their free nature.
What makes them unique is the rules they bind to themselves by their own will.
Barak nodded his head in affirmative. He posed another question, "So, in your opinion, the vampire creeds represent true freedom?"
"Yes and No. There is never true freedom. At the end of the day, we are still bound but such binds are a bit loose to creatures like us," explained Rei
"I like that. Let's move on, shall we?"
He asked another technical question, "What are vampires?"
This one was easy for Rei, "We are agents of darkness! We are present everywhere there is darkness. That is our legacy!"
"Interesting. You make it sound like it is our fate," stated Barak.
Rei responded, "No, it is not. It is more like our common trait. A desire harbored by all of us. We are drawn to darkness. We are darkness."
There wasn't any story involving vampires that weren't dark. Usually, vampires ended up playing the antagonist role, even in the course of history. It was an undeniable fact.
"Good answer. I agree with you. There is no need to sugarcoat things. We are pure blissful darkness," responded Barak.
From his expressions, Rei understood that he was gaining a good impression of him. He just had to put a little more effort and he would get good results.
Barak queried, "What is the history of vampires?"
"The history of vampires?" repeated Rei.
"Yes," affirmed Barak.
This put Rei in a tough spot. The history of vampires wasn't something that he was taught but maybe…..just maybe, if he pieced together all the stuff he learned from his mother, he could provide a satisfactory answer.
After a while, his eyes wavered a bit as he began to speak out, "Vampires have no definitive history. We are a mystery even to ourselves. The Morgens, The Ciens, The Vrers, The Noctifers. We all tell different stories. The Morgens say we are descendants of the great Mor. The Ciens prefer us called bearers of the immortality curse. The Vrers view us as the embodiment of evil. While the Noctifers think we were messengers of a god that fell from his grace. Other clans have different views ."
This was one of the strange things about vampires, There seemed to be no origin for them. One thing was for sure, the different clans came from different places.
The Morgens originated from another realm. The Ciens originate from Tascar, being one of the earliest races. The Vrers and the Noctifers were outsiders. Yet, they were all similar.
It meant that there was actually an origin but it was not something someone like him could grasp. Hence, it was indefinite.
Barak's face brightened as he heard Rei's word. He couldn't contain it anymore, "Marvelous. It is a theoretical question but you answered it so soundly. Yes, our origin is diverse but yet we are still the same. Rhazien, I feel you will make a fine vampire. One last question, what is your goal?"
'My goal?' Rei pondered.
He had never thought too deeply about this. He was assumed his goal to be to uplift his family. It was the only thing that gave him a sense of purpose.
However, after having left his home, he was left with a profound curiosity towards Tascar. This feeling became strengthened when he conversed with Barak. His questions were mind-boggling and he wanted to know the answers to them.
Hence, he answered truthfully, "I want to discover. I yearn for truth!"
"You yearn and you shall find!" hummed Barak.
The man smiled at Rei and told him, "If you yearn then you must be prepared. The truth is hidden for a reason. Your first objective would be to try to uncover the mysteries during the baptism process. I wish you good luck "