Chapter 362 - The Moonshadow Trading Company Short Stories: 8 - The Coven City of Lyserna (I)

*Eldovian Era 1722, 3rd day of the 12th month*

Phillip the Fisherman had grown tired of others encroaching on his hunting grounds. His little boat did not hold much, but catching ten fish for the day was a haul that would give him some decent money. He was a veteran, and had always fished in the same spot on the Endless Lake, just off the south-western shore. In the last few weeks though, other Fisherman, with larger boats and younger crews, kept creeping closer to his area.

Finally, Phillip had had enough of them in his space. His daily haul was dropping, and with a grandchild on the way, he needed the money a series of good days could get him. So, with a quick word to his wife, Phillip made the decision to take a trip to the furthest parts of the Endless Lake.

The Northern End of the Lake was rarely travelled to, mostly because it was at least a 3-day trip to make it there and back in favourable winds. Still, if the fish further north were not used to fisherman such as himself, he would surely get a better haul than he would in the south of the lake.

So, Phillip's wife ensured his boat was stocked with food and water, and Phillip prepared his bait and tackle, then at the dawn of the previous day, he'd sailed north along the waters of the Endless Lake.

A few hours in, and it became clear why the Lake had been named as such.

The waters were relatively calm, allowing for smooth sailing. And the lake itself was sandwiched in between the two halves of the Northern Mountain Range. With the great peaks rising up on either side, and the stretch of water both in front and behind him for hours on end, one could quickly feel that the imposing scenery was indeed endless.

Finally, as the sun was beginning to set on the first day, Phillip could see the vast expanse of the Desolate Lands in the distance before him. He took his boat as close to the Northern Shore as he dared, then dropped the anchor and settled in for the night, determined to spend the following day fishing.

But the draw of the Desolate Lands proved to be a lot more alluring than he'd anticipated.

Unable to quench his curiosity enough to sleep, Phillip had made his way ashore in the early hours of the morning and watched the silent and dry lands under the light of the full moon. His eyes were getting old, but such a well-lit night with such plain and flat scenery made it easy for even him.

There was a strange beauty in it, the Desolate Lands. The line where Eldovia ended, and the desolate and unclaimed plains beyond began was clear to see. Apart from the occasional rock, nothing changed the flat horizon line of what lay before him. It was like staring at the end of the world, Phillip thought. Like if he proceeded to walk forward, eventually it would just end, and he would fall off the edge.

Such a thought made him shiver, and with that, he turned to go back to his boat.

Just then, like the world was truly ending, a large dark arrow-like shadow shot down from the sky and pierced the ground a few kilometres out into the expanse. Phillip's eyes were enraptured by the sight, and seconds passed before the keen whistle of the object piercing through the air hit him, shortly followed by the earth beneath his feet shaking from the impact.

Phillip's eyes widened. What, by the gods, was so powerful that it would have such speed and strength as to fall from the sky and cause the ground to shake. It wasn't…it wasn't a god itself, was it?

As Phillip contemplated the legitimacy of his thoughts, the ground's shaking returned, and grew stronger. Enough to cause Phillip to stumble and the water in the lake behind him to slosh against the shore. Phillip looked up, and not far from where that shadowed thing had hit the ground, the ground itself seemed to rise up in a long, tall column.

And it rose. And rose. And rose.

Finally, when it was high enough that Phillip was sure it was twice as high as the carved city walls of Toulle, it came to a shuddering halt with a boom, the dust around it scattering and the ground stopped it's shaking. The land descended into silence and stillness once more.

Phillip c.o.c.ked his head to the side, what, by the gods, was it? What was it's purpose? Who had-

A shadowed figure broke through the earth at the huge column's base, then rose slightly into the air before changing directions and aiming right towards where Phillip stood.

Instincts flared within Phillip. They told him immediately to run and hide. That what was coming towards him was powerful, and not at all something he stood a chance against. But the niggling curiosity of wanting to know made him hesitate, and suddenly, it was too late anyway.

The dark shape was before him, a giant…no, a man, with huge, dark bat-like wings that looked as if they'd been dipped in blood. The man, with pale skin and dark hair, was young, only in his twenties, perhaps the same age as Phillip's son-in-law. The man's eyes though…Phillip could not help but feel the weight they bore as they looked at him. Could not help but think that those eyes had seen far more than he ever could on the Lake fishing every day.

The man righted himself, gave an almighty flap of his wings to slow his descent, then dropped several metres to the ground. The wind momentarily blinded Phillip. He coughed, brushing it away before he looked up to find the young man before him, a simple black jacket and pants, though they were clearly well-tailored. Phillip could swear he saw the glint of some kind of gemstone beneath the man's sleeve though.

Had Phillip imagined the wings? He can't have. Yet they were clearly not there now.

"Apologies for the disturbance, I didn't expect anyone this far north," said the man.

His voice…it seemed quite calm, gentle even. Phillip found himself shaking his head at the apology, "No…I…What…" Phillip had no idea what to say, then he pointed to the column that had just risen out of the ground, "Did you do that?"

The man glanced over his shoulder, "Oh? Yes, I had to mark out my path you see. Be sure to find my way back. Had to make it nice and big so that I could plainly see it from above".

He pointed to the sky with a smile.

So, the wings hadn't been imagined.

"Are you out here alone?" asked the young man.

Phillip nodded, "Fish-" Phillip cleared his throat, "I'm fishing".

The young man nodded, "Ah, I see. I didn't know that there were those who came so far North for that".

"Too many sh.i.p.s encroaching on my usual waters," Phillip grumbled, relaxing into the conversation despite what he'd just seen, "My daughter's expecting, I need better coin".

The young man smiled, "My congratulations to you and her then…I will compensate you for the meal, by the way".

Phillip raised an eyebrow. The meal? Such an insistent attitude was quite rude, but he'd been polite thus far. Maybe he was noble and was used to getting his way.

"Well, my wife has not packed much spare food but I'm sure I can share-"

"Oh no, you misunderstand," said the young man, "You will not need to share your food, I am quite capable of procuring my own".

Phillip frowned but nodded, "Oh, right…then…apologies, but I don't understand why I would need to be compensated?"

The young man simply continued to smile, "What is your name, sir?"

"My name? Phillip".

The young man seemed to pause for a moment, as if somewhat surprised, then his easy smile returned, "I see…well, Phillip, I will be compensating you for your time. After all, I am quite hungry, and I would hate for your grandchild to suffer because of my hunger".

Phillip, still quite confused, opened his mouth to reply, but paused in shock as the young man's eyes turned blood red.

"Wha-"

The young man was suddenly behind him, holding him in a grip like iron with his head to the side before Phillip felt two needle-like points pierce his neck, followed by a mouth enclosing over the skin around it. The initial pain and shock were replaced almost immediately by a calm serenity that had Phillip's protests dying before they even reached his lips.

He couldn't move, and as he felt the young man taking something from inside him, Phillip found himself not wanting to protest even a bit. The calm serenity of the vastness he was still staring out at was the last thing he remembered before he succ.u.mbed to darkness.

***

Rassa Moonshadow gently placed Phillip the Fisherman down on a bench of his boat. He'd thought he'd have to go nearly all the way to Toulle to find something to satiate his hunger after the long journey south, but he'd gotten lucky.

Still, Rassa had wanted to keep the old man alive. The soon to be grandfather didn't deserve to die after their coincidental meeting. Rassa took out a small bag of gold coins and placed them on the deck beside the old man as he stood.

Rassa glanced back at the column of rock he'd pushed up from the ground. It had become routine these past few days. He'd left Iah and Sel in the North a week ago after they'd spent several months finding the perfect location and planning construction of the city. Eventually though, Iah had expressed concerns over both a lack of materials and the fate of the rest of their Coven so far away.

The majority of the city they were building could be formed through the ice and rock and minerals that they'd found in the north, but what they could achieve was only a crude construction. If they wanted a city that would last, and one that incorporated the giant sun stones as well, they needed better artisans and professionals.

So, Rassa had told Iah and Sel to continue constructing what they could whilst he ventured south again.

Of course, to ensure that not only Rassa, but any construction teams could find their way across the Desolate Lands that separated Eldovia from the North, he'd had to get creative.

Knowing it was going to be a one-way trip, Rassa had flown instead of run. And every few hours, he'd dove beneath the ground, displaying the earth and rock enough to push up a stable totem that marked the path. By his estimates, if every totem had some kind of station built at it, he could make a Railway from Toulle, all the way to their new city.

At first, despite the fact that temperature didn't bother them, Iah had been concerned about the cold. But after several months spent there, she was one with the element.

A good thing too, considering how thick the snow was now that Winter had officially arrived. And the days in the North? Practically non-existent this time of year.

The climate was perfect for his Coven. Now all that was missing was the Coven, and a decent supply of food. Sure, they could live off of the animals there. But as the population of Vampires in the North grew, the population of animals would plummet. They needed a decent number of humans to satiate their gluttony.

Taking one last glance at the sleeping Phillip, Rassa summoned his wings and lifted off, headed across the lake towards Eldovia's northernmost city.

***

Layton stared at the cake, unconvinced of it's properties. He glanced up at Allyra, who waited expectantly opposite him, then reached forward and poked the cake.

Allyra scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Don't poke it, try it".

"I don't eat this," Layton huffed as he sat back, "Whatever this is".

Allyra frowned, leaning back in thought, "Is the concentration not high enough? Or perhaps because it's baked?"

"What are you on about?" asked Layton.

Allyra raised her eyebrow, "You told me the other night that you'd never tried sweets before. That, is frankly, a crime in and of itself".

"Not exactly the law-abiding type, if that hasn't sunk in yet. What with all the meeting at night in your deserted café and all," said Layton.

Allyra stood, "The sunlight strains your eyes, besides, you're not a people person".

"Whatever gave it away?" asked Layton sarcastically.

"Your award-winning personality," Allyra replied.

"Thought you said I wasn't an asshole," said Layton.

"I said you weren't an asshole all the time," said Allyra, "Now, are you not going to even smell it?"

"I can smell it just fine from here, it smells like flour, eggs, sugar and…rust? What is that?" Layton frowned, poking the cake again as if it would reveal it's answers, "But in short, awful, I'm not eating that".

Allyra huffed. She took the cake and moved to throw it in the bin, "For your information, it's not rust…it's blood".

Layton frowned, "Blood?"

Allyra nodded, "I went to the butchers, it's pig's blood, but still blood. Figured that I could try to bake it into a cake, that way you might be able to enjoy some sweets".

Layton stared at Allyra for a moment before he looked away, "That's not-"

He stopped his expression freezing before his eyes swiftly turned towards the north-east.

"What?" asked Allyra, "It's not what?"

"He's back," Layton said.

"What?" asked Allyra, confused as she turned back to face him.

Layton stood, his expression softened, if not a little shocked, "Sorry, I-I've got to go".

Allyra raised her eyebrows, "Oh well-"

But he disappeared before her. Allyra huffed, "Okay, bye. Guess I'll see you later".

Their meetings had become nearly a nightly routine for Allyra. It hadn't exactly happened because they'd arranged it either. And Allyra sensed that if she did bring it up that Layton would disappear on her. He might have acted tough, but he was as skittish as a mouse when it came to any form of relationship with another living being, Vampire or Human. He was not always talkative, sometimes he just sat nearby to watch her work in preparation for the next day's business, but Allyra never shirked his company. She sensed that, despite his initial reluctance, he'd grown attached to their meetings.

As for the intimacy that had begun their sort-of-friendship, the two had never spoken of it after Layton had returned Allyra's memories. There were initially times when Allyra had looked at him and couldn't help blushing, but Layton had either pretended not to see it, or legitimately not been able to tell. Considering his near-unparalleled senses, Allyra was inclined to think it was the former.

Three months of friendship though, and Allyra's upbringing was pushing to the surface. He had done a few things for her and never asked for anything in return. It didn't sit well with Allyra, but what exactly did you get a man who didn't eat or drink anything except blood, and had enough money to buy whatever material d.e.s.i.r.es he had? Allyra knew little of his likes and dislikes, but knew that any time Rassa Moonshadow, or any form of combat was mentioned, his eyes would light up. Getting him a weapon just seemed…inadequate though.

Then Layton had mentioned one day when Allyra was explaining her changes for the menu in the new year, that he'd never had sweets before. The thought hadn't registered to Allyra. What life must he had lived to never have had sweets? Were his parents so strict or…or was his past a whole lot darker than Allyra had imagined?

The question had motivated Allyra. If she could bake some sweets for him to try then…but he only consumed blood…

Her creative mind had a spark of inspiration. If today was any indication though, this goal of hers would be a lot harder than she had initially imagined.

"Maybe a desert I don't have to bake," Allyra thought aloud as she turned back to her kitchen, Layton's abrupt disappearance a norm she had grown used to.