He knocked on a thick oak door and entered when instructed

  to by a familiar vocie. Inside were the three village elders and

  Lysander sharing a glass of wine around a a rectangular table

  made of wood.

  ‘Oh, it is Theseus! Come sit with us!’ Lysander smiled and

  pointed to an empty chair besides him.

  ‘You are late,’ said a grumpy village elder named Hesperos,

  he wasn’t really liked by anyone though his advice was highly

  respected.

  ‘Cut him some slack, he visited the family of the deceased,’

  Lysander said.

  ‘A friend that he himself had killed by his own foolishness,’

  Hesperos snorted with mockery.

  ‘Yes, that same fool that had rebuilt this village, thereby

  granting you your title and status. Know your place,’ Lysander

  responded.

  ‘Relax, we are not here to discuss the culprit behind Aris-

  taeus’s death, nor do I blame you for it, Theseus,’ said Xenophon

  grinning, the youngest of the three, today he was wearing a

  simple white Himation, ‘Anyway, Theseus, our idea is that I

  would personally meet with the oracle of Larissa while you and

  Lysander would do the same with the oracle of Alexandria in

  Egypt.’

  ‘Wait, is that it? I thought we would be discussing much

  more than just who goes where,’ Theseus asked

  ‘No, we just wanted to know whether you’d be okay with an-

  other journey. Without a positive response from you the remain-

  ing decisions would be meaningless. This task would include at

  least two weeks of travelling,’ Xenophon laughed.

  ‘I am okay with it but I would need to buy a ship.’

  ‘Or borrow a ship Aristaeus’s family,’ Lysander cut him off,

  ‘For the purpose of investigating his death I am sure the family

  wouldn’t mind...’

  ‘Theseus, I will be in charge of convincing Lyria to give you

  the ship. You just need to take it upon yourself to travel to Alexan-

  dria. I need a final answer,’ Xenophon said.

  ‘Yes, I will go.’

  ‘Splendid, we will arrange everything. Also, there should

  be a lot of scholars and priests in Alexandria, hopefully one of

  them could help you remove the necklace.’

  ‘Alright then. Thank you all for helping me.’

  It was decided that Lysander and Theseus would depart the first

  morning after the funeral of Aristaeus; they all shook hands and

  went back home.

  ‘How did it go?’ Shiraz asked.

  ‘Fine, I was a bit late,’ he chuckled, ‘But they decided that

  Lysander and I must travel to Alexandria of Egypt after Aris-

  taeus’s funeral. They said it should take at least two weeks, one

  whole week at sea per direction and then the time we would actually spend in Alexandria itself. The purpose of the trip is to

  ask Alexandria’s oracle for their opinion about Aristaeus’s death

  and maybe also about this necklace. I hope it wouldn’t prove to

  be too difficult... I am sorry to leave you again, my love.’

  ‘Oh...’ Shiraz gazed downwards for a split second, ‘I un-

  derstand. This is important, just... Just promise me that you’ll

  come back to me, okay? And I expect to get a nice souvenir!’ She

  winked.

  ‘Thank you for understanding. I promise to do both. Don’t

  worry, I will be okay. I love you,’ he smiled.

  ‘Me too,’ Shiraz hugged him tightly.

  ‘This will be my final adventure. I have already had my fair

  share of them and now I wish to rest. You deserve that, both of

  us do.’

  ‘And finally start a family,’ she chuckled.

  ‘And start a family,’ he chuckled in response.

  Aristaeus’s funeral had finally taken place engulfed by songs of

  sorrow and weeping of women, children and believe it or not,

  men as well. As nothing but the skull was found the villagers

  had prepared a tiny coffin, big enough to store it, and buried it

  underground. The funeral ended with a commemorative feast.

  Xenophon succeeded in convincing Lyria to donate the boat to

  the cause.

  Our protagonists set sail for Alexandria on first light, paus-

  ing from time to time in opportune ports for supplies or simply

  to to wait out bad weather. Honorable mention ports would be

  Piraeus, Rhodes or the port of Byblos, the grand Phoenician port-

  city. As they had finally approached Alexandria they witnessed

  one of the seven wonders of the world, the grand ‘Lighthouse

  of Alexandria’. Made of white stone it rose majestically and re-

  flected the sun; every ship looked like a toy in comparison. They

  docked their ship at the eastern side of the port and in front of

  them laid a magnificent variety of ships. Ships of different sizes

  and designs, unloading goods and passengers from all around

  the world.

  ‘Theseus, could we grab a bite to eat before we start looking

  for oracles? I am fucking starving.’

  ‘Sure, why not? I would love some lunch.’

  They entered the market and with that were immediately im-

  mersed in its smells and noise. Smells of fresh and exotic fruits,

  vegetables, spices, meat and fish, sweets and snacks. Vendors

  were shouting in many different languages trying to sell their

  wares like grain, ivory and African gemstones; spices and in-

  cense from the Middle East; wine and oil from Greece; silk and

  jade from the Far East. Their noses were quickly engulfed by a

  full mix of aromas, and their mouths? Watering. Lysander was

  the one affected the most by this spectacle, gazing (and staring)

  at a stall of roasted and skewered meat, the smell of which was

  nothing but incredible; that of lamb meat and fat sizzling above

  hot coals. This amazing aroma was ultimately enhanced by its

  mix with the smell of local dates and apricots being sold in an-

  other stall two meters away. The sweet smell mingling with that

  of the smoke, what a day to be alive! If only they could manage

  to avoid the mass of beggars asking them for coin. That, or the

  incredible noise of vendors yelling out in an attempt to convince

  them to buy something. The secret was to ignore, politely or not,

  you ask? That would depend entirely on you, my friend.

  ‘So much variety I don’t even know where to begin!’

  ‘If you are looking for something to eat I know just the spot!’

  a stranger’s voice suddenly caught their attention, radiating

  confidence, ‘I actually planned to go there right now if you’d

  care to join me! Do you like good Egyptian Hummus? Oh, who

  am I kidding, who in their right mind doesn’t?! Come on, I’ll

  show you,’ a friendly smile appeared on his face.

  ‘Oh, okay! What’s your name? Nice to meet you, I am

  Lysander, and this is my friend Theseus,’ he extended his hand

  in greeting and smiled brightly.

  ‘I am Nethanel, it is a pleasure to meet you,’ he said, shaking

  both of their hands, ‘Interesting. Those are Hellenic names,

  you’re tourists aren’t you? It would be my pleasure to introduce

  my country to both of you,’ he smiled.

  Nethanel led them to the restaurant.

  ‘Yes, we came here to seek out a scholar or an oracle. We

  believe they could help us with a couple of issues we have at

  home.’

  ‘Oh, sounds like an incredible adventure! I hope you man-

  age to find someone appropriate.’ He said encouragingly, ‘Oh,

  we are here!’ He stopped in front of the entrance, inviting them

  in.

  ‘Herete, Nati, how are you doing today?’ The owner shook

  Nethanel’s hand, ‘And who are these fine gentlemen you have

  brought here with you?’

  ‘Two travelers I met a few minutes ago. They were hungry

  so I invited them to join me,’ a light grin appeared on his face.

  ‘Nice to meet you,’ he extended his arm and shook their

  hands, ‘Please, take a seat and decide what you’d like to eat,’ he

  said, gesturing towards an empty table and then departed with

  a respectful nod.

  They took their seats and looked at the menu, overwhelmed by

  the quantity of fine choices.

  ‘Say, Nethane—,’ Theseus began asking.

  ‘Please, call me Nati. We are friends already, aren’t we?

  There is no need for such formality,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘Okay then. Nati, what do you recommend? There are too

  many options,’ he said with a slight laugh.

  ‘Honestly? You can’t go wrong with a Pita and a dish of

  ‘Hummus’ and lamb meat.’

  Theseus and Lysander nodded excitedly in agreement.

  ‘Khufu, we are ready to order,’ Nethanel called.

  The owner handed them flatbread accompanied by a dish of

  Hummus adorned with an island of lamb meat cooked to per-

  fection, surrounded by an ocean of olive oil. Music of many

  different genres was playing while they dipped the flatbread in

  the Hummus. They shared a few laughs and chatted about their

  lives. Nethanel worked as a security guard and also volunteered

  with terminally-ill people in his spare time. They finished their

  meals entirely, demonstrated by their fully empty plates, and

  went looking for the owner alongside their new friend. They

  paid, thanked him and left the restaurant, though not before

  asking him for the recipe of course. Nethanel extended his harm

  with a smile, showing his gratitude for their time together.

  ‘It’s been a pleasure getting to know you both. Who knows?

  Maybe we’ll cross paths again!’ He said

  They shook hands firmly before parting ways.

  ‘He is a great guy, isn’t he? Also I really enjoyed that Hum-

  mus,’ Lysander said, ‘Oh, wait,’ he said and signalled Theseus to

  move to the right side of the street, to open the way for a woman

  carrying a basket of apples, ‘And the juicy meat really added a lot

  to the flavor. Though it was really frustrating sometimes when

  I couldn’t for the life of me manage to grab both Hummus and

  meat at the same time. It kept fucking slipping off!’ He laughed.

  ‘Absolutely,’ Theseus grinned and laughed, ‘It was really

  good. I can’t wait give Shiraz the recipe and eat more at home.’

  ‘Definitely a warm welcome to such a majestic city. This city

  appears to have literally anything one could ever want! And the

  ladies... Don’t even let me start! I might end up taking one of

  them with me on our way back,’ Lysander laughed.

  Theseus laughed in response. Suddenly, they heard the shouting

  of an unfamiliar voice. It was an elderly woman vendor.

  ‘Jewelry from all four corners of the world! Sparkling dia-

  monds, radiant rubies, and royal Lapis Lazuli. Buy them for

  your wives, your mothers, your sisters, hell, buy some for your-

  selves! The perfect gift to embellish beauty!’

  Theseus’s attention was caught by the sight of glistening stones

  resting on her stall.

  ‘Give me a minute, I want to buy Shiraz a gift,’ Theseus

  approached the stall and was immediately greeted by an array

  of jewelry ranging from emerald necklaces to diamond rings.

  ‘What would you have?’ The vendor welcomed him, ‘We have

  this ring with sapphires as blue as the Mediterranean Sea or this

  bracelet with lush green emeralds. Or what about this ring with

  a beautiful diamond? It looks like a star in a cage!’

  She handed him the ring. The surface of the diamond was ex-

  ceptionally smooth, polished to a mirror-like sheen.

  ‘I am not sure,’ Theseus began playing with the ring with

  his fingers, admiring its beauty, ‘This diamond is beautiful but I

  seek something beyond just beauty, something with a deeper

  meaning... Something that could showcase my love.’

  ‘I think I have just the thing for you. Give me a second, dear,’

  the vendor turned around, picked up a beautifully decorated

  wooden box from which she took out two necklaces and then

  gently put it back in place, ‘I have these two necklaces, adorned

  with ‘Prostasia‘ stones. Have you ever heard of them?’

  ‘Prostasia stones? Ah, yes! I heard of a legend that when

  one of them is harme—,’ he began saying but was quickly cut

  off by the merchant.

  ‘It is a Greek stone that is quite unique, when you break it

  it emits light as strong as a torch! But also there is a beautiful legend that says that it is possible to connect two of these stones

  in a unique bond. Cracking one of them causes the one it is

  bonded with to glow as well. It is basically a symbol of unity,

  protection and care. All you would need is an oracle to bless

  them for this work,’ she said.

  ‘Interesting, I like that. I’ll take them, how much do they

  cost?’

  ‘Let me check in my book. Ah, about 300 Drachmas, but

  because you’re a handsome lad I’ll give them to you for 500 in

  total. What do you say?’

  ‘Oh, sure, thank you!’ He laughed and paid.

  He returned to Lysander.

  ‘Look at this,’ he said, showing Lysander one of the neck-

  laces, ‘What do you think?’ An excited and childish smile ap-

  peared on his face.

  ‘Is that... A Prostasia stone?’ Lysander asked while examin-

  ing it.

  ‘Oh, good, at least you can recognize it, phew! I liked the

  idea behind it and Shiraz loves special jewelry. Could you hold

  on to this one until we come back home? It could come in handy

  if we get lost in dark place somewhere.’

  ‘You made a fine choice. Yes, sure,’ Lysander smiled.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said and smiled back.

  They ultimately decided to stay in the market for a little while,

  leisurely strolling around the bustling market, (not so quietly)

  admiring the colorful fabrics and enticing perfumes. Each and

  every stall that was selling clothes was very eagerly browsed

  through by the pair, as they tried out everything that looked

  exotic enough. After around two and a half hours they had

  finally decided to finish their tour and look for an oracle or a

  scholar.

  ‘This city is so magnificent and intoxicating! Honestly, I

  don’t want to leave!’ Lysander said, laughing.

  ‘Neither do I. I thin-’ Theseus laughed in response but stopped

  mid-sentence.

  ‘Please let us go!’ They heard the plea of an elderly peasant

  woman from across the street, ‘We have done nothing wrong.

  They were the ones who attacked us!’

  ‘Quit your blabbering, woman,’ a soldier bitch-slapped her

  with the back of his hand.

  While nine fully-armored soldiers were staring and laughing at

  her, another soldier was poking his sword at the bloodied back of

  a young man. He was forcing him into a caged wagon occupied

  by eight other peasants with nothing but despair in their empty

  eyes, gazing at each other. One of them was Nethanel, our pair’s

  new friend from before, who appeared to have been thoroughly

  beaten up. The soldier ultimately slammed the metal door shut

  with a ‘bang’ of corrupt authority.

  ‘What is Nati doing there?! He doesn’t look like the type

  who would do what these soldiers were claiming... Something

  just doesn’t feel right... They were acting like goons rather than

  soldiers, look at how they were laughing at the woman. It’s

  disgusting!’ Lysander clenched his fists and grinded his teeth

  in anger.

  ‘And what do you think we should do? We are completely

  unarmed in enemy territory, do you suggest we follow them or

  something?’ He noticed a smile appeared on Lysander’s face,

  like a light bulb was suddenly lit above his head, ‘Oh Malaka,

  seriously?!’

  Lysander saw two soldiers get on the wagon while the rest went

  their separate ways.

  ‘Quick, make a decision. They are leaving,’ he said, urg-

  ing Theseus to rush his thinking process while the wagon went

  further away, jolting and swaying along the stone street, the

  prisoners’ cries fading, ‘We don’t have much time!’ Lysander

  urged him harder, ‘It’s almost out of view!’

  ‘Alright! Fine, fine! I hope he is okay...’

  They started walking fast toward the wagon, trying not to lose

  track of it but also not attract its driver’s attention. As the pris-

  oners’ pleas grew fainter they had ultimately decided to run

  until they were close enough and then controlled their pace to

  match that of the wagon, staying just about three meters be-

  hind. Theseus and Lysander followed as silently as possible, the

  road’s limestone gave way to hot sand roads; the housing density

  around them decreased every few meters and the sounds of civi-

  lization had been fading alongside it. Turn after turn the wagon

  entered isolation, with only a few people passing by; most of

  what they could see was sand, occasional trees and yet more

  sand stretching toward the hazed horizon.

  After an hour the bleak landscape had finally changed, ob-

  structed by the sight of a lone fortress; made from the same pale

  limestone used all around the city, it stood proud in the mid-

  dle of absolutely nothing. Its size was close enough to that of

  the aforementioned lighthouse, enough to render it remarkably

  formidable. Reinforced by towers, barred by heavy iron gates

  and guarded by countless archers who were positioned atop

  stone platforms, it looked impenetrable. Two guards, armed

  with spears, were standing next to the main gate and approached

  the wagon. When it passed its security check the gate was

  opened ever-so-slightly, allowing it to enter before immediately

  closing shut. Lysander’s face was filled with uneasiness.

  ‘What could warrant such defenses? Getting anywhere near

  these walls would reward us with an arrow straight to the face!’

  He muttered.

  ‘Let’s circle around it, maybe we could find a breach or a

  spot that is not guarded well enough. We have to do this quickly.’

  Theseus replied.

  Crouching low, Theseus and Lysander began trudge around the

  fortress hoping to find a weakness. The sun’s slow descent to-

  ward the dunes shortened their window of opportunity. With

  nothing but the light of dusk they were tracing their fingers across the smooth stone walls and finally, Lysander had man-

  aged to find a crevice.

  ‘Hey, Theseus, I found something,’ Lysander whispered.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Theseus replied with a spark of hope in his heart.

  They started widening the fissure with a small knife until it was

  large enough for them to enter. Slipping inside they were struck

  by the sight of an incredible number of people who were acting

  strangely normal. Why ‘strangely’, you ask? Because the inside

  was engulfed by utter darkness, with a hint of light from the

  fading sun, and none of them was using any torch or a light

  source. On the left were the two metal doors from which the

  wagon had entered, its current location unknown. Theseus,

  opening his eyes broadly in an attempt to gather as many rays of

  light as possible, managed to identify the entrance to the main

  building of the fort. It was protected by four heavily armored

  guards, ready to slash down any who would dare trespass.

  ‘What do you think is behind? This place is so weird. We have

  to take these guys out somehow. Hmm...’ Lysander pondered.

  ‘Aye. Hey, over there, I see a weapon rack. Let’s borrow

  something,’ he pointed and led his friend there, both crouching.

  They both took a dagger, ideal for a stealth mission.

  ‘How do you reckon they see anything? It is so fucking dark

  over here...’ Lysander asked.

  ‘Honestly I have no idea but we could use this for our advan-

  tage. Do you still have that necklace I gave you?’

  ‘Yes, why?’

  ‘I have a plan. We’ll sneak a bit closer to them and when I

  tell you, crack the stone with your dagger and throw it in front

  of those four. Their pupils should be dilated enough to get tem-

  porarily blinded by the sudden light. Got it?’

  ‘Ingenius! Alright, let’s do it!’ Lysander took of the necklace

  and held it in the palm of his left hand, the dagger on the ready

  with his right hand.

  They took their time, not because of of laziness but because they

  must stay completely quiet. After a few minutes of sneaking further and futher in the middle of the fort, they were close

  enough to execute their plan. They hid behind a big wooden box

  that was hugging the wall about three meters away from the

  left-most guard. Then, Theseus signalled him to stop.

  ‘Copy me,’ he said.

  Lysander nodded. Theseus ripped off a piece of fiber from his

  sleeve and wore it around his eyes like a headband.

  ‘This should prevent us from getting blinded. It isn’t perfect

  but we don’t really have a better choice.’

  Lysander nodded again and did the same. When they were both

  done trying out a new fashion trend Theseus signalled his friend

  to be ready by raising his hand in the air. Suddenly, he swiftly

  dropped it in a way to say ‘Go!’. Lysander obliged, pierced the

  stone with the tip of the dagger and quickly threw it toward the

  guards.

  ‘Now, we wait,’ Theseus whispered.

  ‘Oh, what is this noise? I think something fell next to us,’ a

  guard said.

  ‘I can’t see a fucking thing. I swear what is the fucking point

  of putting us here on guard duty without giving us a torch?! We

  are fucking useless in this darkness!’ Another guard said.

  ‘Beats me! Eh, forget it. If it were something important

  one of the masters would have told us to pick it up already,’ the

  left-most guard shouted.

  ‘Yes, I agree. It makes no sen-. Oh, fuck! My eyes! My eyes!’

  Another guard started saying and then shouted in pain.

  ‘What the fuck is this?!’ The right-most guard shouted, cov-

  ering his eyes.

  But it was too late for them as they had already been blinded by

  our Lysander’s DIY flash-bang grenade. The pair counted four

  seconds, allowing their semi-covered eyes to slowly get the hang

  of things; then charged in with their daggers drawn. They knew

  they didn’t have enough time for a fully fleshed out battle, their only choice was to slit their throats from behind and then quietly

  get inside the building. Hot blood welled up around the blades;

  they pulled the guards from their coats and rested their bodies

  behind the box. They stripped down two guards and put on

  their armor, just in case. And then, with one final final nod, they

  rushed toward the metal doors and opened them with a slow

  and silent motion. They had hoped to finally be met with a shed

  of light, but it was to no avail as the inside was even darker still;

  they turned back, picked up the broken necklace and stepped

  inside, accompanied by only the sounds of their footsteps and

  the ominous aura that was engulfing their worried minds. They

  sauntered through seemingly endless halls, hoping to locate

  their friend and hopefully free the other prisoners too.

  Suddenly, they came across an enormous empty room, its

  metal doors fully open, creepily silent. There was a crest they

  couldn’t recognize engraved onto the wall in the middle, an in-

  verted ‘V‘ colored in silver cut by a symbol reminiscent of a goat’s

  head. Lysander grasped his friend’s arm, afraid of what this

  could entail. They approached it and Theseus used the broken

  necklace as a torch, trying to find any secrets hidden around the

  crest. Having found nothing, they lowered their guard. Theseus

  put the ‘torch‘ in the middle of the room, as a light source, and

  they began exploring it.

  ‘Look at this,’ Lysander pointed at something.

  He found something that resembled a hatch or a small cellar

  door, colored in the same color as the floor, probably for the

  purpose of obscuring it. Theseus picked up the necklace and

  held it close to the hatch in an attempt to find its handle. They

  traced their fingers across it, trying to locate any budge or some-

  thing they could pull, until finally they had found some sort of

  latch. They grabbed it together, synced their breaths and pulled

  in one powerful motion. It was fully opened but unfortunately

  made a metallic creaking sound. The nervous gaze of Theseus

  to his comrade had a very clear message, ‘We must get inside

  before someone comes to investigate the noise’. Lysander nodded and they stepped inside, closing the hatch silently behind

  them; they turned around to see what had been hiding inside.

  Apparently, it was an exhaustingly-long staircase descending

  into what seemed like the void. Theseus looked at his compan-

  ion, seeking approval to delve deeper in. Lysander nodded and

  let him go first, with him following from behind for protection

  (and probably many other excuses). With every second’s passing

  the temperature had felt lower alongside the strength of the

  stone’s effect. They were not certain whether it was because of

  the sheer absence of light or because of a certain limit that its

  light had possessed. They grew anxious, clenching their daggers

  slightly harder with each and every step forward. All they had

  was themselves, daggers, silence and a diminishing sole source

  of light.

  ‘I have a bad feeling about this place,’ Lysander mumbled

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  worriedly.

  ‘Fuck!’ Theseus yelled.

  ‘What happened? Are you okay?’ Lysander jumped in his

  place and grabbed his dagger firmly.

  ‘I am okay but this annoying amulet started biting me out

  of the blue. It used to be weak but now I really felt it.’

  ‘Oh,’ Lysander laughed, ‘Oh, phew, I thought you got hurt

  by something.’

  ‘Let’s continue.’

  They began hearing strange noises coming from the end of the

  staircase and picked up their pace to investigate. Singing, blar-

  ing horns, drums thumping and occasional laughter. The neck-

  lace’s light faded completely. Having reached the last step their

  path had ended by a semi-cliff in front of an enormous cave;

  the lower floor was filled with human corpses and long rivers

  of blood; an ominous aura and metallic smell in the air. They

  heard chilling screams of women, men and children who were

  chained in the center of the cave, being raped and slashed vi-

  ciously. Lysander and Theseus froze in place from utter shock.

  Their attention was suddenly caught by the screams of a woman in the far-left corner. Two vampires were raping her, one from

  the front and one from the back. Being annoyed by the noise

  she was making one of them opened his mouth, revealing his

  sharp teeth, and then bit off her vocal cords; she died almost

  instantly, gurgling up blood that oozed out of her neck.

  A muscular bare-chested vampire grabbed a pregnant woman

  from her hair and then threw her onto the wall of a large caul-

  dron in the center, filled with blazing-hot fluid that had been

  one of the only sources of light. He smiled, took out a knife and

  then viciously cut her from the abdomen down to her uterus.

  Her fading screams had died alongside her, with blood painting

  the ground in crimson red. He pulled out the fetus from her

  womb and threw it into the cauldron. Suddenly, a loud bang

  was heard from a table in the center.

  ‘Silence!’ A vampire of large build stood up.

  Next to him were two handcuffed men. One of them was Nethanel,

  the other one, a muscular man, neither Lysander nor Theseus

  could recognize.

  ‘Before we proceed with the celebration we must welcome

  our new guests! Nothing is more important than tradition, right

  boys?!’ The vampire leader laughed gnarly from his chest.

  The cave was filled with shouts of agreement and eagerness. He

  opened a door behind him, letting out new prisoners whose

  necks were chained like a leash. They were of varying ages and

  the reactions of the audience changed accordingly. Older pris-

  oners were greeted with very loud boos whilst the younger ones

  were celebrated with excited cheers. Lysander grabbed The-

  seus’s hand and stared into the vile ceremony with empty, dead

  eyes.

  ‘We are in hell. Th-this... This must be hell...’ His grip

  tightened, ‘We have to get out of here and call for help, fast!’

  ‘Wait! It seems we have a pleasant surprise!’ The vampire

  leader shouted and grinned, ‘We have two new guests. Oh,

  where are my manners?! Welcome!’ He slowly tilted his head

  toward the entrance, his glowing crimson eyes staring right at Lysander’s, ‘Come closer and introduce yourselves! Let’s have

  some fun,’ he said and chuckled menacingly.

  Their hearts stopped and they froze in place, unable to react.

  Nethanel’s eyes widened the moment he recognized his friends.

  The abrupt stop of the music gave way to bone-chilling silence,

  the eerie music of death.

  ‘I don’t appreciate being ignored,’ the leader said and then

  immediately vanished.

  Without enough time to react they were shoved violently onto

  the lower platform of the room, crashing into the hard-stone

  floor. They managed to stand back up, facing their bloodthirsty

  foes. Theseus reached for his dagger and Lysander observed the

  situation, his eyes darting around.

  ‘I don’t think we’ll survive this, Theseus,’ Lysander whispered

  into his friend’s ear.

  The leader reappeared, back in his throne. He was clapping and

  smiling broadly.

  ‘Get them!’ He commanded and raised his right hand, his

  fist clenched.

  A horde of vampires yelled in excitement and ran toward Lysander

  and Theseus, their claws ready to slash. They were grinning and

  licking their lips, revealing the blood that had already painted

  their teeth. It pushed them backward, surrounding them with

  a menacing stare. It was apparent that playing with the food

  had been rather popular amongst them. Our protagonists were

  made to fall-back, their backs almost entirely glued to the wall

  of the cliff they had fallen down from. More and more vam-

  pires appeared, their saliva drooling from their blooded mouths.

  Lysander stared into Theseus’s eyes hoping to seek an answer,

  or a bit of comfort. Unfortunately, Theseus’s eyes were just as

  desperate as those of his friend. He understood these were their

  final moments.

  ‘Theseus! On your left!’ Lysander shouted and pulled his

  friend toward him, saving him from the claws of a vampire and

  swiftly stabbed it right in its forehead.

  It fell to its feet, made a loud screeching sound and took its last

  breath. They were underestimating them. After all, what could

  two humans do to an entire horde of vampires?!

  ‘Kill them already! What are you waiting for?’ The leader

  shouted.

  Lysander and Theseus were fighting valiantly, dodging and coun-

  terattacking as much as they could. Claws vs daggers. Ani-

  malistic brutality vs human technique. More and more vam-

  pires joined in the assault, refusing to share the meat with their

  brethren. They managed to kill a few of them, refusing to give up

  just yet. After a few minutes of impressive combat the seemingly

  endless flurry of attacks had finally taken its toll on their weary

  bodies; their breaths were shortening, their muscles aching and

  their responses getting more and more sluggish by the second.

  ‘Theseus, we’ll never beat them! We have to climb up and

  run!’ Lysander shouted with urgency.

  A plan suddenly appeared in his mind.

  ‘Use your necklace!’

  Theseus hesitated but eventually nodded, it was worth a try. He

  took off the necklace and placed it in his left hand, the stone

  facing upwards.

  ‘Get ready!’ Theseus shouted, ‘Three, two, one!’ He stabbed

  the stone with the tip of his dagger, unleashing the strong light

  that was sealed inside.

  They immediately covered their eyes. An explosion of blinding

  light suddenly erupted from the stone, fracturing the shadows

  in its vicinity and blinding the vampires that had been surround-

  ing them. Such a technique could only work temporarily on a

  mere human. But on a vampire, capable of seeing in the dark

  anyway due to its enhanced pupils, it should take away its ability

  to see altogether. The vampires screamed in high tone, hissed

  and shielded their eyes as the light was slowly taking over the

  darkness in the enormous lair. The leader proved himself to be

  much more than just an hungry animal by saving his sight with

  his plate, holding it in front of his face. He, alongside Theseus and Lysander, were gradually reopening their eyes.

  ‘Now!’ Lysander shouted and stood next to the cliff wall,

  ‘Jump on my shoulder and climb up, I’ll give you a boost!’ He

  leaned over and crouched a bit.

  Theseus obliged and managed to find cracks in the wall, his

  muscles straining as he pulled himself up until the end. He

  held his hand down, calling his friend to grab it. Nethanel was

  slowly regaining his vision and saw an opportunity to resist his

  captors. He convinced the man next to him to join, one final

  stand. They grabbed two swords that were laid on the table next

  to the recovering clan chief.

  ‘Lysander, start climbing! We will try to stall them for a bit!’

  He shouted.

  With his hands still cuffed he yelled out an old and ancient prayer

  that was echoing across the cave as he swung his sword, hacking

  down as many vampires as he could. Lysander started climbing

  with a rush, his time was limited. The vampires began recov-

  ering their senses, they couldn’t see anything but that did not

  mean they couldn’t smell the stench of sweat and blood in the

  air. They were animals after all, intelligent animals. They fol-

  lowed their thirst for blood to regain their idea of Lysander’s

  whereabouts. While he was climbing up his forearms had begun

  hurting, his back muscles burning with each pull. When he was

  already halfway up he looked back to assess his situation and the

  vampires’ distance from him. Unfortunately, by doing so he had

  also witnessed the gruesome sight of Nethanel’s body getting

  ripped in half by a horde of vampires. They decided to change

  their target to a much frailer one. The rest began climbing up the

  wall to follow Lysander. Theseus’s hand peeked over as he urged

  him to climb faster, throwing rocks at the heads of the vampires

  to try and slow them down. Finally, their hands connected and

  Lysander mustered up his strength for one strong pull. Shivers

  suddenly shot down his spine alongside a feeling of dread as his

  foot had slipped. He felt as though time had slowed down as he

  was desperately trying to find a foothold, tightening his grasp around his friend’s palm.

  ‘Pull me up, Theseus!’ Lysander cried out, panicking.

  The vampires were advancing below him, piercing the wall with

  their claws and climbing up with frightening speed.

  ‘I am trying to but my back is already burned out!’ Theseus

  responded with desperation, grinding his teeth as he was trying

  to pull Lysander up even harder using both hands.

  The vampires were advancing even faster from excitement. De-

  spite Theseus’s attempt to pull with all of his might, completely

  ignoring his muscles screaming for him to stop, Lysander was

  just too heavy. Lysander was struck with a sudden chilling real-

  ization; his voice, eerily monotone, slicing through the chaos.

  ‘Theseus, let me go. Leave me, save yourself! Run! I will try

  to hold them off as much as I can!’ Despite his authoritative

  tone his eyes radiated nothing but utter fear.

  ‘No! I will not leave you here!’ Theseus screamed with agony,

  ‘You are coming back with me! I will not leave you behind!’ With

  tears dripping down his cheeks he mustered all of his strength

  into one strong pull, his muscles feeling as though they were

  about to tear.

  ‘Theseus, this is our only hope. Please, this is as hard for

  you as it is for me! Respect my decision, I beg of you!’ His words

  were firm and unwavering, signaling a painful acceptance of

  the inevitable.

  Lysander released his grasp but did not fall, Theseus was holding

  his hand too tightly.

  ‘Please don’t make me do this. Please! I can’t do this to you,

  Lysander,’ his face wet from tears.

  Lysander gazed into Theseus’s eyes who were filled with desper-

  ation and smiled.

  ‘Forgive me.’

  ‘What? For what?’

  Lysander used his free arm to pull out his dagger.

  ‘I am sorry, my friend,’ with a swift motion he cut off the

  palm of his hand and fell straight into the horde, staring into his friend’s eyes.

  The vampires grabbed his body and started biting him all across,

  sucking him dry of blood. Before fully losing his consciousness

  he parted his lips to say his final words.

  ‘I love you, my friend. Run!’ He shouted, ‘I want you to...

  Surv-vive, this...’ His eyes were slowly closing

  Theseus slapped himself out of his shock and began sprinting

  with sheer determination, he must not let his friend’s sacri-

  fice go in vain. With blurry vision and unsteady steps he shot

  up the stairs, his heart thundering as he attempted to escape

  the horrors that he had left behind him. Each second felt like

  an eternity, the sense of time distorted by adrenaline coursing

  through his veins. With only a few steps to go his legs had begun

  failing him; each step had become a battle of its own and he had

  barely managed to reach the top before collapsing to the floor.

  The battle-hardened warrior that he was, he forced himself to

  keep going fueled by a desperate desire to survive. He sprinted

  outside and reached the large metal doors that were left wide

  open. Cold wind was blowing onto his sweaty face as he rushed

  to the weapon racks that were stationed nearby, running back

  and forth with spears to barricade the gates behind him by in-

  serting them between the handles and the doors themselves. He

  had trapped the vampires inside, though he was aware it was

  just temporary.

  With the doors secured he leaned against them to catch

  his breath. After a few minutes of rest he stumbled toward

  the stables, his legs shaky and feeling heavy from exertion. He

  wondered where were the remaining guards, surely the four they

  had killed weren’t the only ones. The stables were only slightly

  lit, filled with the smell of hay and feces. He spotted several

  horses, took a deep breath and limped toward the nearest one.

  He summoned his last ounce of strength and went on top of it.

  With trembling limbs and one last breath of fresh air he kicked

  the horse into a gallop and rode off into the darkened horizon,

  leading the horse to the harbour. He suddenly noticed that the bite of the strange amulet was surprisingly weak. He had won...

  But at what cost?

  About nine months later the moon was hanging high in

  the sky; the night air carrying whispers of anticipation. The

  ambience resonated with familiar sounds of labor, screams and

  heavy breaths of a woman. Shiraz’s contractions were growing

  stronger as she laid on her bed, her husband Theseus standing

  beside her and holding her hand gently. He wiped away the

  sweat from her forehead and caressed her hair. Lyria lifted up

  Shiraz’s dress to let an elder examine the bulging belly that was

  holding new life within it.

  ‘Oh, wow,’ the town’s elder smiled, ‘Judging by the sheer size

  of her belly, I can easily conclude that she is holding more than

  one baby inside her.’

  ‘Did you hear that, Shiraz? You are going to have twins!’

  Lyria smiled.

  ‘I wouldn’t say twins, maybe triplets. Her stomach is unbe-

  lievably big, I have never quite seen something like this before.’

  ‘By the gods, those are marvelous news!’ Lyria cheered.

  Shiraz looked up at Theseus with a frightened look.

  ‘Usually newly-weds have to deal with only one kid, twins

  at most. H-how are we going to handle three? We don’t have

  enough experience for that...’

  ‘I will gladly help you and your parents surely will too! Don’t

  fret, these are truly wonderful news!’ Lyria responded.

  ‘Well, let’s get right to it, shall we? Lyria, could you go bring

  some clean clothes, water, and some herbs, please? Theseus,

  stay right here with me. Shiraz, this is going to take a while

  considering this is your first time giving birth. Stay calm, just

  focus on pushing and listen to your body whenever it urges you

  to push, alright?’

  Shiraz replied, panting and struggling to catch her breath before

  managing a response.

  ‘O-okay, I un-nderstand.’

  Lyria rushed out of the room, her heart racing as she grabbed

  towels, herbs and a small basin filled with water. Shiraz’s screams

  echoed through the air, growing louder and louder with each

  minute. Lyria came back, her hands shaking, yet holding all of

  the required supplies. She was set on helping as much as she

  could; Shiraz deserved it. Shiraz’s screams reached different

  decibels as she pushed harder and harder. Finally, the first baby

  came out. Lyria’s eyes widened in shock as she looked upon the

  newborn baby.

  ‘What... is this?!’

  The doctor’s trembling hands were holding an abomination. A

  ‘creature’ with a long bushy tail, pointed cat ears, piercing cat

  eyes that glinted in the dim light alongside human-like body

  covered with thick fur. He handed the creature to Theseus so

  he could pull the other two babies. And so another one came

  out. The doctor held another creature that had been just slightly

  different from the first. It had similar pointed ears, a long tail

  and a human-like body full of fur. However, it resembled a wolf

  more than a cat. Finally, the last one came out. Unlike its first

  brothers, it had no fur; it looked completely human, aside from

  its butterfly wings, sharp and long ears and golden eyes. The

  elder’s jaw dropped to the floor from confusion.

  ‘In all my years I have never witnessed anything quite like

  this,’ he said in disbelief.

  Shiraz started twirling in her bed again, her screams grow-

  ing louder and more desperate. The sheets twisted around

  her body as she struggled to contain the pain. This time, the

  baby burst out of the womb. Its size was abnormally huge for

  a baby, towering over boys at the age of four. Just when things

  seemed like they were about to calm down and let her catch

  her breath, another scream shattered the room and with those

  screams emerged another baby. A tiny furry baby with a long

  monkey-like tail and monkey-like ears; its feet resembled hands.

  And then another with bat-like hand-wings and a bat’s ears;

  its mouth equipped with with bat-like fangs. Its next brother had large, majestic dragon-like wings with sharp claws and its

  body covered in scales. The next one had a ball-shaped tail, bear

  ears, fangs and claws. The next had six eyes, six hands and two

  hand-shaped legs like a spider. Another had feathered wings,

  bird eyes and a beak; its body was filled with feathers. And yet

  another had sleek and pointed ears and hooves for feet. The last

  baby had small gills behind its ears and a mouth filled with rows

  of sharp, pointed teeth. Each new arrival added to the chaos and

  confusion in the already crowded room. Lyria’s eyes widened in

  horror as she stood next to the elder; both of them froze in shock.

  Before them stood twelve freaks of nature, screaming and occa-

  sionally switching their screams into howls and high-pitched

  whistles. The elder’s face turned pale.

  ‘I must call for a council meeting about this,’ he managed

  to mumble with fear and concern for the village’s safety in his

  voice.

  Shiraz let out one final, piercing scream before succumbing to

  unconsciousness.

  ‘Shiraz? Shiraz! Snap out of it! Wake up! Please!’ Theseus

  shouted trying to restore Shiraz’s consciousness.

  The elder gently grabbed Shiraz’s wrist, checking her pulse with

  determination.

  ‘Her pulse is very weak but she is alive. Let’s give her some

  time to rest,’ the elder said with relief and wiped the sweat off

  his forehead.

  ‘Oh, thank the gods!’ Lyria and Theseus responded.

  Meanwhile, some of the villagers woke up from the loud screams

  gathering around Theseus’s house. One of the villagers barged

  in, either out of curiosity or out of worry, and witnessed the

  horrifying sight.

  ‘What is the meaning of this?’ One of the villagers demanded

  an answer.

  ‘Relax,’ the elder said in response, ‘These odd things are

  Theseus’s and Shiraz’s babies and currently they pose no threat

  to this village. Tomorrow the elders will discuss this matter.’

  ‘How are we supposed to believe that they are harmless?

  They are monsters!’

  ‘Theseus and I will take full responsibility if they do anything

  to harm this village.’

  ‘If something happens, I demand that you and this family

  will be immediately banished from the village,’ he looked at

  Theseus, ‘You were the one who brought this village to life, please

  don’t bring it to its death.’

  ‘Agreed. Now go outside and tell everyone to go back to

  sleep. This family needs some time and quiet,’ the elder said.

  At first light the elders had a meeting, having finally come to a

  decision regarding the future. They told everyone to gather in

  the town’s square and hear the verdict.

  ‘Good afternoon. We have decided that the babies will stay

  here,’ an elder started saying but was cut off by sounds of an

  angry mob.

  The elders jumped in to aid him, raising their hands and de-

  manding silence. The village obliged.

  ‘Please don’t interrupt me and hear what I have to say. Ten

  families will adopt one kid from the twelve. In return for this,

  the grown babies will be in charge of the village’s protection.

  After all, they surely possess superhuman strength. Theseus

  has chosen to keep the baby with the butterfly wings and the

  one resembling a shark. The rest of you can pick one from the

  remaining ten.’

  ‘Before we continue I would like to name them. For this one

  I have decided on the na-’ Theseus shouted but was abruptly cut

  off by an unfamiliar voice.

  Before Theseus was able to utter his ideas the babies’ eyes and

  mouths glowed in bright red and their lips parted. One by one

  they announced their names. The fairy was ‘Rui’. The cat was

  named ‘Ji’, the wolf ‘Ave’, the giant ‘Yaruv’, the monkey ‘Luya’,

  the bat ‘Narui’, the dragon ‘Sakui’, the bear ‘Sever’, the spider

  ‘Madur’, the bird ‘Kabui’, the horse ‘Ino’ and the shark ‘Mitori’.

  The ten were given to the ones who picked them from the crowd.

  Theseus returned back to his wife, who was still unconscious;

  neither water, noise, smell nor touch was able to wake her up.

  Only eleven days later was she finally able to regain her con-

  sciousness; she was weak, starving and thirsty. While preparing

  her food he explained the situation to her. Healers from Alexan-

  dria of Egypt concluded that the births were so intense that her

  uterus had been harmed so badly that she would never be able

  to give birth again. They were amazed she even managed to

  survive such a birth. The children grew up rather quickly, with

  the giant reaching the size of Theseus at the age of six for exam-

  ple. They all spoke an odd and foreign language that Rui had

  named ‘Omnitongue‘, the most intelligent of the bunch. He was

  able to use magic and taught the village’s elders how to utilize

  it. The news of the irregular and magical humanoids quickly

  spread throughout Hellas and everyone wanted to witness their

  feats with their own eyes. Rui led an entire campaign teaching

  humans magic while his less magically capable siblings helped

  with battles, building, exploration, trade and science. He also

  developed a spell called the ‘All-Seeing Eye’ with which they man-

  aged to discover other populated planets.

  After witnessing the incredible powers of Rui and his sib-

  lings, also known as ‘The Ancestors’, the village elders approached

  him with a request for the sake of humankind. It was decided

  that each ancestor would oversee a celestial body of their own in

  the solar system. Rui was tasked with teleporting each to their

  designated planet. Mitori, for example, was given Enceladus -

  one of Saturn’s moons which was already inhabited by humans

  and was tasked with protecting them and improving their lives.

  It eventually became known as the home planet of the Kathet-

  icans. Some people found the children of Theseus just unique

  and impressive whilst others found them incredibly attractive.

  Eventually, the twelve children got married and bore children,

  some with their corresponding beast-races and some with hu-

  mans. That is how the Elven race, whose ancestor was Rui, and

  the Kathetican race, whose ancestor was Mitori, were created.

  Rui’s campaign was later turned into an organization called ‘The

  Order’ which aimed to understand the ways of magic in discre-

  tion while protecting mortals from supernatural dangers. It

  was later repurposed after the tragic ‘Mortal Demon War’. Its

  newest goal was to both research magic and establish academies

  for training mortals in the arts of magic. While initially only

  existing on Rui’s planet Syluetta, The Order had since spread

  throughout the solar system and built Interstellar Travel portals

  fueled by magic in many places around each and every planet in

  the galaxy, allowing people to travel between them.

  Magic was explained like so: When using magic one pays

  away with Olons and changes their nature and Activations ac-

  cording to the spell itself. Each person has their own Olon recov-

  ery rate for each specific body part which varies by race, genet-

  ics, etc. When one uses more Olons than they were originally

  able to regenerate, that specific body part slowly decays forever.

  Meaning, one might lose their finger if they use more ‘Finger-

  Activated Blast’ spells than they were able to, forever. Equivalent

  exchange, in essence. Magic can be performed using chants

  and writings of runes in Omnitongue. Written magic does not

  require the use of Olons, and as such, it is much easier to handle

  in combat. But once activated, if only one mistake is made in

  the runes, the user would immediately lose as many Olons as

  the spell itself should require.

  The only beings capable of using magic were descendants of

  the magical races, gifted humans, and Olon-awakened humans.

  Humans were only able to access three sub-schools of magic:

  two that were assigned at birth (one according to one’s genetics

  and the other according to their personality) and one that they

  would personally pick. Magical races, on the other hand, had

  natural access to the entirety of them. In addition to planets

  the Interstellar Travel portals were also configured to allow the

  user to travel to the main headquarters of The Order in Syluetta; there lied the altars of magic awakening, meant for humans

  exclusively. These altars were used for two purposes: granting

  one’s brain the capability to use the excess Olons and awakening

  one’s assigned schools of magic in the body itself. In order to

  gain entry to the altar one must participate in a ceremony, and

  should they fail, it would mean that their body was incapable of

  using magic at that point in time. In order to redo the ceremony

  one would have to wait at least fifteen additional years.

  And what about the ‘All-Mother’ of magic, you ask? Shi-

  raz decided to dedicate her life to spreading the message and

  philosophy of The Order until her passing of old age.

  ----------

  Author's note - I hope to get reviews and feedback. Thank you :)