The rambling of a nosferatu...

Bloody Beginnings

It was 1854. The world was at war, even for a young boy like myself. My family had said it was a great honour to go with the soldiers and that i would be part of their heroic deeds. I wanted to be a great hero. A legend. A fable. My familys pride in me kept my own fear of battle supressed.
I hated the war. The gruesome bodies of men and horses entwined in the orgy of death. The smell of gunpowder freshened the stench of those that littered the ground. Heroes nothing more than food for crows.
I had been at Balaclava. I had witnessed the charge of the light brigade. I had been with the artillery, fetching and carrying for those 'brave' men and their cannon. I had witnessed such atrocities of man that i believed all the worlds hate was bestowed to that place. The fury of mans folly. The absence of love, compassion and morality. Those visions i carry with me still, even after a century of change.
I had left my village a boy and come back a man inside a boy. The Carpathian Mountains loomed ominously over the valley of my village, just like they always had. The rumours of what lurked in those mountains were engrained in the folklore of my people. Tales of wolves, ghouls and worse. I never believed in the stories, i continued my disbelief until the night my parents were killed.
I dont remember a great deal about that night, other than my fate becoming my destiny. I remember the ecstacy i felt. The thirst for life bestowed upon my. I felt the power of immortality. I embraced it.
I knew not the name of my new master, i never knew him. I was mutilated and scarred by battle and now soulless among men. I had become one of them. I was now the folklore of my people.
Over the years that followed i remained dutifully with my master. Hidden from the Sun and God i learned all i could. I was a servant again. Slave to the thirst for blood, i learnt to hide. I learnt to learn. I became at peace with my fate. I remained so until the hunters came.
A great battle took place between my master and his servants against the townsfolk and witch hunters. I do not know if we won or lost but the outcome saw us flee my homeland. We travelled far and for many weeks. Always we would be pursued and harried by the hunters. Even when we finally reached our destination our pursuers were not far behind.
Another battle took place. This one i assure you we lost. I watched the hunters slay my master. The realisation that my immortality could be taken from me instilled fear in me. That same fear i had felt on the battlefields of the Crimea. I found myself fleeing into the dark of the night. That was over a century ago.
I remained hidden. Unknowing of my new world i found sanctuary in the sewers. The dark tunnels kept me safe from all. I fed on the rats to quench my thirst, them and the occasional lost soul who stumbled to far into the dark.
I was confused at first, lost in a strange world, hated by all and hunted by some. I became reclusive. I studied and learned all i could about the strange place that was now my 'home'.
Then everything changed a few months ago. That was when i finally found my purpose and found my 'bible'. It was then i knew what i must do to absolve myself of my fate. I could make my peace with God. I could become the hero my parents wanted me to be. I would save the world the only way i knew how, by feeding on those that deserved to die....