Darko Cernovsek
Soul Of Vengeance
Southern Galicia... outskirts of Krakow, Poland
***
"It began with an autumn breeze..." - Arameus murmured, his red gaze somewhere - somewhen - far away.
The two of them, Ixis and her Master, were walking alongside Vistula river, its still, slowly flowing surface reflecting the waning moon above. The air was still for long moments, before a sudden breeze ruffled the vampiress's two-tone hair. She lightly touched her hand, to her cheek... relishing the sensation. It was a rare, and coveted experience for one like her.
"I always wondered." - she reflected, her own tone equally distant "...why is it that we can only sense the wind, during the waning months of the year, and only then, during the waning moon above. Or raindrops, or... a kiss? A touch? Without it feeling like a memory of one. Why are we the closest, to our former lives, during this time of the year? Why is the bloodlust... less pervasive? Why do I feel... no. Why do I - feel? Without having to act it out."
The regal man paced a few more steps forward, before he replied, slowly...
"Everything about us, everything about the Kind, is metaphysical in nature, Ixis. Steepled in symbolism, and woven into the intricate threads that weave time, thought, and space together. Even our specific location on Earth, in relation to ley lines. You have to look for abstracts. Autumn - it represents a very special period. Past the blossoming new life, manifested in Spring, which you know as well as I do, saps the energy out of us, more then any other season... past the pervasive, stifling apex that is Summer... Autumn is a period where life... wanes. Its energies are more subdued, yet not completely dormant, as they are in Winter - meaning they resonate more closely to our own existence. A half-life." - he paused.
"It is no coincidence, that Autumn is the period of the year when we feel most... in touch with life. Likewise, it is no coincidence that the vast majority of newly Turned fledgelings, are Turned during Autumn. Or that most of us choose to remain in the temperate climates of the Northern hemisphere, travelling elsewhere only when required. Everything is connected. And every detail makes a difference. We are creatures of detail." - emphatically, reminding her that she herself was Turned, around this time of the year, six hundred years ago.
"But winter... winter is where I feel least - taxed, to keep energised." - Ixis countered dubiously.
Arameus shook his head.
"Efficient energy expenditure isn't proportional to feeling - alive. If anything, it's the reverse. Winter is our period of economy. We require the least, and we consume the least, since life is at it's weakest. Just like Summer, is the opposite. But those are just mundane needs. We are just as dead in Winter, as we are in Summer. Perhaps more so. Spring is special in it's own way, in that it in fact weakens our half-life. Further... blurring... the line between death, and undeath. Myself, I will not even suffer it, outside of Torpor. I am perfectly content to remain dead, during that cursed period. While Autumn... it strengthens it. The waxing and waning of the year, is proportional to our own state of existence. And the connection the remnants of our souls, can make with the living world."
"Reach out and... feel it. Through your mind. There will seldom be a better moment, when both the Earth and the Moon are equally waning, and we are precisely where we need to be. When life is dying, but not yet dead. Slow it to a fractal between human heartbeats. Feel." - he instructed her, calling a stop, as his intense gaze met hers, amplifying the temporal shift in the making.
The vampiress frowned, but did so. Half-closing her reddish eyes, she willed time to slow, drawing on her transcendent nature, with his help. The surroundings drained of colour, as the breeze... seemed to become almost like a living thing, caressing her cold skin. Slowed to an infinetessimal crawl, yet intensified by the altered timeframe, it seemed to become a sea of sensation, making her feel - truly alive. As if she never died in the first place. Her expression turned blissful. The half-life turned back into life, for this... infinetessimal moment.
~"I... I never... I never felt this way, since..."~ - she trailed off, through their connection.
~"Since the last moment of your life. Before I took it from you. You have hated me for so long, for it. I am not trying to atone. It's impossible. But I was mistaken... your refusal to let go of your humanity is not holding you back. You still retain that which I lost, long ago. Keep to it, my Turned. And use moments like these, to remind you not to let go. There may be a way to remain transcendent, while not losing one's soul. I, sadly, never found it. But you may yet."~ - he finished, as she felt his feathery touch on her shoulder, feeling inexplicably - warm - during the infinetessimal moment.
Between heartbeats of life and death.
***
"It began with an autumn breeze..." - Arameus murmured, his red gaze somewhere - somewhen - far away.
The two of them, Ixis and her Master, were walking alongside Vistula river, its still, slowly flowing surface reflecting the waning moon above. The air was still for long moments, before a sudden breeze ruffled the vampiress's two-tone hair. She lightly touched her hand, to her cheek... relishing the sensation. It was a rare, and coveted experience for one like her.
"I always wondered." - she reflected, her own tone equally distant "...why is it that we can only sense the wind, during the waning months of the year, and only then, during the waning moon above. Or raindrops, or... a kiss? A touch? Without it feeling like a memory of one. Why are we the closest, to our former lives, during this time of the year? Why is the bloodlust... less pervasive? Why do I feel... no. Why do I - feel? Without having to act it out."
The regal man paced a few more steps forward, before he replied, slowly...
"Everything about us, everything about the Kind, is metaphysical in nature, Ixis. Steepled in symbolism, and woven into the intricate threads that weave time, thought, and space together. Even our specific location on Earth, in relation to ley lines. You have to look for abstracts. Autumn - it represents a very special period. Past the blossoming new life, manifested in Spring, which you know as well as I do, saps the energy out of us, more then any other season... past the pervasive, stifling apex that is Summer... Autumn is a period where life... wanes. Its energies are more subdued, yet not completely dormant, as they are in Winter - meaning they resonate more closely to our own existence. A half-life." - he paused.
"It is no coincidence, that Autumn is the period of the year when we feel most... in touch with life. Likewise, it is no coincidence that the vast majority of newly Turned fledgelings, are Turned during Autumn. Or that most of us choose to remain in the temperate climates of the Northern hemisphere, travelling elsewhere only when required. Everything is connected. And every detail makes a difference. We are creatures of detail." - emphatically, reminding her that she herself was Turned, around this time of the year, six hundred years ago.
"But winter... winter is where I feel least - taxed, to keep energised." - Ixis countered dubiously.
Arameus shook his head.
"Efficient energy expenditure isn't proportional to feeling - alive. If anything, it's the reverse. Winter is our period of economy. We require the least, and we consume the least, since life is at it's weakest. Just like Summer, is the opposite. But those are just mundane needs. We are just as dead in Winter, as we are in Summer. Perhaps more so. Spring is special in it's own way, in that it in fact weakens our half-life. Further... blurring... the line between death, and undeath. Myself, I will not even suffer it, outside of Torpor. I am perfectly content to remain dead, during that cursed period. While Autumn... it strengthens it. The waxing and waning of the year, is proportional to our own state of existence. And the connection the remnants of our souls, can make with the living world."
"Reach out and... feel it. Through your mind. There will seldom be a better moment, when both the Earth and the Moon are equally waning, and we are precisely where we need to be. When life is dying, but not yet dead. Slow it to a fractal between human heartbeats. Feel." - he instructed her, calling a stop, as his intense gaze met hers, amplifying the temporal shift in the making.
The vampiress frowned, but did so. Half-closing her reddish eyes, she willed time to slow, drawing on her transcendent nature, with his help. The surroundings drained of colour, as the breeze... seemed to become almost like a living thing, caressing her cold skin. Slowed to an infinetessimal crawl, yet intensified by the altered timeframe, it seemed to become a sea of sensation, making her feel - truly alive. As if she never died in the first place. Her expression turned blissful. The half-life turned back into life, for this... infinetessimal moment.
~"I... I never... I never felt this way, since..."~ - she trailed off, through their connection.
~"Since the last moment of your life. Before I took it from you. You have hated me for so long, for it. I am not trying to atone. It's impossible. But I was mistaken... your refusal to let go of your humanity is not holding you back. You still retain that which I lost, long ago. Keep to it, my Turned. And use moments like these, to remind you not to let go. There may be a way to remain transcendent, while not losing one's soul. I, sadly, never found it. But you may yet."~ - he finished, as she felt his feathery touch on her shoulder, feeling inexplicably - warm - during the infinetessimal moment.
Between heartbeats of life and death.