W is for William

I was born during a time of change, when the world was in chaos. Struggling to survive, to not end up monster food, I latched onto someone strong enough to protect me. I did what I could to ingratiate myself with a party of adventurers; Caerac, Gwyneth, and Corwyth. I succeeded only too well. One of them ended up becoming a monster and made me a monster as well. As terrifying as my transformation was, I’m not ungrateful for this gift, for I’m sure he thought he was giving me a gift. It was more of a gift to me than it was to Corwyth, who believed vampires were an abomination in the cycle of life. It’s curious how becoming a monster yourself makes you question the very nature of monstrousness, although you learn to get out of the way of fearful mobs. As a vampire, I was now one of the predators, no longer in need of constant protection, even though I needed to watch out for those mobs. I craved stability in our shifting world, a secure lair, a regular food source. Caerac had adopted me before the change, making me the heir to his walled city, which was meant to be a safe and secure place for humans to live, away from the monsters. I did my best as Lord William Caerac to make it a safe and secure place for humans. Away from the monsters, well, that was debatable, but I did try to protect my food. Even see that it was happy and contented. Rowenda was a land overrun with monsters, close to the icy lands where the Serpent emerged, far away from Kalanthia and last vestiges of the Jasior Empire, but Caerac Keep became one of the few centers of civilization in Rowenda. It’s not as great or prosperous a walled city as Gwyneth Keep, but I’m proud of what I’ve built here and I’m proud of my people. As a vampire, it was in my best interest for my humans not only to be healthy and flourish, but to be less fearful of monsters. It was even better for all talk of vampires to die down into myths and legends which most scoffed at. Such a situation made it easier for me to unlive and feed, undetected. Only now there’s Trouble at Caerac Keep and it may be vampires. Could it be Corwyth, rising to express his disapproval at the unlifestyle I’ve created? Only that doesn’t seem like him. What’s worse is that Daeric Nevalyn, my sorcerer and expert on all things Corwyth has disappeared. Not many things could get the better of him and all of those things, I should be wary of. I’ve got a representative of the Aethyrian Circle of Thirteen in my Keep, demanding to know what happened to her sister, who disappeared from here. I think she was a favorite of Ylynessa’s, my adopted sister and partner in running Caerac Keep, the girl who disappeared. This makes Ariadne, her sister, a difficult person to ignore. Plus I’ve got Faith, another favorite of Ylynessa’s and one of the Unicorn temple acolytes, yammering about vampires, monsters, one acolyte missing, while another lies dying to anyone who’ll listen. Now Rhodry, Daeric’s little apprentice, a Serpent-Born of all things has come out of his tower to beg me for help, while the creepy protégé of one of Daeric’s special friends is lurking around, wanting to know what’s happening. Problems, all of four of them, on top of the other problems. It may be time for a distraction to flush out whatever is causing Trouble At Caerac Keep. Time to send Varwyth (the creepy protégé), Rhodry, Ariadne, and Faith to investigate what’s happening. No, I don’t think those younglings will actually find anything, but they will distract whatever is making people disappear. These children are formidable enough to do that. I will watch the children myself from the shadows, investigating what reacts to them. Yes, I’m using these younglings as bait, to draw out the real problem. Yes, these four are innocent, innocent as I was once was. Innocence will get you killed or eaten. Perhaps Rhodry, Varwyth, Faith, and Ariadne will learn this before it happens to them. It’s their choice, just as it’s my choice to protect my Keep from whatever and whomever troubles it. Whether these younglings remain trouble or become allies is up to them.