We were on that rail cart for the better part of three hours. Most of the time Asare and I spent it in silence, because there wasn’t really much to say. Asare and I knew each other from when I still had my memories. But now he had come to the conclusion that my past would do more harm than good should I ever uncover its secrets.

I didn’t blame him. It felt nice to have someone care for you like that. Asare was the first I remember seeing. It was something like a child seeing a parent for the first time. I might not remember our connection in the past, but now Asare was like a father. to me in some twisted sort of way, that was the way I saw him. Even though he did not look a day over thirty. Well nobody wears their age on their face anyway.

After Asare had imparted his advice, the only thing he told me to do was to watch and memorize as much of the blue district as I could. In his esteemed opinion this would be my home for another fifty or hundred years until I could amass enough resources to move on to the better districts. I had no intentions of doing that.

This was a prison, that much I understood. But it was also a thriving society, albeit a dysfunctional one what with all this politics I hear is going on, when everyone was supposed to be working together.

The way I see it, even with seal restricting access to the way or system what ever they choose to call it this days. The sheer size and population of the prisoners should be enough to carry out and uprising and take over the prison. But somehow they were all stuck fighting each other for scraps when there was a huge world out there for them to return to.

It was sad, but it was also the truth. The Humans played their cards well, successfully keeping both races which I was very sure are allies in a political struggle for scraps in a place of perpetual darkness. Not that the vampires or the dark elves needed sunlight, after all it weakens if not outright kills them. But what about the moon, what about the grass or the animals and monsters he had heard so much about. What about the majestic dragons, great judges were what the book had called them. About how they had once Shearath with equality and peace until they disappeared.

To many things to gain, to enjoy, to live for and they were here fighting for scraps. It was a pity to see how much the remnant of both races has fallen from grace. I couldn’t understand why, but my slow beating heart ached for them, I felt sympathetic to their plight even though Asare has implied multiple times that they were the reason I was now a prisoner here. And maybe the are responsible, but for a people as pathetic as they were, who would hold such a thing against them.

Countless towers whipped past me as we went deeper into the district. The blue shine and glow was almost imperceptible now as we had moved into an area where the towers were not occupied. Countless rows and blocks of them numbered and unadorned. There was barely any body here either. That woman had assigned me to an area completely cut off from any contact. I couldn’t help but wonder if Asare had a hand in this. After all he did say to stay away, and as far as this place was concerned. This was as away as I could be.

The cart came to a screeching halt before a tower marked with a huge number ten. I had no idea how to identify any of the sectors or areas we passed. The sheer number and volume of this pillars was not something to joke at. It would take years, of meticulous hard work before someone can confidently catalogue every pillars in this damn place. I couldn’t help but marvel though, on any other given day the dancing caves of Noxis NYC was a fascinating spectacle. To bad it’s a prison.

My home to be had a formation of rocks surrounding it’s entirety. They were uneven and were placed haphazardly, it made me think that who ever carved this tower from the rock was not patient enough to see his work finished. It might serve as a fence though, but there was to many openings on it, it was like someone stuck a circle of nets around the tower. I leaped down unto the sediment covered ground, unlike the sectors and areas with more people, and the fact that over the years and their long stay here they had stepped on the rocky floor enough to wear it down to what could perfectly pass for a cobbled street. But here I could feel the sand and countless little rocks under my feet.

“This is where you will be staying from now on. In another two hundred or so years, the population should have increased enough that every pillar here should be occupied. So it would give them enough time to forget about you, as long as you keep your head down and don’t seek any attention.

I know this is not fair to you, but it is the only way for me to keep you safe. After all I’m only human, I wouldn’t be able to live as long as you. So I would be dead in a few years and won’t be able to look after you. But in return I will try my best to get you something’s that would keep you company. I have procured a few baskets of ores during my time here, so I should be able to exempt you from having to pay the quota for another two weeks. Use that time to familiarize yourself with your surroundings. But be careful don’t go to deep, because not far from here there’s an entire system of caves that are infested with stone rats. Those things are way stronger than an average vampire, not to mention they are a lot of them, millions or billions if you will. So stay back, stay hidden and stay safe.

The cart routinely comes here everyday by nine in the morning, so if you ever need to get to the market or when the time comes for you to mine yourself, just follow it. Here”

And then he threw a huge bundle to me, I had no idea where he pulled it out from, the whole thing was so big that I stumbled under its weight. But before I could say anything the cart began to move again, picking up speed and taking with the only companion I have ever known since I woke up. I felt this indescribable urge to call for him, to ask him to come back and not leave me here. But nothing came out, I was just as adamant to go against everything he had told me to do. So I did not feel that I was entitled to ask him for anything more. He has done everything he could to help me, but I was already making plans to go against his solemn wishes. I was betraying him long even with all the trust he had put in me. I felt like crap.

At that moment however the tattoo on my wrist flashed brightly and a wave of pure hot agony locked unto my arm and shot to my head sending my vision into darkness as I collapsed under the weight of the bundle Asare left, and into the still waiting arms of darkness.

*******************************************

I woke up exactly where I fell down. Though I don’t know why I expected to be moved somewhere else, but it still felt uncomfortable. Apart from the weight from the bundled up cloth, with zero to no idea what was in, I could feel rocks digging into my back. Vampire constitution or not, I now had a back ache that did not seem to be vanishing anytime soon.

I immediately turned my attention to the tattoo on my wrist, at the sight of it I suddenly remembered that on the way here, every prisoner I had met had something similar if not exactly the same. Asare said that this tattoo was a seal that prevented my from accessing the system or what is more eloquently known as the way, to be honest I preferred to call it the system. The way sounded to formal for me.

The hum I had been feeling from that tattoo for as long as I could remember (which is not very long mind you) had intensified. It was not an unpleasant feeling, it somehow gave me the impression of a lock, and the hum was caused by the fact that it was being picked.

I don’t how that would be possible, or why would it be happening to me. But I was not yet aware or conscious of the consequences that would come from such an act. I was just fascinated with the words. To the naked eye the seal was just a conglomeration of unintelligible squiggles of concentric circles and inverted lines.

Its scrip was elegant in some places, looking like the kind of symbols you would find on ancient temples or texts, while on other sides it looked like something a child would right when given a pen and paper. But I could read it almost as if they were the words of an ordinary book.

The entire script basically consisted of two sentences, even though it looked like one word from the way the symbols were written next to each other and conjoined. The script seemed to be made and functioning on the literary rules of another language. But for some reasons as I read the word out loud, I could not help but feel a sense of dread from the simple yet terrifying sounding words.

Block the essence of life, steal the way of life.

I had no idea if it was talking about the same way as the system, but there was something peculiar about it. I had no idea how I could read this symbols, in fact I had no idea how I could read anything at all. I had no memories but I knew certain things, like which way is north, how to read, how to speak. So it was tony credit I could still understand common words, but this seal was something else.

I noticed, somehow that the symbols that I translated as life could also be translated into a name. And then the translation would be more like

Block the essence of Shearath, steal the way of Shearath.

It was eerie that’s for sure, but I could bet my left butt cheek(I had nothing to bet with anyway) that this seal did more than just block the way or restrict access to the system. It did something more sinister, more dangerous. I was not foolish enough to think that the words on the seal could be completely literal. There could be more to it, and any assumption at this point in time could prove fatal.

I got up from my spot on the ground and dragged the huge bundle towards the base of the tower. It took me a while to realize I was strong enough to lift it without any strain. I felt foolish and embarrassed, thankfully there was no one around to see it.

“how could you forget your own strength? Brother are you sure this Kael dude is not a simpleton?”

I froze in shock. A female voice, who owned it?, I did not care at the moment. The fact that I forgot how strong I was should not be something that would be to shameful, even though I felt embarrassed my self. But with this strange new voice calling it out, I wanted to find the nearest hole and dive into it.

“It’s not his fault Nisi, its obvious he is new at being a vampire.” A bored sounding voice replied.

I turned around and saw the oddest duo ever, well it was not as if I had come in contact with many people. But this two completely struck me as odd. Standing before me was a vampire boy and a girl that was to short to be anything but a gnome.

Her brownish gray skin, pitch black and pupils eyes, and height was very much in line with the description of them I saw in the COMPENDIUM. She was no more than two feet tall, and was wearing a cloth made of what I could only describe as earth.

It was as if she was wearing a skin tight cloth that was sculpted from smooth clay directly on her body. It covered every part of her, and if not for the protruding bumps on her chest and her rather bountiful back side no one would have been able to identify as a girl.

I felt strange though taking notice of those part of her body, gnomes had skin layered with wrinkles, but I guess she would be considered beautiful. I repressed a shudder at a sudden thought of intimacy and turned my attention to the vampire boy.

He did not look more than ten years old, but looks can be deceiving, especially when it came to the age of a vampire. That ten year old looking boy could very well be older than me. His cloths were actually normal, or his lack of it thereof. The kid was almost completely Naked, with nothing but a loin cloth to cover his privates. But there was something I took notice off immediately. There was no seal on his wrist, he had full and complete access to the system. I couldn’t help but wonder who this kids were and what they were doing here.

“um who are you guys?” I asked with more nervousness than I thought I had. Their sudden appearance had spooked me a bit more than expected.

“My name is Nisi, master builder and shape shifter extraordinaire of this here century. And this is my brother the black assassin Teluna, master of stealth, espionage, and shadow magic.” The gnome girl happily said.

“Nisi I thought I was supposed to the introductions this time. You cheated again, no fair” the vampire boy, Teluna I suppose, complained to his sister.

“I’m sorry, next time it would be your turn.” Nisi apologized

“you always say that.” Teluna muttered in response.

“Well the next two times would be introducing us all the way.”

“You always say that too.” But Nisi did not show that she was even listening anymore as she turned to face me fully.

I rethought my stance about the vampire boy though. It was obvious he was actually really ten. I did not know how the vampire physique worked, but the COMPENDIUM had said that vampires could give birth, though it is very hard for them to procreate, it was possible for every vampire female to be able to give birth at most three times in all of their immortal lives. After that it becomes impossible. But it was also said, born vampire children all age normally, until they get to their eighteenth or twentieth birthday. And that they were always freakishly stronger than their created counterparts.

But looking at this two children, it was obvious the gnome girl was in charge, and the elder of the two. It was a comical sight that the shorter and diminutive of the duo was older. Or at least I think she was older.

“well nice to meet you Nisi the master builder and Teluna the black assassin. What can I do for you, I hole you are not here to kill me.”

I added the kill joke as an afterthought. But I seriously hole they did not take it seriously.

“no we are not here to kill you. Why will we do that you’re our hero.” Nisi responded with a hurt tone, but I doubted she was hurt by my words, she did not seem the time to not understand a joke.

“we’re here to help you. Also……” Teluna's word trailed off into silence at the end. But Nisi was there to pick the pace for him.

“what my brother means is that we hope you can take care of us or find us homes, like the stories say you do. You are not going to turn away to young and helpless children are you.”

Two young and helpless children my ass, it was more like two young and dangerous blackmailers. But both kids were looking at me in such a way that enunciated the poor and helpless look that even though I knew they we’re blackmailing me, I couldn’t summon the courage to tell them that I was not the hero they think I am, or at least I don’t remember being him or what he had done to garner such respect from both the dark elves and vampires.

“you guys can stay with me” I said with a sigh

“But you have to earn your keep” I added as an afterthought.

“Don’t worry Mr. hero, we are awesome helpers. In fact let help you unpack.” Nisi fired off, before she and her brother ran for the bundled pack Asare left me.

“My name is Kael, not Mr. hero.” I whispered to them.

I looked at the top of the dark rock ceiling far away from where I stood and wondered if I had just made the biggest mistake of my life, or at least the part that I remember about it. As they rummaged through the bundle I knew this decision could be a recipe for disaster, or a perfect opportunity.