Haden Seidon was a monster.

There was no point in denying it, and he made it a principle of his life that he would never lie to himself. He lied to everybody else, even to his brother, the Lord Protector himself, though not about his monstrous nature: Tunem knew about that since the beginning, of course. Even before Haden.

That was his first memory after his awakening...

"You are a monster!" Tunem had screamed at him, back then.

Of course, Haden didn't even remember his brother's name at the time. He couldn't even remember his own name, let alone this screaming boy's, a few years older than him, armed with a baseball bat. And he couldn't remember the name of the man, who's flesh he was eating.

The other boy continued to scream, shouting curses and swear words at him. Then he started to cry, his tear dropping to the ground.

"I can't do it..." he said, letting the baseball bat's handle slip from his grab. „Spirit, I can't..."

"I... I am... so... hungry..."

The other boy looked at him with a shocked expression.

"Ha-Haden?" He asked. „That's impossible! You are gone!"

So, the boy knew him. Well, that was good, because he could get some answers from him at least, but first the hunger. He started to turn back to the corpse, to continue to eat it.

"Haden, what the hell are you doing! Stop it at once!"

"I am hungry," said Haden, matter-of-factly. It was getting easier to speak.

The other boy grabbed the bat again, and raised it.

"I said. Stop. It. At. Once."

With each word, he hit the floor closer and closer to Haden. He felt furious, hungry, but also wary. He backed away as the strikes of the bat came closer.

"Okay," he said finally.

Then there was a long silence. Since he couldn't eat, he figured it was time for questions.

"Who am I?"

***

Thirty years passed since then, and he didn't age a day, while his brother turned to fifty. Officially he was his son, from his former marriage. The title of the Lord Protector was not hereditary, according to the Constitution, but Tunem made it clear, that he wanted Haden to succeed him, once the time came, even though he had six actual sons and two daughters, though only one of his son was legitimate.

Haden was a soldier, of course, at least in name: he was the captain of the Lord Protector's body guard, known simply as the Galthran Guard. In reality that meant he saw no real fight: attempts on the Lord Protector's life were rare, and Tunem preferred to lead his men from the safety of the Saltblade, the last carrier of the once formidable Galthran Fleet. Tunem left the ship only in dire need.

Haden himself, like all zombies, hated the sea, so he took every opportunity to leave for the Mainland. But those opportunities were few and rare, so he was really happy and eager when Tunem asked him to visit Jukava.

"It's an official visitation, First Guard Haden. You will examine the status of the base and the town. I also want reports about the Purged Ruins. But not the other parts of the Capital Ruins. Do you understand, First Guard? You are not to enter the Cursed Ruins under any circumstances."

"I understand, my lord."

"Good," said Tunem, then, with a wave of his hand he dismissed everyone from the Council Room, with the exception of Haden.

"I need you to enter the Cursed Ruins," said Tunem, after everyone has had left.

Haden nodded. He expected that it was the real reason of his mission, but of course it had to be kept secret. Sending a seemingly seventeen-years-old boy into the Cursed Ruins to investigate the strange news about these intelligent zombies seemed not only cruel but insane too. Especially if he was the heir of the Lord Protector.

Never mind, that said heir was officially twenty, and in reality forty-seven. Or the fact, that he could pass through the zombies unmolested. These things were secret only the Seidon brothers knew.

"Do you think the tales are true? That there are others like me?" He asked Tunem.

"Now, Haden let's not play the idiot teenage boy you look like," said the Lord Protector. „I do not send you there so you can find some zombie friends. It took a great deal of effort on both of us to keep your cannibalistic urges in check the first few years after your transformation, and you were a really kind person in life. Most people are not. Do you understand, what I am trying to say?"

"Yeah, I think."

"That's not enough. Look, Haden. I have had contacts with a few other survivor groups. I say groups, because none of the others managed to create a semblance of a real country aside from us."

"I already knew that."

"Yes, well, what you didn't know, that they are being run down one by one. The undead are eliminating them systematically. So, yeah, there are other zombies like you, and they are nothing like you. Which means you have to be extra careful. And that's why you are not going alone this time."

"You know, that I am not a team player," Haden protested.

"Yes, I do. What I also know is, that I am your superior officer. Not to mention your annoying big brother, so you have no choice in this matter."

It was a rare sight to see Tunem smile, so Haden refrained from arguing further.

"Your team will only consist of three members. The leader will be Commander Zarin. Will that be a problem for you?"

Haden shrugged. He really preferred to work alone, which also meant he wasn't interested in leading a team. Perhaps not a good trait for a future leader of a nation, but he couldn't really care about that either.

"I would have preferred some arguments from you, but this time it really is important, that you follow the commander's orders as if they were mine."

"Because they will be yours," said Haden.

"Yes, exactly."

"Who is the third member?"

"Private Zehno Ronos. A mistling."

"Mistling? You mean that we have another elemental?"

Tunem only nodded, absently. He didn't dismiss his brother, he seldom did, but he was deep in thought walking up-and-down before his desk, which basically meant, that he was finished with their talk.

Haden didn't mind, since he was preoccupied with his thoughts too.

He knew about Zarin's telepathic powers, he actually used them a few times after he drank her blood. Even commanders had to donate blood twice each year. His ability to steal elemental powers was the result of his transformation, just as his immortality. They had other elementals, each high ranking officers, whom didn't know about each other. But a private... More importantly a mistling! The Mist was one of the more interesting aspects. He couldn't wait to have a taste of this new power.