We headed toward the center of town, and for a half second I was hoping we would head to the civic center. Made of three parts, it was the center of town life. One amphitheater large enough to sit all the men in town, a series of smaller rooms for more private business, and the part that I was most interested in, the heated public baths. While my nose had been ignoring my own stench, I knew that I stunk. Even as friendly as the hunters had been, they still didn’t get closer than a few feet to me. From the lore, I knew I had to have been buried at least three days in order to change into a vampire.

Alas, I would have to live with the stench for a while yet. We were heading to the towns Temple of Solaris. The doors always faced east, to welcome in the rising of the sun. I wasn’t sure how they did it, but the eastern wall and roof were always made of a clear stone, allowing worshipers to see the sun and be comfortable despite the weather. Father Ennarion led s through the main chapel and into the rooms that were usually reserved for clergy.

“BROTHER!” a small body launched itself at my chest, faster than an arrow from old Klein’s bow.

“Oof!” I fake stumbled backward, my strength now more than enough to handle Molly’s exuberance. “Hey sweetie, how are you?”

“You scared me! You aren’t supposed to act scary! It’s not nice!” She scolded, and I saw the tears brimming in her eyes.

Pulling her close into a hug, I gently rubbed her back and explained, “I’m sorry. I had to, though. You were in danger, and I had to get you to go to Colt for your safety. We have to have a meeting, but if you are quiet you can stay and see why I had to act like that, ok?”

“Do you mean it?” She asked hopefully.

Bless him, Father Ennarion had the perfect timing, “Of course you can stay. Why don’t you come here next to me? Bless the carpenter, but this here chair is always causing problems. See, it wobbles a bit, and us adults always feel like it’s about to give out underneath us. But I’ve yet to see a child have an issue with it, they all say it’s one of the comfiest chairs ever. Would you like to sit there and let me know what you think after the meeting?”

Molly smiled, already forgetting her tears, and nodded. Happily tottering after the elderly priest. As she took her seat, I sat at the only chair left. The main table was carved like a rising sun, and the flat portion of it was where the examinee always sat. Four elders were arranged against me, with Ennarion and Molly sitting straight across from me. “Elders.” I greeted each with a bow in as respectful of a manner as I could. I didn’t know their names, but that was fine. I wasn’t expected to start paying attention to all the politics for a few years yet.

Father Ennarion started off the meeting, “Right. Let’s call this to order. We are here to determine the fate of young Brandon here. We will first hear from him, then I have some information to pass on as well. Please save questions for the end. Brandon?”

Suddenly nervous, I nodded, “Ok. I don’t remember much. The last thing that is clear is that I was searching for some shitakes. Molly and I both enjoy them. I woke up confused, it was night. I was hungry, so hungry. I caught a rabbit I think, but it died before I could bite into it. Then I was holding a tuft of fur from its shredded corpse. I kept hunting, and came across Molly. Just before I bit her, I came a bit back to my senses. I carried her back towards the village, but the wards flared as I came close. Colt came out, and managed to coax Molly back to his arms before I could hurt her. He told me of the empty cave, and I headed there to wait for the sun. Instead of an empty cave, I met a heavily injured Laura Cornick. She knew she was dying, and her last wish was to have me consume her life as the sun rose. She didn’t want the nearby nest to have it, as they could have targeted her family. There’s something more, something. Ugh.” I lowered my head in pain, rubbing the temples. What was going on?

“Are you alright?” One of the elders asked, and I heard a few chairs scrape across the floor.

I held out a hand and motioned them down, continuing, “I’ll be alright. There’s something I want to remember, but I can’t. Something about a dark tornado and a bright halo, both offering a choice. Three choices? Ugh, this is so frustrating!”

Father Ennarion interjected, “It’s ok. I can fill in a bit of the gaps, but for a while you were in the realm of the gods. That place isn’t meant for mortals, so it isn’t surprising that you are having issues remembering it. Your soul does it for your own protection.”

“Really?” I asked, confused. Shaking my head, I continued, “Well. Whatever happened, I chose to come back here. I woke up on the mountain again, and I knew that these were Laura’s. I am supposed to deliver them to her family in Luz.”

Father Ennarion continued, “Solaris has informed me that Brandon here is the first to become what was known as a Sanguimancer. That is what the vampires were once, before they were corrupted. Let that be your first lesson young Brandon, that your power can corrupt you. Always be sure to walk the path of the light.”

“I will try.” I answered with a bow.

“And that brings me to our next choice. Solaris has determined that you have a lot of potential, and would like to offer you a chance to join the church.”

Confused, I looked up at the priest and asked, “But I thought that you needed magic to be in the church? While I’m not a null, I definitely don’t meet the required minimum magic to join the church.”

“That was before. Here, touch the stone.” He ordered, sliding a magic testing stone across the table to me. Already familiar with the process, I placed a hand on each side of the stone, and watched as the results were vastly different than the last time I had done this. I had a very minor earth talent, which would normally show up as a small white glow in the center that was orbited by a green dot. The white glow was my power potential, the lowest. In order to pass into the church, you had to be one level up from white, a red level. Orange and yellow were next, and you could be trained as a hedge mage at those levels. True magicians were into the green or blue range, and the most powerful turned the central portion violet. The magics you had talent in orbited your potential, their relative sizes showed the ease with which you could learn them.

This time, the entire room lit up with a deep violet glow, and orbiting that glow were three spheres. The first, and largest, was bright red. A fire talent might be surrounded with faux flames, but this one seemed to ripple and throb in a rhythmic manner. The other two orbs were the same size, and only a third the size of the blood orb. One was black and violet, and sent shivers down my spine when I looked at it. The other looked like the noon sun, and radiated a gentle warmth. At six points around the system were strange symbols that I had never seen before.

“I was informed this would happen, and I will explain. When Lady Laura gave you her heart’s blood, she managed to inadvertently infuse it with her magical potential. As a reward for both of your selfless acts, that ability was increased from a middle green to a major violet. Now, the largest orb there is blood magic, and it is the essence of what a sanguimancer is. Their very existence is dependent upon blood. I won’t go into details, but there are two major ones you must keep in mind. First, you will need a liquid diet, and anything you consume must be at least half blood. This can be animal blood for the most part. The second thing is that once per month, you must feed upon a sapient. The church has a longstanding agreement with the crown about this, though it hasn’t been used in ages. You will be given a writ, and any prisoner that offers their blood will have their sentence reduced by a year. You don’t need much, and are forbidden from killing. Should a prisoner not be available, you can find a volunteer among the populace. They will receive a silver laurel for their donation.” Ennarion explained, though most of the elders recoiled when he started describing my drinking of blood.

He continued, “The other two are much easier to describe. The dark one is curse magic. Long ago, the sanguimancers were the ones that broke curses. That is why they all had some ability with it. The other orb is holy magic. So long as you stay upon the path, you will be able to channel the power of our Lord. The remaining symbols are a seal upon your power. Until you reach the capital or find someone to teach you, this will remain for your protection as well as the protection of others.”

We all sat for a minute, absorbing the information. The only one moving was Molly, who was gently rocking back and forth in her chair. I smiled, as that carpenter that had made such a terrible chair also had the foresight to place leather padding on the two legs that were shorter than the others.

Eventually, I felt the need to move things forward. “You said something about joining the church. I’ll be honest, I have never given this option any thought. For years, I have been planning to take over the farm from my dad. That’s all I’m really prepared for, but what could I expect from joining the church?”

He gave me a gentle smile and explained, “I’m glad you aren’t counting us out. There are three arms of the church that would welcome you. The priestly arm, of which I am a portion, help the people. We are the spiritual center of each village, and are responsible for maintaining the protective runes against the night. If you choose this path, you will have a lot of schooling to catch up on. Learning the runes and the math required for their proper placement is difficult, but doable. The second arm are the hunters. Lady Laura was one. They go out and hunt, either alone or in small groups, and attempt to take out vampires that have infiltrated our borders. They are often referred to as the Arrows of Solaris. If you want, Mr. Klein could fill you in on what they do. Then there are the soldiers, our shield and our sword. They are the most numerous, and are constantly fighting on our border against the evils the vampires are sending against us.”

“I. Um. Wow,” I stammered nervously. Shaking my head to get ahold of myself, I continued, “This is quite a bit. Would it be ok to think on it for a day or two? Talk with Klein, and my parents?”

“Of course, we wouldn’t think of pressuring your choice.” Ennarion said with a gentle smile, “Go ahead and take your time. Just know that the next caravan to the capital leaves in a week, and the one after that is a month. Elders, anything to add?”

They all looked back and forth among themselves for a bit, before the one to the left of the father answered, “No. We were mostly concerned about the safety of the people, but knowing that he touched the sacred runes and seeing him standing comfortably in the temple here, it’s obvious. He is no more of a threat than the common citizen. As far as we are concerned, his path is for him to choose, with your guidance should he wish it.” He paused and turned to me, “One more thing. It seems Father Ennarion here is more than happy to guide you in the choice of the church branch, and Klein is as great of a mentor that any arrow could hope to have. It has been a while, but I was a soldier. Should you have questions, feel free to come and ask. Call me Elder Stannich.” He stood and extended his left arm, as his right was in a sling. I noticed some names and flowers tattoed on his arm, and couldn’t help but ask about them.

“What do these mean?”

“Memories of fallen friends. See me tomorrow night, and I’ll explain the significance to you.” He said with a sad smile, and I simply nodded in return.

“Can we go home now brother? I’m hungry!” Molly chirped, getting a chuckle from everyone.

“Of course sweetie. I’m sure mom has cooked something delicious for us.” I said, wincing when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to eat it anymore.

“One last thing, I almost forgot!” Ennarion said, reaching into a cabinet behind him. He came out with a strange waterbag. “I took the liberty of having this filled at the butcher’s shop. It’s cow blood, and he added something to make sure that it stays fresh. Keep the bag. At the capital, you should be able to find someone able to enchant it to keep the blood fresh for you.”

“Thanks Father.” I said with a relieved nod. My stomach growled just as Molly came around and took my hand.

“Hehe, your stomach is loud brother! Let’s go feed it!” Molly chuckled, dragging me off. I caught a few of the elders smiling at her before I followed her out the door.