09-06-2014, 09:32 AM
<big>The Dracula Inquisition</big>
The past 8 months had been unrelenting. Antoinette and Father Dimitri had kept Aria busy. There was no time for anything other than training. China had resulted in nothing more than that. Everything was left in Vatican City.
Aria trained from sun up to sun down and then sometimes even later than that. The only day she had off was Sunday, and that was spent in Mass and in reflection. She was expected to be the good little Catholic girl she had been raised to be which contradicted everything else she'd been taught by the very same people. It was such hypocricy but it was her life.
Father Dimitri handed Aria a new book. He had told her it was part of a test, she was to read it and study it. Aria looked at it, the work of fiction was Dracula. What on earth did she need to read such a book for? But she didn't question it. He'd given her a few hours of free time just to read the book. And if she wasn't reading it he'd punish her with more work that evening when she could work her weapons and fighting training. He knew exactly how to keep Aria on task, even is she despised the new way of things.
Aria read the book. The accountings from the journal perspective was annoying. Aria still wasn't exactly sure why she was being asked to read the book, short of the fact that it was about a non-existant creature. Vampires were not real. They were real tales of fiction based upon real monsters. Dreyken, Dranaika and even the Chupakbra were all vampire like, but none were vampires by lore. Many monsters feasted upon dead (or living) humans. It was not an uncommon theme among them.
One particular quote struck a chord. "Thus are we ministers of God’s own wish: that the world, and men for whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters, whose very existence would defame Him. He has allowed us to redeem one soul already, and we go out as the old knights of the Cross to redeem more. Like them we shall travel toward sunrise; and like them, if we fall, we fall in good cause." Aria wondered if the author knew of the Atharim, knew of their cause, it seemed to ring home true even to her un-initated eyes.
When she was all said and done Aria handed the book back to Father Dimitri. He looked at her with questioning eyes. "Any of the tales ring true?"
Aria shook her head. "It's a story told about vampires which do not exist."
Father Dimitri nodded. "And if I told you it was a based on a real story?"
Aria smiled. "Then Dracula was not a vampire but something else."
He nodded. "That is your job. To discern fact from fiction. To find the answer and take care of it. Dracula was a real life person, or the original creation was. Stoker was Atharim, as many of the early horror novelists where. Find me what creature Dracula was." Father Dimitri had confirmed her earlier suspicion.
Aria was given drips and drabs of information that had been collected. It was an audious task to sift through the fiction and lore of the time, and the real information collected by dead and gone Atharim.
Yes, Dracula fed on blood. No, he could not turn into wolves or bats or various other creatures of the night.
Myths and legends, fact and fiction all mingled together into a pile of notes and recordings and books and journal entries. She'd been through it all, several times. If it had been a real case she could go there, suss it out for herself. Aria mentioned it to Antoinette she smiled at Aria with glee and exclaimed "Road trip."
And so it was they took whatever by land means they could to travel to Bram Romania, the home of Dracula's tale.
Aria got to speak to the locals. It was rough at first until they found someone familiar with the stories who spoke Russian. One of several languages Father Dimitri had pressed upon Aria to learn at her leisure. Whatever leisure meant anyway, she didn't have a whole lot of free time.
Their new found guide took them through the historical castle. Aria could feel the darkness in the stones themselves. It was dark and dangerous and infected. Aria smiled, she knew the answer, but she'd let the tour commence.
Aria let the investigation drag on. There were local tales of creatures in the night that feed on humans, and a bite would make you just like them. While the creature that had turned Dracula was long dead and gone, its children survived. Chupakbra were a known issue in the area. They didn't call it that of course, it had its own name, its own legends. But Aria knew that Dracula had been bitten. A human infected with the virus/parasitic organism that fundamentally changed a person.
Antoinette looked at Aria and smiled, she knew Aria knew. They'd worked together long enough that it was obvious to her that Aria had been stalling. She mock chided her and sent Father Dimitri a message, which she spoke as she typed. "The girl has discovered the true nature of Dracula. We are staying to hunt one of its children."
The hunt itself was no different than any other for Aria, except she had point, it was her game, which never happened. It went down with out a hitch, Antoinette had been proud. Father Dimitri on the other hand was upset that they'd stayed on an unauthorized mission. It put Aria out of combat training for the next month. Such were the prices one paid when you were locked up in the dungeon, not quite a prisoner of the Atharim.
The past 8 months had been unrelenting. Antoinette and Father Dimitri had kept Aria busy. There was no time for anything other than training. China had resulted in nothing more than that. Everything was left in Vatican City.
Aria trained from sun up to sun down and then sometimes even later than that. The only day she had off was Sunday, and that was spent in Mass and in reflection. She was expected to be the good little Catholic girl she had been raised to be which contradicted everything else she'd been taught by the very same people. It was such hypocricy but it was her life.
Father Dimitri handed Aria a new book. He had told her it was part of a test, she was to read it and study it. Aria looked at it, the work of fiction was Dracula. What on earth did she need to read such a book for? But she didn't question it. He'd given her a few hours of free time just to read the book. And if she wasn't reading it he'd punish her with more work that evening when she could work her weapons and fighting training. He knew exactly how to keep Aria on task, even is she despised the new way of things.
Aria read the book. The accountings from the journal perspective was annoying. Aria still wasn't exactly sure why she was being asked to read the book, short of the fact that it was about a non-existant creature. Vampires were not real. They were real tales of fiction based upon real monsters. Dreyken, Dranaika and even the Chupakbra were all vampire like, but none were vampires by lore. Many monsters feasted upon dead (or living) humans. It was not an uncommon theme among them.
One particular quote struck a chord. "Thus are we ministers of God’s own wish: that the world, and men for whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters, whose very existence would defame Him. He has allowed us to redeem one soul already, and we go out as the old knights of the Cross to redeem more. Like them we shall travel toward sunrise; and like them, if we fall, we fall in good cause." Aria wondered if the author knew of the Atharim, knew of their cause, it seemed to ring home true even to her un-initated eyes.
When she was all said and done Aria handed the book back to Father Dimitri. He looked at her with questioning eyes. "Any of the tales ring true?"
Aria shook her head. "It's a story told about vampires which do not exist."
Father Dimitri nodded. "And if I told you it was a based on a real story?"
Aria smiled. "Then Dracula was not a vampire but something else."
He nodded. "That is your job. To discern fact from fiction. To find the answer and take care of it. Dracula was a real life person, or the original creation was. Stoker was Atharim, as many of the early horror novelists where. Find me what creature Dracula was." Father Dimitri had confirmed her earlier suspicion.
Aria was given drips and drabs of information that had been collected. It was an audious task to sift through the fiction and lore of the time, and the real information collected by dead and gone Atharim.
Yes, Dracula fed on blood. No, he could not turn into wolves or bats or various other creatures of the night.
Myths and legends, fact and fiction all mingled together into a pile of notes and recordings and books and journal entries. She'd been through it all, several times. If it had been a real case she could go there, suss it out for herself. Aria mentioned it to Antoinette she smiled at Aria with glee and exclaimed "Road trip."
And so it was they took whatever by land means they could to travel to Bram Romania, the home of Dracula's tale.
Aria got to speak to the locals. It was rough at first until they found someone familiar with the stories who spoke Russian. One of several languages Father Dimitri had pressed upon Aria to learn at her leisure. Whatever leisure meant anyway, she didn't have a whole lot of free time.
Their new found guide took them through the historical castle. Aria could feel the darkness in the stones themselves. It was dark and dangerous and infected. Aria smiled, she knew the answer, but she'd let the tour commence.
Aria let the investigation drag on. There were local tales of creatures in the night that feed on humans, and a bite would make you just like them. While the creature that had turned Dracula was long dead and gone, its children survived. Chupakbra were a known issue in the area. They didn't call it that of course, it had its own name, its own legends. But Aria knew that Dracula had been bitten. A human infected with the virus/parasitic organism that fundamentally changed a person.
Antoinette looked at Aria and smiled, she knew Aria knew. They'd worked together long enough that it was obvious to her that Aria had been stalling. She mock chided her and sent Father Dimitri a message, which she spoke as she typed. "The girl has discovered the true nature of Dracula. We are staying to hunt one of its children."
The hunt itself was no different than any other for Aria, except she had point, it was her game, which never happened. It went down with out a hitch, Antoinette had been proud. Father Dimitri on the other hand was upset that they'd stayed on an unauthorized mission. It put Aria out of combat training for the next month. Such were the prices one paid when you were locked up in the dungeon, not quite a prisoner of the Atharim.