I woke up on the cold ground.

A splitting headache.

Pain all over.

Eyes still unfocused and dizzy, I relied on my hands to check my body.

Clotted blood, bruises and cuts all over.

The wolrd finally shifted into focus.

A cell, that's where I was: cold, damp, metal bars, stone floor, and a trickle of sunshine comingh though a small window too high to reach.

Not that I could even try, I was barely able to lift my body against the wall, sitting.

What happened?

Why am I here?

Who am I?

As the headache dissipated, the answers came. Slowly, painfully, but I finally remembered.

I was – I am – Tarkus, Knight-Crusader of the Holy Order of Jendarr.

With that realization, the fog dissipated and my mind was clear again.

I remembered who I was, but I still had no idea on why I was being kept in a cell.

The prison was messy, damp, unkempt, its stone walls were craked in many spots and the metal door was rusting.

A tiny window with metal bars at the top of the walls was the only light source I had. There used to be two, but the one opposite to the door had been sealed.

Judging by the state, this was no city prison, then the realization came:

This wasn't a cell, it was a feeding ground.

Not many monsters have this tendency, but one above all favors this style: A Vampire.

It was still day, if I was correct in my assumptions, I had some time.

I started examining myself first, wounds, bruises and scars, but no broken bones, nor deep wounds, even the huge gash on my abdomen was much more shallow than I anticipated.

I also was shocked to discover that I had no shackles nor chains on me, whoever my captor was, he was not short on confidence.

Then I had to address the wound on my neck.

I was too scared – or maybe prideful - to confirm, but there was no denying it, it was a bite.

After confirming that I was in a decent enough state to move around without risks, I searched my cells, hoping to find a weak point to exploit and flee. A wall in particular looked particularly worn out, and judging by a few roots sticking out, it was connected outside.

My cell was mostly empty, save a few pieces of chains, nothing that could really help me dig at the wall.

Through the metal door, all I could see was the empty cell opposite mine, and a spiral staircase going upwards.

The window instead offered me a bit of the sky, and I could see some trees. This floor didn't feel too deep undergound, escape was possible, I reckoned.

Thankfully I heard no serveants nor guards, hopefully this particular fiend lived alone, and that left it vulnerable during the day. Or so I hoped as I started planning my escape.

I had to start somewhere, and the weaker wall looked promising, so I started yanking the roots that were sticking out.

It was working, sort of, the mortar was brittle and was breaking off.

Then my heart froze.

The sound of armored boots, coming down the stairs.

The monster had arrived, it walked calmly down the corridor, each step accompanied by the soft clanging of its armor, and each step my heart sinked more and more.

It was finally in front of the door, an imposing figure, clad head to toe in plate mail and the helm was a single slit from which I could see two red eyes piercing me through.

The armor was heavily enchanted, runes the color of dried blood danced around the edges of every plate, but most impressive of all was its sword.

The scabbard itself would have been a work of art, were it not keeping a sword whose hilt alone outshined the rest: A griffin claw gripping a ruby was its pommel, the grip ebony dark, and the hand guard was plain in form, but runes danced all the way through its golden frame. On the scabbard I could faintly read the name of this deadly masterpiece. 'Thirst'.

Behind it all, a red cape lazily flapped away as if annoyed by this scene.

The pause in front of the door felt deliberate, and the sword was positioned in a way that I could appreciate all its malign radiance. It was trying to intimidate me.

And it was succeding.

Then it spoke.

'Already so lively? I thought you would sleep all the way through the day'

One of the enchants on that armor was apparently changing the voice to make it more frightening, a cheap method, but it sure worked.

I could do nothing but stare in terror as it searched for the key to my cell.

'No matter: this time I'll make sure you stay put.'

The creature spoke ominously as it opened the cell, and by the time it took the first step inside, I was crawling in a corner, trying to put the small ray of light between me and my captor.

'Always scurring into the light, always trying to survive, like the little rats you all are!'

For the first time I had the courage to hold the fiend's stare. It was speaking harsh, inhumane words with a voice made of terror, but even through the enchants masking the real voice, I could feel what I can only describe as sadness

It pushed on, relentless, even as direct sunlight touched its body, the vampire did not recoil, not even as a faint whiff of smoke allowed itself through the links in the armor.

Hearing it click its tongue was my small victory. A short one too.

And then the kick came.

When I woke up, it was moring again, or at least, what I assumed to be morning.

There was a new crack in the wall, and a splatter of blood, probably mine, but my body was in perfect condition. Even the bite marks were healed.

Apparently livestock wasn't allowed to die, this monster was as cunning as it was vile, keeping holy potions of healing for its unholy purposes, as if to mock the living!

But I had no time to waste, if the beast wanted me alive, then I had more of a chance, I had to find another tool, I had to -

'H-Hello?'

Startled by the sudden voice, there was a small pause before I could respond

'He-'

Trying to speak after Gods know how may days was a bad idea, apparently, as I coughed up a storm.

'Easy, easy' she continued with hushed voice

'You have been out for a day after... well... that'

The voice was probably coming from a cell adjacent to mine, but with the stone wall between us it might have been on the other side of the cellar.

'Who are you?'

I could finally speak

'Livestock, same as you.

The vampire wants us alive, we get food, healing when needed, even a bit of sunshine now and then, but in return...'

'It feeds on us'

'So it seems... Thankfully I have a plan to escape'

'So do I'

'And I assume it involves hitting the wall at random until it breaks, right?'

'Do you have a better idea?'

'You see, when I go for my walks-'

'Wait, you went outside?'

'Didn't I tell you? 'A bit of sunshine now and then'. But we digress, I learned of a weak spot on the wall, just on the spot where it connects'

I heard a few faint knocks on the corner between the wall connecting them both and the one with the window, the same place I noticed a weakness the day before.

'It doens't look like much on the inside, but the tree made a mess of the masonry outside.

I tried pushing, kicking and all sorts, and it hardly made a dent, but maybe together...'

'How is that any different from my plan?'

'Hey, at least I know where to hit!'

'I guess. Since you're the expert here, when do we want to start?'

'Hmm... I'd say right now would be fine'

'Then let's waste no time'

It took more than just a few tries, coordinating with another person you just met can be exhausting, especially if there's a wall between the two.

But it did start to crack.

Hit.

After hit.

And then again.

The walls were starting to split, it seems that the outer wall had been built earlier than the one separating the cells, as they were barely connected by masonry. Soon enough we could both see it: Freedom.

The hole was small, but big enough for the both of us, even if I struggled a bit.

Finally outside after what felt like an eternity, the smell of nature was refreshing.

I waited for my newfound companion to exit the passage, and we finally had a chance for a decent introduction.

'Finally! So, so, SO glad to meet you, I am Sasha'

'Likewise, my name is Tarkus'

We shook hands, her hands were surprisingly soft for somebody who had been, I assumed, trapped for a long time.

The physical differences between the two of us were staggering, I found myself noticing:

The only similiarity were the clothes, kindly provided by our so gracious host, I assumed. Rags, nothing more, old clothes that might have had a value a century or so ago, now ripped and barely holding on.

Where I was the average height, a meter and 70 or so, she was a whole head shorter,

My fiery red hair were fiercely waving in the wind, barely long enough to reach my shoulders while her corvine hair, reaching at her scapula were tied with a small string and refused to budge against the wind.

Here huge green eyes were sparkling with joy, while my icy blue stare was emotionless.

Our builds were different as well, mine muscular, my movements graceless and sudden, while she was of leaner build, but her graceful and calculated movements betrayed her training.

Lastly, my ears were rounded, while hers were pointed, a few centimeters longer than those of a regular human.

'What, never seen a mixed race?'

She was sounding a bit annoyed, maybe I stared too intensly.

'No-I mean, yes... but I thought you were-'

'An elf? No, that would be my father. But enough wasting time, come'

She snapped me back to reality: we were two escapees, in the middle of nowhere, completely unarmed and lost in a foreign land.

Unless we managed to find shelter, or a road, we had little chances to survive.

I managed one last look at our former prison before it went out of sight.

A castle, once proud and mighty, now stood abandoned and miserable. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd have said over 300 years old, perched atop a hill. If there had been a village here, it didn't stand agains the time, and the forest spared no effort to erease all traces.

It felt as if the forest itself was trying to hide this place, as it was so dense, you could hardly tell night from day, if it wasn't for the rare rays of light filtering through.

The castle itself was decaying, some rooms were completely exposed to the elements, and some towers fell a long time ago, this was nothing more than a ruin now.

We picked up the pace, and soon the castle disappeared into the forest.

After what felt like an hour, the fear of being discovered and recaptured slowly vanished, and my biggest fear became wild animals, but we still had some time before night.

Thankfully I could hear no howls, and the forest wasn't as thick anymore.

'Do you know where we're going?' I asked after the tension subsided

'Of course! South!'

'And why South?'

'Because the castle's North'

'So, you don't know where we're going'

She turned at me and glared a bit, before returning to her usual smile

'Well, do you have any better ideas?'

True enough, this deep into the woods, keeping the same direction was already a challenge, but I had a few ideas.

'Give me a minute, I'll check the area'

Without waiting for a response I started climbing a tree, which was way harder than anticipated, but still doable.

Having finally eached a treetop, I scouted the surrounding area, looking for anything that could give me an idea of our position.

Vampires are quite fast at night, some are faster than horses at full sprint, but they are still territorial, and tend not to move too far away to hunt, which meant that my monastery had to be close.

And true enough, there it was, Mount Jendarr, where, if the legends were true, Saint Jendarr felled the Wyrm that was terrorizing the region, transformed its lair into a monastery and started training young crusaders how to defend the people of this world from monsters and the like.

The sight alone was enought to renew my courage, and as I climbed down, I felt refreshed, it looked so close, maybe we could have made it by night, if we hurried.

'So?'

'My monastery is this way, follow me, hurry and we might sleep in a decent bed, tonight'

The forest gave way soon enought to plains, then a road, and from there the journey was easy, if a bit boring.

'A monk, eh? And how did such a holy person get captured by an Undead, of all monsters?'

'We're not exactly monks, we're crusaders, of the Holy Order of Jendarr, and while the order is a monastic one, we don't favor any specific God'

'And therefore none bothers to protect you all, how fickle, these Gods'

'So typical of elves, no respect at all for the Six. I guess you were instructed by your... mother was it?'

'Father. And no, all I was taught by nobody'

She ended the phrase harshly, I clearly touched a painful memory

'So you don't belive in spirits either, like elves do?'

'Elf this, Human that, what if I have my own beliefs? You pure races are so fast to conform to standards, but life isn't always black and white'

'... Sorry, I didn't mean to-'

'I know. But enough talking about me, I think you dodged a question before'

'Did I?'

'Something about being captured, maybe?'

'Ah, right...'

I tried recalling the events, but the memories were fuzzy, it felt like trying to hold on to a fading dream, and the more I tried, the more I felt a headache splitting my head.

'Something wrong?'

'No, it's just that, I don't really remember... We were... Ten, maybe, travelling... Wait, are you sure we didn't left anybody in the cells'

'I'm sure you were the only one who arrived recently'

'Hopefully the others managed to survive and regroup'

'If that's the case, then that monastery of yours is our best bet'

'Speaking of, let's not talk about theology with my companions, alright? We don't want to start problems'

'And by "we", you mean "me" '

'Glad you understand'

'And I do have a name, you know'

'Oh, really? Must have slipped my mind'

A mocking grin was the only answer I had

The summer sun was taking its toll on us and I wondered if we could make it before nightfall, but we were making decent progress.

At some point we finally reached the road, but it started to climb higher and higher, into the mountain I called home for three years. The road went on and on, mercilessly, and by the evening, we were both worn out.

We pushed on by sheer strenght of will through the rest of the day, and by the time we reached the monastery, we were both about to collapse.

I muttered a prayer in thanks to the Gods, for the safe journey They provided.

Divine protection or sheer luck, it was still impressive to have arrived here without encountering anything.

As we arrived, just the sight of the outer gates were enough to lift my spirit, I hurried on, as fast as I could, given the circumstances, and when I finally reached the gates...

Blood.

No guards were standing outside the gate, the torches were damp, unlit, the whole monastery felt empty, cold. A torch stand had fallen, but I paid it no mind.

I reached for the gates, opened them, but I was not prepared for the sight that was waiting for me in the courtyard.

My friends, my brother in arms, my mentors and teachers, even the fresh recruits, laying dead on the outer garden.

Their pristine armors, slashed to ribbons, their weapons shattered, shields were split.

I couldn't bear it anymore, collapsing to my knees I cursed everything.

How?

How was it possible that the whole order had been slain?

Were we not the best in the realm?

Memories came rushing in, crystal clear, I finally remembered.