The Chronicles of Arnora: The Curse of the Blood Moon

Chapter Two: The Calm before the Storm

~ Chapter Two ~
The Calm before the Storm

The day was Ocktober 15th, 442, it was a late beautiful warm fall afternoon in the city of Zhagos. Its townspeople filled the streets with laughter and cheer, not knowing what was to come later that night. But one such boy wasn't so cheerful this morning, for he had traveled a long way to the city.

Boy: "Damn all these people! They need to move out of our way, we're late as it is, we'll never make it there in time!" A woman with aqua blue hair walking beside him then spoke.

Woman: "Now Luke you need to mind your manners, you knew just as well as I did that it would be very busy here because of the festival tomorrow. I'm sure that the professor will understand if we are a bit late." She looked over at Luke, he looked younger then he was but for a boy of only seventeen, no one had studied more about vampires then he did. When he was just five years old a coven of upier had come in the night and killed his entire family, all but him; he instead somehow survived killing the vampires. That was the night he found out he was different from the rest of his family.

Luke: "Yes Aqua I'm sorry for my outburst but it's just that he asked for me personally to help him with his research. He could've chosen a real expert to assist him but he chose me!" Aqua smiled.

Aqua: "You are very enthusiastic about this aren't you? After all, you have spent half your life studying and learning everything there is to know about the many species of vampires that live in our world." Aqua then thought back to the night in Valda where she had found Luke alone in that house surrounded by all those upier corpses. "You sure have come a long way since the night I found you Luke." The boy sighed before speaking again.

Luke: "Yeah I have, with everything I've been through, losing my family, all the training and studying I've done at Noxmore under your guidance. I know that not all vampires are bloodthirsty monsters, but the people of Arnora do have the right to know how to deal with the ones that are. So yes I am excited to help the professor with his research."

Aqua: "Speaking of which I believe we've arrived." Aqua looked up at a large sign hanging off the building reading it aloud. "The Zhagos Institute of Magical and Paranormal Studies. Yes this is indeed the place and look there's the professor waiting for us." Aqua and Luke walked up the white marble steps to be greeted by a dark red skinned man with fire for hair. "Luke, I'd like you to meet Professor Sigmus, the head of vampiric studies here at the Zhagos Institute." Luke took a longing look at the professor before speaking.

Luke: "It's very nice to finally meet you Professor Sigmus, Aqua has told me a great deal about you. May I ask what species you are exactly?" Aqua shot a stern look at Luke while Sigmus just laughed.

Sigmus: "Haha It's quite alright Aqua, the boy is just curious, and if anything is allowed here in the institute it's curiosity! To answer your question Luke I'm an Elemental, to be more specific I'm a Fire Elemental."

Luke: "You're an Elemental? I've read about them, your race is one of the oldest in all of Arnora, some even call you the primordial race. But it's extremely rare to see your kind on the outside of your own cities."

Sigmus: "Right you are Luke we are the primordial race, we were born from planet itself and yes we very rarely leave our homes but there was nothing for me back there, and my research into magical and paranormal creatures had better use for human's and the other races then it did my own kind."

Luke: "Such as your research about vampires?"

Sigmus: "Exactly, you see we Elementals live in places where such creatures could not exist. I myself come from a city of fire deep within the Crun Slopes, and since vampires are vulnerable to fire the extreme temperature there would burn them to a crisp in a second."