He is Darkness

Chapter One

In the end, some of your greatest pain becomes your greatest strengths

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These were dark times for the small nation I called home.  It had been this way since for as long as I could remember. The people lived quiet, quaint lives, but it wasn't without fear. Not of invaders or disease, but of the ones that sat upon their thrones of blood and misery.

Vampires.

I would hear stories spoken in cautious whispers...stories of the old days. In that time, our land was a thriving one. The people were content and the royal family was kind and compassionate towards every citizen.

Then, word came that creatures curse with a list for blood were taking nearby lands. People thought they'd never make it to our quiet kingdom nestled away in the mountains. They couldn't have been more wrong.

The vampires took the castle in a single night. The entire royal family was slaughtered; not even the youngest princess, a newborn, was spared. No one challenged them when they declared themselves the new ruling family or even when the reaping began.

Even before the vampires arrived, our nation was far from normal. We were the closest descendants to the very first magical beings. The first witches.

Perhaps that explains why they chose us. Our magic was ancient, more powerful that any other in the world. Vampires had everything, but the one thing they yearned was something they could never attain, magic.

Out of their crazed desire for power, the reaping was born. Every five years, young witches were taken from their families and given to the vampires. The lucky ones became servants or feeders. Others were used for sexual pleasure, a path that had much higher mortality rate. However, most witches were used in heinous experiments. The vampires wanted magic and would use any means to get it. No person ever survived their labs. Over the years, there were whispers that the vampires were making progress towards their goal, but thankfully it was only minors rumors about potions.

Today was this year's reaping. Soldiers loyal to the vampires would go door to door taking the selected witches. They would be whisked away to the castle, never allowed to see their families again. Like every other young witch, I lived in fear of the reaping. 

I was a few months shy of my sixteenth birthday. My young age made me more appealing to the vampires and my Aunt Edith knew this. Because the reaping only occurred every five years, they usually went for the young ones. Originally, they wanted older more experienced witches for their experiments. Over time, our people stopped practicing magic and highly skilled witches were few and far between. This shifted the focus of those selected for the reap from skill to youth.

"Here Alessia," my aunt spoke as she cleared a small space in the closet. What she was doing was punishable by death; anyone that inferred with the reaping was killed without mercy.

"Aunt Edith please," I replied, "they won't want me. I thought you said it was impossible for my name to be on the list."

She sighed and took my hands in hers, "I promised your mother and father I would keep you safe Alessandra."

My parents, like countless others, were murder when the vampires first arrived. My aunt Edith had cared for me ever since then. The soldiers always skipped her house on the day of the reaping because the registry stated she had no children. However, as I got older more and more people learned of my existence. This year, word spread that her home would not be spared.

"You can't keep a promise when you're dead," I muttered.

She sighed and kissed my forehead, "I'll be fine. Now hide, the soldiers will be here soon."