Blood & Toil Prologue + Chapter 1

Hello everyone! I’ve been working on a personal project of mine for a little while now and only recently got done with Chapter 1 (in the middle of Chapter 2 rn).
I’m a bit of a noob writer when it comes to writing a story of my own, however I do have several years of experience in Roleplaying.

Also it goes without saying but all characters present are entirley my own say for maybe 2 or 3 that are borrowed from old RPs.

But I hope you enjoy! And please I need opinions and feedback 😩 I wanna grow as a casual writer!

(Content Warning: Swearing, violence)

BLOOD & TOIL
SINGLE PAGE PROLOGUE

The year is 1807, it has been almost a century since the last of the witch cults and vampiric dynasties had been annihilated. Although the hunts have died down and the Catholic Churches have taken full control over the civilized world, there are still many of the more supernatural kind that lurk in the background, biding their time so that they may cease the world once again.

One of the surviving households is the Akashiya Family, lower class nobles of a secretive knightley order who remained somewhat unknown by most. During the previous witch hunts the heads of the family lived as nomads, roaming and hunting, avoiding any long term stays that may cause unnecessary risk. During these active moves however a new child was conceived. This young boy would be known as Xeris, the firstborn and most recent true born vampire within their species. It had been decades since a true born vampire had been conceived with many failing or being killed before they could gestate a proper child.

With his birth a new dawn within their kind’s history would be signaled. The vengeful return of the vampiric race would start with him. However, that would only be in a few centuries. For now his parents would have their own hardships to go through.

CHAPTER 1

Hard Times

Ever since the birth of their child, Sakura had been extremely weak and unable to hunt. Thus it fell upon Maximilian to find a proper food source. They could survive off of animal vitae however their child required the correct source of nutrition in order to grow. So, with his wife and newborn child hidden and safe, he headed off to search for the nearest settlement. They had spent several days running and hiding from the murderous humans. So much so that they had ended up several miles away from any nearby populated areas. However, there was a single village located just two and a half miles from their current hiding spot. Maximilian would have to travel for an hour or so, however, it was worth it. Just a few hundred meters outside of the village was a huntsman who had just made a kill on a large buck. With his mastery over shadows in his arsenal, as well as the darkness of the night itself, Maximilian made his way closer. The smell of the buck’s blood was repulsive to him, he could never stand the idea of consuming these creatures. Their meat was tough and gamey and their blood was like trying to drink piss flavored wine. He watched closely as the huntsman wrapped the buck’s legs together, making it easier for himself to carry. However just before the huntsman could finish his knot a pair of inhuman hands grabbed his throat tightly, preventing him from screaming or calling for help. With a single motion the man’s neck was snapped and Max had to restrain himself from feeding right there and then. With his mouth open and drooling he let the man’s corpse fall to the ground as to avoid accidentally feeding. In that moment he felt something rush past his face, scratching his cheek and drawing blood. Thanks to his hunger he had not noticed the second huntsman who had been only a few meters away from this one. He however was a boy, a young boy, possibly the man’s son. If he was not desperate and if Sakura was able to move he would’ve let the boy go. However, he could not risk their presence being found out just yet. So, with a sigh he reached out and a blade of shadow stabbed through the boys skull killing him instantly. He would feed on him then, the other man being enough for his wife to sustain off of for the next few hours. Unfortunately, vampires are not born with the ability to directly feed on blood. Much like humans they require some form of milk. Of course Maximilian could look for a substitute feeder to avoid draining Sakura’s energy, however that would be extremely risky.

It did not take him too long to return, especially after the energy boost from the boy’s fresh young blood. He hadn’t emptied him either and had brought both bodies back to the little cave they were huddled inside. As he came into the concealed part of the cave that had been half sealed at an angle in one of the tunnels, Max could hear the faint heartbeats of three individuals. Immediately he dropped the bodies and rushed over to Sakura, pressing his ear against her stomach to make sure there wasn’t another child that hadn’t been birthed. There wasn’t. Instead he realized the third heartbeat was coming from outside of this little hollow. With his night vision working to his advantage he quickly scanned the tunnel at either end, looking for wherever it was coming from. Yet he still say nothing. However after a moment of quiet stillness he heard a quiet thump come from behind him. Turning around quickly he extended his claws and fangs, his eyes glowing a bright red in preparation for a fight. However what he turned around to face was the last thing he would ever expect to see. On the ground in front of him was a young boy, also pale skinned and featuring the iconic canines. However, this boy also possessed wings. On his right he had a raven black wing that seemed slightly damaged, almost burnt. On his left he had a beautiful white wing, like something from a royal dove. Relaxing his body, Max came down and knelt by the boy’s side, bringing his hand to his throat to check his pulse. It was weak. Very weak. Being the father he now was, he instinctively pulled the boy’s corpse closer, bringing his wrist to the strange boy’s mouth. He didn’t budge. Gently he opened the boy’s mouth a bit more and made his fangs pierce the wrist. He held it there for a moment before turning back to the other body and dragging it over to Sakura and the child. Both of them were weak, however not too weak to not be able to feed. With a gentle nudge he stirred Sakura from her slumber, her eyes barely able to open.

“Hey, I brought food. Don’t worry it’s not swine or buck. Here, quickly.”

He brought up the man’s neck to her mouth, encouraging her to bite down. After a few seconds she managed to open her mouth wide enough to shove her fangs through his neck and begin to consume the luke warm blood. Maximilian stayed by her side, holding the body up for her as she fed. He then looked down at their child, still held in her arms. He was still asleep, but not out of sleep or exhaustion, but of starvation.
Thankfully with this he would return both of them to at least half strength. He looked up to the ceiling for a moment, observing that there were large claw marks just above the boy’s unconscious body. Had he been hiding on the ceiling? If so when and for how long? It was a mystery to Max, however he hadn’t the time to solve mysteries right now.

“Hey, how is the child?”

He asked quietly, his voice soft and deep. Sakura lifted her mouth for a moment to speak, blood running down her open lips as she panted.

“He is.. he is weak. He is barely.. barely alive..”

She managed to say before sinking back into their prey. She was feeding as quickly as she could, however it would still be several hours before she would be able to produce milk. Still though they held out hope that they would all survive.

“Where did that boy come from? I’m sure he was not here when we came in.”

Sakura grunted as she fed, signaling that she was not interested in small talk right now.

“Hm, very well. But those wings.. I’ve never heard of a vampire with wings. Not even the foundlings possesed such extreme physical abnormalities.”

He spoke more to himself than to her, speaking his thoughts out loud instead inside, just to keep their minds less focused on their current situation. He watched the boy for a moment. He still wasn’t moving. He also wasn’t sure what he was wearing. It looked like a short cloak but material was foreign to him. And the color, the color was the most bizarre part about it. It was blue. Blue, which was the most expensive color in this part of the world to produce, sell and purchase. Yet this random boy had a blue cloak? The mysteries and questions just kept piling up.

After a while Sakura finally finished draining the corpse of its fluids, leaving behind a husk of tough meat and skin. She sighed heavily, taking a moment to process just how much blood she just consumed in one go. Her energy was quickly returned as her eyes flashed a bright red before closing. With that corpse dried out, Max kissed his cheek and his son’s forehead, finally being freed to be with his family for a moment.

“He has your eyes you know.”

Maximilian said with a faint smile.

“We have the same eyes idiot.”

Sakura moaned as she raised her son up to her head, snuggling her nose against his. He was still passed out, starvation having out him into a light coma until he could feed. With a quiet giggle Max got up and moved over to the other boy on the floor.

“Hey, hey kid, you awake yet?”

He said gently tapping the boy’s face with his palm. He was still unconscious and hadn’t been able to feed off of the corpse’s wrist.

“Shit. Hey, you gotta wake up. Come on, I need answers and I’m not letting you die before I find out exactly what you are.”

He said tapping the boy’s face again before bringing the wrist back up and attempting to drain blood directly down his throat. After a few seconds the boy finally started to move, his wings twitching as his mouth searched for the source of blood. Max put the wrist in the boy’s mouth and let him drain what was left. After only a few seconds the body had shriveled up, becoming the human equivalent of a raisin.

“Hey, you alright kid?”

He said opening the boy’s one eye trying to see if he could encourage some consciousness out of him.

“I…… wh.. ere…”

He tried to speak, but his voice was dry and raspy, his breathing still faint and weak.

“Ah, we’re in a cave don’t you know? Yes a somewhat cold and depressing one as well.”

Max said in his usual sarcastic manner. He was never a fan of caves. He liked mansions and castles, as did Sakura and most of his race. He held the boys head and propped it up against the dried corpse, using it as a pillow.

“You probably need some more rest, time to recover. I don’t know who or even what you are but for the time being I can take care of you. Do you have any family out there?”

He asked the boy, unsure of if he was alone in this world or not. He wanted to make sure. After all, giving a family back their lost child was easier than dealing with another mouth to feed.

“I…… don’t…. no.. one….”

The boy rasped, his throat sounding to be near choking as he tried his best to speak.

“Ah, well, that complicates things a tad bit now doesn’t it.”

He said giving the boy a gentle tap on the head.

“Alright kid, what’s your name? If you can remember it?”

“Zu…. Zurian…”

“Zurian? That’s a weird one. Alright kid, my name’s Maximilian J. Akashiya, the lovely lady behind you is Sakura and the boy in her arms is my son, Xeris. Consider yourself part of the family until further notice.”

Max said before removing the hunting clothes the previous corpse had been wearing and placing it over Zurian. He rolled his fingers over his eyes telling the boy to get some more sleep.
With a sigh he got back up and removed more clothing from the corpses before taking them to Sakura and Xeris. There wasn’t much he could do aside from just covering them both with the loose clothes.

“You guy’s stay put, I’ll head out again to find some more food.”

“Where else are we supposed to go?”

Sakura replied venomously, her usual tone when dealing with stupid statements like that, especially with her energy so low.

Max chuckled softly.

“I’m sorry love. Just keep your eyes open for any threats.”

He said standing from where he knelt. He looked over at the winged boy and pondered for a moment before making his way out of their little cave.

“Satan’s testicles, we need a place to stay. And a more reliable food source. We should be safe hidden where we are but still. There’s only so much hiding we can do.”

Max thought to himself as he walked through the tunnels back out into the pitch black night. He would do whatever it took to keep his family safe. Their wellbeing came before his life at the moment and that is what he would focus on