A sword in my gut, an ache in my heart. That is what greeted me when I awoke. The man who had walked off as I fell asleep had come back to finish the job.

I wanted to let him go. He had a child at the worst of times, and they needed him.

However, I didn’t have a choice. My mind at ease, I became mist and enveloped the room, the drum of hearts came from the depths of the cave. It threatened to pull me in; however, I couldn’t let this one go, for his blade held the shine of death.

Not letting myself get entrapped by the others, I concentrated my sense on the man, and only him. The only rhythm in the air was now his heart. I swam against this current and enveloped him in a thick fog of mana. However, even though I had become an opaque sphere, he did not react and only looked about the room. Could humans not see mana? Well, it was of no concern, I could ask this to the ladies in the back.

I started to materialize; my head pressed on his neck. He jumped back, however, as my teeth were firmly lodged in his neck, he could do nothing but squirm. My arms tightened around his arms, making him unable to wield his sword. His struggles slowed, and lethargy struck him. I did not stop. I continued to suck him till his skin flaked and his body crumbled.

That’s when I remembered the blow he had dealt me. I looked down to my stomach, to my surprise there was nothing. Could it be that when I dematerialized all wounds disappeared? But then, why hadn’t I dematerialized the first time? My psyche perhaps? Wait, I don’t remember seeing mana in the last attack.

I pushed the man’s body aside. He had fallen on top of his blade. I grasped the sword's handle and brought it up to the ceiling of the cavern. I inspected the blade for any hints of mana; however, none were there. It was just iron.

Sometimes you had to take risks for science. I placed the blade on my pinky and slid it down with enough speed and force to ensure it at least cut my flesh. A purple mist replaced the skin which should have been cut. It seemed that only mana imbued weapons could harm me. But then, how did he imbue it with magic at first but not when he returned? What changed? There were too many variables.

“Ha, ha, ha! This is too interesting.” There were so many new possibilities and discoveries. They were so apparent, so close, yet so far. What could I discover, what could I make, what could I become? Fuck my old world, here I slept thinking I had regressed a full millennium. Here I thought I would have to fight and wander about for hundreds of years in boredom only to see an ironclad on my death bed. But no. I could now lead men, or now vampires, into the space age. Boredom and a slow life wouldn’t be the motto of the new vampires. Work, absolute work, that will be the motto. It goes well with the creed as well.

“Life is long, yet it is our pride and responsibility to live long.”

Yes, because the longer one lives, the more productive he can be. Perhaps this was purgatory; however, that didn’t mean it could not be enjoyed.

I stabbed the blade into my stomach. Mist flew in all directions. I pulled the sword to the right, to the left, yet my stomach, my liver, and kidneys. They all turned to mist. It was nothing short of a miracle. Now all that was left was to discover how mana had been imbued into the sword.

#

I crouched down in front of the two women who still slept against the cavern wall. I tapped the blade resting on my knees. Instead of waking them, I decided to first observe their breath. Their chest rose, they soon exhaled; however, I did not see mana.

I turned to face the rocks and looked down at my nose. Although I didn’t realize it earlier, when I exhaled tiny amounts of mana dispersed into the air. Perhaps theirs wasn’t dense enough to see. I placed the blade against their nose to see if anything stuck or reacted once it touched the blade. After all I don’t think the man knew any incantations since, well, I didn’t know any either. Then I could only think of two possibilities, one that human mana stuck to objects, perhaps only metals, perhaps, only minerals, who knows. Or maybe humans needed a strong will or intention to imbue weapons with mana.

After two hours I took back the blade. Nothing had changed. I tried to cut my finger; however, only smoke appeared. It was time to test the other possibility. I shook awake one of the women, placed the blade on her lap, opened my mouth. Blood dripped from my fangs.

She screamed, grabbed the blade and stabbed me in the stomach. I looked down, nothing. It was but mist. So, strong emotions didn’t have an effect. The woman kept trying to stab me. Her friend and the child woke up. I dematerialized. Their eyes wandered about. They no doubt searched for where I could have disappeared to. However, they couldn’t see nor find me. That’s when I noticed the child grasping at air. At first, I thought it was just doing baby things, however, the light of intention and the spark of wonder shined in their eyes.

Although it was uncomfortable to stare at details in this form, it was easier since I could be anywhere my cloud was. And so, I stared at the exhaled air produced by the child. And in it, I saw brown sparks of mana. I didn’t know how old they were, however, they looked like a newborn. Perhaps animals only gained mana if they were born after its inception.

But what to do, the child had mana and there was so much I needed to learn. If mana was only available to animals born after mana’s reintroduction, it meant I couldn’t find an adult to help in my research. Then, wouldn’t raising a child be for the best? Not to mention now that I thought of it. How were vampires created? Often it was through sharing one’s blood with a mortal. If I didn’t want to die of boredom, or perhaps be killed by future magicians, shouldn’t I start building a power base. After all, the only thing I was told by my predecessor was to build a vampire kingdom. And wouldn’t this child die if I left them? This was for the best. But first, I needed to make sure I knew how to turn them into a vampire. Yet even before that I wanted to test my blood on a corpse. After all, in some stories vampires could create more than just lesser vampires. Things such as beasts of the night. There was just too much to do and, well, I did have time, just not patience. Anyhow, it was time to test the power of blood. The power of vampires.