Chapter 190: A Reason for Vampires (Part One)
"I told you before that no one knows where the first vampire came from or how we came to be," Nyrielle said, holding Ashlynn gently while she spoke. "I think it must have been the same as it is for witches like you. Some of us were born like this because we’re a necessary part of the world."
"If anyone created vampires," Nyrielle continued. "Then they were powerful enough to create witches as well. I’m sure the human Church would suggest that their deity has the power to create beings like us but..."
"The Church teaches that witches have stolen the power of the Holy Lord of Light," Ashlynn said sadly. "The Church doesn’t teach anything specific about vampires, at least, not that I know of. It teaches that vampires are ’demons’ like all other Eldritch people."
"It’s true that we live among the Eldritch," Nyrielle said, gently stroking Ashlynn’s hair. "But we’re not an Eldritch Clan any more than witches are an Eldritch Clan. We’re something else. Something that the world needs to exist."
"What do you mean by that? Something that the world needs to exist?" Ashlynn asked, sitting upright to look at her lover’s face. As she spoke, Nyrielle’s tone had become distant, as if she was reluctant to put these thoughts into words.
The sight of it made Ashlynn’s heartache. She wanted to know. She wanted to understand and not just because Jacques had arrived to disrupt the delicate rhythm she and Nyrielle had formed. She wanted to understand because she cared about Nyrielle, but she didn’t want to make the moment so heavy and uncomfortable.
It was just... she didn’t know how she could help lighten the weight that seemed to come with the topic. At the moment, she could only listen and let Nyrielle take it at her own pace.
"This is something that I learned from my teacher," Nyrielle said, her eyes gazing at the distant past. "His name is Shubnalu, and he’s a member of the Endless Echoes Clan. He says that his clan has nothing to do with his place as a True Vampire though and I’m inclined to believe him."
"Endless Echoes?" Ashlynn asked. There were hundreds of different Eldritch Clans and she was still working to learn about the most important ones.
"They’re a nocturnal clan with small eyes and very large ears on top of their heads," Nyrielle said. The firelight caught the mischievous glint in her midnight blue eyes as a sudden idea struck her.
For a moment, her eyes darted around the room as if she needed to make sure that neither Zedya nor Heila had slipped in where they might see what she was about to do. Then, she lifted her pale hands to her head, cupping them like enormous ears while scrunching her face into an exaggerated squint. The shadows her hands cast on the wall mimicked the shape of giant, floppy ears, making the gesture even more comical.
The sudden shift from Nyrielle’s usual ethereal grace to such playful silliness caught Ashlynn completely off guard. Laughter bubbled up from her chest, bright and genuine, and she felt the tension in her shoulders dissolve as Nyrielle’s own musical laughter joined hers.