Mortality: The Story of Mortanius

Chapter Three

Later, after Lora had left, Romanen sat beside Mortanius at the table and spoke to him in a hushed tone of voice, as if telling a secret that everyone knew but pretended it was still a secret anyway.

“I guess they turned her when she was about thirty years old,” he said, traces of sadness, amazement, and fear all mingling in his voice. “They didn’t warn her ahead of time either, they just took her to the Pillars one night and did the ceremony. She never really talks about it, but I suspect that it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

“How long has she been like that?”

“I don’t know. A century, maybe longer.”

“A hundred years? You mean Lora’s a hundred years old?”

“Yeah, at least that old.”

“I’ve heard that they can turn people into half-breed things,” Mortanius said after a nervous pause. “Half human and half vampire. But I don’t think I ever believed it until now.”

“There aren’t very many. Maybe ten or twelve in all of Nosgoth. The first one was a man named Vorador.”

“I thought he was just a legend.”

“No, he’s real. I’ve seen him, though I’ve never met him personally. He’s been a half-breed for probably five hundred years.”

“But ... but why?” Mortanius asked. “Why do they do it?”

“Because of the Pillars. They say the Pillars must remain in vampire control, so if humans are being chosen as Guardians, then they must be turned when they come of age.”

Mortanius felt a chill run all the way down his back. “So that means you ... you and me ...?”

Romanen nodded. “They’ll probably turn me in the next few years. I guess they wait until we’re well into adulthood, though I don’t know why.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“I was at first,” he said, and then laughed softly. “Well, I was afraid a lot longer than that. But I’ve been a Guardian now for almost as long as I can remember. It’s all I know. And if becoming a half-breed is the next stage in my life, then so be it. Who am I to deny what fate has written for me?”

Mortanius shook his head. “I don’t believe in fate, and I don’t want to be turned into some freak. I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“I know how you feel,” Romanen said, “but there’s so much more to the world than what we know. The vampires have lived for thousands of years. Can you imagine that? Humans barely make it to a hundred, and if we manage to live that long, we’re crippled by age. I don’t want to be turned into a half-breed either, but the benefits outweigh the negatives in my opinion.”

“It’s not natural,” Mortanius insisted. “They’re vampires and we’re humans. It’s not right for them to change us into something else. Lora isn’t human anymore, but she’s not a vampire either. She’s something else, something awful.”

“The sad part is that she agrees with you,” Romanen said. “But being a Guardian changes things, Mortanius. You see things in a new way, a new light. You know that now as much as I do.”

“Yes,” Mortanius said, remembering what he saw, the horror of it.

“But even with all the wisdom and power the Pillars grant us, we don’t really understand the Pillars themselves. We know the vampires built them, but why? What are they really for?”

“The vampires haven’t told you?”

“They’ve never told humans what the Pillars are really for. There are some myths and rumors, but no way to know if any of them have even a shred of truth. But when they turn you into a half-breed, they let you in on all their secrets. That’s why I’ll let them turn me. Because I want to know.”

Mortanius let that sink in. How would it feel to live a thousand years? He didn’t think he could even count that high. His life seemed long enough to him, and he was only ten. How many times did ten go into a thousand? He didn’t even know. But it was longer than any human had ever lived, that was certain. It was longer than any human could ever live.

But was it worth the price? Mortanius loved his family more than anything in the world. His mother and father and sister were all he had. If he lived to be a thousand, they would die long before him. He would live so long that he would forget what they looked like, forget their names. In a thousand years, he would forget all about them. He might learn the secrets of the vampires, but he would forget something more important. No secret was worth the memory of his family.

And no secret was worth the torment of being a half-breed creature. Never seeing the sun again, having to drink blood to survive. The very thought of it made Mortanius’s stomach turn. He could never live like that, like some twisted version of a person. Drinking the blood of another, hiding in shadows during the day. It would be a nightmare.

He understood why Lora wore such a large cloak; it was not just to protect her from the sun, it was to hide her inhuman body from prying eyes. Lora was in misery, it was obvious. Was any secret worth that price?

“No,” Mortanius said, half to himself. “They can keep their secrets.”

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