The sound of a running stream, leaves fluttering in the wind, dragonflies buzzing around the water. That's all the sound that seemed to enter Red's ears. He laid flat on green grass, eyes closed, his trousers were damp and his top half was naked. He tried opening his right eye slowly but the sun struck at it with force through the leaves of a tree, blinding him quickly. Under his head there appeared to be his shirt folded into a pillow for him to rest on. He moved his right arm and tried lifting himself up, as he did so however, a sharp pain jabbed him in his lower right abdomen quickly making him lay down again. He steadily opened his eyes and looked to his right. He was by a river, a tall tree accompanied the river by the edge and its leaves gave Red shade. Suddenly a crackle from a twig alerted Red's eyes to his left, there was a small campfire next to him. There were a couple of sticks burning and a couple more by the side. The fire was surrounded by small circle rocks preventing the flame from spreading. By the fire, his sword laid on the same grass he did. He once again tried to prop himself up, this time using his left side. The pain was still present but not as harsh. When he sat up he looked down to his abs and noticed a large bandage circling his lower stomach, curious he touched it and once again the pain hit him,

"I'd be careful if I was you, you may loosen the stitching",

The voice came from behind him. Without a single moment of hesitation, Red goes for the sword. As his right hand reached it, he pulled the blade from its scabbard and aimed it behind him. Looking carefully at what had spoken, an old man with a long beard and grey hair approached Red. He was wearing a beige shirt with some dark blue trousers. On his feet were some ankle high brown boots. His right hand carried a woodcutters axe while his left carried a small brown leather bag,

"Easy there sir" the man quickly spoke dropping the axe on the floor and signaling Red to calm down with his right hand "I mean no harm, but I was speaking seriously about the stitching, its still fresh",

Red stayed still, the point of the blade perfectly pointed to the man's chest. Suddenly the blade started shaking slightly, the pain in his abdomen increased, it was even affecting his muscles on his top half. Suddenly the blade dropped on the floor and Red's hand pressed down hard on the wound. He let out a small groan due to the pain. The old man reached for his bag and took out a small clear bottle with some red liquid, slowly walking over to Red, he then kneels down and hands him the bottle,

"Its a healing potion fused with a painkiller miracle",

Red neglected to take the bottle for a second but then went for it with his left hand. Gently grabbing it from the stranger, he opened the bottle's cap and quickly downed the drink. A couple of seconds later the pain started to disappear and Red felt relieved giving a small sigh,

"It must have been a fierce battle, to have a full dragon tooth stuck in your stomach. You sir are one lucky fellow",

Red looked at the man with surprise "Tooth?",

"You don't remember? Guess the shock must have shaken your mind up a bit" the man said sitting down next to the fire,

Red picked up his sword and placed it inside its casing, then laid it next to him,

"I hope you don't mind but I had a look at the blade. It had to be from a distance of course. When I found you the blade and scabbard were separated further down the stream. As I reached for the blade, the scabbard came flying from nowhere as if to protect the blade from me",

"Its infused with a charm" Red gently said leaning towards the fire to warm up his hands,

"Well I hope you don't mind my intrusion but may I ask where your from? You don't look like any of the locals at the nearest city" the old man asked while taking out some dried meat from the leather bag,

"Before that may I ask where I am?" he replied with a question,

"You don't know that either?",

"I'm sorry but my mind a little bit fuzzy" Red answered while scratching his head,

"You're in Voltura, west of Vampiro kingdom",

Suddenly Red reached for his sword once again but then stopped halfway, he calmed down and asked the man,

"I'm from Kings Rose, Central Capital",

Suddenly the old man lets out a whistle with a smile "Well then may I ask what a city man is doing all the way in the south?",

"I don't know..." Red replied confused,

The man gave a small nod then handed Red a piece of the dried meat he was holding, Red gladly accepted and quickly chomped on it,

"Oh how rude of me, I'm Charles Deacons",

"From the Deacons Family?" The question jumped from Red's mouth with shock,

The man gave a small nod and proceeded to take a bite out of the meat. Red hesitated for a second but then gave his name to Charles,

"I'm Red",

"Just Red?",

"Indeed" he replied with a smile,

Charles looked down at the sword and then at Red, he hesitated to ask a question and Red noticed something was holding him back,

"You may ask at will",

"The inscription, its in Firluage correct?" He asked with caution,

"Yes, you know it?" Red asked him in surprise,

"Ante Dei Vultum Nihil Unquam Restat Inultum... In God's Eyes Nothing Remains Unpunished",

Red took a second but then reached for the sword. He drew it from its scabbard and quietly whispered to it,

"Fear not the unknown but the ones known by them",

Suddenly the sword sent out a small magical noise from the hilt and Red handed it over to Charles. Charles leaned back thinking the sword would once again try to protect itself but Red handed it over with confidence. Charles slowly reached in and grabbed the sword's handle. The sword did nothing, no reaction at all. It felt just like a normal sword,

"The workmanship is fantastic, such detail on the blade. The handle is covered in fine leather stitched with strong string" Charles said with excitement while inspecting the sword,

"The inscription, how did you know it? I mean, how did you know it was Firluage?",

Charles stopped looking at the sword and instead looked at Red. He closed his eyes before getting close to him. Red suddenly became alarmed and leaned back with force. Charles stopped and opened his mouth and with his right hand he pointed to his teeth. Red leaned back in with a confused look and looked at where he was pointing. Suddenly a small shiver was sent down his spine as he realized. Charles was a vampire,

"The Deacons have a vampire as well?" Red asked himself with shock,

Charles closed his mouth and started explaining,

"The inscription was a quote said by a dear friend a long, long time ago",

"Dracula right?" Red asked to confirm his suspicions,

Charles nodded slightly, he reached inside the bag and took out a small photo. He stared at it for a second and then passed it to Red,

"That's me, him and his son Alucard. At Krul's funeral..." Charles informed him with a sadden tone,

"Yeah I remember...",

Suddenly Charles had gotten angry "how could you possibly? This was over 1000 years ago during The Maiden War!",

Red said nothing. He gave back the photo and grabbed his sword. Looking at the hilt, he unscrew the top of to retrieve a parchment. It was old and tattered but safe. Red opened it and showed it to Charles,

"What's this?",

"Read it aloud" Red replied,

"Dear Red, my good friend. For as long as I've existed I've never sent you a letter of this importance. I would like your attendance at Vampiro High Council for a talk, a talk to consolidate me. My wife, my beautiful wife was murdered. She's gone Red, Krul is gone" suddenly realization came over Charles' face "those bastards at the church of Dragoon have slaughtered her and burned her. I would like your assistance but the details cannot be present here. Red, my dear friend. As a vampire, am I to live alone for the rest of my days?",

Red said nothing and asked for the parchment back with his left hand. Charles handed it over,