Mystery Signals

“For ten years the clan hunted me through the grounds of Japan like prey. Tanaka wanted me badly. I couldn’t take on a clan of ninja’s alone, especially a clan who could now wield the magic’s as well as I could. I needed to lay low; vanish for a bit and hopefully I would fall off their compass. So since I was stronger I figured I could concentrate on getting back to Gin, maybe through magic somehow. But to do that I needed comfort, so in the year 1200, I headed back to the only home I knew of in this world… France. It took potions and incantations but I was able to enchant a cloak making me invisible to the human eye as I wore it to maneuver my way by ship and later by horse back to the land I grew up in. It had changed and so had I. Farmers and families had established themselves in the land of my old family. Using my old alias, Frances, I established my self among them as a strange but kind hermit on the outside of the village in the woods, living in a hut I made out of mud, wood and leaves… little bit of skill left over from the old days with my coven.”

“Time progressed and I soon noticed after 15 years, I had not aged, a fact that would soon prove to be unnoticed by locals. I used glamour’s to progress my age to the public and illusions to appear as if I had children and a family. I became good at making up stories, manipulating others to believe that my family moved around a lot for work, having one child in each generation and the wife dying at birth or in an accident. Such things soon lead people to think I was cursed, but I was one person portraying 3 people every few years, a wife, a child, a father and a grandfather. Anyone discovered my secret; I performed a memory charm on them which erased what they saw. Mainly I kept to myself for years. When the time came I always killed the elder Frances off and replaced him with the one son whose name was also Frances. Meanwhile, I used this time to perfect and keep my skills in magic and martial arts in tact, while trying to defy the laws of time and space to get back to her. All efforts proved to fail. My tricks lasted me until the year 1337. It was not until then, the visions returned.”

“I had been with out them for centuries, and yet envision of war and disharmony started to plague my dreams. It was only a matter of time before the Hundred Year War began in France. As a child of France I felt it was a big concern to participate in the war, and if I could not put an end to it, then I would save as many lives as I could. I was given the visions for a reason… and with my new skills and talents… it was time to prevent any danger they warned me about… or so I thought.”

“I managed to get into the war after faking my death killing off another Frances. I enlisted as the son under the same name. Seemed like a good idea, once again I pretend to be a man and only this time to get into the war for my country. Wasn’t hard, all I had to do was find someone willing to pay to forge papers proving my noble birth. In those days it was easy, all you had to do was show a little gold, which I had plenty of due to my remaining years of fleeing my pursuers in Japan. The rest was hidden away for a rainy day.”

Wearing the traditional middle aged armor and clothing (helmet, battle dress, shield, chain metal armor on top of clothing and a sword) Celeste fights in the hundred year war in France for as long as it takes, with her fighting skills she proves to be a very valuable asset to the army, jumping through the ranks all the way up to general. But wanting to avoid being discovered as a woman she declines the position. She even befriends a male soldier in the army by the name of Fernand.

“Fernand reminded me very much of my old friend Frances. He was kind, gentle… and brave. So much it was as if I was talking to him in flesh and blood. But I had to maintain my identity and secrets so I stayed distant and talked very little about myself.. But to make sure nothing bestowed him in battles I placed a luck spell on him. It simply made his attacks more accurate and his defense more protective of his life; a simple spell that worked as long as I was in fifty yards in approximate.”

Other than the battles that came about where Celeste was force to spill blood for the current king of France nothing was out of the ordinary. Celeste had even managed to save and protect lives as she wanted, not just Fernand.

“All was going well, I had even begun to think my visions were just dreams of fear manifesting themselves. That was until I started to dream of a woman… she was beautiful. Mysterious, dark… pale… curvy but well fit, hair was dark as night… tall and very elegant; like a queen bound in endless moonlight. Every time I woke from these dreams it felt like my visions, like I was connected to whom ever this woman was. I didn’t understand it all… something blood related… like I knew her. That’s when the soldiers began to go missing. Usually late at night from the camp while others were sleep.”

Celeste wakes abruptly from a dream one early morning.

Translated in French.

Fernand: You ok?

Celeste as Frances: Yes, just bad dreams… guess was whatever was in that stew last night.

Fernand: Hmm, probably… had my stomach going just before I went to sleep. Well rise and shine… general wants us ready to move out in ten minutes.

Celeste as Frances: What no breakfast? Why so early?

Fernand: Edmund went missing last night… fifth one in five nights… general wants to move out as soon a possible. Just in case there are traitors in the midst you know…

Celeste: No trace or anything?

Fernand: Nope… but just in case there’s going to be extra guards on watch and everything later…

Celeste: ….

Fernand: Come on… let’s move out.

Fernand and Celeste then begin to pack up and leave camp grounds.

(Celeste thinking to herself from future) “Something was taking these men, and it was taking the best of the soldiers first, which meant I was soon… so I felt the need to investigate. That night after everyone was asleep I snuck to enemy grounds to find any information… what I found out was they too had been having people vanish for the last five nights. I was back at the beginning of my search until I came up on a sleep walking Fernand one night. It was strange because he did not sleep walk in the last five years I had known him. So I followed him.”

Celeste follows Fernand through the grounds, past the guards (sleeping as well).

“Something was not right. Guards whom were cunning and sharp were asleep… even the search dogs were asleep. But that was only part of it because as I got closer following Fernand through the woods; I heard whispers in the dark. Silent whispers that some how everyone could hear and put them to sleep, everyone but… myself. This was definitely a spell, aimed mainly at men… and whoever was casting it was abducting people. Could it be the Tanaka Clan? Or something else? Well it was time to find out…”

Celeste continues to follow Fernand to through the woods until she comes to a large field of tall grass surrounded by woods. Fernand sits in a sleep walking like trance toward a woman in the field dressed in white, floating like an enchanted siren, glowing in the wind to his perception.

“It was her, the woman in my dreams. I’m not sure what Fernand was seeing but the woman was all that I dreamed about. She wore the clothes of a noble woman, corset, hair done long, and a deep purple dress with gold trimming as she hovered above the grass. She was many things… but her scent… her look… her mysterious lure in her violet eyes… she was definitely not human. I thought to my self that she must be a witch of some kind… perhaps needing the seed of a male for a spell because there are such spells that exist. Being a virgin Fernand was a good candidate for such spells… but it still didn’t explain…”

As Celeste thought about the scene being portrayed out in front of her Fernand walks closer to the woman. As she hovers to the ground he raises his hand up to her as she takes it and pulls him in. The two embrace in a warm passion kissing the same until the woman’s true nature of spell binding Fernand is revealed.

“Her eyes glow silver in the shadow as she worked her way to Fernand’s neck in exstacy, opened her mouth and revealed a pair of sharp fangs that came closer to Fernand.”

Armed only with a dagger, Celeste dashes in to save Fernand’s life from the creature’s hands by knocking him and pushing the woman away with force, blade in hand ready for a fight at any second. The woman is knocked through the air but lands gently to the ground like a cat ready to pounce Celeste like prey- hissing with anger. Standing over, looking down at an unconscious Fernand briefly, Celeste then looks around for the woman whom has vanished. The woman dashes with great speed around Celeste, taunting her to confuse her senses. Dagger still in hand the woman pounces Celeste who counters her by roll-flipping her in the opposite direction and then jumps back to her feet. The woman then dashes around Celeste once again, and this time attacks her from behind. As Celeste throws the woman off her back, the woman scratches Celeste cheek, which heals immediately, then lands in front of her gracefully. The woman then turns to Celeste licking the blood from her finger nails.

Translated in French.

Mysterious Woman: You’re a woman…

Celeste as Frances: …Surprised?

Mysterious Woman: Not really… it’s the only way you could be awake right now…

Celeste as Frances: Magic…

Mysterious Woman: Skilled… strong… fast… (Continuing to lick the blood from her fingers) you’re not even human. (saying as she walks closer)

Celeste as Frances: That’s far enough… and you’re one to talk…

Mysterious Woman: Well… this certainly does prove to me an interesting find.

Celeste as Frances: … (still standing guard over an unconscious Fernand)

Mysterious Woman: ‘Til next time dear.

The woman then dashes off into the shadows like a blur. With Fernand still knocked out, Celeste places her dagger back into the holster, picks Fernand up over her shoulders then takes him back camp where everyone still sleeps.

“I had not run into a creature of abnormal stature in years. Not since my days with the drageer’s. Well there was one incident with a supposed hell hound when I first returned to France but that just turned out to be a really large and wild wolf. I had not opened it since I returned to France and found it buried where I first left it, before I left centuries ago, but now it was time to open my coven’s grimoire (the book is thick and big like a phone book, the pages ad binding are aged by time). A book of spells, incantations, and various knowledge on creatures of the unnatural; the drakes had several that were similar to our grimoire only each subject had different book. A book for creatures, a book for spells, languages, potions… they were older, bigger and thicker… I never finished my studies of each. I had to know what I was dealing with.”

Celeste looks through her grimoire for hours, until the sun raised the next day and all in camp with it. Waking up from to him what appeared to be a long sleep.

Translated in French.

Fernand: (yawning) Whew, how’d you sleep?

Celeste as Frances: I didn’t.

Fernand: Really? Bad nightmares again?

Celeste as Frances: No… just a long night…

Fernand: I see… what you reading? (saying as Celeste hides the book under her shield and cloaks it with an invisibility spell)

Celeste as Frances: Nothing… was just a bible my grand father gave me before he died.

Fernand: Ah, family heir loom?

Celeste as Frances: Exactly… so it’s kind of sensitive…

Fernand: Understand that. (showing his bible then putting it back in his traveling sack) my mom gave me mine just before I left… three generations… well better head out… maybe can get some breakfast along the way.

“We walked all day, I felt bad for not talking to Fernand as much as we usually do, but lives were in danger… even mine perhaps now. The mystery just had me baffled; Speed, strength, magical abilities and appetite for blood… it took me hours to find it after we began to set up for camp that night and still nothing... So once everyone was asleep I sat and waited for her to try again, but there was nothing. Days went by and my obsession began to take a small tone on my friendship with Fernand. We had barely talked as friends should. So I chose to put my mystery of the woman aside rather than lose him. That is until one night after a cruel battle, everyone laid to sleep for the night and the whispers in the dark came again… she was back… casting her spell over everyone again. Once again I remained immune, but something was different… this time no one was sleep walking in a trance to her. I followed the whispers through the woods until they got closer and closer. I was beginning to think I was chasing nothing until the whispers stopped.”

The mystery woman quietly stands behind Celeste in the shadows who then turns drawing her sword toward her.

Translated in French.

Celeste as Frances: Who are you?

Speaking in English.

Mysterious Woman: Put your blade away girl…

Celeste then puts her sword slightly down but not away.

Mysterious Woman: So you understand me? Good… then understand this… I know what you are…

The words startle Celeste to the point where her sword falls down completely, dropping her defense.

Speaking English.

Celeste as Frances: You know what I am… how?

Mysterious Woman: Hmm also speak the language too… Let’s just say we are part of the same mystery… kindred beings so to speak…

Celeste as Frances: Kindred? Like blood relatives?

Mysterious Woman: More or less…

Celeste as Frances: Who are you?

Mysterious Woman: I am Anabel Mondragon… Vampire.

(Celeste thinking to herself) “The mystery behind my dreams… ”