Codex Mortem

Peace of mind

Raiden

Small drops fell from the dull sky, finding their demise in the cold water that surrounded me.

My body floated slowly on the surface of the lake and its quiet waves carried me away from the sandy shore. I wished for that moment to never end. A desire of tranquility made me close my eyes and listened to the sweet sound of silence.

The avalanche of thoughts filled my mind, and I found myself thinking and rethinking, doubting the decisions I've made so far.

I wondered if, perhaps, I committed my biggest mistake when I agreed to follow his plan.

In the former's king days, several years before my reign, Jayce was a different man. A leader of a pack soon to be a father, who loved deeply his woman.

One dreadful night, our enemies- the vampires- attacked the borders of Dirae, and the stupid king dispatched all the warriors to fight them, leaving all the women unprotected.

Some bloodsuckers sneaked behind the lined, with one goal only. All she-wolves were heavy with babes, but shown no mercy.

In that cursed night, Jayce died on the inside. I heard tales of him losing his mind, tormented by the ghosts of his past.

I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. I couldn't remember my own past. Were they any ghosts to ask forgiveness to? I didn't even recall my real name; it was Rhys who named me Raiden back in our rogue days, and who shared my sorrows. The same Rhys who brought back Jayce from the edge of madness and made him our First Aga, commander of the warriors.

I turned and swam to the shore, as the midmorning sun emerged from the clouds victorious, warming my back.

The punishment I delivered gave him the best circumstances to get close. After so many years, revenge still drove his actions. He took hard my decision of shaking hands with Caleb, but he somehow understood.

One day, he shared something to me. He was convinced that someone else planned the attack, and he was willing to die for the truth. His plan was making sense, despite the risks.

We lost track of him, and Rhys has been very unsettled. He asked me to dispatch a man or two to find him when I refused to let him do the search himself. They had a bond I respected.

I wasn't feared only because of my cruelty in Jayce's punishment, but also for the way I killed the four Alphas and their loyal warriors that ambushed me after I signed that bloody treaty with Caleb. The packs never agreed to peace, and I went against them.

With the peace and the doubled patrols, we had no intrusions of our border, except on rare occasions when a lower, pushed by hunger, would risk his life to poach on our land, usually finding his end on the stone.

All I could remember of the fight was when me and Rhys found ourselves surrounded by them.

"This is a good way to die" he told me. "Fighting by your side"

They attacked us with silver blades soaked in moonberries juice, but they had no idea of my tolerance of the poisons.

I recall my sworn brother Rhys bloodied, falling down to protect me, and all went black. I don't know what happened after my beast side took over. Later, when I woke up, I followed the terrified looks of the ones who gathered and I saw a carnage. I saw torn limbs and heads spattered across the glade, guts hanging from the far trees and a sea of blood bathing the crumpled grass.

No one ever dared to challenge me since that day.

We all knew the importance of it, but some couldn't see past their hate and pride. While the vampires increased their numbers, our decreased.