The Immortal | Prequel Story |

Chapter 19 ~ Iérti's Castle

Mallen's castle looked exactly like a castle out of a fairytale book. Vivid, beautiful, gorgeous, elegant beauty in the midst of a breathtaking picturesque landscape, with cliffs on opposite sides in the foreground and a faraway stream in the background, the white castle with its majestic blue roofs was a sight to behold. It pleased all who looked upon it, filling the viewer with a sense of wonder and awe. It was a magical place in the land and Mallen's favorite place to be.

castle looked exactly like a castle out of a vampire horror story. The exact opposite of Mallen's dreamy castle vibe, it portrayed the dark side of Iérti, emphasizing his new power and might.

It was located faraway in the forest near where the East fortress used to be, his family's grave resting behind the castle. A long road cut through the forest, providing the route to the vampire leader's castle. The road led to a tower, the tower connecting to the drawbridge that allowed passage to the castle.

Mallen looked up at the doors, noticing the two slanted walls on either side of the drawbridge. The tower had four corners and acted as a lookout tower, deciding whom to allow entry into the castle. Mallen was at the door, having taken the road on foot rather than horseback.

Iérti's castle was much smaller than Mallen's in size, with much less windows but more towers, especially near the corners. It was a dark red castle with black and tan roofs. There were maroon flags at every tower with Iérti's garlic knot emblem, the garlic knots beige in color. It had a firm, militaristic vibe with an edge of danger.

My castle is so much more welcoming, Mallen thought as he studied Iérti's castle, seeing it for the first time. His gaze dropped from the castle heights when Mallen heard the doors open, allowing him to enter. Mallen stepped inside, the heavy doors closing behind him.

Like most vampire castles, it was dark with all the windows and shutters closed to keep out the sun. There were gas lamps for lighting, though vampires had perfect vision and were able to see in the dark as clearly as humans can see in the daylight. Like Mallen, Iérti liked to have lighting in his castle rather than total darkness.

Iérti approached Mallen, dressed in a maroon and dark red military outfit as befitting his position. He still tied his long black hair with a dark red ribbon, his hair glistening and shiny. In addition to his outfit, Iérti wore a dark red cape with a black interior. Mallen made it himself, designing and creating all of Iérti's clothes.

Mallen's excellent, fine work was evident in every detail in the clothing Iérti wore. The maroon outfit had dark red detailing symbolic of the dark red ribbons he wore. His breeches and boots were black, his belt and boots embellished in bronze. The cape had a bronze chain embellishment at the place where it fastened around his shoulders.

He had a long sword in its sheath at his side, though it had no traces of garlic, of course. Instead of silver, Iérti's sword was entirely made of steel with a black lacquer finish. The top part of the sword was gold plated, since gold was a metal entirely harmless to vampires.

Iérti and Mallen faced each other, the silence broken by the quiet flicker of the flames in the gas lamps. A fireplace was lit, providing warmth in the cold winter.

"Like my castle?" Iérti spoke first, spreading his arms wide.

Mallen gave it one more studious look before saying, "It certainly is the most impressive vampire castle, though I prefer mine over yours."

Iérti regarded Mallen, taking note of his appearance. "You look happier. More peaceful."

"I certainly am," said Mallen, wondering of Iérti's interest in his wellbeing.

Iérti came closer, dropping all friendliness and good-natured demeanor into seriousness. "You don't mind that I took your position, ruling over vampires and humans alike?"