Dark night. The world around us held its breath. Below: a civilization I had never seen before; above: the Moon, smeared like a wound. Two shadows cut through the cold breeze, moonlight spooling over them. As I looked down: the Swamp of Lizards.
'If i remember correctly a lot of lizard are territorial creatures. I wonder if they attack on sight or threaten to leave first.' I thought, curiosity building.
'I should ask Eva. Wait! should I call her Eva or Evangeline?' I thought — an absurdly important question in that moment.
I glanced to my left. Evangeline flew beside me.
'...….' My mind went blank; I could only stare.
My lips moved, then a sudden hesitation caught the sound before it escaped. I turned my face forward, unable to speak what I felt. I felt…something.
'Is it sadness? Is it anger? Or is it disappointment in myself?' I thought, baffled. The emotions that should have let me understand others — and myself — were indistinct, like a map smudged by rain.
'From trying to Smile…, laugh….., regret..., to wishing for warmth….., care….., and wanting to cry... I never have experienced this emotion…' My heart thudded faster and my thoughts tangled as I searched for answers.
'Is this warmth I wanted? – It can't be warmth. I have already felt that from my daughter..... Or is it care…? - it can't be care either. I care for Liora and so does she. She feed me when she see I'm not eating.' The question answered itself for everything but the thing I was trying to name.
'....Then… what is i…t? …..' I kept pondering, but there was a word whispering at the edge of my mind I did not want to accept.
'….Is it …l…love? – No… it can't be. People say love can't happen on first sight it's just movies and anime. – Why do I love her? Is it her appearance – No, It's not love. – Is it her hair? That looks like silver strings under moonlight as they are a part of that light itself. – Love doesn't happen like that. – Is it her crimson eyes that makes me want to admire. – She's not a object that I can admire. – Is it her pale face or her blood red lips complementing her face? – It's just lust.' The thoughts contradicted one another until irritation rose like a hot stone in my chest.
I closed my eyes. The annoyance was a small, stubborn flame. 'Ugh…. Why….. why are my thoughts all over the place. I used to contradict myself on earth but it was my realistic and overthinking side giving an immediate alternative answer or reasonable answer but it wasn't this much.' I tried to make sense of the chaos.
A blue screen blinked in front of me.
[ It is due to the trait split mind you might be hearing multiple thoughts or contradicting thoughts Master ]
'Ugh.. is it split personality? – No that is extreme case I just can't accept a answer and am just finding reason to reject it.' The battle between the voices continued. I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath, trying to calm the storm.
'…I don't want to accept my emotion?' I thought, glancing left again. Evangeline kept pace beside me, wind whispering through the night.
"What is it?" Evangeline asked, tilting her face toward mine and waiting.
I said nothing.
"Hmm?" She cocked her head, puzzled by my silence.
"I was wondering…" I began, looking down. "About the lizardmen. What kind of species are they? Do they attack on sight? Or threaten to leave first? I was curious about their behaviour." My voice stayed steady, deliberately calm.
Evangeline glanced toward the lizardmen settlement, then up at the sky as she considered. "The Lizardmen, huh… They are territorial," she said, smiling with a trace of dry amusement. "They won't attack immediately unless you look like food. They'll capture you and bring you to their main camp. No one ever comes back from there." Her words carried like a pebble dropped in dark water.
They were reptilian in shape, but their movements and settlements spoke of something more complex. From the patterns of their patrols to the way they hauled crude banners, they were organized — a civilization born of swamp and sun. I had flown past them for some time and still hadn't cleared their territory; that, alone, told me how rooted they were.
I swallowed.
I turned my face toward Evangeline and kept my composure on the surface. "What should I call you now? Eva or Evangeline?" I asked.
She looked at me, thoughtful. Finger pressed to her chin, "How about.." she paused, then smiled as she drifted a little closer and tilted her head.
"My dear," she said, soft as silk.
My face remained calm. "Stop playing around," I replied.
Evangeline giggled and spun her face back to the horizon. "We're almost there." She pointed to a lake in the distance; its surface gleamed with the moon's blood-red light, the surrounding water and grass washed in the same crimson glow.
My mind was a riot.
'F**k! F**k! F**k! F**k!, MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT. SHE'S SOOO CUTE!!!' I thought — the exterior of my face a mask of composure while my pulse hammered like a drum.
'I know … I know she's just joking but still, still this heart is beating this way. I'm being overwhelmed. Where's my contradicting personality now? – Maybe she actually loves me. – I'm too overwhelmed to think straight.' I tried, uselessly, to corral the inner storm.
The swamp of trees and wetlands thinned. The soggy dark gave way to open grassland. We drifted down, wings folding, and our boots met the cool grass. Fresh air filled my lungs — cleaner, sharper than the swamp's damp breath — and the cold breeze greeted us like a living thing.
As I looked around, something felt different. The grass that should have shimmered under moonlight now wore the stain of death—the crimson moon bled its color across the lake and the nearby land, turning the field into the reaper's court.
'It looks really beautiful. The colour red. In the surroundings. The reflection. Everything looks really good. I might not be artist but I can tell a when there's a beautiful piece of art in front of me' I thought as I admired the scene.
"Is it scary?" Evangeline asked, standing beside me and watching the view.
"No. It's beautiful," I replied, calm and quietly fascinated.
"Hm?" Evangeline blinked at my answer. "You have quite a different taste than most."
"I tell myself that a lot," I said.
"Yourself?" she asked.
"Yes." I replied, and she walked a little closer. I glanced at her with my left eye and found her expression already asking the question I could not fully answer.
"There was no one to talk to about what I like or dislike," I said. "So it was just me—liking things and answering myself as others might."
"Is that so." Evangeline turned forward, and we both fell silent, taking in the crimson-lit plain.
After a few moments she said, "Let's go. The elf forest is just beyond this lake. We can camp there for the night."
I closed my eyes, inhaled deep, and let the air fill my lungs. "Let's go," I replied.
We walked slowly, step by step, toward the lake. When we stopped at the shore, the water lay black and gleaming, but the moonlight—red as spilled wine—made the surface burn like a second sky.
'I can't sense anything inside the water. I need to touch the water to search inside,' I thought, steady. My heart beat even; a calm steadied me.
Evangeline stood by the edge, staring down. Perhaps she watched her reflection, or perhaps she watched the lake itself—I did not know.
"How about we just walk out there?" I suggested, calm. The world around us felt at peace.
"Walking along the shore at night?" Evangeline asked, amused.
"Who said anything about walking around?" I replied, and stepped onto the water.
The surface shivered. Waves radiated from my foot in concentric rings, silver and red catching and throwing the moonlight. I set another foot down and walked a few steps, the water cool and taut beneath me, like glass with a heartbeat. I turned and extended my hand toward Evangeline.
Her eyes widened—shock, surprise, something I could not name.
"Ah—let me explain. Just use the air as a surf—" I began, but she was already moving. She placed her shoe to the surface.
The pattern of waves spread, beautiful and precise, carving the lake into ripples that glittered in the blood-light. She walked, each step making the water sing.
"Vampires live long. We have a lot of knowledge about magic and its uses. Humans are far behind," Evangeline said as she passed me, her voice soft as silk.
"But that knowledge wasn't enough against sheer numbers, mediocre techniques, and surprise attacks," she added, regret tightening her tone. The words carried weight; memory settled on them like frost.
Hearing the sorrow beneath her voice, my feet took me forward until I stood beside her. She still stared at the red moon, and I remained quiet, offering only my presence.
Evangelie glanced at me. "But walking on a lake together at night under this moonlight—quite romantic," she said.
"Yes," I replied simply, still watching the moon.
"Let us leave our worries aside and live in this peace for tonight," I said.
"Sure," Evangeline answered softly, and we walked onward toward our next destination, the forest waiting beyond the crimson lake.
After walking for a few minutes, solid ground met our feet. The soil underfoot felt firmer than the marshy shore we had left, dusted with crushed reed and the faint, clean scent of damp earth and green leaves. In the distance the forest rose like a dark wall—trunks stitched with silver, leaves whispering in the cool breeze.
We walked on in silence, the only sounds the soft creak of branches and the whisper of our boots on loam. The air inside the tree line was fresher, scented with sap and the green bite of crushed foliage.
'I felt a big creature staying at deep down in the lake. But it was only looking at us while we crossed the river.' I thought, curiosity pricking like an insect's touch.
Up close the trees were fuller, trunks mottled with lichen, branches hung with pale blossoms that smelled faintly of lemon and rain. A carpet of fallen leaves softened our steps; small moths blinked in the moonlight, and now and then a night bird called far away.
We pushed deeper and, after a few more minutes, found a clearing—a small hollow ringed with tall trees and soft moss. The moon's red glow pooled here too, turning the moss the color of dried wine.
"Let us rest here," I said.
Evangeline nodded and moved to the nearest tree. I sat with my back against a broad trunk; its bark was warm from the day and rough against my shoulders. Evangeline settled right beside me, her presence close enough that the hush between us felt like company.
I looked at her.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," I replied.
'I'm thinking too much. But still, I don't want this night to end.' I thought as we lay back on the soft moss, the crimson moon painting the treetops, and sleep came slowly in that quiet hour I would never forget.
to be continued….