Your Blood is Mine (Vampire’s Revenge) - Chapter 162

Maelle bears no sympathy towards people who trick others. If he ever heard the tale of Shai Du, he would not have the same reaction as Xendros did.

He would have said that ending was the best one he ever heard, except for the part where the King Bonmarte had to grieve for the trickster demon all his life. Why? Why would he do that?

Why would he love a liar?

The person he loved is Wysteria, not Shai Du. The person he presented, the carefully crafted persona. A character portrayed by an actor, a fictional person. It is not real. Therefore, the love is not real.

It is not that he can claim to be an honest man himself. No, he is not ‘pure’ or ‘benevolent’ like the standards Ilvedian priests must uphold. What he upholds is neutrality, of being a benign but also secretive, incomprehensible force, like the Crimson Wolf. He may act cheeky, but never maliciously trick others.

He never presents himself falsely… Unlike a certain Prince.

He can smell it. The stink of reptiles, the texture of their scaly skin in the air. The sound of the slithering tongues. Coiling slowly around its prey. Gripping tightly around the innocent….

And yet, also wearing the skin of an adorable rabbit. The quiet, adorable creature with large, curious eyes. Merely ruffling its small nose upon excitement or curiosity. Hopping and skipping gently on fields, nibbling modestly on its food.

That is the duality of him, the duality of such a person that the Crimson Wolf warns about. Most people have two sides. Some people are very good to hide one of their sides, that it seems completely separate from the other. Maelle also has two side, but they are a spectrum, scale that moves back and forth. He has no reason to hide either of them.

Xendros has two sides too, but even this is unknown to him. He is man that is very knowledgable in many things, but Maelle can sense he knows too little of himself because he focused too much in these little things than knowing himself. And one of the key doctrines of Crescentian religion, of the Fellowship of the Crimson Wolf, is to know yourself as much as you can.

The one who knows himself best, knows the world best. For we are all miniature worlds in ourselves, full of infinite possibilities and wonders, encapsulated in this puny human form.

That is why Man is the Crimson Wolf, and the Crimson Wolf is Man. Man is the world, and the world is the Man. They are often thought of and made to be separate entities, but they are not.

Goodness is evil, and evil is good. Desire is control, and control is desire. And yet, people who like to present themselves falsely wanted to separate and divide everything. Putting one side in the darkness, and the other in the light. Not allowing the Gray expanse to grow in between.

He had shared this whenever he have free time with Xendros, visiting ritual sites and fellow priests. He is a naturally inquisitive soul, always asking questions. Maelle is happy to answer all of them.

“So… For this ‘balance’ that the Crimson Wolf represents, your religion is willing to condone evil deeds?” Xendros wrote in his journal, recording everything that interest him and things he would like to question and search answers for later. Which is always a lot, for he can cover three pages in a single day back to back in that thick journal of his that he seems to have since he had first trained to be an Ilvedian priest.

Maelle nodded. “Yes and no.”

“Care to explain further, wise Brother Maelle?” That sapphire-eyed prince intercepted in the conversation, while they were at a gaudy-looking monastery for the Crimson Wolf.

This monastery is in a cave. Most of them are, always under the dirt, so they can be as close as they could to the Underworld.

Maelle had already explained to them that in Crescentian belief, when people die, they go to the Underworld, and which one the soul would go through depends on the manner of death.

If you die of natural causes for example, like sickness or old age, you go into the clear waters of the Underworld called Kistre. When people get their burials in the Southern Sea, or the nearest body of water they could manage, they place it in a raft filled with luminescent flowers and the last, important possessions of the dead. Different flowers have different meanings, and these are commonly night foxes, lampgrass, candlerose, and hollylights.

The flowers will serve as the light of the soul while traveling Kistre. There, they would encounter benign creatures, and live peacefully and in harmony with them. They may settle a temporary home there before entering the cycle of reincarnation.

Before, there was no cycle of reincarnation. It is not just the old and the sick that go to Kistre, but everyone as well. But because of the Tale of the Reborn Hero, the belief in the afterlife had changed. Rouge’s curse and blessing of reincarnation had created the idea of the Nine Lives, and the second river of the Underworld called Vystivo.

Vystivo is where the people who are murdered, betrayed, assassinated, and executed go. Souls that still bears a grudge towards the living. It is a river that is pure crimson red, the color of fresh blood. The surroundings of Vystivo is much more hostile than Kistre, and souls can be eaten by spirits and other beings, or purposefully make a pact with them, and return to the Land of the Living as monsters.

The Crimson Wolf resides in the middle of Vystivo and Kistre, at the in-between. In such land, he had met Rouge, who is full of anger and grief.

“Why else would you think the Crimson Wolf would allow the existence of Vystivo, if he had not deemed it as a further improvement to the balance of the universe?” Maelle tilted his head to the side, smiling. “Why would he allow the existence of monsters that emerged from Roas, from spirits of the beyond joining with Man?”

“Are you saying that evil is pardoned and condoned if it is for revenge?” Xendros asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Then……. if your religion has such mentality, that would not help clear out the misconception that Crescentians are vengeful and brutish—-”

Maelle interrupted him with a loud cackle pushing his head back as he did. “Hahahaha, Brother Xendros, is that really the purpose of you coming here? To ‘save’ our reputation? To clear out these ‘misunderstandings’?”

He wiped his eyes, from so much laughing but there is…… a hint of hurt in his tone. Like he was very disappointed in Xendros, his friend from this enemy kingdom, to say such a thing. But at the same time, it seems that he had already expected such disappointment just from knowing what kind of person this kind yet ignorant priest is.

“We do not need it. We do not need to clear up anything.” He said solemnly, no longer smiling. He is as blank as an empty husk when he said the resolute words:

“It is true.”

There was a long, awkward pause as the tension squeezed onto their airways, making the air heavy. Then, the Ilvedians replied at the same time:

Faestien nodded. “I understand.”

Xendros shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

Maelle walked a few steps, and took a handful of red powder in his hand. Then, he took much of them…….

And smeared an image of the Crimson Wolf!

Xendros’ eyes widened. “Maelle!”

“Is this what you want from me, Brother Xendros? To erase this part of my identity, the person I am? Just to not be ‘misunderstood’?”

The purple-eyed priest blinked. “But…. But wouldn’t that anger your deity, since you have said that he is a vengeful one……”

“Haha, so you do recognize it! You know it and understand it, but you would not accept it. That is all. You cannot accept that vengeance and evil is just as a natural part of being human, just like kindness and justice and good. You cannot live for too long with only one of the other. The best thing you can do is accept the consequences of both sides. Take responsibility for both.”

“If the Crimson shall punish me, then I accept it. But, I cannot take the responsibility of being the reason for my religion to be seen falsely. To be donned in golden veils by your words and those records in your journal, to be laden by fake poisonous flowers from your report to King Fabian and other nations after the emissary missions are over.”

“Do you truly understand now, Prince Faestien and Brother Xendros? What we value the most is not to be good or evil. We do not aim to go to Kistre, nor do we aim to be swallowed by Roas in Vystivo. We let Life and Death do as it will to us. We know, understand and accept who we are.”

Maelle bit his lip so he can’t speak the last remaining words he wanted to say…….

‘So why can you accept yourself?’

‘You Ilvedians…. What’s so difficult about accepting who you are and having the courage to make everyone accept it?’