"Am I seeing this?" Elder Janus asked from his spot by the window.
"Impossible," Elder Miklos said through his teeth. "It can't be real. Is that…?"
"They're practicing the sword," Elder Amir said softly.
"They can't be," Elder Janus protested. "The Great Sword Art has been lost for centuries! Not since the Full Moon Clan invaded has it been known."
"That's because it's not the Black Dragon Great Sword Art," Elder Amir said. "It's basic drills. You see, he has them doing a downward swing. It's to strengthen their wrists and get them used to that movement."
"Huh."
"It is still a sword art," Elder Miklos said, trying to defend himself. "Isn't it?"
"It's an exercise," Elder Amir qualified for him.
"The real question which should be asked is, where will the boy take it from here? The fledglings won't be happy if all they learn is drills. Will they?"
"Probably not."
"So, what does that kid have in mind to surprise them with tomorrow?"
Elder Amir's hooded head gave a slow shake. "I can't say. But he has requested to visit the Library after this… training."
"Huh." Elder Miklos moved away from the window and took a seat. His hands trembled a little.
Swords!
Even Elder Laszlo hadn't allowed swords to be used. He considered it an insult to the memory of the Court to play with them.
"Laszlo's head is going to explode," he said.
"Oh, I can't wait," Elder Janus laughed as he plucked at his lip. "I really can't wait!"
"Hup!" Tibor exhaled as he brought the sword down.
It was a strange experience, he thought.
On one hand, it was a simple movement he probably would have done a thousand times when he was a kid.
Before he'd been Turned.
But the way Vlad had directed them to hold their sticks. And the way he spoke about how to make the downward strike…
It felt…
Right.
"Don't just bring it down like you're hitting someone in the head with a cane," Vlad growled, giving Galosh a sidelong look. While the other flushed red, Vlad continued. "Bring it down like you want to slice right down through their head and carve a line through their heart, their belly, and their manhood."
A few snickers echoed his words.
"No, Metto. Straight down. You should hear the stick beat like the wing of a bat." Vlad stood in front of the fledgling. Brought his own stick down with a hard crack onto Metto's head. "Hear it?"
"I felt it," Metto scowled.
"You'll feel it often if you don't start hearing it."
"I'll try!"
Vlad walked through the line of fledglings, adjusting their swing. Cracking their heads. And giving out grudging compliments to the few who managed to pick it up quickly.
He was surprised that Jenos was one of them.
As the hour passed, the fledglings did the same thing.
Over and over.
Sword up. Sword down.
Sword up.
Sword down.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Soon, they worked in sync. The heavy whoosh of their sticks sounding pleasant in Vlad's ears. He smiled lightly at the sound and the memories it provoked.
Every vampire's first weapon was a stick.
Only after mastering the stick would a training sword be gifted.
"That's enough for today," Vlad said suddenly. "Don't forget to do your pushups."
"Yes, brother!"
"And everyone keep their stick with them. You'll need it tomorrow."
"Yes, brother!"
"Hmph." He lay his own stick across his shoulders as he stalked towards the Great Hall.
He wanted to see what remained of the great Library of the Black Dragon Court.
His memories recalled a large structure next to the hall. It was now gone, burned to the ground. He'd heard the dogs from the Full Moon Clan had looted it first, so there was a good chance Vlad could one day retrieve the stolen volumes.
It was better than if they'd simply burned all the books.
Some, however, had been hidden during the attack.
One of the elders had been smart enough to do so. Unfortunately, he'd put them in one of the caves under the castle and many were ruined by the moist conditions.
And rats.
He was surprised to find a cowled figure waiting for him at the front of the Great Hall.
"Vlad," Elder Amir greeted him with a slight incline of his head. "Are you ready?"
"I am."
Ready to be angered, Vlad thought. And disappointed.
"Then follow me this way."
Surprisingly, they didn't head to where the Library was. The other fledglings had been using the Library within the Great Hall. It had been set up in a room which had once been Ferenc's office.
Vlad had expected they would be going there.
"There's another Library?"
"Of course," Elder Amir said lightly. "The Knights have made their little Library in the Chamberlain's office."
Vlad glanced to where the barracks was. The Chamberlain's office was between it and the Great Hall. It was one of the few small buildings which had been badly damaged but then repaired. "Hmm."
"There's not much that that will interest you, I think."
"Oh?"
"It's mostly Turkish martial arts. Maces and the like." Vlad couldn't see the elder's face, but guessed he was smirking. "I see you prefer a sword."
"I'm a member of the Black Dragon Court," Vlad said.
That made Elder Amir pause. "Vlad, I have to say… We are all greatly looking forward to the return of Elder Laszlo. I believe your conversations with him will be… lively."
"Hmph." Vlad followed again as Elder Amir led him towards an old building which the fledglings hadn't yet finished cleaning.
He thought maybe he should get them to do it tomorrow.
But they had to move the tower rubble he'd told them to move.
He clutched the back of his neck and sighed.
There was so much to do!
Too much!
The old building was one he recognised. It had been a records repository. Once filled with scrolls and books, it was now mostly empty. There were plenty of shelves. Some damaged by fire.
The volumes of books were familiar.
Histories, mostly.
He was about to groan when he caught sight of a small collection of books with yellow spines.
"Ah," Elder Amir said, following his gaze. "The Collected Works of Sebrius. You have a good eye for knowledge."
Vlad shrugged. He'd read them a long time ago.
They were treatises on Blood Magic.
A quick count showed there were ten of them. "Is that all there are?"
"Should there be more?"
The question was posed innocently enough, but he detected a hint of sharpness to the query.
Unsure what Elder Amir meant, he shrugged again. "I don't know."
"Hmm." The cowled vampire shuffled deeper into the aisles.
As they went further inside, Vlad's heart began to sink.
So many of the books looked to have been damaged.
Whether by fire or by rot, there were many which looked unreadable. The spines warped by the conditions they'd been left in.
Or gnawed on by rodents.
It seemed the rumours had been true.
"It's pitiful, isn't it?"
Vlad shrugged again. "I guess so."
"We keep them… in case some new secret reveals itself. And perhaps, one day, we will discover a way to read faded pages. Magic is an evolving science…"
Vlad smiled at the words.
That came directly from Sebrius.
It had been one of his favourite sayings and he would litter his works with it as though trying to hammer it home into the heads of those who might read his teachings.
"These are all we have," Elder Amir announced as they stood in a small circle in the centre of the Records Office.
The shelving stretched in all directions and a small round table was positioned so one might study in the centre of the Court's surviving knowledge.
"It's… impressive…" Vlad offered.
"Is it?" Elder Amir cocked his head. "Hmm. I never thought of it that way. I always thought it was sorrowful. But I'm told you have a positive attitude, Vlad. This is good. The Court could use that more than anything else. Do you see that door there?"
Vlad followed the elder's arm as he pointed to a door.
He nodded.
"That leads to a dry storage. Inside are books too damaged, or those we have not yet been able to catalogue. It's possible in there are some treasures we've missed. I get so little time to go through them and don't know what's in them." Again, he seemed to be smirking. "You might like to peruse the piles, so to speak."
"I'll think about it."
"I'm sure you will." Elder Amir held out his hand. A small brass key sat in it. "This is yours. You may come and go as you please. But do remember to share any new information you find."
"Of course."
Elder Amir bobbed his head at that and shuffled back the way they'd come.
Watching him go, Vlad screwed his face up.
So.
They thought he might find them more treasure? What did they think he was? A lucky charm?
"Ugh," he groaned, looking around at the pitiful excuse for a library.
There was so much to do…
***
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