Prologue

Screams of terror filled the night air in the eighth slave island of Tyseria. A flash of lightning revealed a merciless massacre. No single slave nor taskmaster was left alive. 

The bread hadn't finished cooking but they didn't have the luxury of time and had to leave it in the oven. Slyvikia and her husband snuck outside in dark clothing to keep from being seen. Slyvikia grasped her newborn baby tightly against her chest while Marcus, her husband, carried enough food and clothes to last them two weeks at most. 

A monstrous growl echoed through the streets... they had released the vampires. These deadly creatures are masters of stealth, being able to hide in almost any shadow and disguise themselves in almost any human and tyhum civilizations. Their intelligence paired with an acute sense of sight and smell make them perfect predators. 

Tyhums are human-like beings with one major difference, mana. Mana is everything to tyhums, the lesser amount of mana you have the lower your authority. The strongest are at the top. Once you reach fifteen your age no longer matters, only your strength. 

From adding a buff to your sword to making pockets of space to place things in, mana can do anything as long as there is enough in your body's mana storages. 

They rushed through the alleyways and side streets as quickly as the could without the risk of being heard or spotted. Obsidian black clouds made the sky look grey, one of the few signs of vampires. They made it to the boats just as burning houses began to illuminate the moonless night. Thankfully they didn't run into any of the soldiers or vampires on their way.

They took off as soon as they could, sailing towards Mericana, a land filled with ordinary humans possessing no mana at all where their family could live peacefully. As dawn approached relief washed over the rowboat, the sea was calm and the family could see a faint trace of land in the distance. Slyvikia was overjoyed knowing they escaped from the clutches of King Tyson the 14th and the cruel Tyserian Empire. 

Neither of them had spoken all night for fear had choked down all conversation. Finally Slyvikia worked up the courage to shatter the silence. 

"Marcus, we did it! We are safe, our son is safe. We can have a new beginning!" Slyvikia whispered through tears. 

"We did, we can! We are no longer slaves of the wretched king's island! Would you be able to paddle while I search our belongings for the food I packed?"

"Of course." Slyvikia started paddling while Marcus went behind her to the back of the boat to look for their food.

"Hmm... I am certain I put the bread on top, maybe I knocked it into the floor compartment when rushing to pack." Marcus opened the floor compartment and continued to dig through their supplies. 

The heat of the morning felt cooler and it seemed as though the sun began to dim. Slyvikia noticed immensely dark clouds forming out of the blue, worried that a storm may come like in all the stories of past escapees she began rowing faster. Enjoying the peaceful silence Slyvikia thought about what their new home would be like and what food her husband would see fit to eat this morning. 

It was very quiet, so quiet that the only sounds that could be heard were her son breathing and a swish of the water splashing along the boat. 

A silent gasp escaped Slyvikia's lips as she realized her husband had stopped rummaging through the compartment. She couldn't hear him moving, she couldn't hear him breathing. Large tremors crawled down her spine and throughout her body as she slowly turned around looking at the place her husband should've been. 

She knew there was nothing she could do, there was nobody to save them. She didn't bother screaming, nobody would hear her, it would only wake the baby. She just gazed into the malicious eyes of the bloodthirsty creature who devoured her husband. 

It was just sitting there silently eating the corpse of the only person in her life who was as important as her son. My son!  she thought and immediately ran to the front of the boat where he was wrapped up in a blanket sleeping. 

Slyvikia picked him up, placed him in a protected position behind herself as to protect him from the monster and grabbed a paddle, the only thing there was to defend herself with. 

Most vampires only take what they want, kill what they need, and leave the rest alone. When vampires spare unnecessary prey they tend to feel merciful, as if they were doing their prey a favor by not eating them. So naturally when a creature who was granted mercy acts as if they have some say in whether or not they meet their demise, the 'merciful' vampires are enraged. 

Seeing Slyvikia take a defensive stance filled the vampire with deep hatred which resulted in a lunge destined to kill. Slyvikia lodged the paddle into a crevice within the boat to give her more pushing strength. In an attempt to swat the paddle away the vampire broke the paddle into two jagged pieces of wood, without enough time to change direction, the vampire landed too far forward and was impaled by the sharp paddle. 

Instantly the sky began to clear but right before the vampire burned in the sunlight it slashed Slyvikia, giving her a deep gash in her chest. Then with a horrible shriek it turned to dust. The blood seeped out of her chest combining with the venom that the claws of the vampire released. Afraid of dying for her son's sake, she pushed on, rowing as hard and fast as she was able. 

Realizing she needed to stop the blood from leaving her body before she bled out, Slyvikia took her husband's clothes and tried to cover and pressurize the wound as best she could. She gave her son one last hug and started rowing again. 

Slyvikia accidentally got some blood in her son's mouth while hugging him but such a small amount wouldn't poison she would clean it when they came ashore. 

It became easier and easier to paddle, Slyvikia figured she entered a current going in the direction she was headed. They arrived on the beach and Slyvikia ran to the public restroom to wash up in the sink as to avoid suspicion do to bloody clothes. It was then that she realized she no longer has any wounds, she was healed! 

Although she didn't die from the venom released from the monster's claws it began warping her body in inhuman ways, she would no longer be capable of blending in with the humans. 

Her son's future was too valuable to throw away, since he was only two days old, if she found a family for him, he could grow up as a normal boy with a normal life. Slyvikia found a family on the beach but they rejected her son.

Frustrated, Slyvikia went into the store, the store owner was very superstitious and immediately guessed she was dangerous. When she asked him for money he dare not refuse. 

Nine hundred thousand dollars later she found a young couple more than happy to adopt her boy. "We would love to take in your wonderful son! What is the gorgeous boys name?" The woman inquired. 

...name?  she thought. "Uh... What is a common name for a boy here, I wouldn't want him to stand out." Slyvikia had never considered a name for her child since all the babies were taken at birth and raised to be as obedient and efficient as a slave could be. 

"Well, my husband's name is Micah and I am Jenifer."

"Having his father's name just wouldn't be right and a women's name would be even worse."

"I know?" Micah exclaimed, "How about Jonathan?"

"Hmm, Jonathan, Jonathan... I love it! Its perfect!" Slyvikia noticed a manpowered boat she recognized all to well. "Take him and go" The panicked tone in her voice made the couple nervous. Slyvikia quickly gave Jonathan to Jenifer and almost threw the money at Micah. They separated at once and while walking away Jenifer noticed armored men marching towards Slyvikia, after that she was never seen again.