The Book of Toby

"Okay, so... If I had to guess, I'd say that this guy is--"

The man shoot up to his feet and grinned with a manic smile of white, one that You would not expect to see of a man of his time, assuming that this was a very early period in man's development.

You jolted, stumbling back as the man erupted with joy, his golden eyes burning brightly, the midnight black of his cropped black hair absorbing the low-light of the cave "Ish vala ma t'un olf!" He cried.

He was smaller than you, and yet quite a bit leaner, He was sharp and toned with muscle under his tunic of crudely sewn pelts.

But after his outburst, the man frowned and sat back down again, seemingly dissatisfied.

"diking yurrds" He growled.

Clutching your head, the natural crawl of your brain adjusting commenced. the man took seemed to contemplate the writing in front of him, before becoming momentarily forlorn.

Vlad smiled as the boy took in a deep breath and with his red lips, whispered "Nrevramue"

"Ah." the air was snatched from your throat, as the air grew thick with power, the air crackled and the boy before them, resonated with ungodly power, calling with closed eyes into powers that He didn't understand, and yet, they screamed a symphony through the ages, and when his eyes opened, they darted across the text in front of him and absorbed it without hesitation.

After the air had calmed, the Young Man renewed his smile and standing a little more calmly, He spoke with a clear and friendly voice "Hello, I'm Toby, I'm a Monster, nice to meet you!" He sounded enthusiastic and pleased with himself, as He walked over to his table, seemingly to ruffle around his possessions.

"A descendant? He used Nevermore like he'd used it a thousand times... is He teaching himself how to speak?"

"Not a descendant. The Descendant. That man right there is Tobias of Drachm, better known to our ancestor's as-"

"Wait--Tobias? Like... That Tobias?" You'd seen the family tree, its long tangled mass of history which reflected the black house, but your memory was good enough to remember who stood at the very roots of your family tree... a blank picture, inscribed with the name "Tobias Ourobors Drake, The First of the house of Drake"

Wide-eyed, You pointed at the man hysterically "Do you have any idea who this guy is? He started the house of Drake, which means his mother was the Serpent, the daughter of the Prince of Vampires...

Pain shot behind your eyes again, blinding you as you staggered through the current.

"We cannot stay for long. The longer we remain in Nevermore, the greater the risk that we get stuck here. Let's at least try and make this quick."

With a wave of his taloned hand, the world became a blur once again, and dips of sunlight pierced through the clouds.

Long fields of green grass stretched across this mountain plain, where the roots of the tall hills were gnarled with wild trees. The air was unimaginably clear, soft and gentle, with the gentle song of the birds on the warm breeze.

They walked along now, across these fields, along with Tobias, He wore trousers of thick leather, a coat of heavy black bearskin which glinted in the sun, His tunic of dark wolven fur pressed close to his Lean but short stature.

He walked along, with a basket on his back, each strap on one of his arms like a rock sack. In his hands, He carried a collection of those thin wooden tablets in hand, akin to the kind he etched in before, likely early parchment. He had sewn in a leather face and bound the wood together with string wrapped from horsehair... You recognized the material.

"Is that..."

"The Children of the Shadow. The First and only copy as of this point in time."

You and Vlad followed Toby as He walked through the trees and grass, humming to himself and smiling. Toby seemed carefree, light and joyful, he practised his words as He walked and any time He found them difficult, He would merely practice each in the Infinite Hindsight of Nevermore and immediately master several sentences.

"Hello, I am... Tobias. Hell--Oooo I am Tobias... Hello there, I'm Tobias. I'm a Monster--" Over and over again He practised and practised. Until the First Descendant reached his destination.

Built into a tall hill of emerald green, the smaller son of the great legion of mountains that stretched far beyond the horizon, was a small village hamlet of small huts of stone and straw, where Your eyes and Toby's looked upon the shabby inhabitants.

Toby audibly sighed, his smile widening as He pulled around his basket and retrieved a wide-brimmed hat of straw, with a black fur rim, He placed it on his head, slightly obscuring his face, as He continued.

"Since the very beginning, Toby knew what He was."

Together you followed Toby as He trudged towards the muddy village, walking up the hill and into the hamlet, where many eyes immediately were cast in suspicion of the stranger that Had entered.

"His mother was killed trying to defend him, she had little idea of what she was or what He was, little understanding of the blood that ran in her veins, the blood of her Father, the same blood that runs in his veins now."

"The Blood of the Mummers Dragon, the blood god."

Toby seemed a little nervous under the eyes of the other peasants around him but continued on, forging towards the town square... as figures around him, watched and began to subtly converge on him.

"But despite reaching manhood alone, Tobias could feel the power he had, and in his solidarity made a decision. Not to toil alone in a cave, like his mother had, but to head out into the world, to discover the truth of who and what He was. And of course, put his new powers to the test."

Shadows gathered in the town square, people snuck from the left, from behind and from the right. These dirty and poorly dressed men and women carried crude tools to defend themselves and approached Toby from behind.

The First descendant could feel them in the air, taste their presence, smell their smog, feel their nervousness.

Carefully raising his hands, Toby smiled and carefully turned.

a crowd of 7 dozen people stood behind, waiting, watching, until one, an older man with a thick beard and matted hair stepped forward, leaning on his cane and stepped closer.

"Elder!" one of the youths called, but the Old man snatched away and continued towards the Stranger.

"You, stranger. What are you doing here?" The Old man asked, only with slight hostility.

Toby looked to them all and removed his hat, revealing his pretty face, golden eyes and short black hair. The People stirred and backed away as he lifted a hand and waved.

"Hello. I am Tobias." He called quite happily. "I'm a-"

"--Monster! He has the mark!!! the mark of the dead!!!" Cried a skinny woman, pointing a sharpened rock at the man.

All grew tight with fear, but Toby did not stir, He merely smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yes. I am a Monster. I'm I didn't mean to frighten you?" He spoke softly.

The Old man did not back away, he merely starred with his quizzical watery blue eyes.

Toby's smile deepened and bowed low to the old man in respect "My Mou'ter (Mother) told me that lowering is a sign of respect. For many years I've hidden at the edge of this place, dreaming of meeting you, but I could not speak like you, my Mou'ter did not teach me, but I know now."

"He speaks like the dead ones, He does. He'll be the **** of us all, draw those night creatures here again!" a working man spoke.

Toby's ears pricked up "Ahhhh, you mean the Upir that live on the other side of that mountain don't you?" He grinned.

"Upir? I have never heard such a name?" The Old man said

The First Descendant nodded, his beaming never ceasing as He went for his basket.

"WHAT IS HE DOING?"

"HE'S HIDING SOMETHING!?"

The crowd roared, inching closer with their makeshift, weapons, but Toby merely swivelled back, showing his hands again, never once flinching, never once showing a hint of fear "Look, here are my hands, I mean you no harm, if I did then I could have killed you already, but I want to be friends. Here, look, a Gift!" Toby more carefully retrieved his basket from his back and placed it in front of the old man. "Here, see yourself."

The Old man raised an eyebrow but seemed too old and too tired to fear an ambush, and so unfurled the lid with his wrinkled fingers.

And when they saw the contents, all hostility faded and all rushed in to greet the man rather enthusiastically.

Inside, were gems of many kinds, Emeralds, rubies, amethyst, as well as several bladed and blunt weapons much more elegantly created than the villagers.

The moment that this basket was cast down, spilling the food, weapons and clothing that Toby had created for them, the skinny, furthermore, starving villagers, pounced with a ferocity hitherto unmatched by any that you had ever seen.

Toby laughed and smiled, as he handed food to the children, corrected the way the men grasped at the blades after stuffing their faces, showered the women with new tools and clothes, made of soft cotton, collected for years by the First descendant, over the hill, in the white meadow beyond.

The child who had spoken first stepped forward after his 5th apple in a row, slipping another into his pocket before mumbling softly to the dark stranger "Who are you really? Why are you helping us?"

Ears pricked up, and Toby knelt by the child and smiled with white teeth, and eyes gold as the sun "I told you, I am a monster, Like the Upir who come down from the mountain every year to steal your young and taste of their blood. But I have no such thirst, I live, I breathe, I love, I hate. just like you, that makes us different from them. Here me, all. I swear to the moon and the stars, that I will never hurt you, but I will always protect you, I may not be dead, but I possess the keys to ****'s brother: Time. I know this to be a fact, because my mother told me... and she, like me, could see far more than you poor souls ever could."

The world became small, and blank, and blue. the waves slithered and spiraled, as Vlad floated upside down beside you on the long staircase, to the figure above, in the Azure depths of your mind.

You sat, on the 2nd set of the winding stairs, having risen from, your former place, growing closer to whatever strange destiny awaited you at the top.

"He helped people... that was his concern, his only concern... *Sigh*"

You rubbed your eyes, feeling the sharp claws that dug into the skin of your palm.

"Tobias was alone in the world, his mother died when he was young. She taught him little before meeting her end, but toby learned on his own and seeing that He was the wedge betwixt life and ****; He swore to protect Humanity, and later, inhumanity, forevermore. It is his legacy that has carried for thousands of years to this very day. "

To know your heritage, to see it first hand. The Level of kindness that resided in your blood swelled you with pride, and with a smile, you stood on that ivory stair and spoke the closing words.

"Nevermore."