You Can Hear The Cry Of The Planet(Open)

He was not surprised by her ability of flight; there had been hints, but she was certainly a bit more adept then he had expected. Glad to see she had executed a smooth landing after his little display, he had resumed a casual stance and awaited her next attack. To help cover the discomfort of his wounds, Aiden had stepped back slightly and placed his practice sword point down into the earth, hands crossed casually over the hilt, but there was a predatory grace to his stance, like a lounging tiger ready to strike.

Her attack was swift, and the sudden change of direction was inhumanly quick and was executed with greater skill then he had expected of the child, and wounded as he was there were few options available to him. Her weapon had superior reach, but flying as she was her momentum would probably make it hard for her to manuever much.

So, she came at him and he responded quickly and with some regret of the decision before he had even commited to it. One knee bent and he leaned forwards in a deep squat, then launched himself forwards and to her left. He had shifted his feet to dig them slightly into the loose sand, and as he lept forwards he left a thin cloud of sand in the air to trail behind his feet that might, if she were unlucky, get in her eyes for a moment or two at most.

He landed on his shoulder and rolled to his feet quickly, ignoring the complaints of his wounds for the moment even as he spun towards her once more, intent on pressing the assault this time; he needed to end the fight quickly else risk hurting himself.

Kyco was pretty innocent in her own way, but she was also observant as well. She was noticing the signs of Aiden still being seriously wounded. He was doing a good job at hiding it and a casual observer wouldn't notice but she had been hanging around Camlo and the others so long, that wasn't the case. She knew when a fighter was trying to hide their wounds because so many of her old group had done the same.

So the Heartless came to an decision. She, still in the air decided to get some distance and then landed and held out a hand. "Uh, Aiden maybe we should stop. I didn't notice you were still that badly hurt, I'm sorry."

Aiden's stance shifted from attack to casual between one step and the next, and he deposited his practice weapon back where he had collected it to begin with. "Likely a wise choice, little one. Best not to strain myself, the sooner I am up and moving, the sooner I can be on my way." He had no intentions of becoming a burden on them.

"No need to worry though; I am not so foolish as to push myself to injury when sparring. Had the fight drawn on much longer, I would have called it off." His injuries were already starting to quiet down, and within a few strides he seemed nearly right as rain once more.

"That was actually pretty impressive young man." Kenji was one of the first to come down along with Camlo and Tyler. "I had pegged you as a good fighter with your stance and everything, but seeing it even briefly now was something different."

Kyco put her practice scythe away for now, having no further need for it.

"The old man is right, but I'm not much of a hand to hand fighter honestly." Tyler shrugged, it wasn't that big of a deal. "There is some good news though, in about a few hours or shorter the village healer should be back. They don't actually 'heal' on their own, they use something called 'Materia' its basically magical energy from the planet in a solid form. It allows people to do things they normally can't do, kinda hard to explain.."

Kyco was about to say something when her stomach growled louldly in protest. "Uh..could we eat?"

"Sounds like your stomach is going to eat you from the inside, so we'll get that taken care of." Tyler responded ruffling her hair which made Kyco make a face. He did that on purpose all times, kid was too cute for her own good. "You hungry Aiden?"

Where a normal man might be coming off the adrenaline high of a fight, where their pulse would be racing and their limbs shaking with exhaustion and excitment both, Aiden simply seemed a touch more hail then he had been before the short skirmish. He drew his strength from the concept of battle, and while a short practice match like this hadn't been enough to really get him going, it did leave him a bit better off then he had been before hand.

This 'Materia' that Tyler had mentioned was intriguing; the Earth he had come from had nothing quite like that; there the magic was channeled through people and objects true, but not in any form like what Tyler described. He would have to learn more of it if he were to be able to fight in this new world.

His brow furrowed and he looked down at Kyco with a warm smile before looking back to Tyler, nodding in agreement to the idea of food, "Only if you let me help cook." It was the only 'hobby' that he had, something he had picked up only a few centuries ago and had had plenty of time to learn a few tricks.

"So only do you bust up bad guys with eons of experience, you cook too. Is there anything you can't do?" Tyler was of course teasing, it was just in his nature. He did that to just about everyone, for he most part, even Kenji. The old man did enjoy it, even if he wouldn't ever admit it

The group four(now five with Aiden) headed to the old man's house. Inside was pretty bare bones; a few pictures and other precious items but otherwise the place was pretty vanilla. It did seem to fit the older looking man's personality with the more practical to the point nature to him.

"Make yourselves at home." Kenji headed straight to the kitchen, Kyco being herself was close by mostly because she wanted to watch and secondly, she wanted to be one of the first to eat something. Camlo quietly made herself comfortable.

"So tell me, what do you know how to cook?" The old man asked the hunter as he began raiding the fridge and cabinents for something to put together.

Aiden smiled softly at the joke but opted not to bother answering. There was plenty he couldn't do after all. He followed the group, studying the strange architecture of the town's buildings. Once in Kenji's home, Aiden gave the place an approving nod; no clutter. A place for everything and everything in it's place. There was some faint hint of envy that Kenji did have some small gathering of pictures and trinkets owned only, likely, for the memories attached to them or the sheer pleasure of owning them, but that was the benefit of a mortal life and the responsibilities attached to it.

He gave nod to Tyler and Camlo as he followed Kenji into the kitchen, well aware that Kyco was hot on his heels, no doubt eager for something to eat. As he understood it, normal children were ferocious eaters. Mostly since they were so active and always growing. He could only assume Kyco, unique as she was, was only more eager to eat.

Aiden stopped a bit out of the way as Kenji started digging around the kitchen and refrigerator and spent a moment pondering his question. What could he cook? What couldn't he cook? He finally shrugged vaguely and offered a hint of a smile, "I've been fond of Italian..." realizing that that description likely meant nothing here, he just shook his head ruefully and continued, "...The last century or so, pastas have been the brunt of my focus. But I think there maybe little left out there that I haven't tried my hand at by now."

That statement from Aiden was met with a chuckle from Kenji a slight clap on the back. "I like you more now. People who say cooking is only a woman's job don't know what they're talking about."

"I would also say they should probably live under a rock so they can't spread their genes, among other things but I don't want the squirt hearing." Tyler smirked, ruffling Kyco's hair.

Kenji came back after his rummaging; various ingredients laid about. They were mostly things Aiden could work with after talking about pasta. Given Aiden's extremely long life, he had a lot to learn far more then the average man but cooking didn't seem it would be one of those skills. Logically though, it made sense he would have to learn the basics some time, and then go from there.

While they got to business, Kyco, tired of sitting still for five minutes decided to watch Aiden cook and ask him questions; it was just how she was. "Um.." She started, thinking. "Hey, I was just wondering. Back on our version of..earth?"

"Yes, earth." Camlo confirmed when she looked back to the older girl for confirmation.

"Yeah, earth. There was this story about this spooky lady in the mirror. Her name was Bloody Maury? Maria..no, Mary." She said, proud of herself from remembering. "They said if you say her name three times in a mirror, she'll come and attack people. So have you ever fought her before?"

It became obvious to Camlo, partly to her amusement that Kyco had become something of 'star struck' with Aiden, mildly. At least, with Kyco she knew the girl had gotten it into her head about stories of heroes and other little stories. Kyco had always been into stories about things like that, about 'beating the bad guy' as she said instead of a story about some prince coming to save a princess.

In short, she liked fighting and the like but she was tempered by a very good heart.

It had been some time since Aiden had access to a well stocked kitchen. He was a bit of a vagabond on Earth, travelling the world with nothing even remotely resembling fixed roots, even after countless centuries wandering the planet. Although it meant little to him, he was a man of wealth on Earth, his activities funded by countless centuries of knowledge and investments by some of those he had helped over the many long years. Unsurprisingly, many of the children he rescued would grow into very important individuals, likely exactly why various dark aligned forces would target them as children.

With little personal use for such wealth, asides supplies to continue fighting and to pay for travelling from continent to continent, he had taken to staying in rather expensive hotels, specifically if they came with a full kitchen. He understood of course that there were far better ways to invest the coin, but much of what he made was donated any ways so what harm allowing himself a hint of satisfaction? Perhaps his centuries on Earth had been a bit of a bad influence, but again perhaps that was for the best. He was hardly much of an 'individual' before he had been summoned there after all. Not much room for personal growth in the life and mind of a elemental of battle after all.

Kenji and Tyler's banter got a hint of a grin from him, and Kyco's tentative question drew his attention from what he was working on, preparing the sauce that would need to simmer while the noodles were made. The story of Bloody Marry was a bit of a sore topic for him. At least as much as anything could be for a man so seemingly untouched by the passage of time and the countless incidents he had been through. Failure and guilt could find no purchase on his mind and conscience usually, but Bloody Marry was a bit of an annoyance.

"Twice. In the past fifty years, actually. She was never much of an issue until mirrors became more common place. She only found her strength as mirrors became more common, and these days there are a few in every household." He was rather quick with the knife, dicing up ingredients without watching what he was doing. Each movement was without hesitation, the knife moving in a near blur and always scant millimetres from his fingertips, but he looked down at young Kyco while he spoke.

"Bloody Marry is a Fae, a creature from what is called 'The Dreaming.' The same place of pixies and sprites. The Faery realms. As such, I cannot bring her forth. I have no soul, you see. No mortal soul, at least. They are creatures of contracts and are incapable of acting outside their own concept. Much like I was before I was brought to Earth. Bloody Marry exists solely to do what she does; terrify little children. To teach them to respect their parents and do whatever they are told. Only bad children would be so selfish as to go before a mirror in the dark, and bring her forth." He glanced at the task at hand, neatly separating each ingredient as it was cut up.

"The Fae are immortal. They cannot be destroyed in the mortal realms. I doubt even I could slay her, even should I somehow find may way to The Dreaming. Likely I would not even stand a chance against her." He grinned faintly, seemingly quite unruffled by the thought of the situation. There was, after all, no reason to let it get him down. Understanding that he could not destroy her simply meant he could focus on things he could deal with.

Kyco seemed to get general gist of what Aiden was talking about. She was pretty smart for her age but a few things here and there didn't quite 'click' with her. From what she could understand, Bloody Mary didn't seem able to die or be killed easily. She had to wonder if there was a way to beat her.

As for Camlo, she was thinking a bit on the same lines but because of how she was and what she had been made for; her mind was asserting the possible threat. How strong was she physically? Did she have any other noteworthy special abilities? Was it possible for her to appear in mirrors not of the Earth Realm? And if so, would that extend to other versions of earth other then Aiden's own?

Many of these questions almost rolled off the tongue, but she stopped herself just at that point for just saying them. Whatever had happened between the two, it seemed it was something of a touchy subject even if Aiden covered it with a smile and did his best not to let it bother him. In a way, he reminded her a bit of herself, she didn't try to dwell on things that couldn't be change. Still, it was easier said then done as no one with emotions was completely free from this.

As for permanently destroying her in the mortal realm, supposedly being next to impossible. That did trouble her, if killing them would at best just banish them back to their own realm. She supposed that it was theoretically possible to get rid of her for good if a possible enough force drew her out and could destroy her body and spirit. Getting such power wouldn't be easy and it was probably best not worry about threats that might not come to pass.

"It sounds complicated lad. I rather just fight normal monsters. Much easier to deal with." Kenji said after hearing the tale of Bloody Mary.

"..The worse monsters are those who look human and can think." Camlo said quietly to herself.

Tyler didn't say anything, but he had to agree.

"You learn quickly to let go of the things you cannot change. I cannot hunt a being that can appear anywhere in the world at any time, and vanish again within minutes of it's arrival. I wonder what forces may have been at work that I crossed paths with Bloody Marry at all." He finished preparing the various ingredients and turned his attention to readying the sauce, working without pause or hesitation at his various tasks.

The young woman was right of course; perhaps even more so then she realized. Humans could be far worse then any creature that prowled the night. Many such beasts could not be anything other then what they were, created or formed to be horrible monsters. Humans though, had choice. And far too many seemed to choose to be terrible.

He glanced about the somewhat crowded seeming kitchen for a moment before turning back to the task at hand. "So what of you four? What do you do here? Protect this village? Travel your world?" He needed to understand how things worked in this world if he were going to be staying a while.

Kenji stroked his chin a bit as if in deep thought for a moment before answering that question. "We'll lad, I mostly spend most of my time in my old age. I used to travel around when I was younger but I'm getting older so it take it easier. That, and my wife said so." He chuckled at the last part, and Tyler just smirked a bit.

"Me?" Tyler shrugged. "I do a bit of everything. I travel. I go to places and work as a free lancer for lack of a better word. I don't have a specific gig I do."

It was Camlo who took second to respond. "Protect the village mostly and go where we feel me and Kyco are needed. My and Kyco have no huge goal or purpose, we just do what we can in the present. I..suppose that's true for many people. We don't have a particular destination we simply..wander." She shook her head a bit. "Adding to that, me and Kyco's knowledge of this world is subpar at best."

There was a soft knocking on the door, Tyler shrugged once again and went over to see who it was. After a moment, the door opened revealing a young woman in her twenties.

Kenji seemed to know who they were instantly, and greeted the young woman. "Ah, May. I'm glad you got here safe in one piece."

"I had a bit of trouble but I'm all right." They assured, eyes briefly falling on Aiden's form, mostly because she didn't know who they were.

"May, this is Aiden. Aiden, May. The stranger we ran into..and your patient." Tyler added. "He's your patient to fix up with that healing materia of yours but its up to him when he wants it done."

May just nodded a bit. "Nice to meet you Aiden. Do you want it done and out the way now? It's not an instant end all healing but it should help mend a bit and speed up the process."

Aiden listened quietly as they answered his question in turn. Tyler and Kenji came as no surprise; humans were free to be what they wished. They were not bound by concepts and ancient rituals as he was, and were able to decide freely their own path. With exceptions of course; some were bound by status or station, but even then it was simply a matter of deciding to step free of those bonds. Free to choose. He didn't resent them for that; he had no desire to be anything other then what he was. He had no way of understanding what that would mean for him; he existed to do as he did, and he enjoyed doing it. Or perhaps enjoyed was the wrong word; it was the entire purpose for his existence and he needed nothing more.

He did not have the desires and drives of a human. There was no basic need to reproduce, no need to seek comfort in union with others of his kind. There were no nagging doubts, no social pressures, no physical desires or deep psychological urges. Kyco and Camlo were more akin to himself, although they too were, deep down, at least partially inspired by humanity and the natural order of things. Created for a purpose, but created by humans. They were not flawed; if anything, the two girls were more 'whole' then Aiden could ever be.

The arrival of the newcomer was met with Aiden turning away from the task of preparing the meal and offering her his full attention, at least for the introductions. "The pleasure is mine, Miss May. What sort of trouble, if you don't mind me asking?"

May shook her head a bit to that. "It's nothing. I just had some family business to take care of before I got here. There were other people who needed my help along the way. You see, we don't have a lot of money so many people rely on me to help them when they get sick. It's hard to afford a normal doctor."

"Yes, its unfortunate we don't have a experienced doctor anymore." Kenji sighed. "I'm just glad you came back safe from your trip."

"Hmm.." Camlo seemed to be thinking more to herself. "Safe? Is there something else going on?"

"Just the monster population acting a bit more funnier then usual. May lives in the other village close by here so she has to travel." Tyler said, shrugging a bit. "No one's really sure why."

"But it could be worse." May turned to Aiden. "But that's enough about me, are you ready? I promise it won't take more then a few minutes. Healing with materia is a bit different from traditional healing."

Aiden nodded slightly and moved away from the counters for the moment. Everything he could do to prepare supper was done for the moment, and it was now down to the waiting game as various parts of the meal cooked. The thought of monsters roaming the wilds was quite different then where he came from; they existed on Earth, but they were not realized by the majority. They were secretive and thankfully rare, and only a tiny, unlucky sliver of the population ever encountered them in their lives. Usually only once. But, travel between settlements in small groups still seemed to exist in this world.

Clad still in the bandages and his slacks, Aiden moved towards an open bit of floor until May indicated what she wanted him to do. Magical healings had never been entirely effective on him, mostly due to his unusual origins, but they were never wholly ineffective either. Whatever May could provide would surely speed him along to a full recovery. He resumed his usual stance, arms clasped behind his back, feet shoulder width apart and shoulders squared off.

"I appreciate your time, Miss May. Whatever shall see me on my feet again is appreciated." More likely, he meant in regards to getting himself back into a fighting condition. Immortal as he may well be, he did not like loosing time being laid up in a bed from his wounds. The sooner he was fully mobile, the sooner he could get back to his task.

May nodded and motioned for Aiden to follow her to the side by the room. Kyco and Camlo took the moment to just go to watch curiously. After everything was situated, May pulled out a strange green orb of the 'heal' Materia. There was magic coming from the Materia, but there also seemed to be some other power coming from it as well, though it was hard to say what exactly it was.

The orb began glowing a bit as she placed it over Aiden, slowly going over his body. Flesh began to slowly mend and any lasting aching pain because to fade away more to a throb.

After a few minutes she pulled away. "Done. How do you feel?"

The sensation was unusual, the slow fading of pain and discomfort, the mending of wounds. As with all forms of healing beyond his own unusual abilities of 'natural' recovery, the Materia could only hurry the process along, and soon enough he was left with faded bruises and puckered scars where his wounds had been. Even the scars would fade in the coming weeks.

When May stepped back, Aiden twisted and stretched briefly and nodded his approval and thanks. "Much better, thank you Miss May." With the days of recovery out of the way, he could finally be back about his business. Or at least, gaining an understanding of how he would be able to function in this new realm. He had had centuries and millennia learning how things worked on Earth and there had been little left there to surprise him. Now he would have to start all over again.

These Materia things were a curiosity that would be due some hefty study; what else could they be used for asides healing? He had an inquisitive mind, but not of the sort of humans. He wanted to learn, but it was driven by the requirement to be the most effective in battle; more mundane things like arts and sciences outside the martial realm were of little consequence to him.

May smiled at the young man(though he was in fact older) "Not a problem I just wanted to do what I could to help. If you'll excuse me I have to get going for now." With that she said her goodbye's and left the presence of the group, probably to go see if anything else required her attention at the moment. Camlo and Kyco had watched in complete silence, but Kyco was watching more curiously then anything.

"..How does materia work?" Kyco said, looking to Kenji.

The old man rubbed his chin. "The Materia is power from the planet itself and comes from the life stream, or so I've been told. It's left over power from the Ancients, an old race that is no longer part of this world. Most humans by themselves have no magical potential on their own, but with these they can use them if not at least temporarily. You can use them for simple healing, like you saw or even increasing yourself physically."

Kyco's mouth opened into a 'O' at that. Then she got excited. "Could I get one then?"

Tyler was amused. "Maybe a bit later. They're pretty expensive but I think I have some one's from my SOLDIER days." He looked to Aiden. "If you want I could see about getting you some too, you wanna learn how to further improve yourself right?"

The explanation brought up more questions in his mind. He was familiar with concepts similar to the Life Stream and Gaia-entities. The Earth he had been Summoned to had similar magics, focused along the Ley-Lines and nature spirits, but he had been unable to make use of such abilities, being from an alternate world himself. He was outside the 'closed system' that was the material realms, but it hadn't proven a problem yet. Although, it had always been useful that mortals needed to commit decades of effort and training in their use. That these...Materia...could be used by almost anyone, could prove troublesome.

Kyco and Camlo had an advantage over him in that regard though; they had been 'born' in the material realms, so they likely had the type of natural connections needed to make use of such things. He smiled faintly to Tyler and nodded slightly, "It is my purpose. This...SOLDIER. It is a group then?"

Tyler nodded a bit to that. "It was a group. SOLDIER was a..special program, of a company called Shinra. The basic idea was to pump something called Mako inside a subject, which would increase their physical power to super human levels. Keep in mind, even normal humans can, with the right training gain super human stats but its sort of a shortcut I guess you could say."

"Mako..that's energy of the planet, correct?" Camlo was thinking.

"Yeah. It's also the reason the planet originally had been dying. The stuff Shinra used, it was slowly sucking the planet dry." Tyler shook his head. "Another problem with the mako thing, is too much mutates things. You get too much into a guy and he transform into a mindless monster. I mean, literally, their body and mind would transform. That's why when Shinra was basically disbanded, that practice stopped."

Camlo was a bit disturbed about the prospect. If more because it hit close to home. Her and Kyco's origin had been something on a delicate knife edge. If they had made a mistake they would have simply been mindless creatures; the same ones they were supposedly to fight against.

She didn't dwell on it though, that hadn't been them. One thing that had caused to start thinking more was the fact if Aiden didn't come from just another dimension, but another Multiverse entirely. She had no proof, but it was entirely possible after all, they weren't native here themselves..

Aiden was quiet for a moment, pondering the information. He had encountered similar groups in his time, using all sorts of terribly thought out processes to achieve the same end. Super soldier serums and genetic manipulation were just more modernized efforts of the same train of terrible results. In earlier times, mystics and cults would bind spirits and demons to warriors or sacrifices, or built spirit-bound golems or homunculi. Many ended terribly, but there were exceptions to everything. Himself, Camlo and Kyco being examples of said exceptions.

That this Shinra organization's efforts were so poorly advised as to risk the death of a world only made the entire ordeal that much worse. The thought that such practices simply ended with the disbanding of a company was doubtful in his mind; the knowledge was noted and tucked away. "Was there special reason to need such an organization? For a company to need such a thing?"

He returned to the task of readying the food, moving through the various steps of preparation that was only occasionally slowed with figuring out where needed items might be stored. "I have rarely seen such efforts work. To take an existing warrior and improve him through arcane means. Granting a man power is a hollow thing; an Earth government tried it with vampirism once. They took an elite team and infected them, thinking the curse could be held in check by the members' discipline and loyalty. The results were as well as one could expect." Which was to say, messy.

(Damn man..I forgot about this under my pile of threads >>)

Tyler sighed a bit, rubbing his temples. "That's a very good question. Given the company's track record probably just a power thing. You know that old quote if you want to test a man's character, give them power sort of thing? That definitely applied to Shinra. Though, yeah you're right more often then not it doesn't work."

"It honestly depends on the method, the intent, and tools." Camlo suddenly spoke up, weighing in the conversation. "In the case like me and Kyco, they knew what they were doing."

"I guess.." Then Tyler blinked. "Wait, there's such thing as honest to Gaia, vampires?"

Camlo looked amused. "You know about other dimensions, me and Kyco but that surprises you?"

"A bit." Tyler admitted with a shrug. "The whole thing is still new to me."

Kyco rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I never met a vampire before. I hope they don't sparkle though, it looks like that would be painful if they light up."

"..I don't think so Kyco." Camlo turned to Aiden. "You said there was a attempt to infect vamprisim on soldiers to see if they hold and referred to it as a curse. It makes me curious of something. I've been hearing more and more of your background, and it seems to be you're not just from another dimension. You may be from another Multiverse."

Tyler paused, looking at his nearby drink.

He wanted another one. "Could you break down what that means in plain words?"

Camlo thought it was hard to explain, but she tried. "Think of a Multiverse as a..tree. It's the main tree that gives life to the other dimensions. The dimensions, realms and pocket realms connected are part of it as a whole. One of the reasons I ask, is because in this particular Multiverse, vampires are more akin to a actual race then something that spreads. To be more accurate, you have the Primogen. They are what you'd call 'vampires' but are living beings, same morality and such a human and eventually die of old age. They were created by Anya, who supposedly created this Multiverse. Then there's undead which was a attempt for humans and others to duplicate their power. It didn't take too well."

Kenji was following this closely. "If I didn't see the things I have, and witnesses some of the pictures you showed me..I wouldn't have believed it but as strange as it is, I believe you."

"I know. It's more then strange, even for me.." Camlo turned to Aiden. "Could you perhaps tell me if your world has a creation myth of some kind? What are some of the races that live on your earth? I'm trying to figure out where it is you come from." She'd listen to Aiden, then compare notes and perhaps they'd figure something out.

Aiden listened to the group converse, simply overseeing the various parts of the meal cook now. The pasta's sauce was simmering, home-made bread seasoned and baking, and it was now but a matter of occasionally stirring the contents of one pot or another. He smiled softly at the mention of a creation myth, and nodded his head vaguely. "The Earth I was bound to has countless creation myths. From a 'one true god' to the World Tortoise or Elephant. Some beliefs hold that the waking world is but a test for the true life that follows death, or that it is a punishment. Every culture has it's own, and while many hold striking resemblances to each other, there is no one that stands out above the rest. The science of that world holds to random happenstance and luck, converging to a life-bearing world, and of evolution leading to the current state."

He could not deny the power and logic of the Earth's science, but being that he was once a spirit of battle, born and forged Acheron, the Outer Plane of Battle, he had a somewhat enlightened view of the world and the universes. Not as knowledgeable as some, perhaps, but certainly more enlightened then most.

"On the Earth I hale from, vampirism is a disease, a curse bestowed upon humanity for some great sin in the earliest annals of their recorded history. Or so some hold, at least. Almost universally, those inflicted become cruel and evil of nature, quite accepting of their new-found 'life,' and with age comes greater power and ability. There are exceptions to everything, however. The peoples of the world are predominately human, with some Elder or Outsider races hidden amongst society in small numbers. Some describe it as a veil, of sorts, between the world the humans see and know, and the truth of things."

Camlo nodded slowly. "..I see. Then you're definitely far from your original home from how you described vampirism. Though..you're in good company. Me and Kyco aren't from this Multiverse either."

Kyco who had been silent spoke up. "Does it matter? We're here now, and we're alive doesn't that count more then where we're from?"

Tyler chuckled. "I guess so. Leave it to kids to point out the obvious for the adults."

A soft smile appeared on Camlo's lips. "You're correct Kyco, it doesn't as much matter its just more I was curious but thanks for keeping me grounded."

"..Thank you?" Kyco seemed confused about what she had done, then looked up to Aiden. "Mr. Aiden, you think you can teach me how to use a sword?"

"It does, little Kyco.  It is up to you to find your purpose.  My purpose is simple, and warmly embraced."  He smiled slightly.  He may have been created and bound to his task by ancient magics, but those whom had created him had done a fine job of selecting the elemental spirit to inhabit their golem.  He existed solely to do battle with those things that lurked in the dark and preyed upon mortal man, and his many of centuries of life had yet to sour his opinion of Man.

Aiden looked down at Kyco a moment then nodded slightly, before busying himself with laying out the meal, as it was ready to be served.  "Any weapon forged or thought of by mortal man, little one.  Luckily, Mankind is an imaginative sort."  He had his preferences of course, but anything humanity has ever envisioned used as a weapon, he was proficient with.  And humanity had a very active imagination when it came to using things as weapons.

Some felt that teaching one so young how to use a weapon was a dangerous thing, but Aiden understood that Kyco was not an ordinary child.  Would never be an ordinary child, for that matter.  Not that she was necessarily missing out.  Her 'big sister' Camlo, and the people they had befriended in this realm seemed good folk, and that was what mattered.