[ @itsagraywcrld liked for a vampire start @ here ]
The late age heralds in a new dawn. With an endless tirade of tyranny the surrounding villages have witnessed bloodshed calling back to a time of the Great Red War, some 350 years prior. Once the Red Kingdom thrived beyond all others; kings fell to the blades of red armor plated knights. Castles imploded to the strategies of war remarkably employed by its forgotten king. Now there is nothing but a myth to it all. Tales invoke wonder and carnage of the Bloody King. His memory exists only in the spoken word of peasants and in the annals of written history among monarchs. Even then those same monarchs have decided to forget those who came before them. After all they are the past. The future is what matters.
Fear and anarchy for the common folk has concluded with the end of this latest war. No more woes. No more destruction. There is celebration aplenty. The call of the moon festival falls as the people begin their lively worship of the red moon. The one time people recall the Red Kingdom that fell long ago with vigor is now. With the preparation of outdoor feasts and oncoming traditions, many are occupied with the festivities. It is not uncommon to expect new faces passing through. Following a war it is a nice change, a passing of the guard from strife.
As night chills and torches, candles light the ways of living, one such figure enters the village. The first sign of civilization in some time. A mixture of aromas are welcoming, enticing and tempting. A dark cloak layers behind the tall man as he wanders through. Attention is not so easily dismissed. Nor is it easy for others to ignore the new and fascinating. Several young village girls continued to watch, stare in curious secret at the stranger moving towards the inn. He stops near a cart of freshly collected fruits. Lifting a hand to the elderly woman there, she notices a ring on his hand. Seemingly black is its jewel until the fire light catches its surface creating a ruby shine. She takes gold coins from his slender fingers, eyes a bit wide at the amount he has offered but she allows him to take his fill of what she offers.