The way of the warrior became Selena’s way of life for many years, though something never quite felt right when it came to the demons that occasionally popped up in their world. Most of her instructors, including Gabriel, barely touched the subject when she asked about it. Vampires in particular were something that bothered her more than anything as there were more than a few elements that did not feel right and she did want to know more about the type of creature that set her on this path. For such a dangerous creature and an undead one at that, they sure went down rather easily once their lair was discovered. That wasn’t terribly surprising on its own, but something about her father’s remarks years before still worried her, especially when she learned that none of the vampire’s victims were living in the area at the time of the last attack.

Early one evening at around the eight year anniversary of the incident, Selena was looking through the family library for something new to read. The library was the largest room in the house by far. It had to be since there were centuries worth of books stored there, gathered by various members of the family over the last three centuries or so. Each member had at least their own shelf and occasionally their own bookcase to store what they had collected in their lifetimes both for their benefit and to hopefully enlighten future generations, though most of the time her family stuck with whatever was on the newer shelves.

“Hmmm. What can I find on some of the older shelves?” Selena wondered as she started walking on through the shelves kept by the generation that preceded her parents and kept her eyes fixed on the bottom. It was then that she noticed a book thrown on its side covered in dust, as though someone read it once and tossed it back for one reason or another a long time ago. “Now what’s this?” She bent down to pick it up and blew the dust off, walking away while reading it before quickly tossing it back. “I can see now why that was abandoned. That was awful!” She groaned as she glanced at a slightly newer case with books thrown about all over with little regard to organization. “This must’ve been my aunt’s shelf. I’m told this level of organization was just about normal for her. Still, there might be something good here.” She then looked through and saw a book with a piece of paper sticking out of it that looked like it was put there by someone who was in a hurry. “I wonder if that is what she was reading before she disappeared?” Selena flipped the book around to see the title which read, Dr. Igmore's Book of Monsters and their weaknesses. Written from the personal experiences of a monster hunter.

“Ooh. This is bound to be interesting. Now where did my aunt leave off?” She wondered as she flipped through the book until she got to where the slip of paper was, seeing that it was a section about vampires. “As I suspected. Just what I was looking for, and I’m guessing it was the same for her.” She commented as she started reading aloud.

“The vampire is an undead creature that drinks the blood of the living in order to stay as alive as possible in their state. While they mostly hunt at night since that is when their power it at its peak and are invulnerable to any type of harm, some are known to hunt during the day or at least scout out potential targets.”

Selena looked further down to the bottom of the page which read,

“How to kill: A few methods are known to kill a vampire permanently among both experienced hunters and regular people, though the most popular is driving a stake through one’s heart.”

“Huh. If an expert says that’s the way then I guess that’s it.” Selena sighed as she flipped the page and saw that the section continued there. “Oh? There’s more?”

“However, tests have proven that that just a stake isn’t enough and only incapacitates them as long as it is wedged through them, as long as that may be. They’ll revive the instant the stake is removed even if the vampire is nothing but bones at that point.”

“Oh. That isn’t good.” Selena gulped as she continued reading.

“I have discovered three methods that work every time along with another two that work on occasion. The most effective method is to drive anything through a vampire’s heart to incapacitate it and then decapitate them. The steps HAVE to be performed in that order. The vampire’s heart heals any damage dealt to the rest of it regardless of the time of day and must be damaged or destroyed before the final destructive method is taken. Some stuff garlic in their mouths as a precaution, but this has no effect on them either way.

The best method by far is to use fire, but this is unpredictable and the use of it in the typical lair of a vampire can lead to serious injury or death for a would-be hunter. Another method to consider are weapons containing silver since they are always effective, but silver can rarely be accessed by the majority of monster hunters at all. Let alone a weapon made of the stuff or enough silver to forge one. Holy weapons also work in most cases, but there is always a chance they won’t and are only to be considered if you know who you’re going up against.”

“Now this is interesting. Not only did it answer several questions, but it might shed light on why my aunt did what she did.” She then closed the book and left the library with it, wanting to share he findings with Gabriel. She first left the book in her bed chamber before heading to a room near her father’s, which he called the cabinet. This was the room he used to examine and store certain texts and treasures that he came across in his travels along with maps of the entirety of Reyedral, with marks on places he had either visited or planned on visiting at some point. There were even maps of other kingdoms with similar markings. He spent most of his nights there and was known for staying there past midnight and even until dawn on a few occasions. The door was wide open, which was unusual for her father to do. “Figured I’d catch you in here.” Selena remarked as she walked in saw Gabriel pouring through some old scrolls.

“Huh?” Gabriel looked up. “Oh. Selena. What brings you here at this late hour? How did you get in here, anyway?”

“To answer your last question, you left the door open.”

“Oh.” Gabriel replied, a little embarrassed. “I must’ve forgotten to close it when I came back from dinner.”

“As for your first question, I just had a few things I wanted to ask about vampires.” Selena said.

“Are you still going on about this?” Gabriel asked. “I swear it’s been one of your focus points outside of your combat studies for the past eight years!”

“Yes, but I just want a few things verified. Are you sure just a stake is enough to kill one of those things?” Selena asked.

“Positive, though why do you ask? You already knew that since you saw it for yourself.”

“Well, I’ve been looking through our library and some of the books in there suggest that the stake only incapacitates them for as long as it is left in their hearts.” Selena said. “At least according to the supposed hunters who wrote them.”

“Selena, I’ve dealt with these creatures since long before you were born. Don’t you think I would notice if something like that was happening?”

“Not immediately, but some might have followers who would remove the stake and revive them.” Selena noted.

“If that was the case, then how come I have never dealt with the same individual vampire twice?” Gabriel asked. “Well, not as a vampire anyway.”

“How do you know you haven’t at the very least encountered one a previous hunter dealt with or that any of the vampires you’ve killed have remained dead?” Selena asked in response. “Have you ever revisited the same area on your hunts?”

“No. I don’t believe I have.” Gabriel admitted. “Vampires are remarkably different than just about any other monster I’ve fought but–look. Would you rather take the word of some random book from someone who may or may not be a hunter, or one who’s been doing this since I was a little older than you? Not that I would be adverse to new information if you could support your findings.”

“It is true that some books should never be taken at face value at first, but–-”

“Then there is nothing further to discuss. Selena, I really do appreciate your interest in monster hunting, believe me on that, and with your skills I would be a complete fool if I didn’t give you the opportunity to join me in a year or two, but leave them to me for the time being. Now unless you have more to say or any sort of proof to back up what you’ve read, then I think we’re done for now.” Gabriel said as he stood up. Both of them took note of the ringing of a bell in the distance, which indicated the time which was well past midnight. “Oh my. When did it get this late?” He sighed. “I think it’s high time that both of us went to bed given the late hour. Don’t you agree?”

“Absolutely, father. A warrior knows when it is time to rest.” She then gave a light bow. “Goodnight, father.”

“Goodnight, my child. I hope you’ll sleep well.” And with that, Selena left the room and went to her own chambers.

“Hmmm. Father did bring up some good points as he often does. I really need to should see if what that guy wrote has any truth to it, though the only way to do that is to keep a lookout for the next vampire within a day’s journey of here, which can mean quite a distance for me. Well, I guess I’ll see on the morrow” Selena yawned, glancing at a statue of a raven situated on a desk in the corner of the room before getting into her bed and nodding off.

Selena woke up about an hour after sunrise the next morning and went down to the dining hall to get some breakfast, noticing that everyone in her family was there save one. “Morning everyone. Where’s dad at?” Selena asked as she sat down.

“The king summoned him on urgent business right before sunrise. Something about an incident on the other side of the kingdom.” A woman a few years older than her said. This was Maria, the eldest child of Sir Gabriel. “That’s what we’re suspecting, at least. He left in such a hurry and was gone before the sun rose that we only caught bits and pieces, but he did say not to expect him back for at least a few days. As usual, I’m in charge here until he returns.”

“I see. Did he say where he was going, Maria?” Selena asked.

Maria shook her head. “Nope. I doubt if he even knew when he left. So do you plan on doing anything for today since father isn’t here?”

“Yeah. Maybe another one of your training missions?” One of her brothers asked, chuckling.

“Not unless there’s a monster incident or something. If there isn’t, I guess I will get some training done in the yard.” Selena replied.

“Actually, there is.” Maria replied.

“Wait. What? I was just throwing that out there!”

“A request for a monster hunt actually came in a few minutes after father left. I placed it on his desk so he can deal with it once he gets back, but feel free to look at it if you wish. I believe it came from a place close to here.”

“Thank you, Maria. I’ll do just that.” Selena grinned, heading to her father’s cabinet as soon as she had finished her breakfast and finding a slip of paper on the desk just like her sister said. She then picked it up and started reading aloud.

“Vampire attacks occurring in the village of Windmore. Been going on for about a week with ten dead. Send help immediately! Visit Bradley’s Inn for more information.

Signed, Drake.”

Selena paused as she looked through it again. “Windmore, huh? That’s the village father grew up in if I’m not mistaken, so it’s in the kingdom and probably in the area.” She started looking at some of the maps on the wall and caught sight of one depicting the castle area along with all surrounding provinces. She glanced at the map of a province directly north of it and saw what she was looking for written there. "There it is, and much closer than I was expecting. It isn’t even a day’s journey on foot, which makes me wonder why I’ve never been there before. Still, I think I will set out for this place immediately.

Selena returned to her room to gather a few things that she figured she would need if she was hunting a vampire. She first gathered some holy relics that were placed there in the off chance that another vampire got past the castle gate. She had no other reason to keep them as she had little use for holy relics of any kind. The next thing she did was take a piece of wood and sharpen the edge to make it a stake. And finally, the last thing she grabbed was a knife sitting under her desk that she put in her boot. This was not the wooden knife she had as a kid, but was a full-fledged knife forged out of the strongest metals known in the land with a rather ornate hilt with one of the family seals engraved on the bottom. It was a gift given to her shortly after her thirteenth birthday.

With everything she felt she needed, all of the items were put in a sack that she wrapped around her shoulder before leaving the house through a side door and heading north. This in itself was considered normal since Selena was known to disappear for days on end to train in different places and under various masters just on a whim, and this was one such occasion. She left her home and then the castle town via the northern gate and right past the guards without a single one stopping her. This was because they learned long ago that if Selena wanted to leave town, no guard could stop her as she did have other ways to leave when she was not carrying weapons.

The road leading out of Roguebourne was pretty much a straight shot most of the way with a few small breaks here and there through a combination of maintenance and natural roadblocks, which ended completely right before a hill. It was late in the afternoon when Selena stood before the hill and caught sight of a sign near it that said, “Approaching Windmore Valley.”

“Ah. I must be close. Good thing too since I could use something to eat right about now. Here’s hoping that the place has something decent to offer.” Selena thought as she walked up the hill, finding the village near the bottom and saw that while it was not exactly small, it was not very big at the same time. “That must be it. Looks rather nice.” Selena shouted with glee as she ran into the village and wandered about in search of her destination, paying little attention to the villagers running about around her as she was entirely focused on the task at hand, though she did remark that she could picture her father growing up there. “Let’s see. Bradley’s Inn. It should be here someplace.” She stood on the side of the road for a few moments when she came to a fork in it, completely oblivious to her surroundings which was, and is, an aspect of her normal behavior. “Now which path to take? I would usually take one and hope for the best, but this close to sunset? There’s no time!”