What was going on? I was in a church, but everything was wrong. Dark stains covered everything, and what should have been a clear glass ceiling was instead solid stone. The symbol of Solaris was completely black, and it sent shivers down my spine. Behind the altar, there was a shadow. Nearly my size, but that was all I could make out. It had a vaguely human form, but there were no details. Just as it started to reach out a hand, the images shattered.

“don’t need to do this!” That voice sounds familiar.

“do too!” Different voice, but I know it too. Who?

“don’t even know. . . awake!”

Both voices sounded agitated, but my mind was muddled. It was like I was trying to wade through shin high muck. Each step caused more weight to pull me down, and no matter how much you shook off it was back on in a few steps. I tried to move my arms, but both them and my legs were bound. The only thing I managed to do was get a small bit of metal chain to clink.

“He’s. . . out. Force. . . him.” A new voice, deeper than the other two.

“GAAAAAH!” I screamed as a bucket of ice cold water was thrown onto my chest. That shocked my system into waking up, though the only movement I was capable of was shivering and turning my head. Despite my slightly reclined position while strapped to a table, my panicked eyes took in a dark stone room, with three people in it aside from me. I could see Catherine standing there with a bucket, and to one side was Katy. A third robed man I had never seen before was standing next to a portable stove that he was adjusting. The only light was from the stove and a single torch on the wall.

Before I could speak, Katy was suddenly right next to my head, whispering in my ear, “Easy there Brandon. Just relax. There’s something hidden about the hunters that you are going to learn firsthand. We aren’t just Solaris’ arrows in flight, we are also his knives in the night.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” I snarled through chattering teeth. “And where is my shirt?”

“You won’t need it. And it means that we do things that need to be hidden from everyone. Things that others might not necessarily approve of.”

“Why? Why me and what are you going to do?” I asked, trying to keep the terror from my voice. While she was speaking, Katy had slid a knife along the muscles in my chest. Not hard enough to cut anything, but just enough to let me know how powerless I was.

“We are going to do what we must to determine that you aren’t a vampire.” She said.

At this point I could see the pain on Catherine’s face. “Catherine, what does that even mean? You’ve seen Father Ennarion vouch for me. Hell, I even slept a week in a church of Solaris! Does that not prove I’m no vampire?”

The man in the room spoke up, “Priests have been fooled before. There are magical trinkets that can provide enough protection that a powerful vampire would merely be uncomfortable. And any master vampire can withstand the sunlight. We need a more potent test.”

“Catherine, what are they going to do to me? Why aren’t you stopping this?” I pleaded.

“I’m sorry Brandon. I’ve tried explaining to them, but they are paranoid and won’t listen. In the end, I’m just a low level soldier.” She said, refusing to look me in the eye.

Katy gently used her fingers to make me look at her before speaking, “We are going to do something to make sure you never turn to the darkness Brandon. To our knowledge, no vampire can withstand the mark of Solaris. Unfortunately we don’t have the time or ingredients to make the magical ink to tattoo it on you, so we are going to have to resort to more, primitive measures. You do realize that vampires can’t heal from fire, right?”

Branding. These fuckers were going to brand me! With a snarl, I snapped my teeth and bit down hard on Katy’s hand, hard enough to draw blood. I swallowed, and felt my strength surge. “YAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Muscles straining, I was able to at least arch my back a bit.

“Enough! Thunder palm!” The man cried, stepping forward and slamming a palm into my chest that sent a surge of electricity through me.

“YOU BIT ME!”

“YOU’RE GOING TO BRAND ME!” I snarled right back.

The man held up a hand, “Enough I said! Gag him. The fire is hot enough. By the time I go through the ritual, the brand should be ready. We don’t have any spare time.”

Katy moved around behind me and slipped a wooden twig wrapped in leather into my mouth, and bound it so that I couldn’t talk or bite anyone else. Catherine cowered in a corner, and I could see tear tracks running down her face. The man was stoking something in the flames, probably whatever he was going to use to brand me.

Suddenly he started speaking, and it seemed like even the flames from the torch leaned towards him, so great was his presence. “In the beginning, there was Geos and Aquanis. The brothers of earth and sea, they constantly bickered. Aquanis was enraged that Geos raised the land to split his seas, and so he would attack as soon as he gained the power. Waves constantly wear at the land, as storms rage from above. Ever patient, Geos would gather his power, and unleash it in a powerful blow. Though he also shook, Aquanis was sent reeling in massive waves from these titanic impacts. They would have continued their petty squabbles had it not been for a pair of meek voices.”

“Flora and Fauna, twin goddess and god of life, beseeched the brothers. Slow your fighting, for we wish to create life upon this world. Intrigued at what this ‘life’ was, the brothers agreed. Though like small children who think their parent’s back is turned, they will occasionally strike at each other. Flora spread her green hands, and all the plants of the world sprung forth. Fauna clapped, and the animals appeared soon after. Spread evenly between the brother’s realms, life was born.”

“Soon though, the life began to cry out. The plants were starved, and the animals freezing. Life in this world was dying, and all the gods were powerless to help the creatures they were just starting to enjoy.”

“Their cries reached the ears of Solaris as he traveled the universe. As he came to investigate, he immediately saw the problem. ‘Do not fret young godlings. Allow me to add something to your creations, so that your creations might flourish.’ The gods conversed among themselves, and agreed that Solaris’ help would indeed be welcome. And so was born the sun. The plants rejoiced, for they fed upon the light. The animals welcomed the heat from its rays, and its dividing time into day and night. As his sign, Solaris chose the circle to represent his sun. Reaching from each cardinal direction are candle flames that represent the four gifts that the sun brings. From the east, the first light of a new day. From the west, the warmth of a setting sun. From the south, the life giving flame. And from the north the most important, stability. For those with no knowledge, they are still able to tell day and night. For those with even the slightest knowledge, direction may be obtained from sunrise or sunset. And for those with knowledge of the lands and seasons, the time for planting and harvesting may be determined. Those with the greatest of knowledge can tell the exact day and time the seasons start changing. Be it the times when day and night are in balance, the longest day of the year, or the shortest day of the year.”

At this point I started struggling, as he pulled an iron from the stove. The symbol of Solaris was glowing a bright red, and he brought it toward me. “This delicate balance, ever changing and yet stable as well is what drives life forward. And so we place this symbol of life over the symbol of life gifted to you from your own mother.”

“GGGGYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” I screamed despite the binding in my mouth as the flesh of my stomach burned. Unable to move, as my entire body had locked up as I strained against the pain. It took anywhere from a minute to several hours before the iron was pulled from my stomach, leaving me heaving there. Unable to do anything but fight the tears and smell the stench of burnt flesh. At some point Catherine had turned away, but Katy was watching me warily.

“Your softness will get you killed one day Catherine.” She snorted derisively, before turning back to me. “No vampire is able to bear the mark of Solaris. Sorry we had to do this, but you must understand that we had no choice.” She said this as she carefully undid the gag in my mouth, finally allowing me to speak.

That last bit was too far. “Go fuck yourself.” I snarled, smiling as she jumped away. She was absentmindedly rubbing her hand, and something clicked in my head. Instead of sending the light of Solaris to my hand, I gathered my hatred for her and sent it towards my stomach. Hatred of her betrayal, hatred of her standing by while they branded me, hatred of her callous attitude. There I mixed it with the blood I had swallowed, and spoke clearly, “May others hold you in the same light that you held me these past few days.” I felt something change, and there was suddenly no more blood in my stomach.

“Creepy enough.” The man said, reaching into a pouch by his hip before blowing a cloud of it into my face. I tried to listen to what he was saying to the ladies, but I was coughing too hard. Before he was even done, I had passed out once again.