Part II

He introduced himself with an alias “the Eccentric”, and an offer: follow him for a life so grand no one here could fathom. Of course, it was originally met with suspicion, but he put the crowd at ease with his confident but gentle nature and syrupy sweet voice.

Eldon had only had a moment to mull it over before shuffling to the sheet the man had offered to the crowd and shakily put his name down.

Things began to happen very quickly after that.

All those who accepted were given a day to make up their minds for good, say their goodbyes, and pack whatever little they had. After a short but strange conversation with the Eccentric, Eldon was led onto a grand train.

The man’s odd demeanor was pushed from his mind as soon as he entered the first car. It was bigger than the entire town hall with a grand arching ceiling and lavish decor that covered every surface. Whoever the Eccentric was, he had enough money to buy Warren.

As Eldon continued marveling he was prodded forward by white-suited staff and shown his temporary quarters; nothing as impressive as the first car but still certainly better than what he had back at his old home. He had a small bed and chest below it to call his now, and a roommate too.

After shaking his hand.. enthusiastically she introduced herself as Vera. Once the two got over their original rough start they grew close, causing a lot of trouble for the chronically underpaid assistants of the Eccentric.

The train was fast though, and they were only forced to deal with the duo for a few more days until it screeched to a halt underground.

Everyone was given a few minutes to gather their things, and as Eldon was doing so Vera took him aside, whispering to him her suspicions about the entire operation. Eldon laughed it off, assuring her she was being paranoid like always, and although she looked like she didn’t quite believe him she dropped the subject and instead gave him a parting gift; a small pin in the shape of an exotic beetle neither of them could name. Eldon had seen it pinned to Vera’s lapel a number of times, although never having pressed further. As he began to thank her, and of course as was polite, object to the gift, the two were not-so-gently pushed from the train by a surly, sour-faced, man under the employment of the Eccentric.

It was an understatement to say Eldon was relieved to leave that infernal machine. As exciting as it was, he was glad to finally be able to stretch his very cramped legs. Now that he was no longer worried about the journey, a series of questions flooded his head and he pushed his way to the front of the crowd where the Eccentric stood, losing sight of Vera.

His savior apologized to them for the length and any discomfort they may have experienced during the trip, but other than that offered no answers, even when Eldon stuttered out a comment. He wasn’t sure what about the Eccentric made him so.. nervous, well, more than normal.

Bewilderment at his own feelings and the entire situation whirled around his head as he was once more led forwards by white clad staff. Any weird feelings were expelled from his mind as he walked into a massive room. When he spun to confirm that it was his, and that there wasn’t a mistake he realized all the staff had been dismissed and instead, there stood the man himself; the Eccentric.

He gave Eldon a tour of the room, hinting that he’d only offered that service to the young man. The Eccentric mentioned that Eldon had caught his eye and that he held potential that the Eccentric would love to help him reach. For some strange reason that made Eldon blush. He was in fact so flustered, that somehow he managed to miss the fact that his savior was very smoothly avoiding any questions Eldon asked.

Soon, he started noticing that the Eccentric seemed to pay special attention to him, doting on him and offering him gifts that he hadn’t seen the others be given. All that did was feed what Eldon could only describe as a crush, but most would describe as obsession.

The unfortunate truth was, the only thing the Eccentric was after was Eldon’s blind loyalty as was needed for the experiment and it worked, better than he'd expected. Eldon didn’t suspect a single thing, not even as his compatriots disappeared one after the other, until he was the only one left.

As much as he’d been dreading it, the Eccentric realized it was finally time to sacrifice his prized subject, although he felt he could do more. Unfortunately progress was too slow for his commissioners’ liking.

That very night he took Eldon downstairs and insisted on eating with him. Although the Eccentric didn’t quite ask, Eldon still look delighted, if nervous, fidgeting with his shaking hands the entire time.

The first course prepared was a stew, although Eldon never had a chance to finish it. After light conversation and a few bites, his eyelids started to droop and he grew loopy. Whatever narcotic the Eccentric used was incredibly potent.

Part IV

After death Eldon wasn't granted a shred of dignity, his assailer insisting every bit of him be split open and studied until rot began to set in. After no conclusive results were found the Eccentric ordered the cadaver be disposed of, not wanting to be reminded of his own shortcomings.

Unsure where to dump the body, one unfortunate scientist decided to leave him in an alleyway, far from their employer’s mansion.

Eldon’s corpse was promptly pushed from the car and left to return back to the earth from whence he came. Decomposition began the moment he hit the ground, absurdly fast. As it turned out, the vampirism he'd been injected with lived on, festering in incisions and cavities made by the foolishly curious and dangerously ambitious.

At night the infection grew with the power of the moon, causing Eldon’s body to twitch, trying to draw itself back together. He wasn't alive, but the vampirism certainly still was. During daytime bits of progress were unmade, the sun burning them away causing the host's body to fry itself from the outside in.

Finally, on the night of the full moon, the disease was able to force Eldon’s dead body back up, the entity granting the virus more power, although the corpse certainly wasn’t what it once was. Coherent thought was a challenge, along with simple movement. When he looked down at himself he couldn't recognize his vessel as something even remotely human. Long strips of flesh were gone and little holes dotted up his arms where some infernal thing had burrowed in and made itself at home. Eldon didn't even want to think of how his face looked.

After being forced to come to terms with his new self, the vampire realized he needed a distraction, deciding to focus on next steps. The first thing he decided was that love was a dreary, overdone cliche and knew, in the hollow crevice where his heart used to be that he couldn't stay anywhere the Eccentric had a chance of spotting him. Still young, and a tad foolish he did the only thing he thought he could: pick a direction, start walking and don't stop until he felt safe.

Eldon's scheme wasn't a total failure. Now that his body didn't experience human things such as exhaustion, progress was swift and efficient.

Whenever a town or settlement caught his eye he'd stop to gather resources to mask what he was. When he realized that layering clothes and dousing himself in perfumes and colognes wouldn't work for long he was forced to turn to darker methods to conceal himself: ancient incantations and old magicks.

Now that he had all the time in the world, Eldon would stop in book shops and raid libraries to pick up anything that hinted its contents included spells of concealment. After years of trickery and the combination of hundreds of minuscule spells the illusion he'd crafted was infallible, fooling any mortal that set their eyes on him.

With the fear of discovery now a thing of the past, the vampire's options had expanded significantly. He'd ended up stumbling on an in-progress settlement that looked like it needed all the help it could get. Sure enough, the self-appointed leader welcomed him in with open arms, insisting that there was a place for anyone who would help with the foundation of what would one day be the great city of Alexandria.