Cognata: A Vampire Romance by Jedaiah Ramnarine Page B

and all her worth and the influence she had upon the people of our world, although these star creatures were also worshipped as gods themselves as they began establishing cultures of their own. Yet she still found love for them and wanted to accept them. One of these gods, who was referred to as 'Guron', fell in love with our goddess and wanted to take her as his own, but the envy for their relationship only made matters worse and so begun a war of the star people, over much more than just that relationship - it extended to power and control over the whole world.
    For many great ages, these star gods and goddesses fought a relentless bloody war with many earthlings perishing in the name of their so called 'saviors'. Halona and Guron were pushed back and along with their people, they were cursed by the victors; Infected by a bloodthirsty plague carefully constructed by their enemies which brought them to their knees. In utter madness, they cannibalized each other till their society came to the brink of total annihilation.
    Guron succumbed to the bloodlust and it made him into the frenzied beast his enemies wished him to be. He became a heartbroken weapon until his untimely demise.
    Halona escaped with a few noble and loyal servants who fought their bloodlust as much as they could, and this became the first, original society for the civilized Cognati. Through deep forms of meditation and the unlocking of strange, mysterious, creational power - these Cognati developed ways to control their bloodthirst without the need for even drawing on blood. They went to a hidden place, deep underground as legend has it; hiding from the madness of the surface. They became their own society and did their best to stay away from the perils of the upper world, thriving in their twilight dark arts - it was a rather interesting balance. They drew upon dark powers to exhibit light intentions and this was the gift our great mother passed down to us to ease the bloodlust until the time of her passing, some thousands of years later.
    Our line eventually descended into madness once more, being leaderless - many gave in to the bloodthirst. The loss of the Goddess proved too much for some and many took their own lives in a final act of desperation, rather than face the tribulations on their own, but hope eventually prevailed. Over time, we slowly crept back to her proper teachings after endless swashing away of the falsified promises and messages our ancient enemies so carefully spread against us. It took several great ages before the Cognati learned a balance between the blood needed and the blood lusted...'
    I'd known Aristide for almost 2 years. As I watched him relay the tale, I could sense a taste of dissatisfaction and an unquenched yearning for more than what he'd known. I'd never seen him like that before; so... wanting. Still, the tale of this 'Halona' was far more than a mere legend. She was undoubtedly a crux in my kind's history. I was tempted to learn more when the time came. As for then, I had no choice but to squiggle my cognitive mind's factory to reach out and visualize the tale on my own. I felt drawn to it and it was exceptionally vivid. I could see the Cognata Queen in her glory as if she were right in front of me.
    The thought crossed my mind, whether Aristide had been playing mind games with me - but he certainly was not and he had no reason to either. Our relationship had grown stronger as time went on. We were lovers, but he was also my teacher, a great friend and my relentless protector.
    "Why do you choose not to believe?" I asked him as we sat on opposite couches, sipping blood wine to the dimming fireplace heat against our faces. Aristide's eyes were on the fire. He was locked in deep laden thought, and I was determined to pluck it from his mind.
    "So much of our history has been mutilated and deformed, used by our own people to satisfy their own ambitions and sway others to their goals." He slowly tilted his head in my