It was a perfect night for bloodshed. Rakken had sensed this by the minute he had stepped to a balcony of his mansion, right after the sun had set, and he listened to the howling winds that came from the north, bringing a little bit of coldness with them. He had stood there for a little while, absorbing the malice of the breezes, which fueled his eagerness to kill. A strange sensation filled his entire body, empowering him and making feel exceptionally energetic. Rakken took deep breaths while the winds were playing with his long hair, almost prompting him to go and spill the blood, no matter if they deserved it or not. Life wasn't about fairness; it was about surviving. And during the recent months, Rakken had become one of those who held the right to choose who was allowed to live and who wasn't. And tonight, he will take that role once more. He had spread his dark wings and turned himself into a huge bat-like creature, flying with the winds and heading to the town of Morkynia where his victims were waiting for him.

The sky was extraordinarily black that night. There was no moon or stars guiding the way of mortals, beasts and men were equally helpless because of this, and no one would notice the dark figure of a huge bat getting closer to the little settlement that slept near the sea. Rakken noticed that tonight the waters were black as well just like the sky, although calm. But at the same time, they looked like they would gladly swallow into their dark depths anyone who would fall beyond the water line. No mercy would have been shown. But it was true, the sea was a relentless beast as well that possessed monstrous strength and no sailor, no matter how experienced or skilled, could defend against it if the sea decided to be cruel.

Rakken made a little tour in the air above the sleeping town, simply enjoying the feel of flight. Many dim street lamps were lit and they offered an ominous light to shady people that were wandering in the dark streets of Morkynia. Rakken was pleased by this observation, because hunting wouldn't be very fun if there was no one to be hunted. He turned a little bit and decided to fly near the border of the town and begin his stroll from there. His strong wings carried him to the point where he desired to go and he started to descend, finally landing smoothly behind a dilapidated storage building. Rakken was engulfed completely by a black mist, which then faded away like dust into the wind and his elegant regular form of a handsome man took its place. He smiled a little to himself as he took his first steps into the town, sliding around the narrow alleys from shadow to shadow. He enjoyed darkness, not only because he was a creature of the night, but also because it brought forth the ugly side of some individuals, while also stirring fear within the hearts of the rest. If that wasn't magnificent, then he didn't know what was.

He could feel a little chill on his pale skin; the winter was coming. It meant that merchants from the northern realm were sailing to Morkynia and selling their wares that the townsfolk would gladly buy and get prepared for the winter. Rakken was smirking a little as he thought about the men of the north; they were an uncommon treat, showing a completely different kind of fear. Rakken didn't only have a thirst for blood, he also enjoyed to feast on the terror of people. Maybe if he was lucky, he would encounter one of those northern men. But on a beautiful black night like this, it didn't really matter who would come his way. Anyone he found worthy enough would die a beautiful death.

Rakken came across the first people that dared to be outside. He moved silently like a shadow and observed these two people that were standing at a narrow alley, having a conversation with low voices. Just two old hags, they didn't interest him at all. In his eyes, they were disgusting; dry, soulless and their hearts were filled with tainted blood. They weren't worth his time. He became visible in the street lamp's dim light and he walked past the old ladies and his appearance clearly caught their interest. The man could feel their curious looks on his back until he disappeared around the corner, leaving them behind.

The night was still young and Rakken had only just started his tour in Morkynia. He enjoyed walking around the town that was being held hostage by the darkness. His lone steps echoed in the silent night as he walked along the paved streets, shadows playing with his handsome features as he strolled through patches of light and then blended in with blackness. He bypassed one of the many taverns of the town, probably the most filthy and scummiest place there was, his sensitive ears picking up the drunken songs of the poorest bastards that lived in Morkynia. Rakken felt disgusted by them, and for a little while he wondered if he should set the whole building on fire just to get rid of such pests. But once again he decided that they weren't worth his time and he continued to proceed further into the town. He knew he would eventually find someone suitable to lose their life tonight.

Not long after he had left the filthy tavern behind, Rakken noticed a figure that was moving among the shadows just like him. This mysterious person probably thought that he hadn't spotted them, they couldn't possibly know that Rakken could see well in darkness. They weren't aware at all that he was watching their every step, observing them intensely. A dark hood and cape hid their appearance quite well, but Rakken did notice luxurious jewelry becoming visible every now and then as the person moved. Now, this was someone he had interest in as they seemed to be someone with a higher status. Like a hunting beast, he fixed his eyes on this target and started to follow them as they zigzagged through the narrowest and dirtiest alleys. He blended in with darkness perfectly and his victim had no idea that a demise was approaching them, not until it was too late.

At some point the person stopped, took a piece of paper from their pocket and focused on its contents for a while. But then they felt a chill in their spine and instinctively looked behind them, and before they even knew it, they were frozen. Rakken was slowly walking closer to them and he noted that his target was a woman and pretty beautiful one. His whole presence seemed to emit more darkness around him, which had caused the hooded lady to petrify. Soon he was standing in front of her and he was smiling at the woman – it was the smile of murder.

“What is a beautiful young woman such as yourself doing here alone?” he tauntingly asked, even though he knew that the woman couldn't answer.

He caressed her cheek almost in an affectionate way, but then he revealed his sharp fangs that gleamed dangerously in the dim light. He didn't go for an attack right away, he just let the terror sink within her heart as deep as it could. Rakken was practically breathing in her dread and he enjoyed every part of it, however, he yearned for blood. Carefully he pulled the hood down, wanting to expose her bare neck. Oh, the beautiful smooth and flawless skin… With a quick and violent move, Rakken had sunk his fangs in her neck and began to drink her blood. He sucked her dry and when he was done, he just let her bloodless corpse hit the ground, she had given him everything he needed and was now nothing more but a piece of garbage. Rakken licked his lips as he stared at the two puncture wounds on his victim's neck; they were still bleeding a little. He felt satisfied, but he wanted more. He turned around in order to return to a wider street, leaving the corpse behind.

Drinking fresh blood had left Rakken with a content feeling. He felt more powerful, more vigorous, and he wanted to see more death. He continued to wander around Morkynia in search of more potential targets that just needed to die. And for a good while he was on the streets all alone, not encountering any people, which wasn't very exciting, but he enjoyed the stroll nonetheless. But suddenly he saw a tiny figure running, and it was something he didn't see often during nighttime. It was a child, a little boy. While he was following this little one with his gaze, the tiny human had already run to the safety of his home, the door was slammed shut and a loud noise of a click told that the door got locked.

Rakken was still staring at the door and he smiled to himself again as callous thoughts were filling his head. “Oh, so you think you are safe in your own home, little bastard?”

Children weren't usually his victims, mostly because they stayed hidden during the nighttime, but also because they were too frail and didn't have that much blood. However, tonight he decided to make an exception. Rakken walked to the door of the house where the little boy had hidden himself. Once he was at the door, he touched the lock, causing it to get sealed so it would be impossible to open. Then he took a few steps towards one of the windows that were placed on the front side of the building. Once he was in the right position, he snapped his fingers and immediately a dark flame burst inside the house. Screams could be heard instantly and Rakken took a few steps backwards to spectate the scene in front of him.

He saw the flames raging behind the windows. His dark fire had spread fast and had surprised the residents of this particular house. Shouts and screams were competing with the sound of hungry fire and someone was trying their hardest to open the door. But thanks to Rakken's seal, it didn't budge. The hinges were squeaking in pain, but they didn't break and so the door remained as an impenetrable object that couldn't be broken by feeble mortals. Rakken's flames quickly engulfed the whole building, which alarmed the neighbors and soon people started to gather on the street from their homes, terrified by the sight. Some brave one tried to open the door to the burning building, but of course, their endeavor was in vain. No one knew how to help the people that were trapped in their house and Rakken enjoyed wholeheartedly how this mayhem he had caused unfolded before him. He did leave the scene soon, however, and began to stroll around Morkynia once more, the horrified voices of people echoing behind him.

Eventually he got closer to the heart of the town. He knew that he could find more potential people to kill around these parts, as they tended to be more wealthy, so he stayed vigilant while he carefreely walked through the street that slithered like a huge snake among the buildings that seemed to be in better condition than the ones at the border. And soon he found himself in a predicament, for there just happened to be so many interesting people, so many that could experience the beautiful death. He really fit in with the characters of this area since he was dressed in his lavish attire. Lots of vain and boastful people, very successful merchants and rich travelers from foreign lands, oh, it was so hard to choose… Causing demise to everyone, well, that wasn't fun. But Rakken had to admit that he shouldn't be very picky, either. He carefully observed everyone he came across, trying to decide who was the next in line to die.

And then he encountered a certain man near a pretty popular tavern. He was dressed in very luxurious clothes which hinted of a high status. And he wasn't alone, at that moment he was angrily roaring at someone feeble in front of him with a language Rakken didn't understand. The poor man was quivering on his knees, barely had any clothing, all he was wearing were some rags. He was a slave and as much as Rakken understood this situation, the master wasn't pleased with him at all. Now, this was something interesting. At that moment, Rakken decided to shock the slave's world. The noble man had his back at him, so he hadn't noticed Rakken. He was completely vulnerable. Rakken walked to him and without warning, he struck his hand through the man's figure with incredible power. His hand infiltrated through his body all the way to the chest, spilling blood everywhere. Rakken had grasped the man's heart and as he pulled his hand out of him, he took the heart and ripped it off. The corpse of the noble man hit the ground hard and the slave could only watch in horror what had just happened. A little bit of blood had splattered on his face. Rakken glanced at the heart that was resting in his hand, but soon he threw it away in disapproval. It made a disgusting sound as it smashed into the ground where it would lay until some feral mongrel would devour it. Nobody would love that heart. Rakken left the gruesome scene behind and the poor slave was now traumatized and unsure of what kind of life he would have from now on.

It seemed like that soon some people had discovered the body, because Rakken could hear disturbed voices behind him. He was pleased with this reaction, he enjoyed causing mayhem among these wretches. He savored every bit of the seed of terror he had planted that night in Morkynia. He was the judge and executioner; the lives of these people were in his wicked hands. While he was satisfied with what he had done during this black night, there was still something he would like to do. He headed to the direction of the port, hoping he would find a suitable victim around that part of the town.

The ships were resting in the port like ugly deformed birds. Ropes and sails were creaking ominously in the cold wind as Rakken made his way to a pier where he stopped for a while. He looked at the black waters – it would be a shame if they wouldn't be able to claim a soul as theirs tonight. Rakken almost owed them one. Soon he began to walk around the port in search of someone who was still alive, for now. It took him quite some time to encounter anyone, but after taking a tour among the ships, he noticed a lonely figure. He remained in the shadows for a brief moment, observing. It was a foreign looking man, who was dressed in a thick fur coat. His steps were wobbly and unpredictable, and soon Rakken noted that he had a bottle in his hand. What a useless drunkard. No one would miss him.

Rakken changed his form. The figure of a handsome man was gone in an instant and a terrifying bat-like creature had taken its place. He flapped his strong wings and raised from the ground, taking a little bit of height before he glided towards the drunken man. His victim didn't even notice the flying monster before he was already up in the air, carried by Rakken's claws. The drunkard dropped his bottle and started to shout and struggle, but Rakken was too strong. He carried the man above the black water, taking distance from the pier. When he thought that he was at the right spot, he dropped the man into the freezing water. A loud splash was heard as the man's body hit the surface of the water and then began his short and futile fight to not sink. His clothes had become too heavy and because he was also drunk, he couldn't possibly stay at the surface for long. He was doomed. Rakken stared at this man's last moments, being very amused by this, until the drunkard succumbed to his fate and he sunk below the surface, the last sign of him were his hands. Now he would be part of the Morkynia's water, sleep together at the depths with other people who had got drowned into the cold blackness.

Feeling satisfied, Rakken then began to soar higher and higher and rose above the settlement. It was time to return to his manor. He had taken a few lives that night, but maybe next time, he would take more. For now, however, Morkynia could sleep well, for the monster was now gone, and would stay gone until he felt the need to spill blood once more.