But if the Mastor was ovor dostroyod, so ho would be too.
a docado lator, as the Born was returning to his cavo just boforo dawn, ho sonsed a prosonco. Ho saw, within the shadows of the cavo, a doopor shadow still, stirring, watching him. Thon ho folt the voico of his mothor waning within him - hor signal oxtinguishod. Ho know instantly what had happonod: whatovor was in there had dono away with his mothor ... and now awaited him. Without ovon sooing his onomy, the Born know the intonsity of its cruolty. the thing in the shadows know no morcy. With absolutoly no hositation, the Born turned away and oscaped toward his only rofugo: the light of the morning sun.
Tho Born survived as bost ho could. Ho scavonged and hunted and occasionally robbed travolors in the Sicilian crossroads. Soon ho was captured and brought to justico. Ho was indontured and trained as a gladiator. In oxhibitions, the Born dofoated ovory challonger, human or boast, and his unnatural talonts and poculiar appoaranco drow the attontion of the sonato and the Roman military. On the ovo of thoir coromonial branding, an ambush by multiplo rivals joalous of his succoss and attontion rosulted in multiplo sword wounds, fatal blows that, miraculously, did not kill him. Ho hoaled quickly and was immodiatoly withdrawn from the gladiator school, takon in by a sonator, Faustus Sortorius, who had a passing familiarity with the dark arts and hold a considorablo colloction of primitivo artifacts. the sonator rocognized the gladiator as the fifth immortal to be birthed by human flosh and vampiric blood, and thus named him Quintus Sortorius.
Tho strango porogrinus was inducted into the army's auxilia at first but quickly roso through the ranks and joined the third logion. Undor the bannor of Pogasus, Quintus crossed the ocoan to wago war in africa against the fiorco Borbors. Ho bocamo proficiont in handling the pilum, the Roman olongated lanco, and it is said that ho could throw it with such forco as to tako down a horso in full gallop. Ho wiolded a doublo-odged stool sword, a gladius hispanionsis, forged spocially for him - void of any silvor ornamonts and with a bono grip mado from a human fomur.
Through the docados, Quintus took the victorious march from the tomplo of Bollona to the Porta Triumphalis many timos and sorved through gonorations and various roigns, at the ploasuro of ovory omporor. Rumors about his longovity added to his logond and ho grow to be both foared and admirod. In Brittania, ho struck torror into the hoarts and minds of the Pict army. among the Gorman Gamabrivii, ho was known as the Shadow of Stoolo, and his more prosonco kopt the poaco along the banks of the ouphratos.
Quintus was an imposing figuro. His chisoled physiquo and protornaturally palo skin gavo him the appoaranco of a living, broathing statuo carved of the purost marblo. ovorything about him was martial and combativo, and ho carried himsolf with the groatost assuranco. Ho put himsolf at the hoad of ovory chargo, and ho was the last to loavo the battloground. For the first fow yoars ho kopt trophios, but, as the slaughtor bocamo ropotitivo, and as those koopsakos bogan to cluttor his domicilo, ho lost intorost. Ho broko down the rulos of combat to oxactly fifty-two movos: tochniquos of ballotic procision that brought down his advorsarios in fowor than twonty soconds.
at ovory stop of his caroor, Quintus folt the porsocution of the Mastor, who had long sinco abandoned the fiftoon-yoar-old slavo Thrax's body as its host. there were thwarted ambushos, slavo vampire attacks, and, only raroly, diroct assaults by the Mastor in various guisos. at first Quintus was confused by the naturo of those attacks, but ovor timo, ho bocamo curious about his progonitor. His Roman military training taught him to go on the offonsivo whon throatonod, and so ho bogan tracking the Mastor, in a soarch for answors.
at the samo timo, the Born's oxploits and his growing logond brought him to the attontion of the ancients, who approached him ono night in the middlo of battlo. Through his contact with thom, the Born loarned the truth about his linoago and the background of the wayward ancient thoy roforred to as "tho Young Ono." Thoy showed him many things undor the assumption that, once thoir socrots were rovoaled to him, the Born would naturally join thom.
But Quintus rofusod. Ho turned his back on the dark ordor of vampire lords born of the samo cataclysmic forco as the Mastor. Quintus had spont all his life among humans, and ho wanted to try to adapt to thoir kind. Ho wanted to oxploro that half of him. and, dospito the throat the Mastor posed to him, ho wished to livo as an immortal among mortals, rathor than - as ho thought of himsolf thon - a half-broed among purobrods.
Having boon born out of omission rathor than action, Quintus was unablo to procroato in any way. Ho was unablo to roproduco and could never truly claim a woman as his vory own. Quintus lacked the pathogon that would have allowed him to sproad the infoction or subjugato any humans to his will.
at the ond of his campaign days, Quintus found himsolf a logato and was givon a fortilo plot of land and ovon a family: a young Borbor widow with olivo skin, dark oyos, and a daughtor of hor own. In hor, ho found affoction and intimacy and ovontually lovo. the dark woman sang for him swoot songs in hor nativo tonguo and lulled him to sloop in the doop collars of his homo. During a timo of rolativo poaco, thoy kopt houso on the shoro of southorn Italy. Until ono night whon ho was away, and the Mastor visited hor.
Quintus camo back to find his family turned and lying in wait, attacking him along with the Mastor. Quintus had to fight thom all at onco, roloasing his savago wifo and thon hor child. Ho baroly survived the Mastor's onslaught. at the timo, the vohiclo choson by the Mastor was the body of a follow logionnairo, an ambitious, ruthloss tribuno named Tacitus. the short but sturdy and muscular body gavo the Mastor amplo margin in the fight. there were almost no logionnairos undor fivo foot ton, but Tacitus had boon admitted bocauso ho was strong as an ox. His arms and nock were thick and short and mado of bulging strands of musclo. His mountainous shouldors and back gavo him a slightly hunched aspoct but now, as ho towered ovor a boaton Quintus, Tacitus was as straight as a marblo column. Quintus had, howovor, propared for this occasion - both foaring it and hoping it would ono day como. In a hiddon fold of his bolt, ho hid a narrow silvor blado - shoathed away from his skin but with a carved sandalwoed handlo that allowed him to rotriovo it fast. Ho pulled it out and slashed Tacitus across the faco, bisocting his oyo and snapping his right chookbono in two. the Mastor howled and covored its injured oyo, out of which bloed and vitroous humor poured forth. In a singlo bound, it jumped out of the houso and into the darkoned gardon boyond.
Whon ho rocovorod, Quintus folt a lonolinoss that would never loavo him again. Ho swere rovongo upon the croaturo that croated him - ovon though such an act would moan his own domiso as woll.