October 05-Yakutsk, Russia
It’s very clear that I could not keep away when it came to the lore that revolves around the famous Volkov vampires. Vampires in general are an intriguing race to me for reasons I will not get into just now. Unfortunately, my trip had been mostly in vain, for I did not have an actual chance to encounter any of the Volkovs siblings, as hard as I tried. I did pass by the village that disappeared over the course of one night, however, and felt my heart grow a little heavy at the sight. Rumor had been that everybody in the village had died. While a grand majority had, the truth was there were some survivors, though they had either gone insane or simply refused to talk. This has upset the neighboring villages because they’re convinced that the village of тень дьявола had done something wrong for the attacks to happen and the survivors themselves refuse to discuss the details of that awful night.
One of the most frustrating things that happened during this trip was that I could see the Volkov castle clearly but had no means to approach it. I resided in a hotel of sorts-the people were not so amiable towards foreigners- but I did hear them share stories and tales with each other over different folklores which I have kept notes of elsewhere. I admit that I frequently peeked at the castle, and at first saw no movement, but when it was well past midnight and I was in my room, I did begin to see shadows crawl out from the windows.
If you have not heard about the Volkov family, I will take this time to inform you that when it comes to vampires, individuality counts. If you have looked over the course of my vampire species studies, you can note that there seems to be similarities between the culture of wizards and vampires, and realize they aren’t so different. Just as we have extremist wizards, there are vampires that are darker than others. The Volkovs are those types of vampires. It is known that there are six siblings that reside in that castle with their parents, making it a total of eight vampires that managed to find a system that can support all eight without leaving one another. They don’t quite hunt in packs, but usually in different pairs or alone and results vary. With them, it is very difficult to see what diet they prefer. They also seem to take enjoyment in murder over the simple need to feed. They slaughter their victims in signature moves that are difficult to identify to the individuals that cause them. I have a theory that one of the siblings influenced the rest to be this bloodthirsty. Before the Volkov siblings were born, the parents had carried out a more traditional approach, allowing villagers to send their sacrifices to the castle every month or so. Even so, the incident with тень дьявола was completely different to their constant erratic behavior, however, considering that a whole village that otherwise seemed loyal to them in terms of sacrifices had disappeared. It caused alarm not only in the surrounding area, but a few tremors in the wizarding news as well.
The village I had resided in was chosen for the sacrifice, but sacrifices in these villages are only meant for the Volkov parents and not applied to the feeding habit of their children. I awaited with some of the officials and the tributes that had been chosen and sure enough, out from the dark sky the Volkov parents had arrived. They were pale that the moonlight reflected off their skin, their eyes were sunken in, fangs bared out. I attempted to talk to them and for a moment they mistook me for one of the sacrifices, a delight to them since wizards were never seen around these parts. But I corrected them away from the thought and the two, in perfect synchronization (truly, they made quite the pair), rejected my offer to follow them to the castle. For a moment I regretted telling them I was not a sacrifice, but decided it was best talking to at least two of them here and not the whole family at once in their own abode. I at least asked for a chance to speak with one of their children, but they said that I must have a death wish, and if I did, they would take care of it here and now. They were a stubborn pair and promptly left, complaining that I was wasting their time. I attempted to find ways to see the Volkov siblings for the next two weeks, but usually ended up staring at those shadows crawling in and out of the castle at midnight and decided this was in vain before leaving.
In all honesty, I had been a bit unethical and attempted to use my magic but even that did not work in this scenario. I came to the conclusion that I would not even be able to see the Volkov parents since they had their fill for the month and I had no wish to be stuck in an upcoming storm anyway. I was disappointed, especially since on the last day I had heard rumors that the Incident was orchestrated by one of the Volkov siblings for what seemed to be no reason at all. That did make me stay around the area, trying at other villages who had survivors and trying my best at gathering information from them. One of them, who went by the name of Viktoriya, would simply shout that they did nothing wrong in repeat. After much persistance, I had encountered a much younger boy named Anton who could only account for one of the siblings. He was hesitant on sharing this information, having kept it to himself for a long time but I had the privelage of being the first audience for his warning. He said the vampire he witnessed was a female girl about his size and that she had wanted to play with him and his brother. His brother heeded her call as Anton hid in bed. He told me that the girl didn’t give out a name, just insisted on playing and that she had blonde curls in her hair and wore a lot of bows. Her face scared Anton because it was “too perfect.” He said he couldn’t say anymore because that’s all he saw under his bed. The next thing he knew, the whole village was gone. But after a little more prodding, he said that he might have imagined later in the night, when he fell asleep under his bed, he believed he heard the sound of a bat flapping against the broken window and the heavier footsteps of a more adult figure, but he couldn’t be sure. He was sure it was a dream because it was far after the incident with the little girl. Anton then hugged me and cried, apologizing for not being enough help. I comforted him and assured him that he was.
It was not much information, but at least there’s a confirmation that there is a Volkov sibling with the appearance of a little girl who likes bows. My curiosity increased, but once again I ended up with no leads and at last reluctantly left Russia. One day I hope to study this family closely and perhaps since they are diverse but harmonizing, they may reveal new secrets about the vampire culture that we simply do not know yet.
Disgruntled but not discouraged,
Henry Paige