169 Campaign IX : Enemies

THE GREEN DISTRICT

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

CORNELIUS DANEAITANI

"I've thought over your proposal, and I've decided to help you get the rest of the map."

Cornelius blinked his eyes in surprise, perplexed by the sudden acquiescence to his request. Shamir has been rather tight lipped and reluctant about rendering any help the last time Cornelius had asked for it, and even more so, when he was nothing more, than just a middle man for a much more powerful entity. Cornelius was excited, but the suddenness did not sit well with him. Something was wrong.

"Why would you suddenly...….."

"Kael Cor!"

The answer to his questions was given right before he could even finish asking it. But in the end he understood where Shamir was coming from. At first Kael was just a pawn; a pawn that he sorely regretted not being able to get his hands on, but none the less, he had changed.

Right under the noses of everyone in the pit, that pawn was nothing more than lion hiding amongst sheep. A king pretending to be a simple pawn on the board, noticed, but completely ignored. But now, one person had the power to change the entire fate of the vampire race, and it was crazy, it drove Cornelius crazy.

He was mad with rage, anger and jealousy. His original plan had been to use the young vampire to bolster and strengthen his religion. The Avatar of the one god would soon be upon the face of Shearath, and he had to prepare the proper vessel, or sacrifice.

Which ever category Kael Cor would have fallen under. And it worked, even now it still did. He had painted Kael as a messiah, someone who was sent to save them all from extinction. Turns out, his bullshit was spot on. Kael Cor is the messiah of the vampire race.

"You want me to kill him or something?" Cornelius asked.

"Oh nothing of the sort...…well actually yes. I want you to get your army of crazy fanatics and put an end to his stupid campaign. The conference is tomorrow, and while he's away getting the acknowledgment of whatever is left the council, launch an attack on that city of his. Kill the men, kill the children, and fuck his women. I want blood to rain down on his streets, and I want his heart broken, I want his mind shattered. If you can do this, then it's not just the maps to the imperial city of Idah that you'll get, but also Asha Cor. All tied up in a tidy bow and delivered to your doorstep. You can do whatever the fuck you want to the abominations in her womb."

Cornelius did not like the idea of hurting Asha, she was his rock, his light, the one reason why he has braved the horror of having a supernatural parasite attached to his soul to grant him greater power. He wanted to prove himself to her, and to let her know that apart from him, no one else could ever love her just as strong or just as hard as he could.

But Cornelius was in love, not stupid. Apart from the guards, the elders, the last living Dracula, and a few of the gangs. Kael was the only person with a force capable of taking the aforementioned people on, except of course the guards and the forces of the Dracula. Cornelius doubted that noble bastard would survive them, much less win.

"I don't have the forces required to undertake such a venture. Going up against him as I am now, and with nothing more than just a few hundred partially unsealed acolytes, is nothing but suicide." Cornelius said to Shamir

"You don't have to worry about that. So far Kael has wiped out half the criminal elements in the blue district, a surprising and commendable achievement considering he's only had a week and some days to do so.

However that's enough time to have pissed off quite a significant amount of the other half. Kael might be the official lord of the blue district, but that position can change at the drop of a hat, and they all seem to believe he's abusing his power, though that point can be argued, considering he's just getting rid of the proverbial bad guys.

So they've all formed an alliance, and together with you, they're going to bring Kael down, all the way to his grave. Who knows, if you play your cards well, you might actually become the nextlord of the blue district. Think about the wonders that would do for your career as a priest? or something. Not to mention, you'll become more appealing in the eyes of Asha. Without Kael in the way, what's stopping her from jumping into your hands? Nothing I tell you. So don't worry you're going to have everything you ever wanted by this time tomorrow."

Shamir's words were more than just simply enticing. He worked in and around the strings of Cornelius's own desires, stoking the fire in his heart, and the lustful inferno burning in his loins. Kael was a direct access to power, like a big fat golden apple hanging over his head, ready and ripe for the taking.

The only problem though was that he did not have the proper tools required to take it...…..but that's not exactly true anymore. Because those tools, or should he say army has been dropped right on his thighs. This was going to be beyond wonderful and exciting. But there was something he also needed to know.

"How many? How many fighters are we talking about here."

"excluding the vampires and just taking into account the members of other races he's pissed off...…I'll say 6000.

But inclusive of the vampires, then you have a force of almost twenty thousand partially unsealed vampires, and fully unsealed Shearathians at your beck and call.Exciting isn't it?" Shamir asked with a manic grin as his handsome face seemed to distort in the shadows of his hood.

"Yes it is." Cornelius answered with a smile of his own, before he realized something and asked a question.

"The Dracula has sanctioned this operation hasn't he?"

Shamir did not answer the question, but instead took a sip of the glass of blood brought by the young waiter employed by the Nexus bar. Their services seems to have experienced a qualitative change ever since he came around. It's a pity the poor boy was dumb and incapable of speaking.

"Yes of course. My mistr......…..I mean my master is well aware and he has given the go ahead. Don't worry about it."

Cornelius did not like that Shamir hesitated that much, but there was nothing he could do about it. After all Shamir was the only vampire with access to the Dracula, so Cornelius had to take his word for it."

Shamir raised his glass of blood and pointed it at Cornelius.

"To Chaos, The destruction of Kael Cor, and to War!"

Cornelius raised his glass too and replied.

"To War!"

CLINK!

And as they enjoyed their solitude of their plots and machinations, the dumb waiter stood beside them, ready to serve at their beck and call, but with eyes burning with the fires of a righteous fury. This people were after his family, and no matter what, he wouldn't let them have their way. Otherwise his name wouldn't be Gus Tersolon.

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THE WHITE DISTRICT

LOCATION: DEEPEST SECTOR

MING BAE KI: THE LAST LIVING DRACULA

She couldn't remember the last time she's ever felt this angry. Her rage was palpable and her castle vibrated and shook with her anger and breathing.

Flashes of purple and red lightening, and wind carrying within it flashes of green hellfire appeared around her. She was standing in the middle of a grand hall, and while the hall was not as big or as extravagant as Kael's, there was an aesthetic quality to it that screamed of power and Influence.

But she was standing in the middle of a field of ashes, burnt bodies littered the floor around her, and as her attendants watched, the bodies burnt up in tiny ember like plumes, and evaporated into ash that rained down all over the hall.

But even then not one of those ash came close to touching her as her pristine red dinner dress looked unblemished. Ming Bae Ki has not felt anger like this since the last time she was forced to sleep with an orc, as a slave in the mines of this tunnels, right in the place that was now known as the blue district.

And as proof of how volatile she could be in anger, she had chopped that orc into numerous pieces, and fed him to her master and his pathetic family. It came as a shock to them though, after all the orc was her master's own son in-law. Talk about poetic justice. Her early years here had broken her, terribly. And it left her with scars that may never heal, it made her wild, ruthless, evil, vindictive, a killer, and lonely.

Traveling to another world was not as hyped up as the media back on earth made it seem. She didn't become a queen after going through a wardrobe, or fell in love with an outcast fourth prince of a kingdom.

Neither did she have windfall of one good luck, after the other and ended up so strong, that she stood at the top of the world and laughed without any worries. Instead she was used, sold, ra*ped, beaten, and hurt so many times that she lost count.

But she was still a girl from earth. If there was one thing she knew how to do really well, it was to keep on dreaming, struggling and fighting. She became a vampire by chance. Eaten and discarded by a BloodChild on a rampage. Becoming a vampire gave her a chance to change her story, to be better. And she was good at it, she thrived more as a vampire than she ever did as a human.

And she was beautiful, the most beautiful woman of her time, a talent she used to her own advantage, so much so that when the vampire civilization fell, they actually locked her up rather than trying to eliminate her like any other elder was supposed to be. She became a Dracula in captivity, the power of a goddess, yet still a prisoner in her own home. Even with such power life was still being unfair to her.

"Shamir has gone rogue hasn't he?"

She asked the rest of her attendants who survived the onslaught of her anger.

"Yes mistress. Quite a few vampires in the castle also went with him."

"And why is that? Don't hesitate and tell me the truth." Ming Bae Ki said with a menace and warning in her tone.

"I wouldn't dare lie mistress. They all believe that you've become complacent in your castle, and that you're weak and completely incapable of taking charge of the vampire race even though you're the only Dracula left alive. They formed a Coven that would be competing at the conference tomorrow, and after that they have plans to take over the pit. I'm sorry mistress for not stopping them. Should we hunt them down?"

The attendant asked in fear as her body shook and perspired, releasing rivulets of sweat as they dripped down the side of her face and the middle of her back. The fact that she could sweat meant that she was an elder, a vampire with a living body. But under the power of a Dracula she was completely weak.

"Fifteen of the most talented vampires ever seen in centuries have just been unleashed on the pit, with nothing but chaos and havoc in their minds. Why would I send you to hunt them down? This is a show I can't afford to interrupt, because I'll like to see how the pit would react to such a threat. Especially him...…..Kael of house Cor.

Gigi after the conference is over, fetch him and bring him to me, use all means at your disposal. However I would prefer it if he came of his own volition. And as for Shamir and his band of wayward children, leave them alone for now. They should provide enough excitement to keep me entertained for another hundred years. Clean this mess up, and let the games begin."