345 Bloody Banquet 2

The dragons have always been the oldest and most respected race of not just Shearath, but of the entire universe. Their abilities were almost godlike, and too kill a dragon was to kill a god. And right now there were dragons in the ballroom, and dragons flying outside above the city, and everyone could see it. It was an impressive display of power, and without a doubt I'm sure quite a few people are ready quaking in their boots.

"I would very much prefer to avoid bloodshed or altercations of any sort. And so to keep the pretense to a minimum, I will cut straight to the point. I've become s King, and I can't very well become a lord, not when I have greater power and authority. But this land is my home, it belongs to my family, and you are all my people. There's a better future in store for all of you as long as you are all by my side and serve with loyalty for the rest of your days.

I might be a vampire now, but I know I'm still human. I was born human, my soul and my spirit is human, just like a lot of vampires in this room. The only difference is that my body has changed, but this are all just formalities in the grand scheme of things. There's a war coming, a very terrible war that could very well wipe out the very universe out of existence, and we're fighting an enemy we can't see or touch, but can be affected by in more ways than one.

All of us here know that Shearath is on the brink of another major war, and our enemies are from the stars. We can't afford to fight amongst ourselves, not when the outcome would be mutual annihilation. Right now I'm trying to convince all of you to fall in line, but because of what's coming, because of what I've seen, I can't give any of you any real choice. You're either with me or you're not, Leo is a boutique to undergo and age of unprecedented change, all riding of the waves of prosperity and advancement. We will become the most superior force and nation in the whole universe, and all you have to do is join me, willingly and wholeheartedly without any misconceptions or plans of betrayal.

Because I can't create a paradise when I'm looking behind my back, expecting someone to betray me. But if none of you are interested, please there's the door. You would be given a week to gather all of your assets and get the fuck off this continent. Anything you can't take with you, the sum of it's total value would be paid back to you from the very treasury of the Cor royal family. You still win and you get to live too, so what would it be."

I already had a sinister plot cooking, so why the hell was I giving them a choice. To be honest I'm not sure I knew why. I've already made up my mind to make the hard choices, but it's quite obvious that I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, even if they were all part of the council that sentenced me to prison. I should be angry for that, and maybe in one way or another I am, but when you think about it, it was because of the greed and need to get rid of me, that I obtained what I have today. It was because of them I have a family and a nation looking up to me, at the very least that was more than enough to be thankful for.

A tall and we muscled man with a rather ferocious look on his face stepped towards me. He is the governor of the city sate of Xvars. It was to the north west and he could be considered to be a part of the group of governors who were not here today. Obviously he was probably here as their real representative, as the people they sent here were nothing more than placebos.

His name if I'm not mistaken should Jix, he's a well know outspoken man, who says what's on his mind without fear of authority. That's what propelled him to the governors position in the first place, giving him the power to be able to exercise a measure of influence over the decisions that affected the sate and fate of Shearath.

To his people he was a voice of the people and quite outspoken, but I knew different. After all I rescued Asha from a slave market that he built, killing the manager who for all intents and purposes was his own blood brother. He recognized Asha with a glance, just as she recognized him. And for the first time in quite a while there was a look of fury etched on her seemingly tranquil face. Then I heard her say to me through our bond.

{He doesn't leave this place alive, please do this for me.}

I nodded my head with a smile. Looks like I have to play both politician and tyrant at the same time. So I hope this idiot has not changed one bit in the twoand a half years that I've been gone, and still talks like his mouth is a faucet and without a filter. It would give me a reason to kill him, without accusing any sort of looks from the people present, but then again why should I care, won't the all be dead soon enough?But then again they could still cause some damage to my reputation before that happens, so it's better to play it cool.

"So you now expect you us to address you as your Majesty? Just like that you want to tale away our freedom, our democracy, and have us all under your heel. How can you stand there and feign righteousness when you're planning to do such a thing. Besides the coalition won't recognize you as a king, when the coalition was made, the decision to abandon the monarchy system was unanimous." Governor Jix said with a stern and righteous look on his face, along with a very loud voice to match.

"That may be so governor Jix, but you and I, and everybody who knows anything about history and the laws put in place during the creation of the coalition, know that the seven noble families were the first council of the coalition, and the law states that anyone of them could break away from coalition if they wanted to and under extenuating circumstances. Are you trying to tell me that me being put in prison for marrying the woman I love isn't extenuating circumstances, or the fact that I was treated worse than dirt, and my children had to be born away from their ancestral home. You have no idea what I've had to go through to make sure that my people survived, and I'm still trying to make sure they do, and this includes all of you." I said to him with an even voice, I was hoping he was going to keep on running his mouth. And it seems today is my lucky day.

"Is that so, what did you expect would happen when you betrayed everything the human race stood for…."

"And what are those things the human race stand for? Do you know, does anybody here know? Don't be stupid Jix, of all the races in the universe the human race has the most bloodstained hands, except maybe the Toroth. At our core we're evil, selfish and wicked. We live and thrive off greed and the suffering of others, and without a doubt we're a plague wherever we go. But humans short lived as they are can be the most selfless, and ingenious race in the whole universe, that's our potential, not the darkness we're so capable of, but the light that's deep within us all."

"But all that pertains to humans doesn't it, not to your infernal wife, and your cursed spawns….."

*SLAP!* *SPLURT!!* *THUD!*

If I say slapping off a man's head wasn't satisfying, then I would be lying. Because there would definitely have been times in the lives of so many people that they wished they could just smack the mouth of a person talking shit to them, or in my case a head.

The silence that came after was almost euphoric, I loved it and I respected it. The body was still standing upright, and blood was still surging out of his now headless neck. And the blood fell allover me, giving me an expression I hoped was sinister enough to send chills down the spine of everyone present here. I was not in the mood for games, even though I was clearly playing one, they had to know that they only had three choices, and I was going to tell them each and every single one of them.

"Each and every single one of you should get one thing clear, this is not a negotiation, and I'm not begging for anything. The power you now have was built over the centuries of my family's hard work, so you should all rethink where your allegiances lie. There are three choices in front of you.One! Is that you leave, take what belongs to you and never look back, two! Fall in line and pledge your allegiance to me and my family, I definitely won't mistreat you. Or three!...you could all just die in one colorful way or another."

The fear and the horror within the room was so thick I could actually feel it, and not just feel it, I could feed off it. It was a weird feeling, and the system message that showed up in front of me, seemed to seal the deal.

[Congratulations, you have advanced in rank and have now become a Vampire Elder. Racial skills (AVATAR), (AURIC FEEDING) and (BLOOD AHTHORITY) has now been unlocked.]

I didn't see that coming, but it was better late than never. I moved forward, and just as I did, Jix's body feel to the ground with a loud thud, a pool of blood rapidly forming around him. They were afraid, but many of them were unwilling to bend over, the only person who seemed to be okay with the entire scenario was the governor of Gilliard, an underground city state to the east of the pride city.

"You all have a choice to make, so make that choice freely. No one will die today again, not unless they deserve it. But if you're not willing to stand by me, and instead choose to stand against me, then you can prepare yourself for a civil war, because no matter what, I'm taking back the home of my family, and making sure it is no longer a pawn in the coalition's chessboard.And then whatever comes next is something you would all have to wait and see, so you all can leave, you have three days to decide. The banquet is over."

That seemed really abrupt, but since someone has already been killed I don't think that anyone of us would be in a the mood to party, maybe I would be, but then that would just be plain ridiculous. No one wanted to be the first to make a move as they were all waiting to see if I was really going to let them go. I was about to turn around when someone, a woman who I almost didn't recognize took a step forward and asked me.

"Do you intend to become enemies with the whole of Shearath?"

After she had asked the question there was a sharp intake of air from across the entire ball room. Everyone was waiting to see how I would react to that question but the woman was not like everyone else here, she was fearless and unshakable as if she was absolutely sure that I wouldn't be able to kill her.

"if that's what it takes to keep my people safe than so be it." I replied, hoping to end this conversation before it gets really weird.

"But do you think that your methods are right, giving everyone an ultimatum and killing anyone who defy you. What makes you any different than the monster the whole world thinks vampires are, what manner of humanity can be left in you when you wouldn't even flinch when taking the life of a man. A man who has his own family, his own dreams, his own hopes, and you would take his life right in front of your own children without even a hint of remorse. With such an act, you expect anyone of us to follow you, this makes you nothing more than a tyrant. Rather we would fight until our last breath to make sure we don't live under a monster like you."

Obviously she has a huge chip on her shoulder, well that'sbe expected we were both betrothed to each other from a young age.It was marriage that was supposed to happen on our 21st birthdays, just a few months from now, however I went and got a vampire knocked up, married her, and then got thrown in prison. No matter how you look at it, I'm the jerk here, and if she's calling me out on my bullshit, I'm not supposed to be able to give her any answer, but my conscience is clear, (mostly clear anyway.) So I will be able to give her an answer.

"I don't deny that I am a monster, I've had to kill a lot to get where I am now, and it was a choice I've been forced to make because of the situation humanity's greed and lies created. After all of the shit I've been through did you expect to come back with the sun glowing on my head and politically maneuver and coerce everyone to do what I wanted by playing politics with a bunch of lies, cheats and worse murderers than me.

I don't have time for that, like I said there is a darkness that's coming, bigger an worse than any Letty squabble between the me and the coalition and the bloody council of light. All I'm here for is my home, is my people. And if anyone believes that they do not belong to me, then the simple option would be for them to leave, because in one month the whole continent of Leo and all of it's adjacent islands would no longer be a part of Shearath. But before that happens I want everyone who would refuse to submit to my rule to leave, or there would be hell to pay should I have to deal with betrayal or any form of rebellion. Tyranny is not my style, but this is the fastest way to get things done. I'm doing this all for you."

"And what about me, you and your family made a promise to me, a promise that has shaped my entire life. You broke that promise, how will you make up for it?"

To be honest I didn't know how to make up for it, and as I turned around to leave I had to think hard, before turning around and saying to her.

"What you want, I can't give. But I can give you power and an eternity to master it. Do you accept?"

Everyone here knew what I had just offered her, and righteousness or not, for a human this was the most irresistible offer that could be possibly made. Power and immortality, she didn't disappoint me.

"if that's the price you want to pay for practically leaving me at the altar then...I accept!"