Tower of Ancients

by Jaeger Mitchells

  “Maybe you should start small, my Lord,” Rennes laughed as she appeared from behind. “After all, we’re not used to—such treasures.”

  “Yeah! What the boss said!” a voice rang out, followed by a number of cheers.

  “Please, stop. I need you to gather everyone here at the center in half an hour. Can you boys do that?” she asked, patting one of the men on his shoulder. He seemed love-struck at first glance, but so did most of them. After all, she was a gorgeous woman so it wasn’t even strange.

  “Likewise!” I yelled to be heard over their chatter. “Everyone who can walk will gather here in half an hour. I don’t want to see anyone out of line, so make sure you behave!”

  “Sir, yes, sir!” the group boomed as one and started dispersing immediately. I turned back to Rennes and nodded toward her home before I put my arms around the sisters again and followed after her.

  “So, you’ve succeeded?” she asked after we made a couple of steps and turned to look at us over her shoulder. I could see a hint of dislike in her eyes, but I didn’t care. The sisters were special to me, even more to my power.

  “With the help of my people, yeah,” I replied, trying to keep it short until we arrived. Dimas’ Coven finally caught up with him at the head. I nodded as we passed them.

  “Good to see you’re back safe,” I called out, looking back at them.

  “We’ll need to talk later. The Basilisk gave me some valuable information.”

  “Sure, we’ll talk after the gathering in half an hour if you want.”

  “Find me when you got the time.”

  We looked more idiotic by the moment as we kept yelling to hear each other and were walking in the opposite side. Just went to show that no matter how powerful someone was, they still could have that little bit of stupid inside.

  To my surprise, there was a bench sitting on her porch. Or was it that I failed to notice the first time we got here, but she motioned for us to sit as she pulled up a rocking chair. A bunch of clay cups sat on the wooden table along with three bottles of a dark-brown liquid that smelled god-awful. I was sure it was some kind of home-brew so I wouldn’t act like a bad guest and decline whatever it was.

  “Sit, please,” Rennes said politely, offering any of the furniture. I sat on the lone throne-sized chair so none of the girls could sit with me, but there I was wrong when Sylvana sat in my lap and leaned into me. I was slightly surprised, but not to the point it irked me.

  “Sylvana? Won’t the other ladies be bothered by your—monopoly over me?” I joked. She shrugged and stayed like that.

  “She’s always been a possessive one, so no wonder,” Helena mumbled. “But it must mean you really did a good job with her, Lord Raziel.”

  “All this talk about sex and lust and all that shit. Shouldn’t you girls be more humble about it?” Rennes asked. I could feel the question being directed rather at me than them, but I didn’t say anything.

  “Why would we? We’re drawn to his Blood and it’s almost involuntary,” Sylvana said as she sat upright. “You Humans can be put in the same state if fed enough of his blood and be bound to it.”

  Rennes frowned but nodded slightly. She looked away and stared off into the distance as if contemplating what Sylvana just said.

  “Maybe that’s why father died. He was heartbroken, I knew as much, but he wouldn’t elaborate. He didn’t want me to know what was going on, but I could see the longing in his eyes.”

  “Now that you mention old Greg, I don’t remember him telling me about anyone back then. The last time I saw him was about sixty years ago further down along the border when we fought the Beast-men.”

  Rennes frowned and stopped as her hand was about to reach the bottle. She looked up at me and stared long into my eyes to see if I was joking, but I wasn’t.

  “What do you mean six decades, Lord Raziel? My father died at the age of 65.”

  “I turned your father into a hybrid a century ago, Rennes. He aged very slowly after that.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair.

  “But all these people, they would have known.”

  “They probably do, at least some of them who have been around long enough. Why? Does it matter if he was Human or not? He was your father.”

  “Heh, I guess you’re right,” she chuckled. “No wonder he was as strong as a bull even before he died.”

  “Speaking about dying, how did he die?” I asked, curious about how a Hybrid could end up like that.

  Rennes leaned back in and picked the bottle up, then poured first herself a full glass and then me. She looked up at Sylvana who nodded, followed by Helena. Pouring the ladies a glass as well, she gulped it all down and poured herself a second, took it in her right hand, and leaned into her chair with a sigh.

  “He went out to establish relations with another camp somewhere to the North-East. Weeks passed before we heard back from one of the men who went out with him. They were ambushed somewhere near the outpost by a group of—creatures that he had no name for. They took everyone away and ate them.”

  I remained silent as she finished, taking a sip of the liquid and tried to remember what was to the North-East. Lefrand’s Kingdom was surrounded from all sides, but I knew all of the races. What could have attacked them? Further to the East were the Human Kingdoms. The Northern ones had more resources, better access to mines and rare creatures, but the Central-East had more farmland. I know as I was sold from there. Who knew what the state of it all was nowadays?

  “Did you ever find out anything?”

  She shook her head.

  “No, we never searched. Even though he was my father, I didn’t want to lose even more people. That’s partially why they chose to keep me as their leader, but I’m mostly a leader in name only. I can’t do anything by myself.”

  I took another sip before getting to the point she just mentioned: leadership.

  “I don’t feel good taking this away from you, but we have nowhere to go. With our help, this could become a sprawling city one day, and with the help of us Vampires and our blood, every single person could become a hybrid. A thousand of us would equal five thousand Humans any day.”

  “Yeah, there’s not much to think about, but tell me, will I be allowed to have a leadership role once you take over?”

  I nodded as Sylvana bent over and took her own glass, followed by Helena. They had been holding back for some reason, which I appreciated.

  “If you wish, yes. The way we do it is to delegate responsibility to people with capabilities. Someone will be in charge of food, another one of clothing, a third for the smithy and so on. My people will fill most of those roles since we’re already very knowledgeable in almost everything. We can share the burden down the road as your people get acquainted with our ways.”

  Her face lit up at the mention. I was sure she regretted calling on us to a degree, but seeing we wouldn’t usurp everything, she seemed relieved. Rennes pulled something from behind her back and threw it my way. Sylvana caught the item. It was a rolled-up parchment.

  “What is this?” she asked, unfurling and showing it to me. I looked down at the piece of brown paper and studied it for a moment.

  “What’s this map for?” I asked, looking back up at her.

  “The surrounding area and the road my father took when he left back then.”

  “I’ll have my own people re-draw it in our own archives. We are short on maps from this area and it’s a good thing you trusted me with this. It will make life around here a lot easier.”

  She nodded and smiled weakly as if having come to a decision.

  “You know what they say. If you can’t beat them, join them.”

  “In this case literally,” Helena laughed.

  “Speaking of literally, lady Elf, why aren’t you head over heels for your Lord?”

  Helena coughed what she just sipped and spilled some over her bare legs. Sylvana answered the question for her sister before the other could recover.
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br />   “Since you’ll be part of Raziel’s inner circle, I might tell you, but keep it to yourself, please.”

  “Will do. You have my word,” Rennes chirped. I could see she was excited to hear about anything else than her own problems. To be honest, I was curious as well. If both of them had been under Lefrand’s paws for so long, it would only be logical that both had the same affection towards my blood.

  “Alright then. So, it’s quite simple. Whatever she needs, or needed up until now, she got from me. I was the one who yearned for his blood, but not her, she got it from me, and so the doses were much weaker.”

  “She’s right. I still feel a strong attraction, but I can control myself unlike her,” Helena added. Her face had gone scarlet as if this was a topic she didn’t like to talk about. Uncomfortable, huh? There sure were many a thing I never wanted to talk about so I understood her very well.

  “You have me now, Helena, so whatever you need from now on just ask. There’s no need to torture your sister over the matter anymore,” I more ordered than offered. She didn’t seem to like it too much, but nodded and looked away, mumbling something under her breath.

  “Wait, you guys haven’t been long together then?” Rennes asked curiously. The corners of her lips were raised slightly and her eyes glistened with anticipation.

  “No, only for a couple of weeks,” I replied hurriedly. I wasn’t as interested in Rennes as I was in the sisters, so I didn’t want her to go there just yet.

  “I see, but what about—?”

  “My Lord,” a voice called from my left. It was Sentinel.

  “What is it?”

  “Everyone has gathered, both our people and hers.”

  “We’ll be there in a minute,” I replied as I got up and pushed Sylvana off me slowly. I didn’t want her to drop, but more than that, her body was to die for, so I ran my hands along it before putting her down. Sylvana winked at me and smirked before turning away from me. Helena let out a sigh.

  “Well then, let’s see how they’ll react to all of this.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The two groups were far from proportional in size. My Coven and the civilians we rescued at Newfolk outnumbered the bandits at least three times. Still, there were more of them than I thought I saw when we just arrived, at least two times.

  Light chatter could be heard from either group, whispers or weak laughter. I wasn’t an emotional person as Vampires didn’t feel much in comparison to Humans. It still made me feel good to see everyone look forward to a better future, or so I hoped.

  The sisters stood to my right and Rennes to my left as we stopped in front of the gathering. My officers were milling around with their troops and not standing in one spot. Good, they seemed to remember what I taught them: respect your troops and show them as much by being around.

  The whole gathering went silent when they saw the look on my face. It was a tad more serious than the situation called for, but I didn’t want them to know what was coming. But then when I thought about it, the situation wasn’t all that great either.

  “My name is Raziel!” I said loud enough for everyone to hear, even in the furthest rows. “Most of you know me as you’re part of my Coven, but for those who don’t, I’m a Vampire Lord. Or rather, I used to be one until a couple of weeks ago!”

  I stopped for a moment to let that sink in first because what was to follow would be much worse.

  “Quite melodramatic, huh?” Sylvana whispered. I shrugged slightly. She was right, but wasn’t that the best way to get over something?

  “Your leader and I have come to an agreement that is effective immediately. This village or camp, or whatever you want to call it, belongs to me now.”

  Many of those in the front rows frowned and started murmuring something, but none of them dared raise their voice, at least not openly.

  “Please, hear him out first,” Rennes added quickly, seeing her people were mighty displeased with the announcement.

  “For those who wonder what is about to come next, the answer is nothing. Everything stays the same for those who have lived here. You retain the right to everything you own and you won’t be obliged to hand anything over, that’s a promise. What’s more, my people will even help you make improvements in your homes, on the land you farm, on the fish and small game you hunt. Your quality of life will improve tremendously. All I ask in return is loyalty. Do what and when you’re told, especially if it’s an emergency or something important. Other than that, live your life as free as you wish and have done so up until now.”

  “What about the mines?” a broad-shouldered man asked. “Will you be able to keep us safe while we start digging ore again?”

  I smiled, happy that the man asked that exact question.

  “Even more than that. Everyone who works in whatever branch we are lacking will have preferential treatment. You work more, harder, and better, you will gain more benefits. One of them will be more Vampire blood, which means that you’ll be much stronger, have a bigger endurance and will be able to work even more in the mines or in forestry, farming, or whatever you choose to do.”

  “Do we need to drink your blood if we don’t want to?” a woman asked who was sitting in the first row. She was an elderly, probably in her sixties.

  “No one needs to do anything they don’t wish to. However, there are some things I’ll need to tell you right here and now. We have come to an agreement with the Basilisk who hunts these lands. Five Human or Hybrid sacrifices per month or he’ll attack again. For now, I will be feeding my own disabled or dying people to it until we can secure better sacrifices from the neighboring tribes and kingdoms, but anyone who stirs up trouble or tries to cheat someone in trade, harms someone on purpose or similar, will be fed to the creature.”

  New unrest broke out among both groups, not just Rennes’ people now, no, my people were equally hurt by the revelation.

  “Please, hear him out until the end!” Rennes yelled again.

  “For now, we have enough badly wounded with missing limbs or dying and dead to keep it satisfied for months, but once that’s over, we’ll need fresh meat. However, until then I promise to come up with a solution. There will be no random sacrifices for as long as I’m alive and if need be, we’ll fight it again.”

  They didn’t look convinced, and to be honest, neither was I. Still, there were things that needed to be done no matter what, and one of them was to transform this shit hole into a sprawling town. To do that, certain sacrifices would need to be made, like it or not.

  “Does anyone have any question so far?” Rennes asked, stepping up again. I wasn’t used to someone hogging my time, but she was the ‘leader’ of a third of these people, so it was good manners to let her save some face.

  “My Lord, what about the army? How are we doing this?” Sentinel asked.

  “The army will be doing two things mainly. The first is to teach everyone here who wants to become a real soldier how to fight, and secondly to help with everything and anything we need. Dig holes, cut trees, catch food. Whatever there is to do, you’ll do it. The main thing now as I mentioned when we arrived, is to create a sewer or septic pits. We need shelter and storehouses for what we already have with us. We need a smithy set up within the day, we need an infirmary, a market, and many more. So get to it first thing after this meeting.”

  “My Lord, right away!” he replied, already getting up.

  “Calm down. We’re not done yet. Anyone else?”

  “Mister Raziel, was it?” an elderly man said as he got up. Judging by his gray hair and wrinkled skin and wavering voice, he was easily in his eighties.

  “It is, old man. What can I do for you?”

  “Tell me, what makes you sure this snake won’t attack us?”

  “Simple. We’ve planted a magical bomb around its heart that we can detonate from a mile away if need be. So if it turns its back on us and does harm to the community, we kill it.”

  The man didn’t seem so pleased with the answer
, what’s more, he didn’t seem pleased with me from the look of it.

  “What about you? Who is to say that you won’t do the same? After all, we’re just ordinary Humans, aren’t we? And since you’ve planted the bomb, can’t you just threaten it without feeding us to the thing?”

  Now, I didn’t have any issues with killing such people then and there, but I was trying to start over, trying to start something worth protecting and developing. People like this man had the right to ask such a question, but it didn’t mean that it didn’t bother the shit out of me.

  “There is no one in this world, except for my previous King, who can kill me. And Dimas, the Vampire who beat the Basilisk together with me. How do you expect someone to keep a check on me?”

  “That’s the point, Sir Raziel! We can’t!”

  A small number of people sitting around him seemed to think alike and nodded their heads, encouraged him, and supported him with admittedly weak words.

  “So what do you want me to do, old man? Should I go tell the Basilisk our deal is off and it can come feast on you?”

  “I knew it! He shows his real face! He will just use us as food!”

  Rennes traced her hand along mine and squeezed lightly behind my back. She probably saw I was about to run out of patience and stopped me from doing something that wouldn’t be of any help, namely killing the old fool.

  “Is that the way to talk to someone who saved you, old man?” Rennes asked. She was calm but the tone of her voice was low and the look in her eyes cold. “You’ve been a thorn in everyone’s side for years, nagging at every opportunity and trying to get people to rise up against me, but it stops today!”

  “You dare to treat me, an elder like that?” he snapped, got up, and threw a fist-sized rock at her. I caught it in mid-air and threw it back. His head snapped back as he dropped with a hole in his head.

  “Violence only begets you violence, keep it in mind,” I growled. “I could have done this much differently. I could have made you all into slaves and not a single one would have been able to escape, but I’m offering you the world! How dare you treat me like this?”