"My lord Kael do you really have to come visit the children everyday? At the moment your presence doesn't do much for them considering they're all still in a coma. Please if you would take your humble servant's opinion; you need to rest. The conference is in three days, and you've spent the past week clearing the blue district of rather unsavory characters, I believe that at this point you've earned yourself a well deserved break." Malek said as he stood behind me.
I guess he was right, I do feel tired and even as a vampire it's taking all of my strength to remain standing on my feet. My Envoys were also in a similar state as me, I've pushed everyone so hard that it's become a normal thing for every one of us to look haggard and exhausted. Malek was right, we really did need a break, and even more so with the conference around the corner.
"Alright Malek I'll take your advice and rest. But you should know that a leader never rests, you know that better than I do. Anyway please alert me if there's any change in their condition, I want to be the first to know." I said to him as I made my way out the room they were all placed in.
"Don't worry Master Kael, I'll make sure to get you notified if there's any change in their status. I'm sure they'll be waking up soon; because they have no reason to stay asleep when there's someone here who cares so much for them. Have a good night master Kael." Malek said as he escorted me out of the hospital.
"You too Malek."
I made my way towards the direction of the tower, watching it in the distance as it became shorter and shorter, and an exquisite yet colossal palace took it's place. That building looked larger than life, and intimidating, so much so that I couldn't believe that was my house, my home. I turned away from my path, and instead walked into the still growing city.
At the is point you couldn't see much: most houses were only partially completed, the ground was still the same hard packed earth of gravel and sand, and the workers all looked incredibly dirty.
But the smiles on their faces could not be any more obvious. Things had changed for the vampires, and obviously for the better, so much so that I could hardly find traces of the old blue district anymore. This was freedom at it's best.
I kept to my path moving past the assigned lots that had been carefully and meticulously outlined by Malek and the Ausolon coven for future infrastructure. I've not had a chance to look at the blueprints they were working with, but I believe everything is already taking shape to make this part of the pit the best that this God forsaken place had seen in years.
I took my time saying hello to everyone that went past me, I smiled and ran around with the children, played a game if it was necessary. I was supposed to be resting, but this was relaxing too, in a manner of speaking.
At that moment I didn't have to worry about much, but having fun and doing my part to help my community. I helped the fathers moved slabs of earth in place, helped the mothers with whatever it was that mothers do.
Though most of them were also part of the construction crew. Vampire women could be considered lucky, they've never had to be exposed to misogyny or experience a society where men were made priority and women the lesser.
At least not from other vampires; and that was because a woman could be just as strong as a man if not more. Vampires didn't follow the same logic as most other people. I had two women who I loved with all of my heart, but if I was not in the picture, with the amount of power Asha had, it would not have been a problem for her to have a harem of vampire studs at her beck and call.
But I didn't just help the mothers I played with the children, and I hanged out with the teens, which if I had to be honest are actually supposed to be my crowd. But responsibility and duty had forced me to deal with much older and wiser people, of course taking into consideration that this was my second life, and in my previous I was 28 at the time of my death; then you could say I was way older than they were.
But the whole point of a second life was starting over, only difference with this was that I never lost my memories, scratch that. I lost them, and then they came back.
After hanging with the teens and young adults, I felt the need to escape as fast as I could when the eyes of both male and female vampires began to roam all over my body.
I had to escape for a number of reasons, one, I really like when girls looked at me, it did wonders for my confidence, however I was married, and I wouldn't want Asha or Xaseah paying a visit to any one of those girls, or their parents God forbid. Two I'm not Into guys, I'm liberal about what I could accept, and endorse, but not about what I can experience. No way (shudder).
Leaving those group of people behind made me feel good about myself, after all I wasn't born very attractive. Which if you ask me is a testament to Asha's love that she could fall in love with a kid thousands of years her junior, and not even half as handsome as her most ferocious suitors. But I beat all those guys, and now because I'm a vampire I'm a whole lot more sexy.
The seed instilled a blood lust in vampires, but it also gave us enhanced to insane levels strength, speed, dexterity, resilience, and power. But also it made sure it's hosts, which is to say vampires, no matter what they look like are pushed to the peak of physical perfection. No matter how ugly you looked, once you're a vampire, hour eligible to become the sexiest man alive for that year's cover of big shot magazine.
I kept to my path, until eventually I got to a place that had no buildings, and no vampires in sight for another 40 or so meters. This was the edge of Nefisat's awareness. Of course I know she would expand it more in the future, but for now this was how far she could reach or Influence.
I looked at the ground beneath me, and then punched down, angling my fingers so that they pointed downwards like a spear. So rather than smashing a crater on the ground below me, I dug a hole into it. Then I put my hand into a pocket in my jacket and pulled out Nasir's heart seed.
His crazy name was too long so we had to shorten it to something a little bit more palatable on the tongue. Then I placed the seed into the hole. And covered it up. I've given a lot a thought about this, and had to go through conflicted emotions for it too.
Nasir was dying, if he was not planted again, and especially in a ground that was fertile enough to handle the heart seed of an Ent that has lived for quite a number of years, he would fade away into oblivion, becoming nothing more than a memory to the people who knew him.
So in regards to that I was a little torn and confused. Nasir had spent a lot of time doing bad things, even though it was under the control of a demon that was currently wallowing in prison and being prepared for a trial along with a bunch of other vampires and races that had fallen under my campaign radar. Nasir needed to be punished for all of the pain and anguish he has been partly responsible of causing for countless years.
But he was still innocent too. He grew alone, and then the first person he had the misfortune of coming across, took advantage of his innocence and enslaved him for thousands of years. Amongst every wrong doer I've caught in the last week, he deserved redemption and a second chance the most. A chance I was all too willing to give him.
"Nefisat, can you please send 4 units of creation energy, a 1000% of earth, wood, water and light elemental essence to the heart seed I just placed in the ground. We're going to be getting a new friend." I called out to Nefisat through the crest.
[You got it boss!] Nefisat answered as my crest flashed.
For the first 2 minutes nothing happened, I was even worried that Nefisat hadn't sent the essences at the incorrect ratio, or maybe Nasir had died right at the very last minute. If that was the case then I would feel bad about that, really, really bad. But my fears were assuaged when the earth beneath my feet began to rumble and shake.
It was like there was an earthquake at this part of the pit, and it's emergence had prompted quite a few vampires to come and find out it's cause. Due to how enhanced our senses were, we could hear and feel the tremors, and accurately pin point it's origin. Which was why a massive crowd had already gathered behind me to watch what was going on.
Then a little green stem with a single leaf shot out of the ground with a pop...…...is that it? Seriously? You mean all this shaking was all for this tiny speck of a plant, it looked like something even a gentle breeze can uproot. And then....
BOOOOOOM!
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm Back!"
A massive oak tree shot out of the ground, and kept growing until I looked like an ant in front of a giant. It would take hundreds of vampires to completely encircle his massive frame. He didn't have a humanoid body any more, in fact I'm not sure he was an Ent anymore, but something powerful, much more powerful.
As his massive roots grew out of the ground, I had to take a step back, all the way to the point that I would consider the official start of the city. I think he had stopped expanding his roots out of courtesy, as they still stretched in other directions, becoming kilometers long and meters wide, stretches of massive vegetation.
Then his face appeared on the trunk of the tree, to be honest it looked like a scene out of a horror movie and it freaked me the hell out. But I was able to hold on to my confidence as I came a bit closer, calling out to him.
"Nasir!" his gaze shifted to me and a massive smile broke out on his face.
"Master Kael, how can I ever repay your kindness. You have made me very strong and alive! Not to mention with powers beyond the scope of my imaginations. How can I ever repay you. Please ask, and if it's within my power, I would not hesitate to complete it."
Well at least he still seemed to talk a lot. That didn't change at least, even though I would have preferred if it did.
"Nasir you've had centuries and millennia of wrong doings attached to your name and soul. In a nutshell I should have just let you perish, as punishment for all the pain you've been forced to cause. But everyone deserves a second chance, most especially an innocent like you. So this is your second chance, and this is what I want you to do with it. This people you see behind me, this city you see behind me, are my family and my home. For the remainder of your days, no matter how long or short it is, it will be your duty to protect them, to protect us, to protect me. And I promise, you'll continue to grow stronger than what you have already achieved. So what do you say." I asked
Nasir didn't even hesitate.
"I accept, and of my own volition, I swear to serve you, and your bloodline for many years to come. Just as you are my master, so too will your children, and your children's children, until either I, or the house of Cor, or the world itself fades into the void. I shall protect your home, as if it is mine, your enemies shall be my enemies, and your tribulations and trials shall also be mine. This I so swear, to all the spirits of nature, past, present, and future."
As he spoke, his roots grew larger and larger, until what I was looking at was a wall sixty foot tall that stretched from his sides. Then his face moved upwards on his trunk, and the middle of his trunk began to twist and contort until what was left there was a huge wooden gate, with the Cor crest on it.
Nasir actually became the city gate and the wall of the city, as his roots continued to grow to encircle almost five kilometers of the city to both the east and west though that was barely halfway, but there was room for improvement.
Then as soon as he finished, I felt a jolt in my chest, a rather painful one as my heart, my already dead heart started beating again. I pulled my clothes aside in a frantic pace and watched in surprise as a tree was slowly tattooed over my chest, directly over my heart.
And it's roots began to spread, creating really cool looking tattoos until the entire section of my left chest was covered by them. Then I was assaulted by a bevy of system messages.
[Congratulations on gaining your first city/royal bloodline guardian. All rewards would be deferred until village/town/city/kingdom/empire has been officially named and acknowledged.]
[Congratulations on gaining a new class: Druid. Due to already reaching the maximum limit of available classes, the Dungeon master class and all of it's skills will now be assimilated by the druid class, becoming a part of it. You have gained one passive skill: One With Nature: level 1 basic/ and one active skill. Transformation: level 1 basic]
[Due to your new druid class, which has inexplicably become a bloodline class that you and all your descendants would have, and due to the oath that was given today, you are no longer a full vampire, but rather a Dhamphir. Half Vampire, Half Nature spirit. The effects of natures backlash has now been drastically reduced, and your weaves are now 70% more powerful and effective over anything.]
I turned to Nasir with a shocked look on my face, and a rapidly beating heart as I asked him this question with a completely panicked expression.
"What the hell are you?"
"Who? Me? Well I'm a World Tree, and also I have a class now too. I'm an Oracle! Apparently I can tell the future now!"
"Fuck!"
"Hey! That's a bad word!"