"This feels weird." I said looking at the plate in front of me
"Why would it feel weird? You asked for it, not to mention you've not been a vampire long enough to be completed disenchanted with normal food. And if I should add, you're no longer a full vampire. Seriously you get involved in the strangest things." Asha replied.
I nodded my head and proceeded to place a spoon full of blood red mashed potatoes into my mouth. I chewed a bit, trying to get a fill of the rich texture and flavor in my mouth.
It was like nothing I've ever tasted, looking at it felt weird, but placing that spoon in my mouth made me feel like it felt at home being caressed by my tongue. I swallowed and everything felt right.
"Well that was unexpectedly satisfying, I want more!"
And Asha gave me what I asked for as she heaped my plate with more mashed potatoes. In the end I felt like she was spoiling me rotten. The pregnancy has been somewhat hard on her; after all even before they've been born it's already been proved that my kids were as weird as their old man. Due to that, she's had to take a step back from being the dean of the school, and focus all of her attention sorely on taking care of herself.
Thankfully Varsessa and Kuyait have been around to give all the help she needed, and since both women have been through pregnancies before, with Varsessa actually birthing five children in a rather impressive display for her young vampire age.
But Asha had too much time in her hands, so she decided to learn how to cook.
With Asare and Nisi being her unwilling test subjects, she's gone through a lot of experimental dishes to make something she considered good enough to feed me with, even if it's just mashed potatoes. Her attention for me today made me a little worried though, after all tomorrow was the conference and I felt like she was giving me a last meal or something.
"Farina and Malek are here, they have to talk to you about the conference tomorrow."
As soon as she finished speaking, the aforementioned people walked into the room. They both had expectant but rather serious expressions on their faces. Seems whatever they have to say is rather important. They moved until they were standing right in front of me. After a short bow, Farina started speaking.
"Pardon our intrusions master, but what we have to tell you is rather important, especially since it has to with the conference tomorrow. First of all, the conference in and out of itself is really simple, but since we can no longer be identified as vampires of the bloodline council, then I'm afraid things might be a little harder this time around.
During the conference you're expected to undertake ten tasks as leader of the coven hoping to be recognized. And after that, at least four members of your soon to be coven would have to fight in a rank to rank one on one battle.
Three out of five wins means your coven is strong and capable of protecting itself and the vampire race. And you as they would have to complete 7 out of all 10 tasks given to you, and unless in extenuating circumstances, no leader with less than 7 completion rates is allowed to create a coven." Farina paused to take a breath, only for Malek to continue in her stead.
"Previously, all ten tasks were for the leader to fight against different fighters from all six bloodline covens, required to defeat 6 and survive against the seventh long enough for the elders to be satisfied by his or her tenacity. But seems a lot of people have been unsealed, and the waves you've made since your arrival would definitely force the remaining four elders to test you differently.
So you can't just expect a battle, though without a doubt you would have to fight, considering the leader of the Bediako coven had dropped a challenge which you accepted the last time you both were face to face.
The tasks are bound to be different, but it doesn't end there as other covens, especially those that have been established for a significant amount of time could and would challenge you for the right to become the lord of the blue district.
So you need to pick your followers carefully, though I don't think that would pose a problem to you considering you have the Envoys. And their fame has already spread, which should garner you some reputation, not to mention if you all can perform well enough, you would be able to scare away any competitors hoping to take advantage of your exhaustion.
You're going to be a wounded lion in the midst of hungry hyenas, which means, just like a lion you have to dominate everything with pride. The conference on the surface is a friendly exchange, or a gambling event where one coven assimilates and swallows another. But there's a lot of bloodshed and you should try to....."
"Oh for God's sake Malek spit it out!" Asha suddenly interrupted Malek with a loud shout. Then she turned to me and said.
"What he's trying to say, while obviously skirting around the topic like a coward is that in other to leave a long lasting impression and dissuade any other covens from making too many moves, you and the Envoys have to be ruthless in some cases. This means you have to take a life in the most brutal, ruthless, and show stopping manner you all could possibly muster."
The funny thing about this whole conversation was that ever since it started, I had a mouthful of un swallowed mashed potatoes, so my mouth was bulging, and I had no idea how much of a joke I looked like in front of the rest of them. I swallowed, and cleaned the side of my mouth with a napkin. Then I looked at all three vampires and said.
"As far ruthlessness goes, my Envoys and I can muster spades of it, and in rather unique and colorful ways. So don't worry too much, I believe we can make an impressive enough display that would deter other enemies from acting."
"But it's not that simple though." Malek suddenly said.
Then I got confused. Didn't they all just said that I needed to be ruthless and kill, though now that I'm thinking about it, aren't I being a little too liberal with the life of others.
Lives of people who committed no offense against me, except being the opponents of me and my Envoys. I don't think I was this cold hearted, and I couldn't help the frown that showed up on my face as I questioned how much I seemed to have changed.
No matter what, I must not become a monster the likes of Adein, Quoranis, and the council of light. There should be lines I wouldn't cross, no matter how good an idea it might seem. Seeing my confusion, farina decided to explain what Malek meant.
"The Triennial vampire coven conference is more than just a simple gamble, or a ladder to power. But it's also an exhibition. A show that appeals to the bloodlust, and good will, of simple vampire folk. Every coven would always want to take a righteous stance so that they can seem appealing to the public, and recruit more vampires into their ranks.
If you and the Envoys go out there killing without provocation or need in the name of making a statement, you would turn the public's opinion about you to the negative spectrum. And even though you kill to deter others, because the vampires watching already hate your guts for killing, the covens would feel the need to challenge you in order to win and gain their approval.
The ultimate deterrent would be to fight and defeat the elder of the Bediako coven, however you wouldn't be able to challenge any of the bloodline covens unless you're already an accepted leader of an official coven, and have won no less than 10 back to back battles. In this case, it seems your hands are tied."
I never thought that it would be this complicated, to be honest I expected a long fight, and just like my other fights, even if the odds are always stacked against me, I always won.
But this was more than just a simple fight; rather it was politics in a very different fashion. It made my head ache thinking about it, but this was something that I had to go through with. I wanted to get the other covens under my rule, though I'm not so sure about the Zekeri, Bediako, and the Inferno bloodline.
Based on what Gus found out during the banquet, Sousa; the leader of the Zekeri bloodline apparently shared a bed with public enemy number one Adein the Lover. But of course things might not be as simple as it that.
Being the head warden, I believed Adein had the power and resources to blackmail someone of Sousa's caliber into hid bed. But Sousa also didn't look like someone who can be blackmailed or bullied into doing something she didn't want to do.
It was a conundrum that I've not been able to solve since I found out, because I honestly didn't see a viable reason that Sousa would be sleeping with someone who has caused pain and suffering to a lot of vampires.
The next would be the Bediako coven, but that was self explanatory. Their leader was a war mongering elitist who thought he was better than everyone else, and that if you're not born a vampire and a part one of the bloodline covens, then you were not worth more than the dirt under his feet.
The Inferno bloodline coven was just plain blank. I didn't have a strong expression of their young master or even any other member of the winged vampire bloodline to know how they acted or felt. As far as I was concerned, concerning this particular group of vampires, I was just shipping in unknown waters.
The only coven I had any hope for was the Hom'rugr bloodline coven.
Being a coven of elite vampire assassins was quite good, and on their own, I was sure they could survive without the help I could render. But the advantages of having them be a part, of what we were building here was too great to ignore.
Which is why, the main reason I was going to conference was to get the Hom'rugr coven to join me. And I was quite confident that I could do it too, it just that I felt as if something could go horrible wrong during the process.
But if things do go the wrong way, I'll deal with it, when it happens. I had to get ready, because tomorrow a change would come upon the pit. And I'll be right there riding the wind that brings it.