I don't think I understand what was going on here, though to be honest I was a lot better than Teluna, who's had his jaw unhinged from it's socket for the past fifteen minutes. Dragons! Or at least a variation of one. But of course there was one huge question being brewed in everyone's mind, though I was not exactly sure how to ask it. And then Malek took care of it for me.
"Are you Teluna's father?"
Asare raised an eyebrow, before brushing off imaginary dirt from his shoulders and answering "No". Though I did not see the need for all the theatrics. But with that out of the way, I had to ask. "What happened here?".
The smell of smoke and snow aside, there was a distinct lack of people around, houses were burning, and I could smell blood. Lot's of it. I turned to look at Asare and Malek, though it took a lot of effort on my path since I was still feeling a little weak after my fight with Maze. However none of them could look me in the eye, whatever it is that has happened, I don't think it was good seeing as they couldn't bring themselves to say anything to me.
"The city was attacked. Though we've mounted a counter attack and won, we still suffered severe losses."
Asha answered as she walked out of the palace, behind her was the entire population of the city that were not fighting or capturing our enemies at the moment. I turned to Asare looking at him straight in the eye as I attempted to ask a question, but it was just as hard for me as it was for them. But in the end I still had to say it.
"How many?"
"At this point it's totally unclear. We've not had time to wind down yet, so we don't know. But if I should hazard a guess, I'll say roughly 20%."
It was like someone banged a sledge hammer on my head. 20% was a lot; that was a lot of lives. I don't know how many vampires lived in the city, but the least they can be was 200 thousand or three. And twenty percent of that, was 20 or 30 thousand vampires. I was shocked, but right now I didn't want to think about this, I didn't want to think about it. It was like giving me permission to wallow in self pity and doubt's once again, and I've gone through to much to go back to that place. Their deaths were unfortunate, but there's nothing I can do about that but to seek revenge for them.
"Who's responsible for this Asare."
"They were led by that fanatical preacher Cornelius Daneaitani. But he escaped with the help of his acolytes during the fight."
My head felt heavy and my heart in a worse shape than it's ever been in a very long time. But I really didn't want to think, so all I did was tap Asare on the shoulder, and tried my best to give him a reassuring smile. I gave Asha and Xaseah a hug, before I made my way into the palace, not one word coming out of my mouth. However coming into the palace might not have been a good idea, because when I did go in, what I saw shook me, even when I was trying to turn my heart to steel.
It was not the wounds, or the Injuries that got me...…it was the tears.
The pain that they all felt right now. They looked up at me, all of them. And even with all of the pain and suffering, everything went silent. I'm supposed to say something, they needed me to say something, but what? What could I possibly say that would make all of this better. Besides, I don't have time for this, I really needed to rest so that I can plan my next steps properly.
Asha-[Stop it! Why is it that every time you experience grief or a set back, you find new ways to torture yourself. It's almost as if you like to feel pain, and to mope and whine like a useless bitch about how everything is your fault and you can't protect the people you promised to protect. I love you to the sky and back, but honestly I'm sick of this bullshit!]
That was beyond harsh, and it would be a lie to say I wasn't shocked. My wife was scolding me, thankfully it was through our telepathic bond. If she was doing this in the open, right in front of everyone, I doubted I would have been able to raise my head ever again. In fact I would have probably died from shame and embarrassment right at that moment. But it didn't look like she was done.
[Your newest method is even more annoying than your old ones. You're really going to stop yourself from feeling grief! When it's what you're supposed to embrace right now. Without it, how can you be there for your people. How can you make amends. They don't need me Kael, they need their father, their master, their brother, their friend, the man who promised to protect them. It doesn't matter how bad this looks, or how hurt and upset you might be. Stop being a child and man up! You don't get to retreat into yourself and wallow every time something goes wrong, and even you do have too. No one is allowed to see it, and it's not supposed to affect your duties as a leader.
This is one of many setbacks that we're destined to face, you and I both know it's a long walk to freedom and the road we have to pass through, is jagged and rough, filled to the brim with snakes, and scorpions, hidden and exposed. You have to stop being the young leader of community of vampires, and start being the lord and master of a nation of vampires. Get your head in the game.]
As far as pep talks go, that was brutally honest, and amazing. But I couldn't help but feel a little put off, how could she call me a child. But then again, when I thought about it, I realized she was right. Every time something went wrong, I threw a tantrum, and more often than not blames. Though moat of the time I give it to myself. I was still growing up, it spokes volumes about her patience with me, and the lengths she would go because she loved me.
She literally married a child, back on earth that would have been grounds for a child abuse charge, but here it was not frowned upon. But it was time to stop being one. Bad things will happen, always and sometimes constantly. It's the way of the world, whether it is earth of Shearath, it is the way life works. But if we let ourselves fall every time we get punched in the face by bad situations, and then go through the long process of getting ourselves back up; a time will come when we won't be able to get up at all.
As of this moment, the only thing I could do, was to deal with it, as a family. This was our covenant. Not the promise of sticking together like a gang and claiming to be family, all the while acting in hierarchal manner, like a pack of wolves. This was a family, and I intend to take care of them as such.
There wasn't much to say or do; seeing as I was still dead tired and completely depleted after my fight with Maze. So all I did was mingle with them, give them the support they needed, and apologize as much as I could for not being there to protect them. And it was in this manner I spent the next seven hours, and I would have gone on for a far longer time, if I didn't pass out, completely exhausted, mentally, physically and emotionally. The darkness was a welcome visitor.
*************
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MISSION ALERT: [Revenge: Find the culprits responsible for the attack on your home, and hunt them down with extreme prejudice. Leave no one alive! /REWARD: all skill +2 levels, Power crest skill: Major Teleportation!]
That's a mission I'm down with. Starting with that Cornelius guy, I'm going to be restarting my campaign and making sure that this time, there's no one left in the entire blue district to threaten the peace of my people. But that was just one mission I had to complete. And I had a feeling, well not just a feeling, but an assurance that tomorrow, two of those missions would be completed.
[MISSION: Prepare for war! Time limit: unknown. REWARDS: unknown.]
[MISSION: In six months lead an attack against the guard tower./REWARD: The Red Dragons Circle(Army Formation), 5000 essence points]
[MISSION: in two months, have a fully functional fighting force with different divisions./ REWARD: Six Army Crests For Different Divisions, New Ether Skill, 2000 essence points]
[MISSION: in two months, master the way of the swordsman and advance to the next swordsman class. / REWARDS: New Swordsman Skill, New Soul rune, New vampire rank battle skill/spell, 1000 ethereal points]
[MISSION: In three month create either a village or town like community for the vampires under you./ REWARDS: Kingdom Building System, Access to the Trans Universal System Market, A bowl of hot Noodles.]
[MISSION: Revenge: find the culprits responsible for the attack on your home, and hunt them down with extreme prejudice. Leave no one alive!/ REWARD: all skills +2 level, power crest skill: Major Teleportation!]
But the missions were not the only guidelines for my actions. I could just as easily decide to do something else with my time anyway. But for now, a city wide clean up was needed, that and also the fact that we all needed to prepare for a mass funeral. This were not happy times, but we were all trying to pick up our pieces and make the best of what we have.
Asha was right about this just being a minor setback. Our enemies have made their play, and hurt us in way we could and could never imagine. Now it's about time we did the same. But I also needed to know how strong I've gotten, not that I couldn't feel that I was stronger, but the system gave an accurate evaluation so it was better that way for me.
• NAME: KAEL COR
• AGE: 19
• RACE: DHAMPIR: VAMPIRE/???? NATURE SPIRIT
• RANK: BLOODCHILD: LEVEL: 3/10
• CLASS:WEAVER/ESSENCE BLADE MASTER +/DRUID
• REALM: WEAVER(10TH CIRCLE)/MIND(4TH CIRCLE)/SWORDSMAN (11th CIRCLE) /DRUID(1st CIRCLE)
• ESSENCE POINTS: 3
• STRENGTH: TIER 22
• AGILITY: TIER 22.50
• PHYSIQUE: TIER 22.50
• MIND: TIER 9
• SOUL: TIER 13.08
• ETHER: TIER 7
SKILLS: PASSIVE
• [ETHER MANIPULATION: LEVEL 8] BASIC
• [SOUL ENERGY MANIPULATION: LEVEL 1] MASTER
• [MENTAL ENERGY MANIPULATION: LEVEL 9] BASIC
• [MARTIAL ARTS: LEVEL 9] ADVANCED
• [SWORD MASTERY: LEVEL 9] ADVANCED
• [SHIELD ARTS: LEVEL 6] ADVANCED
• [FIREARMS MASTERY: LEVEL 6] BASIC
• [ILUSSION RESISTANCE: LEVEL 3] ADVANCED
• [GRAVITY WALKER: LEVEL 2] ADVANCED
• [BEAST TONGUE: LEVEL N/A] MASTERED
• [ESSENCE EFFECT: LEVEL 2] BASIC
• [ONE WITH NATURE: LEVEL 2] BASIC
SKILLS: ACTIVE
• [WEAVE: LEVEL 4] ADVANCED
• [NINE GATES OF THE ETHER'S SWORD: LEVEL 1] BASIC (FORGOTTEN)
• [MINING: LEVEL 3] BASIC
• [READ: LEVEL 6] BASIC
• [HYPER SENSE: LEVEL 3] ADVANCED
• [DUNGEON BUILDER: LEVEL 9] BASIC
• [LION'S ROAR: LEVEL 9] BASIC
• [LION'S SPRINT: LEVEL 8] BASIC
• [IRON MANE: LEVEL 7] BASIC
• [SUMMON MONSTER: LEVEL 1] ADVANCED
• [ESSENCE SLASH: LEVEL 2] BASIC
• [PHANTOM SWORD: LEVEL 1] BASIC
• [ESSENCE BASTION: LEVEL 1] BASIC
• [SANGUINA'S CRYSTAL: LEVEL 2] BASIC
• [PERCEPTION CUTTING GLEAM: LEVEL 4] BASIC
• [TRANSFORMATION: LEVEL 1] BASIC
SOUL SKILLS:
• [SOUL CONVERSION: LEVEL 3] ADVANCED
• [SOUL INFUSION: LEVEL 9] BASIC
• [SOUL WALKER: LEVEL 8] ADVANCED
• [SOUL SIGHT: LEVEL 9] BASIC
• [SOUL DOUBLE: LEVEL 3] ADVANCED
BLOODLINE SKILLS:
• SOUL GUARDIAN: (1/1)
• SOUL RUNES:[BREAK/SHIELD/PUSH/PULL/HEAL/DREAM]
• POWER CREST(II):[COMMUNICATION/SENSING/MINOR TELEPORTATION]
• MISSIONS: 6
I like to think I've come a long way. I was now a master swordsman and a Sky weaver. If I was still among the social circles of Shearath's nobility, I would be looked upon with respect. Heck at this point I would have students of my own, if I wanted. Maybe I should get some students. Either way, the bottom line is, I was strong now, very strong. Strong enough to take the fight to the guards and the gangs, and the bloodline covens. Without a doubt, it was time to leave the Pit. Because there was a bigger world waiting outside for me.