It was relatively hard work scaling the cliff face to get up to the base entrance. It was an unassuming cave from what I could tell walking through the darkness of the entrance. As we got closer, smells and sounds became vibrant. The smell of human blood was strong in the air and there were so many voices inside, I could not keep track. When we finally got into the light, the "cave" was massive. There were corridors, rooms, everything a base should have. The first room we came into was like a living room of sorts. There were benches in rows with vampires sitting all around as well as a bar serving some kind of blood mixture to the people sitting there. It really was a high profile area. When we came in, everyone stopped and looked at us, well me. Diach seemed right at home among the massive crowd.
"Diach, is that you?" A voice called out from the bar. It was a gruff voice followed by a pretty gruff looking man. He had a long red beard with all black clothes but they were not the average street clothes most are used to seeing. The man had on a very high grade tuxedo with white details; a white tie, white pocket square, white stitching, all the suspected. As he came towards us, the other vampires bowed their heads when he passed.
"Shu, it has been too long, my friend." Diach said extending a hug to the man. It seemed as though they were long distanced friends.
"Are you going to introduce me to your disciple?" The Shu man asked gesturing towards me. I followed suit and bowed my head as he motioned to me.
"Ah, yes, this is Skytel. I had almost forgotten he was with me. He is my first official recruit." Diach beamed while nudging me forward. I had no idea what else he wanted so I just awkwardly stood there bowing my head.
"The infamous Diach made someone? I am not sure what strange universe I stepped in to. There seems to mostly be identical life forms." Shu said jokingly looking around. They shared a laugh before walking back to the bar. As I did not know anyone here or the layout, I just followed along.
"Well the kid has manners. I like him already. What all have you told him about us?" Hyde said waving the bartender down. He told him something in some other language and the bartender walked away. Without moving a step from the other end of the bar, the barhand slid a glass down the bar. It came screaming into the man's hand but did not spill a drop. It was an impressive display if I am being honest.
"Well all the basics: vampire, do not touch sunlight, we have princes, a base, etc." Diach said back as Shu took a drink. Shu put the glass on the bar and looked back at Diach with a sly smile that my mentor returned.
"You did not tell him about the test?" Was all Shu said before they both let out a laugh again. There was something I would find out shortly that feeling was not going to be pleasant.
"I figure no better way but to experience it firsthand. You will be interested in seeing it as well. In fact..." Diach started before spinning out of the chair to face the whole area. He was going to make an announcement but by the time he stood up, everyone else was quiet and watching. They all greatly respected the man as did I.
"Everyone in the entryway: would you all like to be entertained and intrigued at the same time? Want to see what the famed 'Diach the conquerors' first recruit is capable of? Well then come with us to the prince's chambers and watch Skytel take his test." Diach called out to everyone. They all looked on with anticipation. This was the first I heard of 'Diach the conqueror' but I knew it would not be the last. I would have to ask him about it later as well. That must have been why he commanded such respect in this base. The two men talked for another half hour before they got up and we went further back into the base. There was now a long line following us of all the people in the bar as well as everyone else we happened to pass which was a lot of vampires. They split off just before we went into a long hallway.
We came to a door after walking down the hallway for a few minutes. It was a massive door 20 feet high made of some kind of metal with a gorgeous carving in it. It was some kind of monster battling a group of Moonwalkers. There were rubies where the moon would normally sit with the background looking to be some sort of base of a mountain.
"That was the first of our kind battling the Moonwalkers in the famed 'Battle of the Nights'. The battle took place about 6500 years ago in Romania. As I am sure you guessed, the beast is Dracula as the humans know him." Diach started while I was carefully looking at the art. It really was an impressive piece of work. When he mentioned humans, it made me wonder about the language from before.
"What was that, the man Shu, saying back at the bar? It sounded like a different language. It definitely was not something I have ever heard any human say. Was it a lost language?" I questioned the man. He looked at me with pride when I asked.
"If by lost language you mean language no human has ever nor will ever know, then yes. It is the language of our people: Achtaric. You will learn it as time passes. It is passed through our blood over time so there really is no need for me to teach it to you. The Moonwalkers have a language of their own but I never cared to find out what it was or how it sounded, the animals." Diach said before going back to his normal self. The blood feud between the vampires and the Moonwalkers ran deep, deeper than I ever could have realized.
Diach knocked on the heavy metal doors then and after answering the guard's questions the door slowly opened. The room inside was much bigger than I was expecting and in the center sat four men; three older and one about Diach's age. They all had varying but equally impressive armor on. The younger one, which I took special note of had on a sharp golden armor with high shoulders. He was a battle-hardened vampire which I could see just from his demeanor. I would even venture to guess he would have no difficulty killing my mentor and that man was the best fighter I had ever seen.
"Ah, little Diach, have you accomplished your mission?" One of the older men asked looking down at a parchment. None of the older men ever looked up while we entered but still they knew who was here. I had not heard the guards call out who it was either and with the thickness of the door, no way they heard Diach call in as they were pretty far back in the room.
"Little Diach? Who do these geezers think they are?" I angrily snarled at the four men. Diach shot me a scorned look when I said that. The four guards who were standing by the door were on me instantly. Before I could even get the next thought out, they had spears all crossing at my throat. I was pinned in the middle of them all. But their strength seemed average for vampires.
"Go ahead, make me angry." I snarled at the guards. My patience was already preciously thin from the men with Diach. How dare they refer to my master as 'little Diach'? That was not an offense I would let stand.
"Your fledgeling has quite the temper, I see." The gold plated man said to Diach looking at me in interest. "It has been a while since someone stood up to the princes."
"I am sorry, my lords. This is my new recruit, Skytel." Diach said forcing my me down onto one knee in a kneel like he had done. "He does not know any better so if you could just forgive him. I will take the punishment you deem necessary in his place."
"It is okay, Diach. You may both rise. He is your new recruit, is he? Well you know what comes next: the test." One of the older men said now looking up from the parchment. He was looking directly at me as I was the one to speak out against him.
"I will take care of this. He is nothing but a short tempered brat who needs to be put in his place." the gold plated man said challenging me. He eyed me over before sniffing the air.
"What is he? He smells like us but different somehow." The man said as he carefully looked me over. The other princes sniffed in my direction and all looked a bit confused.
"Alright, Hideki. The boy is yours to handle. You should be able to check him with no problems. Make sure he understands who is in charge here. Find out why he smells that way as well. Use whatever means necessary." One of the older men said to the gold plated one. The gold plated man got up and walked from their platform out of the door. Whatever was coming next, it was time. I was shown the door as Diach had something to talk to the princes about. I knew even with my additional capabilities, I could not hear through the thick door along with the space. There was no point even trying so I just patiently waited on the other side of the door. After about ten minutes, Diach came strolling out.
"What was that about?" I asked the man before we left. His expression was bare as he was careful not to show his emotion around me thus far.
"They just wanted to know some of your history and physical abilities. I told them of your martial arts training but did not mention your transformation. I thought it best not to." Diach said as we walked through the doorway.
"As you request, Hoizon." The Hideki man said as he exited with a slight bow. Even the three of them seemed to have an order of importance and it seemed the oldest of them was at the pinnacle. The guards released me then to go back to their previous positions.
"Show him around the mountain first but be quick. You know Hideki is not a man of patience. He will not show your boy mercy due to his little outburst so I do hope you have given him some training at least." The Hoizon man said looking back down at his parchment. They waved us out as the guards came to escort us out.
Diach showed me around the base then but it was a speedy tour. He made quick work of the dining hall, the resting quarters, the entryway we had been in, the torture chamber, and finally the arsenal where everyone from before were sitting. They were all sitting in the stands outside a ring. The only people he introduced me to were the arms master and some of the higher ranking generals. The man from before, Hyde, was a very high ranking general equal to Diach. They were the highest ranking members of the clan besides the princes themselves and the arms master. The arms master was only higher because he could fight and kill just about anything walking the earth.
After meeting the rest of the people of interest left outside the arsenal arena, we made our way back. Diach gave me a serious talk on the way.
"You have got to pay the utmost attention and care in this test. He will run you into the ground if you are not on guard. That outburst you had really rubbed him the wrong way. Hideki is usually a pretty calm and levelheaded vampire but he seems to have taken a special interest in you. You know I do not condone your anger transformation but you have got to let it out if you want to stand any chance of staying alive in this test. Let the rage take over." Diach said seriously. I could guess from the way he was talking I would have to fight the prince. Just from our brief meeting in the throne room, I knew he was way out of my league. In my normal form, I would last maybe four seconds. I did not even think my full vampire form would stand up to him. He was an old man and if what Diach said was true, that meant he was strong. Being that he was not nearly as old as the others, it probably meant he had discerned himself among the many vampires in some way which I could guess was on the battlefield.
Quite honestly, I did not think even the rage transformation would be able to do much against him. I would have to use it at the perfect moment to catch him off guard but so far, a few punches was all it took. If I was going to stand any chance at all, I would have to keep my emotions under control. It was going to be a long night, I could sense it. As I walked into the arsenal and the ring, a thunderous roar of applause and cheers erupted. These vampires wanted to see what I, Diach's first recruit, was capable of and I could not disappoint them. Hideki stood in the middle watching as I walked opposite to face him and got ready to fight. He got in a stance and as soon as the proctor called start, he dashed forward.