===Skotos===
He wasn't certain what having the Dark Element meant, but it seemed to be something big.
"Can you explain if it is a good thing or a bad thing that I have both Fire and Dark elements? Also, how did you understand that by the stone turning to ashes?"
Gareth signaled towards the person who brought Skotos from his cell to leave as the three who remained in the room sat to talk.
"Let me start with explaining a bit about the Elements. The basic ones are Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Any of the 8 Magical Races can use those, but one has access to one most times. That is what Element resides in you and can create, but some can even control Elements in the environment other than the one in them. The case of having multiple Elements is rare but not unheard of, but it is even rarer for one to be born with two Elements. Most times, one develops their second Element through intense training."
Gareth got a cup of tea in it and had a sip. Skotos could smell the tea, which showed how much his senses had improved.
"Then what about Dark Element? You didn't mention it as one of the Elements."
Gareth smiled at him and nodded.
"Yes, I didn't. Those were the Basic Elements, but some Elements are unique to some Races. For example, as Vampires, we have access to the Dark Element, but not all of us can access it or even use it to its full potential. Only the King of Vampires, father of Lady Pyre, was the one who could use it with no restrictions, as he also had it residing in him. Even his daughters had…. "
"You don't need to bore him with everything, Elder Gareth," the princess cut the older vampire.
Gareth cleared his throat before continue speaking.
"So, as you understand, having access to the Dark Element is something that many wanted to have. Some even consider it a sign of true nobility for our kind, but this is just fairy tales. Since you turned the rock into ashes, that showed that you have the Fire Element, but since they were completely black and not somewhat greyish, it is a sign of the Dark Element residing in you as well. Of course, that doesn't mean that you can use both of them in full power, but it is a wonderful tool to help strengthen yourself faster. Still, since there aren't many who can use the Dark Element, that means there aren't many to help you develop it, so we will focus more on your Fire Element for now."
Gareth took another sip of his tea, and Skotos noticed something strange about that tea. It smelled somewhat weird.
"Excuse me, Elder. May I ask what it is you are drinking?"
Gareth looked at him and smiled.
"You aren't ready to know. Come on, let's see what you got. Your opponent should be ready to spar. Good thing you both were up today. I am curious to see both of you in action."
This confused Skotos, but they explained nothing as both Gareth and Pyre headed out of the room.
He couldn't do anything else but follow.
===Rubert===
He woke up and felt something strange. He was over something quite soft and comfortable.
As he opened his eyes, he noticed being in a bed, wearing unfamiliar clothes. He then remembered Vlad and the ritual, and he looked over his hands.
They had changed a bit as they were sharper. He also felt his mouth feeling strange and felt his teeth with his tongue, which were sharper. Then he touched his chin and found some facial fair to it, but not much. One couldn't even consider it a thin under-beard.
"Finally, you are awake. Took you some time."
Rubert turned and saw the familiar female figure of the female Vampire that was with Vlad. Her name was Ramona if he remembered correctly.
"You were out for three days. But look at how much you have grown. Looking forward to seeing what you can do, kid, because Vlad had been around praising himself for finding this new promising protege."
Rubert got out of bed and, right away, noticed something different. He was taller than before. Of course, he didn't grow too much, maybe another head, but still, he found it strange and unfamiliar. But, of course, one shouldn't grow that fast after some time sleeping.
"I was…"
He stopped speaking as he noticed his voice changing. It was a bit deeper than before.
"Oh, how cute? You got your puberty that fast. I am certain you want to try more things, but Vlad wants to see you first thing after waking up. So come on, he will explain everything, as he probably will know more about the changes in your body."
Ramon then threw him a small bag.
"Put this on. We can't have you go around wearing pajamas."
It contained new clothes that seemed too big for him, but when he brought them out to get a better look at them, they shrunk to fit him perfectly. His eye got wide from surprise and confusion about what happened.
As he turned towards Ramona, ready to ask her how that worked, he noticed the looked in her eyes. They were sending the simple message of 'You better hurry or else.'So he hurried up, putting the clothes on.
He didn't mind Ramona watching him getting dressed as he was used to people he lived with seeing him doing so. He had left with many people since his mother was gone, and it was hard to have your privacy in the streets.
So when he got dressed, he wore pants similar to the ones Vlad wore and wore a fitting shirt. Of course, Vlad didn't have a shirt, as he was bare-chested both times he met him, but it could be just circumstantial.
They headed out, and on the way, they met another young Vampire who waved at Ramona.
"Aunt, where are you heading? Is this the new wolf-boy? Is he going to fight Lady Pyre's new minion? Is…."
"Aislinn, can you just ask one question at a time? It is annoying when you are acting like that."
The young vampire stopped talking when Ramona scolded her.
"I am a sorry aunt."
Ramona patted her on the head, which made her smile a bit.
"I am just getting the boy to Vlad. I didn't know anything else, therefore why we were heading there. You can join us since you are that curious yourself but don't expect to learn much."
So the three of them headed towards one room upstairs, and after knocking on the door, Ramona entered without waiting for one to tell her to enter.
It was another bedroom, almost identical to the one Rubert slept in, except for a wooden practice target in the middle of it. Vlad was training, as the target was full of fresh scratches from him.
When Ramona opened the door, he stopped his training and looked toward the group that entered the room.
"You are awake that soon? I wasn't expecting you to be up for at least three more days. Once more, I underestimated you."
Vlad signaled Rubert to come and sit on a chair while he took a seat to another one. Vlad then turned to the two Vampires in the room.
"Anything I can help the two of you with?"
Aislinn was ready to speak, but Ramona spoke first.
"We will be on our way."
So she turned and took Aislinn with her outside. Aislinn seemed sad that she didn't get the chance to speak but followed Ramona.
"So, how do you feel? I am sure you will find your body much different from what it used to be."
"I… I feel nice."
Vlad smiled at him as he started telling him some stories about his people.
A couple of hours passed, as there was another knock on the door, but it didn't open right away this time.
"Come in," Vlad said to the person outside.
The same Werewolf who acted as a guard for the human prison the other day entered the room.
"Rob, what is it? I thought you were still in charge of the human prisoner," Vlad asked his fellow person.
"The prisoner is up and running. He speaks to their Princess, but they told me to let you know when he is up. Since you protege is up, they want to see how good both are."
Vlad stood up, and Rubert noticed a grin on his face.
"Come on then, Rubert, let's show them what true talent can do."
Rubert was worried about what they would want him to do, but he knew that Vlad wouldn't let any harm come to him. He didn't know why, but he trusted him and wanted to be by his side.
He would get stronger and not let anyone belittling him anymore.