"Kneel before the Exarch, Angelus Cel Tradat." Said one vampire, standing upon an elevated platform next to another black-haired vampire. The room offered just enough candle light for those within.
Without much saying a word, a younger version of the dark haired male knelt down as demanded. He kept his attention on the ground in front of him as he waited for the herald to speak once more. He didn't have to wait long.
"The coven stands as witness that I, Vargha Cel Tradat, raise Angelus Cel Tradat by virtue of his strength, loyalty, valor, and skill at arms, to the elite rank of nightlord." The herald began.
The leader of the coven, Exarch Vargha stared down at his son. Even if he showed no emotion, He was proud that his own son had made it to the elite ranks of being a wraith. He was one of the coven's best warriors and would make an outstanding Exarch when it was time for Vargha to step down.
"Angelus Cel Tradat, do you swear and acknowledge Vargha to be your true and lawful liege?" Once more the Herald spoke.
"I do so swear." Angelus confirmed. He placed his hands side to side, his palms facing up. Vargha then placed his own over his sons.
"Repeat after me: I, Angelus Cel Tradat, do solemnly swear and pledge my sword to Vargha Cel Tradat, my liege, to defend and obey him until he departs this coven or death shall take me, and to uphold the honor of a wraith." The herald said.
Angelus repeated the Herald after he had finished speaking. His voice was calm, but inside he was ecstatic at becoming a nightlord within the wraiths. He certainly worked tirelessly to make it happen. Ever since he was a young boy he admired the warriors of the coven.
"And I, for my part, do swear to defend and honor Angelus Cel Tradat as befits a true nightlord!" It was Vargha who spoke this time. "You may now rise as a nightlord, an elite wraith!" Vargha finished off the promotion of his son, Angelus.
The coven's Exarch turned to one of the coven thralls, gesturing to them to come forward. She responded to his orders immediately, carrying over a metal platter that had several chalices of blood on top of it. Vargha grabbed one before waving the thrall off and raised the chalice into the air.
"Tonight we gather to celebrate my son, Angelus Cel Tradat!" Vargha said. "I have had the pleasure of training our coven's Scion over the years, and he has learned how to fight quite well over the years." he paused for a brief second. "It didn't take long until he had surpassed me in combat prowess. Now, he has reached the highest ranks of our wraith warriors. I could not be prouder of my son! I know when the time comes, he will be the best Exarch that this coven has ever seen." he continued on.
Angelus listened as his father spoke to the room full of coven members. It was definitely packed. When a thrall passed by him, he grabbed a Chalice full of blood. He brought the metal to his lips and sipped on the crimson liquid. Angelus tried to keep his face expressionless, fighting against a smile forming on his lips at his father's words. He wouldn't admit it, but he always wanted to make his father proud and from what he could tell by what Vargha was saying, Angelus has done just that.
Applause of the coven members erupted as soon as Vargha had finished his toast to his son. They all looked over towards the scion. In unison they lifted their chalices of blood, "To Angelus Cel Tradat, Our Scion!"
A few people walked up to Angelus and congratulated him. He simply offered them a smile and a nod of the head. Coven members who were closer to Angelus placed their hand on his shoulder as they spoke before moving on to talk or do something else.
A chalice was slammed against one of the tables, interrupting the chaotic peace of several groups of vampires having their own conversations.
"You lying bastard! I know you bedded my wife!" One vampire jumped up as he yelled.
"What makes you think I bedded her? Not my fault if your wife can't keep her legs shut to everyone else." The other smirked.
Angelus sighed, shaking his head. They had to do this, today of all days. He walked over to the two who were arguing. "Must you two always argue over everything. What seems to be the problem now?" He asked.
"This dumbass fucked my wife!" The first responded.
"And I told you, I didn't do shit to your wife."
"Do either of you have any proof of your claims?" Angelus grabbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger.
"Well, No.." The first looked down and away from Angelus.
"Until you have proof, stay away from each other, will you? Now go, before I have the guards take you both down to the dungeon." Angelus said.
"Yes, Scion." Both of the vampires said in unison before they went separate ways.
Angelus sighed softly yet again once the two left. It seemed as though those two were always arguing about something and after all these years it has gotten old. Children. They were literally children with the body of an adult. There doesn't seem to be a day that goes by where they aren't arguing over who knows what. To get some silence and peace, Angelus decided to walk out onto the balcony where he would be alone. He looked out over the barren land, fog hiding trees in the distance. Despite the music that can be still heard from inside, the night and the scenery offered a sense of peace to Angelus. He looked up into the starry night sky. It wasn't long before Vargha joined his son out on the balcony.
"I am proud of you, my son. I just know you will become one of the best Exarchs that this coven have ever had." Vargha's lips pulled back into a smirk slightly at the dark-haired male before him.
"Thank you, Father." Angelus smiled back at the man who raised him. Even if the two didn't always get along or always see eye to eye, he did truly admire the man and looked up to him. He had shaped him into the man he had become. Truth be told, Angelus would be lost without his father. Not that he would ever openly admit that to him.
"Your mother would be proud of you, Angelus." Vargha said.
"I know." Angelus knew what he said was true. Even if his memory of his mother has faded slightly since her death, he does recall some of the conversations he had with her. He had even overheard some of the conversations that she had with his father. One in particular was about him following in her footsteps to become a nightlord before becoming the next Exarch. Supposedly it was about being a strong fighter to protect himself, his family and the coven. Ever since overhearing that, Angelus had trained himself into exhaustion more times than he could count. At one point, he even scared his own mother and father. The training had become obsessive and he wasn't taking proper care of himself. In the end, all the training did pay off. He now achieved his mothers dream for him. It made him miss her. Angelus didn't know he had gotten lost in his thoughts until he had heard his father speak once more.
"When I met her, it was at her own Nightlord ascension ceremony, you know." Vargha mentioned, looking out into the foggy distance.
"I believe you have mentioned it once or twice before.." Angelus joked before he turned his head to his father. "It's not often that we get a moment alone like this, you are usually always busy." He said.
"I know, and for that I am sorry."
"No need for apologies. I understand the responsibilities that come with being the Exarch of our coven." Angelus reassured Vargha. Even if he did find himself sometimes missing him, he knew that his father had other duties to attend to. Especially now that Angelus was fully grown. It wasn't like Angelus didn't have his own duties to attend to such as training to take over the coven when the time comes. His own duties kept him quite preoccupied. However, having these rare moments with his father were still nice. Angelus treasured these moments. He could not express just how much they meant to him. Vargha was all the family that he had left.
"I came out here to tell you that the Duke of Grymmere has invited us to his annual Masquerade tomorrow night." Vargha said. "I won't be able to attend due to some important meetings. Can you go in my stead to represent House Cel Tradat?"
"Of course I can, I will be there." Angelus assured his father. Even if he never cared for such events, he knew they were important to Vargha and to his noble family. His family and the Duke of Grymmere go way back.
"Thank you, Angelus. It means the world to me." Vargha smiled softly at him.
"What is important to you, is important to me, Father."
"Always so formal, my son." A gentle chuckle came from deep within Vargha's chest. "I shall leave you alone to brood and gaze into the distance." he teased, before leaving Angelus alone with his thoughts.
Angelus smiled back at his father before returning his attention to the hundreds of thousands stars above. How calming he found the night. He didn't mean that just because he was a vampire and couldn't even walk in the sunlight. There was a calmness during the night, perhaps it was partially because most of the world was asleep. If it wasn't for the party going on inside, it would be rather silent aside from nature's melody of crickets chirping, howling wind rustling the leaves of a nearby tree, a nearby rushing river or even a wolf calling to the moon above.
Angelus had made it. He had actually made his goal of becoming a nightlord a reality. He couldn't help but smile to himself as all the work he put in had paid off in the end.
"I did it… Mother. Tonight is one of those nights that I wish you could be here" Angelus whispered, partially to his mother who may or may not have heard him and partially to himself. If others had overheard him he were sure they would have considered him to be going crazy. To say that he missed her would be a grave understatement. No words could ever express just how much he did so. Such is the curse of losing someone that you love. Angelus would never have wished that upon anyone.
He remained out there only for a short period longer to enjoy the night air before he went back inside and started to head to his room.
"May I offer you a drink, My Lord?" One of the coven's thralls offered. In her hand she held a platinum platter with chalices which Angelus could only assume was filled with a refreshing sanguine fluid of mortal life.
"Yes, Thank you." He grabbed one of the cups from the platter and lifted it to drink from the metal cup. He quickly finished off the blood before returning the drinking vessel to a platter held by the thrall.
If he planned on making it to the Duke's estate by sunrise, he would need to leave soon. He had begun by gathering his things, most of which comprised of a mask, and the attire he planned on wearing for the event. It had been some time since he had last attended a masquerade; it took Angelus longer to locate his mask, which was hidden within one of the many wooden drawers within his room.