The village of Blüt was built on top of a series of butte mountains, covered in forests which were growing all over, they were also connected by stone bridges and small canals that were flowing with blood from the river.
Those buttes seem to act as outliers for the large mountain mesa in the middle; it was just a few meters taller than the former. This mountain mesa had a large gradient, with blood flowing downwards beautifully. The river ran through the middle of the mesa, with extensive fracture joints appearing as small veins, which connected the source of the canals that separated the buttes that surrounded the mesa.
Each butte had a part of the village built on top, every house in the village had four long rods placed equally, protruding from different corners of the ground. Despite the abandoned and old look that radiated from the houses as if this village was as old as ancient ruins, there was an oddly warming feeling that can blind your initial view of the village's appearance.
The source of the feeling could have very much come from the villagers, as they mingled with each other platonically and peacefully. Amongst the residents were the wild animals of the neighboring forests which blankets half of all the buttes. These wild animals frequently roamed the village, not seeing anyone or anything as an enemy or prey.
But there was a single bridge everyone seemed to stay away from besides two people who walked that empty path. It was Reisun and Kyle who were crossing a bridge to the mountain mesa that had no houses or buildings, just a dense forest.
Kyle following Reisun in silence admired the view of the village and of the surrounding mountains. There was a sense of serenity that couldn't be ignored, it was almost blissful. And the rich aroma from the river filled the air with a clear certainty.
They made it across the bridge but Reisun had suddenly stopped. He put his hands together as if he was praying. "I am entering."
Out of respect, Kyle was going to follow his actions but Reisun immediately stopped him. "You are from a great family so this doesn't apply to you." Reisun said.
"…" Kyle only answered by putting his hands down before they continued walking.
"This leads to the Chief, but these woods belong to the leaders and the alphas of their respective packs. Those packs live alongside the villagers." Reisun explained as he looked at the trees.
"Does the village coexist with the wild animals? None of them are owned or domesticated?" Kyle asked as he saw the silhouette of a large bear-like creature roam deep inside of the forest.
"Domeastikaeted? What is that?" Reisun asked in confusion as he tried to pronounce the word again.
"Domesticated- like a pet… umm… You walk them, feed them, teach them how to be friendly to others…" Kyle said as he thought of more examples.
"Ahh~ well no, we do not treat them in such a way. They are villagers as well, if this village were to be attacked then even the animals would be protected. And those who are strong enough will fight to protect the village alongside us." Reisun said as an animal walked onto the path.
"That's a-" Kyle was astonished as he thought the animal in front of him was the saber-toothed tiger, however he realized it was something different.
This animal had a body as big as a horse, but the body of a lion mixed with the muscles of a gorilla. There was a tiger print going along its fur, leading up to its bushy and black mane. With the face of a lion, it had large fangs protruding from its mouth similar to a saber-tooth tiger.
Reisun bowed his head in respect, the lion nodded its head in return then walked away into the forest.
They continued going down the path until they reached a wooden lodge. The is the only house in this village made of wood, a deep red logs. There was a symbol engraved directly above the door frame, there was a vague blue light being emitted from the symbol as if it was lit from the inside.
*Knock Kno-* The door opened as if someone was waiting on the other side.
"Captain Reisun? Has something occurred in the village?" The Chief said with her voice more captivating than anything Kyle has ever heard.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Chief Aliana." Reisun bowed his head.
As he bowed, Chief Aliana saw Kyle behind him also bowing his head.
"Well not exactly-" Reisun was cut off in surprise as he saw Chief Alianna suddenly walk past him.
She stopped in front of Kyle, with her finger, she lifted his head. Making him stand straight up for his eyes to meet hers.
Kyle stood there in awe of her breath stealing beauty, though he felt no intimate feelings. It was easy to recognize her beauty as one of those unmatched and in a complete league of her own.
"This is nothing short of a shock. Your disturbance is more than welcomed, now tell me. What do I owe the surprise, especially for one a century lost such as yourself." Chief Aliana said in a voice as soft as rose petals.
"My daughter found him, drifting off in the river just a few days back. My wife was treating him until he awoke from his slumber. Thanks to them, he was able to make a perfect recovery." Reisun said almost as if he was flaunting his family.
"Well, you have to thank them on my behalf. However I'd like to talk to him on my own, I'll call on you when I'm done." Chief Aliana said as she turned to Reisun.
"Great, well then I'll check on the guard posts." Reisun said as he took the path back to the bridge. However just as he walked past Kyle, Reisun patted his shoulder, giving him a small boost of reassurance.
They watched him walk away before looking back at each other. "What is your name?" Chief Aliana said with a beautiful smile on her face.
"… My name is Kyle Gorge." He held his hand up to her without even realizing.
Chief Aliana, like others, could tell this was a sign of respect so she shook his hand. "I am Aliana Blüt, Duchess of Eliana's Mountain Range." While holding onto one of his hands with hers, she stood to the side and held her hand out towards the lodge. "Let us go inside, something seems to be troubling you terribly." Duchess Aliana said before she let go of his hand and walked back to the lodge.
"I'm feeling better now." Kyle said as he followed behind her.
As he walked in behind her, Duchess Aliana shut the door. The lodge was dimly lit by a handful of torches, and was filled with paintings of a woman who closely resembled the Great King's facial appearance. It was a portrait of Eliana, Alucard's sister.
Next to the portrait was one of Eliana and her family, although it wasn't as big as the royal family but if you didn't know any better you would think this was also the royal family.
While Kyle was looking at the pictures, Duchess Aliana brought Kyle to the upstairs portion of her lodge. She took him across the upstairs where there were two chairs covered in soft white fur and a small square table placed in between in order to seperate them.
He was surprised to see that there were even more paintings, this time they included Duchess Aliana, her husband and a boy who seem to be the same age as Reiola.
"Do you like these portraits?" Duchess Aliana asked as she noticed his fascination.
"I do, were they for your family?" Kyle asked as he looked at her.
"Yes, each portrait had a different generation. Unfortunately most of them didn't make it but as long as my son lives, so will my family." Duchess Aliana said as she looked at him.
"Your son? What about you?" Kyle asked.
"What of me, my son is the heir to the region so long as he lives, so will my family, so will I, through him. Isn't that the same reason your mother allowed you to come here alone? " Duchess Aliana said as she looked at him.
"My mother? How did you know she didn't come?" Kyle asked in a surprised tone as his body moved back.
"The Queen sent a bloodnote to every Duke or Duchess of the 6 regions. So I am aware of all that has transpired in the war, I am also aware that you do not come from Sancta Terra. Instead your from the other side of the world." Duchess Aliana explained.
"A bloodnote? How did you get that if she was captured before the war even ended, the kingdom was evacuated…" It felt as if something clicked in head. "Was it Deiamos?" Kyle asked.
"Prince Kraios's retainer? No, he hasn't set foot in the kingdom since the war and I don't blame him. On top of that a bloodnote isn't a physical thing you can bring to someone, it's a form of telepathy. Only the crown can use this technique. There are other versions however aren't the same as a bloodnote." Duchess Aliana explained. "For a member of the Royal that type of knowledge is common, have you not learned of Blutheim and it's history, or even its importance?" She leaned forward.
"…There were certain circumstances, she didn't see any signs of me inheriting any of her blood until later on in my life and at that time, I was hiding it from her." Kyle said as he heard the front door of the lodge open.
"You have her blood now, explain to me. What do you mean?" Duchess Aliana asked in a confused tone.
"In the Lower Realms or the Otherside, the only dominant race in the world is the human race and there is no such thing as a river that flows endlessly with blood. My mother fell in love with one of the humans and their first child- my older brother didn't show any signs of being a vampire, his blood is dominantly human. And I, only started seeing small signs 4 years ago, I had no idea she was a vampire. She kept it a secret from us because the humans see vampires much differently. She feared that something would've went wrong if she told anyone. By the time she found out that I inherited her blood, I was already a criminal to the humans." Kyle explained as his tone dropped.
"…" Her eyes widened as she instantly understood what he meant because only one other way exists to consume blood. "That taboo has been temporarily lifted for over a century now, if that was the only way for you to eat than it is less than crime. Surviving isn't evil." Duchess Aliana said comfortingly.
"I suppose… that is the reason I don't know much about Vampires or Blutheim, nor much of its history. I know of the war and some of the Great King Alucard but that is all." Kyle explained as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Do you know of his 6 siblings?" Duchess Aliana asked.
"Not really, no." Kyle said.
"Well King Alucard had 6 siblings, when he became king of Blutheim, he split the nation into seven regions, giving his 6 siblings one region to rule over in his stead so he can rule over the kingdom correctly. This region is mainly a vast mountain range, that was originally ruled over by Lady Eliana, the eldest sibling behind Alucard and she is my grandmother." Duchess Aliana explained as she looked behind Kyle.
Kyle looked back at the stairs and recognized that it was the boy from the portrait, he was older though, he seems to be the same age as Kyle.
"I saw Sir. Reisun earlier, he looked like he was in a good mood- whose this?" The boy said as he almost instantly got close to him, trying get a closer look at him but Kyle flinched back as if he was trying to guard himself from an attack.
"Be respectful." Duchess Aliana said sternly as she glared at the boy.
He immediately stood up straight. "I apologize, I've never seen you before but it's a pleasure to meet a foreigner, I am Lakoi Blüt…Also did you know that you look like a royal family member?" Lakoi said as he took a single step back to give Kyle space.
Kyle stood up and faced Lakoi. "My name is Kyle Gorge and yeah, I've been told." Kyle said as he held his hand out.
"That's because he is the young prince of the royal family." Duchess Alianna said as they shook hands.
"Real- WHAT!" Lakoi said as he finally noticed.