Galen von Meynard
Entering the Ballroom was my great-grandfather and Emperor of the Morn Empire Galen von Meynard.
Galen von Meynard was the picture of health. His long brown hair was topped with the Morning Crown and his glowing red eyes scanned the room until they locked with mine.
A smirk on his face, he descended the stairs and walked towards me. With each step echoing in the hall, I could hear my heartbeat quicken. Every step he took felt like half an hour had passed. I looked at my father quickly for support but noticed him still kneeling and looking at the ground.
My gaze returned to the emperor to find him merely a foot away from me. "Golden eyes. You must be my great-grandson, Caius." Galen's velvety voice spoke out. I missed the whispers of court intrigue that had surrounded the room before his appearance. Now only silence remained.
"Yes, my liege," I responded, staring at him, pondering how a man well over 600 could still look like he was in his early 20s.
"No need for formalities son. If it weren't for your other great-grandfather ascending into a god, it could have been the Bellona line that ruled the Empire. Anyway Arminius, rise. there is no need to bow before me."
My father stood on his two feet and with that followed the rest of the nobility. Slowly Empress Hemlock von Meynard walked towards us, her long red dress flowing behind her until she reached her husband.
"It is the duty of a lesser lord to bow to his liege." My father responded, still using the same voice he did when talking to his citizens.
"You Bellona's and duty. If he wasn't the god of heroes, Cassius would have become the god of duty. Anyway, call me grandfather for that is what I am to you." The Emperor scolded.
"Yes Grandfather," my father said, changing his tone to the one he used around his family.
With the tension in the room slowly dissipating, Emperor Galen von Meynard's presence cast a commanding aura that seemed to envelop us all. As the weight of his words settled upon us, I couldn't help but marvel at the complexities of our family's legacy and the intricate web of alliances that bound us to the throne.
Galen von Meynard gave a silent nod towards the bards, and with that, the music started again and the gala began in earnest. People began dancing on the ballroom floor and the emperor began to dance with his wife at the center leaving me alone with Father.
"Father." He turned and stared at me waiting for my question. "How has he managed to live so long?"
"My grandfather is a mysterious man and very little know the full truth about his nature. Although with your knowledge in demonology, I assume you have figured it out with how little he tries to actually hide it.
He's a vampire, turned by the arch-devil Deliar in the days before the invasions. Before the kingdom of Praedia was founded and before magic was truly understood and only known as a force of nature. He is one of the oldest beings that walk the primus.
His true age is unknown due to the lack of calendars in those days, so we celebrate it today, on the day he woke up in Meynard. 674 years ago to the day."
"If he is a demon then why let him rule?" I asked curiously, frightened by the revelation.
"My grandfather is a good man who was turned not out of malevolence but rather out of necessity. Back in those days, Deliar walked with only one other vampiress by her side. The process of turning a vampire is so risky that only the best of the best can be turned.
Deliar went through the streets gathering orphans, teaching them, and strengthening them so that one day only one could be turned. On his 18th birthday grandfather killed the last of his competitors in a ritual. Deliar then turned him and he has been alive ever since ruling cities and duchies until he eventually rebelled against Damian Praedia and founded the Morn Empire with Cassius Bellona."
"I understand Father but is it not risky? What if Deliar commands him to do something he normally wouldn't?" I asked, thinking about threats to the nation.
"That will not happen. They swore a bloodpact that he couldn't be commanded and rather than a thrall he would be an equal." With my curiosity sated I left the ballroom to get some air.
As I stepped out into the cool night air, the weight of revelation hung heavy upon my shoulders. The knowledge of Emperor Galen's true nature, intertwined with the shadowy depths of demonology and ancient pacts, cast a pall over the glittering facade of courtly splendor.
Lunara's moon cast its gentle glow upon the palace gardens, illuminating the labyrinthine paths that wound their way through verdant foliage and fragrant blooms. Each step I took felt like a journey into the unknown, a solitary quest for understanding amidst the cacophony of whispers and intrigue that echoed in the halls behind me.
Lost in thought, I wandered aimlessly through the labyrinth of hedgerows and statues, my mind awash with questions and uncertainties. 'How could a man of such ancient lineage, bound by dark pacts and immortal blood, wield the mantle of leadership with such grace and authority?'
As the gentle breeze whispered through the leaves, a voice broke through the silence, cutting through the veil of my contemplation. "Lord Caius," came the soft cadence of Lady Lucille, her presence a welcome respite amidst the solitude of the night.
Turning to face her, I found solace in the warmth of her gaze, a beacon of light amidst the encroaching shadows. "Lady Lucille," I greeted her, my voice tinged with a note of gratitude for her unexpected company.
She approached me with a grace that mirrored the ethereal beauty of the moonlit garden, her eyes alight with a quiet curiosity that mirrored my own. "I sensed your absence from the ballroom and wondered if you sought refuge from the tumult within," she ventured, her words a gentle melody that danced upon the night air.
"In truth, Lady Lucille, I find solace amidst the tranquility of the gardens," I confessed, my voice a whisper against the backdrop of rustling leaves and distant laughter. "The revelations within the ballroom weigh heavy upon my mind, casting shadows where once there was light."
Her hand reached out to touch mine, a gesture of comfort and solidarity amidst the swirling currents of uncertainty. "We are bound by the legacy of our ancestors, Lord Caius, tethered to a tapestry of fate that stretches across the ages," she murmured, her voice a soothing balm against the sting of revelation.
"In the face of darkness, we must find strength in each other, drawing courage from the bonds that unite us," she continued her words, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
As we stood together beneath the canopy of stars, I felt a sense of kinship and understanding blossom between us, a shared recognition of the burdens we bore and the challenges that lay ahead. In the quietude of the night, amidst the embrace of the moonlit garden, her beauty captivated me. For a time we stared at each other's eyes, captivated by the brown pearls in her head time flew by, and quickly she placed a kiss upon my lips.
To my dismay, she pulled back sooner than I hoped. She then looked at me, her face now blushing red in the moonlight, shocked at her own actions. She then turned and ran back into the hall, leaving me stunned at the interaction with my betrothed.