In an extremely old looking room, with countless antique pieces of furniture moved to its corners, a group of more than a dozen transparent figures stood, with only one of said group present in flesh and blood. The rest of the gathered were nothing more than magical projections, their owners too busy or arrogant to consider the meeting important enough for their actual presence. Each and every one of them shared quite a few traits that would allow them to be recognized among humans- their blood red eyes, the slightly pointed ears, the rather pale skin color and their elongated canines, clearly indicating the race of their origin. Each and every one present here was a pure blooded vampire, the lords and ladies who were in charge of the Bloodmist Isles and the vampire race in general, though there were quite a few smaller settlements not under their control, like with any other race. Still, the majority of the vampires on this side of the world fell under their dirrect rule.

The oldest and most wizened of the ones present moved towards the middle of the group where an empty spot was left, clearly intended for the current speaker, or the one in charge of the meething, and as the only one currently present in the flesh there, the old man knew the responsibility was his.

"As it seems that everyone is finally present, and most of us have more important and pressing matters to atend to, I will not delay it any longer and will do my best to ensure we can solve our current issue with gusto." he started, as the people around him slowly quieted down, their personal conversations coming to an end.

"Just like it was mentioned to you all in the notification, we have recieved a rather reliable information regarding the appearance of a truely powerfull blood lord, one that is not of our origin. Powerfull enough to not only raise but also command an entire army of blood constructs. The daughter of duke Bloodrose has seen it personally and reported on the issue the moment she returned to our lands. It is the purpose of this gathering right here to figure out what form will our general attitude take towards the person in question."

There was a sudden influx of murmurs in the room, the remaining members quickly discussing the information with their closest aquintance or friend, untill one of them asked a rather important question.

"Where was this Blood Lord met, and what do we know of his plans and personality?" A small moment of silence later, Lord Ferion Bloodrose moved to the center of the room, standing next to the old vampire. Then he spoke once the entire rooms attention was on him.

"During the time between the return of my daughter with these rather significant news and this meeting, I have invested quite a bit of effort to understand as much as possible about the person in question. As far as we have learned, the one who should be responsible about the army of the blood constructs should be a blood mage residing in a trade city by the name of Blythe, on the continent of Ramana. The man my daughter ran into was not him however. A warrior by the name of Neo. Both are extremely powerfull, and the latter was on a crusade against a nation called Echlisiarchy when Vanessa encountered him. Still, the insane power and size of the army, all consisting of blood constructs of various shapes and sizes clearly points to the existance of a Blood Lord. And as I stated before, we have confirmed that it is the blood mage mentioned before. Still, it is estimated that the two have quite the mutual cooperation established since a blood mage was willing to go so far as to provide said warrior with such an enormous army."

Lord Bloodrose had obviously done the research, and since none of the other members present had recieved their own reports just yet proved the delay that the information had reached the rest of the Blood court members. It was to be expected though, since the information was discovered by the daughter of the man, and it would be a rather hard strike at his ability as a parent and a capable vampire noble had the man not taught his daughter the main skills any noble of their kind should be more than just capable with. No, the aristicracy of vampires should be intimately familiar with seduction and subterfuge, and it seems the girl was smart enough, or taught well enough.

Still, the information provided by the man in the next few minutes regarding the normal mode of operation for the blood mage was still listened to with utmost focus, looking for the mans dreams and hopes, as well as the possible threat the man might posess to their power and way of life. With the murmurs once again being exchanged and Ferion having said his piece, there was no one to speak up next for quite some time, thought if one listened to the conversations of the people present, there were two prevailing opinions regarding the situation.

The first was of non commitment. Since the man was so far away from them, and his ussual attitude towards the world at large seemed chill, there was no need for them to move across the damn ocean and spend their resourses for a fight that might as well not ever come to pass, should they not stirr the hornets nest.Should the man threaten their interests and way of life, they could always return to solve the issue then.

The other prevailing opinion was a one hundred eighty degree turn in the dirrection it would take things. The more arrogant and ignorant members of the Blood Court were loathed to even think of a proper blood lord that was not a vampire existing, so naturally their course of action would see the man, so blatantly flounting a power that did not belong to him, be removed from the face of the earth, eliminating the stain on the honor and public image of the vampires as a whole.

And since the two major opinions were in dirrect conflict with the other, their group encountered a rather akward moment of silence, not really able to choose one over the other. By now Ferion had returned to the place his projection was standing previously, and he seemed to converse with someone else on his side of the of the projection. A few minutes later, he delivered another piece of information, causing quite the change in the agressor side of their court.

"It has just come to our attention that his the warrior Neo could be an SSS class entity."

Those words caused the entire room to go as silent as an empty graveyard, not a single menber of the group present eliciting a single sound. The supremacists immedialty shut up with their idea, too old and smart to continiue with such a suicidal plan. No, it was clear that the blood mage was powerfull, but still could be dealt with. But with the presence of an SSS class warrior, the probability of any of their plans in eliminating the mage in question became not only unreasonably hard, but damn near impossible. And even if they could pull the assasination off, could they afford to risk a possible attack of an enraged SSS class entity? The answer was obviously no, thus they had to change their tone entirely.

"Well, we can always offer the kiss, though that would likely require the crown princess to take action herself." one of the supremacist side spoke, and yet, the man was quite soon opposed by the duke Bloodrose near instantly.

"Unfortunately lord Aurelius, I dont think that would be a wise choice, as much as I would like to have such a talanted human be brought over to our side. From what we know, the man, just like this warrior Neo are quite the colelctors ofo beauty. The princess, with her ethereal and otherworldly beauty would no doubt ignite their desire. And that, I am sure we are agree, is not something any of usu would ever agree to."

The other vampire lords nodded their heads in agreement, clearly having their own designs regarding the princess in question. The old vampire in charge of their meeting, while nodding in agreement was of a different opinion. The man was one of the few vampires trully loyal to the princess and well aware of the subttle yet numerous ways theh remaining members were trying to pressure the princess to into marrying one of their own descendants. The true king of the vampires had died a few decades ago in a fight against the angels for a rather powerfull artifact. And while they had won, and the artifact was now in the hands of said princess, the king had been mortally wounded and passed a few years after the end of said war. Now, with no true powerhouse to stand for her interests, yet protected by the constantly cheming and competing lords of the court, she had a nominal freedom to refuse the advances of their houses. Still, the longer it went on in such a manner, the more impatient the lords were becoming, desireing both the beauty and the artifact in her hands. An artifact that would lead to on of the most powerfull sources of blood magic in existance. The princess had mentioned it to him personally that the artifact had changed the dirrection it was pointing towards in the recent years, indicating that said source had been moved rather abruptly.

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"Still, we have to establish some sort of contact with the blood mage and eventually bring him over to our side. And I ihighly doubt there is anyone else with potent enough blood line to not only entice the man in question but also ensure his proper change." another of the supremacists spoke, clearly unwilling to allow a non vampire Blood lord to exist. If they could not eliminate the offending party, their only choice was to make them into a vampire, thus removing the only reason why they could not accept their existance.

The old vampire immediatly hatched a plan, something he was uniquely suited for, since his allegiance to the princess was a trully well hidden one. Only connection the man having with the girl being a descendant of his working as a maid for the princess. He had been acting just well enough to make it so that tit looked like the man was moving in a way that would see the princess married to a descendant of his as well. One that was easily manipulated without his knowledge, allowing for the old bat to move without the suspicion of the other court members.

"Why not allow me to go and see for myself the man in question. I am the oldest and most experienced among us. And I did work under our king as one of his best enthrallers. Let me see what we can do to get the man bend to our will. He is, after all, only mortal."

The words left his lips, and the attention was fully brought back to the old man, quite a few thinking faces were turned his way. Then one after another, the heads started bobbing as if agreeing to the idea of the man. Of course, none would be stupiid enough to allow a possible rival of theirs to get their hooks in a potentialy increadibly powerfull pawn, thus they had to ensure their own interests would be somehow represented as well.

"It is indeed a good suggestion, though I do believe there is an even better choice. Why not have a few of our younger generation you on this quest. My daughter has already met with this Neo fellow, providing us with quite the starting point to reach this blood mage. A few other master beauties of ours, and I have no doubt the man will be begging for the kiss in no time at all." Duke Bloodrose spoke, not willing to loose on the potential benefits such a powerfull blood mage and Blood Lord to booth could offer.

"Yes, duke Ferion is indeed correct. While we trust in your skills, there is no reason to not utilize the knowledge we have gained just now and not deploy multiple prongs of aproach. And what better way to aproach a man, known for his love for true beauties, as a number of gorgeous exotic laides, all willing to have a chance at him?" another of the lords present spoke, clearly having such a beauty quite close to him, most likely a dirrect descendant, otherwhise no lord would be so sure of their ability to benefit, should their suggestion manages to actually score big time. Then, a few more nods of agreement followed, clearly from other lords in a similar position.

"Was there not a rather important auction coming up in that Blythe anyways? I say it is the perfect excuse for the rather sizable group that we will be sending it seems." yet another spoke, clearly having been on the lookout for the auction himself, most likely having the knowledge of the rather powerfull blood mage being one of the bigger sponsors behind the event. The old vampire, lord Tharion Hromm, was just as well informed, having investigated the same for quite some time. If his queen, though only a princess for now, was to obtain freedom and independance, not threathened by the lords of the court, she would need powerfull men at her command, and a blood mage of superior make was the bare starting minumum. Though now it seems like the man in question was much more suitable candidate than he hhad previously though. It indeed seemed the man was outright worthy, at the very least ffor the position. The slightly tricky part would be to subtly convince the man with the young and quite capable seductresses acompanying him on this trip, though he was well aware before he even suggested his plan that there would be some additional vampires acompanying him. Still, in order to curb the machinations of other lords from the dark, this suggestion of his had to be made. It was so much easier to deal with a weapon in front of you, than a dagger in the dark.

The remaining discussion was focused on determinating the people who would travel alongside Tharion on this quest of his. In the end, the group consisted of himself, the old bat that he was, and a group of ten young, beautifull and well endowed ladies, each more praised than the last. Still, not one of them was over thirty years old. Too young, in the opinion of Tharion, but that was the best explanation for the size of their group. Young people were often overlooked, their desire to explore and experience new things as natural as breathing for every being.

The group embarking on this rather crucial mission of their would meet up in a couple of days time in one of the largest trade cities of the Bloodmist isles, from where they would take one of the gates that would bring them quite close to their destination. Since they were supposedly going thre for an auction, they had to collect quite the number of funds. Who knows, they might just find something that was quite desired by their houses, a list of possible treasures that were to be bid on, should they appear in the auction they would be attending.

Tharion himself did the same as well, his list undoubtedly differing from the lists of the rest of his traveling companions. But before departing for the city in question, he did the one thing he always would do before the trully importand missions. He moved to a basement within his castle, where a rather well secured artifact lay. A communication device, the other pair of it, in the form of a bracer always adorned the hand of his princess. It was because of exactly this artifact that he could comunicate with her, avoiding the discovery and suspicions of his fellow lords.

He sat in front of the precious item, the sun setting as he did so, though there was no light to indicate the fact in this dark and damn basement. Still, Tharion knew well enough the plan by which the princess lived, allowing him to catch her in a moment where she would be alone and capable of focussing on his report.

"My princess, I come with news regarding the gathering that have concluded a while ago."

"Mhm. I thank you for your loyality and support. My father always spoke of you in high regard and once again I am reminded just how correct he was in his assesment. What news do you bring?" Her voice, though only a mentaal transmission, was just as crystal clear and pleasant to ones hearing as ever, even with it not sounding out in the world. He then proceeded to quickly explain the topic discussed, as well as the measures that were decided in response to the existance of the Blood Lord.

"Hmm, a new Blood Lord, one not of vampire origin as well? That is quite the piece of information. How sure you are of the possibility of the man willing to woork for us?"

"While I am sure I could somehow persuade him too assist us, the qesution would be regarding the price he would want to extract from us. There is little we have to give that would not immediatly expose me as one of your agents, endangering the already fragile position your highness is forced into."

"You said he is collecting beauties, did you not?"

"Y-yes my queen. So we have heard."

"Hmm, thne go and assess the man, his current power and the limits his tallents show. Learn just what kind of a man we are dealing with and should he be worthy, you may offer my hand as well. Better to choose my partner on my own terms, than being forced to wed one of the inferior relatives of the current lords. An actual Blood Lord seems at least fitting for one of my standing, would you not agree, lord Tharion? I do belive that if the Blood Lord is powerfull enough, you could once again stand by Tepes side as the faithfull and loyal friend you have always been. I could then also finally return at least some of the loyality you have shown our family. I leave the evaluation adn judgement in your capable hands uncle."

"Hmm, you can count on me Mikaila. As one of the closest friends and confidants of your father, as well as your uncle, I will go above and beyond to evaluate the man and if his power and character is suitable, I will do as my lady suggests."

"I could ask no more of you. Thank you and be carefull. Your safe return is paramount."

With their exchange finished, Tharion refocussed on the task at hand. He had quite the task at hand and he refused to fail it. No, only exelence and perfect success could be allowed and for that, he had to prepeare above and beyond.