The two Vampires arrived back at their castle. Revian made his way to a decrepit old tower with the map in hand to find what he needed to, more. Revian climbed to the top of the tower and set the map on a table in front of him and he began to study it. Meanwhile Orik walked through the castle and gathered up the vampires they had found so far, a mere twenty-four. Nothing close to the Empire of old, but they were not all dead yet.

  Revian made his way down from the tower and to Orik, whom he told, "I would like for you to travel to these series of caves, I have found a location that should provide us with a handful of our brethren." Orik asked, "Alone?" Revian said, "If you are up for it yes. I have another goal in mind far from here, and I am much faster than you are." Orik gained a look of gratitude on his face, although he was a fairly young Vampire, Revian saw something in him that shone bright, the qualities of a leader. Orik said, "I will do it."

  Revian and Orik both set out at the same time, splitting on a fork in the road several hours down it. Revian said, "At the first sign of a Hellatic, run. If you try to fight one you will die, they are warriors with centuries of practice under their belts. Bring as many as you can back." Orik said, "I will try...No. I will bring them back." Revian laughed and said, "Don't be so sure, nothing is that easy, and if it is, you are walking into a trap. You have much to learn Orik, in time you will see many things. You will also do a great deal of good for our people, you already have even if you can't see it."

  Revian turned and walked away from Orik, and once again he was on his own. Orik walked towards his task, and he thought of his life in the tunnels of the human city. He remembered being in terrible hunger for a long time, and terrible pain. He was shunned and cast out, he would not let that happen again. Revian thought as he walked away, 'I hope Orik has what it takes, he will have a large burden to hold, one that had once been mine. Hopefully after he sees our old kingdoms halls, he will be invigorated. I hope He finds what was left all them years ago.'

  Orik arrived in a valley, several days after he had first left. This valley was shrouded in a dark mist, an unnatural mist. He came upon a clearing in which sat a massive castle, a once great castle now seemingly centuries in ruin. He came close to it, and it seemed to know he was there. He approached the massive front gate which stood taller than trees and seemed to never end and he wondered how he would get inside. Suddenly the doors began to open, and several armed guards rushed out, taking him by surprise. They surrounded him in seconds, demanding he stated his business there.

  Orik said, "I come to seek allies to join us." One of the guards barked, "You are not welcome here, how did you find this place hum....wait. You are no human, you are one of us." Orik asked, "You are Vampires?" The guards muttered in acknowledgment. They led Orik into the ancient kingdom, he watched as the massive doors slowly closed shut behind him. As they closed it sent a shudder down his spine, one of wonderment and awe. The guards led him down several streets for about an hour, passing all manner of Vampires, and Orik was filled with happiness.

  The guards led him to the throne of the old castle, and upon it sat a very old Vampire. Orik had heard stories of a Vampire of immense age, but he didn't think they could be real. This Vampire was one of the first of the order, and even with immortality, time will catch up with you eventually. This Vampire stood, and welcomed Orik with open arms. He asked, "Young one, how have you found us?" Orik said, "I was sent by the Lord of Lord's, newly come back to his throne. I was sent to gather all of you." The man took a step back and said, "What? Xeroch is dead, I saw him fall myself. How is this possible?" Orik said, "There is a newn Lord of Lord's, he is Revian." The aged Vampire grew a serious look on his face and asked, "Is this the same Revian that commanded our battalions during the Great War?"

  Orik answered, "The very same. He seeks all of our remaining brethren, to rebuild our once glorious kingdom. Also to get a little payback." The Elder Vampire laughed and said, "Revian has been gifted the true form of a Vampire eh? I always knew he had high favour, but not that much. He was a fierce warrior, and a loyal friend. Where is he now?" Orik said, "He has taken up in an abandoned fortress, once belonging to King Chazzar's descendents, we have only twenty-four others besides ourselves that have been saved." The Vampire replied, "Well now I know who you are and why you are here, let me introduce myself then. I am Herzarth, Herzath of Old."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Revian landed just outside of the caves which he was looking for. He entered them, knowing what he would find, and he was not dissapointed. As soon as he entered a larger interior cavern he was swarmed and attacked. He fought off his attackers for several minutes when the fighing suddenly stopped and a deep commanding voice echoed through the dark cave, "You are no human, and no Hellatic. You are familiar to us, what is your name warrior?" Revian smirked and said, "I am Revian, your Lord of Lord's."

  Several torches were lit, and the cave filled with a red glow of light. Revian watched as twelve Vampires emerged from the shadows of the cave, still wearing their scared battle armour from centuries past, many times repaired however. One of them asked, "Is there a new Lord of Lord's? Prove it to us then." Revian transformed himself and let loose a roar that shook the cave, the twelve Vampires all kneeled in unison. Revian transformed back and said, "I wish for you to become my new Lord's. You are all warriors till the end, and the only few left who still posess our old ways..."

"...Will you join me and become Lord's of the new age of Vampires?" The twelve stood, thier leader stepped forward to say, "Our blades are yours. You know command what remains of The Wretched. We honor our brothers by continuing to wear our armour in memory of them. What is our first task Lord of Lord's?" Revian answered them, "Come to your new home. We have an army to build."

  Orik arrived along with the newly gathered Vampires. He gathered them all within the central courtyar and slowly they all filtered in. Orik said loudly to them all, "Soon enough, our new Lord of Lord's will come. He will come with a secret weapon, one that will give us an edge in our fight. He will arrive in a few days, and while we wait we have a job to do here. We must repair this place, our new home. We must build a grand new castle to give our people a new start, and a stronghold that we can defend and call our own. Get started soon, we do not have much time to turn this ancient castle and keep into a defendable fortress."

  Several cheers rang out from the gathering. The Vampires filtered out and sorted themselves into groups that set off to different parts of the castle that they would slowly repair. Orik made his way to where the throne room had been, he looked upon where the King had sat and was disgusted with it. He tasked a group to remove it and build a grand throne, a throne fit for the Lord of Lord's.

  Revian and The Wretched made their way back towards their new home, the road long and winding. They passed through dark desolate woods, and over streams blacker than night. They came to the end of the darker edge of the land as Revian noticed the color started to return to the land slowly as they walked. Soon they were surrounded by bright and vibrant spring colors and the sounds of various birds and beasts alike off the road.

  They reached a fork in the road after many hours of traveling when Revian said, "This is where we will make camp and rest for a while, let us find a good place a decent ways off of the road." The Wretched agreed, and they made their way off of the main road and into the woods, soon finding a suitable place to camp. They had set up their camp and began to speak on the matters of how they would raise their army to be great as it once was, which was a very daunting task indeed. They spoke for many hours until they rested, before they did Revian said, "We continue on tomorrow. It is still a few days travel from here to our new home, it has been a long time since we have been together my brothers. Rest well, and be ready to travel in the morning."

  The group started to rest as the sun set slowly over the land. The sunset cast many vivid red and orange colors over and through the trees, causing a mystic sense of feeling to fall over the area. Soon enough the sun dipped below the horizon, and the group rested. They had a long journey ahead of them still, and an even harder future as they began dreams of triumph and victory for their people. Darkness crept over the land as tomorrow grew ever nearer, and fate ever drew further in around them.