Draig woke earlier than usual, his heightened hearing picking up the sounds of various voices and footsteps. Looking from the window of his room he saw that there was in fact a group of people that had come for the gathering, paying attention to little else he dressed himself and went to welcome his recruits. However it was upon walking out that he found that his recruits were rather messy or kids barely younger than himself, looking over the group Draig felt his hopes ware thin."I a.s.sume that you are here for the gathering" asked Draig solemnly receiving an affirmative response.
"Very well then, I am offering you all a chance to stand on the level of Guilders but there is a catch. Once you choose to join this organization there is no leaving, however in return for this I am offering abilities that you would have never dreamed of possessing." explained Draig looking over the crowd and seeing that some of the younger ones seemed to have taken the bait he moved forward with his plan.
Selecting a person at random Draig offered the youth a dagger with a Blood Gem placed in the hilt, looking at the blade confused Draig pushed the blade into the youth"s hands.
"Point it outwards and will it to strike" commanded Draig with an unnoticeable flash going through his eyes.
The youth followed Draig"s orders with a dazed look and the results had left the rest in awe, the dagger up on being aimed shot lightning from its tip. This was something that had been unheard of before as the Blood Script wasn"t able to be used like this by Vampires but Draig was more than just a Vampire he was also the only Enchanter as he had learned.
It was through his cla.s.s that Draig had learned how to allow normal people to use the more complicated User abilities such as magic, but it was through the Limit Breaker that Draig hoped to build a proper force as it allowed an individual to merely break through their limits to become something superior.
"Do I need to demonstrate any other benefits for you" asked Draig folding his arms behind his back carrying a dignified air.
Soon the crowd was excitedly chattering and that was how the young Feratu knew he had hooked them, smiling to himself Draig ordered them to line up before Dracule to which they obeyed.
"I will return shortly" stated Draig walking into the Farmhouse and going to the bas.e.m.e.nt where he kept sc.r.a.p materials, using Mana Molder he crafted several dozen rings that were black as night before quickly ma.s.s enchanting them.
"For those of you that swear to serve me I will give you great power but first you must wear this ring" announced Draig revealing the infernal looking rings.
There was no hesitation as the first to come up was a large simple looking youth barely older than Draig and took a ring without hesitation and slipped it around his finger surprised at the fit. Soon the others all took a ring. The scene caused Draig to smirk as he pulled a Bottomless Bag out and dumped several Blood Gems on the ground.
"Each of you take one of these and eat it" ordered Draig causing them to look confused but the looks disappeared as they each took one after Draig had spoken and consumed it causing some to experience some swelling before certain individuals in the crowd began bursting out in dark purple hazes of energy.
Draig widened his eyes upon seeing this but let his shock go when he saw that the young men undergoing this process were okay after the initial outbursts. Seemed that some people were just dying to break their limits, the thought causing Draig to chuckle in pleasure.
"Dracule I a.s.sume that you can handle shaping them up" questioned Draig as he saw a lone figure riding into the Farm on a horse baring the Emblem of Warren"s Order.
"Of course Lord, I will bring them away for now" answered Dracule commanding the group to follow him into the fields oddly enough towards a pumpkin patch.
Meanwhile Draig waited for this person to arrive at his location, it didn"t take too much time and Draig was surprised to learn that it was actually a female Knight.
"A female Knight" asked Draig a bit incredulous causing the girl to narrow her eyes a bit giving off a familiar aura.
"You act as if I am the only one, just as there are female Guilders, there are female Knights. Enough though, I am here on official business for my grandfather" announced the girl her dark hair giving off an air of authority as if a crown.
"Who is this Grandfather of yours" asked Draig though the clues all lead to only one person.
"Sir Warren, I have come to purchase Blood Gems. The same as the one"s from before" informed the female Knight.
"How many" asked Draig curiously
"As many as you can provide" instructed the girl.
Draig produced three Blood Gems which was no where near his limit but he no longer wished to continue doing business with Warren or his order so he merely produced three. His intent was to perhaps draw some of the Knights from other Orders to his forces so he could have a few head personnel.
While Draig was in his thoughts he hadn"t been paying attention to the Girl"s response but upon seeing the measly three Blood Gems her eyes became shadowed and it was clear she was feeling anger at being played with.
"Do you take me for a fool Leech" demanded the girl however the rest of her sentence was caught in her throat when Draig"s piercing gaze bore into her eyes. A chill, a mere chill ran through out her body but that chill brought with it a feeling of death.
"Do you take me for a conman, you have asked that I give as many as I can provide but then dare to threaten me? I am sure that you have heard of my oncoming struggle with the Guilders, do you think that I have been sitting here waiting patiently? I am a single being facing an army, naturally I will be worn out from preparation" scolded Draig with a scathing look, his reserves were perfectly capable of producing more but it wasn"t convenient for him to just be handing them out.
The girl seemed to have been struck by his words, staying silent for a moment she finally spoke.
"I apologize, I have indeed heard of your competing with the Guilders it was ignorant of me to think you wouldn"t be preparing. When will I be able to collect more of these Gems" stated the girl looking at Draig a bit differently, she seemed to have a bit of curiosity in her eyes.
"I can"t say for certain, it would be best to catch me before I start thus not tired" answered Draig.
The girl nodded before leaving a bag of cores behind in payment of the Blood Gems, nodding to himself Draig was going to go back to reading the Encyclopedia but he saw a middle aged man coming with a bit of hobble on his walking stick.
Looking at this man Draig felt as if he was standing before a rival, a sensation that seemed to ring throughout his blood. However the moment the man laid his one good eye upon Draig he merely nodded before walking to the young Feratu.
"Am I late to the gathering" asked the Middle aged man.
"We are still taking recruits" answered Draig uncertainly.
"Alright, then sign me up" stated the man expecting it to be simple.
"I"m not sure that this is such a good place for you" started Draig looking at the crippled looking leg.
"Why not" asked the man with a narrowing of his single eye.
"I require warriors" stated Draig getting over the challenging feeling he had.
The man said nothing merely lifting his crutch while leaning towards one side and swung it, a wind storm was kicked up and a tree not too far away had actually received a gash into it"s side from the casual swing.
"Very well, welcome" stated Draig giving the man a ring that had been made extra during the ma.s.s production.
The man upon putting it on was given a Blood Gem containing Limit Breaker like the others and this is when the shock actually came.
Upon consumption instead of a purple haze as the Humans had like Warren and Draig"s new recruits, this Man"s aura was golden and the wind was stirring fiercely causing Dracule to appear rather magically.
"Who let this mutt in" growled Dracule as he stared at the gimp leg the man had become strengthened and seemed to be in original condition.
"What do you mean by mutt" asked Draig as he watched an odd scene take place.
As the golden haze surrounded the man his snout began to elongate as hair grew all along his body and his muscles swelled. Hands became claws and his feet became padded, the figure standing before Draig was none other than the eternal rival of Vampire"s. The Werewolf.
Draig understood what Dracule had meant by his remark now as he saw the complete transformation of the man.
"Ha ha, thanks kid." laughed the beast like face of the man turned werewolf.
"Oh" questioned Draig as he felt a smirk forming on his face already.
"You healed me of my crippled leg, now you will be lucky enough to witness the second rise of Kira of The Crescent Wind" laughed the werewolf before pouncing towards Draig but found an irresistible pain sweep over him upon the thought.
Screaming loudly the beast like yell slowly returned to that of a man"s until finally it stopped leaving the Middle aged man from before laying on the ground huffing hard for air.
"What did....you... do to me.." demanded the man weakly as he tried to stop the trembles from the experience.
"To wear the ring of my Order is no light commitment, it is a test of loyalty, a proof of owners.h.i.+p, but most importantly proof of allegiance." stated Draig as he saw the loathing look in the man"s eye.
"Simply put it"s a control collar that allows my pets to save some dignity" laughed Draig as his eyes glowed looking at his new acquisition.
The man merely growled before looking down, he knew he had become rusty and dull headed during his years of retirement but to actually slip up so hard. The man cursed himself before looking at Draig and nodding, he had no other choice. For all he knew there could be a kill switch on the ring and even he possessing the blood of Monster n.o.bility would rather live as a servant than to die as a dog.
"You came to terms rather quickly" remarked Draig feeling that the radical change was a bit suspicious.
"I"m old kid, I don"t have time to waste on meaningless thoughts. I am certain that as long as I can"t take off this ring then my life is in your hands and there is nothing to be done about it for the moment" admitted the man honestly, it wasn"t resignation just merely accepting his current circ.u.mstances was not something he was in control of anymore.
"I see" muttered Draig suspiciously but Kira merely smirked.
"It"s not good to think so much kid, sometimes you just have work with your situation until there is a change. However that doesn"t mean I am content to serve you forever, now lets get down to business then. I a.s.sume this recruitment is to somehow prepare your own forces to fight against the Guilders" explained Kira his greying hair giving an easygoing look.
"I am but how did you know" asked Draig with a raise of a brow.
"Kid you don"t have to think too hard to guess, the whole city knows about it and even some of the other cities and Guilds know about it. Your trending, after all it"s been a few decades since the last time an enchanter appeared." explained Kira shedding a bit of light on the situation outside.
"I suppose you are correct but why bring this up, what is it you want" asked Draig staring intently.
"It"s simple, if your going to be putting together your own forces then let me train them" explained Kira with confidence.
"Why" stated Draig
"I actually have experience as a Knight and what"s more is I know of some of the older methods of shaping an Order. I a.s.sume that"s what your going for with all these normal humans here" answered Kira smirking knowing he had hit the nail on the head.
Draig seeing no reason not to allow Kira to train the Knights permitted it, the only reason being if worse came to worse he would end the wolf.
The discussion between the two lasted for a bit longer before he was sent off with the rest of the recruits allowing Draig to return to the Farmhouse but by this time the sun was setting. Shaking his head lightly to clear his thoughts the young Feratu closed his eyes interested in what the next day would bring.