Kael Cor: A Vampire's Awakening Chapter 172 The Conference II : The Hollow Basin

On the rim of the hollow basin, seats were carved into the surface of its wall, and it was done with utmost meticulousness and a craftsmanship that left me gaping in awe and appreciation.

The basin was the size of an Olympic grade stadium; it was more than enough space to serve as a suitable arena for any vampire activities that required a gathering, or a fight.

But the hollow basin was still incapable of holding the entire population of the pit, and even more so now that I've discovered there were more than the estimated five million vampires I knew about.

The basin could probably only hold a quarter of that amount, give or take a few hundreds. Right at the center of the basin was field with different areas, it was designed like the bull's-eye used in target practice, with each circle denoting a different area.

There were five areas, with first area being filled completely with a kind of white sand. The next was actually covered with water. Though from where I was standing I had no idea how shallow the water area was. The next area had literal burning coals placed there, giving the entire basin a sort of red glow.

And then the fourth area was a metal platform that was actually built almost twenty feet above the other areas. It was like a metal ring hovering over the center of the basin, though it was supported by massive metal pillars that held it up,
and then there was a final area, the proverbial center of the target; the big red dot.

This part of the basin was actually made from the mineral mountain, the same mineral mountain that if struck would deliver a feedback and rebound of the force used at twice if not four times the intensity. It's a rather dangerous area to fight.

Especially since that part of the basin alone can kill you, if you hit it too hard. But it was not all bad, the rebound of force from the mineral mountain was a good method to temper one's body and mind, and it has been a great help to me in the past.

We all made our way into the basin, choosing a seat at the south side of it, directly facing a specially designed part of basin that held the bloodline elders. Farina had accompanied me, but after a short farewell she made her way to her seat, taking her place amongst the elders whilst under the differing gazes of the multitude. But she held her head high; Farina is a proud, shrewd and very intelligent woman.

She was a true politician on the level of Asha, if not a little bit better than her. But Farina was resolute in her choices and decisions. And the look she gave everyone was proof of it, she was my elder now, and they either had to deal with it, or go fuck themselves.

Soon enough different groups of vampires took the seats around us. Some of them were accompanied by members of other races, which led me to a realization that these were other covens that had come to participate in the conference.

While the conference was a vampire activity and festival of sorts, as long as members of other races became a part of the participating coven, then without a doubt they would be seen as one of us and allowed to participate.

The conference on its own was divided into three parts.

The first part would be testing and trials of aspiring vampires who hope to start a coven of their own, the second was the main course where other covens challenge each other for resources or the opportunity to assimilate and swallow up a rival coven. And finally; the final segment is the bloodline challenge.

During this time, any aspiring coven hoping to take the position of one of the bloodline covens, or at the very least to gain a seat at the council would have to fight the best of the Coven they hope to replace, or the best from every bloodline coven to gain a seat on the council.

The thing is in all the years that the vampire race has been imprisoned here, only one coven has been successful in that endeavor, and that was the Warren coven. They were the only coven without any bloodline abilities, but instead relied on their political and business prowess to survive and grow into a really strong entity. They completely changed the dynamic of the vampire race, and have been doing so since then. I hope that I would be able to do something like that today too.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of deep drums rent the air as my body and heart vibrated and shook to the deep beats. There was something primal about the rhythm being given out, and within its melody there was a hint of animalistic nature. The same nature that has made many races over the years looks at the vampires and calls them monsters. I couldn't help as my fangs slid out of my gums and my eyes blazed blue, as bloodlust and excitement suffused my body.

Whatever the hell those drums are, they were stimulating the darkness within the hearts of the vampires, pushing them into frenzy, as screams, wails and rough body gyrations became the norm.

To be honest I was shocked. The noble race I have come to admire and respect were now acting like they were nothing more than savages, but still; such an extreme reaction to the sounds of drums we couldn't even see was completely insane. And even though my Envoys and I were still struggling to resist, it was hard not to get swept up in the fever of such uncivilized chaos.

There were screams, clothes were pulled apart, bodies drawn closer, and blood was drunk. It was a scene I had to etch hard into my mind as I made a decision. No matter what, neither me nor anybody connected to me, would be returning to the conference.

Finally the drums stopped beating, and the frenzy died down. But whatever the case, the damage has already been done as the smell of sex; sweat and blood saturated the atmosphere of the Hollow basin.

I was thankful that it ended when it did, because the Envoys and I were almost at the edge of losing our self control and falling head first into the depravity we just witnessed. It was an ugly sight, and it made me realize something.

Nobody, no leader, even no civilization is perfect. We each hid a darkness that could and would only be exposed under special conditions, and today has let me see the ugliness of the vampire race.

Even though vampires have been imprisoned for thousands of years, and have had the opportunity to change and reform themselves into a better brand than before, the seed of vampirism, that darkness in our hearts was like a cancer that would never go away. It was indulgent, rough and encouraged the exploration of a vampire's deepest and darkest desires.

There was nothing good about it, it's only the vampires who can make their own choice to transcend the confines of their darkness and be better than they were before. A few moments later, Sousa the elder of the Zekeri bloodline coven came to the forefront of the elder's podium and began to speak.

"My brothers and sisters of the fang, and of the blood, we have basked and indulged in the experience of Euphorianis's blessings. We have saturated this venue with the aura of Sanguina's love. We have opened the gates to the seven heavens and the nine circles of hell. We have invited the presence of our ancestors, and so for that. I decree...…..let the conference begin!"

YEAHHHHHHHHH!!

She certainly had a way with words I'll give her that. Her express ability to whip the crowd into frenzy was amazing, though I suspected that it was partly due to skimpy purple dress she had on. It was barely covering her body, and as she spoke she made rough movements that exposed her breast and a significant part of her inner thigh to the vampires watching. Without a doubt, these guys had to go crazy.

"Slut!" I heard Xaseah mutter beside me

I shook my head and couldn't help smiling as I reached out my hands and drew her closer to myself. Seems Sousa has left a rather bad impression on Xaseah, even though they've never met before. Of course I knew she probably heard about Sousa's attempt to seduce me from Asha. It made Xaseah a little vindictive to say the least.

"Blood Child Kael of the aspiring Cor Coven! Please come forward."

Silence, so much silence, not to mention the tension that came with it, I had all eyes on me at this point, and to be honest it made me a little nervous, only a little though. I made my way down to the white sand area of the basin floor. Up close it looked like I was standing on millions of tiny little diamonds, as the red glow from the coal area seemed to reflect off the surface of the sand.

"You have come with the request to be recognized as the leader of a Coven, giving you the rights, and respect that is accorded to a man in such a position. Is that true?"

Seriously why is there a Q&A session going on. I wasn't told if this was a part of the tasks I had to undertake. Either way I don't think I had much of a choice but to answer Sousa's questions, besides everyone was watching.

"Yes."

"But you must understand Blood Child Kael of the house of Cor, that to be a coven is to be a family. They become your father, your mother, your brother and your sister. With that said no other attachment would be more important to you than your coven. Are you ready for that choice?"

"I am."

"Would you be willing to forsake your name, your love, your own flesh and blood for the betterment of your coven? Will you willingly forsake your name and power for your coven?"

"No!"

Everyone fell silent again. It had dawned on me earlier that this was just a customary interview of sorts. In the long run it was inconsequential as the questions were designed to test the loyalty of the new leader to his coven. Of course it was not as if a bunch of questions would tell whether a vampire would be whole heartedly loyal to his coven or not.

But words you would be unable to take back would be spoken, and I could just as easily go with the flow and agree, saying something I don't mean so we can get on with the ceremony faster and I become a coven leader in the shortest time possible.

But after what I had just experienced with the drums, I realized that even with all these years of suffering and pain, the vampires had not completely let go of their corruption.

I was right before when I thought that they had become more human. That thousands of years of torture, starvation and prejudice had given them humanity, but just like humanity; they never got rid of the darkness, it just went to sleep.

And I knew the moment the vampires were unleashed on Shearath that darkness will wake up with a fury, causing a swath of destruction that no one would be able to control.

Which is why I've decided to be different than the norm, every questions asked, I had every intention of answering them truthfully and to the best of my abilities.

This was my integrity and my honor in question here, I have to show this vampires that there's a more honest and better ways to do things, and I'll begin by telling them why I won't abandon my family in favor of my coven. Because the reason why I was here in the first place, was because of my family, because without my family, there can be no coven.

"Would like to tell us Blood Child Kael why you feel this way."

"As a matter of fact I would like to. You mentioned a coven is a family, something that lasts for quite a while. But a man who would abandon his family in favor of his coven, could just as easily do abandon his coven in favor of something else. You and I, and the thousands of people here know that I'm only here as a formality.

I'm giving honor to the traditions of vampires who have come before me, and fought for a right to have a family, a coven. But I don't need a coven to have a family, because I have a family, people who I would die for without hesitation. And there are thousands of them.

Each and every single one of them has placed their fate in me, and expects me to be the light that leads them out of the darkness. How could you ask me to give them up in favor of a coven, which most times can't withstand the test and ravages of time? If I should have a coven, then my coven is my family and my family my coven.

There would be no difference and no reason to sacrifice one for the other. My name, and the power I have now doesn't matter, I can give them up, every single one of them. But not for a simple coven, for a family, because when all is said and done and the smoke from all of our pain clears away, all we truly have left is FAMILY"

My words were honest and they were true. I spoke them all from the deepest part of my heart, and with all honesty and truth. Of course everyone was still shocked, even with the leftover high from the crazy drum induced orgy was not enough to clear the looks of shock on their face.

I've just challenged a belief that vampires have held sacred from the very moment this race was born. I'm pretty sure they all thought I was deviant, or some sort of blasphemer that deserves to die.

Which was why I was surprised when a lone clapping sound started, startled I looked to see it was actually the leader of the Hom'rugr bloodline coven doing so. And by virtue the entire basin went wild as they cheered me on, and my heart was filled with confidence to the point of bursting.

"Let's do this."

Chapter end