"I am Loretta Ray Grandoble, Governess of Garandale," she said, her voice clear and unwavering. Her gaze settled on the man before her, the figure with alabaster skin and blue eyes.
"So, Vampire Progenitor Will Von Mortis, for what reason have you requested an audience with me?"
When I saw her walk in through the door, my vampiric instincts started acting up, begging for me to turn her into a blood consort. It was then that my original demands changed. I stared briefly while she walked and sat on the couch opposite us.
Once she sat down, she began to study us. After a few moments of us just looking at each other, she then let out a slight cough, which brought me back to my senses.
"As you have already said, I am the Vampire Progenitor Will Von Mortis; this girl here is my Blood Consort, Lilya Von Mortis. I originally was here to see if I could gain control of this city as it's within the vicinity of my domain, but I have to strike a deal with you." I stated.
"Oh, and what might this deal entail?" Loretta asked cautiously.
"As you might have realized, I have just recently been awakened. That said, I am the first Vampire Progenitor of this region, as you may have gathered from my title. It is clear that this city is not from this place, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Then would you like for the city to be returned to its original location?"
"Preferably, yes."
"So here is the deal I am willing to make. I require certain individuals to fill the ranks of my clan. I need a total of 9 more girls who are blessed, ages 16-17, to become my blood consorts. Additionally, I need another 40 individuals to become Blood Attendants. Also, if you have 100 individuals that are comparable to the people guarding the waystone I destroyed I want them for Blood Champions. And finally I need you to introduce me to every major artisan in this city, this includes Blacksmiths, Alchemists, Enchanters, Merchants, Mages, Engineers, Architects, Tailors, Carpenters, Masons, Miners, Major Farmers and Ranchers, any any individual in some sort of specialized profession. In exchange for all this I am willing to use my mana to teleport this city to its original position without harm to the citizens. That said I do expect that you be both truthful and thorough in the selection. No, trying to slight me, which means that no one currently in this city, regardless of whether or not they are a resident, is exempt from being selected if they meet one of the requirements I have laid out. That includes you, Miss Governess." I said my terms, stating the last part with a smirk.
When I finished stating the terms of my 'deal', Loretta stiffened, seemingly immediately realizing what I wanted. She then went silent for a couple of minutes. The look of extreme contemplation appeared on her face.
After some 5 or so minutes of silence, she then spoke up.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, but I am sorry to say that I cannot immediately give you an answer. While I do understand that you're being generous by making this deal, I simply do not have the authority to make such a deal." She said in a somewhat stiffened tone.
"Aren't you the Governess?" I asked in a bored manner.
"Yes, however, I still have a city council that helps make decisions. So something like this needs to be heard by them before I can gain their cooperation in completing our part of the deal. Would you be willing to give me some time to convince them, please?" She said in a somewhat panicked tone.
"Very well, I will return in three days. When I do, I expect that you not only have all of the individuals selected but that they also meet my standards."
"Thank you for your generosity," Loretta replied in a relieved tone.
After that, we said our farewells, and Lilya and I departed the city.
As we flew back, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was a large figure, about 8 feet high, with two sets of arms. The figure was running in the direction we were coming from, which was the direction to the city.
As we got closer to each other, I was able to make out a third eye on the figure's forehead, confirming my suspicions. It was a Warden, the eternal rivals of Vampires.
"Lilya, you see that figure below us. That is a Warden. However it clearly is unstable as its in its true form rather than a human form. I going to try talk to it so follow my lead ok?"
Lilya responded with her agreement and then we began to close in on it.
Once we got closer it seemed to take notice of us because it stopped, raising its guard.
I then spoke up.
"Greetings, Warden, it's fortunate that we met as I'm in a good mood, so I'm willing to make a pact with you."
The Warden scoffed as though finding my words ridiculous. And then the Warden replied in an incredulous tone.
"You, a Vampire Progenitor, wish to make a deal with a Warden, preposterous. Do you think just because there are two of you, you can bully me into submission?"
I smirked at his response and then replied.
"You seem to be mistaken on the number; there are actually eight of us; however, I would prefer it not come to that, as I believe that you would find the terms of my deal quite appealing."
The Warden paused at my words, trying to sense if there were any others that were invisible or concealing themselves. Upon realizing that there were no others, he was visibly angered.
"You think I can trust you now that you have blatantly lied about your numbers?" His voice seething.
"I am telling the truth, though. How about this, I swear upon my name, Will Von Mortis, that I have 6 blood attendants at my Birth City, and should you choose to fight I will summon them and we will eliminate you." In order to calm him down and prove I wasn't lying I evoked my name to swear that what I was saying was true. High Ranking Vampires, Werewolves, and Wardens who have a name granted to them by the gods meaning they are incapable of lying about their name can invoke their name when they swear on something. By doing so the individual can only speak the truth. Meaning that if I had stated their where 9 of us I would be incapable of evoking my name when I swore unless I included a Vampire spawn. However doing so requires that I be clear that one of the 9 was the Vampire spawn, so it was better to just mention 8. Evoking one's name can also be used when swearing an Oath or Pact, which then soulbinds you to it, making you incapable of breaking it.
After I invoked my name to swear that the Warden calmed down, and then said.
"If you put it like that, it seems I don't have a choice. Very well, what is this pact you wish to make?"
I then began to explain.
"So the terms are as follows…"