gabz2000

We landed at Teterboro Airport around half past 10, and to be honest I wasn’t quite myself during the trip from the airport in Richmond to New York. I spent the hour long flight lost in thought about the chaos that engulfed Detroit. I kept asking myself whether or not we could have done something about it, whether or not we could have anticipated such an attack. I asked myself those questions again, and again, and the answer was always the same, we were grossly underprepared for the demon threat, and in our current state of organization, and taking into consideration the resources we had at our disposal, there was no way we could have done anything about the attack. If we decided to intervene and help the humans in Detroit as a knee jerk reaction, it’s highly likely that our agents would have died in vain. As much as I hate to admit it, not sending agents to Detroit was the right decision. It’s been more than half a millennium since the demons roamed the earth; we never expected them to be so bold as to attack a major city in broad daylight. The demons seemed to have no qualms about an open attack against the humans. Unlike the vampires, werewolves and most of all the elves, the demons seem to have no intention of hiding in the shadows. I had that sinking feeling, it was just going to be a matter of time before their next move. The attack in Detroit for me was the opening salvo in the war against the demons. It only sank in for me that we arrived, when I saw Victor half naked with a towel around his waist preparing for a shower. I didn’t even realize that we had already checked into the hotel. “Are you sure you’re okay Chris?” Victor asked with a worried expression. His face not hiding the concern he felt for me. “Uhh, yeah, just tired” I softly replied as I started to get my bearings and gather my wits. “Where are dad and the rest?” I asked. “Your dad is in the room next door, Yal as well. Nomir and Etalos are bunking in together and are on the same floor too” “Ohh... I see” Victor approached me and beckoned me to return the hug he was giving me. “You need to rest. You’re clearly stressed out” he whispered to me. “Yeah... I think I might get some sleep after I take a shower” “Hmm... wanna join me?” I gave him a soft smile. “That would be great, I’d love to join you” —- I took a quick nap after the shower and then went to the realm. When Etalos heard about me taking Yal to the realm earlier, he insisted that I take him with me this time. I was about to protest; I felt it was not fair to expect him to work such long hours. I could function with barely any sleep, I’m not sure that’s the case for all elves. Etalos argued that as my Chief of Staff he needed to be in the realm as often as possible as well. I relented by making him promise that he would not over exert himself and sleep or take a rest whenever he felt drained. I made my way to Patri’s office while Etalos visited the administrative wing of the palace. It seemed that he had some urgent business to tend to in that area. I entered Patri’s office, he had a worried expression on his face as he sat behind his desk. Uncle Rehanmir, Uncle Selvenus, and Jetan were in the room with him. “Chris, I’m glad you were able to visit,” Patri said with a half smile. “I had to Patri. I assume you’ve heard about what happened in Detroit?” I asked. “Yes, we have been made aware by Yal’s Ministry.” “It was total chaos Patri. The National Guard couldn’t even enter the city. Military choppers were even attacked! They openly attacked the military!” I exclaimed. “I know Chris. I know” Patri replied. “It appears we’re up against a demon general that does not intend to fight in the shadows” Uncle Rehanmir said. “Were the demons always this brazen Patri?” “No Chris. Father said that most demon generals are not as flashy as whoever the mastermind behind the attack on Detroit is. Even during the 12th and 13th centuries, the demons only attacked large villages or small towns at worst, never large settlements to avoid a massive response from the humans.” Patri replied. My grandfather closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if to gather his thoughts. “This makes it easier for us to narrow down who the demon general behind this is.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “We never knew how many Demon Generals there were, up until you found the book. However, we have records of three generals. These are the generals that revel in attention. They bask in the glory of their crimes.” “Who are they?” I curiously asked. “Yonthar, Thazwil, and Sereba” Patri replied. “What do we know about them?” “Yonthar is the demon general that King Ethnar faced in his youth” Patri answered. “The one that nearly killed King Ethnar?” I asked. “Yes” Patri grimly replied. “What of the other two?” I asked. “We have records of Thazwil from the 9th and 10th century. It seems he’s behind the downfall of several city-states in Central Asia during that time. He triggered famines and plagues as well. Sereba, we have records of her manipulating various human kingdoms into war in the 8th and 9th centuries. She’s also mentioned in a text that credits her with attacking multiple Heradeya villages in Anatolia.” “That’s Etalos’ tribe, right?” I asked. “Yes, it seems Sereba was mainly based in the Near East and Middle East” Uncle Rehanmir answered for Patri. “Any other information?” I asked. “Other than that, the three of them are very powerful demons, we have none.” Patri sighed in almost a defeated tone. “It’s safe to assume that whoever is behind this is just as strong as King Ethnar.” Uncle Selvenus remarked. “That doesn’t sound good,” I noted. “How on earth are we going to defeat someone as strong as my great grandfather?” I incredulously asked. “We’re totally at a disadvantage if each of these generals is the equivalent of King Ethnar,” I added. “We fight them like we used to,” Patri said. “How?” I asked. “With numbers,” my grandfather replied. “We’ve always kept the demons at bay due to their small numbers relative to ours. That’s one of their key weaknesses. Even the book you found confirmed that. No general has ever had more than a thousand demons.” “There are 90 million elves, 50 million vampires, and 40 million werewolves today,” Jetan piped in. “We outnumber them 20,000 to one.” I did the numbers in my head and they were right. If there have been no records of a general having more than a thousand spawns at the same time, then we’re basically up against 9,000 demons at worst. But Jetan missed something and as much as I hated to point it out, I had to. I gritted my teeth in frustration and then bitterly remarked, “there are almost 8 billion humans for them to use to replenish their numbers” The four of them went silent for a few seconds, clearly measuring their next words. “Chris, don’t tell me you agree with Havar.” Patri said. His face was serious, and I sensed he was afraid that my answer would be a ‘yes’. I knew deep inside if I decided to cast the spell, the spell whose existence I refuse to recognize, none of them would be able to stop me. King Ethnar could try but as they said, I am only growing in strength by the minute and they’re not wrong about that. “Of course not Patri” I replied. There was relief in their faces as I uttered those words. “What I mean is that we should stop the demons from replenishing their numbers. We should isolate them from humans as much as possible,” I said. “You’re right, as we fight them, we should make sure their supply lines are cut off,” Uncle Selvenus noted with determination in his voice. He looked at me and the others in the room for agreement and we all nodded in the affirmative. “With the vampires and werewolves at our side, we’ll be in a better position to cut the demons off,” Patri said. “We can only allocate a few dozen Akros agents for deployment on earth. We can’t mobilize the Royal and Civil Guard for a cross realm operation, that would compromise the security of the realm.” “Then we leverage the numbers of vampires and werewolves to our advantage,” Uncle Rehanmir said as he put his hands together like a steeple. “Then it would be a matter of convincing the vampires and werewolves to spare more of their troops,” Jetan replied. “They don’t have a choice, it’s their world that’s at greater risk,” Patri said. “We can threaten them with us pulling out of the alliance if necessary” I gave Patri a confused look. He can’t be serious about that. The vampires and werewolves will stand no chance without our magic. Patri gave me a conspiring smile, “it’s just a ploy Chris. Just in case things get heated in the discussions” “Ohh... I see” For another hour or so we further discussed the upcoming summit in New York. We thought of possible roadblocks we could face in the negotiation of the alliance. Due to their clannish nature, and tradition of respecting those who were stronger than them, we expected more resistance from the werewolves than the vampires. It was of utmost importance that we were able to get the WCC co-leaders, Luigi and Juan onboard. —- Etalos and I made it back to New York at around 3am. *Sigh* At least I had a few more hours to sleep. I expected to find Victor asleep, instead I found him busy typing away on his laptop. “You’re awake,” I said smiling at him. “You broke curfew again,” he teased. “Hehe, sorry... ambassador business. Why are you up?” “Councilor business,” he said winking at me. Victor then closed his laptop as he patted the bed beside him. “Come here... I missed you.” “You’re too sappy to be a 260 year old vampire,” I grinned at him as I got onto the bed. “Everything alright at your end?” I asked as I laid my head on his bare chest. “Yeah. So far so good. Hopefully it goes smoothly tomorrow.” “Jetan will be bringing several Akros agents as additional security” “Hmm... more elves eh?” “Seems to be the case.” I took comfort settling into Victor’s warmth and sighed in contentment having him in my life. “This is good...” I whispered. “What do you mean?” “Having you beside me, feeling your warmth around me, and taking in your scent. It’s comforting,” I remarked. “Now who’s sappy?” He teased. “Hey... I’m 18! I have the right to be sappy!” I said in mock anger as I softly slapped his toned abs. “Just teasing” “I know,” I sighed again. That night, I fell asleep in Victor’s warm embrace. —- We woke up early the following morning. The meeting was in an upscale VHC owned hotel, in midtown Manhattan at 10am. We had our breakfast buffet together, trying to avoid discussing the summit, we talked about other things. It was already stressful enough, so the few minutes of respite was a welcome treat for me. Victor left ahead of us, the VHC representatives had a pre-summit meeting of their own. Not long after he left, I left for the hotel with Nomir and Yal. Etalos was left with dad at the hotel, Yal already made arrangements for three additional agents to serve as their security in our absence. With the summit being in New York, we had several elf agents at our disposal, excluding the several dozen that my uncle had cross over to serve as additional security. A handsome elf served as our driver, I could sense he was nervous throughout the short drive to the hotel, maybe it was his first time driving around New York, or it could be because he was driving for me, I dunno. We arrived at a modern, glass covered building, and the interior was sleek and minimalist. As I entered the building I could already sense that several of the men and women in suits were either vampire or werewolf, in the lobby alone there was at least a dozen of them, I could feel the presence of two elf agents within the vicinity as well. We made our way to the 42nd floor where a conference room and lounge was reserved for exclusive use of the elvish contingent. The vampires were in the 41st, the werewolves on the 44th, the Summit was in a large conference room in the 43rd floor. As the elevator doors opened to our designated floor ,I could immediately sense the presence of at least a dozen elves in the area. My uncle’s agents no doubt. We had more than 40 minutes to spare when we entered the lounge. Nomir stayed outside to serve as additional security. Patri, King Ethnar, my uncle, and Zenfar were already inside when we arrived. To see them in “human” clothes and have rounded ears felt weird for me, all four of them were in white long sleeve shirts and dark pants and leather shoes. “Good morning,” I greeted. “Good morning Chris. Are you ready?” Patri asked. “Getting there...” I replied. “Don’t worry about it. Just relax, don’t let nerves get to you. Remember we’re not the only ones that have something to gain out of this.” King Ethnar said as he squeezed my right shoulder while looking me in the eye. “Okay? You’re a Haldruin remember? And we Haldruins don’t back down.” “Any updates from Detroit?” Zenfar asked. “The National Guard was able to regain control of the city earlier this morning. It seems the demons have left the city. I have a team already working on tracking the demons and the vampire and human syndicates they are working with.” “What’s the final death toll?” I asked. “1,094 people dead, that includes 67 from the police, 50 from the National Guard, and 27 soldiers. The rest are civilians. Thousands more are injured and it seems the government is too caught up with the chaos that they haven’t noticed the missing individuals yet” Yal replied. “Is it a mistake to not include the humans in this meeting?” I asked. “I was thinking the same thing but with FRUSI significantly compromised, I doubt they’d be of much help to us right now. And talking to the humans is a complicated matter, it’s a different agency for every country, unlike the Vampires and Werewolves where we can directly talk to the VHC and WCC,” Patri replied. “I think we should solidify the three-way alliance first, before talking to the humans. With that, we can present a united front when dealing with them, if it comes to that,” King Ethnar added. — I expected us to attend the conference in our human appearance but no, before we left our lounge, we changed into our elvish robes, and removed the glamour on our ears as well. Us four royals wore tight fitting red robes with golden accents, while Yal and Zenfar wore blue robes with silver accents. All eyes were on us when we arrived on the 43rd floor. Vampire, werewolf, and elf agents stood in silence and awe as our presence flooded the corridor. There were at least half a dozen agents from each race manning the corridors, while one agent from each guarded the large doors of our conference room. Entering the large conference room, I could see that everyone else had taken their seats. The room was well lit, with floor to ceiling window on one side providing us with a magnificent backdrop. Three long wooden tables were arranged in a triangular manner facing one another. One table for each race. There were name plates in front of each seated individual and the flags of each race were proudly displayed behind each contingent. The werewolf flag is dark blue with the phases of the moon adorning it , waxing crescent on the center left, with the full moon in the center being more prominent, and waning crescent on the center right; The vampire flag on the other hand is red with a golden rose in the center encircled by a serpentine golden dragon; The elf flag is black, with a gold 8-pointed star in the middle surrounded by a gold laurel wreath. At our table, from left to right we sat at follows: Yal, me, King Ethnar, King ZoHal, Prince Rehanmir, Zenfar. The werewolf table on our left had: August, Luigi, Juan, and Olaf. The Vampire table on our right had the following: closest to us was Konrad, then Marta, Jeppe, Reza, Victoria, Luca, and Victor. The other races went silent as we took our seats. I could only assume, despite seeing us in the flesh, they still couldn’t believe that we were actually here, right in front of them. The silence was deafening, Reza broke it when he spoke, “Thank you everyone for coming to this conference.” His voice measured and calm. He took his time to set his gaze on each and every one of us then continued. “We all are aware of the return of the demons, we know the threat that they pose to us, and we know that the incident in Detroit is just the beginning.” Reza paused for a second then spoke again. “Upon learning of the Anami threat a few weeks ago, it’s clear that none of our communities can face this alone. When I learned that the elves are still alive, I reached out to His Majesty King ZoHal.” “To say that we’re surprised to have the elves in our presence would be an understatement” said Luigi. His voice was deep and imposing, similar to his presence. His build like the rest of the other werewolves at his table, is very muscular. Luigi’s brown eyes complimented his wavy dark hair, and his clean-shaven face, clearly Italian in features. He looked to be in his early forties but I’ve already read on his file that he’s actually 317 years old. Juan then piped in. “The demon threat can’t be ignored, the WCC is willing to listen to what the VHC and the Elves have to say.” Juan is a Spaniard and his features clearly showed that. His skin is lightly tanned like Luigi, had light brown wavy hair, green eyes and a clean-shaven face. “The VHC and WCC have cooperated in various endeavors in the past, and continue to cooperate today in research and several business ventures,” Jeppe remarked. “The VHC strongly believes that we should expand that to security and intelligence sharing.” “What do the elves think about that?” Luigi asked. Patri spoke, with a small smile on his face, “We elves are willing to cooperate. It was us that provided the intelligence to your communities regarding the FRUSI and Detroit attacks. We have the means to gather and provide intelligence.” “We are also willing to provide several dozen Akros agents in joint missions,” Uncle Rehanmir piped in. “Just several dozen?” Marta, the Portuguese VHC Councilor asked. She’s a beautiful woman who looked to be in her mid thirties but the file I read on her stated she’s 317 years old. “A single Akros agent is adept not only in combat but elemental magic. The presence of a few in each joint mission should suffice,” my uncle clarified. “Are the elves expecting the werewolves and vampires to take on the brunt of the manpower?” Olaf asked. There was a slight edge on his voice and his demeanor clearly showed a hint of agitation. Olaf has dark blonde hair, steel gray eyes, handsome, and his closely trimmed beard gave him a rugged vibe. “We’re willing to provide intelligence and powerful, skilled elemental mages. What more can you ask for?” King Ethnar piped in. “Are you saying that our intelligence gathering and fighting capabilities are weaker than yours?” Olaf asked in an accusing tone. “No,” King Ethnar tersely replied. He let out a small smile of his own then continued. “What we are trying to say is if we combine our resources, we will be more capable in facing the demon threat.” “So, intelligence sharing and joint missions. That’s what we’re talking about?” Luigi asked. “For starters yes.” King Ethnar replied. “Joint training with Akros, Stratos, and the WCC too” Patri added. “We have very little information regarding the demons. They’ve been absent from this world far longer than the elves were” Luca said. “You’re right councilor. But we’re uncovering more and more information by the day,” came from Patri. “What do you mean?” Konrad asked. “So far,we know that there are 9 demon generals. However, we don’t know whether we’re facing one or all nine.” Patri replied. “We recently discovered that a single demon general can control up to 1,000 demons at any given time.” “A thousand?” Juan asked in disbelief. “Yes, and let’s not forget that each demon can create an Anami out of each and every one of us.” Patri added. “We’re also willing to provide healing magic to any of your agents that have been infected by demon magic,” Zenfar remarked. “That’s something else only we can offer. Only elves have the magic to reverse the Anami creation process.” “What do you have to gain from this?” Olaf asked. He eyed us with suspicion. “What do you mean?” Yal asked. “August informed us that you already have a realm of your own. Why are you willing to help us?” Olaf asked. His arms were crossed, and he sat straight against his chair when he spoke. I decided to chime in. “If you aren’t aware, the realm is engaged in trade with this world. We import products we could not produce, and we export some of our products as well. If this world falls into chaos, that would compromise our standard of living. We would like to avoid that as much as possible.” “The Ambassador is right. When I visited their realm, it was evident that they had earth based technology.” August said. I internally thanked August for coming to my aid. Hehe, couldn’t exactly tell them about the dark energy issue now could we. “With FRUSI barely operational, how are we going to engage the humans?” Victor asked. “That’s a concern indeed” Juan nodded in agreement. “It’s good that our three races are in talks now, but the humans have the most to lose.” “We can engage with the other agencies of other countries. Though there are very few that come close to the level of organization that FRUSI had” Victoria said. Her brows were furrowed as she spoke, she was clearly thinking of her connections with the humans. “But it seems the threat is mainly within the United States as of now.” “We have intelligence that there is some movement among the demons in Canada as well” Yal added. “What?” Victoria asked with concern in her voice. “The demons have been abducting humans in various American and Canadian cities. We have proof that the incident in Detroit was a cover for them to abduct several thousand people.” “Why would they do that?” Luca asked. “What could they possibly gain from abducting so many humans?” Konrad added. “Don’t tell me they eat humans,” Olaf smirked. “You’re not far from the truth,” Yal answered. “Humans serve as the raw material for the creation of new demons.” “What did you just say?” Luigi asked with a confused and surprised look on his face. “Humans? For new demons?” “Yes.” “How many humans do they need to create a new demon?” Jeppe asked. “We don’t know” Yal replied. “We’re looking into it.” “It’s also safe to assume, demons have the capacity to manipulate humans and temporarily grant them enhanced strength. Records on the FRUSI attacks show, no demon, vampire, or werewolf was involved” “I am the only one here who is old enough to remember the time when demons still roamed this planet. I can assure you, they are all skilled with magic and their generals are very powerful. Demon generals can easily match the strongest in each of our race” “Then why did they disappear then?” Juan asked. “If they were so powerful why would they disappear, then suddenly appear out of nowhere” Olaf added. “We don’t know.” Patri calmly replied. “This alliance that you’re proposing, I see the benefit, but you know us werewolves, we respect and follow the powerful, too close a cooperation with the VHC and elves might put us in a bad light,” Olaf commented. “Are you saying that we are weak?” King Ethnar chuckled. “I could barely feel any aura from you,” Olaf replied. “That’s because I’m tightly dampening my energy, councilor,”King Ethnar put emphasis on his last word. “If you insist...” A second later King Ethnar let his aura fill the room and the reaction was immediate. Olaf flinched, August hissed and several of the vampires were visibly uncomfortable. “Strong enough for you councilor?” King Ethnar said with pride. “I’m not even the strongest among us. Would you like to feel a fraction of his power?” My great grandfather offered. “That won’t be nece...” Olaf started but my great grandfather cut him off. “Prince Christopher... if you may be so kind to show us half of your aura” “Huh?” “Fine... a quarter then” King Ethnar smiled at me. I let out a small sigh, pulling some of my energy around me and started to release it. I closed my eyes and felt a wave of energy leave my body. As I opened my eyes, I could see that the werewolf and vampire delegation were frozen in their seats and the lights seemed to be flickering as well. I could also feel the walls and floor vibrate. King Ethnar smiled from my right and tapped my shoulder, “I think that’s enough Chris.” “Too much...” Yal muttered almost breathless beside me. “Any more questions regarding our power?” King Ethnar asked. Silence. It took a few more seconds before everyone regained the color in their faces. “Let’s formalize things, shall we?” Patri suggested. “Prince Christopher will be the primary liaison officer for the elves” “August Smith for the WCC” Juan said. “Victor Meyer for the VHC” Reza added. “We shall draft a formal Treaty of Cooperation. I will sign for the elves,” Patri said. “Luigi and I for the WCC” Juan replied. “I will represent the VHC” Reza added. “Marvelous” came from a beaming Patri. “Now let’s discuss the terms of cooperation...” For the next few hours, we discussed the details of the alliance. Who knew the drafting of treaties was so tedious. *sigh. The room broke into applause and cheers after Patri, Luigi, Juan, and Reza signed the papers. “It’s so good to see you again,” I said to Luca as I hugged him. “Hmm... I feel the same way,” he replied. “Stefano and Hashim are with me, how about dinner together?” “Sure. Let’s invite August, Reza, and Konrad too,” I suggested. “That would be great.” “You really didn’t have to show off your powers you know,” Victor chimed in from behind Luca. “King Ethnar’s orders” I shyly replied “Still...” Victor gave me a teasing smile. We mingled for at least a half hour after the treaty was signed. Patri and King Ethnar were busy talking to the werewolf contingent. While Prince Rehanmir, Zenfar, and Yal spoke to several VHC representatives. Victor and I stood looking through the large window, as we silently enjoyed the sunset bathing the skyline in various shades of red.

Next chapter will be posted at 7pm London time.

I can’t get the image off my head 😂😂😂

Thanks for the feedback guys!

“Just dropped dead?” I had chills down my spine as I asked that question. “Yes your highness.” Kalron confirmed. “Chris. It could be some sort of magic” “Most likely Yal... there’s no other explanation” I then put my attention on the other elf. “Kalron, any indication as to what happened to the vampire and human syndicates that previously occupied the Chicago hideout?” “No update yet on that your highness” “Look into it. Somehow it bothers me and I think there’s more to this than meets the eye” “Of course your highness” Kalron nodded. “Anything else?” I asked. “Nothing further sir” “Okay...” and with that Kalron exited the conference call leaving only Yal and myself. “Chris...” Yal had a grim expression on his face. He was clearly bothered by the recent developments. “I know Yal... this is happening too fast” “I agree. What worries me more is that I think we’re even more aware of what’s happening than the other races” “The demons continue to evade our surveillance” I bitterly remarked. ”I have a feeling this is just the beginning” “I can’t help but agree with you Chris. The demons have already started their attacks and it just one fell swoop they’ve severely compromised the human’s security infrastructure” “We have to warn the VHC and WCC” I suggested. “Yes... for all we know they’re the next target” “I hate knowing so little on what we’re up against. We don’t even know if we’re just fighting against a single general or all nine of them” “I have to contact my agents to prepare for the worst” Yal replied. “Okay Yal... I’ll email the VHC and WCC to warn them” and with that we ended our call. I then spent the next few minutes sending an email to Reza, Konrad, Luca, Victor, and August. I informed them of the near complete annihilation of FRUSI in a single evening. I attached a copy of Kalron’s report and I suggested that they increase their security measures on integral vampire and werewolf locations. My phone almost immediately rang to life when Luca called me. “Chris, are you sure about this?” He asked. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that seems to be the case Luca” “No need to apologize Chris. It’s just shocking. I’ll call for an emergency VHC meeting.” After Luca it was August who knocked on my door. “Chris? You have a moment?” “Of course August...” “I received your email. It’s just so hard to believe. FRUSI may be composed of humans but I have deep respect for their fighting skills.” “I can only imagine how you feel August.” “I’ve warned the rest of the WCC. We have an emergency meeting within the hour, that would mean I can’t join you guys for breakfast” “Don’t worry about it. Luca and Reza seem to be busy right now as well. I’m sure Victor will hear from them soon.” I then indulged myself by giving August a small smile and said “I’ll have breakfast brought to your room. We can’t have you hungry in the middle of your meeting can we?” “Hehe. I’d appreciate that” After August left my room, I received a call from Victor. He was obviously troubled with the recent developments. I spent some time talking to him, he then excused himself as their VHC meeting was due to begin. I then took a moment to refresh myself in my large bathroom and then made my way to the kitchen. I found Etalos and Nomir preparing breakfast together. I told them about the attacks on FRUSI last night. “Chris... if I may say, that’s such a coordinated effort for them to pull off with limited resources” Nomir remarked. “I agree Nomir, and that’s what worries me the most. Several locations attacked simultaneously... how many do they have in their ranks?” I didn’t have much of an appetite that morning but I forced myself to eat anyway. Dad joined us for breakfast minutes later and I gave him a summary of what happened last night. Yal was late for breakfast and I could only assume that he’s busy coordinating the movements of his agents. —- We all went to Victor’s place for a send off lunch for Patrick, Raymond, Lucy, and Erica. We did our best to distract ourselves from the developments of last night but I wouldn’t deny the fact that the FRUSI attacks heavily dampened our mood. Patrick as a newly appointed governor of the district had a lot on his plate, he needed to shore up the district’s security and on top of that he had to follow in Victor’s footsteps. Lucy and Erica left for North Carolina at around 2pm, while Patrick and Raymond left for the airport soon after. I didn’t like to see them go but they are badly needed back in their respective areas. Victor and I found ourselves alone in his bedroom just after the four vampires left. “The VHC has decided to postpone my welcoming banquet. There’s just too much happening right now” “Yeah. I agree” I said just above a whisper. “We voted earlier to mobilize the entirety of Stratos” “Really?” “It can’t be helped. And actually... I’m afraid Stratos won’t be enough to face this challenge alone” “Hey... that’s what this alliance is for right? My uncle and Jetan are already mobilizing Akros.” “I’ve already suggested that NuBlood factories double their production and that districts all over the world start stocking up on NuBlood supply” “That’s smart” “We can’t afford to be caught off guard like when the Blood Army started attacking warehouses and NuBlood supply trucks ...” “It’s just going to get worse isn’t it?” I grimly asked. Victor softly touched my face and swept my hair sideways. He gave me a light smile. “Hmm... you can say that again but we’ll fight back and win this” “So, what’s the plan?” I asked. “The VHC intends to move forward with the summit. Instead of my banquet this weekend, the Council is inclined to have the summit instead.” “I’ll talk to August about it” I replied. “I’m sure they’ll agree.” Victor replied. “I hope so” — We left Victor’s place late in the afternoon. August left for Baltimore as well, he had to ensure that his Clan is taking the necessary precautions and measures for the demon threat. I even heard him call on his two other pack members, Gerard and Sergei, the only members of his pack that I haven’t met yet. August asked them to return to their estate to help Fred, Cage, and the twins with security. August also mentioned that he was deploying several more dozen agents across his territory, the alphas under him have all been notified to take precautions as well. I could sense August’s concern as he left for Baltimore. And he had every right to be worried, most werewolf packs are based in rural areas and Yal has mentioned to me that this is a key werewolf vulnerability, as they could be easy pickings for a well resourced demon army if they’re far away from reinforcements. As a Clan Alpha, August is responsible for dozens of packs that are members of his clan. He’s also a WCC Councilor so he had to think of the entire werewolf community as well. His mind must be racing right now to figure out the most effective and efficient method in maximizing the werewolf response. —- In order to compensate for the lack of security agents at home, I cast a magic spell to protect the house. Very similar to the barrier I conjured when I kept Victor out of the property line when we broke up. However this time I designed the barrier to keep out any being with ill intentions. I could feel the barrier draw from my energy pool. It didn’t bother me though, even if the barrier drained me buckets worth of energy by the minute... I had an ocean’s worth inside me. Before dinner, Etalos joined me in my new study. While Nomir spent time helping dad and Leo with their magic. Etalos was busy corresponding with several other agents around the world. As my chief of staff, he also spent some time coordinating with Jeppe and his team and Cage too. Jeppe Theil of the VHC was taking the lead in organizing the summit from the VHC’s end while August and his team was responsible for the WCC thus explaining Cage’s involvement. Etalos also kept tabs with developments back in the realm. Etalos was looped in by Kalron in his information network thus as soon as Yal’s ministry receives any update from the realm, Etalos can gain access to it as well. Yal’s team has devised this method of inter-realm communication and information dissemination. Every portal is used at least 4 times a day. Whenever a portal is opened, two of Yal’s agents would cross from one side to another, one from each world, the agent from earth will upload information into the elf realm’s server while the agent from the realm will upload information into the elvish network here on earth. That means that we can receive updates from the other world at least 16 times a day. I’ll have to admit that Yal’s method is rather smart but my method of just popping in and out of the realm is way better, but I guess not all elves can do that, hehe. — After dinner, I immediately went to the realm to talk to Patri. I found Patri in his study with Uncle Rehanmir and Jetan. “Chris! It’s good that you’re here” Patri said. “We’ve been informed that things are starting to turn for the worse back on Earth” “That seems to be the case Patri” “Any updates with the VHC and WCC?” Patri asked. “Both councils have agreed to meet with us in New York this Saturday. The Vampires and Werewolves will handle the security” “We should bring our own agents too.” My uncle spoke looking at Patri for an affirmative. “Rehanmir is right. We can’t leave security to the other two races. Jetan prepare several Akros agents to crossover together with us. It would also be wise if we station several agents in the vicinity of the summit area” Patri said. Then Patri set his attention on me. “We’re having an emergency meeting in an hour. I’d like you to join us” Patri said it matter of factly as if it was a done deal so I knew I couldn’t gripe my way out of this. “I wish Yalekin were able to join us” Patri said. “Patri... uhm. I can try and bring him over with me.” Both my Patri and Uncle turned to give me their full attention. “What do you mean Chris?” Patri asked. “Uhm... Well you know I’ve been bringing books to and from the realm, right?” “Yes... but Yalekin is a full grown man.” Patri replied. “Well... every time I cross the barrier, I feel like I’m some sort of bubble of my own. I think I just have to use a little bit more energy to expand the bubble around me so that I could bring someone along with me” “Have you tried this before Chris?” My uncle asked. His voice clearly showed concern if something were to wrong with the plan I had. “Not really... but if we don’t try, we’ll never know if it works. And I know you’re concerned for Yal’s safety... I am too! I’ll just make sure to pump excess energy to make the bubble larger than necessary” “Okay... Chris you’re right” my uncle replied. “I’ll be back.” I announced and just like that I crossed back to my house and started looking for Yal. I found the spymaster in his room watching the news. “Yal...” “Yes Chris?” “Patri said we’re supposed to attend an emergency meeting of some sort” Yal gave me an inquisitive look that turn into more quizzical then confused. “Uhm... last time I checked I can’t cross the barrier without a portal” I smiled at Yal and reached out for him with my right hand. “Hold on tight” I announced. It really didn’t take much effort for me to surround Yal with my energy and almost in a flash we found ourselves in front of Patri and my uncle. “We’re here” I beamed with pride. “What the...” Yal said as he looked around realizing I just brought him to the realm. “Chris... you never said you could do that!” “Well... you’re my first passenger so...” “Wait what? You experimented on me?” Yal’s expression looked so comical and Patri and my uncle couldn’t help but laugh at his expense. “You arrived all in one piece, right?” I teased the still confused Yal. Although I would have wanted to give Yal a thorough body inspection... a cavity search perhaps or some extra fondling uhm no I mean patting on the groin area? ‘Fucking naughty thoughts. Behave Chris!’ I thought to myself. —- I dressed to look the part for the meeting. I wore a tight red robe with gold accents. The robe had just the right cut for me, it had a formal almost military vibe to it. I had to thank Fejor for taking care of all my outfits. I made my way to the celestial palace, that’s where our meeting was going to be. During my stay in the realm, I've rarely visited this portion of the palace complex. It surely had more people in it, though that was to be expected as this served as the administrative center of Patri’s office. Uncle Rehanmir accompanied me to a quieter wing of the palace. We even had to go through several scanners that only gave access to people with Level 7 clearance and above. The large double doors of our conference room were guarded by two soldiers in uniform who didn’t even think twice about allowing me and my uncle into the room. We entered a large, well-lit room. Large is rather an understatement, it had white and gray marble walls and a high ceiling that tapered into a large dome. Underneath the dome is a thin circular wooden table or more accurately - two semicircular tables that faced each other. Each side sat 7 individuals. On the right table I could already see Patri sitting in the middle. I took a moment to look around the room, I recognized several faces although some were new as well. I’m sure I’ve met some of these people at either my Ascension or during my banquet. I easily recognized Prince Havar, Patri’s cousin sitting in the middle of the left table, he sat directly opposite King ZoHal. But due to the large size of each table, they were both easily 20 feet from each other. Later on, I would memorize all the names of those in attendance. In the right table was Patri and on his right were Jetan, Prince Delic (Patri’s brother), and Uncle Rehanmir closest to him. On his left sat Yal, myself, and King Ethnar who was immediately left of Patri. On the table opposite us, Prince Havar was in the middle, he was flanked on his right by Raya - one of the High Circle members I met the other day, Anisa - The Air Mage in my Ascension, and Stomir - someone I haven’t met before but whom I later learn is a member of the High Court. On Prince Havar’s left were Yelindra - A member of the High Court whom I’ve met before during the initial talks with Reza, Zenfar, and Nelthana - just like Stomir, she’s someone I haven’t met before but I later learn is the Governor of the Western Province. “Thank you everyone for making it here on such short notice” Patri started in a rather serious voice. His voice was loud enough, it almost boomed across the large conference hall. “All Councils are represented in this meeting and I expect whatever is discussed today will be relayed to those that aren’t present. I also expect all to represent their councils and not use this meeting to forward any personal biases and opinions” I found Patri’s last sentence odd and it felt like he was directing it on Prince Havar. Patri continued. “Rehanmir and Jetan are here to represent the Ministry of Civil Security; Prince Delic, Prince Havar, and Nelthana standing in for the Council of Governors; King Ethnar is representing the Advisory Council; Raya the High Circle; Stomir and Yelindra for the High Court, High Mage Zenfar and Air Mage Anisa for the Mage Council, Master Yalekin for his Ministry, and Prince Christopher as ambassador of the realm” I looked around and I felt totally out of place, everyone seemed more serious than I anticipated and there was clearly some tension between Prince Havar and Patri. Being Patri’s cousin, Prince Havar is sixth in line to the throne, I actually met him in my banquet but didn’t speak much to him then, however during that time I didn’t sense any animosity coming from him. From what I’ve learned before, Prince Havar is the Governor of the only Autonomous City in the realm, Katar. I heard it was some sort of concession Patri gave him to convince Havar and his loyalists to join the rest of the elves in migrating to the realm. I’ve also heard whispers and rumors that there is some resentment coming from Prince Havar, despite being older it is Patri that is King and not him. “I’ve called for this emergency meeting to discuss the worsening situation on earth” Patri started. “I believe that you’ve all been made aware of the recent developments on the other side... as such we are moving the timeline with the talks on the proposed alliance with vampires and werewolves to this weekend” Patri announced. Then Patri set his gaze on me and added, “Prince Christopher has informed me that the VHC and WCC are on board with the talks and the VHC is rather keen for joint training and operations between Stratos and Akros” “That sounds fair enough” Prince Delic remarked. “I agree but I think we should set limits too” Yelindra said. “What do you mean?” Uncle Rehanmir asked. “I mean information that may compromise the realm’s security must not be shared with the vampires and werewolves” Yelindra replied. “I agree with her” Stomir chimed in. “Of course... we will not compromise the security of the realm” Patri agreed. Prince Havar then let out a small chuckle, which drew our attention to him. “Your Majesty... if I may? “ “Yes Havar?” Patri said bitterly. “If you don’t want to compromise the security of the realm then I propose we cast the Astra Spell” Yelindra then immediately with a serious tone and almost scrunched up face replied “Prince Havar the matter regarding the Astra Spell is already off the table. The High Court has already found that to be an unacceptable method” I looked at King Ethnar beside me and I knew my face told him I didn’t know what they are talking about. King Ethnar only lightly squeezed my right thigh underneath the table and lightly nodded his head to tell me now was not the time to discuss this. “I know that my initial petition to the High Court was narrowly dismissed but I believe that there’s new information that would signify a material change in the situation” “Material change?” Yelindra asked. “Yes. It has come to my attention that His Highness Prince Christopher has come across a book from the Tower of Knowledge. The book mentions that human souls are necessary for the creation of demons.” Prince Havar gritted his teeth and with bitterness further said “The greed of humans has already pushed us into exile and not only that but now we’ve confirmed that they are basically food for demons and only the powers above know how many billions of humans there are now” “What you are suggesting is genocide Havar” Patri said with frost in his voice and piercing gaze set on his cousin. “I will have none of this!” “In the end it’s either us or them” Prince Havar confidently remarked. His demeanor showed no signs of backing down from Patri. “By all means your Majesty... even if the High Court and Advisory Council agrees with my suggestion, as an absolute monarch you may veto such decisions” Prince Havar said holding his ground against Patri. “I mean what’s the harm in having the High Court and Advisory Council look into this matter again, right?” Patri may be an absolute monarch but I am not stupid to not realize that there will be serious repercussions if the public finds out that he has vetoed decisions by the Advisory Council and High Court. Stomir who sat beside Prince Havar chimed in. “In theory I may agree with Prince Havar’s proposal but there’s still the issue of there being no elf strong enough to cast the Astra Spell” Havar’s smile then turned from small to a devilish grin. “Ohh... hehe” He set his eyes on me for a few seconds then put his attention on Zenfar. “High Mage Zenfar as the only person aside from His Majesty that has complete access to census of Magical Strength of all citizens, can you confirm to everyone in attendance, if there is still no one capable of casting the Astra Spell?” Zenfar paused and looked torn. His eyes met Patri’s and my grandfather gave him a nod to tell the truth. “Uhm. I can confirm that there is one individual that has the potential to cast the Astra Spell,” The High Mage said in an almost defeated manner. “Impossible...” Raya muttered from her seat. “May we know who this individual is?” Nelthana asked. “I believe I can’t disclose the identity of the said individual” Zenfar replied. King Ethnar then cleared his throat and out of respect everyone turned silent. “As member of the Advisory Council ... I believe it is premature to explore the use of the Astra Spell. I think it would be prudent for us to move forward with the initial plan of a three-way alliance with the Vampires and Werewolves” “I mean no disrespect your Majesty but what if this alliance breaks down or what if the VHC and WCC become seriously compromised and are unable to hold their own end of the agreement,” Prince Havar asked “I think you’re being too pessimistic Havar. The situation on earth has indeed turned for the worse but it’s still far from total chaos. The situation is still under control for the time being.” King Ethnar replied. “Havar... your request has been noted by everyone in this meeting however we will push forward with the alliance. I forbid further discussion on the Astra Spell for the remaining duration of this meeting.” Patri said. “As you wish Your Majesty” Havar replied with a smile. “Let’s move forward with the discussion on who will represent the realm in the meeting with the VHC and WCC” Patri said. Zenfar then spoke to me. “Your Highness may we know who will be representing the vampires and werewolves?” I took a visible gulp and then replied. “For the WCC it will be Luigi Bonafede, Juan Montero, Olaf Seehofer, and August Smith. For the VHC it will be Reza Hatami, Jeppe Theil, Victoria Leonova, Luca Tremonti, Marta Vitorino, and Victor Meyer. The Head of Stratos Konrad Müller will be in attendance as well” “4 from the WCC and 7 from the VHC” Yal noted. “I believe King ZoHal, King Ethnar, and Prince Christopher’s attendance is already a given. It’s a matter of who else we will send” Nelthana remarked. “I agree.” Zenfar piped in. “Prince Rehanmir, Master Yalekin, and High Mage Zenfar should go as well,” Yelindra suggested. “That sounds fair enough... however I would suggest that a member of the High Court be in the vicinity to observe the associates of the VHC and WCC while the summit is in session. I also suggest that Jetan as Head of Akros be present in New York to cover security” Stomir said. “Okay. Are we in agreement on that?” Patri asked. No one disagreed. Then for the next hour or so we discussed the finer points of the three-way alliance. It was made clear that Prince Rehanmir and myself together with Yal will be the one’s mainly responsible for the realm’s security and military operations on earth. After the meeting was adjourned, Zenfar and Yelindra who both had questions regarding other stately matters caught Patri’s attention. King Ethnar on the other hand was busy talking to his other son, Prince Delic. Uncle Rehanmir and Yalekin were both busy discussing other matters with Stomir and Nelthana. That’s how I found myself alone with Prince Havar. We were both making our way out of the large meeting area when he asked me to join him for a short meeting. We found ourselves in a cozy study nearby. “I apologize if my exchange with my cousin earlier has made you uncomfortable” Prince Havar said. “Uhm... I’ll have to admit I did not expect things to be so heated between the two of you” “King ZoHal and I go a long way back, we barely see eye to eye but I am sure he only has the best interest of the realm and so do I. It’s just a matter of us having a different perspective on how to face problems at hand” “Hmm... I see.” “Prince Havar...” “You May call me Havar. We’re family after all” He smiled at me. “Then I insist you call me just Chris” I replied. “Would be an honor to be in familiar terms with the Platinum Prince” I couldn’t help but blush at that comment. Here in front of me was a 529 year old elf telling me it was his honor to know me. The question of the Astra Spell bothered me and I just had to ask. “What’s this Astra Spell that you guys talked about earlier?” Havar’s eyes showed excitement with my question. “Ohh... they haven’t told you?” He asked. “Sorry... but I am unfamiliar with the Spell” “No need to apologize Chris. The Astra Spell is basically a powerful cleansing spell of some sort” “Cleansing Spell?” “More of a purification or renewal Spell” “For what?” I asked. “A spell that would rid the world of poison” “Huh... what do you mean?” But before Havar was able to answer me, my uncle and Yalekin both walked in on us and interrupted our conversation. “Chris? Come on let’s go” My uncle said. “Go on... I believe we’ll just have to continue this another time” Havar said to me. Patri’s cousin gave me a hug and I was almost swallowed by his beefy frame. As we exited the room my uncle spoke to me. “What were you both talking about?” “He just apologized for the way he acted in the meeting earlier” “Really?” Yal asked. “I also asked him about the Astra Spell that seemed to trigger his and Patri’s argument” My uncle and Yal stopped walking and then set their full attention on me. “What did he say about the spell?” Uncle asked. “That it’s some sort of purification and healing spell” I shrugged. “Hmm... of course he’ll put it that way” Yal said in a sarcastic manner. “So, it’s not a purification spell?” “It isn’t Chris. Prince Havar is the leader of the Gaian Faction... He’s basically an Elf Supremacist and diehard revanchist” “What do you mean?” “To put it bluntly. He hates our exile into the realm and resents the humans for it. The Astra Spell is not purification magic... it’s a spell of mass murder” Uncle Rehanmir said. “Huh?” “Human Genocide” —- I spent several more minutes in the realm with Patri, King Ethnar, Uncle Rehanmir, Yal. Uncle Selvenus joined us as well. “Chris... avoid Havar at all costs” Patri said to me. “Is it because of the Astra Spell?” I asked. “Yes.” Patri tersely replied. “Chris... Havar may be my nephew but I do not share his views” King Ethnar added. “Well... it’s not as if I have anything to do with this spell anyway. And as long as Havar doesn’t have the capacity to cast the spell I think we’re safe” I replied. They all exchanged knowing glances before Patri cleared his throat. He then took a moment for himself and then spoke to me. “Chris, remember Zenfar said that there is one person with enough magic to cast the Astra Spell?” “Yeah... he did mention it earlier” I offhandedly replied. Silence. “Oh ... wait... you can’t mean.” I started to stutter. “Yes Chris. You’re powerful enough for the spell and you’re only getting stronger by the day” Patri said. “But I would never...” “Of course you wouldn’t.” Uncle Selvenus smiled after me as he squeezed my shoulders. “Just don’t let Havar’s words convince you otherwise” “I understand” — Yal and I made it back to the house at 2am. We were both in the 2nd level of my wing when I asked him. “Do you think Kalron would mind if he works from here instead?” “Oh Chris. It would be his pleasure. He doesn’t need to be in London to do his job. Just connect him to the elvish network and he’s fine.” “I would like it if he moves here. I’d love to have a mini-Yal nearby” “Mini-Yal?” The elf laughed. “You know... spymaster extraordinaire” “Hmm... I like seeing you becoming more comfortable with the idea of us snooping around” “What you do is far from snooping Yal. But I recognize its necessity.” “I’ll take that” he grinned back at me. “I know it’s late but can we call Kalron to get some updates?” I asked. “Of course, let’s call him.” Yal and I spoke to Kalron for almost twenty minutes. It seems that the demons didn’t make any moves against FRUSI or the VHC and WCC. Kalron assured us that his team is working double time to monitor any suspicious activities. The elf was more than ecstatic when I asked for him to move into my place. I think he mentioned something about it being an honor to work for the ‘Platinum Prince’ or something like that. —- Early morning I checked my emails, I felt relieved to have not received any bad news from Kalron. I started my day with breakfast with Dad, Etalos, Nomir, and Yal. We had a mix of elvish and American food for breakfast. It kind of seemed like an odd food combination but somehow it made sense for me. That morning, I finally found some time to review for my matriculation tests. I did some mock exams and I pretty much continued to ace it, good thing I wasn’t losing my touch. Etalos spent the morning training dad with his magic. As a fellow air he could teach dad with some basic air based spells. While Yal and Nomir spent time doing an audit of the elf’s security network in infrastructure. Victor joined us for lunch and gave him an update regarding our trip to New York. We decided to fly out that evening using his private jet. “So you guys are going to leave me alone here?” Dad pouted. “Ohh... Dad you can fly with us. You can stay in the hotel while we attend the meeting. Etalos can keep you company” “I’d be more than happy to teach you some more spells ...” Etalos smiled at my dad. “Hmm... okay” While we were cleaning up the dining table, I received a message from Kalron. “Detroit. Spike in suspicious activity” his message read. I immediately called Kalron. “What do you mean by this Kalron?” I said with concern. Victor and Yal noticed the change in my demeanor and they started to listen in. “Sir... we have nothing definite yet but there’s been some trouble happening within the city since this morning.” “And why is it that we’re just hearing about this now?” “Sir... initially we assumed the activities were low level crimes but...” “But what Kalron?” “It seems that the situation is escalating by the minute. What’s happening in the city is not in line with our predictive models” I could sense that Kalron was just as concerned as me, his voice had a certain edge to it and there was a hint of fear in it. “Is this demon related?” “We’re not certain of that sir but there’s no other possible explanation” “Wait a minute...” I said. I then set my gaze on Victor and said “Contact whoever the Vampire Governor is for Michigan. Detroit’s in trouble” “What?” Victor asked slightly confused. “Most likely demons. Kalron is expecting things to worsen within the next few hours” Victor nodded and then started to call Sean Heston, the Governor of District 7. “Etalos turn on the TV. Switch it to a news channel” I then went back to Kalron and said. “Kalron... I’ll put you on speaker so Yal and I can both hear you. Please explain the situation” “Earlier this morning a local police station was set on fire.” “Okay... “ “An hour later the city reported three armed robberies in banks across the city” “Sad news but can easily be criminal in nature...” Yal said. “That’s what we thought too sir... but then another thing happened. Within a span of 2 hours - 3 predominantly black churches were attacked, then 6 minority teenagers were shot dead by the police, we’ve also noted a 33% spike in racially charged language from some far-right radio networks around the city” “All of that happened before noon?” “Yes your highness” “What else?” “Members of the black community have organized themselves in protest against the police but it seems like the radio stations have stoked their own supporters to organize their own counter protests.” Kalron paused. “On top of that sir... two more banks were robbed at noon, a supermarket suffered a hostage taking, and another police station was set on fire. The local police department is being stretched too thin” “What do you suggest we do Yal?” I asked. “There’s nothing we can do right now but monitor the events as they unfold” Yal said in a defeated manner. “If this is Demon related, we have to find out where their hideout is. It’s highly likely they’re using manipulative spells and magic to sow discord” I sighed and then spoke to Kalron. “Thank you Kalron. Please keep us posted.” Victor ended his call with the local governor and Governor Heston is just as confused as us but commented that things were indeed getting out of hand in the center of the city. At around 2:30pm, national news networks started to cover the situation in Detroit. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw on TV. It was an aerial footage of downtown Detroit, smoke rising from burning cars and tires across the city. The Headline read: Detroit in Chaos. The news showed recorded footage of people looting shops and guns being fired into the air. There were also snippets showing protesters from both sides violently attacking the police. The Headlines just kept changing and changing. 2:47: At least 129 dead in Detroit riots. 2:56: Michigan Governor mobilizes the National Guard to quell Detroit violence. A few minutes past three the reports grew worse as the new reporter announced that all of Detroit's border crossings with Canada were bombed and have now been closed. Minutes later news of transit stations being set on fire around the city came out as well. 3:44: 2 Car bombs explode near Detroit Metropolitan Airport. At least 70 people dead. 3:57: All of Detroit and its surrounding counties lose electricity. 4:10: Governor announces a mandatory curfew for the entire city of Detroit. Footage of the National Guard attempting to enter Detroit was shown as well but they were met by angry mobs. Burning cars and tires as well, for all intents and purposes blocked major roads in and out of the city, Detroit seemed to be sealed off from the rest of the country. 4:38: Detroit City Hall is bombed. We couldn’t take our eyes off the TV, as we watched in complete horror as Detroit descends into chaos. “They’re manipulating hundreds if not thousands of people at the same time” I remarked. At one point we saw a video of several angry individuals confront the police. I noticed that the individuals were too well armed to be just a rag tag team of disgruntled individuals. The news even showed snippets of minority and far-right protest groups clashing and basically just killing each other on the streets. “What the hell is happening?” Dad muttered. “This is what Demons can do, and they haven’t even shown themselves yet” I said. “That’s what worries me the most Chris” Yal replied. “Where the hell are they hiding?” “If they can do this to Detroit... they can do this to any other city” Victor grimly said. We continued to watch the news, I could sense that the entire nation has been put into a state of shock with what’s happening in Detroit. The news channels continued to provide live coverage of the now burning city. At one point we saw three military choppers hover above the city. I then saw purple flares fly from one of the buildings. Oh shit. Those aren’t flares, those are energy balls. The helicopters initially mistook the purple orbs as flares and didn’t budge, they didn’t know what was coming. In seconds we watched in total horror as three military helicopters exploded on live TV. —- While we were in the car on the way to the airport, I received a call from Kalron. “Several neighborhoods inside the city together with a large number of suburban areas sit empty” “What are you implying Kalron?” “All of the chaos today served as cover for a massive abduction operation” “Do you have proof of that?” “Some of the working CCTV cameras showed vans and trucks transporting people out of the city. It appears they were offering safe passage or evacuation out of the city. An agent of ours who was investigating the attack on the Detroit FRUSI office has also reported feeling magic being used in the area. I’ve asked the agent to get out of the city as fast as possible, his protective pendant has started to weaken” “How many missing people are we talking about Kalron?” “At least 10,000 sir” “That many?!” “That seems to be the case Your Highness” “Okay. Keep me posted” I replied. “What’s the matter Chris?” Victor asked from beside me. “10,000 people from Detroit are missing. An elf agent also noticed the use of magic in the area” “Did they really have to attack the entire city to harvest that many people?” Yal asked from behind us. “It seems we’re facing an attention seeking Demon General. You’re right, he could have easily abducted more homeless people. I doubt that we’ve already run out of homeless individuals for them to prey on. It appears this attack on Detroit is his debut to the world” I was so lost in thought that I failed to marvel at Victor’s private jet. It seemed dad was too caught up in his own worries to gawk as well. “The moment we find out where the Demon base is... we attack” I said to Victor. “I agree Chris. The more people they’re able to get their hands on, the stronger they get, and today they’ve just siphoned 10,000 people, god knows how many demons that could spawn.” Victor remarked.

Scotty is just so adorable! I hope Scotty and Artie get it on soon! So Jesse and Tristan can go back to openly flirting again hehe

The first book I opened contained ancient knowledge on magic and spells. The book was written by three elves, T’avar, Ratha, and Asenwe. References to various Egyptian Pharaohs allowed me to narrow down when it was written to the time of the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, some time between 2686 and 2613 BC. This coincided with the time when the House of Tarud became the monarchs of the elves after Queen Hasera of the House of Maktar died without an heir then her husband, Prince Tarud came to power. I’ve read enough books and scrolls in this tower to realize that the information contained in this book is of a different school of thought in magic, the approach used in the spells were different from the ones I’ve encountered so far, even the state of mind and thoughts that you needed to have to be able to cast spells were different. The authors called it the “Tashik method” or “The Way of the Tashik” depends on how you translate it. The Tashik method ran differently from what I’ve been taught and have learned so far. With modern elvish magic it’s about being in a state of mind that puts you in direct connection with the energy flow around you and while keeping in mind the end result you want. It was about controlling and bending the energy to your will to get the desired results. However in the Tashik method it was about speaking with the energy flow using your soul. To use one’s soul to gain favor from the world’s energy... to gain enough favor that your wishes are then granted through the completion of your spell. This new method was remarkably different with what I have been used to and it took me an hour of trial and error to conjure an energy shield around me using this method. I wasn’t yet sure if I’d favor this style of magic as it is indeed not only more mentally taxing but more emotionally and spiritually draining as well, maybe that’s why this method has been replaced by newer schools of thought. I decided to keep this method in mind for further practice, although taxing, I’d have to admit that it is an interesting approach to magic. I then moved on to the second book, it contained information on the intricacies and complexity of a Magnus Spell. Some information I’ve already read before from other sources while some were more than enlightening and helpful, I’m sure Zenfar will have a fit if he knew about this! Hehe. I skimmed through the second book and decided to give it a more thorough reading at a later date as I had three more books to skim through. The third book was blank, and I found it rather odd. The front and back were both void of any writing and as I flipped through its pages, I found its contents empty as well. I was about to give up on the book and skip to the next one when I felt my chains tingle inside of me. I felt a surge of energy welling inside as if to beckon me to read the blank book. I scoured through my mind and was thoroughly confused as to how to read the said book. Then I thought of something, ‘what if I pump energy into book?’ I pulled a significant amount of energy and then slowly channeled it into the book. It took several seconds for me to sense a change but then the book grew cold and then warm and then it started to switch between cold and warm every few seconds as I funneled more and more of my energy into it. After a minute or so, the book started to give off a black glow. I started to flip pages and writings started to become visible. I stopped my energy channeling and then the writings started to fade away. Damn! I had to keep on pumping energy into the book for me to read it! A few more seconds of energy pumping and I’m sure I’ve already pumped a gold level elf’s worth of energy into it. ‘This is one hell of a demanding book! The knowledge inside should be worth all the magic I’ve spent on it.’ I thought. The first words I read made me shiver with dread and shake with excitement at the same time. Pajar Tu’e Yagardin or in Ancient Elvish, “The Nine Demon Generals” ‘Yes! Finally! Something about the demons’ I thought to myself. The first few paragraphs read: Demons are corruption of the soul in the flesh. The physical and spiritual manifestation of everything that is wrong with the world. Demons are as proficient in magic as elves, heal as fast as vampires , and are as strong as werewolves. Their strength lies with their generals and their weakness lies in their few numbers. Only a demon general can create a new demon. A demon is only loyal to its creator and no one else. Every newborn demon comes at a great cost to humanity, not only for the threat it poses to the weakest of the five races but also due to the fact that it requires the harvesting of human souls for one to come into this world. There is no definite number as to how many demons a general can sire but there is no record of a general exceeding more than a thousand demon minions. Fuck fuck fuck! I have to tell Patri and King Ethnar about this! I had to get to the palace now! I gathered the other 4 books for me to continue reading them later but I had to get to Patri as soon as possible! I couldn’t teleport directly to Patri but I already had an idea on how to get there. In a flash I found myself in my bedroom where I saw Victor quietly sleeping then almost a second later I willed myself to the palace. I found myself outside Patri’s study and I scanned my handprint on the scanner. It went green and I started to open the door. I sighed in relief as I realized that my plan worked and not only that but I was also able to bring the books out of the tower. Patri looked up from his desk and smiled as he saw me. “Chris! It’s good to see you again” then Patri’s smile turned into a sour expression as he saw the anxiety and agitation written all over my face. Patri stood and quickly approached me. “What is is Chris?” “Patri... I found something!” “What do you mean?” “About the demons... here look at this book” Patri gave me a quizzical look and then took the book from me. He flipped several pages and then said “it’s empty” “You have to channel energy into it” “Ohh... how’d you realize that’s the case? I’ve heard of ancient texts being sealed in such a manner but never encountered one” “I dunno... I just tried and then somehow it worked...” “Okay... give me a moment to channel energy into this” It took Patri more than twice the time it took me to unlock the book but at least he’s able to read it himself. I doubt anyone below Platinum would be able to do such a thing. Patri started to flip one page after another and he wore a mixture of a serious and worried expression as he went through the pages. “Chris...” “Yes Patri?” “This is groundbreaking!” Patri exclaimed. “We have to let the others know. Here hold onto this, I’ll call Zenfar, Sarad, Rehanmir, and father” “King Ethnar is still in town?” “No... he went back to Ashtelon already but I’m sure this will get him to come back to the capital” “Patri did you read the portion where it mentioned about the harvesting of human souls... I think that confirms the findings of Kalron and his team on earth... thousands of humans have gone missing recently” “Yes... I’ve read it. We don’t know how many human souls are needed for a single demon to be born but at least now we’re sure what the motive behind the disappearances is” “Patri... I’m worried” “And so am I... Chris, this is new knowledge, how new demons came into being has always been a mystery” Patri gave out a exasperated huff. “We have to act soon” “I agree Patri” “We have to know where the demon base of operation is” “You’re right Patri. And now we’re certain that there’s at least one general behind this” “Yes... you’re correct Chris, and existing records already tell us that generals are very powerful. In all his life, my father has only fought a single demon general and...” “And what Patri?” “He barely escaped with his life. Not all demon generals are of equal strength but my father seemed to have faced one of the stronger ones” “But King Ethnar is powerful!” I exclaimed. I found it hard to believe King Ethnar struggled against a demon even a demon general. I mean King Ethnar is the strongest elf ever! “Exactly Chris. We don’t know why the generals disappeared more than 600 years ago but if at least one has returned that’s already enough to cause worry” Patri then looked at his phone and said “Zenfar, Sarad, and Rehanmir will be here soon” After thirty minutes the three elves joined Patri and myself. We discussed our discoveries from the book. Zenfar tried to channel his own magic into the book, just like Patri it took him more than a moment to remove the magical seal. Zenfar’s eyes blew wide open as he read its contents. “It seems like the humans are in graver danger than we are” Uncle Rehanmir noted. “That seems to be the case” Patri agreed. “The barrier is protecting us from the negative energy build up... but the humans on the other side are out there for the taking” “The werewolves and vampires aren’t far behind though” I commented. “What do you mean Chris?” My uncle asked. “Werewolves and Vampires will also serve as fodder for Anami creation” “What could the demons possibly hope to achieve?” Sarad asked. “World domination...” came from a familiar voice as the door opened. It was King Ethnar. “Father...” Patri said as he hugged King Ethnar who made it faster to the capital than what I expected. “I came as soon as you called for me.” King Ethnar said. “I might have told the train driver to speed things up” he grinned. For the next hour or so we talked about the contents of the book. At least now we knew that there could only be a maximum of 9 demon generals. “Rehanmir... make sure Jetan doubles down on the training of Akros” Patri said. “And Chris... keep us updated with developments from the VHC and WCC” “Of course Patri. We’re just now waiting for the WCC to decide. I’m sure August will give me some feedback when I return” “Good... “ “ZoHal I think we should also spend more resources on the strengthening of the barrier... if the demon build up continues back on earth we can have more leakages into the realm if the barrier is not strong enough” King Ethnar noted. “Yes. I’ll have the High Circle work on that father” “Patri... I think it would also be in our interest if we strengthen the pendants of all elves stationed on earth. When I returned to earth I could sense something was different in the air” “Okay Chris... I’ll have Yalekin and Rehanmir work that out. As most elves work within a few miles of a portal save some agents in deep cover but we can have most of elves on earth have their enhanced protective pendants within a matter of days” Patri then spoke to Zenfar “Have your mages work on strengthening the pendants. All portals will be on high alert” “Yes your highness” Zenfar noted. I then asked a question that has popped into my head a few times before. “Uhm... have elves been always been this vulnerable to negative energy?” Patri and King Ethnar exchanged looks while Uncle Rehanmir seemed to not know where to look while Sarad and Zenfar averted my gaze. King Ethnar then spoke “Uhm Chris... to some extent yes.” “What do you mean?” “You already know that elves can be corrupted right? That’s why we wear pendants when we stay on earth for an extended period of time” “Yes” I nodded, they’ve told me about this before but I felt that what I’ve been told so far is an incomplete picture of what the reality is. “Well... centuries ago and I mean when the demons were still roaming the earth, it took prolonged exposure to demons or Anamis for an elf to start falling prey to corruption but...” “But what?” I looked around as if waiting for someone to explain further. Patri then continued. “Remember why we created the realm?” “Yes. To protect the elves from corruption but it kind of does not make sense Patri... the demons were already long gone when the realm was created” “You’re right about that but remember the prophecy about the extinction of the elves if we didn’t leave earth?” “Yes... “ “That’s because even if the demons disappeared... ill intent and corruption continued to spread on earth... via the other races, wars, pestilence, famines, environmental destruction continued to plague the world and the negative energy kept on accumulating... for thousands of years. Through disasters and even through the times where demons freely roamed the land, the elves survived however the earth only accumulated more and more negative energy, nature itself couldn’t absorb it enough so... if we didn’t leave earth...” Patri’s voice trailed off. “Those without a pendant or magical protection will die” King Ethnar finished Patri’s sentence then continued “A significant fraction of the elvish population actually even blame humans for our exile from Earth” “Huh... why? What do you mean?” I asked. “I mean how can humans be the cause of the elvish exodus?” King Ethnar then continued to explain, he was calm and controlled yet I could feel that he was choosing his words carefully. “What humans lack in strength they make up for in numbers. Imagine all the negative energy billions of humans bring into the world, for thousands of years human civilizations waged wars on one another, killed and abused one another, but for the longest time the number of humans never reached a billion, let me be clear, the amount of misery and atrocities that occurred before the modern human age were deplorable to say the least, but all that misery and corruption was only contained amongst tens if not hundreds of millions of people, today however, there are almost 8 billion people on earth. The realm was created just time in time when the human population started to exponentially grow” “What? You can’t be serious... “ I said just above a whisper. This was new information I found hard to digest. “It’s just the way it is Chris. That’s one of the key weaknesses of us elves. Negative energy either kills us or drives us insane, and on rare instances turn an elf into a corrupted creature that is almost no different from that of a demon.” King Ethnar paused, I can sense that he wanted to say more but he stopped himself. Zenfar then spoke and added. “Elves are magical creatures it grants us some protection from acceptable levels of corrupted energy around us but it’s a different thing when it comes to concentrated darkness, we need magic to not just thrive but to also even just exist” “Wow...” I muttered in realization how lucky the elves have been in being able to escape the corruptive energy back on earth. And it seemed they had only decades if not a century max to spare. If the elves were still on earth during the first and second world wars I doubt that they would have survived from all the malignant energy those events generated. The prophecy was right, if they didn’t leave earth, the elves would be extinct. “Don’t worry about it young one” King Ethnar reassured me. “Our main concern right now is the demon resurgence. Not only is the negative energy build up the only threat but imagine if demons start wreaking havoc ... if earth falls into chaos... all of the misery it will bring to the billions of people will add onto the darkness brought by the demons, if that happens we’re not certain the barrier between realms will be strong enough to protect us from such a surge in darkness” “The current revitalization of the barrier does buy us some time but not by a lot” Uncle Rehanmir added. —- I returned to earth just before sunrise and snuck beneath the covers with my boyfriend. “You’re awfully past your curfew...” Victor whispered into my ear as he hugged me from behind. “Hmph...” “Tired?” “Yes...” “Come here let’s get you some sleep” I really didn’t need much sleep but it was nice to be able to sneak an hour’s worth of shut eye before Victor and I decided to start our day. We were all complete at the breakfast table when Luca cleared his throat to get our attention. Luca’s smile said it all. He beamed with pride, joy, and excitement for what he was about to say. “I am pleased to announce that my son Victor Meyer is the newest Councilor of the VHC” Silence as the people around the table took a second to digest the news. August broke the ice and almost shouted. “About damn time!” Which earned laughter and giggles. Congratulations were made and you could see in everyone’s faces that they were all happy for Victor. After the initial round of hugging and shaking of hands, Luca called for our attention again. “I am also proud to announce that Patrick will be the new Governor of District 4” Patrick immediately lost all the color on his face. As it only dawned on him that he was replacing Victor as Governor. “You go big bro” Henry remarked as he patted Patrick’s back. “Not so fast Henry...” Victor chimed in. “What?” “Uhm... as Councilor, I can’t be in direct control of Virginia anymore so...” Henry’s eyes went wide as saucers. “Welcome to the club!” Lucy said as he hugged his ‘younger brother’. “Look at you Henry now all grown up and now an OIC” Lucy teased. “You’ve got to be kidding me...” Henry said as he rubbed his hands on his forehead. “Oh boy... this will be exciting” August said as he went around the table to congratulate Patrick and Henry on their promotion. Stefano and Hashim didn’t hold back in congratulating the three men. I’m really glad to see them be comfortable around us, they’ve come so far from their distant selves when we arrived 2 weeks ago. I will miss Luca and these two, but hopefully I’ll be seeing more of them in the future. After breakfast, August called for my attention and we excused ourselves in an empty study. “So... any news on the WCC?” I asked. “Yes. To say that the meeting last night was rowdy would be an understatement.” August said. “What do you mean?” “Chris. We just announced to very powerful werewolves that the elves are back. Imagine how much of a surprise that is” “Ahh... yes. I see that.” “Being the only WCC Councilor to go the realm, all attention was on me last night” August explained further. “And..?” “Well... it took some convincing and with Lugi and Juan’s support in the WCC, the Crescent Council decided to agree to explore a three-way alliance with the elves and vampires” “That’s good to hear August” “I was very relieved when the vote was announced to be unanimous, you can’t blame some councilors for having reservations on this” “I completely understand that” “Anyway... we’ll be fine with sending 4 WCC representatives to the talks” “That would include you right?” I asked. August gave me one his signature grins. “Of course I am going” “Phew... that’s good to hear. Now tell me more about the other WCC Councilors that will attend.” “Hmm... I’ll be joined by Luigi Bonafede and Juan Montero both are Co-equal heads of the WCC. They’ll be accompanied by Olaf Seehofer too” “Should I know anything important about these three councilors?” “Just that these three are key power players in the WCC” “Anything else?” “Hmm..” August shot me a knowing grin. “I believe you have the means to look into that” “What do you mean?” “Chris... don’t tell me that the elves haven’t been monitoring the activities of all the major power players in the world.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about August. The elves have limited capacity to extend influence outside the borders of the realm” August shot me another smile. “Ahhh... spoken like a diplomat. Whatever you say Chris” August said as he patted my back then he left the room. As soon as August closed the door. I sent a message to Kalron, Yal’s spymaster here on earth to give me all the information he has on all members of the VHC and WCC. I had some heavy reading to do. I better make sure that all the elf representatives will be briefed on who we were meeting as well. With that I had to find out from Luca who the VHC representatives will be. It knocked on Luca’s study. “Come in” I heard. “Luca... do you have a moment?” “Of course Chris. What is it?” “Any updates on who the VHC representatives for the meeting will be? I’m also happy to inform you that the WCC is onboard with the initial talks” “Ahhh... marvelous!” Luca said as he stood from behind his chair. “Reza for certain will be in attendance, most likely me too but we haven’t decided yet on who else” “Ahh... I see” “Give is your preferred date Chris and we’ll make it happen. I will also coordinate with August for security measures of this three-way summit” “Thank you Luca. I’ll let King ZoHal know that the summit will be moving forward” I excused myself from Luca and when I got back in the corridor, I immediately crossed back into the realm. It was night time now in the realm but still early enough for people to be awake. I found Patri in his office and he was pleasantly surprised to see me again so soon. “Ahh... to what do I owe multiple visits in a day?” He teased. “Patri. Good evening. Just popped in to inform you that the WCC has confirmed their participation with the talks” “Splendid.” “Luca said to just give them the date and they’ll make it work. It seems like the vampires and werewolves will be responsible for the summit’s security” “I’ll have to go over this with the Advisory Council. But as discussed earlier this should happen soon” “Okay Patri...” “See Christopher...” Patri gave me a teasing smile as he approached me. He then hugged me as he closed the gap between us. “See... you’re perfect for the job” he whispered. I did not linger in the realm as I had some packing to do back in London. We’ll be flying out using Luca’s private jet at 3pm. —- I spent almost half an hour packing my stuff and it was certainly a struggle trying to fit everything back into my suitcase. Did I really have to do all that shopping? *sigh. Reza and Konrad joined us for the farewell lunch. I was sad knowing that it would be at least several more days if not weeks before I see some of these people again. Looking around the table I could sense that everyone felt the same. “A toast! To new friends and new beginnings” Reza said. “Don’t worry Chris, I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of us” Luca smiled at me. Oh and I could have just melted there on my seat, god damn, did Victor’s sire really have to look like a an Armani model? Reza and Konrad spent a good amount of time trying to get to know Yal more. They knew he was an important elf minister but they didn’t know how important Yal is to the realm. Little did they not that they’re talking to the best spymaster of them all! I observed Yal smoothly evade questions that would have led to the disclosure of confidential information. Yep! I had to learn how to do that. August spent time talking to Luca about the upcoming meeting while the rest of the group fell into their usual chatter. Before Reza and Konrad left the estate. They both hugged Victor and congratulated him on his appointment. They even teased my boyfriend about the upcoming VHC banquet for him. I hugged Luca, Hashim, and Stefano before we left and I could not help but be misty eyed at the thought of not seeing them for quite awhile. At the 3pm, Luca’s Bombardier Global 7500 departed on time. We were all glad to have Drew as our attendant again. As we reached cruising altitude, Yal asked me. “Do you think you’ll need a private jet of your own?” “Huh?” “I mean I think you’ll be traveling a lot now that you’re ambassador...” “No need to spend that amount of money Yal” “Are you sure? Coz just give the word and we can buy you your very own” Victor appeared to listening on our conversation and chimed in. “Hmm... look into it Chris but you can use the Gulfstream 550 that Luca gave me if you ever need to fly” *groan “I don’t wanna appear like some spoiled brat” I complained. “You aren’t Chris.” Yal said. “You’re a Prince of the Realm and an Ambassador to boot.” I tried to change the topic by asking about Victor’s appointment. “So when will this banquet be?” I asked. “This coming weekend. It will be in New York. Remember you promised you’ll come with me” Victor replied. “Yeah... I remember” “Good! I’ll be happy to have you at my side” As the rest of the group slept during the flight, I decided to access the files about the VHC and WCC Councilors that Kalron gave me. And my my, August was right. The elves have certainly kept tabs on the affairs of the Councilors. I found myself an encrypted file that contained information on each of the Councilors. Even Victor! —- Due to the timezone difference, we arrived at Richmond at 6pm after an 8 hour flight. Cold air and snow immediately greeted us as we stepped out of the cozy jet. “Damn it’s freezing” Leo said. “You can say that again” Dad huffed. His breath becoming visible due to the cold air. “Come on... the cars are already here” Henry said as he beckoned us to follow him to the private lounge. “It’s good you’ll be staying here for the night” Lucy said to Patrick. “Yeah, we’ll borrow sire’s private jet tomorrow. Raymond and I will take it for a spin to Atlanta” Patrick replied. “Lucky you. Erica and me will be driving out tomorrow back to North Carolina” Lucy said. “Aww guys. Leaving so soon?” I pouted at them. “Sorry Chris. Work awaits and there’s this new Governor in town and I heard that he’s a grumpy one” Lucy teased Patrick. “What did you just say?” Patrick said with mock indignation. “See? Thanks for proving my point” Lucy replied to a slightly miffed Patrick much to Erica and Raymond’s amusement. “August. Why don’t you stay at our place?” Dad said to August. “Uhm...” August gave my dad a quizzical look and then looked at Victor then back at dad. “Sure...” “Great! Then you’ll be much closer to Leo” Dad smiled. “Aww thanks man” August replied. “You know August... you can stay at my place” Leo piped in. “Aww babe... that would be nice but I think it would be better if we take it slow with your parents don’t you think?” August replied. “Fine... though expect a dinner invitation from mom and dad, m’kay?” “Sure thing hon” August said as he pulled in Leo for a hug then a light peck on the lips. Oh my. There’s so cute together. And did I just see August grope Leo’s ass? Fuuck. Total jack off material. I was with Dad and Yal in the ride home. We had one of Victor’s agents as our driver. Victor was in a different car with Patrick as they discussed matters concerning District 4. However, Victor did agree to having dinner later with us at home when dad invited him. We entered our quiet neighborhood and I looked at our house. “Daad?...” “Yes son? Dad replied with a shit eating grin as he turned to answer me from the front seat. “What the hell happened to our house?” I asked. “What do you mean?” Dad said in a neutral tone. Yal couldn’t help but smile with my exchange with dad. “Is it just me or is our house considerably larger?” I said. “Ohhh... you mean the renovations?” Dad replied. “Renovations? You call that a renovation?! The house more than doubled in size!” I exclaimed. The house’s facade remained, light yellow hued brick walls and a gray tile roof but the two story Georgian house that we had gained two 3-story wings on each side! We got off the car and somehow the main house has even been moved back further from the street that now we had our own semi circular driveway of sorts. “Dad?!” “Uhm... surprise?!” Dad said with a smile. “What happened?” I asked in an accusing manner. “Your Patri happened that’s what.” “So what happened to Mr and Mrs Flanagan and the Porter’s next door?” “The Flanagans decided to retire in Florida, while the Porter’s well... they somehow found a cheap mansion of sorts in the next town over” Dad explained. “How convenient...” I remarked. “How did all of this construction happen in two weeks and over the holidays?” I then looked at Yal for an explanation. Yal tried to avoid my gaze but I was not having any of it. “Yal...?” “Fine. Maybe we used some magic.” “What about the neighbors? Wouldn’t they have noticed it?” Yal tried to avoid my gaze again. But he relented. “We might have used a detractor spell so no one would pay attention to the construction” “You can do that?!” “Certainly” “Come on son... let’s explore the refurbished house!” Dad said as he opened the front door. As I entered the house I immediately smelled it. Taka Bread and Borfelian Roast! “Etalos ... Nomir!” I shouted as I found my two friends waiting for us. “When did you get here?” I asked. “Just last night your highness” Nomir said. Then I shot him ‘the look’ and he rectified himself and said “Just last night Chris” “Oh wow. I’m so happy to have you both here!” “We’re glad to be here” Etalos replied. We spent an hour exploring the “renovated” house. One of the 3-story wings had 4 bedrooms, including a new and larger room for me on the third floor. Well the entire third floor of that wing was my room! It’s very similar to the one I had back in the realm! It housed a study and a gym too on the lower levels. The main house did not change much but dad’s office and his study became larger and so did our dining room and kitchen. Fine it might have changed substantially as well. The 5 rooms that the main house once had was reduced to 3 including a larger master suite for dad. The other wing had a large library, an office and study of some sorts for me and even a small ballroom. For ‘social gatherings’ whatever that means. Outside, the pool became considerably larger and I even noticed that the property behind our house that used to be shrubbery and trees was now our very own garden. The entire property line was now demarcated by beautiful and ornate hedges. If it weren’t for the detractor Spell I think the house would have really stood out. I already mentioned before that our neighborhood is upper middle class but this certainly is not upper middle class! Etalos guided us towards a small cabin of some sort at the edge of the property and inside we found a stairway that lead to a large basement of some sorts. “It’s your training area. It has magic shielding and also doubles down as a bunker” Etalos explained as he waved his hand to the large training room. It was about 12 feet underground and had a high ceiling, I think it’s easily 20 feet high, and it’s larger than a basketball court. Just like Victor’s it had a shower and changing area too! “This is too much” “It isn’t Chris” Yal interjected. “You need all of this” *groan. Can someone please slap me the moment I become an arrogant douchebag. “Maintaining this house will cost a lot of money” I noted. “Don’t worry about it Chris. His Majesty has allocated a budget for that” Etalos said. “Why don’t we invite everyone else for some late dinner in a few hours?” Dad suggested. I agreed with dad and the notion of dinner with everyone distracted me for the time being from all the shock. —- Before dinner, I organized a video conference call with Kalron. Yal joined me in introducing Etalos and Nomir to the our ‘research liason’ We spent almost twenty minutes going over updates and other affairs and Kalron assured me that he’ll send a more detailed report by the end of the day. “Kalron seemed nice” Etalos noted. “Yeah he is. He’s very skilled with what he does too. We’ll be closely working with him from now on” I replied. —- Dinner went exceptionally well. Everyone raved about the new house and Etalos and Nomir’s Elven dishes were the star! God I missed Elven food. “So you traded my place for an upgrade huh?” Victor teased August. “I swear I didn’t have a clue.” August replied. “I know. Just pulling your leg” Victor said to the hot werewolf. I really had to give it to whoever was our contractor. All the stuff we had before were put back in their own place or moved to an even better location. I couldn’t even complain with how they transferred my stuff from my old room to the larger one even my clothes were perfectly arranged in my very own walk in closet. I bet Patri had one of the best movers, contractors, interior designers, and architects work on this. — I found myself alone in my large bedroom, and I started missing Victor already. I’ve grown so used to having him beside me. I tried to distract myself by reading the fourth and fifth books that I brought with me from the tower last night. The fourth book was bound in dark gray leather, it’s thicker than the rest of the books, I found myself struggling to find a comfortable position to read it but somehow I got it done. The book discussed at length various elemental spells that I haven’t heard of and very powerful ones at that. One of the spells that caught my eye was a spell on calling forth a large tornado. And by large I mean very large, too bad I haven’t gotten to my air magic training yet but I don’t think I’ll be needing to conjure an F-5 level tornado anytime soon. It’s just too destructive for my liking. Another spell was about creating an ice and water dragon. Well, this I’m more familiar with but the book just took it to another level, it discussed the methodology of materializing and controlling a large serpentine dragon made of ice that’s more than a hundred feet long! I read through several more pages about the large ice dragon spell at conjuring and materializing it seemed to require an 18-layer Magnus Spell! The next spell I read about was regarding a radiant sun ball. Basically creating a fire ball so hot that it melts and burns through anything. I wasn’t surprised to learn that the spell needed was a 16-layer Magnus Spell. One thing I’ve noticed about the spells on this book is that the spells are cast based on the Tashik Method or the ancient school of thought discussed in the first book I read last night. Damn so now I’m reading books about Magnus Spells that needed to be cast through ancient elvish magic? *Groan I was about to read the fifth book when I was alerted by an incoming video call from Kalron. “Yes Kalron?” “Your Highness... Master Yalekin. I have an update” I found it weird that Yal and I were in separate feeds in the video call as we were basically in the same house but I let it go. “What is it Kalron?” I asked. “Our agents have found more information related to the human abductions” “What did you find?” Yal said. In the screen I could see that he was slightly anxious like myself. “We were able to hack into several functioning surveillance cameras in areas near where the homeless congregate across the country and...” “And what?” I unintentionally cut him off, this was getting me nervous. “Sorry, please continue” “And... we were able to see several individuals put the homeless to sleep and loaded them into vans... in some instances they assailants even used mini trucks. They loaded dozens of people at a time” “Put them to sleep?” Yal asked. “Yes sir... it appears they used some magic but the videos couldn’t really prove that” “What else did you find?” I asked. “Your Highness... we were able to track several of these trucks and vans into various locations around the country” “Where?” “There’s one in San Diego, another in Chicago and there’s one more just outside Houston. The locations appear to be in industrial or warehouse districts surrounding those cities” “Keep your eyes on these locations Kalron” Yal commanded. “Of course sir. Our agents are already working on it” Kalron reassured us. “There’s one more thing ... “ “I don’t like where this is headed Kalron” Yal commented. “Yes sir. It regarding a complication” “Complication?” I asked. “It seems that FRUSI is now involved” “The Federal Response Unit on Supernatural Incidents?” I asked. Victor and dad has mentioned to me that they sometimes worked with this secret organization under the Department of Homeland Security. If I remembered correctly, FRUSI helped Victor and August in the cover up that followed regarding Gustav’s killing spree. “Yes, Your Highness. We’ve hacked into their systems and discovered that they will be deploying their special forces to conduct a raid on the Chicago location” “Just the Chicago location?” “Yes... it appears that they haven’t discovered the San Diego and Houston bases yet” Kalron replied. “Are they that stupid?” Yal said in a more exasperated tone. Yal now has one of his hands on his forehead, clearly massaging his temples to release some tension. “Sir... it appears that all the locations are currently being used by low level vampire and human syndicates linked to drug and human trafficking. It seems that FRUSI is underestimating the risks involved” “So are you saying that the demons could possibly be in cahoots with these syndicates?” I said. “That appears to be the case Chris. I wouldn’t be surprised if the demons have promised these syndicates with either money or power or even downright used magic to manipulate them to do their bidding” “What should we do Yal?” “Let’s see how their operation goes. We’ll know if they fail or succeed before sunrise” “Are you saying we use them as some sort of bait to test the strength of the enemy?” “Yes you’re right Chris. It’s too late now to contact FRUSI to call off their attack. And contacting them now will let them now that we’re spying on them” Yal replied. “I don’t like this Yal... but what other choice do we have?” Yal and Kalron both kept silent and I knew Yal is right. Now it’s out of our hands if the FRUSI raid succeeds or not. —- I barely had enough sleep that night knowing that if the demons are behind this that the FRUSI operation is certainly going to fail. At around 5am I received another video call from Kalron. Yal joined us within seconds. “What is it Kalron? Any news?” Yal said, I could hear that there was a certain edge on his voice. “The FRUSI operation failed sir. All 14 agents were wiped out. The enemy was even able to destroy the two helicopters that FRUSI used for transport” “The media will know about that if two helicopters blew up” I said. “I’m sure they’ll be able to cover it up. I mean ... FRUSI will handle that. Expect some sort of news about an engine failure or something later” Yal explained. “There’s another thing sir...” Kalron started. His facial expression told me he was about to give us more dire news. “FRUSI is now operating at 20-30%” “What?!” Yal exclaimed. “What happened?” Yal’s face grew more concerned by the minute. “Its bases of operations in Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Detroit, and Miami were attacked last night. Two of the Three Undersecretaries have gone missing and one of its training facilities, the one in Maine has been completely destroyed” “Those are attacks all over the country” I said. “How could they have pulled this off?” “The Department of Homeland Security, the CIA, and FBI are in complete chaos right now.” Kalron added. “One other thing sir...” “Yes Kalron?” “All the bodies recovered in the locations are human. Even in the vampire hideout in Chicago, there is no trace of rogue vampire or werewolf activity” “That doesn’t make any sense” Yal commented. He was now rubbing his chin as if to think things over. “So the attackers on the FRUSI bases are human?” “Yes Your Highness. But we were able to hack into the the surveillance feeds of several FRUSI offices, it appears that the attackers had unbelievable speed and strength and were very adept with guns and hand to hand combat.” “If that’s the case how did they die together the FRUSI agents?” I asked. If they were that strong and had a successful mission, why are they dead? “They all just dropped dead after the operation sir...”

Chapter 94 - Titles Morning came all too soon for my liking. However the warmth of Victor’s body beside certainly gave me comfort. I left Victor asleep in our bedroom as I made my way to the kitchen to grab some juice, the mansion was still quiet. I guess everyone decided to sleep in. Aside from some of Luca’s security detail making their rounds and household staff tending the garden, I didn’t see anybody else. “Good Morning Chris” Luca greeted me as he walked into the large kitchen. “Good Morning Luca” “Early morning eh?” He asked. “Seems like I can say the same to you” I replied with a smile. “Haha. You’re right, though I’ve always been like this, anything bothering you to be up this early?” “Hmm... it’s just that I have this sinking feeling that the demons are gathering strength right at this moment” Luca gave me a concerned look “what makes you say that Chris?” “Just a feeling. I don’t have proof of it, but I can’t shake off this feeling I have” “When did you have this suspicion? ” “The moment we crossed back to Earth” “I see. I’ll have my agents be on alert then” “Remember the lessons Sarad and Zenfar gave you, Reza, and Konrad about Anami biology?” “Yes...” “It wouldn’t hurt to disseminate that information amongst your agents ... when the VHC and WCC comes around we can then start sharing more information with them too” I paused. “We’ll really have to shore up our resources” “That’s a good idea.” Luca paused as he took a moment to take a sip of tea. “Speaking of the VHC...” “Yes?” “Reza and I have informed them of the results of our meeting with your grandfather” I took a moment to collect my thoughts and took a heavy breath. “And what is there response?” I nervously asked. “First... they’re all surprised some were none too happy that only Reza and I crossed into the realm but that’s their worst complaint so far. All VHC members were wise enough to recognize that we couldn’t fight the demons alone, having the werewolves and elves with us with surely give us some leverage against the enemy. All other VHC members have started to scour for records regarding the demons, I know the elves are in the best position regarding knowledge on that matter, but there’s no harm trying from our end as well right?” Luca paused again then added “Regarding the meeting with your grandfather, They’re all amenable to meet him in New York, give us the time and date and we’ll be there” Hearing those words from Luca certainly put me a little bit more at ease. “That’s good Luca... though I actually assumed that there would have been more of a resistance from other VHC Councilors” “Resistance?” Luca gave me a mischievous smile then continued. “Not if it’s against Reza’s words, questions maybe, actually lots of questions regarding the trip but none have voiced opposition to the proposed alliance so far” Luca explained and then after giving me another brief smile, “And Chris...” “Yes?” “Don’t tell Victor just yet but in the next few hours he’ll be the newest Councilor of the VHC” “Huh? What do you mean? Isn’t the screening still a few days away?” I asked. “All the other 9 nominees have withdrawn... even Robin Latham” “Really?” “Robin can sometimes be a pain but he’s smart, this was a battle they’ve all lost before it even began. This afternoon the VHC will have another conference and we’ll make Victor’s appointment as Councilor official and Patrick’s as the new governor of District 4” “That was rather fast” “Indeed... the fastest decision we’ve had in centuries, and believe it or not Chris, all those nominating votes for Victor, I never lifted a single finger for him, all of those votes were his to begin with, he earned all of those votes himself” “Wow” “Indeed. Do me a favor and keep it a secret for now okay? I want to be the one to give him the news when it becomes official” “Of course Luca” “Now there’s no denying that you both are the power couple of the century... don’t you think?” Luca teased. “Stop it Luca” “Just saying...” oh and I could have just melted away when Luca shot me his disarming smile. Did I already say that Luca is incredibly hot? Gosh... okay, I have to get out of here or my hormones will get the best of me. I think there’s still some lingering excess horniness from the ascension, why is Luca so hot?! Before I left the kitchen Luca called for me again. “Reza and Konrad will drop by for lunch. Don’t be surprised if we have another VHC member that will drop by ... I’m fairly certain those that are within several hundred miles of London are already on their way to come meet you” “You’re kidding right?” “Far from it...“ *groan —- Half an hour later everyone finally got around to joining Luca and I for breakfast. Eating breakfast with my friends, I realized how used to elvish food I’ve become, though I’m not complaining about the food... I mean Luca’s cooks are actually awesome. “So what’s your plan for today?” I asked Leo. “August and I will be doing some last minute shopping... given that we’re flying out tomorrow” “Right. Goodness time certainly flies” I offhandedly remarked. “You can say that again” Dad nodded in agreement. “Remember Chris... we’ve filed for an advanced schedule of your matriculation test. So you may be Prince and Ambassador now but we’re back to studying once we get back home okay?” “Yes dad... though... if I remember it correctly, you and Leo and magic have lessons of your own right?” I proudly retorted. Which earned me a mock look of offense from dad. Though of course I’ll be more than happy helping my dad and best friend learn to hone their skills. “Don’t worry, I’m sure when Etalos and Nomir joins us, they’ll be helping you both too” I added. “I’d rather work with either rather than you” Leo snorted. “Why is that?” I said as I raised an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly I’m not the one that nearly killed his great grandfather father in a sparring session!” “Oh geez Leo. That Magnus Spell was certainly something King Ethnar could have handled for himself” I reassured Leo or was I reassuring myself? Silence. “Yal?” “Based on what I’ve heard Chris... I doubt anyone could have survived your Magnus Spell” “Oh...” Thankfully Leo shifted the attention away from me. “So can you do a Magnus Spell?” Leo asked Yal. “I’ve tried before... not to much success. It’s very difficult and highly draining. The most I’ve done is 5 spells on top of one another” “Not bad...” August chimed in. “You’ll have to teach me how do that in the future” Leo said to Yal. “I think your best friend is in much of a better position to teach that” Leo gave me a pleading look and what can I say when he gives me those puppy eyes? “Of course Leo” I smiled back at him. —- Just before lunch, Reza and Konrad arrived to join us. Reza gave my boyfriend a lingering hug, and I’m sure it was his subtle way of welcoming my boyfriend to the VHC. I can’t wait to see the look on Victor’s face when he realizes he’s the newest VHC Councilor. “It’s good to see you again Reza” Victor greeted the older vampire. “It’s been barely 24 hours Victor but I do understand where you’re coming from.” Within minutes of Reza and Konrad’s arrival, two other cars entered Luca’s estate and some of us started to walk to the front portico to welcome the visitors” “Who might this be?” Reza mused. “Robert’s from England right? Guess he’s in one of those cars?” Reza said to Luca. “I don’t think so, he mentioned to me last night that he’s in Boston, so it must be someone else” “Well... we’ll find out soon enough” Reza said. “What are you guys talking about?” I asked as we made our way to the front doors to greet our visitors. “Curious VHC members” Luca winked at me. “Oh...” Then I glanced at August and asked “Anyone coming from the WCC?” “Nah... I only talked to two senior WCC members, both showed interest in meeting you but I told them to hold back until we’ve discussed the matter with the entire WCC” August replied. The first that got out of the black Mercedes was a tall and slender woman who looked to be in her early thirties. She was dressed in a tight black dress with a red scarf on her neck. The woman had shoulder length dark brown hair and carried herself with elegance. I immediately felt Luca and Reza’s powers work in overdrive to hide my scent and aura. Then out of the second car a black Audi sedan was a man about 6’3 in height and had light brown hair approached us as well. The two vampires as I sensed them exchanged pleasantries with each other as they approached us. Luca was the first one to speak to them. “Victoria... Jeppe, dropped by for a visit so soon?” “This is something I could not miss, what you and Reza brought upon the VHC last night was the revelation of the century” Victoria replied, her voice was soft yet forceful, her light brown eyes taking its time to scan us who were waiting for them. “Hello. It’s nice to see you again” Jeppe said to Luca and Reza. The man had a clean shaven face and was more muscular and fit up close. He was handsome, had a defined jawline and piercing blue eyes. Luca then spoke again. “I believe you’ve already met Victor before?” “Of course I have” Jeppe said as he shook my boyfriend’s hand. “It’s been awhile Victor” Victoria greeted my boyfriend with a light hug and a peck on the cheeks. “Jeppe... Victoria. What a pleasant surprise” Victor said to the older vampires. “Hmm... we’ve heard about your travels to the elvish realm. We learned from Reza and Luca that two elves are staying here? Am I correct?” Victoria asked Victor. “Uhm.” Victor looked at his sire who nodded in the affirmative. “Yes ... they’re both here” “Good... I want to talk to them” Jeppe chimed in. “It’s been more than 200 years, I’ve forgotten how the smelled, and I have questions too” Victor then interjected to introduce me. “Victoria... Jeppe... I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Christopher Rogers” Victoria gave out a surprised look and Jeppe smiled back at my boyfriend. “Oh my. What a handsome fellow!” Jeppe pulled me in for a hug rather than a handshake and all I can say is that Jeppe smells amazing! Yum! “Hmm... you do know what type of guy you’re dating don’t you young one?” Victoria said as she shook my hand. “I’m Victoria Leonova, it’s my pleasure to meet you” I was nervous but I kept myself calm and collected. If I were to be ambassador, I should not show any weakness or hesitation on my part. “Yes... I know what Victor is, and I’ve fully accepted to be part of his world” “Hmm... my my you’re in for one hell of ride then” Jeppe said. I wasn’t sure if he meant sexually speaking or regarding Victor’s upcoming appointment as Councilor. “Come on, let’s continue this inside” Luca invited. We all walked into the main study and August and Yal joined us. “Oh dear... August?” Jeppe said as he recognized the werewolf. “My dear old friend!” August greeted as he hugged Jeppe like the old friends that they seemed to be. “Luca made no mention of you being here” Jeppe said. “Surprise” Luca said to Jeppe. “So I assume you’ve crossed into the elvish realm as well?” Jeppe asked August. “The first and only werewolf... Luigi and Juan were pretty miffed about it when I discussed it with them last night” August said. “Ahh... so the WCC is already discussing its next plan of action eh?” Jeppe asked. “Based on what I’ve heard the VHC has already made its decision so we’re playing catch up here” August replied. “Hmm... you Werewolves always take longer to come to a decision. Remember August... we’re running out of time” Jeppe said. “The demons are not going to wait for us” “Jeppe’s right” Victoria said to August. “Ahh... Victoria, it’s been awhile” August said as he smiled to the beautiful russian lady. “Indeed it has been, I’ll make it a point to visit the States more often, you’re one of my favorite WCC members” Victoria said, it was clear to me that she was being honest with that remark and I can’t complain, August is indeed an easy guy to be with. Victoria then set her gaze on Yal. And gave him an inquisitive look. “Ahh... Victoria... Jeppe... this is Master Yalekin of the Elvish Realm” Luca said introducing Yal to them. “Ahh... a pleasure to meet you” Victoria swiftly said to Yal as she shook his hand, if I sensed it correctly I think Victoria made sure that shook Yal’s hand before Jeppe did. “Hmm... he doesn’t smell like an elf though” Jeppe mused after he shook Yal’s hand. “It’s because we’re covering their scent” “Their?” Jeppe caught on as he set his gaze on me. “You mean... him too?” As he pointed his finger at me. “Guilty” I smiled back at him. “My my ... it seems it’s Victor who has found himself in a pickle then” Jeppe laughed a bit. “Hmm... I love Chris just the way he is” Victor said as he put his right hand around my waist and pulled me closer to him. “Can you and Reza stop using your powers to hide their scent?” Victoria asked. “Victoria... it’s not just their scent Luca and I are hiding, it’s their aura as well” Reza explained. “Oh I see... It seems like we’re in for a surprise Jeppe” Victoria said realizing that there must have been a reason behind why our auras were being cloaked. “My my... aura eh? What kind of powers are these two hiding?” Jeppe curiously asked. “Are the both of you ready?” Luca asked. “Yes...” They both answered. And in a fraction of a second I felt Luca and Reza stop the use of their powers. Victoria gave out a soft yelp while Jeppe stifled a grunt. “Damn.... the aroma and oh wow...” Jeppe held onto his head. “What an aura” Jeppe looked at both Yal and I and it took him a second or two to realize that the presence or aura was mainly coming from me. “You?” Jeppe asked me. “What do you mean?” I asked. “He means your aura Chris... I think both of them have found it disconcerting to say the least” Luca noted. “I believe we haven’t fully introduced Chris to the both of you” Reza added with a sly grin. “What do you mean?” Victoria asked as she lightly massaged her temples. “This is His Highness Prince Christopher Stewart Rogers of the House of Haldruin, third prince of the elves and grandson of King ZoHal” Luca said. “Oh my... Your Highness” Victoria gave me a light bow which was immediately followed by Jeppe. “He’s also the Ambassador Luca and I mentioned in our meeting last night” Reza said. “The aura fits the role” Victoria commented. “I look forward to working with you Your Highness” “I look forward to working with you as well” I smiled back at her. “Are you both using glamour?” Jeppe curiously asked. “Yes...” Yal replied as he removed his glamour to show his pointy ears, I followed suit in seconds. “Wow... Victoria, the elves are indeed back” Jeppe said. “I think it would be better if we talked this over lunch, both of you can meet the rest of my family as well” Luca said. During lunch the rest of the group were introduced to the two VHC members. Victoria and Jeppe were surprised to find that August had a boyfriend too, but both were happy for him. The rest of the group kept a low key during lunch, I can only imagine how intimidating it must have been for them to have multiple members of t he VHC and WCC in a single room. I later learned from Victor that Jeppe is the fourth oldest member of the VHC, despite looking like a thirty year old, the gorgeous Dane is actually 489 years old and has been in the Council since 1784. Victoria on the other hand is the second oldest member of the VHC, at 539 years old, she’s only 29 years younger than Reza, she’s been in the VHC since 1726. No wonder Patrick, Lucy, Henry, Raymond, Erica, Hashim, and Stefano were more than sheepish being in the same room with them. While we were having lunch. Victoria and Jeppe spent their time mainly talking to Luca, Reza, Konrad, and August regarding their experiences at the realm. However at some point they did ask Yal some questions. “So King ZoHal is willing to meet us?” Jeppe asked me. “Yes, he will be joined by King Ethnar as well in meeting the representatives of the VHC and WCC” “King Ethnar? That’s groundbreaking...” Jeppe said in disbelief. “August get your Council to decide soon so we can set the date” Jeppe insisted. “That’s why I talked to Luigi and Juan first, they hold more sway in the WCC, with their support, the rest of the WCC members will certainly follow” “What does he mean by that?” I whispered to Victor. “Luigi and Juan are the strongest members of the WCC.” “Oh... I see” “And you know how werewolves are. With strength comes influence” Victor added. “The WCC will convene tonight. We’ll be discussing this for hours ... that I assure you” The conversation later took a lighter tone when Jeppe noticed one of Luca’s elvish paintings. “I’ll be damned. Luca is that an elvish painting?” Jeppe asked. “As a matter of fact it is” Luca proudly stated. “How much?” “Not for sale my friend” “Seriously how much? One million pounds? Two million? Name your price” Damn. Luca was right... he could make a killing selling these to other vampires. “Sorry Jeppe but I think my elvish art collection is put to shame by Reza’s he actually bought more when we were in the realm” “Seriously? Reza? I have to drop by your place soon and see it for myself” Victoria then chimed in “How predictable, of course Reza would snatch as many elvish works as he can” “What can I say, I love elvish art” Reza beamed with pride, there was a certain twinkle in his eyes the moment he mentioned elvish art. There’s no doubt that he is a fan of elvish works indeed. After lunch, I found myself with Victoria, Jeppe, Reza, Konrad, Luca and Yal. “Your Highness. We’re looking forward to this alliance with the elves” Victoria said to me. “As much as we’d hate to admit it, if we’re facing the demons, the vampires are not strong enough to face them alone... I doubt the help of the werewolves would have made much of difference” Jeppe added. “Later after the matter of the election of the new VHC Councilor, We’ll grant Konrad more leeway to act on his own accord regarding cooperation between Stratos and Akros” Victoria said. “We’ll greatly benefit from knowledge sharing and combat training with the elves” Jeppe added. “I have one more thing to ask of you before you leave, I said to the two vampires” “What is it?” “Put your forces on high alert and let us know of any Anami or Demon sighting. I’ve been informed that vampires seers may be of help?” I said. “Certainly... we’ll have that done” Victoria said to me. Reza then spoke to his husband and said “Konrad, make sure the Stratos agents and Stratos apprentices are getting more training” “Of course” “We should also find a way for Vampire governors to strengthen their security measures without alerting them just yet of the Demon threat” Reza noted. “Yeah, we’ll have to figure out a way regarding that” Luca replied. “We can’t just announce the existence demon threat just like that, it will just lead to chaos and further uncertainty within the community” “How about we push governors to be on higher alert under the guise of heightened threats from the Blood Army and Vampire syndicates?” Konrad suggested. “That could work” Victoria said as she nodded in agreement. “As spokesperson of the VHC, I’ll have the memo drafted for circulation regarding that... I think we should also vote later on increasing the resources made available to Stratos?” “How much do you think you’ll need Konrad?” Luca asked. “Several more dozen agents and a hundred more apprentices...” Konrad replied. “With the accompanying necessary arms and equipment and other security tools... that would cost us at least half a billion dollars” “Hmm... that’s indeed not cheap but that’s nothing compared to the repercussions of being unprepared” Reza replied. “We’ll talk about this in the Council meeting later, I’m sure Councilor Ignatov as VHC treasurer can wire Stratos the funds by tomorrow” “Hehe, Sergei Ignatov will surely give you the money you need Konrad” Jeppe reassured the Stratos Head. “Thank you” Konrad said. After Jeppe and Victoria left. Reza then spoke to me, “you do realize that they were sizing you up right?” “I had a feeling that was the case” “And they came to an immediate realization that they were no match for you. Don’t worry about Victoria and Jeppe, they’ll tow the line both only have the VHC’s best interest at heart” Reza added. —- Mid afternoon Yal and I borrowed one of Luca’s sedans and made our way to London where we were both meeting the elvish officers that I was scheduled to meet. Yal and I walked into an upscale restaurant and had an area reserved for us. We were both joined by Welyana and Nethor. They worked for the Treasury Ministry and were the key officers for the export and import operations of the realm here on earth. Welyana looked to be in her late twenties as had Mediterranean features like Yal. Definitely Sokodeya Tribe. Nethor on the other hand looked to be in his mid thirties and was Elurdeya like myself. The meeting with them lasted only for an hour. It was mainly them introducing themselves to me and they also went about explaining their operations on earth. I sensed both were nervous talking to Yal and myself though both kept their composure all throughout the meeting. It was quite enlightening to learn more about the nitty gritty of their operations, as expected both of them were masters in supply chain management. After Welyana and Nethor, it was time to meet Yal’s Earth based Deputy Minister, this person would be my key liason regarding “research and scholarship” affairs should Yal not be within reach. I was introduced to Kalron, One of Yal’s Deputy Ministers. He had a light brown hair and a slightly tanned complexion that complimented his handsome features. And those light brown eyes were just dazzling to say the least. He stood at around 5’11 and had a slender yet toned body. “Your Highness” Karon lightly bowed as he stood in front of me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you” I greeted the elf. “Kalron, any updates?” Yal beckoned. “Regarding on what you’ve asked from me last night sir...” Kalron started. I shot Yal a curious look. “It’s about the information you’ve asked for last night” Yal explained. “Oh ... I see. Please continue Kalron” “Yes your highness” Kalron paused. “This is all just preliminary for the most part looking at trend lines and statistics and reports and very little seem to appear out of the ordinary, however...” “However what Kalron?” Yal asked. “Sir... it seems that there’s been a significant drop in the homeless population in major cities across America and Canada... 28-30% by our estimates” “A decrease in homeless population? You’ve got to be kidding me” I said fully knowing that there’s a homelessness crisis gripping my country. “It all happened just within the past month sir. It seems that the local authorities have barely taken notice of it... and also... uhm” “ Also what Kalron?” I asked. “There’s also been a spike in missing persons reports as well... 16% higher compared to the same period last year” “Yal... people are disappearing. Targeting the homeless is smart ... no one would go looking for them” I quipped. “Whoever’s behind this is targeting the most vulnerable and mainly invisible members of society” “Got any ideas for what purpose?” Yal asked. “No... but that’s just too significant a number to ignore. Kalron... can you access any surveillance footage of areas where homeless individuals congregate?” I asked. “I already have your highness. Most areas are not covered by nearby surveillance cameras but in areas that were ... 35% were found to be damaged, with the rest the videos were too damaged to use” “Something’s up Yal” I grimly said, these figures are deeply disturbing. “The numbers point to hundreds if not thousands of people missing” I noted. “Chris... you sure this could be the doing of demons?” “No... I am not, for all it’s worth it could be the Blood Army or Vampire or Werewolf Syndicates” I said. “Just to be sure. Kalron... increase monitoring on the Blood Army, and any other major syndicates out there, and if you have the agents to spare, have them put cameras on their own in areas where the homeless tend to gather... let’s assume whoever’s attacking or taking the homeless away will target the areas they haven’t attacked yet. So focus on those.” “Certainly your highness” “Another thing Kalron...” “Yes?” “Assume that this wave of disappearing homeless individuals will occur in other major cities outside the USA and Canada as well... so better start monitoring cities across the world in addition to the cities we’re already monitoring now” “Of course your highness” I turned my attention to Yal and said. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this Yal” “Yes... it’s deeply disturbing” “What we’ve got on our hands are cases missing individuals that the state has not dared look into” I grimly said. “If the demons are indeed behind this, any ideas why they’ll be taking humans?” Yal asked. “No idea at all. As far as I know humans aren’t compatible hosts for the creation of Anamis... humans can’t simply survive the process” I then paused and thought about it. “Kalron... how about missing vampires or werewolves?” “No spike in that regard sir...” “Does the VHC and WCC have a database for that?” I asked. “Yes sir.” I cant believe I said it but I did. “Hack into it and let me know if any reports of missing vampire or werewolf have disappeared under suspicious circumstances” Yal looked at me with amusement. “Yes your highness... that can be done” Kalron said. “Okay. Let me know if anything comes up” I replied. “Can you give me a report twice a day?” “Of course sir” “What’s your plan Chris?” Yal asked. “Seems like I’m due for some heavy reading at the tower. Hopefully i can find something to shed some light on this” I took a moment to think further. “I’ll have to talk to Uncle Rehanmir and Jetan ... We can’t wait for the alliance between the elves, vampires, and werewolves to be official. I’ll have Uncle Rehanmir and Jetan position squadrons of Akros at portal cities at the realm, so they can easily cross over into earth when necessary.... we’ll have to put the Royal Guard on standby on top of more stringent preparations. I’ll talk to my uncle and Patri about this” “Anymore updates Kalron?” I asked. “Nothing else of significance your highness” “Okay... give me a detailed copy of your report. I’d like to go over it” “Certainly your highness” —- Yal and I made it back to Luca’s estate just in time for dinner. “Busy day?” Victor asked. “Yes...” “I’m really sorry for not being able to fly with you tomorrow” Victor said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll miss you but we both know it’s for the better” I said. Goodness I can’t keep this from Victor... he’s flying with us coz in a few hours he’ll be appointed as the newest member of VHC! Deep inside I’m all giddy and excited for him yet here I am lying through my teeth in front of him. Damn I’m so proud of Victor... Council Victor Meyer that certainly has a nice ring to it. “You can at least pretend that you’ll miss me” Victor said. “Oh... of course I’ll miss you lots” I smiled back at him. Victor all knew too well that something was up with the way I was smiling but he didn’t push. We all had dinner together except for Reza and Luca who were in Luca’s study for a VHC meeting. August wasn’t with us as well as he had a meeting with the WCC. Victor and I were cuddling in bed together when Luca called for him. I knew it was done and my boyfriend was now officially a VHC Councilor. In less than 45 minutes Victor slipped back into our bed and under the covers and wrapped his hands around me from behind. “You knew?” He whispered to me. “Yeah...” “Chris...” I cut my boyfriend off and faced him. “I love you Councilor Victor Meyer. Congratulations on your appointment” after saying that I kissed him softly on the lips. “You’ll be great Victor... don’t fret, we’re a team remember?” “Hmm... I guess I’ll be joining you in the flight tomorrow after all eh?” “Yeah... so I won’t be missing you at all” I smiled back at him. “The VHC will be hosting a banquet for my appointment soon... I want you there with me” “I wouldn’t miss it for the world” I replied as I kissed Victor again. —- After Victor fell asleep in my arms. I carefully extricated my body from his right embrace. I love his warmth around me but I had some princely reading to do. I willed myself into the tower and as I crossed into the realm, I felt a subtle difference, yeah, the barrier was getting stronger and thicker, it did not pose much of hassle for me but it was significant enough for me to feel. Curiously I found myself at one of the basement levels of the tower. Which level, that I’m not sure of. I was entirely sure if talking to the tower would help but I did it anyways. “If you can read my mind... please help me find books and scrolls that will help me” my voice echoed through the walls of the brightly lit building. I wasn’t sure what type of response I was expecting but none came. I walked around and felt my tattoos tingling and I could even feel the chains inside me rustle as well. To say that feeling chains move inside you was disturbing is quite an understatement. I continued to walk around the basement level and I felt myself drawn to five particular books. I grabbed the black leather books and found a spot for me to start reading.

We left the three High Circle Members in the temple and the waves of energy continued to emanate from them as we closed the doors behind us. “Can you feel the change in the air?” Patri asked me. “Yes Patri. I can feel the energy flowing from the temple and into the surrounding area.” I paused to look around and saw nothing’s really changed in how the way things appeared to be. “It’s as if magic is being fed into the realm itself...” Patri saw me looking around and commented “only very powerful beings can sense that something is happening... that the barrier is changing” “Ohh... I see” I replied. “I guess I’m strong enough huh?” I quipped. Patri gave me an odd look like that was a given. Then King Ethnar piped in. “Why do you always doubt that you’re strong Christopher?” If only the way he looked at melt me away. He wasn’t having any of this. “Christopher Stewart...” oh shit. I’m rarely called ‘Christopher Stewart’ I’m done for. I’m rarely called by my full name and more often than not what follows is one heavy scolding. I took a deep breathe and looked straight at my great grandfather. “I’m sorry grandfather” “Don’t apologize Chris. What do we have to do for it to sink in that thick head of yours that you are immensely powerful! Goodness ... if I had half your power at that age... I would have been an arrogant prick... but it seems the opposite has happened to you and you seem to be completely and utterly unaware of your gifts!” “Father is right Chris. Don’t ever doubt your strength!” Patri piped in. I feel that they actually just called for me to give me this sermon. *sigh Me... openly doubting my strength in front of them was the perfect opening for my grandfathers to broach this topic. The scolding I’ve received from my two grandfathers stood in stark contrast with the surrounding colorful and serene gardens we’ve passed by as we went back to the residential palace. My goodness. If I ever doubted them being father and son, my doubts have been washed away. King Ethnar and Patri went on and on drilling into my head how my gifts were ‘special’ and that I should ‘act like someone of my stature and strength’. I have to make it clear, they did not tell me to be an arrogant and snobby prince. Of course not, but they did tell me again and again that I should not doubt my skills and strength. They want me to act and think like the Haldruin that I am. Someone who acts decisively and is conscious of his responsibilities to his people. That was the longest ten minute walk I’ve ever had. Before I left for my room for some last minute packing. Patri said to me “Chris... you’re a Haldruin. You have the blood of Kings and Queens. Own it and act and think accordingly. You’re not the boy you once were a few months ago.” that certainly hit me at the core. Patri and King Ethnar are both right, I am not just a homeschooled teenager anymore. I’m a prince and now... ambassador for the realm as well. Patri must have seen the look of realization in my eyes. “That’s it. That’s the look, the look fo someone who now bears the responsibility of his royal title” King Ethnar let out a heavy huff. “Took you long enough!” Then he patted my shoulders with both hands and looked at me with his piercing eyes and further said “I’ve said it before Chris. We don’t expect perfection... goodness boy. I’ve had my fair share of failings and so has your Patri. However, what we do expect from you is that you’d take the first steps to act like the prince that you are. There are tough times ahead young one... We will need your strength.” Then with maybe a slightly stronger resolve. I replied. “I will do my best” “That’s all we could ask for” King Ethnar replied. —- I opened my door to our room and I could see Victor in the middle of packing his stuff. He certainly had his fair share of shopping done. My boyfriend looked away from his luggage and stared at me. “What’s wrong Chris?” “Huh? Nothing why’d you think something’s wrong?” “It looks like you’ve been through a marathon, hehe” My boyfriend wrapped his hands around me and added “tell me..” “King Ethnar and Patri gave me reality check of some sorts” “Huh? What do you mean?” “I kind of openly doubted my strength in front of them...” “Oh.oh” Victor let out a heavy sigh of his own. “And... what did they say?” “That I must be blind to my own strength and that they’ll never stop drilling in into this thick head of mine until it sinks in” “Hmm... don’t worry” Victor pulled away from our embrace and cupped my face. “I’ll be with them drilling it into that head of yours too!” Then before I could protest, my boyfriend gave me one hell of a kiss. God I love this man. “Chris. I hope you’ll realize sooner or later that you’re an extraordinary guy. In more ways than one. Don’t ever think you’re weak.” “I promised Patri and King Ethnar that I’ll do better.” “Hmm... you better keep that promise young man. Or else...” “Or else what?” “No more pounding for you... “ My eyes were as wide as saucers. “No you wouldn’t!” “If that’s what it takes. I will” “Victor Meyer!” “Christopher Stewart Rogers! Enough of this self doubt okay?” Victor then took a step back. “I mean. Do we have to make a list of your extraordinary achievements and have them plastered all over the place for it to sink in?” My boyfriend playfully rubbed his chin as if to think further and then continued “coz I have several dozen things in mind that I can have printed or do you want me to tattoo every extraordinary attribute you have on my body so you won’t ever forget?” “There won’t be any need for that Victor” I sighed in defeat. “Yes, I promise to be more self confident” “Good... Coz I was planning on giving you a good pounding tonight” “Oh... now we’re talking” I naughtily smiled back at me boyfriend. —- Lunch with my family and friends was a feast! Borfelian roast, Shanya steaks, Tapendran pastries decorated the entire table. Tons of ‘ohs and ahhs’ were exchanged as people bit into the delicious food. “One thing I’d certainly miss about this realm is the food” Luca commented. “I’ll have to agree with you on that” Konrad said as he enthusiastically munched on the roast. “Don’t worry. We’ve added a bunch of elvish spices on your luggages and a recipe book as well. I mean it won’t be as good but it would give you a taste of what you’ve had here” Uncle Selvenus grinned. Multiple people couldn’t stop thanking him for the spices. Victor then whispered to my ear. “Do you think Etalos or Nomir can cook like this?” “Hmm... I’m not sure.” “Well... at least we still have the spices. The ones Hashana gave us in her last visit are almost out” Mark and Troy exchanged knowing looks. Mark then said “Don’t worry, we’ve actually spent some time in the kitchen, Troy and I might have learned a thing or two” “That’s not fair!” Reza piped in much to the amusement of everyone else. Hugs and bows were exchanged as my entourage thanked my elvish family for hosting us. “It’s been a pleasure to be your host. And again, the offer still stands, you’re all welcome back to the realm” Patri said. “I’ll be in touch” Reza said to Patri then they both looked at me. “Yes yes. Ambassador. I know” I said to them. “I’ll let you know of the WCC’s decision as well” August added. “Okay. I think this is it gentlemen. I hope to see you all again soon” Patri said to my friends. I noticed Matra and my uncles spending more time with my dad in their goodbyes. I’m glad to see they’ve all grown close. “We’ll have to figure out a way for you to visit us more often.” Uncle Selvenus said to my dad. “I’m sure Chris will figure a way” Uncle Rehanmir added. “What do you mean?” I asked. “If you can bring stuff with you to and from the realm. What’s another person?” He teased. “Ohhh...” “You better figure it out or else your uncles will be very upset to not see their new brother that often” Matra said to me with a smile. “I will look into it Matra” All our luggage were put in two separate vans. It seems Reza, Konrad, Luca, Lucy and even Victor did their fair share of shopping while I was out. We all then promptly got in our respective cars and we were off to the train station. Nomir was driving for Dad, Victor, and Myself while the others were all split in groups of 2 or 3. The drive to the train station was quick as there isn’t really that much traffic in the realm. We were all escorted to the VIP area via the basement and in minutes we found ourselves in the expansive boarding area of the train station. The high glass ceiling allowing rays of light into the expansive area. The platform didn’t have that many people but our group did receive some attention from our fellow embarking passengers. I bet the media will be having a field day again tonight. *sigh Just like last time the entirety of the first carriage was ours. Our attendants were even the same, Regor and Sethara. We were all given some tea before the train left the capital. The energy in the carriage was certainly a mix of sadness and excitement. I’ll make it a point to have my friends visit the realm more often. I even look forward to having August’s pack in the realm as well. I bet Cage, Fred, and the twins, Arthur and Arnold will love it here too. I hope August bought them some nice souvenirs this time. The scenery that greeted as the train passed the elvish countryside was certainly breathtaking. The rolling hills of the northern province along with the towns and villages that dotted it certainly did not disappoint. The kaleidoscope of colors that various trees and bushes provided would put shame to a novice painter’s color palette. I’m sure most if not all of my friends were taking their time to soak it all in. This has certainly been one great trip for them. I used the train ride as an opportunity for me to reflect to the words of King Ethnar and Patri earlier. Though quite harsh, I see where they’re coming from. Again and again I’ve been praised for my skills, power, and intellect even, but I just somehow don’t see it, every time I look at myself in the mirror, all I see is me, Chris, *sigh. But then again if I try to remove myself from the scenario it does seem that I indeed have a substantial amount of power, people around me have in one way or another recognized it, so why is it that I don’t see it? I mean I know I’m somehow skilled but whenever someone lets me know how powerful I am, it just feels that they’re blowing it out of proportion. Am I really that powerful? *sigh. However I did promise Patri and King Ethnar that i’ll be more cognizant of my abilities. If I can’t accept that I’m that powerful maybe the first step is to at least acknowledge that I’m skilled and above average? Well that I can accept. Okay, baby steps Chris, you can do this. I was still in deep thought when the train stopped at Ashtelon station. Yal and Hashana were waiting for all of us at the platforms. “Yal? What are you doing here?” I asked. “I‘m handling your entourage’s departure, and I have some business back on earth anyway” “Business on earth?” I curiously asked. “Well... there’s this new ambassador that I have to introduce to my deputies and other officers operating there so....” Yal winked at me. “Oh...” “Come on let’s get you all at the portal” Yal beckoned to the rest of the group. Hashana was in deep conversation with Leo and August, I overheard August asking her for more tips regarding elvish spices. Sarad and a retinue of elves were waiting for us back at the portal. All had their glamour undone, while I had to have glamour for my pointed ears to get back to human form. We also got back our earthly outfits as well. Sarad also did some routine checks on the health of everyone and it was a relief to hear that we were all clear and healthy. I said my goodbye to Hashana as she was not crossing with us. “Don’t be a stranger okay?” She teased. “Of course I would never” We were now all gathered at the center of the circles of the portal. Yal gave me the signal to activate it and almost instantly I felt the tingle and warmth surround my body. And just like that we found ourselves back at the London portal. Lucy and Erica were immediately onto Mark and Troy who were both clearly feeling a bit dizzy from portal sickness. A pair of elves immediately handed the two guys some drinks to alleviate their discomfort. “Welcome back to London” Yal announced. “Yal I heard you had some business to tend to, where will you be staying?” Luca asked. “Oh... I have a flat here” he replied. “If I may insist, why don’t you stay at my estate” “Really?” “If it wouldn’t serve as a hindrance to your responsibilities, I’d love for you to stay with us” Luca said. “Well... my business this time is all about Chris right here, so staying at your place is actually more than convenient” Yal smiled. “Great. Then we can discuss more about how you beat Victor before” “Sire! That was one time!” Victor piped in. “Want to have a second time?” Yal raised an eyebrow and teased my boyfriend much to the amusement of my friends. We all waited at the lounge for Luca’s cars to fetch us. Reza and Konrad will be fetched by their own driver. Reza and Konrad’s ride arrived first and seeing them haul their goodies from the realm, they both indeed did a lot shopping. “We’ll see you all again tomorrow okay?” Reza said. Reza then approached me before he went to his car. “Chris... it’s been a pleasure and I look forward to working with you” —- Due to the time difference, it was just mid morning of January 6th when we got back in London. “Are we gonna have lunch again?” Dad asked Victor and I in the car. “I guess so” I replied. Victor was furiously typing and scrolling at his phone when we were in the car. “Checking the nominations?” I teased. Victor gave me one of his looks that told me I was right. “Chris... 57 votes! Can you believe it?!” Victor said. “Yes... actually I can” I smiled back at him. “Who’s number two Victor?” Dad asked from the front seat. “Robin Latham... he has 19 votes” “Seems like you’re the favorite” dad added looking at Victor through the rear view mirror. “Well... it’s all up to the VHC, they’ll be screening the top 10 nominees” Victor huffed. “Have they said where the screening will be?” I asked. “It will here in London on the 10th, so most likely you guys would have to fly back ahead to Virginia without me” Victor ruefully said. I can sense he really wanted to be with us. “How long will it be?” Dad curiously asked. “The screening should only last a day or two, it’s the voting that might take longer as 2/3 of the VHC members must agree on a nominee. But I don’t have to stay for the voting process just the screening, so I’ll be back in Virginia either on the 11th or 12th.” Victor explained. “Oh. I see” dad replied. “You guys will fly as scheduled on the 8th, I mean you have to prepare for your matriculation right? And I bet Leo’s parents are excited to have him again” “Right. I’ll miss you though” I said to Victor. “I’ll miss you too, but it’s just for a few days” Looking out the car windows and seeing how busy London was, it just hit me that we were back on Earth. I’ve gotten so easily used to the life in the realm it actually scared me. — We spent several hours settling back in Luca’s estate and all had some sort of late lunch or dinner of some sort. Inter-realm timezones do that to you. “So how’s your mom and dad?” I asked Leo. “They’re doing great. They just got back from their trip to Florida. That guy Oscar is great!” “One of Luca’s agents?” I asked as I remembered August and Leo making arrangements with this Oscar guy before we left for the realm. “Yeah. He can copy almost any voice so he’s been calling my parents on my behalf every day, they didn’t notice it wasn’t me at all!” “Wow... that’s kinda scary isn’t it?” “Yeah... good thing he works for Luca” Leo chortled. “Where’s August?” I asked my best friend. “He’s in a conference call with two senior members of the WCC right now” “Oh seems like he’s already at work eh?” I asked. “Seems to be the case... “ As I looked around the dining room, I noticed that there were actually new paintings and vases. It seems Luca didn’t waste his time putting into good use his newly acquired elvish items. “You like them?” Luca asked me as he noticed my wandering eyes. “Yeah. They look great” “These works of art might have cost me several tens of thousands of crowns but here on earth, any vampire or werewolf... hell even a human with a good eye will pay millions of pounds for such items” “Really?” “Yes” “You’re not going to turn into some sort of inter-realm trader are you?” “No... haha, of course not. But... if I decide to become one, will the ambassador give me a permit?” Luca teased. I then looked at Yal and asked “Do I have the authority to do that?” “You’re Ambassador Chris, anything that has something to do with elvish affairs back on earth is under your purview. If you deem such a trade to be in line with the realm’s interest, you may approve it”. Yal explained. Luca gave me a playful wink then stood and said. “Anyway. I’ll have to excuse myself, Reza and I will be having a meeting with the VHC in a few hours” “That soon?” “Hmm... yes Chris. There’s much to discuss, and don’t be surprised if one or two VHC members who are in town or near London will drop by before you leave for America” “Woah” “Don’t worry. I’m more than confident that you can handle yourself in the presence of one or two old vampires right?” Luca Zain’s with mischief on his smile. God he’s hot even when he’s teasing me. “Yeah... I guess so” “Good!” Luca smiled back at me. — I took the opportunity to enjoy the last rays of sunshine in Luca’s garden. The sun was now setting and it was cold outside, though it seems the near zero temperature barely registered as a minor inconvenience to me despite my lack of thick clothing. Victor joined me in my stroll and asked “deep in thought again?” “Yeah” “Talk to me” “Ever since we got back to London, I sense that there’s something in the air” “Huh? What do you mean?” “I can’t wrap my head around it but I have this nagging feeling that we have to be extra cautious” “Chris... does this have something to do with the demons?” “Most likely. Victor... can you find out if your intelligence network has noticed anything out of the ordinary while we were absent?” “Okay Chris.” Victor replied as he immediately whisked his phone out and started typing. Most likely to contact his people. Victor and I then spent a few more minutes before going back to the mansion. Early evening, the mansion was already quiet it seems the traveling and portal crossover has taken its toll on my friends. I found myself alone with Yal in the kitchen as I was looking for something to drink. “So what’s this business we need to tend to?” I asked Yal. “I’m introducing you to one of my Deputy Ministers tomorrow and the Treasury Minister’s officers for the export and import operations”Yal replied. “Okay... and Yal, can I talk to you about something else?” “Yes? Of course anything at all” “Can you use your research skills and find out if something’s off” Yal shot me a wide grin. “What are we looking for?” “Anything out of the ordinary. Check Vampire, Werewolf, and Human records for things that don’t add up or are not meant to be happening at this time of the year, anything that seems to be out of place... if you’ll have to check police records or hack into classified government information, do it.” “Demons?” “Just a hunch but I feel they’re on the move. We don’t can’t be caught off guard” “I agree. I’ll work on it” “Thanks Yal” I collected my thoughts for a few seconds and further said “If you think your Ministry will need further resources ... let me know, I’m sure I can talk to Patri for a budget increase or something” Yal shot me again another smile. “Why are you smiling at me?” I asked. “I like seeing this side of you” “What do you mean?” “Nothing. Rest well my prince. Tomorrow’s another day” —- I spent the evening cuddling and kissing with my boyfriend. Victor is just so irresistible. I even made him drink from me again. With the way victor sucked one me, I think he really likes my blood. Having him feed from me actually gives me quite a rush so it’s a win-win. Just right after midnight, I notice Victor staring into his phone again. “Nominations just closed right?” I asked. “Yeah...” he said in a rather soft manner, his raspy voice trailing off. “And?” I asked. “I got 61 votes. First place” I wrapped my hands around Victor said. “You’ll do great Victor. I got you and you got me... we’re a team right?” Victor looked back at me full of love. “Yes. We’re a team... forever” “I love you Victor” “I love you too Chris”

Chris just ascended and now we’re talking of a Royal Wedding?! The elves are gonna go nuts! 😂😂😂

Aww thanks! I’m glad you’re liking it so far. 😉🥰

Justin is frustratingly stubborn! If something happen’s to Taryn while he’s away... I will personally hunt Justin down! Okay ... maybe not a good idea as I’m far from being a vampire 😂

So sorry for the delay! New chapter has now been posted. I hope you like it.

I slowly approached the two men to scan them, both seemed rather normal and actually didn’t give any outward signs of being under some sort of influence. That’s a good indication. Yal did say they were still in the early stages of having the visions, I just hope I could help these guys get back to their normal lives and not end up like the chief of Setalus that went batshit crazy. The thought of that mass suicide he lead sent shivers down my spine. The two elves, Tehak and Hapnar stood and gave me a slight bow as I approached. “Your highness” came simultaneously from them. “Hello. Please take your seats. I’m here to help” I softly said. I did my best to act in a reassuring and soothing manner. My uncle, Yal, Zenfar, and Sarad joined me behind the glass enclosure, it was actually spacious enough to accommodate all of us with no issues. “Okay...” I said looking at Tehak to my right. “Let’s start with you shall we?” I asked. “Of course... please” the elf replied. You can hear the anxiety in his voice. Aside from breaking down their mental barriers and to look for the full visions, I did not know what I was suppose to do, I guess I had to follow my gut on this one and also do my best to remember whatever I’ve read from the books and scrolls before. “I’ll be as careful as I can” I said to Tehak and he nodded recognizing what I just said. The two elves were now seated in front of me and I stood in front of Tehak. I closed my eyes and reached out with my senses, making sure I was concentrating on Tehak alone. I could sense that he was worried and nervous as to what was happening to him, having such visions and ‘being not yourself’ every now and then is not only odd but rather a very rare occurrence for elves. I took deep breathes as I continued to prod on the surface of Tehak’s mind. It was indeed well shielded, usually I would have already penetrated his thoughts by now but as of this moment I was only sensing his anxiety and nothing else. I carefully tried to probe deeper, and I immediately felt a response, it was like a whiplash of some sort. My eyes blew open in surprise, it was a rather strong blowback. I winced with the sudden jolt of pain that hit me. “Are you okay Your Highness?” Sarad asked as he noticed my surprise. “Chris?” My uncle chimed in with worry. I took a deep breath and turned back to them. “I’m fine. Just did not expect such a strong reaction from his shielding. I’m fine. I’ll try again” Tehak opened his eyes and I only saw innocent gray eyes looking back at me, he was tearing up. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine.” I reassured him. I tried to reach out again and now still being careful but with more force, I tried to enter his mind. The blowback was again there but I was prepared for it this time. Okay, that’s one layer down, then shit ... another layer? Fine okay, I tried again and harder, and the blowback was stronger, I was starting to have a headache but flashes of images of an afternoon sky started to pop into my head, I was getting there. I kept pushing into Tehak, avoiding to give him any discomfort but it was clear from his face and body that this was straining him as well. I dug deeper and deeper and the layers kept on becoming thicker and thicker and the blowbacks stronger and stronger but the images were becoming clearer and started to turn into snippets of moments like videos a few seconds long rather than flashes of images. I pushed forward and then the barriers came crashing down. It was as if a glass cage broke within his mind. Then the visions started to flood me. The visions drew me in as if they were mine. I found myself in a small village, it had an old European in vibe, brick walled buildings and cobblestone streets. Looking around I see there are elves walking about, it seemed I was in the center of a small elf village or maybe town? I thought. I looked into the afternoon sky, and off the distance I could see birds flying towards me. The birds got closer and closer and then I hear their screeching, those weren’t birds, those were a more than a dozen Anamis flying toward me! The ground started to shake and the civilians around me were not only startled but actually started to scream and run for their lives, then I saw it, one by one the elves were engulfed in black and purple flames. Cries and pleas for help echoed throughout the town as the Anamis approached. The gurgling screams of people dying in extreme heat and drowning in their own boiling blood washed through the air. The acrid smell of burning flesh made me feel sick. I reminded myself that this was just a vision and not real. I tried to remain as calm as possible and made my way across the town, the Anamis were getting closer and closer and bodies of burned elves lined the streets, they all just spontaneously caught fire on their own, the Anamis were still quite far enough to not have breathed fire on them. ‘How is this happening?’ I asked myself. The ground shook again, and it started to crack, I could hear the entire town rumble as it shook. Looking around it seemed that I was the only one left alive in this town. The buildings started to crumble and the Anamis started to land one by one. They were all large, humanoid but with serpent like tails and and wings like bats, and purple skin. These Anamis were similar yet not exactly the same as what Gustav looked like when he transformed into this monstrous form. I counted 18 Anamis going around the town center, it seemed I was invisible to them, and the vision went on. The creatures then breathed purple fire to the buildings and the brick walls started to melt, the structures didn’t even catch fire, they just melted, it was that hot. I could feel the intense heat, this wasn’t normal fire. It clearly burned stronger than the magical fire I’ve encountered in my sparring sessions. The Anamis took their time to burn every single structure in the town, minutes later I was left alone in the rubble of what used to be a vibrant town as the Anamis flew away. And just like that the vision ended and everything turned dark and I found myself looking at the dilated eyes of Tehak. His eyes glazed over. I felt warm and then took a deep breath and looked around and was met with curious and worried looks from everybody. Hapnar who was seated beside Tehak looked visibly shaken as well. “Are you okay?” My uncle asked. I rubbed my forehead with my right hand and replied. “Yeah. I’m fine. I got through the barriers, I think I got the entire mental image” “You were in their for quite some time Chris” my uncle said. My eyebrows furrowed and I asked “what do you mean?” “You were staring into Tehak for almost half an hour now” he replied. “What?! That long?” It only felt I was there for several minutes at most. “Here... drink some water” Zenfar said as he gave me a full glass. “Thanks” I said as I accepted the offered drink. “What did you see?” Sarad asked. “I can show them to you” I replied. “But let me check Hapnar’s as well, just give me a moment” I said. “Chris. Rest for a bit” my uncle said as he massaged my shoulders and damn did it feel soothing. “Yeah. I could use a bit of rest” “Is he going to be fine?” Hapnar asked, Tehak seemed dazed beside him. “Yes. Give him a few minutes and he’ll be back” I replied. I wasn’t sure about that but it felt to me that was the case. “Yal? Do you have room here where Tehak can rest? He will need to sleep soon” I said. “Certainly” I took a 15 minute break and then went through the entire process again with Hapnar. The blowbacks were equally strong from his mental shields and the visions were exactly similar to that of Tehak’s. It was indeed clear that they were still in the early stages of having these visions, I had a feeling that the images were about to get worse, and if we didn’t do something soon, it would drive both elves mad. Hapnar was now taken into another room for him to rest together with Tehak and I was now facing my uncle, Yal, Sarad, and Zenfar. All curious to what I’ve seen. “I’ll share their visions with you” I replied softly. My voice was weaker than usual. I touched their foreheads one by one, and it only took a second or two for the images to flood into their minds. I looked in equal fascination and horror as I watched my uncle and friends squirm and fidget around as their minds made its way through the gruesome images. My uncle was the first to snap out of it and he looked visibly sick. “Here, drink some water” I said. “Thanks” *gulp *gulp “what the hell was that?” My uncle asked. Before I was able to answer the rest of the group started to recover for the visions and all were visibly shaken. It took several minutes for all four of them to calm down. “We need to help those two” I said. “What do you mean?” Zenfar asked. “The visions will get worse for them, if we don’t stop it, those two will be driven mad in a week or two, you’ve seen the carnage, it will only get worse for them” I explain. “How can we help them? We don’t know where these visions are coming from” Sarad replied. “I have an idea.” I said. I then look at Zenfar and further say “It’s actually Zenfar’s theory, from what I’ve gathered it points towards confirming his theory” “Huh?” They all looked at me with expressions begging for me to elaborate. “While I was inside their minds, I could feel some sort of energy signature triggering these visions, we just have to extract the energy from them and I think the visions will stop” “Where did this energy signature come from?” Yal asked. “From outside the realm” “Are we under attack?” My uncle asked. “I think we’re not. Not directly at least” “What makes you say that?” Yal asked. “And what do you mean by not directly being under attack?” “If my guess is correct, it seems the energy signature is some sort of leakage... it’s coming from some sort of negative energy leaking from outside the realm, it wasn’t purposefully placed inside them, those two are just very unlucky elves to become unknowing vessels for such dark energy” “Chris. Sorry. I don’t quite get it” My uncle added. “Neither do I” Sarad piped in. “Negative energy is leaking from outside the realm, not sure what the source is, but this negative energy has taken hold inside those two and is building up, triggering the said visions, it will only get worse as they accumulate more and more dark energy. Being vessels of this dark energy attracts more dark energy to bind into them. It’s going to get exponentially worse for those two... and soon. I think it’s fair to assume this negative energy is Demon or at least Anami in origin given the nature of the visions” “Does this mean that anyone could become a vessel?” Zenfar asked. “It’s seems like the case” I replied. “Then the entire population is vulnerable” Sarad added. “The realm’s barriers must be strengthened. It appears there’s a build up of negative energy back from earth leading to the leakage into the realm” I explained. “How are you sure about this?” My uncle asked. “I am not. It’s just a feeling uncle, but it’s one hell of a theory that I would bet on” I spoke in confidence. “Zenfar you remember mentioning this theory to me before the Ascension?” “Yes. But it was just a speculation based on what we’ve learned so far” “I can trace the energy signature plaguing those two elves from outside the realm. I think you’re right about this” I replied. “We have to tell the King to assemble to High Circle to strengthen the barriers at once” Sarad said. “I suggest you put your entire Ministry on high alert Yal, just in case we have more incidents like this with some civilians, at least until we’re able to strengthen the barrier” My uncle said. “Yes, I most definitely put my staff and officers on high alert” Yal said. For the next hour or so we went through several plans of action on how to move forward and then it was time for me to extract the dark energy build up from Tehak and Hapnar. Both elves were sound asleep and with a slight nudge from my senses I found a dark speck inside their consciousness. I put my hand on each of their foreheads and cast a 9 layer Magnus Spell. Instead of offensive or defensive spells, the Magnus Spell I cast were that of healing and extraction spells on top of one another. My uncle, Yal, Sarad, Zenfar, and two other attendants stood in awe as I worked my magic. It did not take me more than 10 minutes to take the dark specks from their minds. I then cast another Magnus Spell to contain the specks of dark energy, each seed or speck of dark energy appeared to a a dark purple sphere, an inch across, it had a subtle glow coming off it. “Here... you can conduct your research safely into this” I said to Sarad and Zenfar as I handed the Master Healer and High Mage each a glass like energy orb that served as the containment of the dark specks. “Wow. This is advanced magic Chris. Where’d you learn to do all of this?” Zenfar asked. I smiled back at him. “Something I learned in my dreams” “Huh?” Then Yal caught on. “From the Tower of Knowledge?” “Yes. That place is a quite repository of spells and magic” I confirmed. “You’re a blessed one that’s certain... if only everyone had such an access” Zenfar added. — The drive back to the palace was quite subdued, I felt tired. The sun was already setting on the horizon and the send off dinner for my entourage was an hour and a half away. “Are you okay Your Highness?” Nomir asked he looked at me through the rear view mirror. “Just had a long day” I replied as I looked through the window onto busy streets of the capital. I found myself wrapped in Victor’s arms as I opened the door into our room. Looking into his bright green eyes, it was clear he knew I had a rough day. “I’m here for you Chris” he whispered to me as I melted into his warm embrace. “I’ll be fine” I whispered back. “Care to share?” “I will tell you all about later. I’m just tired” “I bet you are, you look exhausted” “I guess I am.” “Come on... let me give you a warm shower.” My boyfriend said as he pulled me into the large bathroom. We didn’t have sex in the shower but Victor was more than thorough and sensual in scrubbing and massaging every inch of my body as I enjoyed his warm touch all over me. I was more than happy to return the favor to him. We dressed in dark blue and silver accented formal elvish wear for the dinner. I say we looked dashing as I saw ourselves in the mirror. — Everyone had fun over dinner, and Patri led in offering a toast to the success of my Ascension and to meeting new friends. It was nice to be surrounded by my friends and family again. The food was great and everyone relived their favorite moments in the realm. Dad and Leo were in deep conversation with Uncle Selvenus about improving their magic. While Reza, Konrad, and Luca were more than happy to talk to King Ethnar about other elvish items and finery they could bring back on earth the next time the visit the realm. Reza even indulged himself with some discussion with Patri and King Ethnar about the times before the realm, they all had a good laugh with Luca as well as they recalled ridiculous moments and behaviors they’ve witnessed from other races but mainly human noble families centuries ago. Mark, Troy, Lucy, Erica, and August were in an energetic conversation with Matra and Uncle Rehanmir about the realm and the surrounding cities they could visit next time. Hashim and Stefano as well as Raymond, Patrick, and Henry were very much happy sharing with Patri the things they found odd in the realm like the fashion and how advanced the technology was. I almost visibly cringed when Patrick asked Patri how the realm was able to procure such advanced technology and Patri just replied with “research and some scholarly endeavors” I swear he gave me a slight wink when he said that. I could see everyone from my entourage really enjoyed their time in the realm and there was a mix of sadness and happiness in the air, all were sad to leave but all fully understood that their lives were back on earth. “You’re all welcome to come again” Patri announced. “I mean... you just have to get a Visa from the Ambassador” he said as he shot me a look and then all fell into laughter. After dinner, I found myself alone with Patri. We were both in his study. “Thank you for helping out earlier” he said. “Hmm... glad to be of help Patri” “We’ll need to strengthen the barriers soon, you might feel some more resistance the next time you try to cross the veil” He paused. “Though I doubt that would be any issue with you” he said with a wink. I only gave out a nervous laugh. “So... have you decided?” Patri asked. “About what?” “Your staff?” “Ohh... uhm. I’ll be more than happy to have Etalos and Nomir with be if that’s alright” Patri smiled. “I am certain it won’t be a problem at all. Why don’t you give them the news yourself tomorrow? Then I’ll make arrangements for their transport to your place in Virginia” “Thanks Patri... the past week or so has really been nice. I mean I’ve always dropped by but spending days on end here on the realm really felt good” “I’m glad you enjoyed young one, and believe me it was my pleasure. I was very serious about being okay with your friends visiting again.” “You spoil them Patri” “Hmm... that’s just elvish hospitality” he gave me a naughty smile. Then Patri’s look became more serious. “Chris... be careful back on earth.” “What do you mean Patri?” “You said so yourself to your uncle earlier that the visions must be from some sort of energy build up back on earth, it means the threat is on the other side” “I will be careful Patri” I glanced around and then took a deep breath “Do you think it’s as bad as I think it’s going to be?” “We can never be too careful. Yal’s network hasn’t caught any Anami or Demonic movement but it’s clear we’re missing something. We need to improve our coordination with the Vampires and Werewolves, the more people we get working on this, the sooner we find the threat... and Chris... I suggest you visit the Tower of Knowledge more often, you’re the only one with free reign to move in and out of that place, I feel whatever you find there would be of much help to us” “Yes Patri. I will” “Remember you’re Ambassador now” *groan “Yes Patri, I know...” “And also...” Patri added. “Yes?” “We have to work on your public image in the realm. If you haven’t seen the media and local net here... the population still hasn’t gotten over your Ascension and the clamor for your attention and appearance grows louder by the day” *groan I put both hands on my face “Patri...” “Christopher ...” Patri said to me a warning tone. “Do I really have to Patri?” I dared to asked a question which I fully knew what the answer to was. —- Sleep came in easy for me as I snuggled into Victor that night. No sex, I was that tired! Morning came too soon as the rays of the sun peered through our windows. “Good morning” Victor said to me as I again found myself lost in those beautiful green eyes. “Good morning” “Ready to get back to London?” He asked. “Hmm... I guess so. I mean I’ll be back here almost every day anyway” “Ohh... right” he snickered. “How bout you? Ready to be part of the VHC?” “Chris...” Victor said as he rested his back on the headboard. “What?” “Really? VHC?” “Hmm... if Reza and Luca say you’re ready. Then I think you are” “How bout you?... what do you think?” I then sat beside my boyfriend and looked straight into his eyes. “Hmm... what I see in front of me is a capable and strong leader. You’re more than ready Victor. I mean... you’ve done so well for District 4, I’ve heard enough to know that that District wasn’t as wealthy or as safe for vampires before you became governor... “ A deep sigh came from my boyfriend. “Are you sure about that?” “Victor Meyer! Where is this insecurity coming from?” I huffed. As I gave him a playful smack on his naked chest. “Maybe being around very powerful individuals has given me some sort of reality check... that’s all” “Hmm... I doubt that’s the only reason Victor. You’ve always been the reluctant leader based on what I’ve heard from the rest” “You’re one to talk about that...” Victor shot me a teasing smile. “Fuck you” “I think I just did a lot of that. Thank very much” he teased again. “You know... for a 260 year old guy... you talk like a teenager” I said. “What can I say. I have a hot 18 year old keeping me young” he grinned. “Hmph... come one let’s get breakfast old man!” “Who are you calling old man?” Victor said as he tackled me into the bed and drowned me in kisses. Damn I have such a hot and caring boyfriend. When did I get so lucky?! Have I said that Victor is totally hot?! — Breakfast with my father, boyfriend, and friends was rather energetic, everyone seemed excited to get back to London. I forced Etalos to join us at the table, the young elf resisted but he caved in anyway. “Etalos... is Nomir around?” I asked. “Yes ... do you need him to drive you to town?” Etalos asked. “No... I have to talk to the both of you after breakfast. Can you make that happen?” “Oh. Oh” Leo snickered in jest but he and the rest of the crew already knew of my plans to have them back on earth. “Uhm. Sure” Etalos croaked. “Don’t worry... I just have to tell you something that’s all” Leo had Etalos calmed downed during the rest of breakfast but the elf did shoot me a curious look every now and then. Thirty minutes after breakfast I find myself in a study with a very nervous Etalos and Nomir in front of me. “Calm down the two of you. Geez...” “Did we do something wrong Your Highness?” Nomir asked. “Nomir... I think you should get used to calling me Chris? Can you do that? At least when it’s just family and friends?” “Uhm... okay sure” “I want to hear it” “Yes... Chris” “Good” “You to Etalos! You still slip every now and then. Okay?” “Uhm ... sure Chris.” “Good!” I collected my thoughts for a moment and then spoke again. “Okay... I guess you’ve both heard I’ve become Ambassador to the Vampires and Werewolves right?” “Yes...” Etalos answered and Nomir nodded in agreement. “I have a proposition” “What do you mean?” Nomir asked. “Etalos... it would give me great pleasure to have you as my Chief I’d Staff and Nomir I’d love to have you as my bodyguard back on Earth” Both elves had both their mouths hanging open. It seemed both were in shock. “So? You both okay with hanging with me back in sleepy Greensburg?” “Are you serious?” Etalos asked. “Of course I am” Then the tears came and Etalos started to sniffle and Nomir became teary eyed as well. “Uhm... is that a yes? I mean you’ll be both well compensated. Patri said your monthly salary would be at least 350,000 crowns that’s exclusive of the spending allowance you’ll get in dollars back on Earth” “What?” Etalos squeaked. “I think you’ve heard me right. So... how about it? Us? Back in Greensburg? I need trusted individuals around me. So will you both help me?” I asked. Etalos stood and gave me a light bow. “It would be an honor” Nomir followed suit and did the same. “My family is gonna be so happy. Oh goodness gracious... me Chief of Staff of the Platinum Prince?!” Etalos exclaimed. “Same here. Goodness my sister will be so jealous” Nomir said. “Can’t be that bad” “Oh Chris... we’re not doing this for the money or family. I think I speak for Nomir as well... we both adore you. But getting our family and friends jealous is indeed an added benefit. Hehe” Etalos said. “Really?” “It’s good you’ve been avoiding the media the past few days. They’re all in a frenzy for your attention!” Etalos exclaimed. “Which by the way I think we should be addressing soon” “Ohh... so you’re getting into Chief of Staff mode already?” I teased. “Maybe... but Chris. The people want to see you and get to know you! You’re the most powerful prince to ever ascend!” “Hmm... let’s talk about that later. So... is this a yes from the both of you?” I asked confirming that they’ll be with me in Virginia. “Of course!” Both said in unison. “Good! Coz I had these specially procured for the both of you” I said as I handed them both the pendants that elves wear if they plan on staying long term on earth, I even reinforced the pendants with my own protective magic... especially with the threat the seemed to be building on the other side, I can’t have my people corrupted. “Oh my! Thank you!” Etalos exclaimed as he examined the ornately designed pendant, it was a small square pendant made of dark green stone, it had intricate etchings of floral designs on it. Nomir’s was had a dark hexagonal stone with equally detailed etchings as well. “Thank you Chris.” Nomir said. “My pleasure.” I said as I pulled both of them into a tight hug. —- Before lunch, Patri and King Ethnar pulled me aside and brought me to a small temple like structure within the palace grounds. I was introduced to Raya, Gelrasha, and Pendos. The three were members of the High Circle. Raya and Gelrasha were beautiful Sokodeya elves with Mediterranean features, while Pendos was Hegodeya, and had handsome North African features. Raya looked to be in her mid thirties while Gelrasha and Pendos were seemed to be in their early forties. The three of them gave me a light bow and told me it was their pleasure to see me up close. All three were apparently in attendance in my Ascension and banquet but never had the chance to talk to them. “It’s a pleasure to meet the three of you” I greeted. “The pleasure is ours Your Highness” Gelrasha said. “Chris... Your Great Grandfather and I decided to introduce you to these three as they will be the first batch of the High Circle that will conduct the strengthening of the barrier.” Patri said. “Ohh... I see” “Shall we begin?” Patri asked the three of them. The three High Circle members held hands the middle of the temple and started to chant. The air grew warm and I could feel waves of energy pulse from them. These three were clearly powerful, Patri later tells me all three were Platinum levels. I spent a few seconds observing them, I could feel my skin tingle as the continued in their chanting, all three started to glow a bit. “We’ll be having three members of the High Circle strengthen the barrier in four hour shifts for the next week or so. Based on our projections that will double the strength of the barrier” King Ethnar explained. “Ah... I see” I absentmindedly replied as I lost myself in fascination with their incantation. I thought of joining them but I had no clue as to how to strengthen the barrier or where and how to begin. I mean should I just flood them with my energy? I felt my chains inside tingle at the thought of that but I decided to let them do their jobs for time being, maybe I’ll read into this in the Tower of Knowledge.

Yep all is fine. Work has just been a bit more hectic. The next chapter is already for editing and I’m already working on 93. Though for 92 I suggest you talk to Etalos... uhm I mean @Etotsira 😂