Master Vampire Kirain Yith

  Adventurer Level: N/A

  Drow Master Vampire - Balushenian

  The midday sun shone on the carriages arriving in the castle's courtyard, and a tension of sorts appeared in my chest. Things hadn't gone the way that I expected them to. I had expected to lead my army against the daemons, thwart their plans, and find myself in service to the human that had nearly ended me.

  By the time that I led my forces afield, though, the daemons had completely disappeared. I dismissed my army, adopted a disguise, and asked around about what happened. Apparently, Hirgarus the Decimator had been defeated in my old stomping grounds and the daemons just... Left.

  There was no word about the human, either. It hadn't been involved in the fight against the daemons, and nobody seemed to know where it had ended up. Without any leads, I fell back to the Night Kingdom and found myself having to improvise.

  Negotiating with the orcs was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. Lofin was dead and his heirs were scattered to the winds, so I didn't have to worry about them coming for the crown. All I had to do was convince the Unified Chiefdoms that it was best to live and let live, and the recent invasion by the daemons would be a good bit of leverage to use.

  It was a shame about the human, though. Anticipating an abdication, I had culled my ranks of the more rebellious vampires. My intention had been to make my wishes known to Count Hesseth and give him the throne, allowing him to try to turn the Night Kingdom into a land where vampires could be redeemed. I couldn't have vampires like Count Alurgas Tuvino plotting against him.

  It had been too quick for my liking, but I hadn't wanted to add to my already hefty sins. I tested each of them, then simply held those that failed in my power, doused them in accelerant, decapitated them, and lit them aflame before they could regenerate. The only part of them that felt anything was their head. A much better death than Tuvino deserved...

  The door to my office opened behind me, grabbing my attention. I turned to watch Count Hesseth enter.

  "Sire, the diplomats have arrived for the negotiations," he said with a bow.

  "I know," I replied. "I saw them."

  "Of course, your highness... Uh, were you able to see who it was that arrived?"

  "No. Why?"

  "High Chief Ulurmak has decided to attend the negotiations personally. In addition, word seems to have spread of these negotiations, as there are also diplomats from the major drow populations and the nearby wylder."

  "The wylder?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "Yes, sire, from the Deepwyld Forest. It's... The closest wylder settlement. On our border, in fact. It's the one we-"

  "I recall. Well, I suppose that at least the negotiations won't be boring."

  "Yes, your highness."

  "Get them settled in. We'll begin once they've recovered from the road."

  "Yes, sire."

  I waved him off and he left with a deep bow. Taking a seat at my desk, I began to pour over the notes regarding the upcoming negotiations. Most of it was items that we needed satisfied, and the items we could concede to make it happen. The rest of it was information on the Unified Chiefdoms and High Chief Ulurmak.

  It wasn't much information, as we hadn't had any opportunity for espionage. None of it was really even useful, unless I wanted to compliment Ulurmak on his brother's victory over the daemon commander. Might be a touchy subject, though, considering I was working with that very same daemon until relatively recently. They might not know that, but the wylder are a tricky folk and it's impossible to tell what they can and can't know. Better to avoid the subject entirely than give them a chance to surprise me.

  Instead of fixating on the information I'd already memorized and the information that was useless, I began to try to play out the conversation in my head. This wouldn't be like other head-of-state negotiations, though. My people are an existential threat to Ulurmak's people, and I had to kill some of his people to even get to this point.

  There were only two reasons that Ulurmak would negotiate. Either he would like to avoid a war with us while the daemon's intentions were still unclear, or he wants a chance to try to kill me himself. The latter option was pretty unlikely, because even if he managed it he wouldn't make it out of here alive. Neither would his people, or the wylder. It would be better to just try his chance at war.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  The wylder were an unexpected addition, as well. Their demands would be both harsh and stacked against us. And on top of that, they would be rude about it, which was fair enough with all things considered. I'd have to be careful what I agreed to, and I'd have to be on guard. The wylder were far more likely to try to kill me during the talks than the orcs were.

  Then there were the drow. I had hoped that I'd be able to negotiate their territories back into my kingdom without their presence. Now, the best I can hope for is that Ulurmak grants them independence. Some of the more ambitious ones might wish to restore the Night Kingdom, but only so that they could try for a coup later on. Perhaps I could lead them on, make them believe that a coup would work...

  Amidst my ruminations I was somewhat aware of the light in the room dimming. A servant came in to light the candles, signaling the beginning of sunset. As she left the room, Hesseth entered.

  "Sire, High Chief Ulurmak would like the negotiations to be held over dinner," he said, bowing low. "The other diplomats concur."

  I stared blankly at the count, having forgot for a moment that mortals require meals. It had been a while since I'd pretended to be one, and I hadn't kept up the pretense. For a moment I worried whether we had enough food for a feast, then chided myself for my foolishness.

  Of course we had food, most of the servants were mortal. Then there were the few nobles who swore fealty to me in exchange for there lives once we took the castle. So not only did we have food, we had food fit for nobility.

  "I suppose I could sip some blood whilst they eat," I replied. "Notify the kitchens that we are to feast with royalty."

  "Yes, sire."

  Hesseth once again left the room and I leaned back in my chair. The count's demeanor suggested the Ulurmak's request had actually been a demand, and I had no doubt in my mind that it had been a power play. Negotiating with a master vampire over dinner. What better way to remind me that we were completely different in every way, and that he couldn't possibly trust me?

  No, that wasn't it. He was trying to remind the other diplomats that to me, they're food. Surprising that it came from Ulurmak, though. It was more like the wylder to come up with something like that.

  "On the other hand, wylder don't really have to eat, do they?" I asked the empty room.

  It was also possible that Ulurmak knew what he wanted, knew he wouldn't budge, and wanted to get the negotiations over with as soon as possible. That could also be the reason he decided not to send a diplomat. It's easier to persuade an ambassador than it is to persuade a king. If one can get an ambassador to agree to something, the king is bound by said agreement. Unless the king is fine with their people looking like brainless savages.

  I absentmindedly tapped one of my long claws on my desk, leaving little divots in the leather covering. Normally, one would wait for the kitchen to prepare the meal before one came to the table. The seating would be important, though, so I decided to head to the dining room a little early.

  The stroll was uneventful, and the dining room only contained a few servants setting up clothes and candles. The drow bowed to me when they noticed my presence, and I ordered one of them to fetch Count Hesseth. Then I got to work.

  All of the chairs were expensive, but it was obvious which one had been Lofin's. It sat at one of the narrow ends of the table, the seat a few inches higher than the others and covered in precious metals and jewels. Gawdy, but I could work with it. By the time I had formulated the seating plan, Hesseth appeared.

  "Y-yes, your majesty?" he asked, confused by my sudden summons.

  "I will be sitting in this chair," I began my explanation.

  I pointed to the chair across from my own and identified it as Ulurmak's. To his left, I sat the wylder. To his right and in the other seats, I sat the drow. I made certain that there would be a drow between myself and the wylder, just in case things got heated.

  "You will ensure that they are guided to the proper locations," I said, taking my seat. "Dismissed."

  "Yes, your highness," he bowed and left.

  I looked around the dining room with a somewhat bitter sense of nostalgia. It had been on extremely rare occasion that I'd found myself in this room, and both other times had been while I was young. The first had been a feast held to celebrate an accomplishment of my false-father. The details eluded me, but I distinctly remembered how tall and frightening everyone had seemed.

  The second time had been after I killed my mother for murdering my false-father. The feast was held to celebrate my loyalty to the king. The gawdy ass-cushion that I sat upon had been where King Lofin had announced his intention to promote me to Master General. Everyone in attendance had eyed me jealously, even whilst applauding the inbred-bastard's decision, but they weren't able to frighten me that time.

  I'd been far to preoccupied wondering if I should try to murder everyone in the room to be worried about their petty, impotent jealousy. The reason I'd decided against it was because I had been sitting where Ulurmak would be, and behind that seat was a very large fireplace. The heavily armed guards and flames at my back had been more than enough to check my violent urges.

  I sat and waited, lost in my memories. Soon enough, servant began to trickle in, bow, and place food upon the table. Then the guests began to arrive, and I stood to silently welcome them.

  Ulurmak entered first, directed to his seat by Count Hesseth. We silently eyed each other, and I came to the realization that if it were to come to blows, the fight would be much closer than I'd originally believed. Then came the drow. Pathetic, spoiled nobles, each directed to their chairs by a servant.

  I noticed that four seats to Ulurmak's left were empty, and wondered how many representatives the wylder had sent. That curiosity was quickly sated as they entered, but rapidly replaced by another. The seats were filled by an orc, a lich, a fairy, and a human. All but the fairy were familiar to me.

  I almost laughed in disbelief. The thought that I'd never be able to find the human and redeem myself had weighed heavier on me than I cared to admit. Yet, here he sat at my table, ready to participate in negotiations that couldn't possibly concern him. I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't upsetting, though. The higher ones were playing with me like a pupper with a child's rag-doll. As a matter of fact, it was infuriating.

  "What is this?" I demanded.