Ascension of the Nephilim

As the vampires discussed which of them would bite him, the orc could only lie down and reflect on his life. He had seen the power of a vampire turning someone, and it was a painful and wretched process with the result making the most pitiable being on the Planes World.

'There is no slave like a vampire's slave is a phrase that is famous throughout the Lowlands. Many vampires have become mighty aristocrats, mercenaries and have become individuals of great renown in the Lowlands. These untouchables vampires operate and are generally treated with fear and respect y the orc and human kingdoms. However, their presence allowed many to see and know the cure that binds a slave to the vampire master.

The other dark dependent beings such as the Animated, the Magic Fueled, and the Forsakers of Flesh all do their best to create a slave with a vampire's slave as the pinnacle goal.

"Tell me your name, orc," Kyros asked.

"Grugnyr." The orc helplessly answered.

Grugnyr had accepted his fate. He could feel the poison of the vampire coursing through him, and as he drank the blood, a power was binding his heart and his soul.

He could feel the strange power lurking and controlling his very soul. Yet, no matter how he tried, he could not want to do harm on his master. He could not lie. He could not cheat or do anything to directly or indirectly harm his master. 

He had seen this magic once. His brother became a vampire and defended the undead to the last of his breath, though tears fell down his eyes as he charged and tried to harm his family. Death was an escape that his brother gladly welcomed.

And then the binding was complete. The orc became a Vampire Orc.

But as he opened his eyes, he noticed something.

"Kyros?" The vampire called his master by name.

"Hey! Be respectful, orc! That is your lord now!" 

"Why am I not bounded to call him lord?"

"Oh? You knew someone who was a vampire familiar?" Kyros was surprised at Grugnyr's sudden question.

"My brother. We raided a human town before, and it turned out to have several vampire residents who were controlling the entire town. They were vampires of higher status. The Blood Borne vampires. They turned my brother into a dhampir orc, and he was bounded to do many things. We captured my brother and tried to save him, but he kept longing to return to his master. He called him lord and could not even say anything bad about him. But you... Stupid master!" The orc shouted.

The Coven drew their swords and wanted to kill the orc.

"Stop! Relax guys. He didn't mean it." Kyros chuckled.

"But lord Kyros!" Hemsey argued.

"Don't worry. All of you have the same soul bounding power. Just like him, you all can't do anything that can directly or indirectly hurt or attack me. When he said those words, it was because he was testing if he can say it. But in his heart, he didn't mean it. If he did, he would have been attacked by such a great pain that he would have wished he died. You guys can actually say the same things too. You just choose not to because of the loyalty and trust you built with me."

"What power is this? Are you a vampire of a weaker bloodline? Why is my slavery so weak?" Grugnyr asked again.

Even Martha felt a little insulted at the orcs analysis. 

"Lord Kyros, a weak vampire? He can play with the lives of level 30 warriors and direct their deaths! Is that a weak vampire? He could toy with a fortress full of Champions, Grand Masters, and Omni-Eyes! And didn't we, a group of seven vampires, fight against a hundred orcs and easily kidnapped you and stole nearly a ton of ores?" Martha challenged.

"You managed to steal our ores?!" Grugnyr was amazed.

"Yeah. It's one of my tricks. And it's not that I have a weak bloodline. It's actually the opposite. The vampires of old follow a certain power that has been passed on to them. They are unable to modify the vows they give their slave. Here, I'll show you. You too, guys. Now that our Coven is level two, I've programmed a simple message to explain who we are, which you can now see independently. Concentrate in your mind and have a desire to see the status and details of the Coven of the Nephilim."

The group followed and closed their eyes. A status appeared on their vision.

---

Coven: Coven of the Nephilim Level 2

Prime Bonder: Kyros Steele

Vampire Bloodlines: 8/8

Coven Blessing: Plus 3 to all stat points

---

Abilities:

Dark Link Level 2

Minor Life Vampiric Trait Level 1

Ghoul Commander Skill Level 1 (Maximum of four Ghouls per member.)

Dhampir Maker Level 2 (2 Dhampir Ghouls or 1 Dhampir Prime)

Dark Consumer Level 2.

Dark Sensitive Level 1.

Blood Devourer Level 1.

Dark Resistance Level 1.

Micro Managed Level 2.

---

Coven of the Nephilim Mission and Vision Statement:

Mission: To build a better tomorrow by biting or killing the bad guys today. 

Vision: To be the Shadow that haunts the enemies, the Shade that protects our loved ones, and the fangs that bite to those who do harm to the Planes World!

---

Bonded Vampires rules:

1. Thou shalt have no other masters than Kyros.

2. Thou shalt not or do anything intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly, to harm Kyros.

3. Thou shalt not or do anything intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly, to harm the allies, friends, and people that Kyros loves or deem important.

4. Thou shalt not make for yourself, any dhampirs, familiars, or ghouls without the approval of Kyros.

5. Thou shalt not kill, harm, or attack the innocent without the approval of Kyros or unless in a life-or-death situation that demands immediate action.

6. Thou shalt keep the secrets of your master Kyros and guard it with your life.

7. Thou shalt say in thine hearts, 'We are bad guys, but this does not mean we're bad guys.'

8. Application for leave of absence, except for emergency sick leave, shall be filed within five (5) days before the effectivity of leave.

---

"I can... file for a leave of absence?!" Martha was shocked. This was a great deal!

As Grugnyr read the strange things in the list, he couldn't help but compare these cute rules to the heavy curses and limitations that his brother followed.

"So this is why I felt stronger! There is such a blessing?" Avary exclaimed as he read through the additional stat increases.

"It gets stronger the more our coven level up. The Coven levels up in two ways. The first is by drinking more blood. But it isn't just any kind of blood, but the blood of strong and powerful creatures and monsters. The second way for our Coven to level up is through rare and magical herbs and fruits, concocted pills, and other energy sources. Needless to say, the stronger our Coven grows, the more abilities you have."

"Who are you?" Grugnyr couldn't help but ask.

"That's very difficult to explain. Just go along and find out." Kyros laughed mysteriously. 

"Let's move out and meet my Grandfather. After this, things will be a lot easier with an Orc ally. Since you have Minor life, I doubt none among the orcs can sense that you are a vampire now. Let's get acquainted along the way."

As the group walked, they continued to recount the great and amazing feats of lord Kyros.

When they left the fort, they needed to avoid getting spotted by any human teams. Due to the appearance of the Blood Calamity, Kyros decided to have Cracky Batcheeks make his appearance to generate a report and rumors among the orcs. But Kyros didn't want any news of Cracky Batcheeks being spotted outside of Airom Vagat spreading among humans.

Since Kyros was avoiding the main road of humans, they traveled to Airom Logat off-road by hugging the mountain cliff's trail. This ensured that any human groups would now see them. But now that they were deep within orc territory, Kyros finally headed for the main road to meet with the Steele family.

The group later reached the crossroads that separated the paths of Airom Vagat and Airom Logat. A small hill stood nearby that overlooked this crossroad.

A caravan with a platoon of warriors and servants stood up this hill.

An old man glanced on the road leading to the orc's territory and couldn't help but sigh. On the past days, he had received several messages from his son. He couldn't understand how a single message talisman could have the energy to send several messages.

At first, Branze's message was concise yet would carry as much information as it could. The messages were 'sell our land and send off the children of our servants to serve under my wife's house.' 

The Steele Patriarch would deduce and discern the intent behind these words, yet he followed as he trusted his son's plans.

But then, Branze sent a series of messages detailing exactly what the plan. Soon, various unnecessary messages were sent.

The Steele Patriarch continued to read the latest message sent.

"Buy Airom Bacon. The one with the delicious grease spreading that made it taste rather juicy. You remember that one in the orc town we visited, right? The one being sold by that orc-aunt Juruyet? It's the small shop where Branze choked on his food and unknowingly called the orc on the next table a pigs bride. If you become late when meeting with Kyros, tell him his uncle was craving something. He'd understand. He's strong anyway."

The Steele Patriarch had a complicated look on his face. 

"Was this really necessary?" He asked himself as he took another bite at his share of the juicy bacon.

"You sure you don't want to try?" The Patriarch asked.

Standing next to him was a woman of breath-taking beauty. Her scarlet red hair danced at the approach of the early morning breeze as she looked towards the horizon, watching the first light of the brilliant sun brightening up the dark Lowlands.

The woman was formerly known as Baron Diana Redblade. But due to a certain incident, she became engaged and married to another powerful Baron and is now legally named Baron Diana Steele. 

"I find the taste of the orcs to overpowering. I'm also quite disgusted that a distinguished Baron clan would have friendly dealings with an orc town." She answered coldly.

"Oh? It's funny that you would have such contempt against UnHuman and demi-human races. After all, you have just taken a vampire as your son! And if Branze's deduction is correct, your son should be a Vampire Ancient that the world has never seen!" The Patriarch chuckled.

"That creature is no son of mine!" The woman glared.

"Patriarch! A group of eight humans and an orc is going uphill and is headed towards our position. Among them is the famous Martha Bowheart." A mercenary reported.

"Oh? That pitiful Bowheart, eh? Welcome her. Her life has nothing but pain. She might become good friends with my daughter-in-law as the two are dissatisfied with their current family." The Patriarch chuckled.

"Patriarch... leading the group... is a young man that matches the description Lord Branze gave. We also noted that among the eight are the three brothers who serve Lord Aron. Their appearances have slightly changed, but the closer they approach, the more certain we are that it is them."

The Patriarch and Diana's expressions suddenly changed.

"Allow me to meet that detestable creature." Diana suddenly stormed off.

Kyros was still a great distance when his heart trembled.

Memories of her kind face and how she cared for Kyros all those years.

If Branze Steele was Kyros's glory, Diana Steele was Kyros's joy.

"Mother..." Kyros couldn't help but whisper.