Ascension of the Nephilim

The appearance of a human-vampire girl inside an orc outpost was strange. While it would have been possible for a human to appear, one that is a vampire is rare.

"A vampire?!" Gregory and Scarlet exclaimed.

"Yes! It's definitely a vampire! What could she be doing in this orc fortress?"

"She's very weak as a vampire..." Scarlet observed.

"Oh? A human Vampire? That's quite rare. My... my Avary... Quite naughty!" Diana laughed.

"La-Lady Diana! I am still the son of a noble! I would never..."

"I'm just joking, Avary. Check her bloodline. Wait. I think it's better if the three of you try. Scarlet, try to find if she is the reason why Fate brought us here." Diana instructed.

The three nodded, and Avary used his sword to make a small cut on her arm.

Each of the three took a drop of blood and consumed it.

The three gazed at each other, and Diana watched expectantly with her arm on her sword.

"Anything?" Diana asked.

"No. Her bloodline is very, very weak." Avary concluded.

"This should be a Dhampir." Scarlet confirmed.

"Right. I can't sense any power at all from her." Gregory added after taking another drop of blood from the small wound.

"Her bloodline seemed even weaker than Zid Blood Blade." 

"That explains her very faint power of darkness. You three have a very potent form."

"Lady Diana! You can detect darkness?! Isn't that what only Paladin's can do?"

"When your master, my disgusting son, showed his full power, I could sense the properties of Darkness. You then became the next ones that I kept observing. From you two, I could roughly gaze at the darkness. I had been thinking of this ever since Kyros showed his true dark powers. If I can't sense when a being of such darkness was standing before me claiming to be my son, how can I call myself a Paladin?"

"I... I see..." Avary didn't know what to reply.

"Scarlet. What of Fate?"

"I don't know. The whispers seemed less clear now..." Scarlet sighed.

"Let's see what we can do. Leave the vampire to me." Diana answered.

"As for you, see what you can find in this outpost. Why did Fate lead us here? Why did it whisper that we should not leave any survivors despite Kyros's plan? Try to see what you can find." Diana ordered.

The group nodded and began their search.

Diana brought the vampire and placed her on a pile of hay made into some form of bed and observed the little girl's wounds.

"This girl should be a year or two younger than Scarlet. No slave marks, tattoos, or any signs of manual labor. This girl also had fair and flawless skin. This human should be another high-born human. But where?" Diana thought.

Diana noticed how untouched the young girl was, and all the wounds she had were recent.

"Was this girl captured?" Diana considered another possibility.

The Coven continued to look all over the base. They found a lot of odd ores of which they had never seen before. But the group continued to look for more objects. What was odd was that the belongings of the orcs had been packed.

Soon, they found a group of dead bodies deep inside the jail cell, and it was as if they were burned.

A few human objects and a few dwarven materials were found.

The three later reported to Diana.

"It seems they burned all the humans and dwarves they captured since they could not afford to kill. Otherwise, they would be food for the Blood Calamity. So this outpost must be a unique outpost that made the orcs delay in abandoning it. This also explains the mystery of why this outpost should have more orcs, but we don't see any signs of any troops moving outwards of this place."

"That's right! Where did they go?"

"The answer should be down the mountain. There must be a secret passage for this outpost. We've long believed that there was another secret path leading in and out of this mountain. Unlike the path that we used, this path is known to all orcs. Or at least to any orc of repute."

"What do you mean, Lady Diana?" Avary frowned.

"How was Myas captured? How have orcs managed to sneak into Airom Vagat without being noticed? Those slaves too! Our armies are constantly watching the entrance to Airom Logat and would notice any troops moving in and out. And yet, we still have raids, ambushes, and the like. This outpost is the answer. They sneak out of this place, enter Airom Vagat by scaling the mountain with a small team. After whatever raid, they return to this place and hide the slaves they capture." Diana explained.

"So this is why Fate led us here!"

"Yes." Diana confirmed.

"Then this Vampire?"

"She must be someone they captured. Does this girl bear any resemblance to any nobles in Airom Vagat towns?"

"No."

"Well, that's understandable. This entrance allows them to raid not only Airom Vagat, but also the caravans headed towards the entrance of Airom Vagat."

"But that's wrong! Isn't there an agreement that no forces are to attack or raid any mercantile groups moving in and out of these places?" Avary asked.

"For certain standards, yes. But you've seen how it is in reality. Wasn't Lady Martha attacked and killed by fellow human beings? If those Viscounts can make some illegal trade within the mountain and abuse their fellow human beings, what more for orcs? When we attacked that army, we were crossing the line. The rules were simple. We cannot marshal an army to attack the orcs. So, if there are any trade materials that they cannot afford to lose, they send an army. Hence, when we attacked those orcs, the orcs were angered and will attack Airom Vagat to break that agreement. But nowhere in the rules does it state that orcs or humans can't send smaller forces to raid and fight each other. In fact, the military of both races probably allows and encourages it!" Diana explained.

"Is that why... Martha asked us to save Myas?"

"Exactly. The human kingdom and even the noble family of the Bowheart would not attack the orcs. The costs far outweigh the gains. Especially since Myas is not even the legal child." 

"So even if we report all these things that we saw and prove, the human kingdom won't blame or attack the orc for their atrocities?" Scarlet asked.

"The orcs are not the only ones doing this. In fact, humans are even more abusive. The dwarves dare not work for the orcs for their conflicting beliefs in blacksmithing and their many arts. But any dwarf here in the Lowlands are treated as slaves and expendable beings. Only those in the Midland kingdoms are treated with respect. Didn't you see it in Airom Vagat? I'm sure you've seen the Dwarven slaves."

Avary and the three could not help but fall silent at Diana's explanation.

"The earlier you see through these moral issues and understand that the world of nobles isn't so noble, the better. You three have to be wise nobles to aid my son. And this is the first lesson. Nobility is wickedness. The higher you are on that ladder, the more tainted your walk becomes. Along with power comes responsibility. The responsibility to be righteous, and the responsibility to be corrupt."

"Lady Diana. I thought the path of a Paladin is to bring justice..." Scarlet asked.

"Yes. And that entails murder, war, and death. If you want righteousness and justice, you have to learn how to kill. Kyros has learned this. He even added in your rules, remember?"

"We are bad guys... But it doesn't mean we are bad guys...?" Gregory repeated.

"Kyros is telling you all that you will be soaked in the blood of many enemies to bring forth peace."

The three were silent and began to reflect on their paths.

"In any case... It seems that these orcs were planning to leave. I am guessing that they brought out things that they needed to bring out. But it took time. We found many of their belongings already packed as this team was about to leave. I'm guessing that this poor dhampir was original to be burned but was spared for some reason." Diana explained.

"So what's next, Lady Diana?"

"We need to find that path. And that means awakening this unconscious girl. She's too weak. She seems to be dying from starvation. Alright, the three of you, feed her a few drops of your blood."

The three were startled.

"But Lady Diana. She could be the Blood Calamity!"

"If she is, a single drop won't make her too strong. Besides, my son has already explained the levels of vampires to me. You should be Ancient Vampires. Your bloodline is strong, but it can never awaken or give a massive boost in strength, even if this little girl is the Blood Calamity. And remember the rule, the stronger the vampire, the more blood they'd need."

The three gave each other a worried stare.

"That is except for your Coven. Kyros has not shown any signs of madness from drinking blood. I'm sure that it's the same with you. That's why you have some life in you." Diana chuckled.

"So let's get started. Give her few drops to wake her up."

"Yes, my Lady!" Scarlet moved and squeezed out a drop of blood on her mouth.

The young girl felt something and unconsciously began to drink the blood.

"It's working. Boys. Your turn."

The two also allowed a few drops of blood to enter the girl's mouth.

As the drop of blood vanished on her mouth, the young girl was jolted awake and panicked as she saw the faces of the group.

She rolled over to flee from the figures.

"Little one, relax. We're not orcs." Diana's gentle voice echoed.

The girl was awakened from Diana's call and turned to her. 

"Humans!" The girl was amazed.

"I am. These three are vampires just like you. But more far more powerful." Diana chuckled.

The young girl turned to the three and was amazed. She began to tremble.

"My Lords!" The young girl called out.

"Lords?" The three echoed out in surprise.

"A dhampir stands before three Bloodlines. Of course, she'd call you lords. We are not here to harm you, child. Can you tell us your name? Or does your bond with your Master disallow you from saying your name?"

"N-No. My master was... a kind vampire. He freed me from the bond before his death..."

"Such tragedy. What is your name?"

"I am Mechiel." The girl answered.