The advisors exchanged meaningful glances, but no one questioned the words of Magister Rudolf, head of the Surveillance Service. The head of Valeria's intelligence stood silently, waiting for the senior mages to finish their glances.
— "We are listening, Magister."
The man bowed slightly and began his report.
— "A month ago, in the northern province, near the border with Torshal, the city of Otradnoe was attacked. Magister Josef, who was in the city at the time, sent a vague report indicating that the attackers were not human. Soon the entire province was engulfed in a strange uprising; in fact, we initially believed it to be an uprising, and dismissed Magister Josef's report about the non-human nature of the attackers, as their appearance was entirely human. The army sent to suppress this 'uprising,' under the command of Advisor Georg, captured prisoners two days ago, and it became clear that we were dealing with something other than humans. These beings call themselves vampires. Although they were all human in the past, they are no longer so."
Advisor Bor merely grimaced. The retelling of the obvious irritated him, but seeing the genuine interest on one of the cardinals' faces, the mage did not stop the excessively talkative magister. The latter, in turn, continued to recount the events.
— "A person becomes a vampire when they drink the blood of another vampire. After some time, they undergo a transformation into a creature. Vampires are very physically strong. They all possess personal magic. Their senses are heightened to the extreme. They also have weaknesses. Vampires cannot tolerate silver and the light of Demura..."
— "Which undoubtedly indicates their dark nature," interrupted one of the archbishops.
— "Which indicates their dark nature," confirmed Magister Rudolf, nodding to the priest, "And most importantly, vampires are tormented by a thirst for blood. They need to kill humans and drink our blood. Currently, vampires are in the territory of two provinces of the kingdom of Valeria and have invaded the border provinces of the kingdoms of Torshal and Orod."
— "Magister!" — the advisor could no longer hold back, — "We know all this as well as you do. We have established a portal to bring the captured vampires to you for interrogation, expending enormous reserves in the process, while you are still reporting yesterday's news. We want to know where the vampires came from! Do you have an answer to this question, or are you leading us astray?"
— "I have an answer, Advisor. Although the prisoners I received through the portal know nothing about themselves, my previous investigations have helped shed light on their origin. It is no secret to anyone present that in recent years, there have been isolated skirmishes among mages in our kingdom," — the advisors in the room only managed crooked smiles, well, civil war could be called that too, — "And the cause of these confrontations was a member of the Magical Council, Archmage Zlat. In the last year, his loyal followers suffered a series of defeats, and Advisor Zlat's position became precarious. His hope for victory was a secret project that was supposed to grant his people extraordinary power and magic."
The room filled with whispers. Everyone present was hearing this information for the first time.
— "I truly did not report this earlier, as everything was still unclear. It was only known that the intention of a certain ritual was to make a person an enhanced version of themselves, awakening their magical ability and hidden physical reserves. Later, such a person was supposed to perform this ritual on other people. As you can see, the resemblance to vampires is undeniable. I also want to remind you that Zlat fled north, where he had many loyal followers and where he could find refuge before quietly moving to Torshal. We managed to intercept and kill him before he could escape the country. But some of his people escaped the trap."
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