The Southeast Coven bred many kinds of vampires.
Different eye colors, different tastes in blood and different temperaments.
Victor's brother, Vincent, was one of the rare disciplined ones. He fed only on creatures that bore no trace of human flesh. His eyes were blue, calm and steady, and he was skilled in the art of the sword.
Victor was different.
He fed on both human and animal blood.
His true eyes were red—feral, uncontrollable—and because of them, his brother had given him the nickname Red.
To survive, Victor learned to hide them.
He forced their color to black.
Beneath those concealed eyes lay the potential to destroy anyone near him.
That was why, whenever the red returned, he kept his head lowered until he found either a safe place…
…or prey.
There were others like him in the Coven too.
Now, alone in the forest, hunger gnawing at his senses, he finally released the restraint he had been holding all night.
His instincts rose and his reason began to slip.
That was when two wizards knew they had to cross his path.
"Oh," one of them said brightly. "A vampire."
"We finally found someone in this deserted forest," the other added, hurrying forward.
They rushed toward him without fear but once he turned to them, the smiles on their faces froze.
A chill crawled up their spines.
"Good morning, Sir Vampire," the older one said carefully. "We mean no harm. We're only trying to find a way out of this forest."
"We would be grateful for your help," he added, glancing at his younger brother.
Victor did not answer.
On any other night, he would have let them pass.
He would have guided them to safety.
But the red in his eyes had already returned.
And in that moment—
His reason no longer stood where it should. Instead it moved sideways.
Just as the older wizard began to weave a spell of protection, all he saw was a blur.
When his vision cleared, his younger brother was gone.
Before he could draw breath—
darkness swallowed him as well.
Light returned slowly.
The sun was sinking behind a distant mountain, its fading glow outlining a kingdom built on top of the stone.
The Southeast Coven.
"No."
The word cut sharply through the court hall.
It came from the western extremity, where an old man sat with his arms crossed, gaze cold.
"Absolutely no."
Another Elder rose slowly.
"Victor, with all that you have told us… this leaves you as the only surviving son of your family. You understand what you are asking for."
"The Heart Calming Pendant is not a trinket," another Elder added. "Its price is measured in suffering and years. It is not a burden for a child to carry."
The leading Elder folded his hands calmly and finally said,
"We cannot hand it over to you. The cost is too great, and your request is… misdirected."
He paused.
"Your brother is gone. By right, you will serve as acting War General until a successor is chosen."
A sharp scoff came from the west.
"If this were to save anyone else," the old man said, voice tight, "we would have borne the price ourselves."
He turned his eyes fully on Victor.
"But you wish to give it to him?"
"To that historically known destroyer?"
His voice hardened.
"I expected more from you."
Silence followed.
The old man in the west did not look away.
He was Elder Yeom, the Western Elder and Victor's father.
"Elders," Victor said quietly, "I have decided to bear the cost alone. What is wrong with giving it to the one who deserves it?"
He did not finish.
"You wish to calm the heart of the storm?" Elder Yeom cut in sharply.
"If anything, we should hunt it down."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the hall.
"The future leaders of our Coven were wiped out by that creature," the Northern Elder said coldly.
"And so was our War General," the Southern Elder added, agitation clear in his voice.
"Elders, wait—" Victor tried to speak but they did not listen.
The discussion had already moved past him.
"I wonder what the higher ups are thinking," the Eastern Elder muttered. "Why are they so silent?"
"If it were that easy to handle," the Northern Elder said, "even Liam of the Golden Bloodline would not have died — even with outside help."
"Does this mean we must recruit from the Central Coven?" the Southern Elder asked.
"Elders."
Victor raised his voice.
Not loud enough to be disrespectful.
Only loud enough to be heard.
"I request permission to speak."
A brief pause.
"Go ahead," the leading Elder said.
"My brother — the War General — was not killed by the dragon."
Victor kept his head low, black eyes hiding what he could not.
"If not the dragon," the Northern Elder asked coolly, "then who has the power to kill our War General?"
"The War General was killed by the Black Sea Captain," Victor said plainly.
"Nonsense," Elder Yeom spat.
"The Black Sea Captain was slain by the War General before General Vincent," he continued, voice tightening despite himself.
"And he vanished a hundred years ago. You were not even born then."
He leaned forward.
"How could you have seen him? Let alone identified him?"
A wave of nods passed through the hall.
"I do not know why," Victor said, voice steady despite himself,
"but he was present at the academy during the war. He took no interest in anyone else."
He lifted his head slightly.
"He came only for my brother."
"I did not recognise him," Victor continued, "but Vincent did. He tried to explain that he was not the General who made him vanish."
Victor's fingers curled slowly at his side.
"But the Captain did not listen. He swore to wipe out every War General that emerged from our Coven."
Shock spread across the faces of the Elders.
The leading Elder spoke quietly, more to himself than to the hall.
"This means the Western Coven are active again…"
He turned his gaze back to Victor.
"I have heard you, young one. This matter no longer concerns you. But it does not change our decision."
A pause.
"The Heart Calming Pendant will not be given to you."
Before Victor could speak—
"You're dismissed."
Silence.
Victor bowed stiffly and turned to leave.
Then—
"Elders!!!"
A streak of pale light burst into the court hall as a messenger stumbled forward, breathless.
"A message from the Empire," he gasped.
"What does it say?" the leading Elder asked.
The messenger broke the seal and read aloud.
"A decree to all directional Covens under the Vampire Empire.
You have surely heard the news of Blackspire Academy.
You shall send forth your strongest warriors, as we join forces with the other Empires to slay the dragon — a creature believed to wield necromancy.
A bonus bounty shall be granted to whoever reveals its location.
— King Valour."
Silence fell upon the court.
So deep that a pin could have dropped and been heard.
"Hahaha."
Laughter broke the silence.
All eyes turned.
It was the Eastern Elder.
"We were just speaking of how silent the higher-ups had been," he said with a thin smile.
"And now this appears. How miraculous."
"No!" Victor said sharply.
"No?" the Eastern Elder repeated, amused.
"Are you refuting an Elder now?"
"Ramien is my friend," Victor said.
"He is not a monster."
"Well," Elder Yeom said calmly,
"that is no longer our concern. The order has been given. We could not help you, even if we wanted to."
While the others spoke, the leading Elder had remained silent, his eyes studying Victor.
"It is his dragon you should capture," Victor said urgently.
"Not him. You need to persuade the higher ups."
"He and his dragon are one and the same," the Western Elder replied.
"Like your tooth and your fangs."
"Silence," the leading Elder said.
The hall fell still.
He leaned forward slightly.
"You are his friend," he said, quietly.
"If not for him, our War General would still live."
Victor sighed silently.
"If we are the first to reveal his location," the Elder continued,
"the bounty will be ours."
He leaned back.
"And for that to happen… you will lead us to him."
"No."
Victor stepped back, shaking his head slowly.
"You have no choice, son," Elder Yeom said.
The Eastern Elder's eyes lit up.
"Did you not wish to give him the Heart Calming Pendant?" he said quickly. "That means you must first find him, does it not?"
Victor gave a faint, bitter smile.
"You will not give it to me."
"Oh, we will," the leading Elder said calmly.
"You chose to bear the cost yourself."
A pause.
"There is nothing wrong...with giving it to one who deserves it right?."
Victor froze.
The Elder had taken his own words…and turned them into chains.
His brows creased.
On his throne, Elder Yeom shook his head slowly at his son's naivety in the ways of politics.
How is he ever to become a War General, he thought, if his heart was still this chaotic?
The leading Elder rose from his seat.
One by one, the other Elders followed, the sound of stone chairs scraping against the floor echoing through the hall.
Then he spoke.
"Victor of the Southeast Coven."
The hall fell silent.
"You have chosen to bear the cost of receiving the Heart Calming Pendant," he said, his voice steady.
"And to deliver it to Ramien of the Ashen Line—"
A pause.
"—while at the same time delivering him into the hands of this Coven."
Victor's breath hitched.
The Elder stepped forward.
"Now answer us."
His gaze sharpened.
"Will you be loyal to your friend…
or to your Coven?"
Victor stood frozen.
His lips parted, but no sound came.
Between the bond of blood and the bond of the heart, he found himself unable to choose.