Mars was one of the longest lived vampire in the pit. He was almost two thousand years old himself, as such it was up to him to train those who wanted to be a part of the military he was putting together.

So for the past two hours I have watched him, I had chosen to learn of from him in this regard as he imparted forms of combat to vampires and dark elves who had never had a chance to swing anything shaper than a mining pick.

Not withstanding there was a surprising amount of people who had turned up to be trained by him. The population of the vampire and dark elf races in the pit was about five million. And out of that five million Mars was training eight thousand of them in preparation for the fight that was coming.

It was an intimidating sight watching all these people throw kicks, punches and grapple amongst themselves. They were not yet properly outfitted, but I belived it was only a matter of time before that happens, but that was time I doubted we had.

This past few days however had seen most if not all of my preparations and plans completed and ready for execution. I hoped it would be enough, but I could not be so sure, after all no plan ever survives the battlefield.

“my lord Kael, it’s a blessing to see you up and running once again. Thank the Gods the assassination attempt on you was not successful.”

Mars was a very good ass kisser, but he was purposely reminding me of something I would rather forget. Maybe he did not know and this was just an elderly vampire paying his respects to his leader, but under those words was a needle attempting to poke fun at my insecurities. Or at least one of them anyway.

“ yes indeed elder Mars, thank the gods. But in that regards has there been any success in identifying the woman that attacked me?”

“I’m sorry my lord we have had no such luck. Whoever had trained her had done so secretly. No one seems to know who she is, but we are still looking. I promise you we will get to the bottom of this issue.”

Mars's reply did nothing in the ways of reassuring me. In fact for some reason I found that I couldn’t trust a word he said. Regard less of the words coming out of his mouth, I did not think for one bit Mars made any effort to find out who sent the assassin, or why; in case she was working alone, would she have wanted to kill me. But the more I tried to make sense of anything, the more I discovered that I knew less than what I thought I did.

I couldn’t trust anybody, I couldn’t understand any of them. We were facing a crisis that could otherwise end up with all of us loosing our lives and I was still stuck here worrying about loyalty. It was at that moment that I truly regretted agreeing to be king. That power came with a lot of responsibility, but apparently it also came with a lot of enemies.

“I have hand picked a squad of the best trained soldiers we have my lord. I can guarantee that your protection will be meticulously handled by them and such an incident will not happen again.” Mars commented with a little to much excitement in his voice.

“Don’t accept them it’s a trap.”

I was a little bit startled when I heard Soren in my head again. After our last conversation he has been missing, or maybe I should say hiding from me. But of all the people around me, I trusted him less and would quite frankly have preferred if I didn’t know him. But a lot of things have been out of my control since I woke up to this world.

But regardless of Soren’s warnings I was also sure this was a cleverly laid trap. It might not be to the extent of harming me, but they could very well keep an eye on me. With them monitoring me it gave them an avenue to control me.

“Mars while the gesture is very much appreciated, I am not quite ready to have personal guards. The issue with the assassin aside, I very much like my privacy. But with my to many people hovering around me, improving my weaving abilities could take quite a while.”

I kept my tone even and composed. But there was enough hints in my words to tip Mars off that I knew what he was trying to accomplish and I would not stand for it. But contrary to what I imagined, it seemed Mars had a thicker skin.

“but my lord I implore you to reconsider, in fact I insist on this course of action. Your safety should be the top priority now, not just due to the fact that you’re going to be our king. Even if its for the one reason that our complete freedom rest solely in your hands, as such we need to protect you.”

Mars’s fervent voice had drawn the attention of quite a few vampires and dark elves that were training. The man had a flair for the dramatic, that much I can give him credit for. But he was trying to use the presence of the people around me to pressure me, and even though I hated it, I could not help but admire the genius within that move.

I understood enough to know that a king does not make a kingdom, neither does having a kingdom make one a king. All this power rested solely on the hands of the people. The subjects make a king, the subjects make a kingdom. And much like Mars I understood the need for appearances, especially when it came to dealing with the people I am meant to lead. It would not be easy outmaneuvering Mars, but it was definitely not impossible.

“I have taken your words into consideration Mars, and I agree with your views. However the choosing of my personal guards would be done by me and me alone. And there is no room for negotiations or any other suggestions. I would be doing this my way. Or do you have a problem with that.”

And then I gave Mars the most piercing gaze I could muster, though I think I ended up looking much like a constipated clown, but I am sure it got the job done.

“I dare not have any objections my lord. You have spoken and I believe you decision regarding this matter is quite sound and fair.”

Mars had bowed low to emphasize his servitude and respect. I like the look of him from where I was standing. But I couldn’t help but wonder if I had just poked a hornets nest. But I didn’t care, I was not going to let some ancient vampire control me.

“Anyway Mars, what is the current statistics with the army you have trained.”

I asked that question as a means to steer the conversation to different waters, and quite frankly things were getting a bit to awkward for me with the whole Mars bowing and stuff.

“my lord, we have a total of eight thousand three hundred and forty two dark elves and vampires currently undergoing training. And of this numbers two thousand of them have already been split into specialized squads and units. The other six thousand are still undergoing training and once more individual talents surfaces they would also be split into specialized units.

So far we have four specialized units. We have the dire wolves, which is completely made up off soldiers who have talents in scouting, tracking, and guerrilla warfare. They are light on their feet and a very mobile battle unit.

Next we have the wraiths, this group of talented men and women are tailored specifically for assassination missions, infiltration, and espionage missions. They are highly trained combatants, in fact the very best. Not to mention a host of other skills that will see them blend in any environment and have them adapt in any situation. Of course all this explanation is giving due to the end game and vision I have for each of this units. It would take a while before they all get to the very top of their fields as they are all still in training.

Next my lord we have the berserkers, while there are no real berserkers among us here considering the race has already been wiped out, I felt the need to use their name for this unit. The berserkers are in a nutshell a part of our front line fighters. But in a whole other different dimension than what is expected of front line fighters. As their name suggest I want them to be true to meaning of the word berserk. This unit is made up of what I can only describe as the most battle thirsty and wild fighters of all the soldiers training here. They would not be put in a file or in any formation of any sort. The moment they enter the battlefield, there should be only one outcome…… total carnage.”

Mars took a break to catch his breath. He seemed a little overwhelmed as he described the units he had put together. I was really impressed though, to me it seemed as if Mars had put a lot of thought into the formation of the army. The very scope and scale of the whole thing had my mind spinning with countless possibilities and fantasies.

Imagine the level of destruction a group of battle hungry maniacs with superiors speed, strength and senses could cause when they are dropped right into the middle of the battlefield. Mars was right, it would be pure carnage.

“as we were my lord. The final unit can also be considered front line fighters. In fact they are the more traditional unit among our army. The raptors are what I have decided to call them. Raptors are vicious cousins to dragons my lord, but they are more lizard than winged serpent. They do not fly, but they are equipped with one of the most powerful legs among most land predators. they are fast, agile killers, but what they are truly feared for is the fact that they roam in little colonies of fifty to eighty individual raptors. They don’t play well with each other sometimes and love to pick fights with animals bigger and stronger than them. But somehow they always win, do you know why me lord?”

I shook my head in reply to his question.

“Hehehe then I will tell you. They fight together, and in a very coordinated manner. Apart from wolves, and lions no other predator comes close to them in pure animalistic strategy, cohesion and brutality. And all for the glory of a kill way bigger than them. Our raptors fight in files and ranks, they fight with spears and shields. But they are trained to never fight alone. Even if they all arranged in a formation, among that formation small pockets groups of six fighters are grouped together as partners, as brothers, as pack mates. The one rule they follow is to never ever fight alone. They don’t fight their enemies in singles combat, no, no, no not at all my lord. They virtually gang up on them. They are never to fight fair neither will they respect the rules of engagement, and as such they are the most populated unit in the whole army. So what do you think lord Kael, did I do good?”

This was probably a side of Mars not many people get to see. But it was quite obvious this guy had a hard on for all things military. To be honest I was quite freaked out by the sudden change of character, it was a rapid jump from the reserved, calm and manipulative politician I knew him to be. Now he changed into an enthusiastic almost insane army buff. What the hell was going on?

“I have to say Mars this impressive. The thoughts which you have put into the formation of our armed forces is quite admirable. You have my respect on this matter.”

Mars bowed his head In respect as his said

“ my esteem thanks lord Kael, I didn’t do much, I only hope my little contribution goes a long way in ensuring our survival.”

I nodded my head in reply as I said to him with utmost sincerity.

“They will.” As my gaze swept over the gathered soldiers, even with their lack of equipment and the fact that most of them had nothing by rags on, they still portrayed a formidable sight.

And not just because of their numbers or how they were organized, no. It was mainly due to the look in their eyes, there was such conviction in them that I could not help but be thankful I was not on the opposite end of a battle field from them. They had an aura of power the likes which I was sure I would never be able to understand, but it was an aura that gave me hope.

Turning around I motioned for Mars to follow behind me with a tilt of my head. With my inspection of the army done, everything was in order for out visit from the Nagas. The only thing left to do was sit back and pray. Because regardless of how much we have prepared or hard we train. Our enemies had an advantage over us, and that advantage was the way. Their access to the system gave them classes, skills, and the very powerful ability to use magic. There was not much we could do against such an arsenal.

“My lord there seems to be much on your mind.” Mars asked as he walked beside me.

I gave a sigh of tiredness as I kicked a pebble in leisure and contemplation as we walked past pillars that reflected the dim blue if the blue district. Some part to me felt it was not a right move showing such weakness in front of someone who I should most definitely consider a rival and an enemy. But I just couldn’t bring my self to care.

“Mars if you were king, how would you have handled everything that’s been happening?”

Mars broke out into a laugh as he shook his head from side to side as if to shake the humor off. Though I couldn’t understand what he found funny.

“with due respect lord Kael, I would never have accepted such a position even if there was knife pointed to my neck.”

His reply was curt and filled with resolution. I knew he meant each and every word he said, which was a quite surprising to me. I was under the impression that Mars was one of the people who were quite unhappy with the fact that my popularity amongst the common folk had planted the responsibility of leadership right to my doorstep on a silver platter without having to do much.

“Why?”

When I asked that question, Mars had a look that I couldn’t read on his face. For a moment I thought he was not going to say anything, then he gave a nonchalant shrug and said to me.

“such a position of power would have painted a huge target on my back. Over the years we spent as prisoners in the pit, the nobles have formed a balance of power amongst each other. There was nothing much to hide neither was there anything much to gain by subjugating each other. We were at an impasse, a stalemate, call it a stand off if you will, but it was something we were all comfortable with. We knew what to expect from each other and as such we were able to coexist peacefully.

But should there be a king, the balance of power would be thrown in disarray, the little freedom and comfort zone we have been able to build for ourselves in this hell would be gone. We would have to answer to someone else. And while most would argue that as prisoners we answered to the humans and the werewolves that watched us, we all felt that it was different. They were outsiders, enemies and our captors.

But to answer to someone who is a part of us, someone who we considered an equal, was not something we were too keen on. No one wanted a master, well at least those of us in power. Because with a king we would be forced to do what we don’t want, live the way we never wanted. Fight when we don’t want too, sacrifice what we cherish and live and die on the command of one man or woman.

As a race, and as individuals we are much to power hungry to be happy about such a thing. So lord Kael, if I was in your position I wouldn’t know what to do, because honestly I don’t want to be in your position. But if you need my honest opinion, keep doing what you’re doing now, loath as a lot of us are to admit. You’re doing a good job, and in this time of crisis someone like you is who we need to shine a light and lead the way.”

I was somewhat touched by Mars's opinion of me. Of course I knew that just because we had this conversation it didn’t automatically make us friends. In fact with Mars knowing of how much I doubted myself it gave him enough cards and leeway to find out how to control me and keep my influence and power to a minimum.

But at least for now, there was an accord between us. I know my job has not been easy, and I meant every word I said when I regretted agreeing to be king, because seriously who just suddenly agrees to be king. I felt like an idiot for not reading the fine print more properly, but there was nothing much I could do about it now. All I could do was make the best out of this situation.

“Mars how is the reception if Xaseah among the people?”

“My lord she……”

BOOM!!!!!!!!

The sound of the explosion made it seem like someone had struck a drum deep within my chest. I felt the tremors and the shakes as its aftermath made itself known. I turned to Mars and all I needed for confirmation was the hardened look in his eyes. He blinked and said.

“It seems our visitors are here my lord.”

And then I replied to him with my gaze moving towards the direction of the tunnel.

“And it seems they have just received our welcoming gift. Round up your soldiers Mars, we have guests.”