With his leather bound journal in hand, Edward Callaghan strode through the stone hallway. He noticed the brightly colored tapestries hung on the wall. Each one carefully crafted to depict the reigns of kings from the different centuries. Respectively every tapestry was required to include an illustration of a lion to pay homage to the first king of the monarchy. The first ruler, King Kristopher shaped the Golden Oracle monarchy which brought peace to the warring Dulra and Vilkros. In the thirteenth century the Malagi joined the dominion. And for several centuries each supernatural species lived in harmony with each other. The Golden Oracle Council’s first decree was the monarchy would rotate kings between the Dulra, the Vilkros and the Malagi. Now, it was the reign of a Dulra king, the vampire King Nathanial.

Edward proudly contributed to the kingdom as a liaison between the king and his vampire constituents. He had humbly accepted the position after the previous king convinced him his diplomatic tendencies would be an asset to the kingdom. Edward was reborn as a vampire in the middle ages, which gave him a more mature perspective that his constituents respected. Edward fondly remembered the previous king, King Lucas as a good friend and a strong and fair leader for the community. Lucas was a member of the Vilkros, a shapeshifter that could transform into a beast like creature.

From the hallway, Edward entered a vast room with high vaulted ceilings. A long wooden table sat squarely in the middle of the main hall. This castle chamber operated as a meeting area for the king and his members of the royal court. The room remained vacant except for Edward as he laid his journal down on the table and took a seat. He sat in silence for a couple minutes until a few members of court entered the hall speaking amongst themselves. Edward did not take any offence that the few men did not even greet him or speak with him. King Nathanial’s royal court was very different than how it had been under King Lucas’s rule. In this kingdom the vampires were not as friendly and more of social climbers.

Edward understood his presence in Nathanial’s royal court was not due to his accomplishments but merely that Nathanial was his brother-in-law. The Dulra considered family as sacred. His wife Brianna was turned by Virgil, the same vampire who turned Nathanial. When Edward was a mortal in his early fourties, he met Brianna and they fell in love. With his consent she turned him into a vampire twenty-four years ago and they had been married ever since. Even though they were both vampires, their relationship was very traditional. Brianna and Edward wanted a family, but the Council forbid turning children into vampires. Therefore, they adopted mortal children to raise as their own.

Glancing at the young faces seated at the table, Edward estimated that he was the oldest Dulra in the room. Some of the men in the royal court had only been vampires for a couple years. He knew Nathanial recruited young men from the village Tipperary and turned them himself.

Noise from several conversations reverberated in the chamber room as more members began to fill the room to capacity. Edward observed a small group of young men breeze into the main hall and as they separated, he spotted Nathanial. His crisp top and slim pants accentuated the height and stature of the platinum blonde vampire. Brianna explained that even as a mortal Nathanial held himself with a certain poise and self-assurance. Their father Virgil selected him with the intention of molding and shaping Nathanial to become a strong leader. Edward always felt that Nathanial was capable of being a great leader, except he allows his ego to interfere.

A hush fell over the room as Nathanial strolled to his seat at the head of the table. Edward was surprised that the vampire did not bring along his pretty wife. He enjoyed their time after the meetings to engage in thoughtful discussions. Isabella was incredibly timid during the meetings, but he could tell the young woman paid attention. Edward found her intelligent, shy and he could sense her gift of the magical arts. He was initially shocked when Nathanial announced he had taken a wife, but he and Brianna welcomed the homesick young witch. They took the time to introduce her to life within the castle.

Nathanial at the head of the table spoke. “Thank you for meeting this evening with short notice. The Council met this morning, and we need to discuss how we can implement their latest decision for female Malagi to produce an heir within the year. Does anyone have any suggestions?” The blonde man gazed out at the crowd of young men for an answer. Edward turned in his chair to glimpse of any advisors willing to speak. Nathanial spoke. “Really. Nobody has any ideas.” In response a brunette man spoke. “Sir, most of the Malagi in the royal court have children, and we cannot find any witches in the countryside.”

Nathanial asked the brunette man. “Are you saying there are no female Malagi in the country?” To which another member of royal court added. “There are witches outside of the kingdom, but they are in hiding. We cannot locate them.”

“What do you mean you cannot locate them? Why would they hide from us?” Nathanial continued inquiring his group of members. A shaggy blonde haired man answered. “When we relocated members of the Malagi to the kingdom, which included your wife sir, families have taken it upon themselves to hide their witches from us.”

Edward noted the act as a sign of distrust towards the monarchy, and he waited for Nathanial’s response. “By moving the strongest witches to the kingdom, we are offering protection. Have they forgotten that the mortals have begun witch trials and burning them at the stake?” Nathanial expressed. “That is enough. Send out more troops and bring the Malagi women back to the kingdom.” Edward inwardly balked at the demand as he heard the witches and warlocks outside of the kingdom resented the presence of the king’s soldiers. There were even rumours that the troops had been feeding off the blood of livestock which brought unwanted attention from the mortals.

Nathanial fell quiet for a moment as the members of the royal court watched him. The vampire slowly spoke. “Better yet, send out invitations for a competition for all able bodied warlocks. The winner of the competition gets to bed the Queen for her to produce an heir. When the warlocks leave their families behind, then we strike out to locate the witches.” Edward ran his hand through his hair as his mind tried to wrap around the boldness and insensitivity of the plan. Edward felt pity towards the young witch as she was about to be used as a pawn.

With coldness in his eyes Nathanial gazed at the members. “Any other concerns?”

The shaggy blonde haired man raised his hand and received a nod from Nathanial. “Sir, one of the Vilkros clans, the…” Another man leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Yes, the Lilo Clan has some concerns about a sacred site in the territory of the Canavr Clan. The Lilo Clan wanted to discuss if the territories could be redrawn to leave this sacred site open to all clan members?”

Nathanial shook his head. “The territories have been drawn up. The Canavr Clan would expect some type of reimbursement for the loss of land, and I am not giving them any extra land.”

Edward familiar with working on Vilkros territory issues with Lucas responded. “Sir, we could at least ask the Canavr Clan if they would consider sharing the sacred site.” The senior vampire still felt slightly ashamed he did not challenge Nathanial on his earlier call for competition for the Queen’s heir. He felt the ice glaze of the king upon him. The king stated. “No, the matter has been dropped. Any other concerns?”

“Sir, are we still going ahead with the dozen new recruits? Will we have enough blood supply for twelve extra guards?” A member of the royal court asked him.

Nathanial stood up as he answered. “Yes, of course we will. We have always found volunteers willing to give their blood. What a stupid question.” King Nathanial waved his hand. “That is all the questions I am in the mood for. You are all dismissed.” The platinum blond vampire left the room quickly leaving the remaining occupants stunned at his decisions. Edward especially felt his stomach churn with the thought of poor Isabella cast as a prize in some demented competition. He knew his wife Brianna would be horribly upset at the news. But he was struck by an idea. Edward knew of a clan of powerful warlocks run by his dear friend Drummond. Maybe he could recruit a decent upstanding warlock to aid dear sweet Isabella.