One & Only: Divulge

CH1-III

My input was in the form of reaching an amicable agreement on who to be trusted to lead the investigation form one of the clans. This was important as the incentive was to get payment from each of the clans present and thus a source of income that could very well put the investigator as one of the richest clans in the region. However, this had to be done before the day of the annual social ball yet the council members were misbehaving. It was making me irritated but that was only until the werebear clan decided to accuse the Sun-Vampire Clan of being the master mind of the attacks and kidnapping. My interest was piqued since even though my knowledge of the old, it was shocking it was for us to find out especially since we didn't even know at the time that there could be so many species of vampires. I found at then that they were mainly classified based on their facial features, body characteristics and what was their weaknesses the same reason why the Sun-Vampire Clan. All the dead bodies had their eyes removed. This was significant because they were the only supers that despite moving during the day, could not clearly see in presence of the sunlight. A curse believed to originate form their touch on the dark side of vampirism.

The sun-vampires were a happy bunch of the time, bubbly but deadly. They could move at daytime which was when they were very active. Their skin looked tanned all the time even during winter when they went into hibernation. Their biggest weakness was the moon. It was like they burned when under its illumination which is weird when you think about it because the moon reflected the sun's rays. Legend was that they angered the moon goddess a long time ago during the war of the heavenly. This tribe were also famously associated with buff bodies and they loved water and open seas. They lived along coastlines. When they got old, they were known to have grey wings which they could easily hide with glamour. It wasn't weird that the were-bear clan was accusing them. It's weird to know of people who were happy all the time because you could never figure out if they hated you. The were-bear clan were a simple bunch. There expressions were easy to read, when they got angry you would know, if they were happy you would know, their sadness was chaotic every time. It applied to the almost all were-lupines and among the were species, only the were-birds were a difficult to read.

"That's enough!" I spoke softly and yet my voice reverberated in the room.

I had tried shouting in our first meeting and they had all been sick for almost a week from a mixture of fear, and anxiety. They couldn't go home in their state so they stayed in 'the reserve' for a week. It took so much from me to soothe them and get them back to the courageous, arrogant, and defiant creatures I had met. I slept for three days after they were all gone. If you'd seen them you could have thought they were kids who'd been given ice-cream then it was taken back. I hated feeling all these powerful over them and the way they would cower when we met in the hall made me uncomfortable. It was constantly tiring and I kept wondering how psychiatrists in the world lived through that every day. It gave me new respect for them. Especially considering how many of them I had gone through with my mother's constant need to know more about me. I wished she would still do the same, but my position was something that she seemed to have failed to accept and as such given up on me.

"I understand the Sun-Vampires are offended but I would also like to hear why the Werebears would accuse them. I am sure they have talked of this in length." I said talking straight to the man who had voiced the accusation.

He slumped in his seat and tried to hide himself. I knew he had talked out of speculation and rumors but he looked apologetic enough that the Sun-Vampires were appeased with me chastising the clan. He turned to the accused and apologized for which I smiled and, in my mind, hugged both of them causing a whimper and then smiles. The other council members laughed at this but they all knew how it felt so it was like laughing with them.

After that, we fell into a discussion trying to come up with viable solutions. I wanted them to deal with it as a council and not involve me so much on the hands-on part since I needed to be neutral in my involvement at all costs. I was also known to instill fear just by being mentioned, something that would lead the perpetrators into deep hiding. The fear was ridiculous and it came from the fact that the prisoners who were brought into the "front" were never seen again. The constant rumors of me feeding on them were going around and since no one bothered to correct them, they came to be believed to be true.

Another ridiculous rumor was that my power came from the souls of the innocent children I was murdering in secret at night which apparently was one of the reasons that a cult in sacrifices had also pooped up. Though the cult had quickly been squashed in its infancy, there were still clans that practiced offering by segregating certain children each year to live in seclusion in an effort to maintain their purity and pay homage to my way of life. Sometimes I sat laughing as the dragon told me the latest monstrosity that I was. She said it was a good thing that the rumors were there as it kept the enemies away. This convinced me that some of those rumors were started by her.

The meeting went on until early the next morning and the council had decided to send in spies from each of their communities and the information would be used to formulate a plan. What had delayed the decision was the need for plan b, c, d and so on and if all failed, I was besieged to be plan z.

"My Liege, the clans are planning a conjoined training regime for a month and have raised a request to invite you." The spokesperson of the council told me.

They could not officially call me by my full title since I was yet to be properly announced and they could not call by my name because it would be disrespectful so they had all decided to always just talk to me as overall leader without really addressing my official position. It was lonely to have no one call me by my name but this was my destiny what could I say?

"Wouldn't that draw too much attention away from the function itself?" I questioned.

"We think it will give the warriors motivation especially since we also expect you to help in choosing the next generation of the council. Most of us think we should be retiring soon." he said then looked down, "the death of your predecessor took a toll on us. "

"I see, it's obvious you have all thought this through carefully." I said looking at all of them. "I will attend but choices of the council members have to come from you and your communities. I will not interfere with that."

"Understood. Thank you." He spoke.

"May prosperity and humility guide your way home." I told them touched their supernatural chords and I left for my sleeping chambers. The tug on their supernatural chords was more intimate than petting, and more than hug yet it was the only interactive way that made sense for me especially since the chords were very visible to only me. The tug also acted as a way for me to understand their loyalty bonds to my position and leadership. While I felt nothing from it, it seemed to give motivation and even more resolve to everyone I did this to. The strings of these bonds could only be clear whenever my conscious deemed importance and though them I could easily find what was going on in the kingdom but the first lesson that I received from the voices of the old was that, it was the clan's responsibilities to solve their problems. My input comes only when the bond truly called for it.

I had another meeting with the inner council in a few days in preparation for the oncoming social ball. There was a lot I needed to learn and that was all I was thinking as I went to sleep.

It was tiring to have power over my privacy.

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Thank you for reading my story. Have Fun!!