Athan hadn't spoken a cordial word to anyone since joining the small party at the conclave doors when it was time for the meeting. He had chosen to take a more observatory feel to things.
Things were not looking up as they usually did whenever he reappeared from his frequent wanderings, a trait that had lost him the love and warmth of most members of his immediate family. His ego and pride didn't help his case.
His pride was at an all-time high when it had been time for his father to choose a successor. He had been so sure he would be the one to command the Ulthu, the only vampire king who had the sense to sentence Tobias to death and declare a war on the inferior species. A world of vampires and any surviving specie sounded perfectly nice to his ears.
He had been grossly disappointed.
