Celestial Clans: The vampire prince's origin

Dead but Alive

All of Havana had been waiting for any official information for days. The Vampire King was finally going to address the people on what exactly had taken place on the 20th of July when the heir to the throne was born. The Prince had not been presented to the people and the rumors were beginning to spread. Some claiming the Prince had been abducted from the palace with others going as far as claiming that the palace had been attacked by demons from the hellish plane itself. Darien had decided to wait a little while his contact on the earthly plane searched for his son, it had been futile though because after investing resources in the search they were still left without a trace. Whoever had Prince Valentine was very good at covering their tracks. The royal family of the vampire clan had immeasurable wealth from human owned companies they financed as well as numerous investments and the properties they owned legally all around the world. This wealth meant King Darien could do whatever he wanted on the earthly plane and get whatever he needed on normal occasions, but this time his wealth was proving ineffective in finding his only child. His contact on earth had found nothing; it was as if his son just vanished from the forest in Romania into nothingness. He felt someone could be hiding the Prince but a part of him feared the worst, what if his son was dead already?

Queen Anna had not spoken to him in days and he knew she was mad at him. She felt he made a big mistake by taking their son out of the palace in the first place and now they couldn’t find him or even get news regarding the well being of their new born. She had no idea he had left their child on the earthly plane and Darien had no plans of letting her know, it would only give her hope that their baby was safe and he knew that would only hurt her even more in the long run. He was going to do the best thing for her, their son and all of Havana. He was going to have to lie and move past this tragedy. He walked out the massive front doors and made his way to the palace gates with his guards behind him.

He wore his black royal attire today instead of the red and carried no weapons on him; he needed to keep everyone calm. It was going to break a lot of hearts but it was going to help them heal faster as well, most importantly it would leave Valentine safe if he was actually still alive on earth. Darien was the only one aware of the strange fact that his son was born a normal human, he had come to believe that if the boy was still alive then maybe growing with humans and being as far away from the world of vampires, mages, demons, kravians and all forms of celestial essence would be best for him. Being human was better than being dead and the King hoped with all his barely beating heart that the baby he left on earth was still alive and well, his heir of prophecy.

He was lost in thought when he finally reached the gates of the palace but was quickly forced back to reality when the cameras of the many journalists waiting just outside the gates for his royal address began flashing before him rapidly. He composed himself as soon as the flashes began; it was something he had gotten used to after growing up in the spotlight of the celestial clans from when he was just a young vampire destined to one day sit on the throne.

8:00 am

25TH July, 1974

Bloodhaven Palace, Bloodhaven city

Havana

The Vampire King stood in front of the cameras and behind the mobile podium that had been set up for his address. The microphones were everywhere now with every media outlet in Havana eager to get the exact details of the Vampire King’s speech and dissect every word. Every word he was going to say and every expression his face was going to carry would be broadcasted on various news channels across the different big cities in Havana. The mages had proceeded to use magic spells to help transmit the King’s address across their world as well. The few Kravian packs that had gotten control of their animal instincts and had learned to understand spoken words were living in the mountains far south of the mage cities and would also receive the address even though they had no concern with the affairs of the other clans. The flashes stopped and all of Havana from Bloodhaven in the Northern part down to the southern mountains became instantly quiet, everyone in Havana stopping to hear what the King of the strongest Celestial Clan had to say.

“People of Havana I stand here today with fury and sadness driving me to take drastic decisions, I stand here to tell you that I have been betrayed by a friend and the results have been fatal. This attack affects not just my family, not just my palace, not just my city, not just the vampire clan and probably not just Havana but the earthly plane. On the 20th of July, my wife and I welcomed our first child into this world; Vlad Dracul Valentine was born healthy and strong. The palace was attacked by Kravians in an attempt at a coup d’état at the exact time my son took his first breath. He was just born and he was already being threatened by a violent death. I proceeded to take him out of the Palace myself through a secret exit and keep him as far away from the attack as possible, unfortunately and unexpectedly I was ambushed somewhere between Bloodhaven and the Bleeding heart forest. The Prince was killed there, my son is dead. My wife and I as well as our respective families are still trying to recover from this, but we have decided to face our enemies squarely and ensure the continuous safety of the vampire clan.” The King said then paused for some seconds to look around at the faces behind the cameras staring at him with say eyes.

He knew the Prince already had the unquestionable loyalty of the vampire clan even before he was born. He was not even born yet but already had loyal subjects who adored him even before he was actually born. The prophecy about him had brought excitement to the various clans and had cemented his right to the throne. As the news of the death spread round the various news channels and on the magical transmission, the pain was felt by every person in Havana and Darien could feel the collective hurt of everyone else as he stood in front of the podium. “What makes his death more painful is the fact that all the attacks we experienced on that day were masterminded by someone all of Bloodhaven and Crimson trusted. The person responsible for the death of my son and the death of many other loyal subjects in the palace that day was the Chief Mage Hazar Belema.” Darien said and paused as the collective and audible gasp of everyone in the city watching the news live reverberated through the city. It was expected that everyone would be shocked and they were not wrong, Hazar was the Vampire Kings most trusted friend and partner. They spent time together and were rumored to even visit the earthly plane together from time to time, they were friends spanning more than a decade at this point.

“I understand that we are all surprised by this betrayal and maybe some of you are even as deeply wounded about it as I am. The Chief Mage was a close friend and his betrayal stung. We were able to capture him shortly after the Prince’s death and end the spells he had casted to aid the coup. At that point I had the thought to kill him but as a King it was not beyond my power to show mercy on an old friend. For that reason I left him alive and punished him in a different way. Hazar Belema is no longer the Chief Mage of Havana, after meeting with the Mage council we decided to strip him of his title and authority. The mage council deemed it fit to let me pass a befitting sentence on an old friend who killed my son and I did just that. Hazar Belema was banished from Havana in perpetuity. He has been teleported to the normal earthly plane where he will live out the remainder of his days with humanity and start his life afresh. I think that would be the worst punishment for anyone who has lived their whole life enjoying the freedom and protection Havana offers” Darien said then cleared his throat silently before going on. “Furthermore, a new Chief Mage will be elected by the Mage council in a weeks’ time and be communicated to the citizens of the great cities as soon as possible. The vampire clan will maintain its alliance and bond with the mage clan that has existed since the time of the first vampire king Dracula and the first Chief Mage Jarim. However, owing to the possibility that a Chief Mage could one day again rise to challenge a vampire king for selfish reasons, The Chief Mage will no longer be allowed to live in the palace with the King from now on. The mages will only visit the palace on predetermined days for meetings and leave that same day. Our relationship will remain as strong as ever but we will also be cautious from now on, it is only right to learn from the mistakes of the past and losing a member of the royal family to treachery from another clan is a big mistake that should never be repeated. This is all the information I will be passing on today, in addition to that a 6 day mourning period will commence from tomorrow in honor of all those who died in an attempt to protect the palace as well as the Prince who died without ever truly being alive. I remain Vlad Dracul Darien son of Vlad Dracul Maximus, King of the Vampire Clan.” He said calmly and walked off the podium with the same poise he had walked to it with, seemingly unfazed by the loss of his son and heir. He proceeded to walk through the palace gates that were shut immediately leaving the reporters asking questions but with nobody to answer them.

He walked into the throne room and proceeded up the stairs to sit on the throne that all his ancestors had sat on and controlled the affairs of Havana for millennia. He looked up to the high ceilings and was lost in thought again, his mind pondered seriously the possibility of his son being alive on earth and growing as a mere human. It would ensure his safety from the dangers that came with ruling an entire clan in Havana but at the same time Darien could not just get rid of the feeling that his son’s destiny as prophesied years ago was only just beginning. He still believed that there was a grand fate at work here that would find a way to make things happen. He was brought out of his thought by the sound of quick footsteps walking from the entrance of the door and through the throne room to the base of the staircase leading up to the great throne itself.

“Darien, you told me we were still looking for our son. What is all this you just said on the news then? You just told all of Havana that our baby boy is dead. How do you expect me to keep having hope if everyone else gives up?” The Queen said looking up to her husband who was already walking down the stairs immediately she walked in and holding her in a tight embrace by the time she finished speaking.

“Anna, we just have to let him go. I think this is beyond what we can see at the moment; there might be something else at work here. For now just find a way to keep moving forward with me. We were not the ones who gave the prophecy Anna; we should not be the ones to ensure it comes to pass.” King Darien said now moving back from the embrace and holding her face in his hands. “If our son is actually dead then it would be a shame because we would have been wonderful parents, but if he is alive then it means we were never the ones meant to raise him. It should all be a part of his journey then and we should respect that.”

“He is just a baby Darien.” Anna said sadly

“I know that dear. I know that and I am really worried myself, but it is out of our control now. We should try to make this place as safe as possible for any future children we have. W e should not give up on everything just like that, we are much more stubborn than the universe knows and we will show it.” Darien said in an attempt to calm his wife down and then hugged her again. He was going to keep searching for their son for as long as it took, it would be hard to find a normal human being living among normal human beings, but he was going to keep trying and hope that one of these days, fate would also smile at him and all of Havana.