5 Ch. 6

1220 A.D.

I wasn't entirely sure where I'd ended up, but I thought I was somewhere on the east coast of South America. I'd spent the last several decades building what basically amounted to a cult. It was rather easy to convince humans to follow me when my blood was actually a healing agent and I offered eternal life. We'd traveled as nomads for seven decades, moving along and gathering up newcomers as we went.

It turned out to be incredibly easy to run a cult when one was immortal and could back up one's claims with true power. Now, my first follower's children had had children, and those children were now in their twenties and absolutely loyal to me. They'd never known anything but me, their leader and savior, the reason they were never injured or sick for longer than a day.

I didn't just have their loyalty, I had their adoration, their devotion. And soon that devotion would be eternal. Smiling at the thought I looked over my community as they all gathered in the large cavern we'd hollowed out over the last month for this purpose. No sunlight here, torches were the only light in the dark chamber.

Looking down from the throne of rock they'd carved out for me, I gazed upon my kneeling followers in silence. I'd had them fasting for the last week to show their devotion and it meant they were also all completely free of my blood as well. With a gesture, fifty of my people moved forward, all young and relatively attractive. They wore robes of red where everyone else wore robes of white. These were my best, my chosen, and they knew it too.

They stepped up to the table beneath my throne and one at a time, drank from the goblets of blood found there. I watched on with approval, as they all stepped back and knelt before me, simultaneously pulling out knives and very slowly cut their own throats. Soon enough I had fifty corpses knelt before me, mostly only kept upright by their proximity to one another, the bodies having ended up leaning on each other for support.

There was silence for several long moments, before I began hearing murmurs from those still alive. My eyes flashed red in the torch light and silenced them, the entire community catching sight of my eyes and staring in silent awe. I had planned this out meticulously and the next phase would be starting quiet soon.

A few minutes later, my children woke to a new world, the entire line of red robed bodies coming back to life at the same time. They looked at each other with wide eyes, most glancing down at the bloodied hole in their robes where they'd stabbed themselves in the heart, touching it with their hands before looking at me with entirely new reverence.

It was at this time that those who still wore white took their own knives from their robes and slowly drew the blades across their hands. The newly made vampires before me immediately found their attention diverted, turning as one to the smell of human blood now exposed to the air. My smile slowly grew as they moved towards the human fodder I'd provided.

Everyone knew their part in the plan, everyone knew their place in the new order I'd promised. It was time for those in white robes to ascend as a reward for their sacrifice. I sat calmly and watched as my new vampires tore apart those who used to be their friends and family for the precious blood in their veins. The feast went on for an hour before all of my new children had regained control of themselves.

More than a few were understandably in hysterics, but while most looked to me for guidance, a few fled for the entrance of the cave. I let them go, watching as they returned within moments with burnt flesh, screaming of how the sun caused such great pain now. This caused more of the new vampires to begin to go into hysterics as well, until I finally took control of the situation.

"Silence," I hissed out, immediately attracting the attention of every single immortal in the cave, they had after all been taught to defer to me all their lives. Slowly I stood from the throne and looked down upon them all. They immediately calmed and moved back into a line, kneeling before me and waiting for further word from me.

I was more than a little pleased at seeing that their conditioning remained intact through the transition. As I looked over them, I saw a lot of emotions, but in the majority of them I still saw trust in me, their savior. With a smile I pulled free a very special bag I'd been keeping safe for seventy five years for this very purpose. I opened it and pulled free one of the small enchanted rings, beckoning a young girl with bright red hair forward with the hand holding the ring.

She moved forward carefully but with purpose, no hesitation in her at all as she approached and I handed her the ring. She frowned as she found that it did not fit any of her fingers, causing me to laugh before telling her gently, "It is meant to go on your toe my dear." She blinked at that before removing the slippers they were all wearing and placing the small unobtrusive piece of jewelry on one of her toes.

After she'd put her slippers back on I smiled and clasped my hand on the side of her neck, locking gazes with her, "Now be a dear and go outside, have a little fun and luxuriate in the sun, but then, come back alright?" I reinforced my statement with compulsion to make sure she returned and then released her so she could rush off to go outside. I beckoned the next of my children forward and continued the process with each of them.

The first returned soon enough and spoke to those still in line of how the sun did not harm her and how she'd never felt more free or powerful. Eventually all fifty of my new day-walkers got a taste of the sun on their skin without burning, and all fifty of them were back inside kneeling before me. I smiled benevolently as I looked them over before asking a question, "Who am I to you my children?"

The reply came from every mouth at the same time, drilled into them from the time they could speak, "The Master."

I look at them all with affection, "And now that you've all ascended to immortality, you are my disciples. It is time to reaffirm the Oath you took when you became adults, as you are now reborn."

Gesturing once more to the young woman who'd received the first daylight ring, I waited patiently as she approached and knelt before me. Smiling I stepped up to stand before her, placing my hands on her cheeks and turning her face up towards mine. Gazing into her eyes, I said "Repeat after me." And then initiated the compulsion and began to speak. I'd been refining this so-called Oath for decades now through the use of my human cult.

"You will obey the Master. The Master's work comes above all else and his goals and plans are your goals and your plans. You will not kill mortals unless they threaten your life or your freedom. You will not reveal your true nature unless it is unavoidable. You will not seek public leadership. Ours is to guide from the shadows."

I smiled as she repeated the Oath word for word back to me, replacing the you's and your's with I's and my's. When she was done, I released her and let her step back, letting the next step forward and once more compelling them as they spoke the Oath. Eventually I was through all fifty of my new disciples and I smiled, looking them over for a long moment before nodding slowly.

"Wonderful. You have all taken the first step on the path towards perfection. With me as your guide, you will be able to achieve true enlightenment."

I was channeling insane cult leader pretty hard by this point, but my loyal disciples ate it up, adoration across their faces as they stared up at me. I figured given time that adoration might fade, but if I had to I could always slaughter the lot and start over fresh. Grinning at that particularly heartless thought, I gestured for them to all rise. As they stood I stepped amongst them, before moving passed them and towards the entrance to the cave.

-x-X-x-

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