As a teenager, King Leon decided he wanted to delve into the historical roots of the Rathegalia House, and uncover new land to settle. His father, Astor’s grandfather, King Simon Rathegalia, thought it was a great idea. It would give Leon a first-hand education in the lands and people he would one day rule,as well as teach him how to build a community from the ground up, and govern people justly. Thus, he set off in search of a foreign land, along with plenty of troops, resources, and most importantly, confidence.

The next 100 years or so were long ones, but Leon learned much about the kingdom, vampires, and how to be a leader. Along their way, they were responsible for governing different vampire villages and settlements whenever they were present, and the local vampire leaders could not come to a settlement on disputes or reach a verdict on a trial. Leon showed great reason, logical thinking, and fairness through these times, making his name ring out across the kingdom as being a wise prince. From there, his legend only grew more.

Once he found a rough terrain worthy of conquering, he began to work with his fellow vampires to settle it. They cleared the area of wild beasts, began digging wells for aima, built small buildings, and collected whatever resources they could from the area. What he discovered was that there was a series of caves nearby that were riddled with a precious stone similar to rubies. They were valuable, and mining these caves could provide a huge financial boost for those in need. Therefore, he sent out dispatchers with notices to numerous struggling towns outside of the developed cities, sending them word that work and money awaited them in his new settlement he named Simelle, a combination of his mother’s and father’s names. Soon enough, miners and others seeking a new start ventured into Simelle.

Leon established a fine-tuned system there. The people would mine the caves. Then, Leon would sell them to vampire rulers in other houses and cities. He would then take a small percentage of that money to use for fixing up the settlement and improving it. The rest of the money was all redistributed to the miners evenly. Leon did not keep a penny for himself. Every bit of money went directly into Simelle, or the pockets of the workers. This attracted professionals of other trades, and soon all types of vampires were living their. Simelle was a sight to see. It was also there that Leon met Astor’s mother, Neshtina Serdin of the prominent vampire family, the House of Serdin.

The Serdins had taken an interest in Simelle, and wished to become a partner with Leon and the Rathegalias in helping expand the town into a major city. Their family excelled in the world of resourcing natural materials of high value, and Leon knew they would be a perfect fit. Plus, he wanted to keep Neshtina in Simelle, so the two could get to know each other. So, Leon allowed them to come in and help organize the town, while overseeing the mining of the cave systems. It was another wise decision, as over the next 75 years the Serdins took Simelle to all new heights, with exponential growth in wealth and business.

Soon, Simelle was one of the most renowned cities. Wealthy and influential vampires flocked from all over the kingdoms to live there. Leon was also extremely close with Neshtina by this time, and the two had developed a deep love for one another. Thus, they were married in Simelle in a grand ceremony. King Simon Rathegalia and Queen Marcelle came all the way out, along with other members of the royal Rathegalia family, and all the Serdins were present as well. It was a glorious occasion; one that saw Leon and Neshtina become the first ruling couple of Simelle.

However, their stay was short after they wed, for on the way back to Vrykolakas, both King Simon and Queen Marcelle died in a terrible accident. Their caravan was traveling through the narrow roads of the North Friki Mountains, and some quarreling beasts up above caused a rock slide. The boulders hit most of the carriages, sending them down the mountainside. Those who weren’t killed were saved by the remaining caravan members who did not get hit. Then, they sent word back to Leon. He was devastated, for he felt responsible. If they had not come to Simelle for his wedding, they would still be alive. He tortured himself over the fact he insisted on getting married in his town, instead of in Castle Rathegalia, like all his ancestors did for millennia. Neshtina was able to comfort him, though, and she helped him through the hard times, as they had to transition back to Vrykolakas to take over the vampire kingdoms as king and queen.

The rest was history, as Astor put it, all the way up until when they were both killed during the final battle against the evil warlord. I placed my hand on my friend’s shoulder, as he continued to stare at the weapons and armor of his father. Then, he mentioned how the evil warlord must have ordered the items be placed in the case, since he was the one who killed Leon. This infuriated Astor, for the evil warlord did not place the items in the armory, next to all the other historical weapons, because he cared about preserving the family history. He displayed the prince’s father’s equipment as if it were a trophy. Lilith walked up as Astor was fuming, and when she realized what we were looking at, she told Astor to remember that feeling, for it was time to go find their enemy…

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