When it touched down, the bat transformed back into a vampire. It was the evil warlord. Astor said his name: Lord Asotos Yios. However, Astor spoke pensively. Asotos was also able to use the Rathegalia blood power!

Astor was shocked, as were we all. No Rathegalias were alive with the exception of the prince, and no Rathegalia had the family’s blood power for millennia, outside of Astor. Asotos saw the stunned look on our faces, and he smiled with delight. Then he looked Astor up and down, noticing his armor and weapon. He joked that he did not know Astor would stoop as low as robbing the grave of their greatest ancestor, King Belmont Rathegalia, words which made Astor try to jump and attack, but he was held back by Lilith. Asotos laughed out loud this time, taunting my friend even more. He was reveling in his ambush of us.

Astor demanded to know who exactly Asotos was, and how he was able to use the Rathegalia blood power. The evil warlord was more than happy to oblige. He said he was the bastard son of Astor’s uncle, Pylor Rathegalia. Pylor was having an extramarital affair with one of his servants, and after she gave birth in secret, he had the child taken to a remote village, and left at an orphanage. There they named him Asotos Yios, his surname coming from the name of the orphanage. Pylor did not want to bring disgrace to the Rathegalia name, a fact that made Asotos speak in an angered tone.

Then he continued by saying, life in the village was hellacious. There were barely any necessities for them to live off of. The kids at the orphanage were always neglected, often having to steal aima, just to be able to survive. They were abused, and forced to do manual labor all day and night, with no compensation. Then, when he was a teenager, Asotos said he was sold to an aima reservoir for work.

While there, he was subjected to slave labor. They worked all hours of the day and night, and were only given enough aima to stay efficient as a worker. If they did not meet their daily quotas, a random member of the workforce was chosen and whipped in front of everyone. This took place every day they did not produce enough aima to be shipped.

The people who were there also were unsavory. The aima reservoir was filled with brutish characters, and dishonorably discharged vampire warriors. One of the men there, however, took to Asotos, and brought him under his wing. He said his name was Covington, and that he saw something special in the young vampire. The two became mentor and protege shortly after, with Covington showing Asotos the ropes of how to survive peacefully at the reservoir. He helped protect Asotos from the savages that populated the workforce, too; another reason Asotos began sticking close to his new mentor.

The evil warlord grew more agitated as he recited his history. It was apparent he was filled with hate, and the recalling of his memories exasperated it. As he continued his story, we found out why.

One night, Asotos was awakened by Covington, and was told to follow him. They walked to an underground room at the reservoir, and the vampire paid two guards who were standing in front. Once inside the room, they saw two humans chained to the wall, with blood all over them. The vampire workers were feeding on them!

Apparently, there were hidden human farms still operating, deep within the wilderness of Friki. They would deliver humans to anyone willing to pay an enormous amount, and so the guards at the reservoir would offer the workers the blood for high sums of money. Covington paid enough for the both of them to feed, and when it was their turn, the mentor went to drink immediately. Asotos paused, though. Drinking human blood was expressly forbidden, and even though Asotos was not exactly a law abider, he had never seen feeding on humans done before. The sight was unsettling. Soon, his mentor noticed he was dawdling, and told Asotos he better feed before someone else shoved him out of the way, and took his share of the blood. So, Asotos moved in, and began feeding.

The evil warlord spoke of the experience as one does when they have an epiphany. He said the blood drinking was life-changing, literally, for when he was feeding, his whole being transformed. He felt a surge of energy shoot through his body, and he was thrown backwards to the ground. After that, he passed out. A few days went by before he regained consciousness, and when he did, he awoke in a strange cabin. Next to him was Covington, and he revealed that after he passed out, the guards were going to kill Asotos, so that their human blood racket would not be exposed. His mentor slayed the guards, took Asotos, and fled the reservoir immediately. He went to an old house hidden in the woods, a good distance away from the reservoir, and he cared for Asotos. Then, at that moment was when the young vampire was introduced to the truths that would shape the rest of his future.

His mentor told Asotos that what happened when he drank the blood was, Asotos unlocked the Rathegalia blood power. The human life force was the key, and the surge of power was what rendered Asotos unconscious. The evil warlord was stunned to hear he was a descendant of the royal family, and felt pride at first. That feeling quickly turned to hatred for the Rathegalias, though, and he was infuriated at the fact they left him at the orphanage to suffer. Noticing his mentee shared his sentiment, Covington decided to divulge information about him. He started by saying, his real name was Brutho Ryxlan…

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