The Fallen Vampire

A richly green valley sat perfectly in between two steep grey mountains that seemed to pierce the heavens overhead.

A young deer lightly grazed along the vibrantly colored field of flowers that adorned this path.

And he wasn't alone.

Many kinds of animals came to play here.

It was like a small haven for woodland critters and their parents.

But suddenly, a few of the animals stopped to sniff the air.

They all stared at the young deer, who was the newcomer of the animals.

When he noticed that the others were staring in his general vicinity, he too turned around to see what all of the fuss was about.

The animal found a man looming above him.

But then again, maybe it wasn't a 'man' at all.

It certainly didn't seem like it.

The deer hadn't been alive for very long, but he had already acquired an instinctive nose for danger.

But this guy wasn't dangerous at all. In fact the deer hadn't even noticed that he'd been receiving pets on his back for the longest time.

Despite the unfamiliarity of the situation, the deer decided to give the man's hand a small lick. Making him smile a bit without even realizing it.

Taira looked up and extended his tails.

With his appendages acting like beds, he caught six women as they fell from the sky.

He lowered all of them to the ground as if they were precious treasures and lowered them to the ground gently.

But the baby deer was skittish of so many new people showing up all at once, so he ended up running off not long after they arrived.

As soon as she stepped on the ground, Aveena began nervously fixing her clothes.

This was her first time putting on her official garb ever since Ina had put it together for her, and she was actually feeling quite a bit self conscious.

She would be meeting other sect leaders today. She wanted to be seen as an equally upstanding and authoritative figure.

"

Relax."

Lucia emphasized. "You look beautiful."

The dragoness forcefully made Aveena relax her shoulders and posture.

Now, she looked tall, powerful, and confident instead of resembling a cutesy awkward mess.

Several light thuds resounded all around them as the rest of the cult's members dropped into the valley alongside them.

The youngest children were the most excited to explore a new place.

Living in the sect was fun, but it wasn't necessarily the most visually stimulating place for young minds to be everyday.

So while this place may not have been as nice as home was, it was still received as quite the welcome change.

It was clear that they wanted to run about a bit, but one look from their parents, and more importantly Vaal, was more than enough to dissuade any thoughts they might've had of doing so.

"It's fine. Let them play." Aveena waived her hand.

"Actually…We may need to hold off on that a bit, my wife." Taira said nonchalantly.

Suddenly, people dressed in white started crawling out of the very ground. They numbered at least fifty- with their cultivation being at around the venerable realm.

Even though they didn't draw any weapons, they did place their hands on them.

Which was more than enough to escalate the collective agitation of the cult.

""Do. Not. Move.""

It was rare for Aveena and Taira to give the same order at once. If one was speaking, the other was usually listening and nodding along.

Hearing them both give such a stern, clear order was almost akin to hearing your parent say 'Go get my belt'.

They froze so completely that some didn't even try to breathe.

One of the white-clothed men stepped forward with his hands behind his back.

This one was clearly different from all the rest because he was the only one who's cultivation was not obvious.

Like the others, he hid his facial features behind a white mask with only a single line representing his mouth.

He appeared to be elven judging by his lightly golden colored skin, but any further identifying traits were hidden by his clothes and hair.

"This island is closed to all outsiders. I'm sorry, but I must insist that you all leave immediately."

"We were graciously invited." Aveena informed. "I would insist that you step aside."

The man in the mask remained unchanged as he swept his gaze over every person present.

While his gaze lingered on Taira and Keran for a bit longer than others, he eventually took note of the others.

"…I… see. The Abbott of the Thundering Cloud spoke of you. Though he neglected to mention that you were so small in number."

Taira and Aveena said nothing.

The masked man waived his hand and his acolytes removed their hands from their weapons.

Once they saw this, the asanbosam also relaxed… not really though.

The masked man cupped his fist in a formal greeting.

"Please, allow us to be the first to welcome you to the Twin Leaf Valley of The Golden Heaven Society.

We are the caretakers of this place, known as the Gentle Brotherhood. We have no names, but you may refer to me as First Brother."

The white cloaked men formed two straight lines without being told.

First Brother held out his hand as if he were welcoming Taira and Aveena down the path.

"Please, follow us, Dai-Shi of The Divine Black Myth. We will show you where you will be staying."

Taira and Aveena locked arms together and the two of them made their way down the path with the rest of their loved ones following closely behind.

In addition to little Yukiko, who was sandwiched comfortably between Enyo's breasts.

The cult was led along the grassy path deeper into the valley.

They passed underneath a huge rocky arc and emerged in front of a rather breathtaking sight.

First things first, the bottom of the valley was big. Very big in fact.

So big that there were not one, but seven palaces all spaced out in a circle; with a large empty area the size of two football fields sitting between them.

"You all are the first to arrive, so please, feel free to roam the island until the others make their appearance. Your cult's accommodations will be in that home over there."

First Brother pointed to the palace with twin kitsune guarding each of the gates. They were in possession of oni masks that looked delightfully similar to a certain musclebound cult leader.

"We do hope you enjoy your stay. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you need anything at all."