Draven's POV
I closed the door to my bedroom and leaned against the heavy wood, letting out a long, shaky breath.
My heart was beating a little faster than usual. Not because I was scared, fear was an emotion I had mostly forgotten after sleeping for three thousand years, but because of pure, unadulterated excitement.
"Holy crap," I whispered to the empty room. "That was a real Elf."
I walked over to the cracked mirror in the corner, checking my reflection. Messy hair, dusty pants, bare feet. I looked like a hobo. But I didn't care.
My mind replayed the image of the girl in the hallway.
Elara. That was her name.
On Earth, I had watched anime. I had played RPGs. I had seen the highest budget CGI movies Hollywood could produce. But none of it, absolutely none of it, compared to the real thing.
Her ears weren't just pointed prosthetics, they twitched with subtle emotion. Her skin had a texture that seemed to filter light rather than reflect it. And her eyes... emerald galaxies.
"Anime didn't do them justice," I muttered, pacing the room. "And the human girl? That armor... silver plate with glowing blue runes? That's high-tier magical engineering. And the Dwarf! Did you see the steam engine on his back? That's Steampunk! Real Steampunk!"
And the loud guy in the red coat. A Dragon. A literal Dragon in human form.
I stopped pacing and sat on the edge of my dusty bed. The excitement faded, replaced by a sudden, heavy ache in my chest.
Mother would have loved this.
The memory surfaced, unbidden and sharp. My mother, the queen of Vampires, holding me when I was just a child in this new world. It were so peaceful then, All of it was....
"The universeis full of wonders, Draven," she had told me, brushing my hair. "The Elves sing songs that can heal the soul. The Dragons dance in the clouds. The Dwarves build worlds of gold under the mountains. One day, when you're grown up, we will go see them together."
But we never did.
The Crusade came. The enemies, They burned our home, our world. My family died fighting them, my mother took her last breath before pushing me toward the crack that led me to this world.
I looked at my hands. Pale. Powerful. Lonely.
I was the last one.
"I finally met them, Mom," I whispered to the silence. "They're in my hallway. But... they're terrified of me."
It was ironic. The races I had wanted to meet my whole life looked at me and saw a nightmare.
I shook my head, dispelling the gloom. Dwelling on the past wouldn't fix the present.
"Right," I stood up. "First impressions. I blew it. I looked like a caveman. If I'm going to host the first guests I've had in three millennia, I need to look the part. I am the son of the Vampire Progenitor, after all. I have a reputation to uphold."
I looked down at my clothes. Dirty. I smelled like dust and old crypt air.
"I need a bath."
I walked to the bathroom attached to the master bedroom. I turned the brass knob of the shower.
Screech.
Nothing came out but a puff of rust.
"Right," I sighed. "Plumbing is down. The aqueduct must have collapsed a thousand years ago."
I could go to the river, but that was a mile away.
I walked to the balcony door and threw it open.
The hallway was quiet now. I could hear them downstairs, scurrying around doing the chores I gave them. I felt a pang of guilt. Was making a Elf like that sweep the floor too much?
Nah, I thought. It builds character. Besides, I really hate cleaning.
I stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked the main foyer stairs.
Below, the "Suicide Squad" froze. Kaelith stopped sweeping. Gorn looked up from the banister. Volkan and Bacon paused their wrestling match in the yard visible through the open front door.
They stared at me with bated breath, waiting for a judgment or an execution.
I ignored them. I looked up at the ceiling. Or rather, through the skylight that had shattered ages ago.
"I need water," I said aloud.
I raised my hand toward the patch of grey sky visible above.
I didn't use magic. Magic required chanting and mana. I used Authority.
My blood pumped. The gravity around me shifted.
Come here.
High above the mansion, a massive rain cloud was drifting lazily. I grabbed it. Not physically, but with the invisible tether of my will. I yanked the moisture out of the atmosphere.
RUMBLE.
The sky groaned.
The humidity in the mansion spiked to 100% instantly.
Above the open skylight, the water vapor condensed. It didn't rain. Rain is messy. I forced the water to coalesce into a single, massive sphere of crystal-clear liquid.
It hovered above the roof, a shimmering ball of water weighing twenty tons.
"Down," I commanded.
The sphere descended through the broken skylight. It floated silently past the balcony where I stood. It drifted over the heads of the terrified guests in the foyer.
I saw Gorn's jaw drop. I saw Kaelith's eyes widen until I thought they might pop out.
"He manipulates the weather without a chant..." I heard the Elf whisper. "He is weaving the atmosphere with his bare hands."
To them, it was a display of godlike power.
To me, it was just plumbing.
I pointed a finger at the master bathroom door. The massive ball of water obediently floated through the air, squeezed itself into a long stream to fit through the doorway, and filled the massive stone tub inside.
I filled it until it was steaming hot, just a little friction manipulation on the molecules to heat it up.
"Perfect," I muttered.
I looked down at the guests one last time.
"Carry on," I said.
Then I stepped back inside and closed the door.
Now came the hard part.
I walked to the massive wardrobe in the corner. It was sealed with a Blood Lock, meaning the clothes inside had been preserved in a time stasis field.
I bit my thumb and pressed it against the seal.
Click.
The doors swung open.
Inside hung the wardrobe of the Vampire Progenitor. Clothes from an era of elegance and darkness that this universe had long forgotten.
Silks blacker than the void. Velvet coats embroidered with silver thread. High collared shirts with ruffled cuffs. Boots made of Leather.
I ran my hand over the fabric.
"Okay," I grinned, feeling a spark of the old Noah confidence returning. "Time to show these fantasy characters what a real Vampire looks like."
I stripped off the rags and stepped into the bath.