Scotty sat upon a small boulder, bored out of his mind as he and the rest of the crew waited for Vladimir's return for what must have been hours, before he finally stepped out of the shadows of the forest, but not alone. There was a woman with him, a Native, and one of the most beautiful women Scotty had ever seen, though she seemed in ways like Vladimir himself. She seemed to have markings upon her face, perhaps in blood, running down like streams from her eyes, but were these truly markings?
Vladimir led her by her hand to the others, and he looked around at his crew before speaking. "Scotty, Captain, Crewmen…" He began, before pulling her in close and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Allow me to introduce to you my newest wife, Aiyana. In English, her name means 'Eternal Blossom'." Vladimir continued, introducing her, before turning his head and looking directly at Blackheart, his expression stern. "You and your crew are to obey her as you obey me, unless she should ever give a command that is contrary to one of my own."
To this, the Captain bowed his head. "As you wish, Master." He said, obediently. Scotty simply stared at the woman, as if in a trance, captivated by her beauty, and the woman's eyes soon turned to him as a predator looking upon its prey. "Master… is this one to be desert?" She asked, finding herself still thirsty, even after having taken so much blood from her father.
Vladimir moved like a shadow to get in the way of her view of the boy, and looked deeply into her eyes as he spoke in a deathly serious tone. "You are not to harm the hair on the boy's head. He is not for sustenance, but may someday become like us; immortal." Aiayna looked into her Master's eyes, listening intently, and found that she was forced to obey.
"So my Master decrees, so will I do." She said, her eyes filled with admiration for him. Vladimir reached out to gently caress her cheek and smiled in such a deceptively warm manner. "Very good, my dear." He said, before turning around to look upon Scotty. "I hope you have not missed me too very much, my lad. It was important that I relieve some stress, lest I had taken it out on you. That would certainly be unfortunate, for both of us."
Scotty was taken aback by those words and found himself swallowing fear, but then he regained his composure and scoffed, "Why the bloody Hell would I miss someone who's holding me hostage!" He exclaimed, at which Vladimir raised a brow curiously, "Am I holding you hostage? Please, feel free to walk away, if you have anywhere else to go." Vladimir said, gesturing towards the dark woods.
Scotty pondered over his words, and his countenance fell. Indeed, he had nowhere and no one to go to. This so-called "Vampire", as much as he hated to admit it within himself, was the closest thing he had to a friend or family member, now, with the Captain gone. Vladimir was not holding him against his will, he simply had nothing left but him.
"That's what I thought." Vladimir said, chuckling lightly to himself in amusement, before turning to face Blackheart again, to speak further. "The Natives were quite a nuisance, but in death, they now serve me. Let us return to the camp, where they are waiting. The original warriors they sent failed me, but I still elected to raise others. They shall make fine cannon fodder, if nothing else." Vladimir chuckled in amusement at the thought.
And so, they all began their walk through the chillingly dark woods. Scotty found that the entire forest was unnaturally silent, as though the presence of this apex predator, Vladimir von Drachen, had caused them all to flee. The only sign of any other living thing he saw, other than himself, were small little eyes amongst the trees. He shuddered, wondering what they might have been. "You see them, I take it?" Vladimir spoke, as if knowing Scotty's thoughts. "The presence of a Vampire, especially ones as powerful and old as I, tend to attract other sanguivorous species. What you see in those trees are bats, most likely Vampire bats. They are native to warmer, more humid climates, such as this." Scotty felt a wave of fear wash over him, causing him to shudder all the more, before he asked. "Will they drink my blood?" Vladimir chuckled at the question, then stopped and turned his head to look back at young Scotty, as he said simply, "Only while you are asleep."
This certainly did not make Scotty feel any more at ease. There was no way he'd be able to sleep on this night, not after hearing that. "Thanks for the warning…" The boy said, sarcastically. It was not long, now, before they reached the village.
The Chief, Aiyana's father, whose name was Denali, greeted his new master with a bow. "We welcome your presence, Master." He spoke in his native tongue, leaving Scotty puzzled as to what was said. Vladimir walked up to the man, clasping his hands behind his back and nodding once as he spoke. "Of course it is, your will is bound to my own." He looked past the man, all around at the tribe. Men, women, and even some children had been reanimated, yet the bodies of other children, much younger than the former, still lay upon the ground.
"Tell me, Chieftain, are there other tribes nearby?" Vladimir asked, returning his gaze to the man. The Chief nodded his head. "Yes, four other villages, and each with at least a hundred fine warriors." Vladimir formed that familiar smile upon his face, as he heard this. "I see… Perfect!" He said, clapping his hands together before speaking further. "Then we shall march on them, one by one, and their dead shall serve me, even as you and your tribe now serve me." The Chief bowed his head at this and spoke, saying, "My Master's will be done."
"Tell me, where are these tribes located?" Vladimir inquired, to which Denali answered, "One is to the Northwest, another is to the Northeast, and another is to the Southeast, while yet another is to the Southwest." Vladimir closed his eyes and hummed in a thoughtful manner before speaking again. "Which of the tribes do your people have the best relationship with?" The Chief thought for a moment before responding, "The tribe to the Southeast have always been good allies, and we have bartered with them many times."
Vladimir was quick to speak again, opening his eyes as he did. "Then we shall start there, and work our way up to the tribe in the Northeast, then continue on to the tribe in the Northwest, and then finally make our way to the tribe in the Southwest." At this, the Chief asked, "Shall I prepare the men?" Vladimir nodded his head, and the Chief, Denali, turned to gather his men and rally them for battle.
Vladimir turned to Blackheart, now, and approached him. "Captain, I want you and the crewmen, except for Scotty, to return to the Devil's Maw and the Lancaster. Sail to the nearest port, destroy any and all other ships in the area, and make sure that no one can escape. Feel free to bombard them with cannon fire as well, but I do not want the port utterly destroyed. Target only the buildings that look to be especially important."
Blackheart formed a wicked grin, and nodded his head. "Aye Master, it will be done!" He affirmed, before he and the crewmen turned to leave. Scotty looked up at Vladimir, questioningly. "Why are you telling him to do this? And why do you want to raise so many bloody savages, for that matter?" Aiyana snapped her head to the boy and hissed at him, clearly not happy with his choice of words to describe her people.
"Now, now, my dear." Vladimir said gently, and Aiyana turned her head to him and nodded, regaining her composure. "It is quite simple, really." Vladimir began, watching Scotty as he made his way towards him. "No one will be surprised by pirates attacking a port, nor by an army of Natives raiding their towns. That said, they will certainly be surprised by the visage of these in particular; their nigh skeletal features, the stench of rot and decay, the sight of maggots crawling all over their flesh, feasting upon it."
Vladimir chuckled in amusement at his words, before continuing, "I want to spread fear throughout this region. I will see that rumors are spread of a disease, a virus that has the dead rising from their graves. Their governors will not know how to handle this, and they will be at a loss. Then, I will appear as a Doctor from afar, with an answer to their plight. I will make a name for myself, gaining their trust, and as I do so, I will enthrall key figures to my will, leaving them to oversee the region in my name."
Scotty listened intently, still staring at the man before he questioned further, "So this is all just to gain control?" Vladimir was silent for a moment before speaking further, "Yes, and no." He turned away and walked off, with that said. Scotty stood there, blinking, puzzled by the man's words, unable to understand, for no true answer had he received.