In the absolute geological center of Tar city, the Morgen estate stood proudly. This was the location of Rei's baptism.
The Baptism occurred at multiple venues in Acheron. As it required invaluable items, only the seven vampire clans could host them. Hence, the loci of the baptisms were held at each of the seven domains.
Being a Morgen, Rei naturally picked the baptism at Tar, where he felt more at home.
Reaching the entrance of Morgen Estate, Rei and Thalia got down from the carriage. They paid their respect to the carriage driver and informed him of their schedule.
"I will not be going back home, but my brother will. Pick him this time tomorrow," informed Thalia.
She straightened the rough edges of her dress and listened to the carriage driver's response, "Miss, should I take it that you want me to remain in the city?"
"Yes. That will be better," spoked Thalia. She reached to her purse and gave him a ten sanguis, "This should be okay, right?"
The carriage looked at the sanguis in his hand and beamed, "Yess, miss! Have a good day, Mr and Miss."
He whipped his nether horses and they left the estate's gate entrance. After he left, other carriages parked with all sorts of vampires getting down from them.
Just like Rei, they were here for the test. However, they didn't take any effort to mingle with one another.
Vampires were a proud race. They were colder to themselves than outsiders. It was the same for Rei. The only time he behaved friendly was when he was with family.
Nonetheless, having been cooped up all his life, Rei still possessed curiosity for his fellow vampires.
What did they look like?
Did they have similar features and characteristics?
After all, Vampires were a diverse race.
'Is that what I think he is?' Rei gasped internally.
He spotted a group of peculiar vampires. They had the common inky-black hair and raven eyes. Most especially, There was an active red glint in their eyes that was very noticeable to the vampiric eyes.
The glint gave onlookers a feeling of being ravaged by the demons of the night. It wasn't a pleasurable feeling to the other vampires, who viewed themselves as the demons of the nights.
'They are thralls. Oops, they don't accept that word. They are kins, vampirekins. The artificials,' realized Rei.
Just as he had said, Vampires were a diverse race. They were mainly divided into two factions; the Moon faction, which was one of the symbols of vampires, and the Blood faction, another prominent symbol of vampires.
While the names of the factions might not have any intonations, the dictum was more expressive.
The Moon faction is a faction of vampirekins and other special vampires. This was a sub-race of vampires that were converted by a pureblood. After having gained independence, they would cast away their 'thrall' title and become vampirekins.
However, the faction was much more than that. Their goal was to eradicate the vampire hierarchy and usher in a new age of vampires as they would like to say. Normally, the innate strength of vampires was dependent on their bloodlines but the vampirekins have found a way to maneuver that. They could strengthen themselves using the magic of Tascar.
The second faction, the Blood Faction, was an archaic faction. They held to the belief that a vampire's value must be decided by their bloodline. They were quite cruel but weren't that strict anymore. To keep up with the progress of the Moon faction, they too delved into magic.
However, unlike the Moon faction, their goal was to secure means to increase bloodline purity. The members in this faction were mostly royalbloods and noblebloods. Rei reckoned that if he had lived in the Morgen Estate, he would automatically belong to the Blood faction.
The situation in Acheron might seem bleak, but it wasn't at all. The two factions served to checkmate one another. They were like rivals, destined to propagate the other.
Still, seeing a vampirekin in a nobleblood ground was quite a sight. It was a sign that the two factions weren't really at each other's throats.
After a while, the large black gate opened and a group of people dressed in formal attires walked out.
Among them was a young man who seemed like their leader, he was the picture example of what a Morgen should look like, even going as far as to possess the unique glowing green eyes.
The man stood confidently like a statue and assessed the mass of vampires. One could not tell what was going on in his mind as he maintained a neutral expression.
He then addressed the mass with a soothing tone, "Welcome to the Morgen Estate. I am your host, Jadon Morgen. It is my honor to perform this year's baptism."
'Interesting…..As expected from the heads of the Morgen. It is quite shocking that he came here personally to greet us,' remarked Rei.
He glanced at his sister, who nodded back at him, knowing what he thought.
Jadon Morgen was his uncle. In essence, she was his mother's cousin. Lucina had always spoken about him as if he was ripped out of a tale.
Yet, seeing him in the flesh...…...he was worth every inch of Lucina's words, the perfect Morgen.
Jadon's clear eyes met the two siblings. He flashed a smile at him and moved on, "Now, I take it that you are ready. Follow me. The preparations have been made."
He led the mass into the estate. As soon as Rei crossed the gate, he noticed the time of the day had once again changed. This time, it was midnight, the deepest night in the day.
He thought to himself as he familiarized himself with the estate, 'What is this magic?'
He had heard that Acheron was eternally blessed by night. As one progressed to the Morgen Estate, the nighttime would intensify. He now understood there was no false word in that statement.
Soon, Jadon had led them to a great dark hall covered in the vilest of aura. Wispy tentacles materialized from the walls of the hall, trying to grab whatever they could find, but they didn't try to touch the vampires.
Jadon opened the door and said, "It has been my pleasure guiding you to the Morgen Hall. The rest will be taken care of by an experienced group. I shall now take my departure."