“So that’s it?” Ira sized up the group of mountains far off in the distance. Most of them had snowy peaks that gave them a desolate feel.

Raveria placed her hand on her chin and observed the mountain with a look of interest.

“Are you cold, Raveria?” Ira asked as he realized his daughter was wearing a grey tunic and sandals and the weather near the mountains was a lot lower than the rest of the continent.

“No,” Raveria replied. If she did get cold all she had to do was accelerate the cells in her body. Though the blood running through her was naturally warm enough that she wouldn’t need to do something unless she was faced with drastic temperatures.

“Good,” Ira held her small hands as they walked toward a large town sitting at the foot of a large mountain.

The good thing about the location was the isolation factor which helped slow the spread of the Uprising’s influence. The so-called Blessed Ones lived without much worry while the humans remained oppressed.

Ira saw that most of the land seemed to be occupied by the descendants of dragons which made him question the presence of the other races. The Naiads all lived underwater so they didn’t count but the Sidera and Valkyries were nowhere to be found.

In reality, the Valkyries lived on floating land masses, Vulpes were similar to Elves and kept to forests, Lares were a mostly closed off bunch, and Sidera lived in places where they could see the stars best since it tied in directly with their abilities. As for the other races he had yet to discover, they were scattered about the continent of Yeramesh and Ira wasn’t too interested in finding them at the moment.

As Ira approached the gates of the town he opted not to enter through the proper channels and teleported himself over with Raveria in hand.

The town wasn’t as extravagant or otherworldly as the other places he visited, it still was something new to him and more importantly, Raveria. The houses for humans were closely stacked together while those with dragon’s blood occupied larger and more secluded houses.

Ira suddenly had an idea as he watched a family of Blessed Ones walk by him.

“Hey, Ria...You want to help me with something?” Ira asked with a smile.

“Yes?” Raveria tilted her upward as she answered.

Ira laughed before kneeling down and whispering something in Raveria’s ear. She soon started laughing and nodded her head.

“You got it?” Ira made sure they both were on the same page before proceeding.

“Yup,” Raveria nodded.

…

There were twelve kids with reptilian eyes playing around when Raveria approached them.

“Um...Do you want to play?” Raveria asked. Her soft yellow eyes were filled with a type of friendliness that made it hard to hold ill thoughts toward her.

“Are you a human?” Still, as children with dragon’s blood, they obviously held the conventions of their parents.

“No. My mom is a Valkyrie and my dad is a...I don’t know what my dad is.” Raveria furrowed her brows as she thought of Ira.

“Where are your wings?” A girl asked.

“I don’t know how to use them,” Raveria replied.

“Then how are we supposed to know if you’re a Valkyrie?” A boy questioned with a suspicious gaze. Raveria’s simple clothing made him suspect that she was just a normal human.

Raveria looked off toward a dark corner as she became stuck on how to proceed. “I can’t do it, Dad!”

Suddenly, Ira appeared out of thin air and smiled with any sign of disappointment. “At least you tried.”

“Who–” Before any of the kids could ask about Ira’s identity he snapped his fingers and teleported them away.

“Um, Dad?” Raveria looked at Ira with a concerned expression.

“Yes?” Ira grinned.

“Won’t their parents be mad?” Raveria inquired.

“Not at all, Ria. Listen, you might not know it but these people will probably be killed by a bunch of other people. We’re just saving their children ahead of time.” Ira spoke confidently.

“Then...why don’t you save the parents too?” Raveria asked.

“Eh, because why would I? Kids are one thing but the parents? The parents will probably be really annoying about everything. Plus, what do the lives of the parents have to do with us?” Ira gave a bunch of questions that Raveria had no way of answering so she nodded her head and accepted that her dad was right.

“Anyway, let’s grab some more of them. It’ll be harder to do if we’re seen so this time you have to lure them over to somewhere that others can’t see, ok?”

“Ok!” Raveria was ready to give it another try.

And so, the two of them started their spree of abducting kids and sending them to the Underground City.

…

Back in the Underground City, the arrival of the half-dragon children quickly put the scribes and priest to work. There was an entire ceremony prepared for the influx of children but truthfully it would be better described as the start to an indoctrination.

The Moon Temple was filled with statues of Wolves along with embroidered cloths that hung from the walls. There was a sealed opening in the ceiling which would allow the Red Moon to be seen from the inside of the temple.

The priests, Dark Elf women with three black circles on their foreheads, moved to gather the children. With calm and soothing voices, they hushed the weeping and frightened kids who were eager to return to their parents.

First, a tray of pastries was passed around for children to eat. Of course, inside of the pastries were a few ingredients that had a calming effect on the mind. After their moods settled, they would be brought to a room with a scribe where the teaching would begin.

“I know nearly all of you are terrified. After all, you’ve come to a strange place and met with strange people. You wish to return to your homes and your parents but sadly that isn’t possible. You have been personally chosen because you were seen as special. Each and every one of you is important because the Keeper decided you were.” A scribe dressed in black robes spoke softly with a warm smile on his face.

“...Who is the Keeper?” A child raised their hand and asked. The child who had the question wasn’t of the group but was one of the children from the City of Clouds who lost their parents. It was unreasonable to expect someone from the new group to ask a question since they would still be hesitant, so the Dark Elves prepared someone else to do it.

“I’m glad that you asked, child.” The new group was unable to see through the facade and listened attentively.

“The Keeper is the being who rules over the Red Moon, Wolves, and Darkness.” The Scribe gave a devout answer.

“So he’s like a God?” The “curious” child asked once again.

“The Keeper doesn’t refer to himself as such but he fits the definition of one. He brought the Red Moon into existence by his will alone. Some say the Golden Aurora was caused by the Gods but unlike them the Keeper is active. Would those so-called Dragon Gods even be able to move all of you chosen children here?” The Scribe replied proudly. Although he was obviously biased he was sort of right, the Gods in the Divine Realm weren’t able to operate in the Mortal Realm. The Golden Aurora wasn’t even the Gods helping the Mortals but rather removing the barrier they had set previously.

“Then why did the Keeper choose us?” At that point, the children should’ve been suspicious but due to the pastries, they were interested in learning more about the Keeper.

“Each of you holds a great destiny. One so important that even your parents would be happy to see you fulfill it. You will be a part of the future of the entire Empire and help carry out the Keeper’s will,” The Scribe explained.

“What…” A boy from the new group suddenly spoke up.

“Yes, Child? Feel free to speak, the Keeper admires those who search for answers on their own.” The Scribe spoke gently.

“What is the Keeper’s will?” He asked quietly.

“Great question, Child. I’ll first impart some of the Keeper’s teachings before speaking of his will. As beings living on this planet, we will eventually all die or kill. While others would tell you it is wrong to take a life, it is only natural. Whether it is to put food in our bellies, to protect ourselves or others, or causing it indirectly, death will occur from certain actions. It is natural to kill and one shouldn’t shy away from the act, especially if the alternative causes them harm. As for death, it should be viewed the same. All things that can be killed, can die at some point, and therefore we should hold less fear toward it.” The Scribe spoke persuasively and the young children weren’t in a place to know any better.

A Priest entered the room and approached the Scribe before whispering to him. “Another group of children has arrived.”

“Ah, wonderful. That’s enough about the Keeper for today. For now, all of you will be taken to your rooms where you’ll be staying from now on. In a few hours, we’ll show you the Red Moon that the Keeper holds control over.” The Scribe clasped his hands together and smiled at the kids who were escorted away by the Priest.

Another group was brought in a few minutes later and the process was started over once again.

…

Ira, who was totally unaware of the events taking place, wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. Both he and Raveria were standing on a rooftop looking at the town below them.

“Whew.” Ira turned to Raveria and gave her a proud pat on the back. “I think that’s most of them.”

“Did I do good, Dad?” Raveria asked.

“You did perfect, Ria,” Ira replied honestly.

The town that seemed unaffected by the events of the Uprising had erupted into a panic. Why wouldn’t they? Hundreds of kids had gone missing within a few hours and the Blessed Ones were scouring the city. Houses were being ransacked in search of the children who literally vanished into thin air and the blame was close to being placed on the humans living in the town.

“Get off of my son!” A man bellowed as his child was being pulled away.

“Since we can’t find the children of the Blessed Ones we’ll have to make an example.” The guards beat the man down until he couldn’t resist anymore.

Within a few hours, dozens of children were gathered up in the center of the town along with parents and humans who were full of anger. They were being blamed for a problem they had nothing to do with.

“If the children of the Blessed Ones aren’t brought out then we will begin the execution!” A half-dragon dressed in heavy armor shouted.

“We don’t know where they are!”

“Leave our children out of it!”

“You can’t do this!”

The crowd spoke to defend themselves but against the armed guards who were strengthened by their bloodline, they couldn’t do anything.

“Shut up!” The guards raised their weapons and moved to silence the crowd.

Ira who was watching from above shook his head.

“You see that, Ria? When you’re weak you can’t do anything but accept what comes your way,” Ira commented.

“Is it bad to be weak?” Raveria asked.

“Well, not exactly. Sometimes it can’t be helped but everyone should try to become more powerful if they get the opportunity.”

“But what happens if they stay weak forever?”

“Forever? I doubt it would stay that way since opportunities have a way of presenting themselves…” As Ira finished speaking he waved his hand and the weapons and armor the guards were holding disappeared from sight before reappearing in the crowd of humans.

Seeing that it wasn’t enough to arm all of the spectators so Ira waved his hand again and even more weapons appeared at their feet. It was all from his stockpile that he gathered throughout the time he spent consuming people.

The crowd and the guards went silent as they tried to process what happened. Then, someone lifted up a sword and caused a huge reaction. The crowd erupted into shouts as they began to riot and the guards were unarmed and outnumbered which left them totally defenseless. The scene quickly turned bloody and after watching it for a while Ira decided to move on.

“Come on, Ria. We have a few psychics to see so we shouldn’t waste too much time.” Ira lifted her up while preparing to teleport away.

“Ok,” Raveria held onto Ira tightly but didn’t take her eyes off bloodshed. Even though she was a child the memories she inherited from Ira had long since taken away the shock a child would normally feel when exposed to violence.