Gray, The Grand

Silence filled the lobby as we entered it. The tables had naked people tied to posts, bound and gagged, with blood trickling from cuts. I could make out the bite marks from where we stood. Maids and butlers took away the bodies of those that had been drained. Vampires drinking the fresh blood from wine glasses, or straight from the 'tap,' as it might be called. All eyes were on us, while our eyes were taking in everything. What was left of their laughter faded to nothing as it echoed one last time from the walls.

|"Are we the bad guys?"| One of my shades asked, while we fanned out.

Were we? Did it matter? This was just the job we needed to do, we needed to return to our Queen. TRG answered for me, |"We're monsters, these vampires are monsters."|

The others started to argue that we were beings that hunted monsters. Monsters that ate all those monsters weaker than ourselves. Everyone silently stared at the group in front of us. A thousand different vampires, each of them making contacts and enjoying what was seen as a party just moments ago. I wondered how they saw this moment, a group of masked vampires suddenly storming in all at once. Many of us wearing masks, clearly associated with each other.

Suddenly the sharp sound of a clap filled the room. All of us turned towards the count, a few vampires wearily keeping their eyes on us with glances, while I made a few of my bodies continue to stare at them all. The Count grinned, "This is not a coup, nor a threat." He gestured towards us, while vampires stole more glances. The Count spoke with regal grace, his tone making it clear we were supposed to listen.

A maid quickly arrived by his side, carrying a chalice that he took with a polite nod. He stood from his throne, raising the golden thing. "Tonight, we welcome a new bloodline into our family. That is why prisoners have been brought out from the Hole, to sate our thirst." Many in the crowd began to smile. He took a sip from his chalice, not spilling a drop of crimson liquid. We could see the magic keeping the blood inside it fresh.

The Count let out a satisfied sigh after swallowing the blood he drank. He raised the chalice again, "The carnival is upon us, as many of you know. We will be welcoming more into our family. Forty thousand fools are delivering themselves to us, the kingdom of Fire has once again sought to attack us."

Whispers were heard coming from those around us. Many recalling that we declared war first this time. Others damning the kingdom of Fire, while a scarce few just remained silent.

"Does it matter that we declared war this time?" Silence filled the room again, as the Count addressed us. "With Oswald's assassination, something a certain kingdom has been attempting repeatedly for over a century, what would have happened if we let this fester?" Nobody dared to answer, even as the seconds passed.

"War would have come sooner or later. The kingdom of Fire believes we are at our weakest. Nobles from that kingdom would have taxed our exports while raising the price of their goods. They would have attempted to bleed us dry, then they would send an army out while our people were revolting. Our neighbors to the South only would have waited for us to become weaker before making a move. As shown with them immediately drafting an army capable of securing the main roads around our kingdom."

He had a habit of pausing, likely to let others realize the weight of what he was saying. How this war was inevitable. Those keeping their ears close to the ground would know this army was only sent after a dragon supposedly killed the Count. Murmurs spread, as others discreetly explained these implications. The Count waved his chalice before continuing once more.

"This army was drafted, not when we declared war, but only after my 'confirmed' death. They chose to attack when they thought us weak, now we will invite them into our homes and slaughter them like the beasts they are." The Count smiled a little, "That is the purpose behind our Carnival. We have less than a week to prepare, as the population shall be moved tomorrow morning. They will be safe, but our sewers will be left untouched."

A few of the vampires nodded sagely, while others were asking for an explanation. My peers didn't know what this Carnival was meant to be. It was insane to realize an entire kingdom's worth of people were being moved to safety. Just how powerful was the king of Eclipse? How was this possible?

The Count tilted his Chalice all the way back as he finished drinking it. "The servants of our Kingdom shall distribute the plans. Our new family member will guide you to the locations presented. They are a Hivemind, but also slightly different from what many would consider being such. In terms of strength, they are a duke. Weaker than all of you here, but communication leads to victory. A fact that has been proven time and time again."

He became somber, "This new bloodline is less than a year old." That made the others gasp, looking at my brothers and me with a new light. A hint of greed in a few of their eyes. The Count continued, "I am backing them for the duration of the carnival. Their word will be equivalent to my own. You will respect them, as they will guide you as the paper you are currently getting directs. You will not force or coerce them into giving you better spots. You will listen to their directions, or I will personally come and dominate those that dissent into obeying."

Some of them shivered, making it clear who stood at the top among this group. Respect tinged with a hint of fear, as they hung off every word the Count breathed. "War is such an ugly thing, a beast with a hunger that never ends. It is the most disgusting part of our curse, only sated with the lives of others for only a fleeting moment of respite. Do not take pride in the slaughter that is about to take place. Do not revel in the blood of those forced to come to our lands, forced to fight because their leaders believe they might take what is ours."

Everyone was quiet again, as the Count continued, "Those we are about to kill did not ask for this. They are the sons and daughters of the poor and hungry masses. Sent here on the whims of those 'leaders' in charge." He spat the word out as if disgusted to even call those nobles such a thing. "Fat children, as I dare not call them adults, that send those they consider their lesser to die for their trinkets and ideals. Disgusting pigs sending those simply trying to survive and provide for their families."

The Count furrowed his brow as if just talking about nobles angered him. "I know, some are good, I know not all are like that. Yet, when I see so many lives about to be lost, so many families ruined, it angers me." I didn't dare mention anything about his own crusade as he marched through villages and towns on the way there. As if reading my thoughts, the Count waved his hand, "sometimes terrible deeds are necessary. What is important is that we keep sight of the overall goal. What must be done so that the result needed can be reached with as little suffering as possible."

A few of the vampires started to drink from the blood fountains again, as the Count went on a rant about the end justifying the means. How incredibly foolish it was for people to even think of war as anything other than a gamble. This seemed to happen quite often, and I went with the flow. Even while a few of my bodies idled to continue listening. A few of my brothers did the same, while I approached the dark elf with gnarled ears. His hair was wispy and white, thin to the point I could see the scalp under it.

The pale blue elf's ears twitched, as he turned to me. His eyes lacked pupils, they were completely red. He was alone, some form of invisible barrier around him. No one dared to come close, despite his fancy attire. Oddly enough there was a silver spider button on the corner of his collar. He spoke with a whisper, "Greetings, young blood." Had he approached me, or was it the other way around? I vaguely recalled meandering through the crowd.

"Greetings?" I wasn't sure what was going on. A few seconds passed before he laughed softly. "May I help you?"

It was strange, as if he should have laughed now, after I said what I did. Something was wrong here, but I couldn't pull myself away. The strange elf vampire tilted his head. "Yes, I suppose that is all we needed to discuss. We shall emerge victoriously."

What? I started to speak to him, but he flickered as if he wasn't there in the first place. Thankfully the other bodies I had were mingling with a bit more success. A headache was starting to form, while I did my best to ignore it. There were blood fountains at home, I didn't want to share with the others here.

Gray Gray Gray

Was that a floating head? All four of us were staring at the strange scene before us. Our masked visage attracted a bit of attention, thanks to the cursed mask. Yet, no one was looking at what was really important. The literal floating head chewing through the neck of some poor lady. How was this even possible? The scarlet-haired person was just going at it, we... we couldn't look away! It was nice that the other shades were watching out for us. Some even asked, but how could this be a common sight? This was a vampire party, and dullahans were supposed to be extinct!

The victim's head rolled off still trying to scream despite the gag. Some other vampire grabbed it and bit into it like an apple. Yeah, we weren't the good guys. Felt kinda bad, after all, we were supposed to kill the monsters that hunted and hurt children. Now we were going to destroy families and stuff. Why couldn't the leader people just duel it out with their fists or something? Why send so many people with families to die, for what?

We pushed those thoughts down, burying them six feet deep. It was nice that we had two extra bodies than we started today with. From that peddler giving us a cursed mask so that we couldn't control one body alone, to it spreading so now we had to always be four bodies minimum. It's been a rough time getting here. Even though TRG found us and explained the situation. Even he didn't expect there to be a really real Gray above him. Would he just be Gray? Gray the absolute first? Gray the Pinnacle of all others? How many naming conventions did we have now?

One of our bodies hit us, or we all just slapped each other? Focus. The floating head was attaching itself to the neck as a headless body undid the bindings. At least the lady bits were torn off so it wasn't like nude people were at the party anymore. Ah, the body was under the floating head lady's control now. She was mouthing words then coughed. Might be in pain given how she winced just now. Crazy head lady looked around as if trying to find someone.

"I KNOW I SAW YOU, YOU KNIFE-EARED FUCK! GET YOUR PALE BLUE ASS OVER HERE!" She started screaming. We felt that, getting a new body to work just right was always a pain. At least the others weren't staring at her, no, they were content to talk and stare at all the shades. We guess the Gray that made us was one of us too? He did say there were no kings and all that stuff.

We rubbed the back of our heads in unison, looking around. Other shades were staring, some of us even tried to play it off and ignore it. There was a lot of mingling going on, it just felt weird being here. The Count was still going on with his rant, ignored by almost everyone. All while some vampire was going around the blood fountains and tearing their dangly bits off. The maids kept bringing out more people... wait a minute. These people had the same exact features and blood!?

"STOP FUCKING AROUND! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS IF I HAVE TO SPEND THE WHOLE PARTY LOOKING FOR YOU!" She shook her fist with vigor, while the headless body slammed its fists together. Everyone else casually talked to each other as if this was just another night. We knew that the other shades were asking questions, doing their best to mingle as well. No one was approaching us, so it was time to talk to someone at random.

"SO HELP ME! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN, I WILL DRAG YOU OUT INTO THE SUN! I..." We tapped her on the foot, making her jump. "PFHWERKLHSHKE! WHO THE FUCK!?" She spun her head around without her body even moving as it hopped off for a split second. Some of the other vampires snickered, we didn't miss the pitying look a few gave us.

Our hands were raised to show we didn't mean harm as we looked up at the crazy one. The headless body stomping its way over towards us. We had to think quickly since she seemed to be getting angrier by the second. One of the other shades slid us the location of the weird elf vampire. We pointed, "He's over there, why is he avoiding you?"

The headless body stopped moving, while the lady knelt trying to get a closer look. "You're new," her voice was leveled and steady, "don't touch me while I'm trying to find that knife-eared bastard." She glared at us, her eyes darting from each of our four masks. "Which one of you is the leader?"

We rubbed the back of our heads in unison, "None of us? The four of us are one, we got cursed by this mask so there has to be four of us." We wanted to keep talking, but she stopped us.

"Then what about the other four hundred or so? I didn't bother counting since the Count wouldn't fuck us over like this." Why was she glaring at us? The body was marching over, but it wasn't as aggressive anymore. The lips of our masks curled up into a smile, which just made the lady blink and back off a little. "Fuck, you're creepy."

Rude, no don't say it. We slumped a little, glad the word wasn't said out loud. "Says the floating head lady that is using a dead person's body to move around."

She showed her fangs, hissing a little. "Fuck you, I can't help what I am." Ah, she was one of those people. The kind that needed a certain approach to deal with.

We pointed to our masks, "Cursed, we can't help it." We stated in unison, "You seem similar to us, and that's interesting. May we ask questions? We can leave you alone, if you'd like."

"Only if you answer my questions honestly." She sighed, sitting down on the edge of the table while the other vampires drank the blood of the new body. "There are four of you? Aren't you all the same or something?"

"We're technically all copies of one personality, but we can't control all of us so we split up a little?" We answered, causing her to raise a brow. "Okay, maybe not just a little. We all process and perceive things differently. This makes us different because experience molds us." We snapped our fingers thinking of a better way to explain it, "Think of it like telepathy that's always on. The four of us are one, while another two can be one. We're just connected like that."

"I see," she slowly tilted her head back in thought. "So long as one of you is left alive, you will be able to regain your numbers and strength. You better stay out of trouble, it'll be a pain in the neck for both of us if I end up having to hunt you down." She rubbed her temples, "Fuck, I'm just imagining it. Next question." She closed her eyes, while we shared this information with the others.

"Why aren't we listening to the Count? He's still ranting about how dumb the nobles are in the Southern Kingdom." The other shades confirmed that he was still going. It was also nice to have these answers triple confirmed to make sure none of the vampires were lying.

"He's our father and he does this every time there is a party. To him, we're his family. We're allowed to do whatever we want, even disregarding what he says or challenging his opinions. The big rule is to not kill others, or hurt them in some way that cannot be repaired. There's a lot of subtle Bew shit and implications, but it doesn't really matter. I'm the big sister that pops you little squirts for stepping out of line. I'm also the one that will march into every last one of the hells to bring you back."

We bowed respectfully, "Thank you." This surprised her, even getting a smile. "We'll do our best to keep out of trouble, one last question."

She crossed her arms, pointing her nose up to look down at her. She was pretending to look down at us, but smiled anyway. "Feel free to ask more, so long as you promise to help me find that knife-eared fuck."

"We shall ask the others to help." The message was sent out, spreading so that the other shades would help out. "He seems to be avoiding us now, but he hasn't left the building. Since you offered, don't blame us for asking all the questions now." We chuckled, our masks rattling a little. "What's the deal with the people being used as blood fountains?"

"They are people that pissed Charles and his friends off." She paused for a second, "Think of it like this, they are dangerous because they would have caused terrible things to happen no matter what. Even if they died, they would become demons and fuck certain things up. No matter what happens, what is done, or even how nicely they are treated; they will fuck up something important. It'd be one thing if it was accidental, but these people would end up doing so on purpose. They get kidnapped right before they do their thing, multiple instances of their bodies are made. Then they get to be food for anyone that needs to eat people."

"That's kind of morbid, do they really deserve that?" Wait, if the king of Eclipse could just bring people back. Why is the world starving for food?

She shrugged, "I'm sure it's more complicated than what I said. The point is, these people aren't allowed to have their souls move. They're scummy and we should convince ourselves they deserve this. On the plus side, we aren't hurting decent people this way. I'm going to want to see that knife-eared bastard by the end of this party. Let's hurry this up."

We nodded, asking more questions.

The Real Gray

No one seemed to notice the new bodies slowly teleporting into the mansion. They moved in conjunction with the other shades, all of them moving to pin down the vampire elf. It was simply wonderful to have so many sources of information, all of us working together to cross-check claims and reference what was said by others. It was such a shame that the True Gray realized this was an exercise before me.

This was only the first stage of a masterfully crafted plan by the Count. Our small army appeared from nowhere to put some pressure on those that showed up. An unknown to help them not flinch on the battlefield. A declaration that we would serve orders with the weight of the Count backing it up. How could anyone not realize something so obvious? I looked at the shade with the cursed masks, ah right, we aren't all capable of reading between the lines.

At the very least, their luck was on point. They found the individual that was meant to forward the plans laid before us, the next step as it were. Our role in this war was clear, we were to move through the battlefield without being seen. Scouts and relief forces meant to smother the enemy as invisible smoke. To move in on pivotal moments, ensuring the success of our side while relaying information to the Count.

This gathering was a play within a play. The Penanggalan vampire has earrings hidden just behind her hair. Silver spider earrings, that matched the button on the 'knife-eared fuck' she wanted us to subdue. The same shape on the cuff links of the vampire with his eyes and mouth sewn shut. One even embroidered on the hem of a dress. A hundred in total, while the Count sat on a throne with it hidden at the base of it.

We decided to see how many of the shades were perceptive enough to find them. A crude method to figure out who may need to be culled so that others might survive. It was all too clear that those with the silver spider were the most powerful members at this party. The fact that they were not confused as to the True Gray's mask showed they were well informed.

Vampires could not deny their nature. Creatures of the night, all of us needed blood of some form or another. Drop by drop, molded by what they had become. The secrets laying just under pale flesh, one with blood, one with the night. The book on etiquette proved valuable with such grandiose statements. Even as more shades joined our game of surrounding a comrade that could move through time itself. I continued watching from one of the vantage points, waiting and watching with the True Gray that sired all of us.

With the vampire elf's 'capture' the sewn one began to make his own moves. Gray spoken thrice moving with the Penanggalan to 'apprehend' the 'criminal.' A display was made, the poor elf beaten with his arms broken. They were already mending by the time he was dragged away, kicking and screaming. Too many did not seem to notice such small details, ones that might prove the difference between life and death.

Our part was cast, the kingdom was to be our stage. This was just the rehearsal phase, the time to prove we could play our role. The mystery of bite marks appearing on the clothes of those around us needed to be solved. We had to discern what was magic, what was a talent, the difference between rituals. Even as more games and ploys began to overlap.

The Count wanted us to succeed, without openly supporting us. Each vampire stated he was their father further solidified his role and ideals. All of this to make it clear that we could return to the Queen after this battle was over, for only a fool would assume this was the decisive moment. War was not won through the loss of lives, only through moving the hearts of your enemies. We had to make the people not on the frontlines surrender. Even then, there was so much more to it.