Volume 1 Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Short Journey to DC: Van Helsing

We’ve finally been able to sat down and eat something. In the viceroy’s house, several kids were devouring food like young wolves.
“Does boss eat like this everyday?” Jack asked, “Viceroy’s dinner looks just like mine.”
“Well what do you expect, dragon meat?” I said shortly, “This is my birthday dinner after all.”
“Alright, Jack,” Moya said with a mouthful of food, “Eat more and prosper.”
Then we stopped talking and dealt with food carefully…
“Dear, look at them.” Mother smiled, “Such innocent kids.”
“Yeah, happy days.” Father nodded, “Today is Cohen’s birthday, do you have your presents ready?”
“Way ahead of you,” mother’s got a small box banded with red ribbon, “here you go, Cohen.”
“Thank you! Mother.” I jumped to open it, “Wow! What’s this clothes!”
“That’s not clothes.” Mother laughed, “That is a soft armor.”
“Really? It feels extremely light!” I put the armor around my knees, “And it’s very big!”
“Cohen’s tiny,” father said, “Consider your growth, you can wear it by 16.”
“Does it have a name? It’s so light and so black.”
“Yeah, uncle Visual, it looks like a piece of clothes! Are you sure it will defend?” Carey was a bit confused.
“Don’t underestimated it. It specializes in defending magical attack!”
“Oh really? Let me try.” Carey pointed her fingers at me excitedly, but nothing came out of it.
“Don’t you forget sister.” Flynn said, “Your mana was used up.”
“Right… next time.” Carey sat down annoyed.
“Cohen! This is from me and Swift!” My big brother handed a box to me.
“Thank you brothers!” I opened the box, “What is it? Looks like an egg?”
“Yes you are right! Swift said loudly, “This is a eudemon’s ege, aunty Bellerina gave us when we were in DC.”
“Really?” I looked at the egg in the box. The shell was crystal clear, “But how to cook it? Boil?”
“Gosh…” Swifted looked he’s really suffering something, “that is not your dinner!”
“Hahahaha, my Cohen is exceptionally good at eating!” Mother said, “Your aunt Bellerina worked very hard to find it, and it’s going to hatch, into a eudemon!”
“What… impressive! Eudemon! What is it? Moya asked.
“Well, it depends. A eudemon will grow and develop according to its master’s abilities.” Father looked delighted and answered, “What is more, the hatching time is extensive, and in order to hatch, the egg needs its processor’s power.
“But Cohen has none!” Carey stood up, again.
“What I said is power,” Father looked at me, “it comes from one’s soul, the power of good and evil.”
He nodded and looked at me, and continued, “This power that lies within everybody, it’s powerful. Your aunty Bellerina and I asked his Majesty’s consent and gave you this egg. Lookin like an ordinary egg as it is, Cohen might wind up with a very powerful eudemon.
“Really? Then Cohen will have a powerful sidekick!” Flynn said joyfully, “Will it listen to Cohen?”
“It will. They are connected through the mind.” Mother said.
“Thank you brother!” I said, “But father, aren’t you gave me any presents?”
“Looks like I can’t run away from that.” Father expressed great patience, “We had all the food I prepared for your birthday carried outside the city, there are numerous kids who needs food. You wouldn’t blame your father, would you?”
“Not at all!”
“Really? Well how about this. Cohen you can ask me for a present, anything!”
“Ok…” I went over my head, “I want to go to the Divine City with you!”
“You wanna go there?” Father wondered, “Ok, no problem. Either way, I need to address yesterday’s incident to his Majesty Climos. I’ll take you with me!”
Hooray! I’m going to DC!" I can’t describe how happy I am.
“Boss, get us some souvenirs.”
“Yes, boss, it’s better be clother, see! We donated our new suits to those kids.
“Wilder, you look awesome with that one… with a hole on it, must be cool!”
“My lady Carey! That one’s on you!!!”
“Kids, quiet. Your auntie Katherine will bring clothes for you!”
My very first time riding a horse! Father handpicked a white pony for me. I named it Milky. It's so clever! Not wandering about, and followed my father’s ride all the time. That way I can talk with him without any trouble.
“Father! Look at those wild flower!”
“Of course, this is grassland bordering the Dark Forest!”
“Is that the forest where other alien people live in?”
“Yes it is.”
“Is it really dark there? No sunshine?”
“Well, it’s not. Like our own city, there’s light. Because most of the people who live there, are not human beings. Basically their ways of life are very different from ours, thus everyone thinks it’s a mysterious place. Plus those people could be pretty tough and hard on outsiders, which makes us humans uneasy to access their territory. Here is how it’s called Dark Forest.”
“I see, then what kinds of people are there?”
“A great many, there are orcs, vampires, winged-men, and elves!”
“Sounds fun! Father don’t stop, tell me more!”
“Sure, if you wish.”
…
From a distant, a horseman came riding fastly. The rapid clops cut off our conversation. That horseman roared and stopped beside us.
“Your highness! We found a group of hunters up front!” The leading horseman was the leader of my father’s guarding squadron. Uncle Maiza.
“Hunters? What are they doing here?” Father scowled.
“I saw them carrying a couple of iron cages.” Maiza looked sweaty, “And I think I saw something in the cages.”
“Damn it!” Father looked angry, and said to the others, “They came again! Get them! Set up the camp, let’s stop here today.”
“Yes, your highness!” Maiza said aloud to his followers, “You with me!”
Thirty horses rushed away following Maiza, causing gusts of dust floating in the air.
“Father, why you need to get them?”
“Cohen, I want you to remember. Those are bad people, they are here to capture kids, kids of people I told you about earlier.
“Although… why they want kids?”
“To sell!” Father said sorely, “They are going to sell the kids to other countries as slaves!”
“What is a slave?”
“Slaves are… slaves are people without freedom, without protection, without enough food. They could be bullied, teased and oppressed by anyone anytime.
“That… sounds terrifying, but how come I’ve never heard of any slaves?”
“Cohen, you have to understand. We don’t have any slaves in Swabian, and that was one of the reasons I am here to rule a province.”
“OK, I see now!”
…
By the time guards were finished setting the camps, I saw uncle Maiza came back escorting several people, along with several cages...
Eudemon is a species with great power.
They can be divided into higher or lower classes,
Eudemons are rare, and feed on mind powers of their processor
The rare eudemons are normally processed by the royal family.
Personnel other than the royal family will have to ask for permission to have one.