I was standing next to the throne watching my brothers and my lord in the centre of the throne room. Even from where I stood I could hear the simultaneous chink as all their glasses came together in one crowning gesture. It had been almost two decades of slowly building footholds across Nosgoth. But now my brothers had finished establishing themselves as overlords in their own territories with my lord supreme above them. Of course the road that had led us here today had not been without its trials. A number of small rebellions had broken out here and there but they lacked conviction and organisation. If they had come together in one uprising rather than sporadically trying to overthrow us in pathetic attempts that got them no where, then maybe we would have had an issue. As it happens their attempts at overthrowing our great regime got no further than small acts of sabotage, which did little but frustrate our most minor of plans. Their work was futile. The inciters of these rebellions and their saboteurs were thrown into the cells where we could keep them alive for years before we needed to drain them of their blood. In this we found a punishment that also served our needs to perfection.

This toast was the signal that we had complete control over Nosgoth in my lord's name. The throne room erupted into applause as those gathered in the centre sipped from the bloody goblets, completing the toast. These days the throne room was usually crowded, given that to all intents and purposes my lord was a king holding court. Humans came thinking they could gain some good employment and vampires to pay their respects, or at the very least catch a glimpse of their great leader. There were always tasks to be done and my brothers were usually inundated by requests from their subordinates to be assigned to the sanctuary – the highest honour in the land. And when they travelled from their own lands to visit my lord, or sit on the council it was usually in the company of a vast and colourful entourage. Kings in their own right.

Raziel of course didn't bother with a travelling company. As my lord's right hand he was never more than half a day's travel from the sanctuary and was the only one of my brother's to drop in for little reason other than to enjoy my lord's company. The Gods knew he was a far more entertaining chess player than myself. But with the establishment of the empire Raziel came into his own. His position as my lord's first-born mattered now in a way it had little done in the past. In the world of my lord's empire Raziel's word was law. My brothers of course accepted this, as they had always accepted Raziel's authority over them, well...all except Turel

Poor Turel. His lot would not have been half as bad if he weren't actually far more capable than Raziel. Not that Raziel was unintelligent, but Turel saw things in a way his elder brother did not, and to be continually corrected by him rankled. That and my lord's obvious favouritism grated on he who felt he had much more to offer than good looks and a discipline that bordered on cruelty. Turel had the most vampires under his service, his palace was bigger and more lavishly decorated, his soldiers more powerful, even his servants better treated than the rest. He had thought that that would bring him glory in my lord's eyes, that my lord would be impressed with his progress and perhaps, just perhaps, he would praise Turel as the best of them. On the contrary my lord gave him a warning not to make too many men too quickly or to rush things with his clan. A warning which was naturally, delivered through the medium of his first-born.

Nearby, Dumah was governing his lands from a horizontal position such was his laid back attitude. Yet he got his work done and he did it well enough that his lands flourished and his people respected him; by far the most popular of my brothers with his subordinates and servants. We knew not his secret until it came out that he was known for his excursions to the servant quarters in his palace with a bottle of something they called 'whiskey'. He proved to the world that vampires could indeed succumb to inebriation; it just took them a bit longer. I thought my lord would have words with him about his lifestyle but it seemed that he was happy enough considering Dumah could also keep his men under tight control.

Rahab was the only one in which there was no change; he had always been the calm one, the composed one, though no less ruthless for it. His serenity flowed into his palace and his lands. Rahabim was easily the most peaceful place in Nosgoth. A lilting silence rested on the place, any conversations taking place in hushed whispers. Given the natural hustle of court life Rahabim was a marvel. Not least because his halls were lined with water, usually hanging from the ceiling in bowls just to revel in the shadows and reflections as the flames shone through them. Though it was unnerving to have a potential source of death so close without protection, but the effect was undeniable. Sometimes even my lord found his way to his halls, if only to soak in the atmosphere. Not literally of course. Of all my brothers his presence was the one I missed the most, the one I was most diminished by.

Without a doubt Zephon was the most changed. The rebellions that had broken out over the years had started near or in the lands Zephon had claimed. On the face of it this was not surprising as he absorbed the lands that were the last to fall, but they had made him suspicious of everyone and the subsequent sabotage caused him to become increasingly paranoid. He was the first to start a network of spies; placing many human servants in his brothers' lands, buying the loyalty of their lesser subordinates, having them report back to him. Nothing happened in the land that Zephon did not know of, sometimes he knew of things before my lord did, something which I think unnerved him too. Nobody quite knew how to treat Zephon, how to be around him. He obviously knew all our secrets, and yet he would not let on. In fact, unless it directly threatened him he would not mention it at all.

Finally there was Melchiah, poor little Melchiah. He had come along way since his failed raising and yet he was still the weakest of the brood. This became more apparent as his clan grew. His fledglings would seldom live passed their first few years claimed by the sun or the rain while some did not even survive the vampiric process. Those who did survive were clearly the weakest of all the broods. We seldom saw them for they had to keep themselves inside in the darkest parts of Melchium's capital for months before they were strong enough to even brave the outside world, and even then by night. Poor Melchiah, he was a good man who deserved better than the half existence he and his clan suffered. My lord spent little time in Melchium, distancing himself from his youngest son, uncomfortable with the life his own foolhardiness had damned Melchiah to, yet favouring him whenever he did deign to speak with him.

Yet despite their differences, despite their flaws, there they were; a sight to behold, all toasting the empire they had forged. This was the first time they had all been together in the same room since that battle at Avernus. Indeed some of them had been so preoccupied with the clans they had not seen any of their brothers for the past years. While I was watching them mingle with each other, embracing as old friends do and drinking rather heavily I barely noticed my lord return to the throne at my side. He followed my gaze, watching my brothers and gave a small sigh, "a shame times had to change. This will be the last time they meet as friends." I glanced up at my lord, curiously, "oh some of them may remain friends, Raziel and Dumah will be hard pressed to fall out and Rahab gets along with everyone, but from now they are neighbouring warlords. Soon they will get caught up in border struggles, petty squabbles and at some point down the line they shall forget they were brothers who loved each other. After all they are immortal and their empires shall last forever. Who knows what could happen."

If only we had known then what would happen. That their friendships would largely survive as would their empires until it was my lord himself who broke their circle, betraying them in the worst possible way.

By now the musicians had started and the courtiers were dancing. As if to prove my lord's point Raziel and Dumah were determined to lead a particularly vibrant waltz, yet seemed to be having some difficulty in deciding who should lead. I nudged my lord and pointed him in their direction. From the dais we laughed and I could see that those not dancing were also watching this humorous drama.

That was when I first saw her.

A vampire female standing to the side, leaning against a column looking directly at my lord, so intent upon him she barely seemed to be blinking. I tapped my lord's hand, "you have an admirer," I whispered to him, studying the woman curiously.

"Yes," he replied but did not look, "she's been staring at me since she got here."

I stared openly at her, but so concerned with my lord she paid me no attention. She was a fledgling and so would not have any defining characteristics of her brood for a number of years. Through deduction I surmised she was Turelim. I had not seen her before which meant she was either Turelim, Zephonim or Melchium as I knew the other clans thoroughly. Zephon had yet to extend his gift to any women and if she was Melchium she would be flattening herself in the shadows trying to stop her skin falling off. Her dark hair was long and her dress was exquisite. She looked beautiful though not the most beautiful woman in the room. Her figure was pleasant and her features soft and lovely but for the way in which she gazed at my lord made her look almost harsh and demanding.

"Oh for goodness sake go and see what she wants!" I snapped at my lord as he seemed able to look everywhere in the room save at her.

He looked up at me surprised, "why?"

"She obviously wants something from you, look she's not even blinking. Besides it would be good for you to mingle with the 'common folk'" I nudged him again, playfully this time.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine, but for your sake I hope she is as interesting as she obviously thinks herself to be."

In the end it was done masterfully. He left the throne and headed for the opposite side of the hall from where she was standing and spoke with his people. He took his time and it looked as though he wanted nothing more than to meet his subjects. It took him hours before he finally made his way to her, yet she had not taken her eyes from him despite his movement. Taking her hand and kissing it as he had with every other woman he had met that evening he engaged her in conversation. Granted a conversation that lasted longer than any he had involved himself in thus far, including those with his sons. I had lost interest somewhere along the line and was now dancing myself, with my brother Rahab. Raziel and Dumah had rejoined the dance floor and we were having enough fun trying to outdo each other with elaborate dances. At some point this degenerated further into and the area was all but cleared as Raziel and Dumah resorted to trying to ram us off the floor. Raziel's shoulder barge caught me off guard and I stumbled into the couple behind me. "Sorry," I laughed over my shoulder, only just catching who it was; my lord dancing with the staring woman. For a moment this threw me completely as my lord had sworn that he would not dance with anyone despite my suggestions and Dumah's invitations. But before I could muse on it further Rahab had swept me back into his arms and we continued in our antics much to the amusement of the surrounding crowd.

I woke late in the morning surrounded by empty bottles and the unconscious bodies of my five of my brothers. Zephon had not joined us in my suite the night before but the others and I had stayed up into the small hours of the morning reminiscing and talking. Dumah, Raziel and even Turel had partaken of enough ale to kill a human I feared. Even though ale and wine like solid food gave us no nutritional value and we could survive completely on blood it was still nice to indulge ourselves occasionally, or in Dumah's case more than occasionally.

I stumbled to the window and flung it open to get some fresh air into the room. I breathed deeply and then saw to crossing the room without knocking too many bottles over. I had fallen asleep first I think, resting comfortably on Raziel's shoulder and so did not know for how long they had slept for.

There was a servant outside my room with a goblet of blood ready for my morning feed. "There is business commanding your attention in the throne room my lady," he informed me taking the drained goblet from me. Subconsciously my eyes glanced towards my lord's door which was firmly shut. Seeing the movement he continued, "Master Kain has not left his chamber yet."

This was somewhat unusual in itself since my lord needed less rest than those younger than him and was always up long before any other vampire. But then I did not know what time he had retired though I could not remember seeing him since our brush on the dance floor.

I shrugged and closed the door, I would attend the business today. "Take a barrel of blood in there with five glasses, my brothers shall be hungry when they wake I don't doubt."

"Very good my lady," my servant replied smoothly with a bow. I smiled; I did like this man. Four times a day he would have a goblet of blood waiting for me. He must have stood there for ages just holding it for me but never letting it go stale. The others had their feeds left in their room but I preferred mine on the go and so he would hand it to me as I left for my daily work.

The throne room was always scattered with people who wished to see my lord about some matter or other. Today even more so after the events of last night. Extra servants had been called to pull down the torn banners of the night before and replace them. The festivities would continue for a few more days until everyone was satisfied enough and slowly filtered back to their homes. Business was tedious that morning. The brothers were here and so we did not have to deal with their requests for help or advice. Instead I was inundated with servants' problems; domestic quibbles and squabbles between departments. Part of me wondered if my lord had stayed in his room on purpose. He hated the servants coming to him to ask things that he really could not care less about. Today they were asking what food should be served for the humans? Should there be a special menu in lieu of the festivities? One of the prisoners in the cells had died overnight, was it safe to drain him or should he be buried? And all manner of menial jobs that regretfully had to be dealt with. I prayed for the day where one of our human servants excelled themselves at their duties so they could be promoted to head of house and they could dispense these orders.

I did not see my lord at all for that morning or afternoon. However I was joined by a familiar face. That woman he had taken a fancy to the night before, the one who kept staring at him incessantly to catch his attention.

"Good afternoon," she said smiling at me, her voice was low and dignified. She walked up to the dais, where I was sitting in the throne. I held up my hand for her to stay back while I finished dealing with one of the higher servants from the cells. After he had left I allowed her to come forward and I could tell that she was unimpressed. "We are both vampires surely I can come into your presence when you speak to a lowly human?" she asked, her voice making it sound so reasonable. Many of these fledglings saw themselves as the higher form of life, of course we were but we still relied on humans for much of the menial work of the empire, and commanded them the respect we would a vampire doing their job. It kept them happy.

I tried to sound just as reasonable in my reply, "Not when that human is discussing matters for myself or my lord." I was quite pleased with myself. I did not like this woman though for reasons I could not quite imagine. I thought she must have that certain air about her that I disliked though I had no desire to get to know her to put my mind at ease.

"My name is Valeska," she introduced herself and I noticed that she did not curtsy. Although it was to my lord they genuflected to, it was an unspoken rule that I commanded the same respect when my lord was not present. I handled a great deal of administration, after all.

I nodded my acknowledgement and looked to the floor to summon the next business to me, unfortunately for me that last man had been the final person who needed my attention that afternoon. Typical.

"You are Meg no?" she prompted.

I saw the vampires nearest the dais look up, surprised and my eyes flashed ever so briefly at her; who was this impertinent woman? Hardly anyone addressed me by my first name alone, everyone else at least honoured me with the title of 'my lady' if not 'Lady Megara'. "What of it?" I asked, trying so hard not to show my disdain for her. It would be unseemly to take a dislike of one of the few fledglings so early on in the reign.

She had a nice smile I would grant her, she flashed it at me now and lowered her head as if to be having this conversation was doing her great honour. "I am pleased to meet you."

Suddenly losing all patience with her I put down the papers I was holding and invited her to stand before me, "Is there anything I can help you with? Some business you might have? I regret my lord is unavailable this morning…"

She smiled again, this time somewhat knowingly and was almost lazy in her response, "oh I know, he is resting. I think he lost track of time..."

I did not know (though I could guess) or care how she knew this. However I was greatly impressed to know that my lord had lost himself in the celebrations. I could not help beaming at her, "Good," I said, "I'm glad he enjoyed himself."

She looked somewhat thrown, clearly expecting a very different answer from me, but I could not question it for at that moment Raziel had appeared, striding towards us. Quickly she her leave of me. I watched her go trying to figure her out.

"I don't understand her either," Raziel said, following my gaze. "It's like she's making a point of flaunting herself at you." I immediately surrendered the throne to Raziel out of courtesy to the first-born son, but he insisted I remain. "Very strange," he muttered watching the door she had left through, "I shall see what I can find out about her."

I returned to the throne and raised my eyebrows at him, "you suspect her of something?"

He shrugged, "naturally." He laughed when he noticed that I seemed confused and maybe a little more naïve than he gave me credit for. "Oh Meg, you must know how things are right now. We are all friends now but already things are getting a little…forced? When we were trying to establish ourselves many of the human servants worked between our territories trying to find somewhere to settle. Remember when some of the border territories were still being disputed well sometimes spies would creep into our camps, trying to find out what we were going to do. We soon realised the best way to do this…planting women in the court," he added when he took in my uncomprehending face.

My heart sank in my chest, more to realising that my brothers could resort to this. "Did you?" I asked, fearing the answer.

"I didn't have to, Dumah did not keep his plans to himself in those days, it was easier to buy one of his servants." He knew that I was disappointed but I would no doubt get over this revelation. My lord was right; their relationship was more fragile than I had anticipated or ever expected.

"You think she was planted here?" I asked, returning to the matter at hand.

Again he shrugged, "Who knows, but there is something not quite right about her isn't there?"

Unfortunately my encounter with her in the throne room was not my last with Valeska. My lord had indeed taken a shine to her and he spent a lot of his time with her. I never knew nor asked how far their relationship went and nor did I care. He seemed to enjoy her company for reasons I could not comprehend. Raziel believed it was because of what she embodied. She was one of the first vampires of his new reign. To her the mighty Kain was practically a God and she was blessed by his attentions. That and she had a flair for the games which my lord enjoyed immensely but found me lacking in the skill to play and the patience to learn.

Despite her obvious position as my lord's favourite, if she was a spy placed there relay information on his business to whomever she served she would find herself disappointed.

My lord enjoyed her company but he held no higher regard for her than that. He did not care for her in any other way and he certainly did not love her. He was not blinded by affection and his business remained his own. In the end it was amusing to see her try and gain privileges that would never be hers. She clearly thought that being allowed into my lord's chambers at all hours of the night gave her some kind of unwritten position at court.

How wrong she was.

I never once felt jealous of her, even when she tried to take my position at court. She did nothing outright of course to undermine me. Instead she did little things like bring messages to my lord's attention, she would stand at his left hand while he sat at the throne and she often commanded the title 'Lady Valeska'. Of course my lord would have none of it. She was not allowed any insight or knowledge of his plans. If she brought a message to him he would curtly point out to her that it was my duty and not hers. All she had to do was stand at court, look pretty and entertain him, a role she had expected would bring her some smidgeon of power. When it didn't I thought she would return to whatever hole she had crawled out of, but I was wrong. Even after the celebrations ended and the brothers returned to their respective courts she remained. When my lord fell into the state of change shortly afterwards she still did not leave, choosing instead to wait patiently for his awakening, something which only condemned me to her sole company for a little over a week.

Even though Valeska remained in every way my inferior everyday she tried to usurp a little more of my power. It became an irritant more than anything else. She knew that neither I nor my lord would stand for her trying to take more than he allowed her but I think she just wanted to push and push and see how far she could get away with. My lord kept slapping her down but still he enjoyed her company and felt little need to rid himself of her while she could still entertain him. Sometimes he would leave the slapping down to me, knowing that I disliked her and thoroughly enjoyed humbling her before the court.

We settled into a sort of routine. Valeska would keep him diverted when he needed it, but more often than not he would continue with the daily running of his empire with me at his side dispensing his orders with swift efficiency. She would hang around the throne room always waiting for him to summon her to his side, something he rarely did. Instead we would lose hours, heads together just debating the way the empire was developing. Then in the evenings he would dine with me or her (never both, thank the Gods) and retire to his chamber usually summoning her for some entertainment. As much as we despised each other credit where credit was due she was a dab hand at chess and was a consummate musician. As much as I hated to admit it some nights I could hear her voice filling the halls and it soothed even my soul.

My lord and I were in the throne room the day our routine was destroyed. Against all expectation a messenger threw himself into the throne room, knocking over half the petitioners in his haste. He ran to the dais, just about managing a clumsy, rushed bow as he threw his message at us. My lord raised an eyebrow clearly unimpressed with the whole affair and handed the note to me to read, emphasising how little he thought it worth his attention.

I broke my brother Dumah's seal and could not hide my surprise at his hasty scrawl. It took me a few moments to work out the barely legible handwriting but once I realised the gist of it I could not stop crying out with shock.

"It's Dumah," I said my voice quavering, "The humans have rebelled against him...by the Gods they've taken half his lands."