Wow, it's been a while. Decided I was neglecting my lok fics, hence wrote this. Nothing much happens in it, but I'll start moving into the canon soon. Enjoy.

Negotiations

As the officer in charge of security today, Melchiah was the last into the room as he ensured the garrison was alert against trickery. The killing fields had been greatly expanded after the battle, and sensing massacre, the vampires had appealed for talks. Moebius had counseled against this, but for once his opinion was overruled by a unanimous vote from the other Pillar Guardians, on the grounds that it would not appeal to the masses if the Sarafan appeared merciless.

The spokesvampire for the invaders had been chosen by their usual policy of 'the bravest, most disposable hero in the land.' The ambassador was barely out of fledglinghood, and his honour guard of twelve was fledglings in truth. Although young, his disdain for humanity had been apparent from the first. He had no authority, and was simply a method for the vampires to leave the field unpursued. Any agreement he made would not be binding. Or so the vampire hierarchy thought.

The Ambassador, after delaying until all humans were present, flung the doors of the chamber wide and stalked inside, moving with the unconscious grace of his kind. Unfortunately, the doors, although heavy, were well engineered and he used more force than was actually necessary, causing the doors to ricochet off the walls and hit the first two members of his honour guard squarely in the face as they entered.

A series of sudden, violent, coughing fits, the origin of which were never ascertained, briefly overcame every human in the room. Not attuned to the nuances of human emotion, the vampire glared around the room angrily, attempting to stare down all the others, before realizing the futility of this and assuming his seat with what remained of his dignity. As the spearhead of the Sarafan, Malek was the one to welcome the negotiators to the table.

"Welcome, ...honoured ...vampires, to our stronghold. I hope you find your rooms to your taste?"

"I would, if they were not situated underwater. Such an arrangement is...uncomfortable."

"Alas, those are our guest rooms. Many human dignitaries enjoy the view. Rest assured, you are quite safe. Also, we would not wish for you to succumb to the urge to go hunting, and thus jeopardize our fragile truce. As I understand it, blood thirst is...compelling."

"...Indeed. Shall we begin?"

"In a moment. We have...precautions to take. Arrel?"

Arrel stood, and the vampires were suddenly nervous.

"What is this?"

"It is important that this treaty, should we reach one, is justifiable, is it not? Arrel is merely ensuring that all in Nosgoth know what agreement we come to, and that coercion was not used in the outcome."

The Pillar Guardians, Malek included, began chanting "Pillars of Nosgoth, we beseech you, let all in Nosgoth be aware of this chamber, so that none here be accused of duplicity." Arrel began glowing white, and, miles away, the Mind Pillar did likewise. All across Nosgoth, life came to a standstill, as all creatures, even those without intelligence, were immobilized by the images broadcast into their minds, of the chamber deep within the Sarafan Citadel. The images continued broadcasting as The Pillar Guardians returned to their seats. Malek grinned. It was a dangerous ploy, as if the Sarafan did use duplicity, all would know of it, but it meant that any treaty forged by this fledgling with no authority would be known to all, and thus difficult for the higher vampires to disobey easily without destroying their image as noble creatures under a curse, and if they did, in doing so they would hand the Sarafan a massive propaganda weapon, resulting in a huge increase in their numbers.

"So, shall we begin?"

" O..Of course. After you."

"Very well. Our foremost objection to your kind is the simple fact that they commit murder. This is not something to be encouraged."

"Humans commit more murders in wars over land lasting hours than our race as a whole does in centuries. We kill to survive, you do not."

"Oh? According to our archives, you once launched a genocidal war against a race, unprovoked. Since they are no longer visible, we must assume that you have succeeded."

"I...was unaware of that. In any case, it is irrelevant to our current discussion. We have not made war upon your kind, we merely kill what we need to survive."

"You do not need to kill, you need blood. There is a difference. Why kill, when you can take what you need without doing so?"

"It is quite difficult to convince people to remain still while you drink" the ambassador noted, now sounding amused. Malek was forced to concede the point. "You avoid my question. What is so repugnant of us killing to survive, where you kill without cause? The Sarafan has massacred thousands."

"Only in justice. We protect our people."

"Who decides what justice entails? You. Others may have different views." The pillar guardians were now seeing a new reason for the youth of the fledgling. He was clearly highly intelligent, and among vampires, looking powerful was not conducive to longevity.

"Do your Ancients not protect their children, when they are attacked? I make no excuses for the greed of human monarchs, but we protect, we do not oppress." Malek seemed very articulate, Melchiah noted with interest. He had been expecting Moebius to speak for the Sarafan, but was now beginning to see Malek had been chosen correctly. Understandably, Moebius was an object of some distrust for vampires, where Malek was merely seen as his faithful dog, an object of occasional wariness, perhaps, but largely contempt.

"Oh? I remember occasions where undisciplined Sarafan soldiers were accused of massacre, lynching, and rape."

"And all were heavily punished. Absolute control is impossible, but if you looked at other armies, such as Willendorf, you will notice that such occasions are far more widespread in his army than in ours."

"Absolute control is impossible? Why- Ah, yes, a weakness of your kind. Vampires are more amenable." The casually thrown insult slid off Malek without making any impression whatsoever. The vampire continued speaking.

"Yet, you still cannot deny that we kill to survive. It is unjust to kill us because of our nature."

"It is in the nature of a wolf to kill sheep, but when a shepherd sees a wolf attacking his flock, he must kill it" Mortanius pointed out suddenly. Melchiah blinked, and glanced at Moebius, lying on a litter nearby as he remained weak, mouthing 'Shepherd? Mortanius?' Moebius gave one short nod, before returning his attention to the table.

"Then there is no agreement we can come to. We cannot stop killing, or we will starve, and yet that is clearly a requirement of any treaty you can devise. I see your logic, but we are unable to comply. I am genuinely sorry." The vampire rose and turned to leave.

"Wait. Perhaps we could come to some arrangement." Surprise resonated around the chamber. Malek, showing mercy to a vampire?

"Such as?"

"Criminals, perhaps?" Nearby, Moebius was white with rage at the thought of mercy to the vampires, but was wise enough not to speak. The vampire laughed.

"A noble effort, but a futile one. Our high vampires would not consent to preying on your undesirables. In any case, I believe that news of such a proposal would dramatically reduce the amount of criminals available before we drank a drop, and to a level where our race could not be sustained."

"True," Malek said almost sadly. "Then we meet in war."

"We meet in war. Although I hope I do not meet you. I fear I would soon fall."

This time Malek was the one to laugh.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Farewell."

The vampires departed. Malek sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Am I to lead a fresh campaign against the last vampires?"

Moebius indicated he was correct.

"Give him time to return to his fellows, and then order the advance." Donning his helmet, Melchiah left to execute the order.