4. GATHERING
The time had come for the rally. Vampires from all over Europe and Western Asia came for the gathering. Aro and his friends had done a lot of work to reach so many others and maintained to keep it a secret. Aro visited amongst the people and they almost seemed flattered that he was willing to address them one-on-one. His charisma was infectious and made others like him instantly.
As he mingled with the crowd he found others with special and rare talents. Those he sent to the turret for a more private meeting. The original six vampires of Volterra excused themselves from the crowd gathered in the lower level of the castle and joined the others already waiting upstairs.
"This is wonderful!" Aro exclaimed. "Please, each of you introduce yourselves, where you're from, and what your special talent is."
A man with dark blonde hair spoke first. "My name is Charles. I'm originally from England but I've been wandering over most of Europe. My special gift is that I can tell when someone is telling the truth, therefore I also know when they are lying."
"Splendid!" Aro said as he clasped his hands together. He seemed like a child in a candy store.
The next to speak was another male with medium brown hair that fell just around his angelic face. "My name is Corin. I am from France. My venom has paralytic properties to it. One drop of it will paralyze my victim for the full three days it takes them to turn."
"And what about vampires?" Aro asked, intrigued. "Does it work on vampires?"
"Yes, but not nearly as long. They seem to only remain paralyzed for a few minutes," Corin answered.
"Fascinating!" Aro wondered aloud.
Next a couple stood up together. The male had dark hair long enough to pull into a ponytail. The female was very attractive and tall with dark red curls. The male spoke first. "I am Afton, this is my mate, Chelsea. We're also from England. Chelsea has the ability to strengthen or weaken the ties between people. I can manipulate fire." He said the last part rather smugly.
"Fire!" Aro about jumped out of his wooden throne. "Give us a demonstration!" he cheered.
Afton looked around the room and saw a candle burning singularly on a tall thin stand. He walked over to it, cupped his hands around it and when he opened his hands again a small flame rested in his palm. Sulpicia shifted and grew uneasy. She did not like fire. Afton used his other hand and held it above the flame. As he lifted his hand further up, the flame grew higher. He turned to a row of unlit candles and blew the small flame in his hand. At that, sparks flew out and ignited the wicks of the other candles.
"Bravo!" Aro cheered as he stood up out of his chair. All of the vampires in the room were impressed. The talent of manipulating an element was quite rare. "This is wonderful isn't it?" Aro said to Caius and Marcus. They both agreed but Caius managed to not show any enthusiasm. Aro eyed a young girl with long dark hair, tinted with a hint of red. "And you dear, what can you do?"
She looked up and was surprised that everyone's attention was now on her. "Oh, um, my name is Renata; I'm from here in Italy, a small seaport town. My special ability is that I can create a physical shield around myself."
Caius scoffed under his breath. He thought this ability would be quite useless in a war, since she could only protect herself. For the first time at this meeting a smile crept across his face as an idea came to him. "Renata, would you mind demonstrating your ability?"
She seemed confused. "My shield is invisible. You wouldn't be able to see it."
Caius' smile grew wider. He lifted a finger in the air towards Afton, and flicked it toward Renata. Afton obeyed the silent command. He cupped the small flame from the candle again and walked over to Renata. Her face revealed a hint of fear.
"Are you ready?" Afton asked her. She gave a quick nod and furrowed her brow.
Afton blew the flame in his palm and a shower of sparks flew towards her but rained down to the ground before they could touch her. A look of determination settled on Afton's face. He brought his second hand into play. While the bottom hand continued to cup the flame he rested his other wrist on top of the bottom one. The top palm was perpendicular to the bottom one and with it he shot the flame forward in a large stream towards Renata. The barrier of her unseen shield was now visible with the flames licking the wall of it revealing its spherical shape. When it was evident that Afton's power could have no effect on Renata, he stopped. Caius seemed very disappointed. Aro was taken with Renata and you could see the wheels in his head turning as he tried to think of a way to use her gift to his advantage.
The next to stand was an exceptionally beautiful female. She was tall and had long mahogany hair that cascaded over her shoulders. "My name is Heidi, I am from Germany, and I have the ability to create the illusions of someone's desires."
"Now this I have to see." Marcus laughed.
Heidi did not find it so amusing. She walked over to his throne and stood in front of him. She tilted her head and searched his mind for his most intimate desires. She caught it and smiled. The only ones who could see the illusion were her and Marcus but he didn't know that. He grew embarrassed and uncomfortable when Heidi weaved an image of Didyme in front of him, slowly removing her clothes and looking at him longingly.
"I swear Didyme, it's not true, she's making it up," Marcus spoke aloud.
"Making what up?" Didyme asked.
He then realized that no one else could see it. The whole room burst into laughter as they caught onto what Marcus must have desired. Heidi was pleased with herself and let the illusion dissipate. Didyme looked at the ground to try to hide her smile. She was not embarrassed, but flattered.
The last unknown vampire rose. He was tall and had dark hair and an olive pallor to his skin. When he spoke, his Spanish accent was evident. "My name is Eleazar. I am from Spain. My ability is that I can see the abilities that others have."
"Why didn't you speak up first?" Caius demanded. "We could have skipped all the introductions and you could have just told us everyone's ability."
"What would have been the fun in that?" Aro said, still giddy at the prospects of his new toys.
"My lord, can I make a suggestion?" Eleazar asked, unexpectedly.
"Of course!" Aro said, beaming at having just been called 'my lord'.
"I have a friend who has traveled with me from Spain. He does not have an extra ability as we do here but during his human life he was a leader among leaders during several wars. He is an excellent strategist and I believe his experience will be invaluable."
Aro pondered the idea and said "Of course, bring him up! What is his name?"
Eleazar began to move out of the room and called over his shoulder "Santiago."
