Remnant: The Eternal Cold War

by The Gentleman with a Mustache

After an incident that somehow teleported Dracula, his family, his castle as well as many of his subjects, they arrive on a new planet where they quickly establish themselves as the Kingdom of Stoker. However, Dracula has quickly found himself in the middle of a war between Ozpin and Salem. Can he find a way to break peace or will this war be eternal?

Fate has a strange way of bringing people together. Whether it is through accidental encounters, or intentional meetings, it was always meant to be. So the question becomes: Are mistakes truly mistakes or was it Fate in disguise?

Our story begins in Wallachia in the year of the Lord 1475. Within a great castle that houses many Vampire Lords, spawns, and only 3 humans.

Such Lords include Carmilla and her 3 sisters of Styria.

Raman, Princess of India and Sharma, Head Knight to Raman.

Godbrand, Skurge of Norway.

Cho, Empress of Japan.

Dragoslav, Warlord of Europe.

Zufall, Advisor of Germania.

They were all significantly important within the World of Monsters, but they all had one thing in common. They all served one Lord.

Vlad Dracula Tepes. The King of Vampires. The Impaler. The Son of the Dragon. Who sat upon his throne, overwatching all of his subjects converse and laugh.

In a throne next to the great and powerful Lord Dracula was a shorter throne for his Queen, Lisa Tepes, a human by all accounts but one whom Dracula had made his wife and even bore a son for him for who would take the throne should the king step down with his wife.

An orchestra played off to the side with some choir while many vampires danced. Striga and Morana were seen dancing in the middle of the room. Though Striga was having trouble.

Hector, one of the very few humans in the crowd, walked up to Lenore and asked for a dance, to which she smiled and accepted. Lenore led him through the dance.

"Never really thought I'd be in a party like this." Lisa commented before taking a sip of wine.

"Yes well, Aristocrats enjoy their parties, and creating bridges. It's how I've made many allies." Dracula responded to her while holding her hand.

Lisa giggled a bit as she looked at her husband "And how long before I am approached by mothers of daughters to try and marry into our family? Or should I be worried about unseen assassins?" She even tilted her head a bit with a small smile on her face.

"Are you certain it isn't the mothers AND daughters?" Dracula asked in a little dramatic fashion. "I would pity the assassins who decide to fight our son, but they brought it upon themselves." He chuckled.

Lisa couldn't help but giggle with her husband as she soon started to look around the party only to not find their son. "Speaking of, where is Adrian? I know he has just turned 18 but should he not be attending this party as well?"

Dracula frowned slightly and leaned forward, "Guard, do you know where my son went?" He asked.

"I saw His Majesty with two women walking away deeper into the castle, My Lord. Shall I fetch him for you?" The guard asked.

"If you would please." Dracula nodded before leaning back into the throne.

Lisa sighed, "Here I thought you making him a knight would bring him some form of responsibility, it seems I was mistaken." She then cupped her chin in thought, "Maybe I coddled him too much as a boy?"

"Don't blame yourself, dear. He will learn responsibility. He's simply trying to enjoy all that life has to offer before he takes on the world." He said to her with a gentle smile before holding her hand gently.

---

Deeper in the castle, a tall young man with long platinum blonde hair led two female vampires through the halls. "This castle holds many secrets within, and even I don't know all of it." He said.

This caused the girls to giggle as one African vampiress holding his left arm, slightly between her breasts, "Oh? And do tell, oh mighty Prince, what secrets do you know of this mighty castle of yours?"

This caused the other vampiress who was of Northern Europe to nod her head as she held onto his right arm, "Yes! Yes, my Prince! Show us a good secret!"

"Hmm, well..." Adrian had a smirk slide onto his face. "I'm not sure if you knew this, but the castle can move." He revealed.

Both looked at Adrian with wide eyes as both said in unison, "No! Surely you jest, my Prince!"

"No jest, my dears. I'll show you." He said, leading the two towards a large room with huge cogs and sparks of electricity. "This is where true magic happens." He said as he led them to a podium where an icosahedron orb levitated above the podium.

Both stared in wonder as they asked, "How does it work, my Prince?"

"Ah, I haven't quite learned how, but from what I know from watching my father. He thinks of the location, says it out loud, and then the castle suddenly teleports." Adrian explained, before leaning against the podium.

The girls grinned slightly as they asked, "Could you show us? Just a little bit?"

Adrian thought about it for a bit before thinking this could be his chance to get laid. So he cleared his throat. "Of course. Now, where shall we go?" Adrian looked at the orb and rubbed his hands together.

The girls seemed to think as well as both alongside the Prince racked their brains on where to go. Of course, this was interrupted by the guard busting in on them, "Your Highness! What are you doing here!?"

This startled the occupants in the room, and Adrian accidentally smacked the orb off of the podium. It shattered into multiple pieces and this caused everyone to widen their eyes widened.

"Oh shit..." Adrian whispered.

Soon nothing happened which caused Adrian to sigh a bit in relief, "Well I guess I was worried for-" Only for a massive backlash of magical energy to erupt from the room like a raging volcano as it engulfed the room, outside the room, the castle as well as the surrounding territory began to shake violently as if being hit by an earthquake.

Giant streams of electricity shot from the castle and into the ground. Cracks began to form before the castle and the surrounding land began to float up.

Inside the castle, Dracula ordered everyone, "Hold on, everyone!" He held Lisa against his body as a form of protection.

Hector held onto Lenore, Striga held her wife to her, even Carmilla's own elite guard held her against a pillar as the shaking became more and more violent until finally a bright blinding light seemed to engulf everyone as Lisa could be heard shouting, "I LOVE YOU MY DARLING!" As if she was saying her last words before Death took them all.

Back at the castle, the castle and ground lifted up even higher before it seemed to twitch and glitch before it finally disappeared with a final flash.

---

Fate has brought one world into another. A world with a shattered moon that was reflected in the cool blue ocean waters. The peace was disturbed by a spark of electricity. Another spark happened before the planet began to shake and quake.

That's when the castle and piles of Earth appeared and slammed onto the ocean. A tidal wave appeared from the boom and it went on for miles.

The castle showed signs of cracks from the initial landing before the quakes stopped and it began to go silent.

That was... Until Dracula roared out to the world. "AAAAAAAAAAADRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!

It wasn't until Dracula's scream that Lisa finally opened her eyes and soon, many began to laugh, cry, or just seem to sit on the floor or hug others in excitement at the fact that they didn't die.

For Lisa she simply grabbed Dracula's face and started to pat him down, "Oh my god, my love are you alright! Are you hurt? Please tell me you're not dead and you're a specter haunting this castle now!"

"Lisa. Lisa!" He raised his voice slightly to silence her. "I'm alright. Are you alright?" He asked.

Lisa took deep breaths before nodding. "I'm ok... I'm ok..." That's when her eyes widened. "Adrian! Where is Adrian!?"

That's when the guard opened the door. "Your Highness! I found the Prince and the two he was with." He exclaimed. Adrian and the two ladies followed behind the guard.

Dracula's eyes became red as he stomped towards his son. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Adrian raised his hands as he said quickly, "Father I didn't do anything I swear! All I did was show these lovely ladies the means to how the castle can move and then the guard spooked me and well I kinda… well it's kinda funny in retrospect cause you see… you see the thing is..." He was chuckling slightly a bit.

Dracula grabbed Adrian by his collar and lifted him up. "What. Did. You. Do..." He asked again in a low growling voice and his eyes glowing bright red with no sight of his irises.

Adrian was scared as he stared at his father only for the one person who he feared more than his father spoke up, or more like shouted. "VLADIMIR DRACULA TEPES! You shall put down our son and calm down or SO HELP ME, AS YOUR WIFE I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!" There was a tense silence as many stared wide-eyed at this human woman who just shouted at the King of all Vampires.

He looked at his son before gently putting him down and let go of his collar. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

"I must check on the orb... I want two scouts to go outside and tell me what they can find. The rest of you! Stay here! If you are wounded, we will tend to you." That's when Dracula walked past his son towards the teleportation room.

Adrian took deep breaths as his knees began to shake. Lisa soon walked up to her son and soon after a bit of calm rational talks, along with Striga sending two of her best scouts out of the castle, Dracula came back to a sight he never thought he would see.

That being Lisa open palm smacking their son before shaking him as if he was nothing more than a toy. "YOU IDIOT BOY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! AND FOR WHAT!? TO IMPRESS SOME HARLOTS WHOM DO NOT TRULY LOVE YOU AND NEVER WILL?!" Lisa's eyes seemed to water as she tried not to cry, "Do you have any idea! ANY AT ALL! How much this hurts your mother!?"

Everyone watched the Wife of Dracula shout at the Prince like he was a little boy once more.

Dracula walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Lisa. Calm down, dear. He's had enough, and he's going to make up for it." He looked at Adrian with hardened eyes. He flinched and looked away from his parents with tears threatening to spill.

"My Lord!" Striga exclaimed, walking through the doors. "You just see this!"

The King held Lisa as the two of them followed Striga outside of the castle only to find themselves looking up at the moon.

"What the fuck..." Adrian whispered as his eyes widened. Everyone walked out and couldn't help but gasp in shock.

The moon was broken. Shattered into many pieces.

Lisa soon asked, "Where… Where are we?" There was a powerful silence as Striga soon continued her report. "My lord, my lady. The scouts report that we are surrounded by oceans, with your permission I suggest we begin building ports and then begin building ships to explore what lies beyond."

This, of course, got Godbrand to open his big mouth to shout, "TO CONQUER! It's been so long since I have had a good conquest of unexplored lands like the olden days of the proud viking clans!" This got a hardy cheer from some of the Norse vampires.

Carmilla groaned and rolled her eyes at Godbrand.

"The ocean is still very angry due to this teleportation. I suggest waiting a few hours for the ocean to calm down." Morana suggested.

Dracula looked at the ocean before looking at the moon. That's when he said, "Agreed. Once the ocean dies down, get to work on the boats. I have work to do."

He walked back to the castle with the vampires parting like the Red Sea for him. Dracula made his way to the Laboratory where he walked towards the giant telescope. After shifting it a bit, he closed one eye to look at the moon. "There's scarring on the cracks... Burns. As if a giant beam of fire shot through the moon. What could've possibly caused such damage?" He mused to himself.

Lisa could be heard as she walked towards her husband and asked, "Are we still in our world? Or have we somehow gone into a different reality altogether?"

"Perhaps we are in a different time period. But... Perhaps we are on a new planet." Dracula suggested. "The moon has... A different color to it. It's far too bright compared to the gray rock of ours. I would be surprised if none of the shattered pieces have crashed landed here."

Lisa grabbed her husband's arm as she asked with honest fear in her voice. "Will our family be safe?"

He looked away from the telescope and at her before caressing her cheek. "We will be alright. I will ensure that no harm comes to us or our people."

Lisa just hugged her husband as she nodded, "I know, I just..." She was silent for a moment before finally saying, "I'm just so scared about all of this. Will we even be able to find our way home?"

"If not... Then we can make a new home for ourselves." Dracula said, trying to find the silver lining in all of it.

Lisa nodded a bit as she started to smile a bit, "I guess you're right, no church, no greedy kings, just us and our new nation." She said with a soft chuckle.

"Exactly." He said with a smile before hugging her gently.

That's when Isaac walked into the laboratory. "Lord Dracula. Hector found something." He said, keeping his voice low and suppressed. As if he was trying to hide his shock.

Dracula raised an eyebrow before he nodded as both he and Lisa began to follow Isaac, while walking Lisa asked, "What did Hector find?"

Isaac shook his head, "My lady, you would think me mad if I told you, it is best if you see for yourself with your own eyes." He said to her which caused her to glance at her husband, worried slightly.

They made it back outside with almost everyone crowded around something.

"What is it?"

"How is this possible?"

"Is it a human?"

"Make way for your Lord!" Isaac ordered to which everyone complied.

That's when Dracula and Lisa's eyes widened at the sight. Hector crouched next to a human, except... It had scales. Lizard scales instead of normal human skin.

"What the hell..." Lisa asked in complete shock.

After collecting herself, Lisa raised her voice to be as commanding as possible, "HEALERS! I need Healers at once!" She rushed forward as she began to look over the person who appeared to be female in gender, even with just the moonlight she could tell this being was washed up from the sea due to the seaweed in her hair.

Only question that came from her mind was where did she come from?

The crowd parted as the sight of Clerics carrying a stretcher was seen as Lisa took command of the situation, "Careful with her, careful." Commanded Lisa as each alongside her carefully lifted the lizard woman onto the stretcher.

"What the fuck is she?" Carmilla asked in a mixture of shock and awe.

"These scales..." Hector said, gently drifting his hand against her arm. "They feel like... Lizard scales..." The rough patches of scales were the exact type that belonged to a Bearded Dragon. "She's… a Bearded Dragon." He said in shock.

"A human dragon?" Striga asked in shock.

"No no, not an actual dragon. It's just a lizard. A normal small lizard. But... How does she have scales for skin?" Hector asked.

"Nevermind that right now! We need to get her inside and on a bed." Lisa said before saying, "Lift her up!" She ordered, to which the vampires did and started walking her inside.

This caused many to slowly look at Dracula for some kind of answers as to what in the world is going on. He looked at everyone else and said, "We will have our answers soon. We simply need to be patient."

Striga nodded in agreement as she said, "I shall dawn my sun armor and make sure the land is safe, for the sun shall be coming soon." This caused almost everyone to begin heading into the castle or in Godbrand's case, digging tunnels into the ground to make underground homes. Adrian looked down slightly before walking away into the castle.

"My Lord, is there anything you can tell us?" Raman asked as she walked beside her King.

"The Moon's shattering may have been caused by a large beam of fire, considering the burn marks on the remains. I've thought of several ideas. Either we are in the future, which I think to be impossible... Or... We may be on another planet." Dracula said to his General.

"But zhat is impossible! Your castle may be able to travel, but is it truly powerful enough to appear on anozher vorld?" Zufall asked in a bewildered tone.

"That is why that lizard woman is our only lead to finding out the truth." Dracula replied.

Zufall nods as he said, "Zhen I vill station guards at her room, mien Lord!" He announced as the German general walked off.

Raman looked at Dracula asking, "What of me my King, what will you have me do?" She asked him.

"Once the boats have been created, the next night, I want you, Morana and Striga as well as several scouts to travel north. Find any source of livestock or civilization and see if you can get any information about our whereabouts." Dracula ordered. "Be on your guard, in case the locals become violent."

She bowed before turning around and leaving. What felt like hours passed until finally a servant came up to Dracula and bowed slightly, "My liege, your wife requested you at once. The girl has awoken and is currently holding Hector hostage." This caused the King to rush towards his wife's location.

Moments Before

Lisa was looking at the woman while Hector was looking at her more closely as he spoke his thoughts, "Her muscle build is interesting, she has claws, and if I had to guess, she might even have a venom sack in her throat if I'm right of the species she is."

"But Bearded Dragons aren't venomous." Lisa argued.

"Well yes, that's true." Hector agreed as he looked at her. "I wonder... Is she an evolved species of lizard? Or human? Or was she an experiment? Could there be different animals like her?" Hector pondered these questions.

What caused him to stop was said person slowly starting to groan as her head began to move a bit. "Your Highness! She's waking up!" Hector called out to her.

Lisa smiled, "Good, we're going to need to take things slow. Just in case she doesn't speak our language. We will need a mage here to find a translation spell."

"What the fuck..." The woman groaned as she put a hand to her face and rubbed her eyes.

"Oh good, she speaks English." Hector said, before she looked at them and gasped before roaring as she tackled Hector to the ground and got him in a chokehold. "STAY BACK!!" She roared.

Lisa gasped as guards rushed in with spears raised as the woman roared again now with her clawed hand near Hector's neck. "STAY BACK OR HE DIES! I WON'T BECOME ANYONE'S SLAVE AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME! SO STAY BACK OR I KILL THIS HUMAN!"

Lisa looked shocked, but for now she needed to try and calm things down as she yelled, "Get my husband!" One servant left while the guards started to back up slowly as the lizard woman was clearly upset, angered, and even showing signs of fear looked back and forth between the guards and Lisa.

"Hey hey... Shh... No one is here to hurt you. My name is Lisa. Can you tell me your name?" Lisa slowly raised her hands as she asked in a calm voice.

The lizard woman hissed at her as Lisa could see what were clearly some sharp teeth alongside regular teeth which caused her mind to think that this woman could eat regular food.

Hector was confused and excited as he said with a strained voice, "I can assure you no one is going to enslave you, I love nature in all its forms and you are the most breathtaking-" He couldn't finish as her arm flexed more which cut off more of his air supply.

"Hector, you're not helping." Lisa hissed slightly at him before looking at the woman. "I promise you, we won't take you back. We're not going to hurt you."

That's when Dracula phased through the door, like mist before looking at her. His very presence made the woman freeze in fear as her animalistic instincts told her to run, but she was stuck in place. "Let him go. Now." Dracula said in a low but stern voice.

The woman slowly loosened her grip as her eyes were staring at the blood crimson of an alpha predator, unable to break eye contact as Hector moved over to Lisa, "Lord Dracula. I beg of you, she is scared and confused. She meant no harm!" Lisa put a hand over his mouth to try and shut him up and let her husband do what he does best. Get answers.

Dracula walked up to her and asked, "What is this planet called?"

"R-Remnant..." The woman said.

"And where is our location, right now?" Dracula asked.

"We-We are between Vale and Mistral... And Vacuo."

"And what are these names?"

"They're the main kingdoms... The fourth being Mantle."

The room was deathly silent before Lisa asked, "What are you?" The woman was silent before Dracula commanded her, "Answer my wife."

The woman gulped slightly as she answered Lisa which only brought on more questions, "I… I am a Faunus like the Alpha Faunus in front of me right now."

Dracula furrowed his eyebrows at her at the name. "And what is a Faunus?"

"We're... Humans with animal features... We're slaves to humans. Treated as second rate citizens..." The woman answered.

Hector, even with his mouth covered, thought to himself, 'Fascinating.'

Only for the woman to ask, "Now who are you people? Where am I? What kind of Faunus are you?" She asked Dracula directly as he knew he couldn't tell her the truth, so at most a half truth would work for the moment as it would get him more answers.

"I am Vlad Dracula Tepes, and I am a Bat Faunus. You're in my castle." He answered.

"W-we found you washed up on our shores, and we tried to nurse you back to health." Hector explained.

The woman looked at him clearly not believing him as she asked, "What… What kind of bat?"

Dracula parted his lips slightly so she could see his fangs clear as day which caused her eyes to widen slightly, "A Vampire Bat." With her fear now consuming her entire being, Dracula took the time to enter her mind and get as much information as possible.

Once finished, he raised a hand and slowly moved it over her face as he said in a low voice, "Sleep." Which she did as he caught her with one arm extended before she could make contact with the floor.

"She's alright." Dracula said as Lisa walked over to the woman. "What did you learn, my Lord?" Hector asked.

"She was a slave in a village. She was on a ship filled with others of her kind. But her ship was destroyed by... By a tidal wave." Dracula explained.

"You mean..." Lisa paled slightly.

"The one caused by our arrival?" Hector asked, his voice riddled with guilt.

"Yes." Dracula said bluntly, but it held a hint of remorse as well.

Isaac's voice filled the room, "At least she is alive and freed from the chains that is slavery. However there is a possibility that more of her kind, or worse the crew, may show up." He said walking in as he slowly put away his blade before looking at Hector as he lightly chided his fellow Forgemaster, "And your love of animals will get you killed one of these days."

"Well can you blame me!? This is a race we've never seen before!" Hector argued.

"Enough. Isaac is right. More may show up. We will have to be on the lookout for them. What's the status of the boats?" Dracula asked as he placed the faunus on the bed.

Isaac reported, "It will take longer I'm afraid, while we do have some of what is needed here in the castle, we will need more than just the workers we have here, my Lord."

Dracula cupped his chin as he seemed to be deep in thought as he looked at the faunus and went through the information from just her. From what he gathered, she was used to helping with lumber alongside other slaves, which caused gears in his head to slowly turn.

"We'll wait until she's woken up, then we will ask for help. In return, we will assist in finding the rest of her kind." Dracula said, forming a plan.

Hector tried his best to hide his excitement as they bowed while Lisa stayed behind and worked to make sure the woman was taken care of.

---

A day later found Dracula with his Council as they all now sat at a round table with Dracula at the head as he spoke, "I hereby call this council meeting to order." Sitting down, he watched everyone all look at him as if they were waiting for the answers he promised them.

"To get the biggest news out of the way... We are indeed on another planet. Called Remnant. Inhabited by three distinct species. Humans, Faunus, a subspecies of humanoids with animal traits. And finally, creatures of darkness called Grimm. Creatures that are attracted to negative emotions and attack any and all that have life." Dracula explained with his hands intertwined together.

There was silence before, as expected, chaos followed as everyone tried to be heard as it was clear that to these people, minus Carmilla who was strangely silent, to get heard by your King was about shouting.

Dracula sighed slightly before standing up and roared out, "ENOUGH!" Sure enough it was silent and that's when Dracula sat back down.

"I understand you all are upset. But screaming about it like infants will not help us. It is clear we are in unfamiliar territory so we must be smart about this. Now, I want reasonable suggestions for our next move." Dracula said, looking at his Generals and Carmilla's council that was present.

Carmilla spoke up first "What we need is information, and aside from more of these 'Faunus' showing up, it is clear we will need to send spies out to these nations of Remnant to decide how much of a threat they are."

This honestly surprised a few at how 'safe' Carmilla was being, but for Dracula it was a different story, for he knew how this woman got her power and he knew that in order for his kingdom and his new nation to survive, he would need a Spymaster.

"Hmm..." It was a sound idea to Dracula and he knew information was their greatest requirement as of now.

"But what about the Faunus? We can't determine them as a threat. They're not a threat to us." Lisa argued.

"I am not ousting Faunus as a threat. I am ousting the entire planet as a threat. We must know what they can do and how we can be on equal ground with them. We must determine their level of technology." Carmilla explained.

"As well as their military." Striga added.

Zufall nodded in agreement with his Slavic counterpart, "Ja, I agree. Ve must know zhe military level of zhe vorld so ve may adapt und improve our own. Maybe even induct many of zhe Faunus into our ranks."

Godbrand huffed as he said, "PLEASE! Like we need some of Loki's rejected bastard children to strengthen our forces! I say. WE RAID!" He stood up from his chair as he continued, "We raid what we need like my Viking clans of old! We take their gold, their spices, boozes, EVERYTHING OUR LORD NEEDS!"

"We will raid if it becomes absolutely necessary, Godbrand. However, this is not the time for that sort of action." Dracula glared at him.

Godbrand stayed silent as he sat back down and crossed his arms.

Lenore spoke up as she leaned forward, "If I may ask, my Queen. What is this about a magical power coming from this 'Faunus' woman when the healers used healing spells on her?" That got a lot of people's attention as they all looked towards Lisa.

"From what she explained, she has an aura. Essentially her soul can act as a sort of defense shield when she is attacked. And whatever minor injuries she has, can heal her." Lisa explained.

"Incredible magic." Hector said, fascinated.

This got Morana to speak up as she asked, "And can she imbue others with this magic?"

Lisa nodded, "That's the interesting part, when I was able to sit down and speak with this woman about such a prospect, she said that one could unlock others' aura."

"And did she unlock yours?" Dracula asked.

Lisa shook her head, "No my love, I don't want to test something like this until she is fully healed… However, she did say something that was of interest."

Hector finished for her as his smile was huge, "She said that some bat faunus who were sensitive to the sun are able to walk out in it with no issue! IMAGINE IT! If you unlock your aura my lord then-'' He didn't finish as he finally looked around and saw everyones, and yes he was seeing it right, EVERYONE'S eyes were wide as dinner plates including his Lord who were processing the implication.

"We can hunt in the daytime." Godbrand said with a grin.

"We can interact with others without the threat of the sun burning us." Morana said with excitement laced in her voice.

Striga, of course, was the loudest as she exclaimed, "I COULD BECOME THE GREATEST WARRIOR! I must find dragon woman!"

Godband growled as he pointed a finger at the slavic woman, "LIKE HELL YOU SLAVIC BITCH! I am one to find her for my clan!"

Dracula growled before roaring to them, "SILENCE! I DEMAND SILENCE!"

They became silent and ridden with fear as they looked at him. Lisa was shaken by his sudden outburst.

"We are not using her for our own gains and advantages. We will ask her because we are going to help her and her people. If we use her, we will be no better than those human slavers." Dracula glared at them.

Both warriors bowed slightly as they said in unison, "Sorry, my Lord."

Carmilla, once again spoke up as she adds "With this revelation now given to us, it will make scouting and spying better for us. However, if I may, my Lord. Once we have the information needed, would you allow me to help in creating a cover for not only our people but also for, well a lack of a better word, transported land mass and castle?"

"Of course, Carmilla. Because clearly, these people will not understand what a vampire really is. We will be treated as monsters once more. However, I hope you have something convincing for a teleporting castle." Dracula said to her.

Carmilla nodded as she said, "When you believe it is time to show who we are, I say we are an evolved form of faunus. Or at least something akin to humanity that has been isolated from the rest of the world. Purposely hidden, waiting, watching for the right time to rejoin the outside world, my Lord."

"Hmm...That might work. Very good, Carmilla. Now we will wait for the woman to awake and then we will ask for her help. In return, we assist in finding her people. Give them refuge and the means of supporting themselves. Any questions or more ideas?" Dracula asked the Council.

Isaac soon spoke up, "We should have patrols of either myself, Hector, your wife, your son, or Striga in her day armor walking the beaches to find any more survivors who may have washed up from dawn till dusk. Before regular vampiric forces alongside healers can be used to their fullest for these searches, Lord Dracula."

"Agreed. I can help with the survivors." Lisa agreed instantly.

Lenore stepped in, "During the day my lady, if you try and save every survivor that is brought in day and night without rest, you shall fall ill and we can not have you falling ill."

"I can take care of myself, and I promise I won't overexert myself." Lisa said.

"Speaking of sons, where is the Prince?" Raman asked.

Dracula and Lisa looked at each other, "He's... Locked himself in his room." Lisa answered.

Raman couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "I know you would punish the prince, but to have him sent to his room? I assumed you stripped him of his knightly title and forced him to be a low level soldier."

"He's punishing himself." Dracula replied.

"Besides, he may have made a mistake, but that's no reason for him to exile himself. We'll go talk to him after this meeting." Lisa said.

Dracula spoke up, "Unless there is anything anyone else wishes to bring forth?" Those gathered were silent before he nodded, "Then I call this council meeting to a close." He stood up with everyone else as he and Lisa headed towards their son's room.

It was in the middle of the castle where Dracula and his wife walked towards the door before she gently knocked on it.

"Adrian? Are you alright?" Lisa asked gently.

Adrian didn't answer at first but after the fifth knock from Lisa, his voice could be heard, "Go away Mother. Please."

Dracula sighed slightly, "Son, we just want to talk. We want to make sure you're alright."

Soon the door opened slightly as Adrian could be seen, only a bit from the slit in the door, "You're not mad at me anymore?"

"No. May we come in?" Lisa asked. Adrian, after a moment, finally opened the door fully as he seemed to move to his bed and just sat down on the edge of it. He looked worse for wear as he seemed to have locked himself in his room for the past week since they have been in this new world.

His parents walked in and Lisa sat down beside him while Dracula stood at the edge of the frame. Lisa gently pulled Adrian's head to her collarbone bone and rubbed his back.

"We're... We're sorry for yelling at you that day. And I'm sorry for what I said to you." Lisa said gently as she played with his hair.

"No... You were right... I was trying to impress some women that I couldn't really see myself spending the rest of my life with." Adrian said.

Lisa smiled as she gave his forehead a soft kiss. "It's alright, me and your father were young and foolish once."

Dracula chuckled slightly, "When I was still human... You wouldn't believe the amount of barmaids I wanted to mingle with. But at some point, son... You will have to grow up. Because life will attack you. It is up to you to stand back up."

Adrian looked at his father in honest shock, "You? The most serious man I have known most of my life went after tavern maids as if you were a commoner?" Clearly he didn't believe his father which from the chuckle he saw leave his mouth showed he was telling the truth.

Dracula chuckled. "We all had to start somewhere, son. Perhaps... When you are older, I will tell you how I became a vampire. But for now, we have to make due with our situation. And we need you by our side." Dracula said gently before pressing a hand to his shoulder.

Adrian sighed as he started to nod a bit. "I guess, I have been... Negligent in my duties as next in line to the throne."

"Dear, you're still young. You have your whole life ahead of you before you begin to think of taking the throne." Lisa said gently. "We won't rule forever, but it won't be any time soon."

"However, from now on, we need you to take things seriously. We need you by our side to make this our new home. Can you do this for us?" Dracula asked.

Adrian was silent for the longest moment before he sighed and nodded, "Yes Mother, Father. I'll do what I must as Prince of House Tepes and heir to the throne."

Lisa hugged him gently before kissing him on the forehead. "Now, come on. We have some work to do." She said.

Adrian nodded as the three walked out of the bedroom. Soon, the castle was alive as the days to come were probably the hardest anyone has ever seen as the day and night patrols did produce fruit, even if so slim as bodies did indeed wash up on shore. Those that could be saved were while others by order of the King were given proper burials and not turned into either vampire or night creatures so as to try and build trust with those that could be saved.

One foggy night, Dracula was looking out of the window from his room to the port that had been built in the coming months since they arrived on Remnant. The surrounding land mass had many buildings built up around the castle such as a tavern, many cabins where the Faunus could sleep. In front of the castle, a large port was made with many boats strapped to the posts.

It was relatively peaceful until Dracula narrowed his eyes when he saw flames appear in the fog. He frowned before beginning to walk through the castle. Along the way, Carmilla watched him walk, "My Lord? What is it?" She asked.

"Something's coming to our port." Dracula replied to which Carmilla followed him.

Soon, his knights followed as they arrived at the port which had his forces hiding as from the fog a shape, a ship was taking form as it came closer to their port.

Dracula frowned where the ship stopped at the port. "Identify yourself and state your business." Dracula demanded.

From the ship came a tall man, burly in nature, with reddish hair and emerald green eyes. On his hip was something that was unmistakable. Collars, slave collars to be exact as he stepped further with his hands wide open showing he wasn't a threat. "Greetings friend! I didn't know there was land here!" When he was ten feet away from Dracula, he finally answered his question. "As to the reason I am here, the people I work for lost a ship containing some… well 'workers' who were heading to Mistral to help with some clearing out of Grimm. My crew and I were hired to look for the ship or at least figure out what happened to it."

As he was speaking he was eyeing Carmilla as if she was a prize while his crew seemed to have come topside. "Now mind telling this captain which port I have wade anchor into?"

"You are in the Kingdom of Stoker, and we have not heard of any lost ship." Dracula said with Carmilla snarling at the way the captain looked at her. All the while, several of the vampires spread across the port, as if trying to flank them in case they tried anything.

The man with honest surprise looked at Dracula as he asked, "Stoker? I have not heard of your kingdom before. I am sorry for treading upon your lands but well you know of my purpose and sense that is done well. I shall be on my wa-"

The man never finished as the sound of a woman's scream was heard from the ship as the sight of a young canine Faunus girl was seen trying to run only to be grab by her ears and now pinned to the dock by three men, "BITCH TRIED TO RUN CAP'M!" Shouted one of his crew members as from out of the corner of Dracula's eye, he could see Carmilla's eye twitch and her fists slowly ball up.

"Workers, you say?" Dracula asked.

"Yeah. It's a pretty loose term, but we make sure they stay healthy." The Captain said.

"HELP ME!" The Canine Faunus cried out before being punched in the face. "Shut up, dog!" One of the crew shouted.

Dracula frowned before inhaling some air through his nose. "You know, we have been called dogs as well and we have a word for men like you." He said before raising his hand, "Dog food." He snapped his fingers.

Before he even knew it, vampires flashed into his vision and began attacking his crew. Some got their necks ripped out while others fought with their weapons. For the captain, he pulled out his sword and blocked Dracula's attack with his claws, "I must say if I had known I would be fighting Faunus I would have been more polite. Honestly it's just business, no hard love, aye?" He said in a causal tone while switching his sword to his left hand as he and Dracula seem to circle each other.

"You mistake me for them. We are your nightmares made flesh. We are what you fear in the dark." Dracula said, his fangs flashing slightly in the Captain's vision.

That's when Dracula slashed the Captain's sword away and backhanded him. The man fell back into the boat before the King stepped on his leg, breaking it in half from the strength of his foot.

The captain screamed in pain as he dragged himself away. He looked up at the creature who was about to kill him which caused the Captain to laugh a bit out of fear as he said, "Wait wait wait! Come on, w-we can make a deal, right!? C-cause I've got a lot of valuable information for you! M-maybe i-it'll be good enough for you to let me live?" His skin was quickly becoming pale from the blood squirting out of his leg.

Dracula frowned at him. "I don't negotiate with the dead." That's when he grabbed the captain before roaring as he bit into his throat and began to drain his entire body dry of blood.

Meanwhile, Carmilla and the other knights sucked on the rest of the crew's blood before they were nothing but empty husks.

The canine faunus was scared out of her mind as she stared at the creatures who killed and literally drained them of blood, and the leader whom her senses told her to run from came to her.

She did the only thing a weak girl who had been treated like nothing but livestock for most of her life, faint. Which was why now Carmilla was holding her as she stood up. "I shall have Morana and Lenore look over any and all documents on the ship. I shall also send for healers." She said towards Dracula.

Dracula nodded, "Good. I will free everyone on this ship." He immediately went into the second deck of the ship with several knights following behind him. There was no living soul in sight. Nothing except barrels of food, and several chests which he could only surmise as treasure. He found a hatch that led down another deck so he looked back at the knights. "Take everything of value out and onto the port."

The knights bowed their heads before beginning to grab barrels and chests. Dracula looked at the hatch that was locked but simply tore the lock out and opened the hatch. He went down the stairs where he found many Faunus chained up, with nothing but filthy rags to cover their bodies. Their skin littered with filth. They all flinched when they saw Dracula.

Dracula's face became one of pity and empathy. Something he had not felt in a long time. He gently spoke to everyone, "It's alright. You're safe now."

Many still feared him, even when he broke chains and locks with his bare hands, or even when he guided them out onto land towards their fellow freed slaves who were brought to try and bring truth to the King's words.

However, what no one knew was that among the freed slaves was a worker of stone who upon seeing a woman of beautiful blonde hair, holding a lantern of bright light which led them to the land of freedom would be inspired to give a gift to this new land for which none of the freed slaves knew was even here.

As for the woman holding the lantern, it was Lisa who along with however many healers and Clerics she could get from the castle was directing the slaves to a tent city that was already being set up on the beach. "This way! We have healers to see the injured and sick! If you are in need of dire medical help, please shout for a cleric!"

There were several shouts and so they were brought to the tents. However, for the most part, they were brought inside to get cleaned up.

Those of the sick and injured were brought to the clerics and healers, while Lisa still stood as the beacon for these newly freed slaves as she would light the way to these tents.

Even when her job to lead them was done, she then joined the clerics and healers as she worked tirelessly to try and heal these poor tired souls.

Dracula joined up with tents and helped the slaves, despite their rational animal instincts telling them to run away from the Alpha Predator. However, as he worked to help the slaves, they began to see him in a whole new light.

---

While the King and Queen won the hearts of those shackled by the chains of slavery, Carmilla was working alongside her sisters Morana and Lenore to try and earn her right to be her Lord's spymaster, while also attempting to learn more of the world they found themselves in.

Which so far has proven fruitful as there was a bountiful amount of knowledge from currency, ledgers, weapons, even books on the nations and a substance that the books she was referencing called 'Dust' which of course was fascinating for not just her, but also for Lenore and Morana as both did dabble into the magecrafts and alchemy.

Lenore could be seen holding up an 'ice dust' crystal as she examined it with gloves on. "This is amazing! It's as if magic has been captured in physical form." Awe was clear in her voice.

"The elements of the planet... Crystallized." Morana said with widened eyes. "How is this possible?"

Lenore stroked her chin as she tried to give a theory, "Maybe it's unique to the planet?" She looked at Morana fully as she continued her theory, "I mean they can use the energy of their souls to create a protective energy shield around their bodies to heal them, people who are half animal-half human and finally the moon being shattered. What if this is the planet's way of trying to bring balance like what those of the far east talk about uh… you know, yin and yang."

"Hmm, possibly." Morana said. "We should bring Lord Dracula into this. He's more scientific about this type of thing." She suggested.

Lenore nodded as Carmilla stood, "I shall inform him while I give my report on what I have learned from what we gathered from the ship." Before she left the room she said towards her sisters, "Do not forget to speak with the former slaves to see what else you can learn from them. The more we know, the better prepared we are."

"Of course, Sister." Morana nodded. That's when she looked at Lenore and asked, "Why don't you ask the Faunus? You're better at speaking to people."

Lenore nodded and walked out of the laboratory, leaving Morana alone.

Carmilla walked towards the throne room as the sounds of people speaking could be heard, the loudest of which was her sister Striga and that brainless Norse cave dweller Godbrand.

"I SAY THEY SHOULD JOIN MY CLAN! There are warriors among them and they would be a boost to my raiding parties!" Godbrands voice rang through the door.

Carmilla opened the door and walked to the throne where Dracula was sitting with his head pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I will not allow their potential to go to waste under your aimless raids! Under my occupation, they will be turned from coal into diamonds!" Striga snarled at him.

Dracula sighed before shouting, "Enough of your infantile squabbling!" This silenced everyone. That's when Dracula spoke. "The former slaves are free. We are not going to force them to fight for us. It is up to them if they wish to fight under your colors. But you will do well to remember we are relying on them for information. At least, until we expand our territory." Everyone nodded and bowed their heads at him. Dracula asked, "What is it, Carmilla?"

Carmilla, keeping a controlled mask of emotion, said towards her King, "I have my report from the information I have learned from the ship, as well as some of the weapons we have taken from the hold, my Lord that you might find interesting."

Dracula nodded only for Godbrand to speak up which caused Dracula's eye to twitch, "BAH! As if their puny weapons could hurt us!"

Carmilla, staying silent, simply reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out a weapon of iron and wood, clicking back on a curved part she took aim at Godbrand. With a loud BANG and some red colored smoke coming from the barrel, Godbrand could be heard screaming in pain as he was sent back on the ground holding his gut as a bullet was now lodged in it.

Carmilla, with a controlled tone of voice, informed her Lord, "This is called a musket pistol which originated from the Kingdom of Mantle, my Lord and as you can tell it has one shot, but it's a powerful shot nonetheless."

Dracula looked at the pistol with intrigue. "How interesting. Similar to the Matchlock Rifle in our home. I will have to dismantle it to truly examine how we can make our own. Send it to my Laboratory. I will study it soon. What else do you bring?"

Carmilla nodded as she handed over the pistol to a servant as she continued her report. "From the ship's armory, we have at least 40 pistols, 60 rifles, as well as 30 some odd cannons. Alongside the weapons we have discovered, what I can only describe is the elements manifested into physical form via crystals which the locals call 'Dust' which I for one find rather… Well silly."

Carmilla then produced the four most common Dust crystals which were Fire, Ice, Wind, and Water which she had a servant bring before Dracula.

He looked at the crystals and held up the ice crystal, it felt very cold in his hands. "Have these kept in my laboratory as well. I have much to work with." He ordered before asking. "Anything else to report?"

"There is. I discovered several documents and journal entries... The four kingdoms are preparing for war." Carmilla said to which there was an intense silence in the room as everyone processed the information.

"The Kingdom of Mantle believes the only way to survive the Grimm is by banning art and expression. Destroying their very emotions. From what the slavers have learned, Mistral is going along with them simply due to their trade history. The Vale Kingdom is against Mantle's plan." Carmilla reported.

"Hmm... So it's either they deny and kill what makes them human in the first place in an effort to survive these creatures. Or keep their art and expression alive, and risk certain death. Quite the predicament." Dracula mused with his hands intertwined. "I believe it is time we started expanding our territory. We must reach outwards, gain new grounds. In a discreet manner." He said.

Carmilla nodded as she offered, "I can talk with the freed slaves and see about setting up an information network my Lord. The more we know the better we are prepared as it's clear that the war is not going to happen anytime soon. At most it is believed it will be a year or two before the kingdoms do finally come to blows."

Dracula nodded, "Excellent work, Carmilla.

She bowed her upper half, "Thank you, my Lord. I will begin right away." She began walking away.

Dracula looked at vampires and his Generals in the room with him. "My Generals. We must prepare. It will not be long before these Kingdoms learn of us. We will train in these new weapons, and learn the properties of these Dust Crystals. We will establish ourselves deeper into the continents. We will not start this war, but when they do... We are damn sure going to finish it. Within seven days."

This got a powerful ,"YES MY LORD!" from those gathered, and like that the clock began to tick down to zero day.

Within the first two weeks, the ship captured was studied and designs improved upon with a mixture of this world's shipping design and their original world's designs of ships.

By week three, many of the faunus were healed and now a black panther faunus was seen standing before Dracula and Lisa as she was now dressed in new clothes provided to her. "I wish to thank ye for thy kindness you have shown towards us." She breathed as she continued, "Which is why I come before ye oh kind king with a selfish request."

Dracula simply nodded as the woman dropped down to her knees as she bowed to Dracula, "I beg of you of kind king, allow us to return your kindness however we can. Many of us are artisans, craftsmen, builders, miners. Tell us what you wish and we shall do all we can to repay the kindness you have shown us. I beg of you great and merciful king."

That's when Dracula had a soft smile as he spoke, "I am grateful for you wanting to return your kindness. We have much work to be done if we wish to establish ourselves deeper. With your expertise, we can do better. I accept your request. What is your name?"

"Ebony, great king. Ebony Belladonna." She said with her head bowed.

Lisa, by his side whispered into her husband's ear which caused him to nod a bit.

"Ebony, I have an idea for you. Your brethren need a voice. Someone to rally behind. As much as I would like to be that voice, our kind are too different from yours for them to truly be behind us. That's why I want to appoint you as leader of the Faunus." Dracula said as he looked into her eyes.

Ebony looked shocked as she said, "I... I couldn't. I'm no leader, I am simply a servant." She averted her gaze as doubt was clearly seen in her eyes.

"You are more than a servant. I've seen the way you've treated your people. You've comforted them in dark times and gave them hope." Dracula said gently.

During the first few weeks when Dracula freed the slaves, Ebony was the one to comfort several of the patients when they were scared of the vampires, even when they were being treated. Ebony told them two simple words that gave them hope, "We're free."

"That is why I'm giving you this opportunity to heed the call. Your brethren need a voice. Someone who will break the chains and lift them up." Dracula said before he stood up from his throne and walked towards her. That's when he held his hand out to her.

Ebony was silent and hesitant at first but soon took the king's outstretched hand. "What would you call me, kind king?" Ebony asked, clearly still unsure of her choice.

Dracula gently pulled her up before answering. "You will be Dame Knight Belladonna. First of the Royal House of Belladonna."

And that is how the noble line of Belladonna would start from a freed slave to a noble knight that would lead her people for generations to come.

However, that was a simple footnote in the greatest change when it was discovered that Vampires did indeed have souls as those who could help unlock the auras of all the vampires within the land which allowed them to walk in the sun for the first time.

It was even said that the King even shed a tear upon looking at the sun for the first time in all his life after becoming a vampire.

---

1 Year Later - 8 Months until Discovery.

Dracula was now standing in one of many shipyards as he gazed upon the newest of warships. Thanks to the spies in the kingdoms, discovered that Mantle had created something called a 'steam engine' which, thanks to his laboratory, was able to compare it to the designs from the Roman Empire.

"We're close to rivaling Mantle, and possibly surpassing them in terms of technology. The steam engine is a considerable step forward for us. Already we are looking into this Dust to be used as a means of powering the engines." Morana said as they watched the engine work its magic.

"And our military is already showing promising results, mein Lord." Zufall added.

"Just today, we have disrupted another slave trade route to Mistral. We are nearing the source of this trade ring." Raman reported.

Dracula nodded, however he already knew that using only Dust would hinder their growth. "Have you looked into other resources?" He asked as they began walking out of the ship yard.

"We have, but all we're finding is more Dust. It's like the entire crust underneath this ground is Dust." Morana explained as the three Generals followed him.

"We will give it another two years. I refuse to hinder our growth by relying on only this material. Keep searching." Dracula ordered.

"Yes, my Lord." Morana bowed her head.

Soon, he stopped as he looked at a line of seamstresses who were seen working on the new uniform for the military, or at least the army which was a base dark black with red lines at the edges of the material with either bronze, golden, or basic metal buttons. "I was hesitant at first but it seems using your homeland as a base for the army's uniform is turning out better than I expected." Commented the King as he looked at a stand with the uniform on full display.

"Zhank you, mein Lord. An army is nothing wizhout a proper uniform." Zufall said with his posture filled with pride.

Dracula nodded before walking away from the line. He made his way further into the castle. Hector was in his room, reading up on several books on animals. Dracula passed by and asked. "Raman, tell me more about the slave routes. Have you determined the location of the source?"

Raman sighed as she shook her head, "No my Lord, I am afraid not. It seems the slave trade is as closely guarded as our very own location sire."

Dracula hummed, "Keep at it. I trust you to get results."

"Yes, my Lord." She bowed with a hand over her chest before walking off.

Dracula looked at his German general as he asked, "I understand that one of the former slaves helped create a new rifle for our army after being shown black powder."

The German vampire nodded, "Ja mein king. In fact he has asked to demonstrate the rifle to you if you had the time of day."

Dracula pulled out a pocket watch from his coat and looked at it before looking at him and nodding. "Let us see it."

Zufall nodded before leading the Vampire King to the Smithing room. Inside the fiery room, a Faunus with a crocodile tail was hammering on a piece of red glowing metal. Once he saw the two, he stopped. "Ah! Your Majesty! General Zufall! I'm glad you could find the time to see my latest rifle."

He soon waved them over to a workbench where the sight of an honestly smaller rifle could be seen, which honestly confused the king as he looked at the faunus. "What kind of rifle am I looking at?" He asked as he wanted to know.

"This is an evolution of your old rifles. It's lighter and you don't need to pour the powder into the barrel and form it into a bullet." The Faunus revealed a bullet the size of a small acorn. "These are your new bullets. They come wrapped in a layer of paper wrapped around it. Each casing has an amount of powder in it and a flint needle is used to puncture the paper casing. It'll ignite and you've got your flying bullet!" The faunus raised his hands in accomplishment.

Dracula was honestly impressed as he asked, "Might I know your name?"

The faunus looked as if he had never been given the time of day before as he said with a slight stutter, "C-Colton, your Highness, I uh… I don't have a last name."

Dracula hummed, "Then you should make one for yourself. But for now, show us how it works."

"O-oh! Yes, sir!" He grabbed the rifle before pulling a bullet out of a bag. He pulled the bolt back before inserting the bullet into the chamber and pushed the bolt back through. He pushed a pin in the back of the bolt and aimed the rifle at a mannequin with leather armor on. The most common armor that is in use. He pulled the trigger and BANG! There was a hole through the armor and body.

Dracula was honestly impressed as he looked back at Colton, "Are there any issues with the design I should be aware about?" The king asked honestly, interested as he could see merit in the design.

"Well..." Colton put the rifle down and rubbed the back of his head while his Crocodile tail moved from side to side. "Well, the spring inside is a bit delicate. If the needle that allows the rifle to fire gets dirty, it may misfire."

The king nodded as he stroked his chin slightly before he said to him, "You will get the resources needed to fix these issues or at least come up with a solution. If by the time you fix these issues, your design shall be used for our army." He said much to the surprise of Colton whose mouth was now hanging open in honest shock.

"I... I uh..." He kneeled before him and shouted, "OH THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU, YOUR MAJESTY!! I WILL NOT FAIL YOU!!"

Dracula allowed a smile to appear on his face as Colton stood up and got to work with renewed vigor.

Returning to the castle, he was met with the sight of Carmilla standing within what many of the servants have dubbed, 'the War Room' as the map of Remnant was seen with wooden blocks on the map along with flags that represent each of the four kingdoms.

"My Lord, I have come with an update from our spies." She said holding the reports which were rolled up and locked with the seal of Dracula's 'Spymaster'. Which meant that it was for the King's eyes only and if anyone who was not either the king or queen opened them, then it was instant death.

Dracula took the reports from Carmilla and looked through them. "What do we have?" He asked.

Carmilla did her job as she began her report while using a stick to move pieces on the map. "The kingdoms have been sending warriors with unique abilities to clear out areas filled with Grimm which are between the borders of Vale and Mantle. I believe this is so when the devil creatures have been thinned out enough they may send in their armies without fear of the Grimm attacking them."

She then moved some blocks in the ocean, "Reports show that Mantle is moving forward with what they call a 'metal fortress' which from what my informants could tell me is Mantle attempting to make armored steam powered ships armed with hundred-ton Fire Dust cannons. However, due to the limitations presented by Dust, it is estimated that they won't have the first ship done until the years end… If there aren't any 'accidents' my Lord." He knew what she meant and what she was asking in her own subtle way.

"The war is upon us. Well done, Carmilla. It truly would be a shame if their prized ship suffered any damage. We wouldn't be able to see how it fares against the other kingdoms." Dracula said with a small smirk on his face as he looked at her.

Carmilla nodded as she wrote down an order for her spies to carry out before looking back at the map as she started showing who was allied with who. "For now, Vale is facing the two kingdoms alone as both are trying to get the desert nation to be allied with them as a means to get to not only the resources but also the shipping lanes which would offer anyone unmatch access to either kingdom's borders."

Carmilla looked back at her king as she said, "It's said that anyone who controls this desert nation, controls the world due to the vast untapped resources. There is even talk of a black substance that is similar to oil. However, my sources can neither confirm nor deny this, my Lord."

Dracula looked at the map where Vacuo stood. "Hmm... It may be worth a look after this war is either prevented or has ended. If we can speak with Vacuo's leader in a possible treaty, we may be able to search for this black substance."

Carmilla nodded, "I shall make a note of it, my Lord." That's when the last report came which it was already clear Carmilla felt like it was just a wild rumor. "Finally, well I think it a joke, my Lord, however one of our spies was approached in Vale by someone claiming to be working for the King of Vale and wanted them to help fight the 'the true threat to our world.' Which our spy in Vale believes to be some sort of way to recruit more people into the Valean army."

Dracula frowned slightly, "The true threat... Either the King sees the rest of the kingdoms as a threat. Or... He knows more than he's letting on. Have our spy in Vale pursue this. If it really is just propaganda, then we'll drop it. But if there truly is something worse out there, I want to know."

Carmilla gave a sharp nod as she finished, "Outside of the usual power plays being conducted by the kingdoms and their allies, I have nothing else to report at this time."

"Thank you Carmilla. Report to me when you find out more about this threat to Vale's King." Dracula said as he gave her back the reports.

Carmilla bowed slightly as she turned and left, leaving Dracula alone in the war room with the map of the world now covered in blocks showing the movements of each nation. Yet none seemed to go close towards the dragon shaped land towards the north.

However, among them were the red blocks which represented the raids conducted by Godbrand's clan. Which, as of late, has been recruiting among the bear faunus and even the more larger built canine faunus while the more 'common breed' as they were called among the faunus community seemed to be happy just living their lives as normal as they can. Back to the viking clan, who now seem to be happy with their underground home.

The Vampire Viking has been raiding up and down the coastal areas of mostly Mistral since gaining the attention of either Vale or Mantle would undermine Dracula's plans and even unravel all he has done to build up his own military force to try and rival the world's two most powerful kingdoms.

Dracula looked at the map before walking towards a stand with a glass bottle of blood wine and poured himself a small glass. He took a sip as he sat down and sighed slightly.

As the King was doing his best to lead his nation, his Queen could be found working towards bettering their people's lives, all while being protected by Dame Knight Belladonna who was now seen in her Knight's armor. Which for now was mostly a breast plate over her Knights uniform and a sword on her hip alongside a musket pistol.

Lisa poured some water into a cup before grabbing a glass of smashed herbs and poured a bit in. She swirled the cup of water to mix it together.

"My Queen, I... I've been curious, but how did you meet His Majesty?" Ebony asked.

"Oh, well it's a little silly. I was a doctor in my little village, but I was hated. Called a witch. A whore for a monster called Satan. I left when I learned about a great castle with a man who has secret knowledge. So I made my way to the castle and met with Vlad. He didn't much like people and well... Safe to say he needed to relearn some manners." Lisa said as she handed the cup to a Faunus child who drank it and thanked her.

Ebony was honestly shocked to hear this, "Surely you jest, my lady?" From what she has seen, hell what ALL the faunus have seen of the kind and mighty king Dracula it didn't make sense. Granted, she hasn't been a knight long even after being assigned to protect the queen who was probably the most kindhearted she has ever seen.

Of course, it wasn't hard considering she was a slave who did only cleaning of houses larger than the hut she lived in.

Lisa giggled slightly, "No jest here. So we made a deal. He teaches me how to be a doctor, and I'd teach him how to tolerate people again." She capped the glass of herbs before putting it away. She sighed in a dreamy manner. "He's come so far since then."

Ebony just stared at her with a whole new respect before the sound of running feet caused her to reach for her pistol, only for the sight of faunus and vampire workers running in with a young lion faunus who had a large piece of metal in his gut, "HEALER! WE NEED A HEALER! There was an accident at the mine!"

The lion Faunus groaned as he was placed down on the bed. "Sutures and cleansing alcohol." Lisa ordered as she studied the metal piece sticking out.

The healers began running around as a cleric came over and began chanting before he looked at the Queen, "My lady, if we pull this out now, we will have a small window to save this young man's life."

Lisa just looked at the young Faunus who looked no older than her own son and clearly she was conflicted about whether or not she could save his life.

"We'll have to work quickly. Let's get started. Is everything cleaned and sanitized?" Lisa asked as her eyes were hardened with determination.

A cat faunus nurse nodded as she had a mask on along with gloves as she handed Lisa her operating gown. She suited up to prepare for an operation.

The cleric's hands began to glow as he prepared to offer magic support.

Lisa took a deep breath before she said, "When I say go, gently pull the metal out. Get me some fire Dust powder. We need to cauterize it immediately."

The nurses, clerics, and healers moved around the room as they prepared for the operation while the sight of a magical aura was seen being made around the piece of metal as the mage nodded towards Lisa showing they were ready to pull out the metal.

Lisa took another deep breath. "Pull it." The aura began to pull the metal out to which the lion Faunus screamed through his gritted teeth. The metal was pulled and that's when Lisa quickly pressed the fiery Dust onto the wound which did a little explosion, but it worked as the wound stopped bleeding. "Sutures!" Lisa exclaimed.

A nurse handed Lisa the sutures as everyone worked to try and save the young man's life. Lisa began to stitch up the wound quickly and once it was properly closed, she began to clean up the blood around the wound. She placed gauze pads and wrapped the bandages around his waist. The young lion faunus sadly had blacked out due to the pain, but he was still breathing which was always a plus as the nurses brought him out of the area and to a room where he could rest. "Another life saved my Lady." Commented a nearby cleric.

Lisa took a deep breath and sighed in relief. "Another life saved indeed." She removed the gloves and mask before washing her hands.

A nurse came over quickly as she handed Lisa a cup of black coffee which Lisa happly downed in one gulp which caused Ebony to raise her hand up slightly, "My… uh… Your Highness, is it wise for you to be drinking straight black coffee? Six times a day? In the span of three hours?" She was honestly worried that the Queen would get sick or her heart might explode.

"I have to ensure everyone here is healthy, safe, and healed." Lisa sighed before placing the mug down on the table.

"Your Highness, I must insist you get some sleep." Ebony said.

Lisa looked at her knight as she smiled, "Oh please! You should have seen me when I was helping raise the prince, he was such a night owl due to his father's side. So I can assure you I am perfectly fine!"

Only to turn around and instead of taking the first step, Lisa began to fall like a tree. Ebony and several of the Clerics managed to catch her. Ebony sighed, "We must take her to her bedroom. And someone should inform him."

Everyone seemed to just stare at Ebony as she sighs and hangs her head in defeat as she once again was singled out to inform the king about his wife who once again passed out.

After taking her to the master bedroom, Ebony turned on her heel as she began to walk towards the King's office, her half calf leather boots clicking against the floor of the castle before arriving at her lords office which had two knights standing guard outside.

Raising her hand she knocked on the large double door which had dragons carved into the wood.

"Come in." Dracula said, to which she did. She walked through to find Dracula sitting at his desk with glasses on. He was writing some paperwork when he looked up to see Ebony. "Lady Belladonna. To what do I owe this visit?" He asked.

Ebony cleared her throat as she reported to her King, "I am here to inform his Highness that the Queen had overworked herself again and is now resting within your bed chambers." She said as commanding as possible. However, she was afraid that she might upset the man who helped give her so much and that at any moment he would take it all away which is why she stared straight ahead and did not make eye contact with her king.

Dracula looked at her before sighing and taking off the glasses and pressing his fingers into his eyes to try and fight off the incoming headache. "Thank you, Lady Belladonna. I'll go see her right now."

He stood up from his desk and began walking away towards their bedroom.

Ebony simply clicked the heels of her boots as she turned and followed behind him as was instructed to her by Commander Striga.

He made his way to the bedroom where Lisa was sleeping in relative peace. He sighed before smiling slightly. He walked towards the bed and sat down before brushing some hair behind her ear. "You always do too much, Lisa... You never knew when to give yourself a break, did you?" He said more to himself than to her. He gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

Lisa just snored softly before she grabbed her husband's hand and held it to her face, like a cat would its master's hand as she smiled in her sleep and murmured out, ''Hmm Vlad…" while Ebony stood by the door waiting for a command from her king.

Dracula smiled before remembering that Ebony was still there. "You're dismissed, Ebony. Thank you." He said with a quick glance to her before focusing on Lisa. Ebony bowed her head before closing the door. Dracula took his boots off before laying down next to her.

No matter the time of day, or even if either of them was busy, both King and Queen always found time to try and have some peace between the two.

---

The Day Before The Discovery

Dracula was signing a document at the docks. "Send a flare if you are attacked. We will have a squadron sent out immediately." He said to Raman. The Princess of India.

The heart of the Faunus slave trade had just been discovered and Dracula had just officially signed off on Raman, Isaac, and Ebony going to burn it to the ground.

Raman slammed her fist to her chest as she bowed slightly, "It will be done, my Lord." She stood up before heading to one of the new ships which was much more advanced than what Mantle would have. If their lead designer didn't have an unfortunate 'accident' with his shop catching fire due to his smoking habit.

Isaac dragged a grinding stone against his knife before pocketing it. "We will be done within the week, Lord Dracula." He promised before following Raman.

Ebony clicked her boots before turning around to load onto the boat which she herself still couldn't believe was even a thing, or even the fact it took three months for them to build such an advanced warship.

Dracula watched them walk into the boat before saluting them away.

Soon, the stacks up on the iron warship began to blow out smoke as the crew moved about to get the ship underway as it slowly left the harbor.

From the King's perspective, he could make out the uniforms of the sailors which was a light blue with red while the officers and Captain wore a more darker blue uniform not too dissimilar to that of an army officer. However, unlike their army counterpart, the navy's uniform was more designed for the open sea unlike the army whose only concern was that of what they might face on the ground.

When the very first iron warship was deployed, it was a great night filled with celebrations. The Faunus were in high spirits considering the kind of hand they were played. To them, the vampires were their godsend. Gifting them with education, protection, and the means to stand back up for themselves. Then with Ebony Belladonna as their own royalty, they believed themselves on the cusp of a Golden Age.

There was only one thing standing in their way... The Four Kingdoms of Remnant.

Even then they knew that with the might, magical powers, and military strength they would win. Unless you were the King who was currently in his study with his Spymaster looking at the report given to them from their spy in Vale which gave them a great pause.

Carmilla was standing in front of her king's desk as she watched him seem to re-read the message she got from her spy in Vale for what might be the tenth time before he slowly took off his glasses.

"The Queen of the Grimm..." Dracula whispered. "How is that possible?" Carmilla was silent before Dracula finally raised his voice, "What else has your spy learned!?" Which caused her to jump slightly as she tried to keep her emotionless mask up.

"Well... He's learned of four young women who are given magic of the elements. They're known as the Maidens of Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall. This King has been in a shadow war with this... Salem for many years." Carmilla said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

Dracula stood up from his chair as he walked to the window overlooking the already growing town, deep in thought as he finally said, "Have your spy try and get more information, but do not and I mean, DO NOT! Let them get too deep and if they feel they might have been found then have them cut ties and return home."

Carmilla nodded, "Yes my Lord. At once." She walked away from his office.

Dracula looked at the town. In his mind, he shouldn't be surprised. There will always be a fight between good and evil. No matter what planet he's on. But he knew this couldn't just be a battle between good and evil. He needed to know more. He needed to know who was who and what their intentions were. Because he may have been dragged into something he could not predict.

Looking up to the sky, he couldn't help but ask aloud, "Why did you bring us here? To break some stalemate? To bring change? To try and upset some balance of power?" He might have given up on believing in God, but that didn't mean he didn't believe that there weren't other high beings.

He shook his head as he walked away from the window. "I must be going mad..." He rubbed his face before taking a deep breath. That's when he looked at the reports and frowned. Now he had a choice, continue preparing, or reveal themselves now, or... Wait for them to find him.

Dracula leaned back in his chair as he tried to balance his options, however each led to the same result. War.

For a while, he would want to be the optimist and believe that the people of this world would accept them. He knew better, his realist side knew better because he knew human nature better than anyone else. They fear what they don't understand. If they went as far as to enslave the Faunus because of their animal features, then it would simply be another case of Vampire Hunters. Whether it was the Belmont Family or another family, it doesn't matter. All they saw were monsters.

This caused the king to chuckle, from a chuckle came a soft laugh. He seemed to be grinning while running a hand through his hair, "I haven't felt this excited for a fight since the days I fought the Turks. Oh how I missed this feeling." He breathed through his nose as he tried to keep his emotions in check because he hadn't felt, well he wouldn't say 'alive' but it would be closer to say he felt like he did the first time he became a vampire and cemented his legend as 'Vlad the Impaler.'

Dracula interlaced his fingers together before smirking, "If they want a true monster... I can give them one. I think it's time we've revealed ourselves." Dracula officially decided.

He walked out of his office towards the War Room where the remaining Generals were sitting and speaking to each other. Whether it was ideas or simple conversations, it had little meaning.

"My Generals." Dracula called to them. They immediately stood up and bowed their heads before he continued. "The time has come! Two years have prepared us for this. It's time we reveal ourselves to the world! Prepare my ship! We will converse with the Four Kingdoms!"

This got the salute he expected as they all began sending out orders or speaking via orbs to their subordinates as the build up they have been doing for two straight years was finally going to be put to the test, all the training, freeing of slaves, everything came together for this moment.

---

The Next Day

In the Kingdom of Vale, within the great castle that sat near a cliff that overlooked the entire city. The four monarchs sat at a table and argued with one another.

Among them was the King of Vale, who sadly wasn't truly who he said he was as he was really 'Ozma'. The wizard who has tried to get the world to unite against the real threat of the Grimm, however sadly as of late he has been hearing disturbing rumors of new creatures which did mutilate like the Grimm yet drained the bodies of blood.

'Salem, what have you created now?' was the only thing going through the old wizard's mind.

"The Grimm will kill us regardless of whether we are free to express ourselves or not!" A man with long white hair in a kimono argued. This was the Emperor of Mistral.

"The lack of expression is precisely what will keep the Grimm at bay." A man in white military garb with fur lined around the collars said. This was the General of Mantle.

"Do you have proof that your way of life has any actual improvement on the decrease of Grimm attacks?" A woman with large bull horns snarled at the two. This was the Chieftess of Vacuo.

The old wizard king sighed as he spoke to those gathered, "Please let there be peace my fellow rulers. The Grimm are the real threat, not us. If we keep fighting amongst ourselves, it shall be the death of our civilization."

It was silent for a bit before the Mantle Leader spoke, "The detaching of emotions and art is our best chance at facing the Grimm and winning. Isn't that worthy of sacrifice?"

"Has this even yielded results, General?" The Vale King asked.

The General was silent before a coldness seemed to fall upon them. "Ah the so-called leaders of the world's most powerful nations. Bickering like children." Said a cold commanding voice that echoed through the room.

Everyone looked around for the source before a violent breeze pushed the doors open. Black smoke poured into the room before out stepped Dracula. Each step he took cracked the marble floor as he used telekinesis to pull a chair out for him. He sat down and smirked at them. "Let us talk like proper adults, shall we?" He asked.

Weapons, of course, were drawn, minus the King of Vale whose eyes were wide in shock at the use of magic. "Who are you!?" Demanded the General of Mantle.

Out of the dark smoke emerged a faunus and vampire knight as they both aimed their rifles at the leaders. Ebony stepped out and stood by Dracula's side with a hand on her pistol.

"Lower your weapons, and I will tell you." Dracula said as he interlocked his hands together.

Slowly, each of the three did lower their weapons, but their hands remained in case a fight broke out.

The Mistral Emperor spoke up, "I have never heard of your kingdom before." His tone was insulting, however the Chieftess was tense as her hands were balled up and never left the handle of her weapon as her eyes never left this 'King' as he felt like an Alpha faunus, yet not.

"Because we began two years ago. You could say we... Appeared out of nowhere." Dracula replied, ignoring his insulting tone.

The general scoffed, "You're nothing more than an upstart believing you're better than us larger kingdoms."

The King of Vale who had been silent for the whole time finally spoke "what are you. You're clearly not human, nor are you Faunus."

Dracula simply grinned, showing off the tips of his fangs as he answered, "I and my people are the results of your greed, your ambitions, your sin, your very horrid nature manifested."

"We are vampires. Nightwalkers. And I am the King of them all. I've come in the hopes we can speak like civilized adults, and not the petty squabbling children I've been hearing." Dracula said as his blood red eyes drifted across all four leaders.

Of course, from the King's point of view he could see the rulers tense, their hearts began to race so much that he could dance to the beat, yet oddly the King of Vale was calm, his heartbeat steady, his eyes steeled as he stared into Dracula's eyes.

"Now, Grimm activity has spiked in the last few years and you want to abolish art and self expression in an effort to have a chance against them, yes? And what makes you think it will work?" Dracula asked the General.

The General was silent before finally he replied, "Because without emotion, the Grimm will be easier to destroy, easier to take back lands lost to them." However his voice seemed to have a small hint of emotion, one of fear when looking at King Dracula.

Dracula hummed, "And have you attempted to prove your theory in the last few years? Any evidence to corroborate with your thesis?"

The General didn't say anything because they were interrupted by the sight of another man in what Dracula could assume was this world's equal to armor of the far east as the guard walks to the emperor of Mistral and begins to whispered into the man's ear which caused Dracula to slowly grin.

"YOU DARE ATTACK MY EMPIRE WHILE YOU SIT HERE AND TALK!" Exclaimed the Emperor of Mistral as it was clear the operation carried out earlier had finally reached the man's ear.

Then again liberating the main source of the slave trade and in turn, turning it into a proper foothold into Mistral would make anyone upset, slaves or none.

"You mean your slave trade? You call it an attack, I call it liberation. Because let me ask you a perfectly reasonable question." His attitude changed from calm and collected, to a rumbling rage as he growled out, "What right do you have to enslave another human being?"

This got the Chieftess to give a slight glare at the Emperor who inreturn just glared at Dracula, "You call those who are not human, human? They are nothing but creatures to be used to better civilization against the Grimm and the Empire!" Standing up, he declared, "But know that this afront will not go unpunished! For this is seen as war against the empire of Mistral!"

Slamming his fist down, the General stood as he declared, "Which should Mistral go to war then Mantle shall back her allies as a means to liberate the land you have stolen."

"So you're willing to abide by the enslavement of Faunus, General?" Dracula turned his eyes away from the Emperor to the General.

The General stood his ground as he said, "I am simply upholding the treaty that formed our alliance. Nothing more, nothing less."

Dracula hummed before turning his attention to the Chieftess. "Chieftess, what do you say about this?"

The Bull Faunus was silent for a moment before finally speaking up. "I will not join any side as I value my peoples and my nation's safety over petty politics."

Dracula nodded his head in understanding. That's when he finally turned his attention to the King of Vale. "And what of you?"

The King of Vale seemed to be looking at Dracula as if attempting to read his mind, if he had such an ability, but was silent until finally he spoke. "If you're a threat to our way of life. Then I shall fight you, but for now I shall be here should you wish to break the bread of peace."

Dracula wasn't surprised by the threat, but at least it was a chance. Everything was going according to plan for him. Now, it was time.

"I will always be available to peace, but I believe that will not be possible until Mantle and Mistral either surrender, or become available to peace as well." Dracula said, looking at the two leaders in that last sentence.

The Emperor growled as he slammed his fist down, "There shall be no peace after such an action! There shall only be war, you monster!"

Dracula stood up and stared down the Emperor. "You know nothing of war. And for your sake, I hope you never have to see what my war is like."

The Emperor stood his ground as the general stood, "Then it is clear we are at an impasse." Stated simply as it was clear war was inevitable.

Dracula looked at the two before speaking, "I hope you are adequately prepared. Because this war will be over in seven days. That is a promise." He stood up and walked away with Ebony and the two guards behind him.

---

Once Dracula returned to his castle he was met with his loyal subjects inside the War Room. Graciously waiting for the news from their King.

"Welcome back my Lord." Said Carmilla as she bowed her head. Everyone else did the same thing.

"As suspected, Mistral was the first to declare war after the news of the destruction of his precious trade route. Mantle quickly followed up to honor their alliance. Vacuo has decided to remain neutral. Vale has threatened us but is willing to break peace with us." Dracula said to his subjects.

His son spoke up, "What are your orders, Father?"

Dracula looked at his son before ordering, "Prepare for battle!"

This caused a flurry of motions as orders were now being given. Generals rushed to muster the troops as Dracula moved to the map of Remnant, with troop movements being moved around the area of Mistral they had captured.

Dracula looked at the map and the amount of land they have captured from Grimm, bandits, and the Kingdom itself. He smirked as he looked at Mantle and the small piece they have. "Seven days..." Dracula said before smirking.