The Fallen Vampire

In the blink of an eye, three more days came and went.

For the asanbosam, the experience was not only enriching, but it was exciting as well.

These vampire offshoots were thrilled by the opportunity they'd been given to learn martial arts in a more formal, proper sense.

Taira may not have been any good at talking, but he was a very capable teacher.

He was able to get the asanbosam to stop hampering so much on outright savagery and instead develop a more skillful eye.

The great thing was, they were pretty much naturals.

They took what Taira taught them, learned it properly, and then started considering the best ways to integrate his teachings into their own martial arts; resulting in their individual development of new techniques.

Though most were still a work in progress as of now…

On the arcane side, they were also progressing smoothly in the exploration of their magical prowess, with many of them getting their first feel for the use of magic.

They spent many hours of their own free time in the library. Some staying all day.

The humans experienced a slight learning curve, but they are quickly getting their footing as the days go by.

Although, Big Country shows little to no signs of growing used to the early morning hours, and has been placed on a strict diet under Vaal's authority. It is a special kind of hell for him.

Though the humans struggled at first, they show signs of finding their niche.

Jordan, Himari, and Corey all have grown extremely attached to the arcane side of cultivating.

Raymond, Saanvi, and Sawyer show greater interest in body cultivation.

Though it's taking them a little longer to get to the fighting side of cultivation, they are on their way to developing a proper understanding of the basics to build upon.

But the path to the top is an arduously painful one, and while the cult members develop themselves physically and spiritually for the first four days of the week, the fifth day is where they put it all to the test.

From four in the morning to eight at night, the sect gathers in the courtyard for a sort of organized free-for-all. Everyone's cultivation is sealed to make it as 'fair' as possible.

The last man standing would be rewarded with the privilege of exploring Aveena and Taira's personal library.

They were free to select any three manuals they liked. The only stipulation was that they were not allowed to take them outside or make copies as a security risk.

But if they needed, they could stay inside all weekend learning it.

It was an immense reward.

But the cultist with the poorest showing would be skipping dinner tonight.

...So the children and Raymond made sure that they didn't go down first.

After fighting for over twelve straight hours, the cultists began cultivating together en masse an additional four hours.

Velreth, Taira, and Aveena both were in complete agreement that this was the best way to maximize the benefits from straining the body and soul as strenuously as they had.

There were a couple of low level break throughs, but none jumped a major realm yet. Though a few were close and would likely reach their next stage in a day or so.

When the hellish day (and night) of training reached it's end, a gong rang out.

It's reverberating metallic sound roused the attention of the cultists.

They slowly opened their eyes and saw the same sight as when they first began waiting for them.

A large steely gray fox with nine tails lie comfortably on it's side.

It was large enough for not just one, but six different women to lounge on his back comfortably. There was even enough room for each of them to lay back and kick their feet up.

But the newest addition to the cult leaders' family was a small and delicate red panda no more than a year old.

It was a female affectionately named Yukiko, but Lucia liked to call her Nibbles.

'Adorable...' The entire cult thought at once.

"I must commemorate you."

Aveena had developed a true, regal presence indicative of a leader over the course of this week.

Now, as she sat comfortably atop her husband's back with her hair tied back and ruby eyes shining, she was cementing herself as a figurehead that one would want to rally behind.

It was evident that she believed in her people more than they did. Which was inspiring.

"My husband and I really put our heads together for a way to make your training as difficult as possible. We even tried to kill you a couple of times."

'I knew it...' All of the humans thought at once.

"But you all rose to the challenge at every turn. I couldn't be more proud."

The cultists smiled.

"Since we know you all can handle it now, we're going to make your training three times as difficult starting next week. Rest and hydrate accordingly."

The cultists were no longer smiling.

Except for Vaal, who's screws had long since been knocked loose.

Taira was watching Yukiko climb over his paws like he was one large jungle gym.

He casually lifted the furry critter with one of his tails and passed her back to Inadu, who seemed to be the most fond of the new addition.

"Now, this is when I would ordinarily dismiss you all to rest, but I've been told one of your head disciples has something else in mind." Taira finally said.

As if he were waiting for his moment to shine,Vaal stood up wearing a smile that was almost too big to fit his face.

After bowing respectfully to his Dai-Shi and the ladies of the cult, he turned around to greet his little brothers and sisters.

*Inhales..* "...PARTAYYYYY!!!!!"

-

Ordinarily after one has undergone five days of the most strenuous exercise known to man, it is expected that the afflicted person would retire to rest for at least thirty six hours straight.

But the asanbosam do things quite a bit differently!

They had survived their first week of instruction at the cult, so now it was time to celebrate the fact that they weren't dead, they were stronger, and they were wiser!

A bonfire had been lit, the cultists were sitting around singing, dancing, laughing, and of course, drinking.

Taira and his family had retreated to their palace once the festivities began. You can't exactly have fun with authority figures watching your every move, can you?

And so, the night progressed steadily with the near dead cultists celebrating in a rowdy rager.

However, they were about to experience a visit from some very unexpected guests… but of course they were going to get drunk first.