In less than two weeks, the Countess barony was reduced to ruin. Even she, the emblem of noble strength and authority, met her end at the hands of the creatures and was added to it's growing number. The existence of thralls, once whispered and doubted, was no longer speculation. While the empire struggled to suppress the news, fearing panic, it spread all the same through whispers and terrified rumors.
The vampire godlings, however, were doing the opposite of the empire. They crept into cities under the cover of darkness, letting fear fester, sowing tales of the creatures of the night. They spoke of towns where light no longer offered protection, of homes that could not keep the darkness at bay. At first, the stories were dismissed as exaggerations, the work of frightened minds or wandering bards.
