Nobody knew what the Twelve looked like as they always wore dark cloaks and hoods over their heads. Rumors had it that they symbolized the Twelve Elders of Migritic Mythology. No one knew their real names for they were lost when Anaxagoras hypnotized the entire race and bestowed upon them new names. These names came from the great emperors of Rome. Anaxagoras had a passion for this history, and so he named them after the Twelve Caesars.

“No, my lord,” said Daniel with a reluctant tremor, “I wanted to ask you about the project.”

“You mean Hydra?” Lord Julius asked.

“Yes,” Daniel said, “I was curious as to when we would start it. Is–”

“Now is not the time,” said Lord Tiberius. “We must wait till this mission is successful. Have the Rebels ready. If all goes well, we will start with Phase Three of the Silver-moon Project. Once Phase Three starts, we will simultaneously work on Hydra.”

Daniel looked unsatisfied with Tiberius’s answer, but he knew better than to mention it.

“Does something displease you about what I said?” asked Lord Tiberius who had read Daniel’s mind.

Daniel changed his thoughts and said, “No, my lord. I was just intrigued, that is all. I am a little anxious about the war.”

“Why so? Plan everything, make sure everything is foolproof and start. These were Lord Anaxagoras’s orders. Do not forget that.” said Lord Caligula.

“Of course, my lord.” He bowed and left the darkened room facing the Twelve. The heavy iron double-doors slammed shut.

Daniel walked out of the hallway and into the courtyard where he looked up at the sun. We conquered you a long time ago, and now we have even conquered silver,he meditated. Who can stop us now?He smiled and ran his fingers through his long black hair.

His secretary, Mikhail IV, approached him, interrupting his thoughts, and said, “They are ready, sir.”

*****

Alex and his family entered the Inner Chamber. “Let’s see,” his uncle said thoughtfully as he looked for a particular book. “It was here somewhere.”

“Uncle John?” Alex said, looking at him.

“Yes?” John said, as he continued to browse through the collection of books.

“Was last night all set up?” Alex asked.

“I thought you would have figured that out by now,” John said. “But to clear your doubts: yes, it was set up after we inhabited this space station. I had this chamber built secretly so that you might learn about your vampiric heritage. Ah, here it is!” John pulled a book off the shelf. Compared to John’s history book, it was a slim volume.

“What is it?” Alex asked.

John blew the dust off the cover, “It’s the Annals of the Kings of the Nyrax Dynasty. The original is of course in Migra, but before the king left he had four copies made. One was given to a secret group called the Twelve, another to a vampire named Daniel yus-Nikolas Gareng and this is the third.” He smiled holding the book and showed it to Alex.

“Gareng! Isn’t he... I mean... wasn’t he part of the Rebellion?” Alex asked.

“Daniel is Nikolas’s son. But he deserted the cause thousands of years ago. After the failed Rebellion in 151000 N.D., he joined forces with Anaxagoras. That’s when the Great Conversion took place and the Vampiric Race was born.”

“So General Gareng helped you to write the book?” said Alex, looking at the book’s title. The Annals of the Kings of the Nyrax Dynasty was engraved on a small rectangle sheet of silver.

“Well there was help from both Gareng and your father. Gareng, Nikolas Gareng, is your father’s cousin.”

“So he’s my....” Alex said, trying to link it all together.

“Well, technically, he’s your second cousin first removed.” John chuckled, “But Nikolas always joked about the vast age difference between Aidan and himself. He would say that if Aidan were to have a son, he would be more like a guiding uncle to him. Now the last copy is in the secret chambers of Antarctica. It’s said that that’s where the Red Serpent lies, in the Mausoleum of the Anu-Sa-Rihm, located in the Great Cave.”

“What?” Alex looked at John, his brow furrowed.

“Anu-Sa-Rihm. It means the Blood Gods. You really need to learn the Mitgritic dialect of the ancient vampiric language. And you need be trained in combat,” John said, walking over to the fireplace. “You will learn how to use a sword, how to fight hand-to-hand, and how to develop your vampiric powers.”

“You’re going to teach me how to what?” Alex said.

“Not me,” said John, leaning against the wall next to the fireplace, “your father.”

“How can I learn how to fight from a letter?”

“The discs.” John smiled.

Soon after the Treaty of New York and the Great Exile, there were many tasks that lay ahead for the Anisaei on the Earth. First, in accordance with Anaxagoras’s orders, the Rebels were to be held captive until Phase One of the Silver-moon project was foolproof. It took about four years to perfect. During this time some of the captives were experimented on. Then the second phase began, in which the silver immunity serum was injected into the remaining Rebels including General Gareng. It took two years for this immunity to peak. Training procedures took place for another sixteen years.

At the same time, the infrastructure for the entire Earth was planned and remodeled. Most of the devastation caused by the war was cleaned up and the debris was launched towards the sun.

The cities of the Earth were populated and developed with new buildings, roadways and airports. The water in the oceans was recycled and used for hydroelectric power in the cities and in the Central Command Centers. These CCCs were large mega stations that bridged the oceans and connected all the continents. There was one connecting Europe and Africa to North and South America and another from Asia to Australia and the Pacific side of North and South America. Two smaller CCCs also interconnected with the islands (or what was left of them) such as Greenland, Iceland, and Japan. From the sky, these command centers looked like giant metal octopi that attached themselves to the coasts of the Earth. Only Antarctica remained isolated. For the vampires, Antarctica was their Holy Land and the place where the Great Cave stood. It was strictly prohibited to go there until the Return of the Dark Lord.

Daniel traveled to CCC 1 via helicopter from London. “What’s happening so far?” he asked Mikhail in the copter.

“Well, the situation is under control,” said Mikhail, clearing his throat as he looked through a file.

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked, his fierce gaze trying to penetrate Mikhail. “I thought you said they were ready.”

“Your father was some problem for us; he tried escaping the lab and with his newly acquired power, he killed four scientists and some guards.”

“Well, how did you get it under control?” Daniel asked. “Does the Council know about this?”

“Not yet, sir,” Mikhail said, trying to meet his gaze with confidence.

“In that case,” Daniel sighed, “there’s no need to tell them anything. How did you stop him?”

“We put a restrainer on his neck, which he was unaware of. After the attack, one of the scientists turned it on, giving him a mild electric shock. The silver on his body acted as a conductor and paralyzed him.”

“And how is he now?” Daniel asked.

“Fine,” Mikhail smiled slightly, “but resting.”

“Resting?” Daniel said, raising his voice, “I want him ready for this mission.”

“He will be, sir, by the time we get there.”

“I surely hope so. When this mission is completed, we’ll have everything we need ready.”

From the chopper, they saw the massive tentacle-like structures. The bridges that led to the huge saucer-shaped base stretched from coast to coast, hiding most of the Atlantic Ocean. A row of helipads that branched out from the main base awaited the Presidential chopper. It landed on helipad eight and Daniel could see Erik, the vizier, waiting for them near the elevator doors that led inside the Command Center. Beside him stood two Imperial guards. The President and secretary stepped out and waved to the vizier.