“Oh come now. There is no need for such ceremony between us” Damianus said with a smile then as if he just remembered something, he clicked his fingers “Oh, get up, get up”

They all stood.

“Thank you, Origin leader,” Michael said and they all echoed the same thing.

“That is such a mouthful, don’t you think?” he said with his eyes on the leader, who looked back at him incomprehensively.

“The title, I mean” Damianus clarified “Damianus”

“No, I am not…oh” Michael looked at him as comprehension dawned “You are Damianus”

“Yes, the name I was born with. Let us dispense with the formalities and I will take the liberty of calling you, Michael. Is that fine?”

“Of course, Or… erm, Damianus,” he said, the strange name sounding awkward to his ears as he pronounced it.

Damianus tilted his head as if considering something “Listening to you call the name made it seem like it is a mouthful too” he smiled before turning towards the young vampires who were rude to him earlier.

The smile on his face was gone as he pinned them with a direct, no-nonsense stare that had them fidgeting even though Rey tried to put up a tough front, Damianus could hear his teeth knocking together.

He stared at them for a while unsmiling and their anxiety increased. Even those around wondered what would become of the youths.

“They must have displeased him when he got here” one kid whispered to his friends. The little kids who couldn’t be more than ten years old in the real world though were both more than fifty years old, some of the newly turned who were saved from dying of a plague.

Suddenly, Damianus smiled. He decided that the apprehension and fear they showed was enough punishment for them. They would think twice before undermining others next time.

He turned away from them as he remembered one of the things he had learnt in the book. It was polite and necessary to give children gifts when visiting a place.

Damianus thought of what he could give to them and he remembered one of his treasured creations; the moon cream.

“May I interest you to step into my office, leader, so we may discuss?” Michael asked politely.

“Yes, of course,” Damianus replied “Right after I do this”

He tapped the ring with his right index finger and a spatial orb was displayed right in front of them. They all gaped at what most of them thought could only be done with sorcery. All except Michael and the elders who knew the sort of powers that vampires from the World of Origins could wield if so inclined.

The younger vampires were even more mindblown when they saw Damianus dipping his hand into the roving spatial orb and bringing out clear jars with unique symbols woven around them.

“Here. For you,” he said as he handed it to the younger vampires. They had no idea what it was but they were excited to get gifts.

“Is that not the rare moon cream?” one of the elders said, looking googly-eyed at the jars that the youths were passing among themselves “Be careful, you lots. You don’t want to smash that”

“Rare?” Damianus muttered wondering if the speaker had no idea of what the cream was.

It was only the level one moon cream after all. The cream was a very helpful ointment for vampires and all other supernaturals alike. Though it worked differently for them.

For the young vampire who was more susceptible to sunlight and could burn easily, a level one cream would help them stay longer with no negative effects to them.

A werewolf with access to moon creams could be more in charge of its wolf and could stay calm during a full moon and even the haze.

A witch’s spells could be made more powerful after consuming moon cream while a demon’s power could be limitless with the rare ointment.

Damianus wondered why the elders looked on covetously at the bottles of cream though when it was so easy to make from the energy of the moon that he absorbed daily.

He wondered what they would say of the higher-level moon creams. He deliberately gave the level one cream to the young vampires because he knew that their essence was not strong enough to absorb the higher ones, they might burst from its power and that would be quite unfortunate.

What Damianus had no idea of was that the vampires did not know how nor can absorb moon essence the way he did, though they have heard of it, their power had dwindled a lot from what it used to be after the calamity that befell their kinds.

He brought out the second-level cream from the orb again and gave it to the elders.

The astonished appreciation on their faces baffled Damianus and he intended to ask Michael later about the situation of the clan.

“I thank you on behalf of my people, your people, leader,” Michael said with a big smile. He was happy about the treasure that the original leader brought to them. Though as the leader, he couldn’t openly show his enthusiasm like the others.

“It is nothing” Damianus replied, meaning it but the way the elders gaped at him made him realise that it was a big deal for them.

“Something was not right,” he thought to himself as he followed Michael to his office trailed by the elders.

The creams were nowhere in sight. No doubts kept away to be marvelled at and sparsely used later.

The tunnel had been crafted out in a way that its grandeur almost rivalled that of the monarch above. The New Order Clan’s home was more in its simple, and classy way. Every space was well used and what should have come off as a jumbled, cramped mess gave off the vibe of a well-organised community.

Those who had gathered in the outer space of their home to witness Damianus' arrival were getting back to their tasks as Michael lead Damianus into his office.

Damianus was awed by the possibility of living underground on such a large scale. Different structures could be seen and they were not all huddled together in one big, long space. Each family have their own “apartment”

“How did you make all this happen?” he asked as Michael held the door open for him to get in.

Michael smiled as he directed Damianus to a chair. The elders silently took their seats on the comfy wraparound couch some distance away from their leader’s desk.

“As my grandpa told me, there was a reason why we chose this location. Most of these structures have been in place since war broke out centuries ago in this land. Though abandoned and forgotten, the clan took it over and turned it around into what it was today”

“Not so much as it is now though,” One of the elders said “Clan leader contributed a lot to making it a semblance of a modern city as it is today. We are forever grateful to him”

“Is that so?” Damianus said with a smile, leaning back in his chair when he saw the chagrined look on Michael’s face. He wondered briefly how old the vampire was, the telltale blush on his face was becoming though so Damianus teased him further “What a lifesaver you are, Michael”

“My council members tend to exaggerate,” he said with a grin “It is not as dramatic as Gregory here makes it sound. I dabble in architecture, you see” he spread his hands on his neat as pin oak carved table as he explained, his eyes shone with his passion

“ No underneath spaces couldn’t be made habitable. All we needed was some buried power and information networks; underground water transmission, sewerage pipes, malls, basements, pedestrian tunnels, and motorways and voila our new city was created. We even have our subway system” he completed with satisfaction ringing in his tone.

Damianus clapped his hand, truly impressed “You have done a great job here, Michael. You really should take the credit more. I will probably be on the rooftop blowing my own trumpet if I were you. Or maybe not” he added.

And they all laughed.

Damianus sobered first “What I don’t understand though was how it all came to this. Living underground, putting enchantments on our abode, separating ourselves from the humans, whatever was the issue?”

Michael sighed. He looked up, with storms brewing in his eyes at Damianus “The Big Chaos happened” he deadpanned.

“The…what was that?”