Ashton remained as he was for a bit longer, returning to the pillow he was on before once Athanasia spoke. He too felt it was getting a bit awkward, coughing slightly.
"Is that so? Very well. I shall tell you of my people, then." He cleared his throat, taking a quick drink from a small flask on his hip. Though his supplies were dwindling before he made it here, he usually never ran out of water. "Hm...what to say....how about I start at the beginning? Yes, I think that'll do. Now, we've been around for a long time. A REALLY. Long time. In fact, according to what the loremasters say-they basically keep our story alive, make sure every Va'Skree child knows our past-we've been around about as long as our kin, the Vampires have existed. A long fuckin' time, right?" As he spoke, there was a shift in the way he spoke and acted, becoming much more relaxed and casual. He still kept a semblance of formality, but he wasn't as...for lack of a better word, stuffy. Even Kaeth seemed a bit happier, occasionally flying over to the attendants or Athanasia herself.
"Anyways...we've been around for a long time. For a while, we were huge. Lots of us around, and quite a few people lived in fear of the Va'Skree. But, fate is a cruel mistress. Some villagers and mercenaries got the bravery to stand up to us. My ancestors hadn't grown fat, but they were arrogant. Then, and still now, they thought we couldn't be beaten. After all, we don't die immediately in the sun, we can tear someone's throat out with our teeth, and we can reproduce naturally, unlike my undead cousins, as I said before. But, that's besides the point. Long story short, we got cocky, and our enemies did not. They struck during the day, when we would be weaker than normal. Even though we don't die instantly, the sun is far from our friend. We were decimated...the loremasters say it was a damn bloodbath. We managed to eradicate those who stood against it, but the damage was done."
Ashton sighed, clenching his fist. He was one man, but like his brothers and sisters, he was arrogant. He believed that if he was there, if his ancestors had just a few more soldiers, they would've crushed the resistance. Even though the thought was folly, he still believed it. Relaxing once more, he went back to his story. "Now, we're just a shadow of our former selves. We hide in abandoned ruins or castles, but make no mistake. We have been weakened, but we are still a formidable threat. Plus, I am sure that at least some of our cousins would come to our aid, if we were attacked." The last line or two may have come off as a threat to some, but Ashton was only stating facts. And, he didn't mind giving up some of their secrets, since they were payment for shelter. "And, that's it. All that I can tell you without isolating myself from my family, that is. I hope that works, at least in terms of my people."
