Written with @Lassiter_SASBDB.

Lassiter: *Well slap my ass and call me pappy, that explains a lot. To have that marker in her blood she had to have been the child of both a Chosen and a Brother. The SV had kept a pretty tight rein on her Chosen and they HAD been indoctrinated in their duty to the species, but if a Brother bonded with one of her priestesses in the course of their duties then they were allowed to leave her service. From that moment on, he was responsible for her safety and for producing young which continued the main purpose of producing strong bloodlines for the protection of the species. That's not to say some females hadn't had their own hopes and dreams, but until Wrath son of Wrath @LordOfTheManse had started making legal changes to give females equal rights in vampiric society, those hopes and dreams had pretty much been the life Sloahne's mother had chosen – mating with a Brother and raising a family on this plane. As Primale, Phury @PegLegPhury had embraced Wrath’s @LordOfTheManse changes. He had no desire to have sex with a bunch of different females even if that was the traditional role. Instead, he and his mate, the Chosen Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB, had decided to act as kind den parents to the young females, encouraging them to find their own paths with their protection and guidance. But, how the hell am I going to convince her of that? My burgeoning irritation is replaced with sympathy for what this female has gone through. Not just with that fucker, Drake, though that was by far the worst, but her whole life. Her mother had left the SV’s service but never escaped the old world societal expectations of Chosen females and she'd imprinted that expectation on her daughter’s rebellious brain. Sloahne had been raised in fear of it, with making a glymera marriage her only out. A marriage in which she would either be a prisoner or a princess, but even as the latter, her life wouldn’t have been her own. I'd have run, too. Hell. I kind of did.

Reaching out, I take her hand in mine. A frisson of electricity runs up my arm and straight to my dick at the touch. What the fuck was that?!! I’d touched Sloahne casually a hundred times before and never felt THAT. Vampires had fed from angels infrequently in the past, but it had been done, and I’d never heard that THAT was a side effect. Down boy, we have work to do. Clearing my throat, I mentally stomp my suddenly awakened libido into the ground. Focus here, boy, you’ve got work to do.* 

So your mahmen mated a Brother and left Sanctuary to be on this plane with him, but she just traded one set of rigid rules for another. And she passed it onto you that your basic function in life was to be property, either for a Glymyra asshole or the Brotherhood, with no say-so over anything, I got that right? *Shaking my head.* Sweetheart, a lot of things have changed. Some of it you have to be aware of, like the changes in the laws, but some of it only the Brotherhood really knows.

Sloahne: <Lassister takes my hand into his and suddenly I feel a spark that was never been there before. My heart is beating faster, my body seems to be reacting strangely to his touch. Heat floods my entire body and I feel the goosebumps that appear on my arm. Trying not to figure out why touching him so so different I listen to his words and wonder how so much has changed. I raise my brow in question.> 

Are you trying to convince me that the foundation of the vampire race over the past however many centuries has suddenly changed? That the Scribe Virgin who created our race whose female vampires who had been bred specifically to serve the Scribe Virgin and to meet the needs of the members of the Brotherhood, as well as Brothers in whatever fashion the male see fits? You’re trying to tell me centuries and centuries of this tradition is shot to Dhund?

<He can’t be serious.>

Lassiter: Well … *Sheesh, how do I explain this without blowing my cover? The Brotherhood knows, and a few others, but it’s kind of agreed that keeping my status on the down low is best for the species. People need traditions and all that.*  

In a word, yes. See, the new Primale refused to go along with how things had always been done. He’s mated with one Chosen and he’s faithful to her. He has a place on this side that he and his mate set up to allow Chosen who wanted to seek their own paths a kind of transition from Sanctuary. And the Queen is half-human. She kinda had a cow when she found out females had no choices over their lives, so that got the King involved. And then …. *Heaving a dramatic sigh.* Other stuff changed. The SV stepped down as deity. She’s not in charge anymore. 

Sloahne: Wait, what? The Scribe Virgin isn’t in charge? What happened to her? Is she ok? <I start to panic. It’s not like any of us normal people have ever met the Scribe Virgin, but she’s the mother of the race, someone you look up to. So hearing that she has stepped down, who is going to watch over us now?>

Lassiter: *Hands go up in an attempt to calm her sudden panic. If this was Sloahne’s reaction, then Wrath @LordOfTheManse was on the money keeping the majority of the species in the dark about the transition.* Whoa, whoa, take a chill pill! It's ok. She’s fine and she’s around, but she felt like the species had reached a point where they needed a more hands-on approach, something she's not comfortable with. She chose a successor who WOULD be comfortable with it - *More like insistent on it.* - And the Creator approved her reasons and her choice. 

*Although I’m still trying to figure out just WHY He approved, but I can't tell her that.*

So she’s cool, He’s cool with it, and the new deity is learning the job.

Sloahne: Oh. Weird. Ok. <Seriously … what else could I say? The powers that be had a shift change apparently. Didn't know that was even possible. Huh. Well. Wow.>

Ok, so someone new is in charge and so things have changed? The Chosen are not being used as basic slaves to the Brotherhood any longer? I mean, you know what I mean. I grew up knowing that the Chosen were meant to breed with the Brotherhood to create the warrior caste, almost a breed apart from normal vampires who have been at the spearhead of the war with the Omega. So all of that has changed? The bloodlines have to remain pure so that all sons are Brothers and all daughters are Chosen. It has been this way for centuries. 

Lassiter: *Lowering myself to sit beside her on the edge of the hospital bed, I forget and take her hand again, trying to give her something to hold onto as I shake her worldview, and son-of-bitch, that electric current jumps up my arm again and my dick starts complaining at the tight restrictions of my leathers. Damn it, angels are supposed to have better control and I'd have thought a deity should be immune! My teeth grit as I will my body back into submission. Focus, boy, focus!*

I'm really sorry your mahmen had that view of being a Chosen and that she passed it on to you, but I know it wasn't the way most of them felt at the time. Most of them viewed themselves as high priestesses performing essential functions for the race. But the very fact that your mahmen felt like that is one of the reasons the SV stepped back. The world was changing. Her people were changing and she didn't think she could change with them. At least not fast enough. 

The fact is that once Phury @PegLegPhury became Primale, he refused to continue with the tradition of sexual submission by the Chosen. He loves Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB too much and he’s got a faithful heart. He's a Brother who had spent his life taking care of someone who no longer needed it and he needed a new mission. Bonding with Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB, then accepting the role of Primale, gave him that. He looked at the traditional role of the Chosen and said “no more”. It was world shaking, but it was time.

The Chosen who choose to will still provide blood to the Brotherhood when needed. More than one would have died recently in the war without it, including Wrath @LordOfTheManse, but it's a choice each one has, not a mandate. The sexual aspect is off the table. If a Chosen wants to hook up with a Brother, that's up to both of them, and I’ll be honest, because of the history of the Chosen the only reason I can think of for why one of today’s Brother’s would do it is if the female was going into her needing and wanted a child by him. It would be him serving her, not the other way around. 

As for creating warriors for the race, pure bloodlines, etc … Phury @PegLegPhury freeing the Chosen forced Wrath @LordOfTheManse to start thinking outside the box. Soldiers are being recruited from the population. Males AND females. The training program is rigorous, but after Bloody Sunday when Lessers massacred so many of your race, we have more applicants than slots, and the entrance “exam” is tough. Most don't make it, but the best that do and finish the program are respected by the Brothers. One of the soldiers from the program has already been inducted into the Brotherhood. No bloodline requirement, just pure heart and ability. And there will be more.

You don't have to hide anymore if you don't want to, Sloahne. You're free.

Sloahne: <I could not contain my astonishment as I listened to the angel. I guess the rumors were true. With the King’s ascension came a new era indeed. I had no idea the Primal was a Brother. I suppose that would explain all the changes and the fact nobody knows about them. The Brotherhood has always been secretive in the past for the safety of the King and their families. But as the Audience House has been created, most have seen the many pherasome Brothers guarding the King in the last few years. It’s been an incredible eye-opening experience for many seeing them in person and up close. 

Could all this be really true? All these years I’ve been trying to hide my secret, I finally felt a huge burden off my shoulders. I finally could take a deep breath and really felt lighter all of a sudden.>

The Chosen are truly free to live their lives? They live out in the world among us? They can do whatever they want? They’re normal just vampires … out there at the bars and clubs? Seriously?

Lassiter: *And … time to hedge just a little …*

They will be able to if they want to. Eventually. They’ve lived very, very sheltered lives, and most don’t have an interest in going to clubs and bars yet. Phury @PegLegPhury is like an overprotective first-time father right now, proud of them and encouraging but still trying to keep them all safe as he helps them overcome the culture shock and learn how to take the appropriate precautions. Some of the Chosen are just getting used to being here. Others have started college classes and are looking into careers and it was going pretty good until … *Heaving a sigh as I run my thumb soothingly along the top of her hand.* Until young females started going missing. You weren’t the only one and we think the other missing are related to the war. And Phury @PegLegPhury, well he’s reacting like any father would, trying to close ranks. He’s asked the ones taking classes to go to online courses until the Brotherhood finds and ends whoever is behind it. He’s mentioned having the Chosen go back to the #OtherSide until then but if he does he’ll have a full-scale rebellion on his hands. *Smiling a little.* They like it here and they like learning to spread their wings. I think even his mate Cormia @Cormia_SASBDB would fight it. 

When it comes down to it, the Brothers have a double dose of testosterone and it comes out in being overprotective of people they think need protection. It's a good trait in warriors, but it does get them their heads handed to them by their females from time to time. 

Sloahne: *I listen in disbelief as Lass talks about Chosen being out in the normal world. Going to college classes!! That has been unheard of! At least it was not known in the vampire world, especially in the Old Country, where I left my family. 

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Chosen given a choice to live out in the world but he didn’t say they had complete freedom with the mention of The Primale. Since apparently they would be forced to back to the #OtherSide. An all-white world that my own mahmen spent her first few hundred years of life. A world she drilled into me with so many expectations if I kept choosing not to be mated in the arrangement she chose.

Then there were the Brothers. He hadn’t gotten to the part of explaining what “duties” were still expected.*

Hmmm … ok so they live out in the Earth realm but what about their duties and … expectations expected of them as tradition? It’s been this way for over a  millennia. Surely … the Scribe Virgin’s tradition of her breeding program that produces the Brotherhood? Selective breeding was deliberate, to beget strength from strength. *My anxiety caused me to speak faster and more agitated … and I wondered briefly if I was having a panic attack again.*

Lassiter: *Her anxiety levels shot up like a living thing in the room as she mentioned “duties”.* 

Hey, hey … *Squeezing her fingers lightly then gently cupping her face with my free hand.* Take a breath. 

*Fucking hells, the impulse to kiss her almost overwhelms me. Abruptly dropping my hand from her face, I discreetly shift to mask my raging hard-on. Just what in Dhund is going on? Note to self - no more feeding vampires. It results in major distractions. And find out just what the hell is going on the first chance I get. Duties. Think. That was when her blood pressure spiked.*

Sloahne … *Shaking my head.* There are no more “duties”. Hear what I’m saying. There are no more ehros’. Blood is donated only by the willing to those who are in need. There are no required duties anymore. Everyone is too busy learning how to just be normal over here. There is no one left in Sanctuary. Everyone - Ehros’, Watchers, Scribes - they all chose to come here to check out their options when Phury changed the rules, and they did so with the new deity’s and Wrath’s blessings. There is NO BREEDING PROGRAM. Not anymore. It’s not needed. We learned that strength, courage, and nobility don’t come from the bloodline. They come from the heart and soul of the race. If it came from the bloodlines then the Glymera wouldn’t be rampant with assholes and the history of your species would be a lot different. When the Scribe Virgin put these things, these “traditions”, into place it was a different world. The realization that the world doesn’t exist anymore and that some of those traditions have caused more harm than good is a big part of the reason she stepped back. 

Look … *Sighing.* I get that this is a lot to take in, that it goes against everything you’ve ever been taught. But no one is going to force you to do anything. And no one is going to out you to the King. I’ll take care of the Doc. I’ll pull his Hippocratic Oath on him, to first do no harm, and if he spills the beans on this it would definitely do harm to your mental health because YOU believe it would cause you harm. If I have to, I’ll mind wipe him and disappear your blood test results, but I don’t think I’ll have to. He takes that Hippocratic Oath business seriously. You trust me, right? Well, I’m asking you to trust me on this. This is your secret to tell when you’re ready to tell it and I’ll protect you until you’re ready. *Not damn hard since I’m already feeling protective and frigging possessive. I’ve GOT to get a grip on this.*

Sloahne: <I listened to the Angel and tried to take it all in and believe the words he was saying to me. But it was difficult. I spent centuries believing my mahmen and the stories told about her previous life before she was mated. I spent centuries hiding myself among the race and no one ever knew except the symphaths and moors … and then “he who shall not be named”. 

I contemplated his words over in my muddled mind and my erratic breath slowed down to a steady beat and I felt more calm than before. I laid back on the hospital bed and wondered how my life had arrived at that moment. Inside the Brotherhood Compound, at least that’s where I thought I was, running from a psychopath and meeting an actual Brother. Someone my father could have fought side by side with, someone who could have been close to him and knew many stories that I was not privy to. I missed my father … my fist circled and rubbed my chest in front of my heart as I felt the ache whenever I thought about my father. 

I shook my head at the past and tried to stay in the present. As I did, I felt the electricity running through my fingers and up my arm and wondered briefly what that was I figured I was still probably not well from my ordeal and needed rest and whatever was feeding into my veins from the bags of IV hooked up to me. I laid back on the gurney and tried to relax and sink into the weariness that my bones were feeling from the weight of centuries of running and hiding and wondered where my life goes from here.>

Oh … wow.

Lassiter: “Wow”? What’s that mean? *Females. I can read minds but I try not to. Privacy and all. Plus none of them would ever really trust me if they knew I could but it goes with the gig.* 

So you’ll let me handle the Doc? And you'll stay put, at least until the dirtbag is dealt with?

*I want to touch her again, to reach out, hold her, comfort her. I can tell she’s confused. Everything she thought she knew just collapsed around her. It’s what I should do, what I would have done before just touching her started shooting lightning through my veins. I don't regret juicing her, but I don't dare too much physical contact until whatever this is fades. Instead, I release her hand and lift her chin with one finger, locking eyes with her.* 

After that, we can figure out what's next.

Sloahne: <I start feeling the adrenaline start up again from playing cat and mouse with “he who shall not be named” starts to take over my body.> Just … wow. This has all been a lot of tea and no one even knows about it, right? I mean outside the Brotherhood that is. The race would be in an uproar, #Glymera specifically. They’re all about being Old School and traditional. I mean it’s been centuries. It’s still hard to imagine. You know?

I mean I’ve been hiding for so long. But yeah, I can stay … wait … you mean to stay here in this room? For how long? I mean I need to work, and I have rent to pay and bills. I mean I can’t afford to pay whatever hospital bill the Brotherhood’s personal physician would charge me … I mean … yeah… what about “he who shall not be named” … are you sure he can’t find me here. I mean he’s found me twice now … <I start to panic again and look around. It’s so ridiculous. I was so confused … I wanted to feel what I felt when he had me under his spell but then he just went over the line and the pain … so much pain … then blood, blood everywhere. My blood just everywhere …>

Lassiter: Hey, come on, take a breath here … you don’t have to worry about any of that stuff. If the asshole hasn’t been dealt with by the time the Doc releases you, then I’ll get you cleared for the manse. Wrath @LordOfTheManse isn’t going to let one of his people be put in harm’s way and you def would be out where Drake could sense you again. We’ll figure it out. 

*Fuck, she’s starting to hyperventilate again. Too much, too fast. She’s getting shocky.* 

How about we take a little nap here, huh? Get your pulse rate back into a normal range. You need to get your strength back before you tackle all this stuff.

*She’s already halfway to trying to get out of bed. I scoot in closer and loosely wrap my left arm around her, not to restrain her, but to catch her when she goes down for the count. Touching two fingers to the center of her forehead …* 

Sleep …