_*]:min-w-0 !gap-3.5" style="border:0px solid">Lucius issued his orders to Baron Cassian through formal correspondence, instructing him to expand his territory northward into nds inhabited by wild wereanimals. This strategic move appeared to be routine military expansion to those observing vampire politics, but held deeper significance in Lucius's long-term pns.
By ciming these territories through military expansion rather than diplomatic means, Lucius created a legal framework where the wereanimals living there would become property of the conquering domain. When Cassian's forces successfully secured these nds weeks ter, Lucius issued his calcuted follow-up directive: all wereanimals captured during this territorial expansion would be legally registered as his personal property, with Cassian appointed as their official caretaker.
Rather than attempting to cim all wereanimals across vampire society—a move that would have created immediate opposition—Lucius established a more subtle approach. He quietly created the custom of purchasing what other nobles considered "unfit pets"—wereanimals deemed too troublesome or difficult to control. His representatives began attending exotic pet auctions across vampire territories, consistently outbidding others for wereanimals being sold.
"Acquire the bear-strain with the scarred fnk," Lucius instructed his representative before one such auction. "The scarring indicates resistance to previous ownership. Such spirit suggests potential value."
This approach avoided direct confrontation with other nobles' property rights while gradually accumuting more wereanimals under his protection. Lucius meticulously developed this acquisition system—establishing dedicated funds, training representatives to identify wereanimals with particur potential, and creating protocols for their safe transport to Cassian's nds.
The nobility's reactions were predictably mixed. Some were relieved to profit from selling difficult "pets" they couldn't control, while others grew suspicious of Lucius's growing collection.
"What could he possibly want with so many defective specimens?" Countess Veronique whispered during a court gathering. "Particurly the unmanageable ones other nobles have abandoned?"
Cassian's initial confusion about managing an increasing number of diverse wereanimals gradually turned to disciplined acceptance of his role. True to his nature, Lucius provided no expnation for his unusual interest, leaving Cassian to implement the directives without understanding their purpose.
In a significant disruption of vampire hierarchical norms, Lucius ordered Cassian to report directly to him on all wereanimal matters, bypassing the established chain of command that would normally require him to report through Marquis Devereux, his immediate superior. This unprecedented arrangement raised eyebrows throughout the nobility while effectively removing Cassian from his previous commander's control.
When Cassian carefully attempted to inquire about the reasoning behind these orders during a private meeting, Lucius simply stated: "The details are irrelevant to your duties, Baron."
Despite this characteristically cryptic approach, Cassian's military discipline and loyalty ensured his committed participation in a pn whose purpose remained entirely obscure to him. He established separate territories within his nds for different wereanimal species, developed training protocols that emphasized capability development rather than subjugation, and meticulously documented each individual's progress according to Lucius's exacting standards.
None of this made sense to Cassian from a traditional vampire perspective, but he had learned long ago that Lucius's incomprehensible directives inevitably revealed their purpose in time. His role was not to understand, but to execute with precision—a task at which the Baron excelled beyond all others in vampire society.
This served not only to save as much wereanimals as possible but was also Lucius hoping that Nova wouldn't be born in the ways he saw in his dreams.
