[@thewizardguy]

So it seemed there was indeed hope, at least that was Mithias' interpretation of Vulkan's reaction. The giant was oddly comfortable about all this, a demeanor which could only be ascribed to great familiarity and experience. Perhaps Mithias would have been the same if he had all his memories intact. He had no idea how old he himself was, but somehow, he felt like this wasn't his first time thwarting the end of a world. Nonetheless, seeing the Imperial commander's confidance was reassuring. 

However, what surprised the time-lost vampire even more was the extent to which the primarch was willing to trust him. Mithias was almost floored. "You, you trust me?" Chocolate chip cookie still in hand, Mithias looked to the kneeling black dragon then back to Vulkan as he realized he was now in command of an Imperial army. "Sir! Erm, Lord Commander?" Mithias wasn't sure what to call his red-eyed friend. Clearly, he was coming to grips with what had just been said. "The Alliance kept me in a cell for 3 weeks before they could even begin to trust me. I simply... didn't expect to be given the chance." Perhaps Mithias had overinterpreted Vulkan's cool demeanor, and things were more dire than he had thought. That was the only explanation he could think of why Vulkan would give complete freedom and full controll over soldiers and resources, so he had to step up to the plate. Mithias furrowed his brow and hesitated, reevaluating his new status, resolve and charisma seemingly rising out of nowhere to meet the occasion. There was work to be done. 

With his thoguhts together, Mithias stood with the aura of a warrior. "Alright. I accept command of the Black Dragon company, and I swear to make use of it solely to defend this world from those foul, black... 'things.'" Focused, he turned a sharp eye back to the clawed figure in black and gave his first order. "Rise warrior. From now on, you are my second in command. I need your knowledge of how our company functions at its optimum and your council on all our enemys' known weaknesses. You are my advisor in the field, and you are to remain by my side as necessary. We will be going after Alucard and those creatures will certainly be in our way. I'm going to try to get more information out of that vampire, Alucard, and if we have to, kill him." Mithias recalled the faint sadness that his kindred had briefly shown. There probably wasn't going to be a way to save him. 

"Lord commander." Mithias meant Vulkan now. "'Master' is a term I do not use lightly. The Alliance of Conquerers hold no such power over me, but... there is something about vampires, and about me, that you should know." Mithias exhaled deeply and considered the cookie as he prepared himself to unveil a critical truth. "I do not remember much of my past, but there is one thing that I will never forget. The night of my making, at the instant of my death, my soul shattered into a thousand pieces, and it is my maker that will forever hold the final shard. No matter the time or distance, forever, we are bound, and I could never bring myself... how could I ever bring myself? ... to kill him." Mithias hated to admit what might have been a fatal flaw, so he continued more quickly. "Thus I believe it is with all vampires, but, this is what you must know. As I found myself in Alucard's presence, even before I felt him lay eyes on me, I was overcome by the desire to kneel before him." It was clear this made Mithias a liability. Mithias shook his head. "I don't know what this means, nor how far that influence may affect me, but I admit, it was strong. This is a power that is carried in our blood, my blood, which you dare state a requirement for." The vampire looked at Vulkan accusingly. "Nonetheless, these are dire times, and I will agree to give you a drop of my blood, however..." Mithias made a small cut on one of his fingers with a fang and held the drop precariously about to fall in front of him. "In order to gain the understanding that you require, you must accept this drop on your tongue." He looked Vulkan dead in the eyes. "Do not fear. It will not harm you, and I have no intention of tricking you. But theses are my terms."