Right after this group of women were the remaining Goddess Descendants who had either one child or two children in their laps. Behind them in the third row were the 28 human concubines who were former maids that had Richmond to thank for their current looks and life levels.
They were led by Verita a dark-skinned beauty with a voluptuous figure. Since their group were the oldest among the concubines who had been with Draco, their status was special despite being in the third tier.
Also, their children were the oldest and all had purely human features. Their bloodline purities varied, but none were below 15%. That granted them peak power if they were to be of the Lineages and thanks to the fact that they existed in the Boundless universe, they could naturally display far more power when they were older.
Seeing that everyone was here and had their attention focused on her, Eva was satisfied. She cast a glance through the crowd and noticed that many of the children had age disparities, with some being toddlers, some still infants and some were around grade1-3 age.
However, age was not a problem since the class system of the family had been decided. However, Eva coming here was precisely to make some changes to the Morningstar Clan after mentally consulting the other two.
"Thank you for coming everyone. We constitute the entirety of the Morningstar Clan, a family bound by blood and love." Eva began with a smile. "There have been some ups and downs since we began. The most recent one was the trauma suffered at the hands of Sigurd, and I remember it all too well."
The faces of the women became ugly as they remembered watching themselves be captured and then killed by Sigurd like they were trash, their beloved children suffering as well.
If it wasn't for Hikari's resurrection ability as well as Eva's ability to turn back Time, the effects of those happenings would have been far worse. Luckily, none of them suffered intenser trauma because Draco had used his Devil abilities to siphon it out of them before it festered.
"Luckily, despite such downtimes, we have enjoyed many benefits since we joined this clan, and we all know that this is just the beginning." Eva kindly reassured them after seeing their pain expressions of remembrance.
"One thing I can tell you is that for one or two special exceptions, there will be no new additions to the harem. So part from some necessary newcomers, you are all the constitutes the motherhood of this clan's first generation."
Upon revealing this, the faces of all the women here changed greatly. This news was shocking, because it meant that the initial shape of the Morningstar Clan had been finalized and would be officiated!
This was truly big, because once this occurred, as Eva said, they would become the first generation matrons of the clan. Regardless of their tiers within the clan, to the world outside they would have a proper and official identity!
What was more important was that it meant their precious children were also now official second generation heirs! Each and every one of them qualified to inherit the patriarch position should it become open, as well as become Clan Elders once they reached the right age or power.
Most importantly, it meant that their children along with themselves were all now part of the Morningstar Clan's main branch permanently!
They, the matrons, could not have sex with any other man but Draco, so any child they gave birth to for him after this would also be a second generation heir.
However, their children could now intermarry or crossmarry. If they intermarried to preserve the bloodline, the third generation children from that would count as third generation heirs of the main branch.
If they also picked concubines and gave birth to them, those children would be considered first generation leaders of the side branch.
Those of the side branch could never inherit the main branch and were forced to serve the main branch and enhance its power. That was why many Clans would have few main branch heirs and have plenty of side branches to support them.
In truth, the Morningstar Clan had a very small main branch compared to the average Clan in the Main Plane. Many would start a main branch with around a hundred or so wives and more than that number as concubines.
So it was clear to the women here that Draco was going down the path of elitism, only choosing the best and most suitable wives to be the main branch. However, how would the rules for side branch formation be decided?
"As for the ranking within the main branch, first and foremost come Draco, myself and Shuangtian. However, none of us will take on the role of a Patriarch, rather we will become Ancestors of this Clan and plan to stay that way."
"After us come Zaine, Hikari and Roma, who will be addressed as the Ancestral Clan Mistresses. They have power below the Ancestors but above the Patriarch." Eva smiled as she nodded to the three NPCs beauties in the front.
After that come the rest of you as Clan Elders, below the Patriarch but above everyone else. You number a total of 60, and your rankings are currently decided by your personal strength. If you want to raise your rank as Clan Elder, you'll have to increase your personal power first and foremost."
"The higher your rank as a Clan Elder, the more power you shall wield in the Clan and the more resources you'll be allowed to move. This also means how many resources you can allocate to your children or grandchildren." Eva directly pointed out.
Usually, such thing would be left unsaid, but she directly said it to let them know that scheming and the like was useless. They were aware of what they could do with their power, so they should stick to orthodox means if they wanted it to matter.
She allowed them a moment sod digest the announcement before continuing on in the silence.
"As for the children, they will be ranked by their bloodline purity only. Rank and personal strength doesn't matter, but only the purity of one's bloodline."
Eva waved a hand, and the Altar of Awakening appeared before everyone. Since none of the others had partaken in the Vault of the Deep quest, they didn't know about its abilities, but Eva let them is inspect it.
｢Altar of Awakening – Fixed Place Item
Rank: Divine
Durability: MAX
Effects:
Passive 1 – Test: The user can set a standard for the altar by dripping a drop of any type of blood. After setting the standard, anyone else who drips a drop of blood in the altar will have their bloodline tested to see if it matches with the Power, Purity and Affinity of the standard set.
Passive 2 – Absorb: The item can absorb all blood dropped within, and the blood will be filtered and purified, converted into raw energy that can accumulate semi-endlessly for the purposes of Active skill 2.
Active 1 – Condense: When this skill is activated, it will gather the force of the Altar around a target and with the help of external items, condense and purify the bloodline within a target to the highest possible degree. Cooldown: 1 year.
Active 2 – Produce: When the energy gathered by Passive 2 is sufficient, one can burn it all to produce a single drop of pure blood resembling that of the standard set by the original user which can easily be absorbed. This depletes the energy stored up until now. Cooldown: None.
Description: This Altar was crafted by the hands of Hephaestus, The God of Blacksmithing, along with Norma, The Refinement Goddess, and the Cyclopes, Semi-Origin Gods of Forging through a severely expensive commission by Poseidon that almost drove him to poverty. It is a special Fixed Place Item that had become a staple in the old era, but with far lower quality.｣
Seeing this, the various women gasped and many, especially those of the human concubines, became red. With this item, it was completely possible for their children'to soar higher despite their own human bloodlines bringing them down!
The others also had strong feelings.
Eva saw this and was satisfied. "The Altar of Awakening's usage is decided purely though merit. No one, not even Clan Elder or Patriarch, has any right to arbitrarily decide to deny the use of this altar to anyone."
"As for the allocations, it's through the ranking of the children in terms of growth and in terms of power. Those who shall put in the most effort to raise their level and rank will be able to enjoy such benefits."
"For one, the Altar of Awakening can store blood of monsters and people, so each defeated foe by the children will be recorded when they input the blood into the altar. As for the distribution, once the accumulated blood quality reaches a certain level, they can apply to have it condensed it into a drop."
Eva smiled playfully. "You don't need to worry, Draco has made some tweaks to this item. It has an inbuilt storage and database, meaning that the blood that each child collects and stores will be logged differently. As such, no child will be able to consume the hardwork of all another to condense blood, only what he himself has labored to put in."
This fact made a lot of the mothers present sigh with relief inwardly. It would not be a problem for the first few generations, but as the Clan would expand, the closeness as well as familial bond would inevitably weaken. At that point in time, various methods could come into play that would cause those with lesser fortune to be taken advantage of.
Of course, this method was not a catch all for the various exploitations that could occur, but it stopped the most egregious ones. The rest were underhanded methods that could harm the Clan, but the mothers didn't fear this.
Draco, Eva and Shuangtian were not so callous nor shortsighted to allow their Clan to devolve into such a shitfest, for such a sign was usually telling that a Clan had sunk to the lowest point and could be destroyed at any time.
If none could use underhanded and brutal methods, but only aboveboard and slightly clever methods, then it simply came down to your ability. If in that situation you still could not find a way out, then just enjoy the welfare of the clan at the bottom tier.
"Of course, exempt from this are my daughter Lucitera and Shuangtian's son, Lucitian. The two are ranked as Young Ancestors and will be on the same level of power as the Ancestral Clan Mistresses."
Eva waved a hand and Lucitera as well as Lucitian flew over, the two dressed in very neat robes for toddlers. Lucitera's was black and white with designs featuring Draconic imagery as well as the symbol of the sun. Lucitian's was brown and black, with similar Draconic imagery as well as images of elemental golems.
The moment the two appeared, the various children of Draco all displayed submissive expression, especially those of lower bloodline purity. Only Rosella, Loki, Kuro and Shiro were barely able to keep their heads up but the rest were totally suppressed and instinctively acted subservient.
The faces of the various mothers became slightly distressed, but they could only sigh inwardly. There was no need to even rank the two Young Ancestors, just their suppression alone made it such that none of the descendants with Draco's bloodline would dare to disobey.
Literally only they, the first generation matrons, and the matrons of the side branches could ignore it since they would not have Draco's bloodline in them.
Lucitian and Lucitera came to rest on either side of Eva, who rubbed their little heads with a gentle expression.
She then glanced at the clan once more. "After that, there are the Four Divine Children, made up of Rosella first, Loki second, Kuro third and Shiro fourth. They rank on the same level as the Patriarch of the Clan."
"As for the other kids, they are ranked according to their purity first. The hard work and power ranks only come into play with regards to the Altar of Awakening."
Eva stood up and flung her hand to the right, making her whitish-red cape flutter and billow. "Henceforth, this shall be the model of the Morningstar Clan!"
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