"Godric and Eric, as by the rights of mates, you may claim Bill's life. It is also Niall's right to give the True Death to the vampire in retribution for his blood crimes against his family. Miss Stackhouse, I do not sense a full and complete bond but I know that it must be on the horizon. To touch a bonded mate is punishable by death. If you do not wish to watch the scenes below you can stay up here with me. I'm quite sure we can occupy our time with conversation. I would like to know why a human would risk so much for vampires that they do not know nor owe debts too."

Sookie tried to school her emotions. She did not want this powerful vampire to sense that she was afraid. What she had no idea was that there was nothing for her to fear from the Magister. He might very well be the judge, jury and executioner of the vampire world but she was in no danger from him. He knew well enough about the edict handed down by the Guardian as well as knowing that both Eric and Godric were older than he was.

When he was sure that the vampires were downstairs, along with the Fae Prince the Magister smiled at the nervous blonde and motioned for her to join him on the throne. He really and truly did want to get to know her better. This Sookie Stackhouse was something of an unusual phenomenon. Most humans were not like her. Though he sensed that she was not entirely human either. Not if Niall was here calling her kin. He knew far more about things than most people assumed, even if he did not let on. No he was quite sure that she was the woman of the prophecy, the woman that would unite the vampires. She would be the one that would decide the fate of all future vampires, and their laws. He was looking forward to it, honestly.

"You are a very special young woman Miss Stackhouse. For a vampire like Northman to pay attention to you, elevates you higher than most of the vermin that visit Fangtasia. To not only land him as a lover but his maker as well. You are something truly special. Know this. They are two of the oldest and most powerful vampires in North America. Their age surpasses most of the vampires that walk this earth, even myself. Enemies will come after you, to get to them, thinking you are the weakest link. You aren't though are you?"

He knew that his questions would be a hindrance or a help. He was trying to get her to understand something. Just because she was still among the living, did not mean that she was weak.

Sookie took a seat next to the Magister and had no idea what to talk about. This was a very powerful vampire. It was the vampire that had forced Bill into making Jessica because Bill had killed Longshadow for trying to attack her. Even now as she sat in his presence she was scared. She had no idea if he realized that she was the human that Eric had been trying to protect.

As he sat on the throne that Eric occupied most of the time the Magister studied the woman. She was exceptional. She had not yet once started to cry or argue about Godric and Eric going downstairs to deal with Compton. Maybe she was smarter than he had given her credit for.

"Relax, young one. I will not hurt you. I know far more than you believe. I know your name but perhaps you would relax some if you learned mine? I am called The Magister, but my true name is Jorge Alonso de San Diego. I was actually an inquisitor during the Spanish Inquisition. Fun times those were. I am here merely as a formality. Both Eric and Godric, and even Prince Niall are well within their rights for what they do below. Bill Compton has committed several crimes that we refer to as Blood Offences. Each one is punishable by death. I was merciful to him at the trial, only forcing him to create a progeny. Giving him True Death at that time was not justified by his actions. However, after seeing all the evidence now, it is warranted."

Sookie frowned as she listened to the vampire speak. She understood that on some fundamental level there were laws in place. Vampire laws and human laws alike. Some things were not to be forgiven by vampires, such as killing other vampires, or being drainers but there were other offences that were minor. Yes, at first she had been upset to learn that Bill had been forced into making a vampire who didn't want to be a vampire. She had been angry at Eric for reporting it but once she had started to think about it, she knew they were right. If Eric at the time had let it slip then he would have been guilty of far worse. As the area sheriff it was his duty to report this. Even if he had planned to keep her safe.

"Bill never told me much about the rules. Always telling me it was Vampire business as if leaving me uneducated was the best idea. Eric and Godric had been trying to fill me in but we've been running non-stop since we arrived back from Dallas after dealing with the Maenad. They haven't had time to teach me much."

With a gentle smile, Jorge knew that he could teach the little Fae much. He doubted that she even understood what she was fully. When she did, she would be a formidable ally or enemy depending upon which way he chose to play his hand. He wanted her as an ally, not an enemy. Enemy meant that both the Viking and the Gaul would be out for blood, with carte blanche to kill him. No he valued his life too much for that.

"As far as hierarchy goes it is very simple. There are some who believe our race started with a vampire named Lillith. She is the first. Her remains are protected by the Guardian. He is the one that has the final say in all things. Underneath him are the eight chancellors of the Vampire Authority. Normally for action to be taken of any magnitude, such as the revealing of our existence, there must be a unanimous decision among the chancellors with the Guardian breaking any tie. Underneath the Authority there are various offshoots of powers. There are Enforcers. They are sent to deal with law-breaking. Both Godric and Eric at one time have been enforcers, and Godric is now again."

Taking a moment to let that soak in he knew that he had more to tell her. It was very hard to know every single offshoot of every vampire. He knew that. He was, however, going to give her a rundown of it all.

"The enforcers answer only to the Council, or the Vampire Authority as it is also called. Then you have the regents. The kings and queens. In North America most of the dominion is broken up by states though some states have two rulers due to the size, and other obligations. The regents are the highest authority in the States. Underneath them would be the sheriffs. Each Sheriff has an area. Eric is the sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana and Godric was the sheriff of Area 9 in Dallas. Some states have more areas than others, it all depends upon the size of the state. There are the seconds to the sheriffs, which is what Isabel was and what Pam is for Eric. Then there is everyone else."

Pausing a moment again to let it sink in he wondered what she might say about all of this. It wasn't that hard to understand, it was quite simple really. He just knew that she was not someone to have known any of this.

"There are other fringe jobs like with the Enforcers. There is the Magister. I am the adjudicator of the Vampire Law. It is my job to oversee any trials that need to be held for rule breaking that is beyond what a sheriff may punish for. When the case from Eric showed up I was more than amused. Mr. Compton apparently knows not when to keep his mouth shut. While normally killing for a human is frowned upon, unless that human is the bonded mate of a vampire, you are someone worthy of such an act Miss Stackhouse. You show more loyalty than you even realize and I have no doubt that every vampire in Godric's former nest, as well as those of Eric's will do anything to keep you safe. All you have to do is ask."

Such talk was far too heavy for his liking and it didn't help him get to know the young woman. He wanted to hear from her own lips what happened to her in Bon Temps.

"Now. If you will permit an old man his questions. Can you please tell me how it is you came to be aware of vampires. I doubt a town like Bon Temps is covered in them."

Sookie had thought a moment about what to say. Already this vampire had told her more about the world than even Eric or Godric had. Not that she blamed them. They hadn't really had a chance to talk since the events in Dallas and then the Maenad. No she knew they would have told her eventually. So telling the man that was kind enough to give her information would not be a hardship.

"I've lived in Bon Temps all my life. As you can imagine it's not exactly a vampire friendly town but then I doubt that many small towns are. When y'all announced yourselves I was happy but my boss, Sam, was not. We never expected to have a vampire in the area so when Bill showed up we all were a little shocked and stunned. I remember the first time I met him he kept staring in my eyes and I felt this pressure. I know now that he was trying to glamour me from the get go. He sat himself in my area and expected me to wait on him. Of course, we didn't have any of that True Blood at the time. It'd all spoiled. We hadn't expected a vampire see."

Taking a breath as she braced herself to explain, Sookie looked down at the floor. Her actions were not lost on Jorge as he watched her. This woman thinking she should be sorry or ashamed for anything she did, was a travesty. He was going to hear her story, however, before doing something about it.

"I went to get Bill some red wine so it looked like he had a reason to stay. He seemed fixated on me from the moment he walked in but it never clicked that he might be there for me. Needless to say as the night wore on the local drainers got ahold of him. They started to drain him there in the parking lot and I saved him. Or so I thought at the time. The next night, he wanted to meet me after my shift but he was late. I was attacked by the same drainers and nearly killed. Bill said he had to give me a lot of his blood for me to survive. At the time I didn't know any better. Who would? It was a few days later when I met Eric for the first time. Everything sort of went downhill from there."

Frowning a moment Jorge thought about what he knew about Compton versus what she was telling him. Apparently, he came to the same conclusions that Compton's own sheriff had. Bill had been sent to procure Sookie, by any means necessary. He was using his blood tie to try to influence her and it had worked until she took Eric and Godric's blood. He was also quite sure that he had glamored the drainers into attacking him and then Sookie so that he could force his blood into her.

"Miss Stackhouse. I'm afraid that Bill is going to die. What he did was inexcusable. Yes to some vampires humans are nothing more than vermin, playthings, disposable. But we are never supposed to force our blood upon someone unwilling. Most of the time when we take them as pets or as blood donors they are aware and have done so by choice. It seems that Mr. Compton compelled the drainers to attack you so that he could get his blood in you. You refused him that first night. The smart thing to do. So he had to act rash. Sophie Anne is not a lenient queen. She's a spoiled little brat who will be losing her throne soon enough. It is more than likely that his quest from her is the reason he forced his blood in you to begin with. You are fae. Your own grandfather is the ruling monarch and that alone is reason for his blood to stay out of your veins."

Sookie should have been shocked about the Fae comment but she was not. She'd already met Niall in her dreams and wanted to talk to him more. That would have to wait though.

"Enough of this dark talk. Let us talk about something else."

Sookie laughed a moment at the tone that the Magister took. She had seen Pam come upstairs earlier but had not wanted to interrupt her conversation. Pam looked angry by what she heard but the vampire had not said anything. Now as they sat around the throne, each waiting for the three men downstairs to be done, they talked about random things.

What shocked Sookie the most was the Magister talking with Pam about shoes. Apparently the man had quite a healthy obsession with them as well. She would never understand it. of all the things for a vampire to bond over it was shoes.

So lost in the lightheartedness of their conversations, the two vampires and the one fae hybrid never heard the door open or sensed the other presence until they saw them in their periphery.