Vol.3 Ch.223 Arriving in Tairal.Under cover of darkness, Quinus and his convoy arrived at the outskirts of the Capital City of Tairal after a series of events that had unfolded over the past eight hours.
As the carriage rumbled along the road, Sir George rode his horse up to the left side and rapped on the window. Quinus promptly rolled down the window and extended his head out, taking in the passing scenery.
"What is it, Sir George?" Quinus inquired.
"We should arrive in Tairal within the hour, My Lord. We'll enter through the southern entrance. Make sure the ladies are covered up. We don't need the citizens seeing them," Sir George instructed.
"I will, thank you, Sir George," Quinus said before closing the window. He then looked over at Dalia, Nieren, Yuliana, and Rya, "We're almost there. Once we're inside, you four will have to keep your hoods up until we reach the palace," Quinus told them.
"We understand," Rya replied.
Yuliana and Nieren nodded while Dalia snuggled up with Percy. The wolfkin looked tired and was trying not to fall asleep.
"Wow, what a long day, huh, Dalia?" Quinus remarked, and she nodded in agreent.
"Yes, Beta. I've been staying up too late with Gamma. I think it's been catching up to ," Dalia replied with a yawn.
"Well, you can rest once we get to the palace," Quinus reassured her.
"Thank you, Beta. I can see why Alpha likes you," Dalia said as she yawned again.
Quinus, Johan, and the other girls couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the wolfkin.
"Hey... Take a nap if you need to, Dalia. We'll wake you when we get there," Percy told her, and Dalia smiled as she nuzzled into Percy's chest.
As Quinus, Johan, and the girls gazed out the window, they marveled at the breathtaking scenery unfolding before them. The outline of the capital city gradually erged, captivating their attention. Rya's elven eyes, with their superior night vision, allowed her to discern the details of the imposing, high walls and the grand gate, offering a glimpse of the imnse size of the capital. She also spotted the massive structures nestled within the walls, their outlines looming in the distance. The buildings, seemingly taller than they appeared, were accentuated by the presence of a colossal hill at the city's center. This sight evoked comparisons to New York City, yet the gothic and dieval aesthetic of the buildings lent the capital a unique and enchanting allure.
The sun dipped below the horizon, and they finally arrived at the city's southern gate. The imposing gates swung open, and the convoy of carriages made its way into the capital. The streets were lined with grand, towering buildings, each more magnificent than the last. Enchanted torches illuminated the bustling streets, casting a warm glow on the elaborate architecture and vibrant banners adorning the stone structures.
As the carriage journeyed onward, its wheels clattered over the uneven cobblestone streets, finally coming to a halt just a block away from the magnificent Royal Palace. The surroundings were shrouded in darkness, with no signs of life near the imposing twenty-foot-tall concrete wall. Suddenly, a solitary guard erged from a small guardhouse nestled within the wall and made his way toward the carriage.
"State your business," the guard requested.
Sir Richard rode his horse over to the guard and addressed him, "A night sparrow needs a place to return."
The guard nodded knowingly as he whispered the code phrase, "It depends on the night. The night may not always be a good ti to return," he said.
"But this night can be a good ti. One just has to know the right bird," Sir Richard answered.
The vigilant guard was aware that a mber of the Royal Family was in need of secure passage through the concealed entrance leading to the Royal Palace.
"Very well," the Guard said as he walked over to a section of the blank wall and took out a special key. He stuck it in a crack that slowly revealed a door that wasn't there before.
"You have 5 minutes before the door disappears again," the guard inford them.
"That's all we need. Thank you," Sir Richard told him as the carriage moved towards the secret door.
Quinus erged from the elegant carriage, his presence imdiately drawing the attention of the surrounding royal guards. Walking in his wake were his loyal companions - Rya, Dalia, Percy, Nieren, and Yuliana. anwhile, Johan and Tayna remained inside the comfort of the carriage as the group made their way forward.
"Are you sure you two don't want to stay in the palace?" Quinus asked his friend.
Johan smirked and shook his head, "My family has their own place in the city, and I don't want to overstep my bounds. Besides, the nobles would be furious if they found out you housed a commoner," Johan joked.
Quinus smirked and nodded, "Well, they'll be in for a rude awakening once they find out about your secret. Make sure you co by tomorrow. I'll need your help to deal with the other nobles," Quinus told him.
Johan smiled and saluted him, "You can count on , my Lord," he said.
"Lord Johan... Make sure you are ready for your Mage's training as well," Rya added, and Johan's smile widened.
"I will, Lady Rya. Thank you for giving this opportunity," Johan replied.
"And Lady Tayna... I would like to see you for so tea tomorrow," Rya said as she glanced at Tayna sitting next to Johan.
Tayna nodded and bowed. "Of course, Lady Rya. I'd be delighted," she replied.
"We'll make sure to bring over all your things tomorrow. Just make sure the guards let us in," Johan comnted.
"I will," Quinus replied before looking over at General Douglas, who opened the secret passageway into the palace grounds.
"Alright, Sir Richard. You're in command of the second platoon. Escort the Young Lord to his residence and return to the palace at once," the commander ordered, and the knight saluted him.
"Yes, sir!" Richard replied.
As the Prince's group reached the hidden entrance, the dwarves bid farewell and followed Johan's carriage, disappearing into the distance. anwhile, Quinus made his way through the passageway. After everyone was inside, the secret entrance was shut and securely sealed, leaving no trace of their presence.
Rya marveled at the hidden passageway, feeling as though she had stepped into a scene from a movie as she made her way through the cavern. She couldn't help but notice the enchanted torches that magically ignited whenever soone approached within fifteen feet of them.
Quinus couldn't help but notice Rya's gaze fixed upon the flickering torches, and a soft chuckle escaped his lips.
"It's not like you haven't seen enchanted torches before," Quinus joked.
"Nah, that's not what I'm marveling at... It feels like I'm in a movie... as if we're on a special mission to save the princess and defeat the evil wizard," Rya joked. Quinus burst into laughter while everyone else looked on, a bit puzzled.
"I don't understand what a movie is," Dalia wondered out loud.
"I don't understand that term either," Yuliana added.
" neither," Nieren whispered.
Rya felt a surge of panic as the words slipped from her lips, revealing that she was not of their world. The last thing she wanted was for any of the knights to discover her secret. Just when it seed like all hope was lost, Quinus stepped in to save the day.
"It's like an EchoSphere. Where you can watch soone's events repeatedly, but it's mostly for entertainnt purposes like plays," Quinus explained.
"Oh... Yeah, that makes sense," Yuliana said.
"Huh? I never ca across such a thing. How common are they?" Rya asked.
"It's an artifact that was created by the vampires... It seems over ti, they lose their mories. They use the EchoSpheres to record mories they don't want to forget. It's rare to see these items," Quinus replied.
"I see..." Rya muttered as she continued to look at the walls and torches.
"Indeed... You're quite inford for such a young human, Prince Quinus," Yuliana complinted him.
"Well, I was a fast learner and picked up reading at an early age. I read almost everything in the Royal Library. The only things I couldn't read were the books written in a dead language," Quinus replied.
"Impressive... But do you know why vampires start to lose their mories after living for so long?" Yuliana inquired.
"Not really... But there are rumors. Like they get the mories of the people who they suck their life force from," Quinus answered.
"Ah... Yes, that does happen if they go into a feeding frenzy, which they try to avoid... But there's another reason," Yuliana said, frowning.
"Are you serious? What's the other reason?" Rya asked eagerly. Back when she was still on Earth, she couldn't get enough of the vampire craze that took over in the mid-2000s. Now, in this new world, she couldn't help but wonder just how different vampires were here on Tertius.
"Newly turned vampires struggle to hold on to their mories when they resist feeding. It's like a battle to hold on to their humanity. But as they grow hungrier, their past slips away faster until they forget who they used to be so their body can survive and feed on the living," Yuliana described with a hint of concern. "But the main reason they lose their mories is because a vampire's mory capacity is not as large as a human's or even an elf's. So, the mories fade away over ti. Being replaced by the newer mories," Yuliana explained.
The room fell silent as everyone absorbed the information. It all made perfect sense, but Rya struggled to truly grasp the reality of it. However, there were lingering doubts nagging at her. Specifically, she couldn't shake off the mory of when Hiro had expressed his desire to beco a vampire shortly after their arrival on Tertius. Yoona had insisted that vampires were born, not made and that one couldn't simply be turned into a vampire. Rya was uncertain whether Yoona had lied to discourage Hiro from his pursuit or if it was genuinely impossible to undergo such a transformation. The situation was complicated by the fact that they were already in the process of turning into Dark Elves, leading Rya to wonder if Dark Elves couldn't be turned into vampires.
"Huh... That's not what I was told about them... But Yoona could have been lying to ," Rya said as they continued to walk through the passageway.
Yuliana was taken aback when she heard Yoona's na. There were legends about the Dark Elf who had bravely thwarted her father's armies during the High Elves' attack on Sorellia. Yoona was feared for her Demi-god-level Vein and her exceptional skill in crafting golems. However, upon reflection, Yuliana found Rya's golems to be even more remarkable.
"Did you et Yoona, the legendary Slayer of Light? The High Priestess of Darkness and Death? And she didn't try to kill you because she sees your potential to surpass her?" Yuliana asked, clearly surprised.
Rya was shocked by Yuliana's response, which made her realize that many people were afraid of Yoona. However, Rya's stay in the citadel was brief, and she never witnessed Yoona's actions. She had little information about the elf, only knowing that Yoona was involved in bringing her to Tertius.
"Well... I've never actually witnessed her using her magic or seen her golems in action... But I have a feeling that she just didn't care enough to show them off. It's hard to say, but I rember a friend of mine expressing interest in becoming a vampire, and she actually talked him out of it. Apart from that, I haven't had much interaction with Yoona," Rya revealed, carefully choosing her words to avoid disclosing the entire truth about her situation.
"A friend of yours wanted to beco a vampire!? Is he a moron or sothing?" Yuliana asked angrily.
Rya made a face before saying, "He was pretty clueless, to put it mildly."
"Pff! Listen to , my daughter. He is asking for a life worse than death if he tries to beco a vampire," Yuliana advised her sternly.
"Hey, it wasn't who wanted to beco a vampire in the first place. That was all him! I just found it strange that I was lied to about how people beco vampires," Rya said, defending herself.
Quinus beca curious, "What did this Priestess tell you about vampires?" he asked as they could see the exit in the distance.
"She said that you can only be born a vampire, and you can't be turned into one," Rya answered.
"Huh? Where did she lie to you, Ry? Because she's correct. We Elves can't be turned into vampires. Only humans can be turned into lesser vampires. All the other races would beco ghouls, becoming mindless slaves of a master vampire," Yuliana explained, and Rya frowned.
"So, she didn't lie to us..." Rya muttered, and Quinus looked at her with a serious gaze.
"I know what you're thinking, Rya. There are similarities between the lesser vampires from... You know. But the Master or Higher Vampires can procreate, and the sun isn't as dangerous for them compared to the lesser vampires. And if a Human is bitten and fed the blood of a master vampire, they will beco a Lesser Vampire," Quinus explained, and Yuliana looked at him surprised.
"You're much wiser than I expected, Prince Quinus. Are you sure you learned all this from only reading books?" Yuliana complinted him again.
He smirked and shook his head. "Like I said, I learned to read at an early age, and the library had a lot of good books on Vampires... I have never t one in real life, so I can't really comnt on them through experience. And I hope I never do."
Sir George couldn't help but shiver as he vividly rembered the chilling night when three deadly vampire assassins attempted to take his life and that of the young Prince, who was just a year old at the ti. It was a harrowing ordeal, and he barely managed to escape with his life. Although Douglas was present in the palace during the attack, he only witnessed the aftermath of the fierce battle that unfolded that fateful night.
"Well, technically, he's been around them," Sir George said, and the others looked at him confused.
"But I was asleep—"
"You were a baby, right?" Rya jumped in as Quinus almost let it slip that he was reincarnated and a fully conscious adult when he was reborn.
"Um... Yeah... I didn't know that I ca across so vampires. It was too early in my life to rember, and I was asleep based on what Sir George told ," Quinus corrected himself, and Sir George nodded.
"Indeed. I wish we could have found out who hired them, but there are still no leads," Sir George added.
"Really? Whoever paid for their services must have known that it was a suicide mission," Rya mused.
"Well, what Sir George is saying about not knowing who hired them is partially true. We suspect that the Kingdom of Marn was involved, but we're still in the dark about who exactly within their ranks hired them. We lack the evidence to confirm if it was one of their nobles or even their King, Arnaud Dupont," General Douglas explained.
Rya frowned, "Hm? Well, that's another reason to destroy them."
"Agreed," Yuliana added.
The entire assembly of Knights gazed at Rya with wide eyes and dropped jaws, their surprise evident in their expressions. The only ones who didn't appear surprised were Rya's friends, and Yuliana bead proudly at her adopted daughter. The hushed atmosphere was shattered by the sound of Douglas clearing his throat, signaling his intention to speak.
"Do you an to wage war on the kingdom of Marn?" Douglas inquired.
"Only if they refuse to release the enslaved Wood Elves... And if they don't, then my golems will tear down the entire Kingdom of Marn so I can free the slaves," Rya replied.
Douglas fell silent as he carefully considered her words.
"That seems reasonable, but if the citizens are innocent, then there's no reason to annihilate their Kingdom," Douglas said, and everyone nodded.
"Yeah... I would prefer not to kill innocent people. But their Kingdom will be destroyed, and the King will lose his head if I find out that he was the one who sent those vampire assassins after Quinus," Rya clarified.
Quinus was grateful that she was willing to seek revenge on his behalf for the wrongs done to his younger self. However, he couldn't help but wonder if she would actually go as far as to take Arnaud Dupont's life if she discovered he was the one to hire the assassins.
"Don't force yourself into sothing that's not worth your ti, Rya," Quinus advised her.
"Keeping you safe is worth my ti," Rya countered.
"You know... It should be my job to protect you, right? Not the other way around," Quinus teased her.
Rya snorted, "Over my dead body!"
"Don't joke about that!" Quinus told her, and she looked at him curiously. "I don't want you to die for my sake," he told her in a low voice, and the others pretended not to hear them.
"Well, you're stuck with , babe. Where you go, I go," Rya teased, and Quinus rolled his eyes.
"I guess there's no stopping a determined Dark Elf like you," Quinus teased as Rya grinned back at him.
"Damn straight!" Rya agreed, and he laughed.
Yuliana sighed, "You two remind of a certain couple that I know."
"Oh? Really?" Rya asked, curious.
"Yeah. It's the Princess of the High Elf Kingdom and her human knight that she rescued and fell in love with. The two are inseparable, and she always tells him off whenever he gets hurt," Yuliana said, as she rembered how they acted when they were together.
"Wow! I guess there are a few good eggs in the High Elf Kingdoms," Rya said, and Yuliana smiled at her.
"Yes, well... The High Elves aren't the best rulers of their continent... Um... After thinking about it. Most of them are arrogant, greedy, and selfish. And they are very strict with their rules. But I have t so that were kind and just rulers. They are few and far between, unfortunately," Yuliana told her.
"Well, I'm sure there are good people and bad people in every race," Rya pointed out, "But that brings back to the vampires. If the Master Vampires can procreate, then why do they need to turn so humans into lesser vampires? I'm guessing it's tough for them to get pregnant, right?"
"Well... Yes... You know how we, Elves, can only get pregnant every ten to fifteen years?" Yuliana asked, and Rya nodded.
"Yeah, so they have a longer gestation period than Elves and Humans," Rya deduced.
"Correct. They can only procreate when there is a solar eclipse with both moons. It's the only ti when there's enough negative energy being released that allows a female vampire to release an egg," Yuliana told her.
Rya thought about this new information, "Hm. So, if a female master vampire was impregnated during a solar eclipse then she would be pregnant for how long?"
"One Hundred years... And the solar eclipse of the twin moons only happens every thousand years," Yuliana answered, and Rya frowned.
"That sounds pretty intense. Being pregnant for that long must be tough. How do you manage to stay sane?" Rya asked while Quinus smiled with amusent.
"It's not an easy task, that's for sure. It takes a special type of person to do such a thing. But the reward is great for a Master Vampire, for they are few," Yuliana answered.
"I wonder if vampires would consider it a blessing or a curse," Nieren chid in.
"For them... Most would see it as a blessing," Yuliana answered honestly. She then looked at Nieren as if she was hinting at her to find a male and have a child.
This caused Nieren to frown, "Don't even think about it! I don't want a child for at least 50 years," she declared, and Yuliana sighed.
"Yes, I know. I just want you to have a child with the man you love, and hopefully, it's sooner rather than later, Nieren," Yuliana told her.
Nieren felt her cheeks grow warm as a subtle flush of embarrassnt spread across her face. She stole a quick glance at Quinus, hoping no one would notice her blushing, and then quickly looked away.
"I'll have children when I'm good and ready. There's so much I want to accomplish before even thinking about it, Mom," Nieren declared, her expression returning to its usual calm.
"I don't bla you for feeling that way, but if you are in love with soone, then you will want a child soon enough, right?" Yuliana asked her daughter.
"Mom!" Nieren protested, but Yuliana smiled at her.
"What? I'm not trying to rush you into anything. I just want you to have a child of your own before you turn one hundred," Yuliana told her softly, and Nieren sighed.
"Okay... Fine, Mom," Nieren agreed reluctantly, and Yuliana's smile grew wider.
"Excellent! Now, let's continue our walk," Yuliana cheerfully told her, and the rest of the group nodded.
As they approached the exit, Rya couldn't help but notice the sheer size of the door. It lood large before them, easily big enough to accommodate an elephant.
"I don't understand why there's such a large door here of all places... This is supposed to be a secret passage, right?" Rya wondered out loud.
"The door was made by dwarven artisans a hundred years ago as a gift from Ironside. Plus, you never know when you might need to hide a carriage, Lady Rya," Douglas answered.
"Huh?... Well, I guess you make a good point," Rya agreed.
Quinus approached the imposing door and paused, turning to face the expectant group gathered behind him.
"Well... It's been a long ti coming. But we finally are ho. Welco to the Maldura Royal Palace, ladies and gentlen," Quinus announced.
Rya stood in awe as two of the knights focused their energy, channeling their mana into the ancient door. The intricate chanisms of the door began to shift and rotate as if coming to life. With a surge of power, the two halves of the door slowly parted ways, revealing the mysterious courtyard beyond. The knights then concentrated even harder, pouring more mana into the door to halt its movent, ensuring that the passage remained open for their party to enter.
As the door swung open, it revealed the magnificent palace courtyard. A broad stone pathway stretched out, leading to the most stunning fantasy castle that Rya had ever laid eyes on.
"Woah..." Rya gasped, and the other three won stared in awe at the palace.
"It's even more magnificent than I could have imagined. It's nothing like the Elder Tree," Nieren admitted.
"And here I thought I've seen everything that humanity has to offer," Yuliana said, as Dalia almost fell backward from looking so high up at the palace.
Percy caught her before she fell, and Dalia blushed in embarrassnt.
"Thank you, Gamma," Dalia whispered, and Percy smiled at her.
"You're welco," Percy answered her as he helped her get back on her feet.
"Damn... So this is where I'm going to live? It's amazing," Rya said, and Quinus chuckled.
"It's only a fraction of the entire palace. We won't be exploring it until morning," Quinus told her.
"Yeah, I'm too tired to explore the palace right now. But I can't wait to see my room. I feel like I can sleep for a whole day," Rya said, and she started walking toward the palace entrance.
Quinus watched as the others followed suit, and a warm smile spread across his face as he observed the happiness evident on Rya's face.
"Yeah... You deserve to live in a beautiful palace," Quinus told her.
The group's arduous journey back ho has finally reached its conclusion. Little did they know that their next test awaited them the very next day when Quinus would receive word of the Pri Minister's devious sche.
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