Arc 4, Chapter 1

**In an unknown location somewhere in Aetheria**

"A vampire...?" inquired the being with the old male voice.

"Yes, sir. A vampire," Amara responded, bowing her head respectfully. An audible sigh of frustration emanated from the old male voice, irritation evident in his tone. "How hard is it to just get the person we want!?" he exclaimed, slamming his fist on his throne.

"You did well, Amara. She would have proven a problem," reassured the feminine voice, a touch of approval in her words. Amara felt a sense of validation, finding solace in the knowledge that her mistress was pleased. *As long as Mistress is happy, none of the others' opinions matter,* she thought to herself.

"Speaking of which, would you happen to know anything about this?" the feminine voice inquired, directing her attention to the being with the adolescent tone. The adolescent voice responded with a smirk, "Me? Why would you assume that? Are you being speciesist or something?"

"Just answer the damn question. Do you have anything to do with the vampire or not?" the old male voice demanded, rising from the throne. The guard by the old male voice's throne turned toward the adolescent voice, ready to attack or defend. Simultaneously, the guard by the adolescent voice's throne assumed a similar stance. Meanwhile, the being with the feminine voice remained unbothered, unaffected by the tense atmosphere.

Before any conflict could escalate, the being with the adolescent voice raised their hands in a placating gesture. "Calm down. I had nothing to do with her, honest," the voice asserted, though the lack of seriousness in their tone was apparent. Despite this, the being with the old male voice grunted before sitting back down on the throne. The two guards returned to their positions by the thrones.

"Do you have anything else to report, Amara?" the feminine voice asked. Amara nodded her head, responding, "Yes, Mistress, I do. Several things, actually. First of which is that I saw a Veridianian military patrol near Ironhelm." As Amara relayed this information, the other two beings turned their heads towards her, one in surprise and the other in intrigue.

"A Veridianian military patrol? What were they doing?" inquired the adolescent voice, a hint of amusement in their tone. "I do not know. They were setting up camp, and there was a Noble with them," Amara answered. The eyes of the old male voice and the feminine voice widened. "What did you do?" the old male voice asked.

"I attacked them and killed all of them, including the Noble, sir," Amara replied. The being with the old male voice let out a chuckle. "Hah, it looks like your pet can be useful," they remarked, turning to the being with the feminine voice.

"She is not a pet. Do not refer to her in such a way and treat her with respect," the feminine voice retorted, her tone ice-cold, making the being with the old male voice roll his eyes. The feminine voice then turned to Amara. "Good work, Amara. Now, tell us what else you have to report."

Amara bowed before saying, "Yes, Mistress." However, after uttering those words, she hesitated. The three beings observed her, noticing her struggle to express what she had to report. "What's wrong, Amara?" the feminine voice asked. Amara continued to struggle before saying, "I do not know how else to say this, so bear with me for a moment."

Intrigued by Amara's reaction, they waited as she opened her mouth....

**Inside a certain Steamstrider**

Larkin found himself massaging his temples, the initial excitement of acquiring the Mark IX steamstrider fading away as a night passed since they hit the road. Why was he doing this? Well, it was quite simple — his head was throbbing with pain. Why was his head hurting? Equally simple — he had been grappling with how to tell Xain about what happened to him, about his death and inexplicable return to life in such a grotesque manner. *The hell am I supposed to do!?* Larkin yelled in his own head.

"Larkin, what's wrong?" Zee's voice brought him back to the present. Larkin looked up to see her standing in front of him. "Nothing, don't worry about it. I'm just trying to figure something out," he replied, attempting to dismiss the concern etched on his face.

"Tell me if something's wrong, okay?" Zee insisted before returning to her plush seat inside the moving steamstrider. Larkin gazed out of the reinforced windows, watching the scenery speed by. *Ugh, what should I do? I can't just go, 'Hey, Xain, did ya know that you died when fightin' Eirisse?' OF COURSE NOT!* Larkin thought to himself, scratching his head in an erratic manner.

Larkin glanced at Zee, who seemed unfazed, humming happily in her seat. *She's probably trying to block out what happened. Poor girl, she's likely traumatized after seein' that,* Larkin thought, understanding the weight of witnessing such gruesome events. He knew how much Xain meant to her.

*She really should let that obsession go, let 'him' go,* Larkin pondered, realizing the difficulty of moving on. However, he understood that for Zee, forgetting about 'him' was nearly impossible. *It's only been a little over two months after all,* he acknowledged, looking away from Zee.

Sighing, Larkin resolved, *I'll have to tell Xain later about... whatever the hell that shit was,* shivering as he remembered that intense fight.

Suddenly, the strider came to an abrupt halt, prompting Larkin to mutter, "What the hell?" He approached the small reinforced window to the driver's cockpit, pressed a button next to it, and asked, "Hey Xain, why the sudden stop?" Xain's voice resonated from the speaker in the cabin, "I think we might have to step out for a moment and get ready for a fight."

Larkin and Zee exchanged puzzled glances. "What do ya mean?" Larkin asked, but there was no response. They then felt Xain exit the steamstrider. Larkin sighed, expressing his frustration, "Why does every day have to be so damn eventful?" He turned to Zee, who already had her dagger at the ready. Nodding, they both stepped out of the strider.

Upon doing so, they saw the reason for the abrupt stop. After taking in the situation, Larkin thought to himself, *FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!!!!*