Van spent the next day with Rosalyn in bed. Since her transformation, she had become insatiable, riding him for hours at a time without rest, only to pause and do it all over again. A part of him worried that more than just the energy for her rank-up was passed to her when the ritual finally finished. Perhaps she gained a new bloodline from it? The succubus one? Or maybe it was something else? Or it could just be that since her change, she had some issues to work through. Having your body slowly dissolve into nothing, then suddenly gaining massive amounts of power might have addled her brain a bit, and this was just a coping mechanism of hers.

But no matter what, he was just happy that she was okay… And the new feeling and sensation of her body on his own didn’t hurt either. It was far more pleasurable than before, the changes not only affecting her outward appearance but how she felt inside as well.

Suddenly the door opened, and a worried-looking Duvessa entered with her head on straight.

“Rosalyn...” She said, using her friend's name openly. Only for her to straighten up and do her best to ignore what was happening as well as her friend's sudden change, going back to her professionalism. “I have come to inform you of some bad news…” suddenly serious. “The traitor mage we captured escaped. And when we were able to track her down… we only found her corpse… while we didn’t get a lot of information out of her, it should be obvious who sent her…. Your orders?”

Rosalyn seemed to be ignoring her, focusing more on the joy she was experiencing with her new body using Van. But finally, with a sigh, she moved until she got one last gush of warmth spilled inside her before turning around and addressing her second in command. Slowly getting up and off of her husband and pulling on the shadows to create an intricate dress that hugged her body and revealed her slightly inflated stomach filled with seed.

She gave a quick apologetic look back toward Van before returning her attention to Duvessa. “Sorry sweetie, give me a moment.”

Van just laid there, finally able to relax… completely healed since Rosalyn spared nothing in his recovery, and once healed, never left his side. Though he was too tired to acknowledge What his wife said.

“As much as I would love to agree with you… we, unfortunately, can’t do anything directly without proof.” Rosalyn said, walking off the bed and towards Duvessa. Noting how much taller she was now when compared to her friend, and feeling odd about it.

“But my lady-” Duvessa tried to begin, surprised by how passive her mistress was acting, only to be stopped by a raised hand.

“That isn’t to say we aren't going to do anything…” Rosalyn said, her eyes now shining with a dangerous light. “There is no doubt in my mind that Karmila has something to do with this, but she isn’t the only one that might have tried something… I can think of several mid-sized duchies from the neutral faction and especially the aggressive faction that might not have wished for something like me to achieve the rank of Archduke. Everyone knows after all that me and Tethra are practically allies. So it’s not that Karmila didn’t have a hand in it… it’s who helped her…”

Duvessa was taken aback by this. It didn’t even occur to her that Karmila might not be the only player in this scenario. “That… makes sense… to get someone with the skills necessary to pass our test, as well as our background checks, and is willing to die or have the methods of escape should things go south… Even Karmila would have a hard time finding something like that… and if what Van said was true before you…”

She gave a polite cough. “Dragged him into bed… Then it seemed like they were planning to pin all the blame on him for your death, should it have happened. Which means…”

Rosalyn nodded. “That there might have been a few people in the crowd that would have tried to back her up, also pointing to Van as the culprit.

“Hmm…” Duvessa had to think of this. Raking her brain on who it could be. She knew not everyone that was invited was the best of friends with her mistress… but that was just par for the course when you were dealing with vampire politics… What was concerning was… who had the gall to pull off something like this? To attend a ceremony where they could be caught? Not to mention everyone had a background check as well before they were invited, meaning they somehow were still able to slip in…

“If it’s not just Karmila… then who could it be?” She asked aloud.

Rosalyn quickly glanced back to see if Van was hearing then looked her friend in the eye. “Malon Taldor…” She said in a serious whisper.

Duvessa gave a little gasp. “Are you sure-!?” Eyes going wide at the accusation.

Rosalyn nodded sagely. “Just as some might see me as a pawn of Tethra… Karmila can be considered a pawn of Malon…”

“But what about Dagon! He would never stand for something like this happening in the neutral territories! If it was found out that-” She stopped as her friend shook her head.

“I’m afraid Dagon has lost much of the power he used to possess. There are even rumors going around that he might finally be going into the deep sleep, remember?”

“But… those are only rumors…”

Rosalyn sighed. “Maybe not as much as we thought they were if Malon helped orchestrate something like this and thought he could go uncaught. Or… it simply could be something or someone else… Gods know that I’ve made quite a few enemies during my time as duchess…”

She heard a groan and turned back to look at Van who finally seemed to be coming around.

“Come on.” She said to Duvessa. Let’s talk about this somewhere else and let Van get some rest.” Then walked around her friend and out the door. At this point her body had absorbed everything Van had given her, giving her a flat stomach once more and allowing her body to almost glow with power.

Duvessa quickly followed behind her mistress and shut the door behind them.

---

Van groggily got up feeling very tired and wrung dry. He cleaned himself and changed and got ready to meet the day. He checked the time and panicked at how little left there was. He was supposed to take the train tonight for Bloodhaven, and most of the morning was gone. He of course didn’t fault Rosalyn for this, after all, she almost lost her life, and probably needed some time to get her head back on straight.

Walking out of the room and down the halls to the dining room, he was quickly assaulted by his family with hugs from his mothers and wives. They had been very worried about him for a while now.

After explaining that he was fine, the group went to get some brunch, Van eating enough for two people with how hungry he was. The conversation at the table was nothing but what happened yesterday. His family and friends constantly asked if he was okay.

Thankfully he was able to convince them that he just needed some rest and that Rosalyn took good care of him. Keeping secret that it was more like he took care of her than the other way around…

After an hour of eating and talking, Van excused himself. Much to the dismay of his parents who wished to be with him for a bit longer before he had to leave for the train. He understood where they were coming from, but he had too little time to play with them, and a mountain of small tasks to do before he left. Promising that he would try to make some time for them before he went.

Going somewhere a little quieter, he entered his soul realm to check up on Isa.

“Hey Isa, how are you doing? Do you like your new body?” He asked as he watched her train with her new body, wearing her new set of form-fitting armor.

Isa stopped to turn and give him a wide grin. “It’s amazing! I’ve never felt so powerful! The only issue I have is how tall I am!” She gave a little laugh.

Van grinned alongside her. “I bet, suddenly becoming so tall must have its share of problems…

The two then talked for a while before Van got to his point. “By the way… I’ve been thinking… is it okay if I check your mana tattoos? I want to see if I can improve them a bit.”

“Sure!” Isa said excitedly. “You don’t even need to ask, if you think there's something you can do to make me stronger, I would love for you to do it.” immediately taking off her clothes so that he could get better access to her runic markings.

If Van hadn’t been so wrung dry, he would have been turned on right now. Isa was a beautiful woman before her change, and even more now. But he ignored all that to focus on the task at hand, promising inwardly to give Isa the love and attention she deserved later.

After half an hour of rewriting a few of the runes, improving upon them, and finally getting the new rune to stick on her back. He stepped back and asked Isa to try it out.

She closed her eyes and tried to push mana into the new rune. Slowly, two big black shadowy wings formed behind her and she looked back in awe at them.

“They won’t allow you to travel far at the moment…” Van said. “But I figured that a new line of soldiers should have a special gimmick. Being able to fly or glide for short periods of time, or even just jump very high would have many practical military applications and increase your chance of survival and effectiveness on the battlefield. I can’t do this for everyone, but I wanted you to be the first to have it. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Are you kidding!” Isa gushed. “This is amazing! Thank you!” then rushed to Van to give him a big hug and kiss on the lips.

After a while they parted and Van chuckled. “Glad you like it.”

Isa bit her lower lips. “You know… this new body is… unused… we can take it for a spin if you… have the time…” She said nervously.

Van smiled gently at her. “Sorry, Isa… I’m a bit busy today… but maybe tonight, okay?”

Isa looked disappointed but nodded, and Van gave her another kiss to help make her feel better and to know he meant what he said.

“But before I leave…” he felt somewhat hesitant about asking this. “Is… everyone okay?”

Isa thought about that, already knowing what he must be talking about, and gave a small nod. “There are still a few people who are dizzy, and a few others that are still resting up after you drained all of us dry. But for the most part, we're okay and there doesn’t seem to be any long-lasting damage to anyone.”

Van sighed with relief. “Good… good… thank you for telling me. I’m sorry that it happened in the first place.”

Isa shook her head. “It's fine. If anything, I was surprised by how much energy it took just to rank someone up to archduchess! I guess it just goes to show how important of a rank-up it is. And how much power one can gain from it…”

Van thought back to the strange presence and how he had to force its attention back onto the ritual. “Ah… definitely unexpected… you take care Isa, and do me a favor and check around one last time for me.”

Isa gave him a can-do smile, “no problem Van, just leave it to me!”

“Thank you, Isa.” Van returned to the smile. Leaving her to her training once more.

After that, he exited his soul realm. He had a few more people to talk to and a few more things to prepare for.

---

“Are you sure I can have them?” Seral asked.

“Of course I am, I already asked Karmine about it, and she says she is fine with it. Not to mention some of them are also fine with it as well. Though you have to remember who they once were…” Van pointed out.

Seral thought about it, then nodded. “Well… I suppose beggars can’t be choosers… and it’s better then nothing… but… If I take half? What about you?”

“It’s fine! I have plenty more where they came from.” Van assured his friend. “My parents brought a lot of people along to the point that I actually need to get rid of a few!”

“Well… if you're sure…” Seral said uncertainly.

After a bit more talking and Van trying to pawn half of Karmine’s bandits onto Seral. They had come to an agreement.

With a few shouted commands of Karmine’s voice, half of the bandits in formation skipped over happily to the pretty boy’s side, joining the dozen or so other followers that Seral somehow managed to recruit.

Van noticed how pathetically small Seral’s personal army still was. “Are you sure you don’t want anyone more? I think I have a dozen or two goblins I can spare.”

Seral looked up at him in surprise. “Where do you even get them all?”

Van thought back to all those goblins he banged and how many eggs they produced. “You don’t want to know…”

Seral shook his head. “I can’t accept any more than this, It’s already too much.”

Van nodded in understanding. “If you ever need more goblins or goblin eggs, just ask and I can provide them.

Seral gave Van an odd look but decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

Once everything was decided, they started to pack their things and in the next two hours the train arrived and they began to offload everything onto it with some help from the train staff. But before they hopped onto the train, Van’s family came to give him one last goodbye. Lillia and Thea gave him a hug, Alv gave his son a handshake and Rosalyn quickly rushed through the crowd, jumped into his arms, and made him promise that he would be back.

Kiki and Nikki were also there, filming the awesome monstrosity of a train. Before leaving he made sure to blood bind them. He knew that they were of the shorter-lived races and he didn’t want them dying anytime soon. He was surprised though, by how okay they were about it, giggling about how this made him their official vampire lover.

After that, Van and everyone else then walked in. Van, Seral, and most of the nobles went to the more lavish compartments. While Karmine and everyone else went to the back.

Van had pulled out some of his hobgoblins, goblins, and harpies, as well as one or two mandrakes and kobolds. Totaling his forces up to seventy or so, including the twenty-five bandits added to that. He had taken them out of his soul realm the first chance he got, and the bandits were none the wiser as to where they came from. Only thinking they were reinforcements from Van’s home.

Van had also brought out another six Annas to follow him, four of which were in the back to help Karmine keep an eye out on his subordinates, while the other two walked with him down the aisle as they tried to find their room that they would be staying in for the next week or so in.

He and Seral had also pulled a few strings to get Yassan to join them, so the three friends can be together, they also pulled a few to help Chloe since Yassan wanted to stay with her.

As they walked up and down the train. Van couldn’t help being amazed by the sheer size and scale of it. This monstrosity took two entire tracks and had an extra floor on top. It was big and black with a gothic design, and the front of the train was even bigger, with a massive engine-like structure that powered everything. The inside was plush and velvet, with carpeted flooring and elegant wooden furniture.

After finally finding their room, they decided to explore the rest of the train and get dinner. The group then sat down to eat the lavish meal put in front of them. On one side, Van, Seral and Yassan. On the other, Luna, Chloe, and Samira. As they were enjoying their meal, a young woman in a school uniform walked and accidentally tripped on the edges of the furniture.

Van, being on the edge of the booth, decided to help her up and the other stuff she dropped.

“Thanks… sorry about that, hope I didn’t ruin your meal,” she said apologetically.

“It’s no problem,” Van said. “Hope you get to your room safely.”

“Oh? Wait! Are you guys also students of Bloodhaven!” the young woman asked, noticing Seral’s attire. She then stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet you all. I hope we can be friends when we get to school!” giving a beaming smile, as if already forgetting she just had a bad fall.

Van blinked but took her hand kindly and gave it a shake. “Nice to meet you too.”

“My name is Arkina, what's yours?”

“...Van… and this is Seral, Yassan, Chloe, Samira and my wife Luna.” he introduced them all.

Arkina fluttered her eyes. “Well Van, I hope we can meet each other at school. Later!” and as abruptly as she came, she left.

Once she was gone, Luna couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. “Seems you already got a school crush on you Van. Lucky you!” she joked.

Van rolled his eyes as his friends also made fun of him at his expense.

“But she was a bit odd…” Van thought, thinking about the frail-looking girl with the overly large sword she carried on her back, and the glasses she wore. “I wonder if we really will see each other again?”

“Oh? Is someone thinking of that girl already?” Luna teased.

Van sighed and after a bit more ribbings they all went back to their meal.