Cesorpha was the first to wake. Her first response was to panic, since she didn’t remember anything clearly. Bolting upright, she looked around frantically. Vynera and Ryance were still on the ground, completely still. Cautiously she stood up and walked over to Vynera to check for life signs. As far as she could tell, the sorceress was dead, had set herself up to die to terminate her own creation. Despite the relief Cesorpha felt at Vynera’s demise, she also felt a hint of sadness. Something had changed the woman’s mind at the last minute, bringing an end to her plans, but she hadn’t lived long enough to explain what had transpired. Had it been cowardice, or a step towards redemption? Cesorpha wanted to believe it was a change of heart, rather than faintness of heart, that made Vynera’s final choice. It was likely that no one would ever know.
Next she tried to revive Ryance, but failed. She didn’t know if he was alive or dead. With his vampire physiology, she had no way to tell if he was truly dead, or just unconscious. No amount of shaking showed any change, and it left Cesorpha feeling very much alone. She had already lost him so many times; she wasn’t sure she could handle another. Not wishing to remain in Vynera’s musty lair, she stepped outside. Bright sunlight stung her eyes that were so used to Vynera’s long spell of darkness; the warmth of the sun felt strange in her hair and on her back. Birds chattered gladly from the trees around her. Dazed, Cesorpha sat on the doorstep of Vynera’s house. She felt as though the world had fallen to pieces, although the physical world now had a chance to be in better shape than it had been in years.
Tears flowed down her cheeks until she had no more tears to cry. Exhausted, Cesorpha remained there, huddled on the doorstep, until Klarn and some citizens of Solumina found her. When Klarn had returned, the Council decided to go after Ryance. By the time they had reached the castle, Ryance had gone. They had found the note and searched the area until they found Cesorpha, but she didn’t seem to notice them approach. She just stared off into space, occasionally letting a sob escape. Klarn didn’t like the look on Cesorpha’s face. He tried to question her, but she still took no notice of him.
“Cesorpha! Cesorpha!” he said, waving a hand in front of his sister’s face. Slowly she turned her focus to her brother’s face. Then she began to laugh hysterically. Soon crying mingled with the awful laughter, shaking her frail body. Klarn tried to calm her down, but she didn’t listen. Seeing that words weren’t working, Klarn grasped his sister’s shoulders and shook her. Cesorpha finally seemed to see him and fully recognize who he was. Struggling, she eventually settled down enough to quiet herself, but there was still a look of despair in her eyes.
“Cesorpha, what happened?” asked Klarn, relieved that his sister’s reason seemed to have returned. In as few words as possible, Cesorpha told her brother what had happened since he left them. Klarn in turn told Cesorpha how he had found her. “So Vynera turned good at the last moment you say?” he said, trying to absorb the news. No one really believed Cesorpha except Klarn, although none of them said as much. They didn’t want to upset Cesorpha any more. And, for the most part, it didn’t matter. If the sorceress was truly dead, there was nothing to fear, and no concern over any further lies.
“What should we do now?” one of the soldiers asked.
“We should look inside and do a sweep,” said Klarn. As much as he believed his sister, there had been too much grief that came from Vynera for him to risk overlooking something. He, Cesorpha, and two other men entered the musty house. They saw Vynera and Ryance lying on the floor. Klarn checked to make sure that Vynera was really dead. It proved to be true, as far as his senses could tell. One of the men drew his sword to cut off her head.
“What are you doing?” protested Cesorpha in alarm.
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“I’m making sure she stays dead this time.”
“Please don’t. She saved my life.” The man seemed ready to protest, but a glance from Klarn made him put away his sword with a grumble. As a group, they walked over to Ryance. Just as Cesorpha had, they tried everything they knew to revive him, but Ryance remained still.
“What do we do with him?” asked another of the men.
“Leave him. We’ll take Vynera back and bury her though; we’ll send people back to burn her house,” said Klarn after thinking it over. Cesorpha said nothing to protest this decision. She only bent down and dropped a light kiss on Ryance’s pale forehead. The others turned their backs so she had some semblance of privacy while she said her good-byes. Then they all prepared for the journey home, happy again to feel the sunshine on their backs and faces. Only, for Cesorpha, it was a bittersweet sort of happiness. But she didn’t share this with them out loud; she didn’t want to cast a cloud on their happiness just because she was still struggling.
On the way back they stopped by Ryance’s castle. It still looked dark and gloomy, even in the sunlight, but somehow less threatening. Regardless, Cesorpha was not willing to enter it again, so she stayed outside with some of the men while her brother, and the rest of the men, entered the building to retrieve Larxer’s body, effects, and whatever else Cesorpha had left behind. She made sure she was far enough from the entrance when they carried out the sheet covered body of Larxer; she didn’t wish to see him again. Watching him die had been distressing enough. Although he had been attentive to her in the past, she had never cared much for him; her heart had never truly wavered from Ryance.
Back at Solumina, both Larxer and Vynera were buried. The former was given a proper burial in the place reserved for Council members. The disgraceful circumstances of his death was buried along with his body; it was decided by the Council that there wasn’t enough evidence of his crimes to take away that position. Morale had been low for so long, that they didn’t want to bring up unnecessary negativity. Cesorpha and Klarn didn’t agree with this, but neither of them were interested in fighting the Council on the matter. As for Vynera, she was buried alone in the execution grounds, her body placed in a heavily fortified box with a lot of wards etched into it. They were taking no chances.
During this time a group had gone back to burn Vynera’s home and destroy, or reclaim, anything left in her lair. In due time they returned to report back to the Council. The group who went back to do the task found no trace of Ryance. They didn’t know if he had been completely destroyed or if he had recovered and walked away. Without any evidence either way, there wasn’t much they could do about him. So they focused on destroying the lair, bringing back any suspicious or arcane items for trained wizards to deal with. The council decided not to pursue Ryance any further, though there was still a standing order to destroy him if he was uncovered. Since Vynera’s spell of darkness was gone, the vampires were easily found out and destroyed. Soon only a few could be found roaming the land. No one could be certain if it was Ryance creating them, or if one of this creations had survived long enough to create them.
Time passed and the two countries started to heal from the scars of Vynera’s second reign of terror. Gradually the people of Solumina forgot about Ryance the Knight, and only occasionally spoke of the vampire that had caused so much trouble. Only Cesorpha and Klarn remembered him for who he was. Klarn eventually married, but Cesorpha could never bring herself to. It wasn’t just the trauma remaining from her last journey. She remained faithful to the vampire who had proved he was more and therefor was still worthy of her affection. She refused to believe he was dead, unlike the rest of the people. The other vampire had left behind a pile of ash, and his clothing, but Ryance had left behind no such evidence.
One evening, as she was looking out her window, Cesorpha saw someone standing in the distance in the fields beyond the city. For once instance, as the figure stood in the moonlight, it turned towards the city. Cesorpha saw the face. There was no mistaking who was standing there, even at that distance: it was Ryance. Then the moment was gone, and so was the figure, who had disappeared into the night. But their eyes had locked, and that meant a lot to Cesorpha. Still, she kept it as a secret in her heart; she didn’t even tell Klarn about it. Never did she see, or hear from, him again.