Ira looked around to make sure that everything was accounted for. Aldis and Amy each had a bag of luggage with them even though Ira mentioned it wouldn’t be needed. Harper didn’t bring anything except her weapons as she would believe anything if Ira said it was true.

“You guys might want to prepare, we have to make three or four jumps and it might make you nauseous,” Ira spoke plainly as he stretched.

“I’m ready!” Harper jumped excitedly.

“We’re also ready,” Amy said as she and Aldis nodded.

“Ok,” Ira said as he concentrated. The space around them began to bend and then they vanished without a trace, leaving an empty house behind.

When they next appeared it was in the Great Forest which puzzled everyone except Ira.

Seeing their confusion, Ira spoke, “The Underground City is a little west of the Great Forest.

Amy was about to ask a question when Ira stopped her, “Don’t say anything we’re moving again.”

The four vanished once again and appeared near a rocky area that was far different from the Great Forest that teemed with life. The climate was hot and the plant life was scarce. In a way, it was fitting for the Dark Elves to live in such an environment since it lined with them being complete opposites of the Elves.

“We’re going again,” Ira said and moments later they blinked out of sight and arrived at the top of a steep canyon. Ira looked below and could see a massive metal gate that blocked the entrance to a cave. Several human looking guards sat outside of it, but they had far more body hair than what would be considered normal.

“It’s down there,” Ira pointed.

Aldis and Amy could only make out a small blur, while Harper could see the people standing guard but couldn’t make out any more details.

“Alright, this is the last one.” Ira teleported them to the bottom of the Canyon and in front of the guards who were understandably shocked.

Just as the guards were about to speak they felt the urge to prostrate themselves before Ira in order to avoid his hostilities.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Ira forcefully lowered his bloodline resonance which allowed the lycanthrope guards to breathe easily again.

“...Is it really you...The Keeper of the Red Moon?” A guard asked fearfully as sweat poured from his forehead. As a Lycanthrope, he was acutely aware of the feeling that came from Ira. He felt as if he was a weak animal that had stumbled across the one at the top of the food chain.

The other guards didn’t even speak as they blinked rapidly. Ira’s appearance was described in detail through a Royal Decree that stated he was a Divine Being in an indirect way. Though Ira wouldn’t like it, it was technically true as the Avarus Lupum were native to the Divine Realm.

“Yeah, it’s me...Can you tell Sylun I’m here?” Ira asked.

“Of course.” The Lycanthrope man agreed excitedly before turning to enter the cave. There was a door adjacent to the metal gate where the guard entered with a quick pace.

…

Sylun sat on her throne with a very solemn expression as she proceeded over the court gatherings. The biggest problem in the Underground City was the Vampires and their bloodlines that awakened after being exposed to the Red Moon. A small percent of Vampires were lucky enough to be descendants of an incredibly powerful bloodline. With such a huge increase in power, secret factions formed and power struggles were slowly becoming commonplace. There was also the matter of vampires leaving the Underground City and setting up outposts to attack other races.

“Lucien, you’re the cause of it all, aren’t you?!” A female lycanthrope growled. She was a tall woman with light brown hair. There was a rough look about her and the leather vest and boots she wore didn’t help.

“I’m not sure what you’re accusing me of, but it's dangerous to lodge accusations at others during a time like this. You’re the head of the Queen’s Royal Guard so you should act like it, Eloise,” A refined man who looked to be in his mid-40’s with dark brown hair, pale skin, and dim red eyes responded. He wore the clothes of a noble and had a dark red cloak draped around him.

“There have been thirty-six attacks and dozens of disappearances after the news about the Vampires having bloodline awakenings. To add to that, there is a rumor of factions against her Majesty being formed,” Eloise narrowed her eyes and her unconcealed aggression made itself known.

The Vampires that survived the Collapse weren’t the powerful undead they were thousands of years ago, but were mortal beings susceptible to sunlight, until recently that is. The Bloodline Awakening was a normal Vampire losing its mortality and gaining immense power. The strongest Vampire at the time was none other than Lucien.

Lucien kept a confident composure as he looked at it Eloise “I assure that I had nothing to do with any of that, but I will devote all my resources to finding the one responsible.”

“How do you think the Keeper will react when he finds out what you’re doing?” Eloise sneered.

Lucien was silent, not because of his fear, but because he was skeptical about Ira’s abilities. Just as the Vampires were experiencing a resurgence, a young man with the ability to control the Red Moon appears from nowhere. To him he seemed like a way for Sylun to stop scare of some of the factions that were forming against her. Although he had read the Free City’s paper about Ira, he didn’t believe he could actually control the Red Moon, especially when he held no obvious lycanthropic features.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“I guess we’ll have to wait for the Keeper to arrive before any judgments could be made,” Lucien smiled. Vampires with prominent bloodlines were able to convert others and increase the strength of others which meant they could bolster their numbers very quickly. If a civil war were to erupt, the longer it went on the higher chance the Vampires would have at winning.

“Your Majesty!” A lycanthrope guard covered in sweat burst into the chamber, “Your Majesty!”

Royal guards moved to restrain him and held him down while he struggled.

Sylun leaned forward and spoke for the first time during the exchange, “Speak.”

“The Keeper is here!” The lycanthrope guard huffed. He had run non-stop from the gate to the palace as soon as he was out of Ira’s sight.

The Throne Room erupted into a huge commotion as the ones who were with Sylun at the Summit were all reverent toward Ira.

“He didn’t send any notice,” Sylun had a flustered look about her which was a far cry from the look of a ruler she had before, “The statue is completed right?!” She asked a Dark Elf standing by her side.

“It’s completed but it still needs to be transported, your Majesty,” The attendant said.

“Then get someone to move it in front of the palace now. Gather the scribes, I want them present to record everything that the Keeper does.” Sylun showed hints of panic like everyone else in the room.

“Your Majesty…Shall I go to escort him here?” Eloise cautiously asked. She wasn’t present during the Summit and while she believed that the Keeper existed she had yet to experience the influence of the Red Moon from him directly.

“Yes! Why didn’t you say anything? You don’t have to hurry when guiding him here, but don’t intentionally stall it would be insulting.” Sylun gave a confusing order.

Eloise bowed before she left the Throne Room and headed for the gate.

“Summon Saren and Sylvia, they need to be in attendance for the Keeper’s arrival,” Sylun ordered.

“Yes, your Majesty,” A few servants bowed before heading off to find her children.

Sylun glanced at Lucien and smiled for a split second before she turned to give another order, “Call everyone to the Throne Room before the Keeper arrives.”

…

Eloise and a detachment of guards opened the gate and saw a group of four standing outside. There was a young man with raven-colored hair and brown eyes, a girl with brown hair and green eyes with a metal arm, an adolescent with pale blue eyes and hair with three black circles between her brows and a young man with pitch black hair and bright yellow eyes. Eloise vision focused on the one with black hair, it wasn’t because he was attractive, it was the feeling that emitted from him that drew her focus.

The strongest lycanthropes had an animalistic intuition which could let them feel if a threat was in front of them and at that moment Ira appeared as a mountain in front of Eloise.

Coming to her senses, Eloise brought her hand to her chest and bowed, “I’m Eloise, the head of the Queen’s Royal Guard. I’m here to escort you to her Majesty, Keeper.”

“Lead away,” Ira gestured.

Eloise nodded and spun on her heels, the group of guards started their march with Ira close behind them. Every so often Eloise would send a glance in an attempt to evaluate Ira. He didn’t wear any type of ceremonial clothes, just a black shirt with rolled up sleeves, black pants, and black boots. He didn’t even carry a weapon, but she heard that he had incredible strength so it made sense.

“You don’t even need to be protected, Ira,” Harper said as she tried to push Ira along.

“So you won’t protect me from danger, Harper?” Ira asked as he lifted her up and placed her on his shoulder.

“I’ll try!” Harper puffed out her chest proudly.

Ira laughed but didn’t say anything, he just observed the surroundings. The Underground City was brighter than he thought which may have been due to the crystals lining the ceiling. The entire cave was huge, it was more than wide enough for birds to fly without restraint. Hundreds of buildings were lined up neatly and various races could be seen mingling on the streets. The most common mount used for transportation appeared to be a species of giant lizards.

Ira received some glances as his appearance fit the person described in the Imperial Decree and he was being escorted by the Royal Guard. Some inhabitants gaze at him with skepticism while others looked at him with reverence. The Dark Elves who were had the smallest population number were in the crowd of believers. Since most of them had an acquaintance that went to the Summit or had access to the events that occurred during that time.

“This is a nice place,” Ira spoke to Eloise.

“Ah, her Majesty would be happy to hear that. It’s unfortunate that we’re experiencing a bit of turmoil though.” Eloise sighed.

“Like what?” Ira asked curiously.

“After the Red Moon appeared, the Vampires have experienced a large jump in power which isn’t reliant on prolonged exposure to the moon. A few who have descended from ancient bloodlines have awakened their latent abilities and started to cause trouble. I even suspect one of the Queen’s retainers as being a key figure in the incitement of various attacks.” Eloise described the situation with livid anger.

“Just point him out and I’ll deal with him,” Ira smiled.

“Thank you, Keeper,” Eloise laughed because she thought Ira was joking.

They climbed the stairs to the palace and at the top, Ira was met with a 10-foot statue of himself holding up a moon. For some reason, he was shirtless and barefoot. After thinking about for a bit, Ira thought that the statue was depicting his appearance during the Colosseum Bout. Ira looked at the face of the marble sculpture and found it was an almost exact copy of his except it depicted him in a more serious state.

“Hey, it’s you, Ira.” Harper pointed at the statue.

“It’s well done.” Ira gave a nod of approval. He didn’t know that a few dozen people had expended a large amount of energy to carry it to the top of the steps before he arrived.

“This way, Keeper,” Eloise opened the door and Ira was greeted by a large procession of robed men and women.

“Greetings, Keeper. We are scribes entrusted by her Majesty to create a record of your activities, with your permission of course.”

“...Sure,” Ira shrugged after some brief contemplation.

Aldis and Amy remained quite but were continually stunned by the proceedings. Harper didn’t seem to be affected as she sat on Ira’s shoulders and played with his hair in a content manner.

The crowd around Ira increased as the scribes moved to stand behind him and the Royal Guards continued to lead him to the throne room.

As they approached a few servants opened the doors to the throne room and someone announced his entrance.

“The Keeper of the Red Moon has arrived, your Majesty,” A dark elf spoke loudly before bowing.

The Royal Guards moved and Ira had a view of the dozens of people filling the room.

“Welcome, Keeper,” Sylun stood up and bowed which sent waves of shock through the room, “If you sent a notice of your travel ahead of time we would have prepared a ceremony for you.”

Ira placed Harper on the ground before he spoke, “Don’t worry about it, it was a very short trip here.”

Ira grinned as his eyes scanned over everyone in the room before they landed on Lucien.

For some reason, Lucien could feel that his death was imminent as he met Ira’s gaze but he bowed toward him in a respectful manner.