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Here is where the irangel story ends.

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~ Planet Iredescent ~

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The early morning sunlight dawned upon the red vanilla scented grass, spreading warmth across the sparkling land of planet Iredescent. A shadow eclipsed the sun as an alien spaceship hovered over the land. The spaceship was emblazoned with a stylized emblem: two black crows with a red ribbon.

Another ship followed the lead ship. The two ships moved slowly, taking the time to admire the enchanted scenery. The ships were of modern style with a classy design, gleaming metallic silver and matte black, the black blending into the silver in a chrome ombre. Though the ships were equipped with Iredescent invisible cloaking technology that enabled the ships to turn invisible, allowing them to fly undetected, the ships chose to show themselves, rather than conceal their presence.

The sunlight greeted the two men that stood looking out the window in the lead ship. One of the men stepped away from the sunlight out of habit, feeling his anxiety fade once the ship passed through the sunlit area and began moving towards the shade.

A murder of shimmery black crows appeared, flying out of the emerald green trees with obsidian black trunks and branches, revealing the location of Crow Forest. The crows cawed in welcome as they flew alongside the two ships, guiding them towards the glittery city called Auraglen.

The two men, Mallen Zaliċ and Iérti Keresi, continued looking out the window of the lead ship, amazed at the beauty of planet Iredescent.

"I've never seen a land sparkle so much," Iérti mused. "Everything literally sparkles. The grass, the water, the trees, the sky....even the crows shimmer."

Iérti's thick black hair was nearly shoulder length, slicked back to reveal his pale white face. His dark brown eyes were mesmerized by the Iredescent scenery and landscape. Iérti was holding Armani, a beautiful black cat with yellowish green eyes.

The sunlight enhanced the thick material of Iérti's shimmery burgundy red trench coat. The sleeves were slashed upward in a V design, lined with metallic red zippers, revealing a maroon red ribbon he wore on his wrist as a bracelet. The shadows darkened the shine of his black boots with the same metallic red zippers to match his trench coat.

Unlike Iérti, Mallen had metallic black zippers on his black boots and shimmery olive green trench coat. He wore a royal purple hoodie underneath the trench coat. A hedgehog nestled comfortably on Mallen's neck, snug and warm inside his hoodie.

Mallen's trench coat sleeves were slashed upward in the same design. His dark raven black hair was tied back in his signature olive green ribbon. Another olive green ribbon was worn as a bracelet on his wrist, in the same fashion as Iérti's ribbon bracelet.

As the ship moved once again towards a sunlit area, Mallen instinctively stepped back, away from the sun. "Sorry, habit," Mallen murmured to Iérti. "After being a vampire for so long, it is only natural for me to avoid sunlight."

Iérti motioned towards the hedgehog curled up inside Mallen's hoodie. "Sonika appears to share the same sentiment," Iérti said, knowing hedgehogs liked to burrow and snuggle in warm dark places.

Mallen smiled, reaching to touch Sonika's soft velvety nose.

Voices emerged as fellow space travelers from farther back into the ship suddenly exclaimed, "Whoa, look at that strange bird! He is entirely covered in flames! I think he's a firebird!"

Startled, Mallen and Iérti hastily went to look, standing amidst the intrigued travelers. Mallen gasped when he recognized the flaming bird, Iérti coming to the same conclusion a few seconds later.

"It's the Phoenix," they said at the same time, their eyes fixed on the firebird hovering just a few distances from their ship.

His body was covered in purple-tipped orange-yellow flames. He was powerful, magnificent in form, spectacular in visage and beauty, immersed in flames, and he was....smiling?

The Phoenix suddenly shot upward, dancing in the air several times, before he turned into the form of a man in mid-air, landing hard on top of the lead ship.

The space travelers heard a faint groan, then the roof of airlock door slid open to allow him entrance. The Phoenix approached Mallen and Iérti in his human form, grinning merrily at the two men. The Phoenix's gaze was warm and sincere, his body full of exuberant joy. He was incredibly handsome, with long messy black hair, almond-shaped earthy brown eyes, a very slim figure, and a cheerful demeanor. Sometimes too cheerful.

"Welcome to planet Iredescent! It's been ages since I've last seen you! I saw you in the sky. I didn't recognize your ships, but I recognized you two," said the Phoenix, pointing at Mallen and Iérti. "I know you're no threat even without the Meilo readings, so I allowed your ships entrance onto my planet. Anyways, I've got super good news! I am no longer the only one of my kind."

"You found another Phoenix?" Iérti inquired hopefully.

The Phoenix shook his head. "I haven't. I'm still the only original Phoenix. But I married an Iredescent woman and I was able to have a child with her. I have a son and a grandson who are both half Phoenix half Iredescent."

"That's awesome! Congratulations, Phoenix," said Mallen, high-fiving him. He remembered how lonely the Phoenix had been and was happy to hear news of the Phoenix's joy.

The Phoenix beamed like the morning sunlight. "It's so good to see you again! You are the vampires I literally ran into several decades ago."

"I didn't know if we would ever cross paths again," Iérti admitted. "Yet here we are. It is a pleasure to run into you again, Phoenix."

"What brings you to planet Iredescent?" the Phoenix asked after hugging Mallen and Iérti. "The excitement and allure of a sparkly planet? Stories of the greatest legends on Iredescent? Which would be me and the Black Rose, naturally."

The word legends alerted Mallen, making him remember something the Ileín had told him on planet Magarra. The Ileín was a powerful alien entity with the clairvoyant ability to foresee the future. The Ileín appeared as a man enveloped in golden yellow light, comprised of the mysterious yellow dust that was lethal to touch.

Mallen remembered the Ileín's exact words still etched into his memory like a footprint in hardened cement.

"You will change everything, Mallen. On planet Iredescent, there is another powerful lifeform called the Black Rose, a legend that will come to an end. You will lend your blood to her power. With the combination of your powerful vampire blood and her legendary power, the Csa will be eliminated, and the Iredescent legend will come to an end. After her death, there will be no other."

"Who is she?" Mallen had asked, confused.

"She will be a trusted friend to you, and more. That is all I will tell you." The looked deeply into Mallen's eyes before saying, "Farewell, Mallen."

Mallen blinked, the Ileín's words disappearing into the present. "Excuse me, Phoenix, you said the Black Rose is a legend. Is the Black Rose a woman?"

"Yes, the current Black Rose is a woman," the Phoenix answered. "I haven't told the irangels of your arrival yet, as I wanted to meet you first."

The Ileín's words echoed in his mind, once again reminding Mallen of what was to come.

"She will be a trusted friend to you, and more."

Mallen breathed slowly, trying to collect himself. The Phoenix slightly inclined his head in question. Even Iérti was confused, unsure why Mallen appeared so interested in the Black Rose.

"What's she like?" Mallen asked. Then, as if realizing he appeared too interested, he added meekly, "And the irangels, of course."

"They're mostly fun and easygoing," the Phoenix told him. "The Black Rose is reserved, very introverted, and keeps mostly to herself. She loves to read books, listen to music, drink tea, and deplete the castle kitchen's supply of tiramisu. She is also a very good dance student."

"Irangels are former humans who turned into Iredescents, correct?" Iérti asked the Phoenix.

"Yes, that's correct," the Phoenix confirmed. "Looks like you did your research. Have you come to meet with the irangels?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Mallen said, his voice suddenly serious. "There is an enemy set out to kill them. We've come to warn the irangels and offer them our protection against the enemy seeking to kill."

All humor vanished from the Phoenix's eyes like a cinder spark that suddenly went out. "What is this enemy you speak of?" the Phoenix asked quietly, his tone unusually cold.

The space traveler with a Viking appearance stepped forward, crossing his tanned arms across his chest. His name was Stellan Skarsgard.

Stellan was wearing an unbuttoned white shirt and navy pants held up by a wide brown leather belt. Out of all the space travelers, Stellan had the longest hair; it was straight and light brown with golden highlights, reaching down past his waist. A flash of pain appeared in his sharp dark brown eyes the color of black coffee, indicating a past heartbreak.

"Romena Virvaine," Stellan said gruffly, as though it was painful just to speak her name. "She is the leader of the Csa Zyrani, a nomadic group of Csa who act as a police force in their own right."

When the Phoenix looked quizzically at Stellan, confusion pouring over his face, Mallen explained, "We are former vampires who were turned into the Csa race by a powerful alien entity known as the . The Csa had divided into two groups: the Csa Zyrani and the Csa Pravni. We are the Csa Pravni trying to stop the Csa Zyrani from carrying out their mission to kill the irangels."

"Whoa wait," said the Phoenix, the confusion even more predominant after Mallen's explanation. "You turned into the Csa? What is the Csa? Is that why you guys are no longer vampires? I was wondering what happened."

Mallen looked uncomfortable, hesitating to explain further.

It was Iérti who answered, saying, "The turned us into the Csa. The Csa are a new kind of entity. We look like humans and we are much more powerful than we were in our former vampire forms. However, we are still immortal." A dark shadow passed over Iérti's face, as though he was still bitter about it.

"I see," the Phoenix said slowly in understanding. "What planet is the Ileín from?"

"Planet Magarra," said Mallen. A planet we will never visit again, he thought privately. "It was previously uncharted, but the Ileín made it a safe haven for humans."

Recognition appeared in the Phoenix's eyes at the mention of planet Magarra. "I think I remember meeting with a few machines from that planet. They requested permission to inhabit the uncharted planet protected under the Phoenix Galaxy Order. The request came directly from the ."

"You know the Ileín?" Mallen asked in surprise, startled to learn of this.

"Sort of," the Phoenix responded. "I didn't speak with him, nor did I see him personally, but I granted his request when I learned what he wanted to do with the uncharted planet. He didn't mention vampires, nor did the machines mention who he was. I was under the impression that he was their leader."

"He is," Iérti confirmed.

The Phoenix pondered it over, saying, "How ironic that your paths crossed with the machines in such a way. Two types of immortals encountering one another, one of them becoming a different kind of immortal." Curiosity and interest prompted the Phoenix to ask, "So, what's it like being a Csa? How different is it from being a vampire?"

"Very different," Mallen said at the same time Iérti said, "Not much different."

Both men glared at each other, clearly having different opinions regarding their new state of being. Neither wanted to elaborate, but the Phoenix sensed some unspoken conflict between them.

Just then a jovial traveler named Blaise Benyt stepped forward, breaking the ice by saying, "Hello, Phoenix! Oh, being a Csa is totally awesome! We can finally walk in sunlight, garlic and silver no longer affects us, and the best part – we no longer have to drink blood! I don't have to hurt anyone anymore."

"Except ourselves," Mallen said quietly. "Once a month, we are forced to 'feed' on ourselves by cutting ourselves with our own swords."

The Phoenix's eyes widened in shock. "What?! No way! That's crazy. Why the stars would you be forced to cut yourselves? That is so very ridiculous."

"It's true," Stellan confirmed. "We were given individual swords to use on ourselves once a month, to atone for all the blood we shed as vampires."

Shock and disbelief flashed through the Phoenix's face. "I'm sorry, guys. That really blows. But at least you no longer drink blood. I would rather shed my own blood than drink it, if I had blood. Turns out I'm comprised of the yellow dust."

Astonishment appeared in the Phoenix's shiny bright eyes as he caught a glimpse of the opalescent shimmer illuminating the Csa's skin. "Oh wow, your skin sparkles! Almost like an Iredescent skin shimmer."

"Perhaps as a way of hinting at where we're headed," said Iérti, understanding the significance of the sparkly skin.

Excited by all he learned, the Phoenix murmured thoughtfully, "I'm going to have to meet with this Ileín guy sometime. You said he can tell the future, like a seer? Sounds like he might be someone more powerful than me, and I'm supposed to be the most powerful lifeform in the galaxy. Are you sure he's not my kind?"

"He is not a Phoenix, that's for sure," Blaise told him. "He was neither human nor machine, nor vampire nor Csa. He was something else entirely."

The Phoenix thought for a moment longer, filing the information away. "Alas, you must've had a long journey. Please follow me to Mirror Castle."

"Gladly," said Mallen, hugging the Phoenix in thanks.

The space travelers allowed the Phoenix to jump out of the ship. Curious gazes followed the Phoenix as he transformed from his human form into his Phoenix form in mid-air. The Phoenix swept upward with flaming purple-tipped orange-yellow wings, more than happy to guide the space travelers from a faraway land.

As he was merrily making circles and swirls in the air, dancing as he flew happily, the Phoenix noticed an incoming Iredescent ship from several distances away. Sunlight caught the shimmery dark green underlay of the matte black Iredescent ship, giving off a prismatic mirror effect. The space travelers also noticed the ship and waited to see what the Phoenix would say.

Recognizing Mirror Blade, the Phoenix turned around, saying, "It's Mirror Blade, the ship belonging to one of the irangel leaders. Let's land here so you can meet him."

And so the space travelers' ships landed on the field of red grass. The pleasant scent of vanilla greeted the space travelers as they stepped out of the ships, breathing Iredescent air for the first time. Iérti froze, his eyes misting with tears as he remembered his wife being fond of vanilla. Mallen put a hand on his shoulder in understanding, his own face rueful from the memory of his wife. Iérti took a slow, deep breath before he let it out, reeling himself back to the present.

The red grass was like shimmering silk across the land. Far in the distance, thick pink forests and colorful canyons panned out in splendid array. The lavender purple sky stretched with flickers of gold shimmer, accented in blue. Such a beautiful sky, Mallen thought, appreciating the beauty of the sparkly planet Iredescent.

Mallen, Iérti, and the Csa space travelers walked towards the Iredescent ship as it landed directly across from the lead ship. The Phoenix dropped to the ground in his human form, rising to his feet, as the Iredescent ship's entrance opened to reveal a single passenger.

An incredibly handsome man stepped out of the Iredescent ship, dressed in a dark forest green Henley shirt and black jeans that hugged his body. His longish hair was coffee black and slightly wavy, with long bangs that swept across his face. His eyes, however, were the most stunning feature. They were a piercing dark brown, full of compassion and understanding, with a danger element lurking beneath those dark lashes.

His skin shimmered like diamonds, illuminating him with ethereal sparkle. His black mirrored wings spread out behind his back as he showed himself in his full irangel glory. Mallen and Iérti blinked in astonishment, stunned by the magnificent wings that gave the appearance of shattered glass.

His footsteps were soundless, steadily striding towards the space travelers. His black boots were accented with mirrored shards of glass. He moved with quiet confidence, a surety about him that indicated he was a leader. His stride was as silent as that of a dark assassin, his movements as distinguished as his ship that flew silently.

"This is Demian Daggers, the creator of irangels and the Black Rose's connected one," said the Phoenix, introducing him to the Csa Pravni.

"An honor to meet you," said Mallen, stepping forward to meet Demian. "I am Mallen Zaliċ, the leader of the Csa Pravni. This is Iérti Keresi, the secondary leader of the Csa Pravni." A man I call my brother, Mallen thought as Iérti stepped forward with him.

Demian studied Mallen and Iérti, curious to meet people who were once vampires.

Though he was formerly known as the cruelest vampire in the land, Mallen was far from malicious. Mallen was indeed very attractive, appearing like a fairytale prince from a storybook. His face showed he was intrigued by planet Iredescent and that he found it to his liking.

Demian smiled kindly when the hedgehog Sonika peeked out from Mallen's hoodie. Sonika sniffed around as if checking to see what was going on around her, then she hid back inside, deciding to go back to sleep.

So cute and spikey, Demian thought, pleased to see her. Hedgehogs were very common on planet Iredescent, loved by Demian and Valerie who thought they were the cutest creatures ever.

Once known as the kindest man in the land, now the kindest man in the galaxy, Demian thought as he looked over Iérti, finding no pride nor arrogance. Iérti held his cat Armani, who looked at Demian with mild interest.

After studying their physical appearance, Demian's attention turned to their thoughts, causing him to slightly frown in confusion.

Mallen's thoughts were mainly of the Black Rose, reflecting his excitement to meet her. Snatches of past conversations with a powerful alien entity known as the Ileín piqued Demian's interest. He was surprised to learn of the existence of such a being. Demian smiled wryly when Mallen wondered how the Black Rose looked like, who she would become to him, how they would affect each other's lives, and many other nice thoughts.

Iérti's thoughts were solemn in tone, quiet and pensive. Demian sensed a deep pain and loss within Iérti as he still mourned for his wife and daughter, even after so many years.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mallen and Iérti," said Demian, smiling warmly at the Csa Pravni leaders. "Welcome to planet Iredescent."

"A celebration will be held in congrats to your arrival," the Phoenix chirped happily, twirling in excitement before tripping and falling on the red grass.

"Of course," Demian said resignedly. A mischievous smile lurked at his mouth, as though he was remembering a fond memory. The Phoenix loved to throw parties and celebrate, relishing every chance to do so.

"When will we meet the Black Rose?" Mallen asked, not wanting to appear too eager, though his thoughts exposed his eagerness to meet her.

Demian's smile widened. Before he could say a response, the Phoenix intervened, saying enthusiastically, "Tomorrow evening! The Black Rose is currently out of the city, but she will return tonight. You won't get to meet her until the celebration."

Tomorrow evening. Mallen ran a hand through his hair in excited nervousness, feeling butterflies dance in a flutter around his heart.

Demian cleared his throat, unable to hold back from smiling as he said, "You are welcome to stay at Mirror Castle if you wish. We have plenty of rooms and accommodations, as well as – "

"Thank you, but we wish to stay aboard our ships," Iérti interrupted, not up to the idea of spending the night in a shiny castle on a sparkly alien planet.

Mallen's heart sank. He thought of speaking against Iérti's wanting to stay on the ships, but he decided not to. I'll see her tomorrow. It's not like we won't be touring the castle tomorrow anyways. Voicing his thoughts, Mallen asked, "Will we be touring the castle tomorrow?"

Raistin gave him an askance look. "Duh! Why would we not? It is the most beautiful castle in the galaxy!"

"More beautiful than mine?" Mallen inquired, his voice raised in surprise. "Even if there is a castle more beautiful than mine, my castle will always hold a special place in my heart. But I look forward to seeing an Iredescent castle."

The image of Mallen's castle appeared in his mind, startling Demian that it was the beautiful Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, Germany. He definitely lived in a fairytale castle in a fairytale land. He thought to comment, but he decided not to.

"Very well," said Demian, closing the meeting. "If you would, please follow me to the royal landing lot. It's only a few distances from Mirror Castle. You'll tour the castle tomorrow before joining us for the celebration in the evening."

"Landing lot?" Iérti asked, confused by the strange term.

"Like a parking lot," Demian explained. "But for ships rather than cars."

Demian headed back to his ship, the Csa Pravni returning to their own ships. The Phoenix transformed into a fireball, sailing towards Crow Forest. The Csa Pravni ships followed Demian's ship as he led them to his home.

An onslaught of glitter and sparkles forced Mallen and Iérti to blink several times to adjust their eyes, unused to the astonishing sight of Mirror Castle in the distance. Mirror Castle sparkled like diamonds, appearing like a Cinderella princess castle and a futuristic mansion combined into one fantastic building that looked like it was made of mirror and sparkles.

"Wow! This truly surpasses my castle's beauty," Mallen said, totally awed. "It is twice the size of my castle. And it entirely shimmers and sparkles."

The royal landing lot shimmered marvelously in light blue with purple and gold, reminding Mallen of smooth kitchen countertops, admiring how it sparkled. The landing spaces were divided into red shimmer lines with no designated landing; anyone can land wherever they wished to land, except in the spaces designated for the Ruler of Iredescent and his family.

The Csa Pravni ships landed in the area designated for visitors, appreciating the sight of a nearby fueling center.

Most intergalactic spaceships needed sparkfuel, an energy gas that was used to fuel spaceships. Sparkfuel looked like glowing blue lava that was converted into gas to provide energy for space travel. Just a tank of sparkfuel was enough for several dozen round trips from planet Iredescent to planet Earth. Sparkfuel lasted a very long time, was plentiful on most planets, and had no expiration date. Ships had additional fuel reserves so they wouldn't run out of fuel during long travels.

Several planets had natural sources of sparkfuel, including planet Iredescent. The planet most abundant with sparkfuel was planet Alaskis, which was a gold mine for sparkfuel. There were a few planets completely devoid of sparkfuel, including planets Maximescent, Wiss, Piscalelca, Steelwick, and the Csa's former home planet Verdamnt. The sparkfuel devoid planets depended on trade with sparkfuel abundant planets to fuel their ships. They also developed ships fueled by other fuel sources, such as carbonyte, elexium, moxiebourbon, and certain fossil fuels.

As the Csa Pravni refueled their ships, Mallen noticed another ship approaching the landing lot, just several distances away. It was an Iredescent ship, of a similar model to several other Iredescent ships in the landing lot, though each ship had its own unique appearance and design. Golden stars danced all over the metallic white ship, as if following the music pattern of a dance song. It landed, but nobody came out of the ship.

The ship's entrance opened, permitting Demian to enter, before it closed. Mallen watched, waiting for nearly fifteen minutes, before the ship's entrance slid open again.

Demian walked out, followed by a handsome dark skinned Iredescent man and a beautiful blonde Iredescent woman.

The Iredescent man was wearing a shimmery dark blue and black sleeveless shirt and comfortable looking pants, with a gold necklace draped around his neck. The Iredescent woman wore a long glittering evening dress entirely in gold and light pink.

A man was the last to exit the ship, his face hidden underneath a silver hooded cloak. Demian spoke with him for a moment before moving to pick him up. The Iredescent woman picked up the Iredescent man, saying something to Demian, before materializing her wings.

The sparkles on the Iredescent woman's glittering evening dress seemed dull in comparison to her elegant white wings latticed with gold. Lavender purple sparkles matched perfectly with her lavender purple skin shimmer. Her long blonde wavy hair made her look like an 80's supermodel, flashing boldly just like her glam style dress.

Then Demian's wings threw on a mirrored effect as they caught the sunlight's reflection in his mirror-like shattered glass shards apperance, with black shimmer glitter woven throughout the black wings.

Iérti came up to Mallen, watching the Iredescents fly towards the back part of Mirror Castle.

"The hooded man is a human," Iérti said in astonishment. "He is not an Iredescent. I suppose that's why he is being carried."

"The other man is an Iredescent, but he doesn't have wings," said Mallen, making note of Iérti's observation. "He might be a merman."

Iérti looked incredulously at Mallen. "A merman?" he repeated.

Mallen shrugged before nodding. "Yeah, a merman. Our planet has dragons and vampires. Planet Monshalow has fairies. Planet Ghatom has a variety of different alien lifeforms. Planet Iredescent has winged people and finned people. Anything is possible." Mallen briefly placed a hand on Iérti's shoulder before returning to the ship.

turned his gaze towards Mirror Castle. A pang of loss resounded in his heart as he thought, Olivia would've loved it here. Iérti sighed heavily, heading for the ship kitchen to get himself a drink.

A space traveler named Cyrlin Cilver handed him a glass of pomegranate juice. Iérti thanked him and moved to sit by the window, his eyes drawn towards the Iredescent sky. He watched as it turned into a dazzling purple and orange sunset purple, intrigued as it materialized into a bejeweled night tapestry of dark blue and purple.

Sleep came easily to most of the ships' inhabitants. Some Csa Pravni even spread out blankets on the grass and camped out underneath the Iredescent night sky, amazed by the glittering stars and constellations. Iérti slept peacefully in his room aboard the ship, the window curtains set to the side to allow light into the room.

Mallen was unable to sleep, his mind full of endless thoughts. Sometime during the night, Mallen heard a swoosh of wings and looked out the window in time to see a small group of Iredescent women flying towards Mirror Castle. Mallen's heart skipped excitedly as he remembered the Phoenix saying that the Black Rose would return tonight. He tried to figure out which of the women she could be, but he couldn't see any of the women's faces, just their wings and hair as they talked amongst each other while carrying glittery hot pink shopping bags.

As Mallen's eyes ran over the impressive sight of their wings, he caught a brief glimpse of the Black Rose's wings and long knee-length dark red hair before she disappeared inside the castle. His eyes held the image of her wings in his mind, reminiscing about its shimmery effect. He knew it was her because of the black roses on her wings.

I'll meet her tomorrow, Mallen thought, feeling excited and nervous at the same time. He figured she was made aware of the Csa's arrival, her reaction probably the same as Demian's.

"She will be a trusted friend to you, and more."

What did the Ileín mean by that? What exactly is he implying? What could be more than a trusted friend? A lover? A wife? Mallen shook his head, thinking, Why would she become that close to me, when it was made clear that my life was to end on planet Iredescent? I must be overthinking this.

Images of Írásom Cvetkov appeared in his mind, making Mallen's eyes mist with tears. He missed his wife, feeling her loss even after all those years. He knew he deserved this pain for what he had done to Iérti, but it was still so very hard to bear. He distracted himself, kept himself busy with work and hobbies, but the pain still lingered, especially at night when he was alone with his thoughts.

Mallen sighed heavily, mentally filing the memory away. He had to remind himself that he was on planet Iredescent. Time to focus on matters at hand. There was a responsibility to keep, yet Mallen was unable to shake the Ileín's words from his mind. All he knew was that he looked forward to meeting the Black Rose. Mallen wondered whether he would be able to sleep, too keyed up with excitement.

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✨ How to pronounce Csa:

tsa, like the Russian word czar
or tsar meaning king or emperor

✨ How to pronounce Iérti:

E-yehr-tea

✨ How to pronounce Ileín:

eye-line

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Music:

"Resurrection of the Ravens"
by Argyle Park

[when the Csa Pravni ships
arrive on Iredescent]

"Resurrection of the Ravens (1992 4-Track Cassette Demo)"
by Argyle Park and Circle of Dust

[a remix of the song]

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