May 7, 1901

Three days had passed and Taryn was still haunted by memories of the strange man and that night. She couldn't forget the aura of fear the man emitted and the strange comfort that seemed to come from him as well. She couldn't forget how he had possession of her mother's sword and the fissure in the air that he created with it before disappearing without a trace as if he never existed at all.

Remy continued practicing his syndomancy. He had gained some degree of mastery over the attribute of animation. He was able to peel his shadow off the ground now and managed to solidify it as well. Aoki also provided a few tips to Remy on how to manipulate shadows as well when he wasn't busy working on the airship. Otherwise, the former general kept to himself.

Taryn kept her memories of that night to herself. She didn't wish to worry Remy. And yet, the memories continued to haunt her with each passing day. She was still plagued with questions about the man and his intentions although Taryn was certain that he was not human and that he had caused the strangely thick BioUmbra that filled the air around Renche.

"Is something wrong Taryn?"

Remy's voice startled Taryn out of her thoughts. Her reply was sloppy as she said "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You seem to be worried about something."

"It's nothing Remy. I was just thinking about why my father warned me not to go to Ranbourg."

"That is certainly strange."

As Remy pondered her father's words, Taryn was startled by the sound of the hangar door opening. She spun in the direction of the hangar door and was greeted with the sight of Remy's father, Clyde Nacuna. He was very tall, even taller than her own father, with short brown hair and icy blue eyes. He was an ambassador for Luthadria but seemed more like a soldier than Mister Lang.

His movements were purposeful and seemed to radiate strength and majesty as he approached her and Remy. She bowed and said "greetings Monsieur Nacuna. What brings you to Renche today?"

"I wish to speak with my son if he's not too busy playing with his toys," Clyde replied.

"They're not toys father," Remy snapped back. "They're some of the finest passenger vessels in all of Luthadria! This one," Remy gestured in the direction of the Umbreus, "happens to have survived an attack that had killed all crew members of the Belformine!" Remy paused, then added "not that you would care. You never did."

Clyde raised a hand for silence. "I have come here today to inform you of the death of your elder brother."

"Jonathan?" asked Remy in surprise.

"Do you have any other elder brothers?" Clyde asked in return, glaring at his son through narrowed eyes.

"It just seemed quite surprising that death should come for someone like him," Remy remarked. "He's an esteemed ambassador who's guarded by the finest bodyguards of Luthadria after all."

"If I may ask," said Taryn "where did this murder take place?"

"Ranbourg," Clyde replied.

Taryn's blood chilled as her father's warnings returned to her mind. She said "did they catch his killer?"

"No," Clyde replied. "They are still looking. It appears that he was killed by a syndomancer for the wounds on his body didn't match those of a gun or any melee weapon whilst there was the presence of thick BioUmbra in the air."

"And what's all this have to do with me?" said Remy. "I can pay my respects to my brother after the completion of my airship repairs. There was no need for you to visit me."

"I am here on my own business," Clyde replied. "What you do is up to you. However, I will say that spending all your time with airships is a waste of your potential."

"There you go again with talks of my potential," Remy muttered bitterly. "What would you know? You weren't even present for three years of my life and when you returned, you force me to obey your every wish. What would you know about my potential?"

Clyde did not reply to that. Instead, he left the hangar in silence. Remy returned his attention to his airship and continued his repairs. He worked in a frenzied state, trying to accomplish as much as he could on his own. He lowered more snowdeer intestines on his own for use in repairing the airship's gas cells. He then lowered linen to cover the airship's hull and he sealed the gashes with little help from the hangar's crew.

Taryn however, thought about the news that Remy's father had delivered. She knew that Remy's elder brother was an ambassador currently engaged in peace meetings in Ranbourg between Luthadria and Valtassia. He was one of the most important ambassadors working on the discussions and was heavily guarded by both Luthadrian guards and Valtassian guards, each group guarding him in different shifts. It was the presence of the Valtassian guards that worried Taryn. If Jonathan had been murdered on their shift, then there was little to prevent Luthadria from accusing Valtassia of incompetence. What was initially a means of attempting to encourage the development of trust between the two countries could quickly become a dispute that might escalate into war once more.

Taryn again thought of the strange man and how he had disappeared into the fissure in the air. If an assassin with such an ability had been the one to conduct the murder, then there was nothing that the police could do to track him down. He might not even be in the human world anymore. Perhaps her father's warnings were not about the prospect of a peace talk gone wrong but warnings of a more insidious threat beyond the confines of the governments of the two empires.

The more she thought about it, the more frightened Taryn became of the prospect of war coming once more and the inability of the police to track down the true threat that was quickly enveloping Luthadria from the shadows. The meeting that was to occur between ambassadors from both empires was only three days away. If something were to happen there... Taryn did not allow herself to finish that thought. Instead, she felt conviction blossom within her which quickly grew and grew until she steeled her nerves in anticipation of what was to come. I'm sorry father. I must ignore the warnings you gave me this time!

"Remy!" Taryn yelled her friend's name. "How long until the Umbreus is repaired?"

"Just another two hours," Remy replied. "Why?"

"We shall travel to Ranbourg!" Taryn shouted back.