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Volume IV: Serenthia, The Brokerage of Favors, & The Fall of Zaek Evarard

SPOILER WARNING — VOLUME IV

This page contains a full chapter-by-chapter plot breakdown and major ending spoilers for Volume IV: The Imperial Shadows (including major character deaths and epilogue reveals). Read at your own discretion!

Timeline: 508 A.G.E (Shortly After Volume III — Six Years Into Zaek's Mentorship)
Character Ages: Aelira Viremont (12–13), Prince Louis (13), Julian Evarard (Early 20s), Vael Verborough (25), Zaek Evarard (69), Vermis Edevry (68)
Primary Settings: Isenvale (Viremont Estate), Serenthia (Capital of Zephyr), Aerium (Royal Palace, Slum Brothel, Tobias's Home), The Imperial Road
Core Theme: Overcoming the trauma of killing and loss; the shadow war between Crown and Church, and the sacrificial last stand of the Old Wolf.

Prologue: The Wagon of Corpses​

In a snow-buried city, two barefoot, homeless children—Vane and his younger sister Lyra—wake between cardboard boxes and receive soup and a brief warming spell at a church kitchen, though Vane refuses the caretaker's offer to stay due to rumors linking the Church to disappearing people.

  • The Night Wagon: Approached at sunset by a disgusted knight promising farm work in the south, they board a locked horse-drawn wagon at the northern gate alongside foul-smelling sacks. Inside, the passengers realize everyone was told a different direction—and upon opening the sacks, they find dead bodies.
  • Silver Eyes in the Dark: As panic erupts, the wagon jolts violently into the air and cracks apart. Peering through a hole in the shattered wood, Lyra locks eyes with a pair of cold, emotionless, beautiful silver eyes.

Arc 1: The Paralyzed Hand & Journey to Serenthia (Chapters 1 – 7)​

  • Empty Coffers & The Cellar of Nixviel: At Viremont Manor, Sylas reveals to Vivianne that Isen's treasury is completely empty—every Dalma was spent building the Ursus Wall. Haunted daily by Lysric's dying smile, Lucien's plunge, and Cassian's parting words, Aelira descends into the cellar room where Nixviel rests on its stand. Though she clearly hears the white katana's hum calling to her, reaching out triggers a visceral flashback of blood-soaked Lysric, freezing her in terror. Even when a furious Sylas grabs her wrist to physically force her palm onto the hilt, he cannot budge her arm an inch.
  • Vivianne's Execution Test: Determined to cure Aelira's fear of death, Vivianne hands Aelira a regular katana resembling Nixviel and makes her spar a heavily armored knight wielding a greatsword for two consecutive nights. Both times, Aelira easily trips the knight in his blind spot and forces him to yield—and both times, when Vivianne coldly orders "Finish him," Aelira drops the blade and refuses ("I won't kill him. It's... not right"). Zaek Evarard intervenes in fury and takes Aelira away with Sylas's permission (observed by Sylas's right-hand man Geld), promising to secure a loan from House Evarard and fulfill a royal summons—while the knight stands up unharmed, having staged the test with Vivianne.
  • Serenthia & Julian Evarard: Leaving Nixviel behind on its stand in Isenvale, Zaek gives Aelira an arming sword with a circular iron guard for the road. Arriving in the vibrant, mountain-ringed capital of Serenthia (Zephyr), cheering crowds welcome Zaek to the Evarard estate. Young patriarch Julian Evarard agrees over the elders' objections to lend money to Viremont as an "investment in Hero Zaek's name" and parades Aelira before the elders as Wilkram's daughter and Zaek's disciple—though Aelira warns Zaek that Julian's empty smile reminds her of Cassian's. After Zaek gets carried away drinking on the crowd's shoulders during Serenthia's night festival, they travel four days to the imperial capital of Aerium.
  • King Charles's Blackmail: In the Royal Palace, King Charles blackmails Zaek into acting as an undercover spy against the Church: if Zaek refuses, Charles will officially proclaim Aelira the Hero of Isen immediately—with or without the sword—and send her on the mission instead.

Arc 2: The 20–3 Duel & The Brokerage of Favors (Chapters 8 – 18)​

  • Aelira vs. Crown Prince Louis (20 to 3): Outside the throne room, Prince Louis von Aerium confronts Aelira (irritated she never replied to his letters, which Vivianne intercepted) and demands a spar with real steel swords. Having dueled frequently over the years (with a score of 19–3 in Aelira's favor), Louis uses Burst-type speed and superior spell variety—casting |Wind Push|, channeling |Wind Slash| through his blade, and trapping Aelira's legs with |Grounded Vines|. Waiting for the exact instant Louis raises his strained sword to strike, Aelira shifts to Max Coverage and snaps Louis's steel blade cleanly in half, freezing and shattering the vines to win 20–3. Over lemonade and chocolate, Louis scolds her political naivety and confesses his anxiety over his forced engagement to Rin Maoyari.
  • Vermis Edevry & The Slum Brothel: In a neglected valley in Aerium's slums, Zaek and Aelira meet Vermis Edevry, Clan Leader and Hero of House Edevry—who is only one year younger than Zaek and looks youthful due to her massive mana slowing aging, though she is secretly dying of a terminal illness that causes her to cough up blood in her carriage. Vermis tasks them with infiltrating a three-story brothel ("shabby place") where Archbishop Vergas and New Elpis secretly meet with Imperial lords.
  • Deadpan Acting & Rhaen: On their first visit, Zaek poses as a lecherous customer on the second floor when the sharp-eyed owner, Rhaen, enters and recognizes him. Sneaking up behind Rhaen completely undetected, Aelira recites Vermis's coaching in a flat, deadpan monotone ("Oh, master. I have been looking for you. Skipping training. What are you thinking. I am disappointed. And angry"), leaving Rhaen bewildered while Zaek fights back laughter.
  • Caelith's Deduction & Treason: Realizing Rhaen suspects them, Vermis sends an Edevry Mask agent—Caelith Edevry—and pivots to a half-truth where Zaek returns to Rhaen's third-floor office claiming he wants revenge on New Elpis. When Rhaen speaks of "a favor for a favor," Caelith deduces the brothel's true nature: it is a brokerage of favors and debts where the Church grants money or soldiers to barons and lords across the Empire to bind them as indebted loyalists. However, desiring a "New World Order," Caelith secretly betrays Zaek and Vermis to Vergas (who has also just forged a pact with the exiled Cassian Viremont).
  • The Desk Drawer & Brotherly Secret: Returning to Rhaen's office when Rhaen demands he sign an ancient Vampire Blood Contract, Zaek shamelessly rummages through Rhaen's desk drawers pretending to look for contract parchment—identifying the bottom-right drawer when Rhaen panics and slams his hand over it. Once alone, Rhaen muses about handing the Evarards on a silver platter to his "dear brother"—revealing Rhaen is Archbishop Vergas's brother.

Arc 3: Night of Fire, Aelira's First Kill, & Vergas's Gifts (Chapters 19 – 26)​

  • The Trap Springs: Two nights later, Caelith convinces Zaek to let Aelira sneak into the third-floor office alone while Zaek waits outside. Finding the bottom-right drawer empty, Aelira is ambushed from behind by Rhaen, while outside Caelith drops his mask and mocks Zaek as the hooded female commander of New Elpis (Vael Verborough) steps into Zaek's path.
  • Rooftops & Streets (Zaek vs. Vael & Bojan): Taunting Zaek with a sealed letter, Vael leads Zaek (who wields a greatsword) on a high-speed chase across the rooftops and into a crowded street ambushed by crossbowmen. When Zaek unleashes |Naim Style: Gentle Breeze| and shouts for civilians to flee, a tripping mother drops her baby into Vael—who pauses the fight to gently catch, soothe, and return the infant before resuming combat, revealing to Zaek that she possesses the same ultra-rare mana sensitivity as Aelira. Moments later on the rooftops, Zaek bisects an exploding cannon round fired by Vael's heavy-gunner lieutenant Bojan in mid-air using |Naim Style: Serenity of the Wind|.
  • The Third-Floor Office (Aelira vs. Rhaen): Inside, Rhaen batters Aelira through wooden partitions with |Eclaron Style: Instant Strike| and |Eclaron Style: Successive Attacks|. Bleeding from a reopened internal wound, Aelira locks her unblinking silver eyes on him and declares: "Lysric died protecting me. If I die here... his death will be meaningless." Seeing the image of himself and his frail brother Vergas trying to survive as children in Aelira's eyes, Rhaen finds himself unable to strike a child who has never killed anyone, drops his sword, and surrenders ("It's your win. Just thank two damn brats from a long time ago").
  • The Black-Fletched Arrow & Mercy Kill: At that exact instant, Vael—sensing from the rooftops that Rhaen failed—shoots a poisoned black-fletched arrow through the window straight into Rhaen's neck and sets the brothel ablaze! As virulent purple poison chokes Rhaen amid the encroaching flames ("For—get me. Po... ison. G—o"), Aelira steadies her trembling hands, asks "Do you want me to finish it?", and upon seeing desperate gratitude in Rhaen's eyes, mercy-kills Rhaen—committing her very first kill before leaping out the third-floor window and breaking her body on the ground (just as Zaek opens Vael's fake letter to find a crude thumbs-up drawing reading "Well done, old man").
  • Caelith's Execution & Vergas's Visit to Sylas: On Vael's orders, Bojan executes the traitor Caelith for "looking crazy" and knowing too much. Travelling to Isenvale at night while mourning his brother Rhaen, Archbishop Vergas secretly meets Sylas Viremont in the shadows and presents two gifts in exchange for a favor:
    1. An ornate box from which freezing mist curls into the night air.
    2. A long, heavy wooden case containing a dark sword wrapped tightly in multiple layers of sealing cloth.
  • Healing at Tobias's Home: Wrapped in bandages like a mummy with a wooden cane (after Prince Louis laughed at her), Aelira recovers for several days at Tobias Herman's home in Aerium. Bonding over cookies with Tobias's daughter Tiffany, Aelira realizes Rhaen and Lysric shared the exact same peaceful, grateful gaze in death, finally giving her closure over Lysric's final thoughts. Enjoying motherly pasta dinners cooked by Tobias's spoon-throwing wife Layla—who gifts Aelira a long navy-blue coat over a black T-shirt and pants—Zaek resolves to finally tell Aelira the truth about Lassandra once they return to Isenvale.

Arc 4: The Apple on the Road & The Last Stand of Zaek Evarard (Chapters 27 – 30)​

  • The Autographed Apple: On the second day riding along the Imperial Road toward Isenvale, their carriage loses a wheel due to a dried axle bearing. Taking a walk down the road, Aelira and Zaek meet a young woman with short pink hair, bright blue eyes, a green cardigan, and a red skirt carrying a basket of apples: Vael. Suppressing her mana and crushing her own body weight with heavy artifact bracelets, Vael acts like an excited fangirl, carves an apple skin for Aelira, and asks Zaek to carve a "Z" into an apple with her knife as an autograph ("I'll really cherish it... right up until the very end"). In the woods, Vael removes her cardigan and unlocks her mana-suppressing bracelets, wondering if "the other man" is already in position.
  • The Night Ambush: That night, arrows rain from the dark trees, slaughtering the driver and horses. Standing atop a roadside mound, Vael casts off her black robe, tosses aside the 'Z'-carved apple, and declares: "I'm Vael. Vael Verborough. And I'm here for your head, old man."
    • Zaek blocks Bojan's cannon blast and parries Vael's |Verborough Style: The Sting| while deflecting volleys from twelve archers.
    • While Aelira clashes with mustachioed vanguard swordsman Hendrick (|Al Brad Style: Rising Strike|) and counters with |Wind Push|, a sniper arrow grazes her hair; Zaek yanks her back to safety, nearly vomiting from the strain of anchoring her while fighting Vael.
    • When Vael summons Jean and thirty archers fire simultaneously, Zaek unleashes |Naim Style: Serenity of the Wind|, slicing all thirty arrows out of the air—only for a zero-mana arrow from an empty blind spot to pierce Zaek's lower-left abdomen with dark, oily poison.
  • "Aelira. Run.": Realizing he is fatally poisoned, surrounded by fifty killers, and cannot fight freely while protecting Aelira, Zaek calmly tells her: "Aelira. Run." When she asks if it is because she is weak, he says "Yes," smiles faintly, and promises: "I'll find you when I am done with them." As Aelira runs into the darkness and Vael moves to pursue, Zaek roars "No one moves" and unleashes his pure mana at maximum capacity without killing intent—draining his own life force to paralyze and knock unconscious the assassins on the road while Aelira (whose raw mana pool exceeds his) escapes unaffected.
  • The Old Wolf's Final Battle & Rael's Betrayal: With no one left to shield, Zaek charges into the fifty elite operatives of New Elpis, butchering them one by one, parrying Vael's |Verborough Style: The Claw|, and shattering the wrist of dagger-wielding Jean before killing her with a horizontal slash. Exhausted by poison and pelted by raw |Mana Shot| blasts in a forest clearing, Zaek smirks ("I'll take every last one of you with me") and prepares his final technique—until a blade pierces straight through Zaek's chest from behind and rips upward through bone. Zaek recognizes the steel: Ireviel, the Imperial Sword of Evarard, wielded by his former disciple Rael Evarard, who coldly states: "Old, weak, and wrong. My old teacher."
  • Dying Defiance: Lying on the ground with his right arm severed, Zaek watches Archbishop Vergas step out of the shadows applauding Vael and Rael. Even at death's door, Zaek smiles and laughs, terrifying Vael with his killing intent: "The old had to lead the new. She is better than you. And you'll see it." Thinking fondly of his best friend Vahram, Vermis (whom he wished things had turned out differently with), and Aelira (who needed him as family), Zaek thinks "I'll go ahead" and breathes his last.

Epilogue: Rainy Earth & White Steel​

The Epilogue alternates between two intercut realities:

  1. Zaek's Funeral in the Pouring Rain: Before a crowd including King Charles, Prince Louis, Church prelates, and Julian Evarard speaking at the podium, Aelira stands in mourning black in the freezing mud, recites hollow, pre-written tribute words, and watches Zaek's flower-laden coffin be lowered into the wet earth.
  2. The Sword Ceremony in Isenvale: Behind closed doors in an altar chamber bathed in white radiance, Patriarch Sylas presides before rows of northern nobility as Aelira—clad in pristine white-and-silver regalia—walks the crimson carpet to the marble altar where the pale katana Nixviel rests.

As the final prayers echo ("May the goddess Elyndra grant him eternal light" / "May the lord Aelther guide her path through the light"), Aelira grasps the hilt and draws Nixviel. Staring at her own dead, silver eyes reflected in the polished white steel amidst highborn applause, she clenches the hilt until her knuckles turn stark white, etching a silent vow in bone:

I'll kill her.
Vael. I will kill you.

And from within the sword, a voice speaks:

«Finally. You've come…»