Flying with Bryag was... difficult.

The beating of his wings made whirlwinds and Wrynncurth had to stay far from him. And clinging to Estela from behind provided only so much grounding beneath the gusts. Although it wasn't exactly unpleasant, being this near to Estela. Yet the land flew out from under them at a rate that would make one sick, a blur of green jungle and desolate realms.

The Temple of Vrengar was gigantic. It was larger than Bryag and built directly into the side of a mountain. The rock was of the purest white, with a snowy peak at the very top. The fortress loomed high above them. Wrynncurth eyed it with a cheerful gaze. "Well, I must say that is quite a bit larger than expected."

"You've been here before, haven't you?" asked Estela.

"Yes, but it was far smaller last time," said Wrynncurth. "That manmade plateau wasn't there at all. The old girl Vanessa has made some major improvements since."

"How does she even use the fortress?" asked Estela.

"Do you think she takes a human form?" asked Relma.

Then she looked down and saw Queen Vanessa standing upon the stone plateau. It was near, but not on, the mountain's peak. She was in her human form, as always, and wrapped in a gray cloak. Wrynncurth descended to land there, while Bryag perched at the edge.

"Wrynncurth, what is the meaning of this?" asked Vanessa, not acknowledging Bryag.

"Nothing to worry about," said Wrynncurth. "We are here to talk with you."

Vanessa looked to Relma and paused. "...Relma Artorious, I believe you have expanded my Empire by a significant margin. And perhaps opened the way to my conquest of the Sun Soul Empire.

"Very well, I'll play along." She looked up. "Bryag, why are you here? You're supposed to be holding the river. You know how important your task is."

"I'm not necessary," said Bryag.

"You needn't worry; we've arranged for a replacement bridge guard," said Wrynncurth. "I'm here to discuss Evren."

"What of him?" asked Vanessa, looking defensive. "He and his followers pay their tribute to me on time."

"But do they pay their tribute to Bryag, old girl?" asked Wrynncurth, voice a little cold.

"What tribute, what are you talking about?" asked Vanessa.

"I have been looking through the contracts signed by them to Bryag," said Wrynncurth. "According to these, they owe them the following amount." And he drew out a sheet of parchment he'd written up after looking over them.

Vanessa held the contract and looked over it. Her mouth opened as she read the number. "That is..."

"A rough, conservative analysis, of course," said Wrynncurth. "But, Bryag should be owed somewhere around this or higher. From each of them."

"You can't possibly expect them to pay this," said Vanessa, looking up.

"Didn't they sign the contract and take his money?" asked Wrynncurth flatly. "Were they under mind control when they did this? Or under threat of duress?"

"No, but..." Vanessa struggled. "Do you actually think they'll pay up?"

"Oh, I doubt very much they can pay up," said Wrynncurth. "Naturally, however, Bryag would therefore be entitled to take lands in place of gold. And when the lands fail to pay it, he could certainly take possession of their very person.

"It might be quite interesting, seeing an entire race sold into slavery. Perhaps made to work off their debt to the Dragon Empire."

"But this is insane!" said Vanessa. "Evren isn't going to give in just because you owe him the money! And Bryag, even if you don't have the power to remove the Dragon Lords singlehanded."

"Maybe not. But what Bryag does have is access to armies," said Wrynncurth. His smile was becoming unfriendly. "A great many armies."

Vanessa looked at Wrynncurth and shuddered, then up to Bryag. Her expression shifted carefully. "...You...

"Bryag, are you threatening to invade me?"

"No," said Bryag. "Just Evren and his kind. They are tyrants."

"But Bryag, don't you understand!" said Vanessa. "They're only using you to try and make an excuse to invade! They're never going to actually pay off your debt!"

"Now, not so quick, Vanessa, I never said I planned to invade," said Wrynncurth. "I'd rather avoid war altogether. I'm merely stating that Bryag has options."

Vanessa eyed Wrynncurth distrustfully. "What do you want, Wrynncurth?"

"Simple enough, old girl," said Wrynncurth. "I'd like to start a discussion between nations."

"A discussion on what?" asked Vanessa.

"On how to handle this debt crisis, of course," said Wrynncurth. "You see, Bryag now is in a position to have a great deal of power. He can destroy you.

"Or he can choose to forgive the debt if he so chooses. Or some of them. Or provide an alternative means of payment."

"Bryag, you have to forgive the debt," said Vanessa, looking up. "Make it public. This is going to endanger our entire Empire!"

"Your Empire," said Bryag flatly. "I only own a bridge and no hoard.

"You never visit me. Never acknowledge my existence or respond to my letters. You use me as a tool to protect your borders and keep control of the others.

"I don't care about the Empire. Why should I?"

"What about Father?!" said Vanessa. "He spent ages putting this together, and you're going to burn it down!"

"I wonder what Vrengar would think of your present situation," mused Wrynncurth. "If I recall, he was always in favor of having careful regard for weaker species. His rise to power was based on liberating humans. He taught them to forge weapons in their own way.

"The Empire he founded now looks a lot more like the realm of Alchara. Just with Dragons instead. Just with a different set of masters. What happened to the Red Flight?"

"May I speak?" asked Relma, deciding to enter the discussion.

Vanessa looked up in irritation. "What is it, what do you want, girl?"

"Whenever I go to talk with the people of this land, they all seem to have a high opinion of Bryag," said Relma. "They seem to like him a lot better than their local Lords."

"Yes, what of it?" asked Vanessa. "It encourages them to keep working to worship something."

"Well, what if Bryag disappeared?" asked Relma. "Do you think they'd turn their worship to you?"

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"Of course they would," said Vanessa.

"Why?" asked Relma.

"We are their Lords," said Vanessa. "Bryag is merely a... mortar of sorts to the temple."

"And what exactly do you do for them?" asked Relma.

"We protect them," said Vanessa. "And ensure their lands remain fertile by the sacrifices."

"Bryag does most of the former, though," said Relma.

"We built most of the cities and roads," said Vanessa.

"But all those things are falling into disrepair. A lot of them were funded with money from Bryag," noted Relma.

"Relma has a point," said Estela. "What incentive do humans have to tolerate your existence if Bryag is removed?"

"If they rebel, we shall annihilate them," said Vanessa simply.

"I will defend them," said Bryag.

Vanessa looked up to him with some hurt, but mostly a look of a loss of control. "...Bryag, what are-"

"You'll be able to kill Bryag, Vanessa," said Wrynncurth. "But he'll take down a lot of you with him. Will you be able to control the revolutions then? Even with the Conquista raiding you, the Sun Soul Empire trying to seize Dragons for the pyre and Durag? And that's assuming King Tyus doesn't take the chance to avenge his son.

"We've hardly been keeping him from invading you now. If he senses weakness, he'll ignore our suggestions. What are you going to do if Bryag does rebel? Or if he is killed by some band of heroes?

"Who can replace him?"

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "You're threatening me."

"No," said Wrynncurth. "We're asking you questions, Vanessa. If you don't like the answers to those questions, maybe you need to rethink your strategy for rule."

"YOU DARE?!!" snarled Vanessa.

And then she was no longer elven, but a dragon. Great wings arose from her back as she rose upward, becoming a beast of great size. Wrynncurth remained completely still while Estela and Jomas stepped back.

Wrynncurth lit his pipe. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"I could reduce you to a charred skeleton with one burst of my breath," said Vanessa.

"Then you get a charred skeleton. And Harlenor declares a crusade against you," said Wrynncurth. "Everyone knows I'm here, and I've already put the Conquista in contact with King Tyus. I assure, you old girl, nothing would please Tyus more than to launch a crusade into this place. Especially with the death of his hated enemy as justification."

Vanessa held Wrynncurth's gaze. "...Why would you do this, Wrynncurth?"

"Because I'm concerned for you," said Wrynncurth. "At the rate, things are going, you're liable to collapse. Sooner or later, you'll have a civil war or lose enough dragons to not be able to protect your empire.

"And also to establish a profitable World Peace."

Vanessa paused, calculated, and then looked to Relma. "You, you're the one behind all this. What do you really want?"

Relma stepped forward. "In the more immediate future? I'd like to establish a dialogue to work all this out without violence. And I believe I can get it together.

"I'd like you to send out messages to all the great powers and ask them to send emissaries to negotiate an end to the war. If we communicate, I'm certain we'll be able to find a natural solution to all of this."

"To do so would be to betray the original plans of my father," said Vanessa simply. "Emperor Vrengar wanted us to rule over all the area he sealed away."

"When was the last time you launched an invasion, Vanessa old girl?" asked Wrynncurth."A long time ago," said Vanessa. "However, even so, I cannot disobey that grand goal without his explicit permission. I will agree to this... meeting.

"If the Heir of Kings communicates directly with the Emperor Vrengar."

Relma had the feeling she was being sent to die again. If she did die, coordinating this kind of operation became more difficult. "How do I do that?"

"You must climb up the mountain to the very peal and enter the Shrine of Vrengar," said Vanessa. "If you brave the challenges within and survive, you may warrant a direct meeting with Vrengar. Gain the approval of my father, and I shall agree to your terms.

"However, you must walk and without Bryag." And she took to flight and descended the slopes.

Wonderful. More travel. Vanessa was obviously stalling and hoping to get Relma killed.

Just what Relma needed.

"...I don't suppose we could threaten her into submission," asked Estela.

"Not a good idea, Estela old girl," said Wrynncurth. "Better to play along, succeed, and then let her find a new excuse. And so on and so forth, until when we put our foot down, she'll have no right to complain."

"She'll be getting in contact with the Dragon Lords," noted Bryag.

"Oh no, I doubt that," said Wrynncurth. "Vanessa is smart enough to know her peril. And if she was willing to kill us, damn the consequences, she could have done so to most of us. You wouldn't have killed her, I think.

"Bryag, I suggest you fly back to the shore for a bit. Make your presence known and give the Dragon Lords reason to sweat. I wager Estela and Relma have work to do."

"Fine then, let's go," said Estela.

The group began to scale up the mountain. The only way up was a path cut into the rock, leading up and around the peak. From it, Relma saw the dizzying heights and realized that before them was a vast stretch of the Empire. From this place, she could see fields and rivers and Durag's domain.It was rough going on the feet and the winds howled about them, so that Relma was afraid she'd be swept off into the lands below.

It wasn't long before her feet were aching and Relma realized her shoes were beginning to wear thin. She'd had these all the way from Gel Carn and they were falling to bits, while her clothes were travel-stained and barren.

"Relma, are you certain this will work?" asked Estela. Estela was holding up far better, refusing to show any sign of weakness in the journey.

How did she do it? Look so composed?

"Certain?" asked Relma. "No, but it's the best chance we have at the moment. Generally, you've got to move things along quickly.

"Do you think Durag will invade?"

"Why are you asking me that?" asked Estela.

"Well, if he does, we'll be able to call in the dragon's Queen Vanessa calls down to confront them in a decisive battle. I hope," said Relma. "Or maybe things will completely fall to pieces, and we'll have to make a run for it."

"What exactly was the plan here?" asked Estela.

"It's more like I have several different plans in motion, and all of them connect," said Relma. "So if they all succeed, we get the best result."

"And if any of them fails?" asked Estela.

"We improvise," said Relma. "I've already got plans for what to do in most situations."

"What are you going to do if Durag can't be trusted?" asked Estela.

"Well, he decides to betray us, I could probably suggest a unified invasion of his forces," said Relma. "If he can be trusted, I can use him to pressure the Dragon Empire into giving Bryag concessions."

"And how will you get the Sun Soul Empire to make peace anyway?" asked Estela. "Their whole culture is based around raiding."

"Simple, I'll just suggest they stop," said Relma. "They already give their souls willingly to the Sun Spirit. So if they focus on improving the quality of their souls, there won't be a problem. It isn't as though they are winning the war anyway. So they have an incentive to make peace."

"And the Conquista?" asked Estela.

"We'll be able to offer them the chance to get back to Harlenor," said Relma.

"How?" asked Estela. "The Dragon Empire will never accept that, and if you force them, it will be a humiliation. And we both know Father will want the first choice of guns and horses.

"What do you plan to do, bypass the Pass of Dragon Bones?"

"Actually, yes," said Relma. "If Vrengar tears down the barrier, the Conquista of Anoa will have easy access to the Islands of Power and Sorn. That would give them trade and a means to move their horses. Second, it becomes possible for outside powers to pressure them."

"How is that a good thing?" asked Estela.

"It means that the Conquista will have to worry about a northern front," said Relma, not understanding how she couldn't see it. It was so obvious. "Do you remember King Nagos? The Terror of the Seas? We heard that he became the dominant power in that region; no one can beat him.

"Well, maybe the Conquista will be able to check his power.

"And once they are focused on the Islands of Power, they'll be less likely to make war on the dragons. In fact, the two would benefit from an alliance."

"Of course," mused Estela. "The Red Dragons might like to set up their own little kingdoms on the islands. They could provide a critical advantage at sea. We might even be able to open up a new front on Calisha.

"What about Durag and Highwatch?"

"Durag will be only too glad to have access to new findings and information," said Relma. "He might be interested to learn about Magicora in Northern Escor and other places. And, of course, Highwatch, well, I don't know how they'll like it.

"But they will probably benefit from not having so many outside threats. If Durag is secure, they are secure too." Relma sighed. "It wasn't my original plan, but things sort of worked out this way. As long as we do things properly, we should be able to get all this to work out."

"Unless it doesn't," muttered Estela.

"Well, obviously," said Relma.

As they scaled up to the peak, however, Relma began to realize that she was the leader in their group. Even Estela was looking to her for directions now. She was questioning her more like a subordinate. Relma was not certain how to feel about that.

On the one hand, it was what she wanted.

But a good thing could be taken too far.

At last, they reached the peak and came to a great stone building, shaped like a dragon's head. Before it stood, several priests in crimson robes. Hands hidden by their sleeves, they bowed to her.

"Hail, Relma Artorious," they said. "We have awaited your arrival."

Wonderful, more destiny.