Relma stared down at the ground as the lands passed beneath him. They'd seen only blasted landscape when they had first moved through the Pass of Dragon Bones. Soon, they'd come into green hills and vibrant trees. Now and then, they'd seen villages, and they grew in size. Now and then, they had seen Red Dragons flying toward them. Someone called them back each time. Now, however, there were no villages and no dragons. The tree had become craggy and dangerous. The ground had a blight upon it, and all around them was the scent of decay.

"We passed the last village nearly an hour ago," said Estela from one of the Black Dragons. "This place seems almost empty now." Her dark hair blew about her as she pulled her blue cloak closer.

"Well, that is to be expected," said Wrynncurth beneath Relma. "Vanessa told me that this area is kept empty for various reasons. I wager she'll explain things once we're face to face."

On they went.

Eventually, Relma saw a city in the distance, situated upon a hill. The fortress had been set up, bricks laid on one another. Beyond the walls were many broken buildings, still firmly clinging to existence. Many looked to have been very tall at one point, but none had stayed that way, save one.

Amid the fallen towers was a single, huge monastery with the emblem of a sun etched into it. Relma wondered what it was that it had symbolized.

"Wrynncurth, where are we now?" asked Relma.

"Well, I've not been down this way for centuries," said Wrynncurth ruefully. "Judging by the cliffs, I think we're nearing the old capital."

"How do you know that?" asked Estela.

"I don't, but I recall this place quite well," said Wrynncurth. "I remember there were far fewer castles the last time. When last I was here, this place was all wilderness. Someone has cut back the trees.

"Come, we'll land here. I'd rather not go any further today."

Wrynncurth landed alongside his other dragons, none of whom had spoken. Jomas, who had been silent until now, dismounted and walked to sit on a rock. He stared out into space over the trees, face impassive.

"Estela, Jomas, how was the flying?" asked Relma.

For a moment, Jomas did not answer. "...Alright," he said at last. "Are either of you hurt?

"No, I'm not," said Estela, not looking at him as she sat down far away. "I'm sore all over."

Since King Tyus had tried to send Relma on this mission to die, Estela had been in a bad mood. She'd sent Jomas with Relma as extra security and to get out of marrying him. Then Wrynncurth had insisted Estela come with them.

So now they were in a position where King Tyus wanted Relma to die. Estela wanted Jomas to die. Meanwhile, Relma was hoping they all made it out alive. She wished Ajax was here; he'd always been a good companion and could catch animals wherever they went.

"Here, let me help you with that, Estela," said Relma, moving toward her dark-haired friend.

Putting a hand on Estela's shoulder, Estela breathed out. Relma could feel her aches and pains disappearing and felt glad. "I didn't know healing magic could ease sore limbs."

"Well, sore limbs are a kind of injury if you think about it," said Relma. "Jomas, do you need help?"

Jomas said nothing; he was busy polishing his armor.

"Let me see the map Wrynncurth gave us," said Estela.

"You could just ask me, old girl," said Wrynncurth.

Estela ignored him as Relma drew the map and handed it to her. The Knight looked over the data quickly. Finally, she lowered it. "...Well, according to this, we're in the heartlands of the Dragon Empire."

"Yes, my information is dated; need not rub it in," said Wrynncurth.

"But you were so confident about your maps," said Estela sarcastically.

"Let's move on, Estela," said Relma.

Despite being in ruins, the city was beautiful. The walls were overgrown with vines, and all kinds of grass and plants could be seen. Relma saw a tumbled statue in a square, that of a beautiful elven woman. This was the kind of place she'd have loved to play in with Ronald.

But those happy days in Gel Carn were long behind them. Relma had ambitions to pursue now. "What is this place? It's beautiful."

"Nice enough, I suppose," said Wrynncurth ruefully. "Oh, this place was once the ancient city of Car'Qul, a High Elven city. In fact, it was once the greatest of the High Elven cities in this region. And it was the last of the High Elven nations to fall.

"That statue is of Arasia; she married a human Prince in the city's waning days. It is said that their descendants have elvish blood in them."

"That's ridiculous," said Estela flatly. "Different races can't crossbreed. Well, except Satyrs. Elves are elves, and humans are humans. And humans are just better."

"Well, the story involved some divine intervention," mused Wrynncurth. "But I take the point. A shame what happened to this place, though."

"Did Anoa the Bright conquer them?" asked Relma. She'd learned a great deal about her ancestor and the founder of Harlenor United. Enough to know, he went beyond the realm of warlord and into force of nature.

The man had singlehandedly reshaped the map of the world. He'd brought down all the old elven kingdoms and ushered in the era of humanity. He'd very nearly succeeded in wiping out the High Elves entirely.

"Obviously not. Otherwise, we wouldn't have spent the last age fighting the Dragon Empire," said Estela. Anoa never extended his power this far south, Estela. He went to conquer Haldren instead, to the north.

"Well, old girl, that's not strictly true," said Wrynncurth. "There was a jolly deadly try at burning the place, but the rise of Vrengar cut us off. I only came in here a while ago, and it was a bloody dangerous trip.

"Back then, this place still stood with all its culture. Though most of the population was human, many of the stories were preserved. It seems the people have gone, though. I suppose the last remnants of the old high-elven civilization have been swept away.

"I shall make a toast to whoever got the broom when we return."

"And where is Queen Vanessa?" asked Estela. "She was supposed to meet us here."

Relma glanced at Jomas, who was now shining his shield.

"Oh, I imagine she'll arrive a bit late," mused Wrynncurth. "It's the fashion among Red Dragons for the more important dragon to arrive late. The greater, the later, if you'll forgive the rhyme."

"Why do you think she picked this place, though? It's a ruin?" asked Relma.

"Isolated," said Jomas suddenly.

"Hmm?" asked Relma.

Jomas shrugged. "Easy to kill us. Red Dragons are without honor."

"Now that's a bit uncalled for, old chap," said Wrynncurth. "Vanessa isn't the sort of blackheart to kill in parley, especially not an old friend like myself."

Estela looked up to the cathedral, and Relma followed her gaze to see the wall's symbol. "That's the symbol of Alchara. I think. She usually uses sun imagery.

"Is she worshipped here?"

"To an extent, though, everyone was forced to pay homage to Vrengar," said Wrynncurth. "I think they ought to have uprooted Alchara's brood, but Vrengar was always too tolerant for his own good. He always preferred letting folk mind their own affairs so long as they paid their taxes.

"Decent enough policy, but can be taken too far, I fear."

"The Dragon Empire has been waging nonstop war on Escor for centuries. It has made it impossible to communicate with us," said Estela.

Wrynncurth shrugged. "Well, he always was a paranoid chap. I expect he didn't want his Empire speaking with others."

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"That's a given," said Estela.

"But I've got an extended invitation, owing to the old allegiances," mused Wrynncurth.

"Allegiances?" asked Relma.

"Well, Vrengar was the student to my father, Smyngoth," said Wrynncurth. "In fact, he was instrumental in creating the hundred-year plan."

"I've never heard of that; what was it?" asked Relma.

"Oh, it was a splendid idea for the time, though it seems a bit trite now," said Wrynncurth. "See, in the days when the elder races ruled, a hundred years was a fairly short time. A war might happen once or twice in a thousand years. Though there were skirmishes and hunts, and plenty of them."

"For humans?" surmised Relma.

"Yes, a bit regrettable, but ancient history now," said Wrynncurth. It was a remark Relma found rather hypocritical. "Anyway, most plans took ages to finish. A human's entire lifetime could go by without anything changing all that much. But Vrengar spent time among humans and saw how quickly things moved for them.

"So he came up with the idea of planning to gain total dominance over all their enemies in a hundred years. We could destroy the enemy through a lightning-fast plan before they could adapt.

"It worked out jolly good until Anoa the Bright united Harlenor."

"How was that a problem?" asked Estela.

"Well, that's a bit complicated," said Wrynncurth. The original plan was that Elranor would be the patron god of humans. We'd envision a whole series of lesser kingdoms. Using them, we'd disrupt the High Elves' control. From there, we'd weaken Alchara's stranglehold on the flights.

"We never thought Anoa the Bright would successfully unify the humans as a whole.

"Which, I think, is the reason for confusing the languages. If you cannot communicate with Vrengar's people, you can't start a revolution very well."

"I don't want to start a revolution; I just want to end the fighting," said Relma.

"Hold up, look down there," said Jomas in a sharper tone than normal.

Relma and Estela made their way over to where Jomas was looking down the hill, toward a hole in the wall. Far below, they saw many shambling figures scaling up the hill in the night. There were dozens of them, and even more of them were coming.

"Are those people?" asked Relma.

"They're shambling a bit from the looks of things," mused Estela. "Wrynncurth, could you send one of your friends to help?"

"Oh, don't worry, old girl," said Wrynncurth, motioning for the dragons to come forward. These aren't real dragons; they are soulless creations that obey my will. And we'll see to them sure enough."

Two of the dragons, or whatever they were, shot into the sky. The beating of their wings was everywhere as they surged into the sky. Relma watched as they flew into the night. They waited for a while as more of the shambling figures came out, but they did not go past a certain point.

It was as though they were moving against a hard barrier that they could not pass.

"So, what did you find?" asked Estela.

"Well, you don't need to worry about talking with those chaps," said Wrynncurth. Then he took out his pipe and lit it. "They're undead."

"Undead?" asked Relma, horrified at the idea. "But what are they doing here?"

"Well, there weren't many of those back in the day," said Wrynncurth. "No more than anywhere else. I wonder how things got here?"

"A better question is 'Where is everyone?'" muttered Estela. "We stopped seeing any villages a day or two ago. Why didn't any of those dragons try to speak with us?"

"Oh, I chatted with them a bit, right quick," said Wrynncurth. "While you were sleeping. Apparently, the number of dead has been rising for a time, but they don't have much interest in it. Whenever the dead start to walk, they burn them up right quickly.

"This is where Queen Vanessa agreed to meet us, so we'll have to stay here for a time."

"...They're coming nearer now," said Jomas.

"Need not worry, look there," said Wrynncurth.

The undead began to force their way past the barrier, but their flesh began to burn as they did. As they walked forward, the front rank was reduced to ashes and the rank behind that.

"They are being burned up. But how?" asked Jomas.

"Simple enough, old chap," said Wrynncurth. "There's some mighty powerful purification magic here that hasn't quite fled the world. What's say we take a look inside the temple, see how things have aged?"

"Why does no one live here? That is what I want to know," said Estela. "This place seems defensible, and we passed all kinds of civilization coming here.

"I'd set up a castle here."

"Maybe they don't have enough people to defend it," mused Relma.

"They sent an army up against the Pass of Dragon Bones and have been doing it for hundreds of years," said Estela. "They have enough people to populate a city of this size."

"Well, I'd wager that it was only recently," said Wrynncurth. "Let's make a run for it."

And run they did, Wrynncurth loping ahead of them along rooftops and scanning. As they did, Relma felt something setting itself against her. Other things were pressing in from behind.

They neared the cathedral, and Wrynncurth entered quickly. Within was a statue of a beautiful Goddess, untouched by time. Her garb was of white and seemed to be flowing around them with a gust. On either side were places where two other statues could have put. One of them had been shattered and was broken rubble. The other was there but had been made faceless by rain. They were probably coming through the cracks in the ceiling.

"See there," said Wrynncurth, voice cheerful. "That's a statue of Alchara."

Estela moved forward and kneeled down by what seemed to be incensed. There were also wilted flowers. "These flowers are recent. Someone has left offerings in this place."

"So you think this place is sacred ground of some kind?" asked Relma.

"I'd say so. Alchara was still worshipped here when I last came back," said Wrynncurth. Her religion was never fully stamped out, more's the pity. Though it seems that has changed."

"Why do you hate Alchara?" asked Jomas.

Wait, Jomas had picked up on Wrynncurth's hatred of Alchara? How? Wrynncurth always sounded cheerful, even when talking about his worst enemy.

"Well, she plagued my entire family and wiped us outright quick," said Wrynncurth. He blew a draft on his pipe. "So, I've quite the vendetta with the old harpy."

"Her religion has people in it," noted Jomas.

"That much is obvious," said Wrynncurth.

"Why want all those people wiped out?" asked Jomas.

"I don't," said Wrynncurth. "I'd much rather they just realize what a worthless goddess Alchara is."

"I see you haven't changed at all, Uncle Wrynncurth," said a voice.

Relma looked up and saw a beautiful, violet-haired woman walking forward. She wore red-scaled armor and held a halberd in one hand. Wrynncurth smiled. "Vanessa, it's splendid to see you again, old girl!"

"Yes, well, you seem well enough," said Vanessa, moving forward. "I wish I could say the same for things here.

"Relma Artorious, the Heir of Kings.

"Welcome to the Dragon Empire." Then she looked at Wrynncurth. "Now, perhaps you could explain why you have come here after all this time, Uncle Wrynncurth?"

"A small bit of negotiation, truth be told," said Wrynncurth. "See, the Kings of Harlenor are getting tired of fighting you. They were hoping to make a truce."

"A truce?" asked Vanessa. "Why would I seek a truce when things proceed to my benefit?"

"...Your benefit?" asked Estela. "You are aware we wiped out an entire army of yours, don't you? Escor is triumphant."

"True, from your limited perspective," said Vanessa. "However, you value human lives far more than the Dragon Empire. Those who went against your fortress went there in the desire to find death.

"They sacrificed themselves for the opportunity to someday become Dragons. And by dying, they have saved their families."

"What do you mean?" asked Estela.

"We had a famine in the area east of here, and many were starving," said Vanessa. "So I arranged for volunteers to attack the pass of Dragon Bones. In exchange, their families will receive food from other houses. And with fewer mouths to feed, the famine itself is lessened.

"Among them were many middle-aged men who would have become useless in age. I have liberated them from the fate of becoming old and feeble."

"But there wasn't a single man over forty in that army," said Estela. "I saw the corpses."

"Of course," said Vanessa. "Humans are at their best in the ages between fifteen and forty. After that, they are cursed with the weakness of mind and body. Letting them die to ease the burden of their fellows is a kindness.

"Their funerals were made before they left their villages."

"And do you think Escor will stand for endless invasions?" asked Estela. "We are far stronger now than before and are not to be trifled with."

"You have only one place from where you can invade," said Vanessa. "And we have long prepared for such an assault."

"Excuse me?" asked Relma.

"Yes?" asked Vanessa.

"What would it take to get you to agree to negotiate peace between us?" asked Relma.

Vanessa paused. "...An interesting question.

"I would know who you are to ask it first?"

"I am the Heir of Kings, the last descendant of Anoa the Bright," said Relma.

Vanessa paused. "...Interesting, very interesting indeed.

"Very well, then, I shall give you a quest. Complete it, and I shall meet the leaders of Escor for peace negotiations."

"Name it," said Estela.

"You must retrieve the Dragonfire Shield from the Island of Conquista," said Vanessa.

"Island of the Conquista?" asked Estela.

"Ah, yes, that, of course," said Wrynncurth. "The Conquista of Anoa, I believe they called themselves. Descendants of an invasion sent to conquer this region. I'm surprised they're still in business."

"They are," said Vanessa. "At present, we have a non-aggression pact with them, and I cannot afford to break it. As such, you must retrieve the shield with their blessing."

"Why not just ask them for it?" asked Relma.

"The Dragonfire Shield was created by Father himself. It was for Anoa's greatest Knight, Orson," said Vanessa. "Wielding it, Sir Orson could slay several dragons who opposed Vrengar's rise to become the Red King. However, it was lost during the wars, and we searched for it for many ages.

"Ultimately, the Conquista found it first.

"We sought to purchase it from them, but they have refused. And now that Durag has allied with the Sun Soul Empire, we cannot afford to alienate them."

"Who are they?" asked Estela.

"Durag is a Lich and a wretchedly powerful one," said Vanessa. "The undead who dwell around this city are his. The walking dead walk on his behalf. He sought to snatch the living and draw them back to his domain.

"It is said he performs experiments upon those who die and uses their corpses to seize still more. There are tunnels beneath the earth that he digs to emerge in new places."

"And what of the Sun Soul Empire?" asked Estela.

"A cult founded by Alchara long ago that has grown a great deal," said Vanessa. "They used to dwell near us but have since become a danger to us. Their religion demands they burn the souls of ancient creatures for unholy rituals.

"I recommend treading carefully around them. They may go after you, Uncle."

"So, what now, Estela?" asked Relma.

"I say we head after the shield right away," said Estela. "Queen Vanessa, are you mobilizing for war now?"

"No, I have other places to fight battles in now," said Vanessa. "Estal is of secondary concern at best. A convenient way of removing undesirables if I'm feeling less charitable."

"Would you permit us to see your domain for ourselves?" asked Estela. "And speak to your subjects."

"I might," said Vanessa before pausing. "Very well, I shall grant you the ability to speak the languages of this world. Return here when you have the shield. I shall know."

And then she was gone.

No flash, no change in the wind. She was there one minute and was gone the next. Very impressive.