There was silence for a moment.

Then Estela stepped forward and Relma back. The Princess of Estal threw her cloak behind her shoulders. Her mail was revealed, and she caught her sword in an underhand grip. A gust of wind blew her hair beside her, and she looked very impressive.

"You were expecting us?" asked Estela.

"Our Lord, Vrengar, told us to watch for you," said the priest. "He also warned that soldiers might pursue you." He and those with him bowed, as a howling wind shot through Relma's hair. She realized just how far she would fall if she slipped off this mountain.

"Is Vanessa acting contrary to his will?" asked Estela, surprised.

"Queen Vanessa rules her own realm and Vrengar his," said the priest. The two understand one another. However, I can offer you shelter, should you need it."

"Thank you," said Estela, adjusting her sword and stretching her neck. "However, no soldiers have pursued us thus far."

"I see," said the priest. "Then, perhaps our offer was unnecessary. Why have you come to this place? My lord did not say."

"We're here to meet Vrengar, actually," said Estela. "Or rather, Relma is. I am here with my squire for that purpose."

"Then follow me," said the priest, before motioning.

Together, they walked to the double doors and opened them. Moving through them, they entered a place brightly lit by many torches. Here a round table was prepared for them, and they were seated.

"Have you yet eaten?" asked the priest.

"No," said Estela. "We've only just arrived.

"Then I shall have food and wine brought," said the priest. "Once you have eaten, I shall explain the details of achieving a meeting with Lord Vrengar."

As it turned out, the food was fish, and Estela seemed to enjoy it a great deal. However, she insisted Relma eat it first to determine if any poison was in it. Relma could purify poison in her own body, after all. The priests ended up eating with them, and Relma found the hospitality odd.

"This is excellent," said Estela.

"Thank you," said the priest. "These fish are taken only from mountain pools in the Road of Ancient Stone. Holy magics must purify them, and then they can be eaten. You needn't worry; the food taster already tried it and was not killed."

"Do people often die?" asked Estela.

"Sometimes, it's a risk from this kind of dish," said the priest.

"Do you often meet with the villagers of this land?" asked Relma.

"No," said the priest. "We take care of this sanctuary and only meet with pilgrims. And they are few and far between. Lord Vrengar prefers to simply take power from the worship given to Red Dragons.

"And he does not like to be consulted, save perhaps on matters of smithing."

"Then, there is no organized religion?" asked Relma.

"There are some," said the priest. "To each dragon their own priests."

"Excuse me," said Estela. "I don't believe you told us your name?"

"We give up our names when we become priests of Vrengar," said the priest. "For our purposes, I am the High Priest and only High Priest. When our duties require identification, each of us has a number assigned to them."

"Why is that?" asked Relma.

"Lord Vrengar prefers it that way," said High Priest."In any case, you may be granted a meeting with Lord Vrengar. However, you must meet him alone. To do so, you must face a trial by fire."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Relma, curious.

High Priest pointed to a stone door on the far wall. As he did, it shifted and pulled aside to reveal utter darkness. "Within that chamber is a series of flames. To go through them will do you no harm. However, the power of the flames will be on your will.

"If you succeed, you may meet Lord Vrengar beyond it."

"Why is this necessary, exactly?" asked Relma.

"Everyone who wishes to speak with him has to do it," said High Priest. "Those who wish for lesser questions speak to us. And all of us have performed the trial by fire.

"Lord Vrengar sees no one at all, if possible. He communicates only to those who have proven themselves and direct descendants."

"Why?" asked Estela.

"Lord Vrengar prefers to take an impersonal approach to rule," said High Priest. "Only one may enter the flames at a time, however."

There was silence, and Estela looked to Relma. "So, are you going to do this, Relma?"

Relma sighed. "We don't seem to have much choice. Still, at least the meal was nice."

"Then follow me," said High Priest.

Estela and Relma were led through the darkness; beyond it, they found the walls were of simple stone. Not what one would expect from a temple. Estela looked around.

"This place is much humbler than the palace of Queen Vanessa," said Estela.

"Lord Vrengar prefers practicality to opulence," said High Priest. "Luxury is not necessary, save for effect. And Lord Vrengar prefers to leave people to mind their own affairs.

"Here we are." He came to a simple door and unlocked it. "The dimension of trials lies through that door."

"Yes, I understand," said Relma.

"If you should decide to go back, you may turn back at any time," said High Priest.

Then he opened the door, and Relma saw a reddish void beyond it.

Stepping through, Relma walked forward.

Soon, Relma found herself within a hallway. Or rather, a single road of red light in a void of blackness. As she walked, stars began to appear around them, and she felt the road become warm. Moving on, however, she found the road got hotter the further she went.

Sweat began to drip down her brow, and she tried starting to run.

As she did, she drew off her cloak to try and cool down. Yet the heat got worse and worse, to the point of hurting. Halting, Relma stepped back, and the heat decreased. Looking at her skin, however, she realized that it was not marred. Nor was there sweat.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

A spell.

It was a spell meant to simulate heat and pain.

A test of pain and trial by fire.

Relma paused for a moment and looked back to see the door not far behind. Then, turning back, she began to run. Soon, the agony increased, and she felt as though she was in an oven. Her brow was mopped with sweat, or so it felt, and then she felt agony.

With a scream, she scrambled back, trying to beat off the flames.

Yet there were no flames. No injury.

And then Relma realized that to move onward, she would have to be burned alive. But how could she move through that? Every reflex told her that she had to stay away. Then Relma considered that the heat might disappear just a little way on.

It wasn't likely, but it was something to hope for.

Relma ran.

And as she did, she felt the fire take hold of her clothes. She screamed as flames scorched her flesh, yet she did not keep running. Her flesh was turning black, burning, as her eyes watered. She felt her skin peeling away, and her muscles were burned next, and she used magic to control her pain.

Her heart was racing, but she ran on.

She focused, allowing the pain to pass through her, and forced herself. Every step was utter agony as her muscles were consumed, and her skeleton was charred. If the flames had been real, she'd have been long dead, and yet they were not. And so she had to experience every moment, pressing on only out of a feral hope that she might escape.

If she ran back, it might be a longer trip anyway.

At last, her skeleton was burned away, and nothing remained. The pain was gone.

Relma had gone beyond it and came to the throne of Vrengar.

It was a high seat upon a raised dais. Vrengar sat within it, his head resting on one hand. His long, dark hair fell around him, and a red cloak shrouded his form. His face was black-bearded, and his eyes were violet. He eyed her curiously, then rose from it.

"...I must admit, I expected you to retreat," said Vrengar.

"You..." Relma tried to remember the agony she had been in. It was still with her, but only as something that once was. It was like remembering you used not to be able to read. The fact that you had to learn at some point was unimportant once you knew how to do it. "Are you Vrengar?"

"I am," said Vrengar. "And I am, in a sense, the God of the Red Dragons."

"Aren't you also the God of the Dragon Empire?" asked Relma, choosing her words carefully.

"I suppose someone must fulfill that role if the Sun Soul Empire and Elranor are to be kept out," said Vrengar. "But I assure you, it has never been one I've held any interest in holding formally. Men make offerings to me in exchange for aid with forging, and governments use me to justify their reign.

"In return, I stay out of their affairs."

"Then you aren't concerned with what Queen Vanessa and Bryag are doing?" asked Relma.

"Systems can't really be controlled," said Vrengar with a shrug. "Attempts to do so generally only result in spectacular failure. I prefer to let people mind their own affairs. So long as they fulfill their obligations to me, there isn't a problem."

"But don't you have an obligation to the humans who serve you as well?" asked Relma.

"Of course I do," said Vrengar. "I provide them with forging and inventions greater than anywhere else in the world. In exchange, they provide worship. That is as far as I am willing to involve myself.

"How their Lords treat them and what they do about it is their own affair."

"Why are you so inactive in this?" asked Relma.

"Because of your sire, Anoa the Bright, to be honest," said Vrengar.

Relma wondered what he meant and decided to ask further. "What do you mean?"

Vrengar walked down the stairs and sighed. Walking past her, he looked out into the starry expanse. "I had a vision long ago.

"It was called the Hundred Year Plan. Elranor, Smyngoth, and I would engineer the creation of human kingdoms. We would use them to overthrow Alchara's power and force changes that liberated us.

"All of which would take place over a century.

"However, it succeeded too well. Anoa the Bright could not be controlled or reasoned with. His rampage tore through the elven kingdoms and nearly drove them to extinction. This led to an escalating cycle of violence known as the God War. The result was the near annihilation of all dragons. The Silver are few and hidden, and Smyngoth's family has been twisted.

"And the scars of that kind of action are on the world to this day.

"The root cause of the problem was one man meddling in another's affair. Alchara's obsession with harmony led to the oppression of lesser races. Our obsession with revenge led to the destruction of the Gold and Silver Flights. Anoa's obsession with establishing a unified Kingdom led to ages of war.

"All of these atrocities had their root cause in willful domination.

"In my experience, things are best left to work themselves out."

"But the Hundred Year Plan wasn't a failure at all," said Relma. "Yes, Anoa wasn't exactly nice, but Harlenor United came to be. And from it, we got our entire culture and history.

"And even if it is, don't you see that doing nothing isn't helping either. Refusing to do something about a problem is just like creating a problem.

"The entire world you've set up here is falling to pieces."

"Because of you, Razoria," said Vrengar simply. He was using her Angelic name, and Relma wondered why. Was there some other conversation being had here?

Relma paused. "How is this my fault?"

Vrengar shrugged. "You had a very clear set of instructions on what you should do. You were to gain the Dragonscale Shield and kill Durag. Instead, you decided to deviate from the path you were chosen for. You are trying to dominate everyone for yourself.

"Now you've put yourself in the impossible position of pleasing everyone.

"This situation is of your own creation."

"No, it isn't! It's of your creation!" snapped Relma. "Yours and everyone else in this land! You're the one who sealed off this region completely from the rest of the world! You were the one who did nothing and let the Dragon Empire degenerate! You might not have chosen to do anything, but that just means you chose to do nothing!

"You don't think this land would be this vicious and stagnant if they had to worry about Calisha and Harlenor. The outside threats would have forced them to come to an understanding centuries ago."

"Or they would have been conquered and forced into submission," noted Vrengar.

"I have difficulty believing Baltoth could run this place any worse," said Relma. She was being somewhat more abrasive than usual, but she was about at the end of her patience. This was a world where someone like Durag was among the saner of the rulers.

Vrengar looked at Relma with a raised eyebrow. "...Are you serious?

"You would genuinely prefer your archenemy to this status quo?"

"Why not?" asked Relma. "He runs the largest and most powerful Empire in the world, and he's willing to negotiate. He must be doing something right. And if Harlenor was in contact with the Conquista, we might be able to force the Dragon Empire to reform."

"How magnanimous of you," said Vrengar, voice snide. "And there we see the beginnings of the disease known as altruism."

"It has nothing to do with altruism," said Relma. "If the Dragon Empire was facing the prospect of invasion by sea, they could not stagnate. They'd have no choice but to treat their citizens with a bit more respect. And this place collapsing in on itself is causing problems for my allies. By fixing these problems, I advance myself.

"But I'd much rather fix them in a way that benefits everyone.

"Right now, I'm trying to fix the situation by getting everyone to work together and agree. Now it might end in disaster, but at least I'll have tried to solve the problem instead of just abandoning the world.

"And I want you to help me with this."

Vrengar paused and seemed to consider his options. "What do you want me to do?"

"Break the seals preventing this land from reaching others," said Relma.

"So that Escor can launch a full-on invasion of me?" asked Vrengar. "I am no fool."

"Fine, leave the seal on the Ghost Mountains there if you want," said Relma. "Just open up the sea lanes. Sorn is neutral anyway, so they can interfere with any invasion from Antion."

"How will that help the situation?" asked Vrengar.

"As soon as you do it, everyone will panic," said Relma. "They'll want to make sure the sea can't invade them, and everyone will want to make a plan. I can use their fear to negotiate a mutual treaty that can protect all of them.

"Chaos can lead to destruction, but it can also lead to renewal.

"But I need you to intercede on my behalf. Without you, Vanessa and the others will constantly be trying to put the knife into me. There will probably be a civil war in your Empire that will get a lot of people killed."

"And what makes you think you can succeed in this?" asked Vrengar.

"I created a council. It has Lucius Alchara, Adrian Wrynncurth, Fairy Queen Isriath, the Dusk Elves, and Escor," said Relma. "This, when all of them were hostile to me. And I did it without making war on anyone besides Lucius, who attacked me first.

"And if I'm wrong, I get assassinated, and you don't have to worry about me anymore."

Vrengar paused and turned back to her with a smile. "...Good answer.

"Very well, I shall grant you my blessing. It was taxing to maintain the sea wall perpetually, anyway. However, if you fail, I shall not do anything to aid you."

"I wasn't expecting you to," said Relma.

She'd call this a partial victory, at least. And something was always better than nothing. Even a bad thing can be made good. Now, she just had to get home.