Later, much later, Relma paced upon a hill in the old citadel of Alchara. The lands here were coming back to life, it seemed. Plants were growing more between the stones and the undead had been cleared away. Morning light peered down on her from above through the trees and the scent of death was receding.

Some of the temples had been restored a bit, pulling up some of the old grass from between the stones. But that was not what worried Relma. In all honesty, she wasn't really sure what worried her.

Over the past few days, messages had been going back and forth throughout the lands. Negotiations were being established little by little, and then time for deliberations. No waves of the dead, however, came to attack the river.

And, at last, the meeting place was chosen.

The decision to put it in the old capital of the Dragon Empire was severalfold. First off, it was not owned by any faction save in name. Secondly, the Road of Ancient Stone meant Lucius and Durag could open passageways. Meanwhile, its status as a domain of Alchara meant that she could act as a neutral agent.

Relma did not believe for a moment she'd be able to mediate the dispute fully once it got underway. Her only goal had been to make sure it happened and present herself as a figurehead. To that end, she'd suggested repairs be done to the old city.

The renovations were underway already.

"The repairs seem to be going well," said Relma, sitting on a stone.

She observed Evren moving a massive pillar out of the way. He then put up a pillar that had been repaired, rebalancing it into place. Estela looked at with some incredulousness, though this had been seen for some time.

"Yes," said Estela. "Too well."

Bryag, as it turned out, had a sense of vindictiveness after all.

He'd assigned the dragons who were in debt to him the task of clearing out the city. Even now, they were being used as manual labor to move stones and allow the more skilled work crews to go about it. Each one was assigned to a work crew that they had no control over. Bryag had disemboweled a dragon who'd tried to kill his supervisor. After that, there had been no more disobedience.

"I don't understand why there was no coalition," said Estela suddenly. "If most of the Dragon Lords were put up for this kind of humiliation..."

"Well, they would lose," said Relma.

"It doesn't matter if they'd lose!" said Estela flatly. "No Lord of Escor would ever accept this kind of humiliation! They'd form the coalition and fight to the end!"

"Well," said Relma. "I guess the manual labor is a lot less difficult."

"That's not the point," said Estela. "They should have rebelled!"

"Well," said Relma. "Human Lords often pay one another visits to reassure eachother of their goodwill. They marry into one another's families and regularly have to fight for their rights. So they're in the practice of fighting desperate battles.

"Most of the Dragon Lords haven't really done anything more than the bare minimum for ages. They also don't have any ideology besides 'screw you, got mine', and Evren at least doesn't seem to have any scruples."

"What's your point?" asked Estela.

"Maybe they're out of practice," said Relma. "They haven't faced a serious threat to their own rule in lifetimes. They could just conceive of the possibilities of Bryag moving against them. But Bryag moving against them with an alliance...

"Well, they probably couldn't even imagine it. And they have no precedent for dealing with this kind of problem."

"So they're cowards, then," said Estela.

"No, they just don't have any pride," said Relma. "They aren't willing to sacrifice their own best interest for an impossible dream."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Wrynncurth isn't going to be happy about them repairing the statue of Alchara," said Estela.

"I had nothing to do with that," said Relma. "Vanessa is doing that on her own to spite Wrynncurth."

"You mean to say you aren't going to accept Alchara's gratitude?" asked Estela.

"I never said that," said Relma. "My actions were the catalyst for it, yes. But they were just an unintended side effect. I wouldn't take credit for it, of course. But if relations with Alchara are better because of it...

"Why should I complain?"

Estela looked up suddenly, and Relma saw the forces of Escor emerging from the trees. The banner was raised high.

"They are here," said Estela. "Father is here."

"Are we going to be able to do this, do you think?" asked Relma.

"You aren't going to be doing anything, Relma," said Estela. "You're a figurehead, remember. Father wants Gail Arengeth to play the role of host. Him and Wrynncurth."

"Well, yes, I know," said Relma. "I'm not even going to be at the meetings. But what if things go wrong? I mean, there are a lot of people here? How can they find a solution that makes it work for everyone?"

"Relma, you were fully confident you could make it happen this entire time," said Estela. "You pick now to start having doubts?"

"I didn't have time for doubts before," said Relma, feeling defensive. "Now that I have what I wanted, I just don't know."

At that moment, Gail Arengeth got back. The old man had a new staff and was wearing a blue robe. "I shouldn't worry too much, Relma.

"The very fact that everyone is having a conversation will probably solve a lot of problems. Sometimes, understanding your enemy alone is enough to save both of you a great deal of grief."

"Aren, how are things doing in Escor?"

"Oh, as well as can be expected," said Gail. "I received word from Varsus; he defeated extensive numbers of undead. He believes the warriors of the factions undead instead of each other would be excellent ."

"Wouldn't Durag have a problem with that?" asked Relma.

"Actually, I don't," said Durag as he floated into view. "Diabolus is constantly pressing in on my mind to try and seize control. Sending out unending hordes of undead bleeds away his powers. By purging the undead, we are freeing their souls and weakening his power."

"Ah, right," said Relma. "So, um, do you know one another?"

Gail looked to Durag, who looked back.

"We are... somewhat acquainted," said Durag. "I once fought against him in the service of Lucius."

"In any case, Relma, Pandora is on route to negotiate with Highwatch," said Aren. "We're hoping to get them to join us, now that the language barrier has been cast down."

"What makes you think they will?" asked Relma.

"They see every other power in the world uniting," said Aren. "They'll probably want to be at the table, if only not to be a target."

"Right, of course," said Relma. "I wish I could have met with them."

"Well, there will be time for that later," said Aren. "We hope.

"This is something that has never happened before, Relma. I should put a great deal of thought into policies. You may be a figurehead for now, but even a figurehead has responsibilities."

"Well, I suppose I've gotten what I wanted," said Relma.

Aren eyed her. "Any regrets?"

Relma thought about all she'd done, all she'd gone through, and smiled. "Not really." Then she looked at Estela. "So, Estela, um, what are your thoughts on Jomas?"

Estela paused. "...I'm going to marry him.

"Look, I don't love him, and I probably never will. But he's a good person and a formidable warrior. Father chose him for a reason. If the marriage doesn't happen, it'll cause serious problems for Escor.

"I'm a Princess.

"I'd have to be completely selfish to sacrifice the future of my Kingdom, just to marry for love."

"Well, not a pleasant moral," said Aren. "But perhaps a wise one.

"Lady Estela, I really feel I should apologize for all this. I still regret not getting the message to you ahead of time."

"Messengers do dangerous work, Lord Arengeth," said Estela. "And we have more important things to do than the pursuit of happiness."

"We can all agree on that," said Aren.

And then there was a flash.

Out of the air descended a figure. He was like a human, but his skin was as black as night, and he had long white hair. As he landed before them, Relma saw a twisted and chaotic sword in one hand. White wings like an angel came from his back. "Queen Relma."

Estela drew her sword at once. "Who are..." She eyed his physique, obscured only by a loincloth. "Who are you?!"

"I am Garacel, Lord of Hatred and Lover Eternal, and I bear ill news," said Garacel. "The Heaven's Eye has been stolen."

"What?!" said Arengeth.

"Baltoth perceived your actions here. And he has dispatched his chief lieutenant, Tuor, to seize it," said Garacel. "They escaped Gel Carn a week ago. I've been trying to reach you since; however, the barriers hid you from my sight.

"Worse still, the warships of Calisha are soon to be out in force and all hope of reaching the shore impossible.

"For Safara has been kidnapped by Prince Aris of Estal."

"Wait, Estal?" asked Relma. "Who is Aris? And who is Safara?"

"Aris is the Prince of Estal, and Safara the Goddess of Love and daughter of Baltoth," said Aren. "What is Aris thinking? She'll ensnare the whole nation if Baltoth doesn't raze it to the ground."

"Why are you here, Garacel?" asked Relma.

"I am the sworn enemy of Baltoth and an ally of Elranor," said Garacel. "And if you are to ever fulfill your destiny now, we will need to make common cause."

Relma had the feeling that things were going to get very bad, very fast. And there did not seem to be anything she could do about it.