Dragon Blossom

The Atyr problem

"I'm afraid that 'our dragons,' as you have called them, Mr. Ambassador, are my daughter and her governess," said Runa, emulating the attitude her father and husband had taken up to that point, her chest swelling with pride and joy at having Frey back and seeing him so resolute in a meeting like this. "It may seem logical to you that it was a facade or a deception, but Eri is a six-year-old girl, as well as the dragon princess; and we turned to the Countess to instruct her. Her role in the war is that she is under our protection. I have promised her: despite her great power, she will not turn against other dragons, unless they threaten my daughter, as happened a few days ago."

Both ambassadors avoided her gaze.

"So," Oregdor finally spoke up, "if Artemia is to help us, it will be with its dragonslayers. Is that what you mean?"

She looked at Frey; he was standing by the table. He hadn't sat down again since he interrupted the cardinal of Atyr. He wasn't wearing his shirt, so the blows to his ribs were very visible. He would be fine in a few weeks, but now he was reminded more often that he was just a man.

"More than that," she replied. "We offer you information, we will share with you the enchantments that can trap dragons in human bodies, the metals that pierce their scales, the spells that can affect them, and if my husband, that is, the high general agrees, even the combat techniques of the dragonslayer order." Frey nodded with a pleased smile and his arms crossed over his chest. It was his equivalent to Runa's princess pose, the pose of the great warrior. Without his shirt, the effect was even more powerful, particularly on her.

"I imagine that Prince and General Freydelhart is willing to visit our city to train our soldiers in person." Oregdor's eyes shone. Sometimes, Runa forgot her husband's reputation. If only he would remember it more often too, then they wouldn't have had that stupid fight.

"Well..."

"Your Majesty," Jimmer stepped forward from his watchful position behind Lady Meracina. "Don't be afraid to leave Artemia defenseless, I will stay behind to protect our kingdom." Jimmer followed Frey wherever he went, this act was perhaps...

"Alright, Jim." Frey had anticipated the decision, he looked even more pleased. Who knows what was going on between those two.

"Well, if we have already settled the matter," that day, Runa's father was handling the meeting much more than he usually did, "I would like to give the floor to Cardinal Celhyun. I'm afraid your interrogation will take place here, now. We have shared the information from this meeting with you, you will extend the same courtesy to the ambassadors of Pellegrin, as well as to the countess."

The man lowered his head and nodded. It seemed that during the meeting, he had been understanding the gravity of his situation. He had participated in an attempted assassination of a member of the royal family. He had been treated until that moment as a victim and a foreign representative, but his stiff objections suggested that he had his own motives.

At an order from her father, the elven soldiers positioned themselves around the cardinal, leaving the countess free. She took a seat at the end of the table, interested in what the man had to say. Jimmer remained standing.

"Prince Frey, please proceed to interrogate the cardinal. Do not forget his rank, please." Without a doubt, Dad was determined to maintain the facade of an imposing king that day. And that was even with him wearing the beard.

"Alright, Your Majesty. Your Lordship would like to give you once again the opportunity to narrate the events from your point of view." Of course, he hadn't attended the previous meetings; now everyone would have to hear it again.

"This... well, as you wish. As you know, my name is Celhyun, I am a cardinal of the Church of War and Trade of Atyr. In my homeland, the crown is interested in maintaining the spiritual purity of the world. We respect the gods of other nations and even observe their rites when we are in foreign lands. But we advise on matters of transcendental importance such as succession." He looked at Runa, then at Eri, and decided to change the subject. "Anyway, I was on my way to Artemia to fulfill that duty, going around the Meyrin mountain range. It's a somewhat longer but generally safe route. My caravan had eight members. Without warning, three dragons, among which was the white monster that you fortunately defeated, fell upon the group. In seconds they had finished them all off, may they be fighting today on the final battlefield. They left me and my second, Venuem, alive, only for him to be devoured and usurped by that beast. Oh, I was so confused, he asked me a thousand questions about the dragon princess of Artemia, he spent three days torturing me until I agreed to obey and reveal everything I knew. They painted those horrible glyphs on my back with the blood of my companions. Just to give credibility to their story. I regret to confess that my will was never bound by anything other than fear. That beast carried me in its claws to a meadow near the city and from there forced me to guide him in his human form. I didn't know the way to Artemia, so we guided ourselves by following the Pellegrin caravan at a distance, which passed nearby a few days later. As you can see, it wasn't entirely a coincidence that we arrived on the same day."