It had already been a full week. In that time, the empire's troops hadn't made their move by land or by sea, no doubt coming to the same conclusion I did… Either that or they were having administrative issues. I managed to get in contact with one of the other generals as well. The general of the southern border, who was southwest of us, across the mountain range from Nayamere. The empire had been avoiding conflict with him, but every time they fought, he was decisively victorious, maintaining much greater knowledge of the swampy terrain, which, apparently, wasn't favorable to their spider mounts… Furthermore, being on the border, his knights actually made use of heavy armor. In short, he was also winning, and the southern nation wasn't taking action, furthering our advantageous position.

'Despite individual battle results, we can't win if we don't advance…' I stared down at the map in front of me. 'Kylo said that they still have an entire legion in the riverhold area, but what if we use the wyverns as troop carriers and meet up with General Eincraig… Although if he continues to whittle away at them without help, and they send more troops his way, using that as an opportunity to strike might be even better.'

"King Siya!" A scout yelled, running into the tint. "A message just arrived for you."

'I can't believe I actually told them to call me king… I can't believe they listened…' I slowly stood up. "From General Eincraig?" 'I wonder if he's thinking the same.'

"No… From the empire."

'Oh? It's about time.' I took the letter and leaned back, already expecting the gist of what it said.

**********************

Esteemed Siyaṣāvīde Ᾱlīah Nayānāthulū,

By virtue of communiqué, I do hereby seek to apprise you, under most preemptive auspices, of our inclination to commence a deliberative colloquy regarding the aforementioned venture beyond, herein demarcated as "the hereafter." The enterprise, bearing myriad contours and abstruse particularities, beckons with anticipatory urgency for the establishment of a concordant hour upon which the initial parley may proceed in both mutual harmony and optimal circumspection.

It is thus with due deference that I entreat you to apprise us of such temporal parameters as would render you predisposed to receive our prepositional entreaty, in full alignment with the ceremonious stipulations customary to such engagements. Let it be understood that the formal establishment of this prospective appointment would be met with comprehensive preparatory discretion on our part, ensuring that the ensuing dialogue is conducted in rigorous adherence to the gravitas and exigencies inherently implicated in these negotiations.

With measured regard, His majesty, Emperor Jarik Kenru.

"Jarik means stone pillar, Kenru means great river."

**************

"My king… Should I… Get a translator for you?"

I sighed. "No, I can understand it just fine… Wait right there." 'It took them two paragraphs just to ask where a good place and time for negotiations would be… And I mean… The fact is, we need translators when we speak the same language… This is going to be more of a headache than the actual war…' I slowly looked up at the ceiling and felt a chill go down my spine. 'Oh my gosh… I really am a barbarian now, aren't I…'

I closed my eyes for a moment and grabbed a pen, coming up with an exceptionally elaborate and complex font before writing. Who knew I'd actually use that calligraphy class I took like this…

**********

River Hold Fortress. I will arrive by wyvern soon.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

**********

"Send this back to them," I said, folding it and handing it to him.

'I wonder what they'll think. Really, I just did it to contrast that stupid letter as much as possible, but I think the penmanship came out quite nicely. Maybe I should have been more precise with when I'd arrive? Hm… Well, whatever.'

I took out another paper and wrote a letter to General Eincraig telling him what was happening and what my intentions were. I wouldn't surrender or accept a truce, and the main topic would most likely be hostage negotiations, since I had Rokai and Hara. Letting him know I would be paying him a visit as well, and going to meet with Kylo right after it was sent. 'I'm not sure I'm strong enough for the others to officially recognize me as king… So it would be better for me to remain more diplomatic for now and not challenge the other generals… That in mind, I should include him in these so-called negotiations…'

"Hey buddy," I said, going up to Kylo on the outskirts of town.

"Your body is growing warmer. I'm glad."

I gently touched his nose as he lowered it to me. "Maybe… But your scales are still hot… I have a favor to ask."

"You may take my wings, but only you."

I chuckled. "That's not what I meant. I don't want you to let people ride you. But… I was wondering how you felt about carrying things for me. If you carried people, or boxes with people in them, would you be ok with that?"

He let out a slow hum. "How high should I go before I drop them?"

I sighed, slowly dropping my head. "You don't… Actually, the point would be for you to carry friendly people, so that they can move really fast."

"You would lower them to mere prey in my claws?"

'I learn more about Wyvern's sense of honor every day, it seems…' "Better to lower them than you, since you are the one helping us, don't you think?"

He chuckled softly and spat fire on the ground. "I will do as you ask."

'He's surprisingly simple.' "Are you ready to leave now, then? I can guide you."

Lowering his head even more, he lay down on the ground. "Your bones, little one, have they healed?"

"Yes, that has at least happened… But, uhm… Kylo…"

He raised his head slightly again and looked into my eyes.

"I'm… Scared of heights…" 'It wasn't a problem when I had the dragon, but now that he's gone…'

I thought for sure he'd make fun of me, but instead he calmly lowered his head again. "There is a large scale on the back of our necks for our young. Sit in front and you won't be blown off. There will be no chance of your falling. Should you somehow fall off regardless… I will catch you, and should you get scared, hide underneath the scale in front of you; it will block the wind."

I nervously climbed on… Thoroughly embarrassed that he had to quite literally baby me.

"Are you ready to submit to the call of the skies, little pup?"

'No…' "Go for it…"

I climbed on and he slowly shook his neck, his scales effortlessly sliding past each other as the multiple layers overlapped and moved independently of one another before he let out a deep thundering eagle cry and took off several feet into the air with a single wingbeat. "This is the coming of age right for wyverns. I will take you to the apex of my flight, the zenith point. And from there, you will feel the wind at its strongest, and the air at its thinnest. Then spread your wings and fly with me."

My breath stopped. "What…" I felt a chill as we continued to rapidly climb higher into the sky, his veins starting to glow as his wing beats only became stronger and his scales shimmered. 'I don't remember agreeing to this…'

My breath began to shake, but I calmed it, my heart pounding as we climbed higher and higher until we could see the stars, and I became unable to breathe. 'What… Is happening… It's impossible to leave the atmosphere with air propulsion, right? So… I slowly reached up to my throat, turning to look at the sun as half of it became covered by a moon. 'I can't breathe… No more… I lightly pounded my fist against his back, but he continued flapping his wings with all his might, no longer able to climb any higher, even with the help of magic. Finally, he stopped, curling his wings to his sides and slowly drifting into a free fall that made me start to cry as we headed towards the ground in a twisting spiral. Oddly enough, instead of passing out… Or my head exploding… I was able to breathe again.

Halfway back to earth, he suddenly spread his wings and caught a gust of wind, taking us almost exactly in the direction we were supposed to go, which wasn't difficult to see given it was one of the largest castles in sight… Aside from the Empire's royal city… Which I could also see on account of our altitude and my dragon eyes. I was too tense to appreciate the view, though. Frantically shaking and telling myself not to let go, we eventually landed safe and sound, so gently I didn't even feel an impact when his weight transferred to the ground. 'It's over… But… Why can't I move?'

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