After a quick jaunt across the forecourt and up the main guard tower Riennaia rejoined the procession now meandering its way inside. She followed her father at a distance, it was not her time to interject into his conversation with Gaigras and Imenten. Instead she maneuvered up through the crowd waiting for the chance to talk with the duke or the new arrivals and fell into step besides Velden. She always found it a little amusing how well the Akernian dragons matched the royal family. Velden's fur was a silver gray only a few shades lighter than Sintas' scales, and the emerald green trimmings on his apparel matched his partner's horns and claws. Riennaia guessed that second choice was deliberate.

  "The flight wasn't too difficult I hope?" She asked Sintas.

  "Aah, Princess. Not too a great extent; we rode the prevailing winds through most of the continent and only needed to push once we reached the coast. My wings feel heavy, but the practice is good." He eyed her for a second. "You look like you've had quite the long day as well."

  "Of a sort, between the crowds arriving for our autumn summit and those attending this little meeting, our normal patrols can't keep eyes on everyone. I've just been helping ease the burden on our guards."

  Sintas gave her a nod of approval. "I'm sure they appreciate it. My sister always said the palace guards liked her a lot more once my father had her start running errands and doing drills with them."

  "Neytith?"

  Sintas nodded.

  "Say, your father mentioned you will be attending one of the academies elsewhere on the continent. First in your family, right?" Riennaia asked, curious. As far as she knew the rest of Akeirnan royals had all been educated within their own courts.

  Sintas and Velden shared a quick look before Velden took the turn to reply. "Yes we are. There have been a number of… improvements ,in both the practice and technology of aerial combat. Our fathers believe these new developments are best experienced firsthand, so that we might bring any relevant lessons back home."

  A diplomatic answer. Riennaia thought. Mostly true if I had to guess, but pushing would be counterproductive. Instead, she smiled easily to the two of them."I'll be on a similar path. We don't have any proper flight academies over here on the Isles, and the    Southern Guard tends to recruit rider pairs already part way through their careers rather than train up new recruits themselves."

  "I noticed you were without channels or focus." Sintas said.

  "Yes. I'm not yet rated for channels, though, I'll be aiming to change tomorrow. There's actually an examiner from the continental rider corps here for the summit. I'll be taking the screening exam tomorrow with another dragon who's coming of age."

  "Well, having watched that landing earlier I have no worries about your form." Sintas said with a smile, before leaning in and dropping his voice somewhat.

  "Though, do not underestimate the exam. One of those major advancements the king wishes us to see? A refinement in channel construction. Supposedly, a dragon who's really pushing themselves can fly faster and turn more sharply, but not without risk. There have already been one or two accidents with dragons unable to cope with the new forces on their wings and bodies. The corps doesn't wish to see any more, especially amongst those from the important families. They're likely to push you rather hard."

  "I'd be disappointed if they didn't. I am a bit surprised I'll admit, the Rider Corps always seemed… well a bit behind the times. They're almost the last group I'd expect to be in that much of a rush to field new equipment. What's got them so spooked?"

  Velden and Sintas shared another look. "Wyverns."Sintas said.

  A memory sprung forth in Riennana's mind. A supposed bandit problem that had her flying with her father and his guards to put the people's minds at ease. A ball of claws, teeth, fire, and rage dropping from the sky. Three dragons, two paired with riders, their courage and experience stretching until it threatened to snap. A young dragon standing over the edge of a smoking crater just to reassure herself that body laying in the center would move no longer. Riennaia shuddered.

  "I didn't think there were even any left on the continent." She said.

  Sintas grimaced. "Well, there were at least three. Akeirna had a skyship out on patrol after one of those charged amalgams blew through. They had a full wing of rider pairs with them, out in the hinterlands between ourselves and Tessia, trying to bring down a set of imprinted entities. A trio of wyverns fell on them as they engaged. A Tessian patrol had been chasing the wyverns, and caught up helping to finish them off, but by the time the fight was over the skyship was badly mauled and one of our dragons was injured to the point they're still recovering."

  "It's good your forces were able to assist each other." Riennaia said.

  Velden groaned. "You would think so. But you see the Tessian patrol never saw their targets until they had already arrived at the fight. Before that, all they had were reports of towns and villages attacked from the sky, and a set of targets fleeing towards an Akeirnan skyship."

  "They thought it was a raid?"

  "Yes." He dropped his voice again.

  "It feels like Tessia fills their northern command with every bloodthirsty idiot they can find. Every patrol we have in the area seems to get reported as scouts for a potential invasion. And so all of their riders who, you assume, listen to that braying every day, came charging into the fray ignoring all of our hails. How either group ended that fight in one piece remains a mystery to me. Still it's a good thing they were able to. Neither force was that interested in sending reports while under attack…"

  "And so your lands thought they were at war." Riennaia finished.

  "For the better part of three hours before we had even heard anything to the contrary." Velden rolled his eyes. "Some of the families seemed almost disappointed as a clearer picture started to filter through. Wonder if it was the same for them." Velden gestured with his muzzle towards the Tessian ambassador, now engaged with Giagras and Imenten. "Brother's trying to help with the aftershocks too. He's been in their capital for the past couple months putting on a good showing… representing the family."

  "Is that not something to strive for?" Riennaia asked somewhat confused at his tone.

  "The duke has no other children, does he?" Was Velden's only reply.

  The group walked in silence for a moment longer as they made their way through the foyer towards the great hall itself. Already, waitstaff bearing appetizers and drinks filtered through their little procession seeing to the wants of their guests. She pointed Sintas to a favorite of the keep's dragons: a fruit cider infused with medicinal herbs, then charged with mana to hasten their work. While not a cure all, it did wonders for sore wings strained by hours in the air.

  The press of dozens of indistinct conversations, amplified by the cavernous great hall greeted Riennaia as she entered. When empty, the great hall was large enough for several dragons to comfortably meet, even when not in kyndform. Now, potted plants and decorative panels broke up the space and allowed guests a feeling of some privacy.  The guests sported all manner of attire, from military and guild uniforms, to the suits and dresses of the minor nobles, and other orderlies of the court invited to attend.

  Present too, were robed scholars, ready to administer tests of knowledge and skill to the island's best and brightest. She noticed a number chatting away with attendees from the merchant's guild. That was to be expected; guild employment was highly sought by mages unwilling or unable to join the rider corps. The guild would often provide travel, room, and board for the scholars and researchers who traveled the land. Riennaia knew the guild was only nominally independent from the Eudrian government itself, and she guessed the apparent altruism helped offset concerns the other powers might have with such an organization operating within their borders.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Riennaia turned to find Sintas and Velden still hovering by the door and looking somewhat lost.

  "Dinner will be served in half an hour or so, I believe there is already a table set for the Akeirnan delegation near the front where you're seated."

  "Alright…" Sintas said, hesitantly. "We'll try, I don't want to intrude on someone's discussion. Our fathers didn't tell us much about the guest list beyond our own people."

  I guess being the child of a monarch is more of a universal experience than I expected. Too important to ignore when you sit at the table, yet everyone still sees you as too young or inexperienced to trust with information of any import. Doomed to rehash the same shallow conversations at every group you visit.

  "You're someone they know of, not someone they know." Riennaia said, gesturing to the Akeirnan corner of the room.

  Sintas and Velden nodded.

  Riennaia scanned the series of small alcoves cleverly nestled between the columns which held the roof aloft, before spotting one near the back of the room.

  "Well, I see at least a few friends of mine at that table near the back, come join us?"

  Riennaia was happy as they accepted her offer and followed.

  Alieth, Riennaia's long time friend, was the first to notice her as they made their way over.

  "Princess!" She called, easily picking Riennaia's red-gold horns out from amongst the crowd. Riennaia saw concern briefly flit across the other dragon's face as she recognized the two standing behind Riennaia by their attire but not their names.

  "Sintas and Velden, third children of Giagras and King Imenten… respectively." She introduced the two, adding the last line with a small smile. They each nodded in turn.

  "Alieth here is my good friend and fellow examinee tomorrow." She said, continuing to those seated around the table.

  "Korin." The felkin gave a small bow. He was one of the few representatives of the aquatic avians in the room, as the only one to call the isles home as far as Riennaia knew. He was something of a curiosity to those visiting the keep, though anyone who knew him well could guess how he had earned his place.

  "My magecraft, and history instructor."

  "Magecraft?" Sintas asked. "You are yet unbonded, correct?"

  "That'd be right." The last member of the table spoke up. "Problem is our princess, and the good duke for that matter, had to be a bit special." The old dragon gave Riennaia a toothy grin, white fangs contrasting the streaks of red running through his scales.

  Riennaia lifted a claw before her and reached the fire in her chest. She breathed out letting the azure flames lick past her teeth and out into the air in front of her. Instead of fading into the air, bright orange motes appeared within the flame and clustered around her outstretched claw.

  "A bloodline art." Sintas said, watching closely. "One you can access without a rider." He turned to Velden. "We've had a couple of those appear in the family from time to time, none have been passed down directly, as far as I know."

  The table watched as Riennaia let the aura surrounding her claw dissipate.

  "Mm-hmm. Gave her dad a nice head start during his early days flying for the Eudrians, able to get a feel for magecraft even before being able to access his magic fully. Shot past the other three of us in the class. The other two got jealous. Me? I just figured he'd draw more fire with a reputation like that. Been sticking around ever since." He bowed to the new arrivals. "Jaxith. Knight of the Southern Isles."

  "He's been leading the princess and I through some of the more advanced maneuvers. The flight academies should teach us everything, but well… if we can get some prospective riders to move to the isles, everyone will be happy to have another strong mage or two."

  Sintas stared out into the distance for a moment or two before turning back to the table. "Is that… strange? Not knowing who is, or at least, might be your rider? He added the last bit with an emotion Riennaia couldn't quite place.

  "I don't necessarily think so." Riennaia answered after a moment. "To be honest, I certainly knew about your way of doing things. I just never gave it much thought, our way was…" What was expected of me. She didn't finish the sentence, trying to find a nicer sounding phrase to use with little luck.

  "It's the best way we can help the land." Alieth said, saving her from the awkward moment.

  Sintas still looked somewhat unsure. "Still, trying to figure out what your magic will look like, without any guides or family wisdom seems… daunting. It was hard enough for us, and we've had generations of hints and tricks passed down."

  "I'm sure that helps, but…" Alieth gave Sintas and Riennaia a sympathetic look. "For those of us outside the major bloodlines it is something of an opportunity. A particularly powerful rider pair will be a boon to their house."

  "And a target." Jaxith added, a hard edge creeping into his voice. He sighed. "I'm glad none of you are old enough to remember it, but strong rider pairs have influence beyond their raw power. And as much as the nations of this world have tried to turn a new page in recent years, at the end of the day, they exist to control that kind of influence. As you become more of a boon to one, you become more of a threat to the others."

  Riennaia drummed her claws on the table. "My father never seemed… ok… with that state of the world. I haven't talked to him about it as much as I maybe should, but his goal has always been for his people to have choice in their lives. Should we not leave those views for the older generation?"

  "It takes all sides to agree on a change, Riennaia." Velden said. "What's best, and what feels safest can often be at odds, especially where the interests of nations meet."

  Riennaia looked out to her father, twisted emotions once again tying themselves together in her gut. Her father had done an admirable job instilling his ideals in her, and took care to show her when he felt his actions, driven by those ideals, had borne fruit. Still, there was always an effortlessness to the way he approached problems, one whose source he never seemed to share. She felt he would have made those around  him see his vision, cases where her words always seemed to fail when faced with stubbornness or overabundant caution.

  You've never bothered to ask him, have you? A voice in her mind said. Anything about where he gets it from?

  Of course not. Replied a different one. To someone so accomplished, is requiring help not a failure in itself? He helps the people of the isles because they need it. Do you want him to group you in with the rest? You're better than to need help like that.

  Riennaia narrowed her eyes, but otherwise hid her thoughts, trying to write them off as nervous energy. Finally answering Velden she said "I suppose that's always been a part of joining the rider corps for me." I've heard that debate argued endlessly by a bunch of old rich folks, lounging in the comfort of their council seats for too long. I guess I always wanted to see it, understand why so many always seem to be falling back towards another fight. See if I can't do better."

  Alieth laughed "I suppose that's a bit more noble than trying to pair up with a strong rider you can drag home isn't it."

  The table joined in for a moment before Sintas, getting somewhat more serious, said "The princess thinks about those things because she can. I don't think it's wrong to worry about doing what you're able."

  "Gods know I was mostly interested in the salary." Jaxith said. "And hitting every restaurant down the Eudrian coast."

  The table talked for a while, Sintas and Velden providing stories from their far flung homeland, Riennaia and the rest doing the same for the Akeirnan rider pair in kind. Soon, she saw her father taking the stage at the far end of the hall.

  "Well." Riennaia said. "Looks like we're arriving at the structured portion of the evening. I'm not sure how long things are going to last tonight, but it'll go late if I had to guess. I'll try to catch you all tomorrow, if not later tonight."

  The six said their farewells, Sintas and Velden breaking off and making their way towards where the rest of the Akeirnan delegation was now busy seating itself. The dining tables were arranged in a large square, all seats facing the center. Two more rows extended behind the front of each edge, providing seating for staff and attendants not expected to be speaking much. Riennaia watched Alieth seat herself in one of the supporting rows behind The Duke and, more interestingly, watched as Korin joined her in the front row.

  “Not joining the other scholars?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’ve been far too involved with getting our side of this little event, getting sources pooled and reports written. Better to let one of the other voices take the lead, lest Chrios appear to have given himself undue influence. Especially amongst the scholars.”

  Riennaia nodded, taking her spot, ready to see what the discussion would have in store.