Koda limped into Arrelion’s headmaster chamber where both the ice elf prince, Velduin and white white scaled draconian, Rellethek waited. Koda bowed to the two and took a seat at the round table that stood in the center of the room. Both the prince and scale lord follow suit.

“Forgive my tardiness, my lords. Between my injuries and the scale of this school, it was destined to be late.”

“Scale. Ha!” grumbled Rellethek. He made a fist with his hand. “If I had to wait any longer with this elven whelp, I would have thrown him through a wall!”

Velduin rolled his eyes.

Koda hesitated. He rapped his finger on the wood before speaking. “Perhaps we can get down to business.”

“It is quite simple. Rellethek and his dragon city must recognize the sovereignty of our nation. Once those beasts learn who is in control of Wintershard, then we can make some progress,” Velduin said snidely. He glanced at Rellethek and smiled as the dragon bared his fangs.

“Who ordained you One Beyond All?” hissed Rellethek. “I am a surviving draconian of the original Dragon Walkers of Agaas. Your Angels appointed my ancestor, Thericathuel, to be the first Scale Lord of dragons. We oversee the realms— the very dragons you live upon. Before your territories even existed, the Scale Lord crown stood the test of time. As the current Scale Lord, I demand the respect that my people deserve from you Ixils!”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Can you bother speaking, common? What is an Ixils?” Velduin said with a yawn.

“Strange Ones. As in one that doesn’t belong!” Rellethk spat with hatred rolling in his voice.

“Amusing,” Velduin said dryly.

“Enough! The both of you!” Koda snapped. He slammed his fist on the table.“Scale Lord Rellathek, I am a student of the old ways. I speak for both Cypress and Abyss when I say that your people are recognized as the first denizens of Draak’Terra and thus are due our respect. However, you must understand we each lead our own nations of people with many of their own traditions and creeds. We could never see you as one true king.”

Rellethek growled and Velduin smirked.

Koda turned to the prince. “This goes the same for you too, Velduin.”

“I beg your pardo—”

“You ice elves live in the same territory as Draconicus. You must come to terms with this and honor the Scale Lord as a leader of the land as well. Only together can we hope to achieve our goals.”

Velduin at first sneered at Rellethek, but then gave him a smile. “I will see to it that my father, King Damon, agrees to a temporary treaty. We have much bigger issues than our feud.”

Rellethek folded his arms.

“Rellethek…” Koda said. “We need all of our nations united to keep the seals safe.”

Rellethek offered a claw. “Very well, but only for you, Dawnedge.”

Velduin accepted the handshake. “As acting ambassador of the ice elf people, I will agree to another meeting of world leaders,” Velduin said. “After all, if we ice elves wish to one day regain our full influence in this realm, it would help if it were still in one piece.”